Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 1

Verse 1

Adam, Sheth, Enosh,

Adam ... "Begat" must be understood as meaning that the person who "begat" was not in all instances the immediate parent, but an ancestor, near or more remote of the person spoken of. Only that one member of the family is mentioned who came in the direct order of succession.

Verses 2-3

Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered,

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 4

Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The three sons of this patriarch are enumerated, partly because they were the founders of the new world, and partly because the fulfillment of Noah's prophecy (Genesis 9:25-27) could not otherwise appear to have been verified.

Verses 5-9

The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 10

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth.

Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty, [ gibowr (H1368) (cf. Genesis 10:8); Septuagint: gigas kuneegos , a dog-leading giant.]

Verse 11

And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 12

And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim.

Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Capthtorim - better rendered, 'and Casluhim, of whom came the Philistim and Caphtorim:' they were brethren, the sons of Casluhim, and at first dwelt together whence their names are used interchangeably; and the Caphtorim are described as inhabiting Azzah, or Gaza, the seat of the Philistines.

Verse 13

And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth,

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 14

The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,

The Jebusites ... From this verse to 1 Chronicles 1:17 the names are not those of individuals. but of people who all sprang from Canaan; and as several of them became extinct, or were amalgamated with their brethren, their national appellations are given, instead of the personal names of their ancestors.

Verses 15-16

And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 17

The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech - or Mash: these were the children of Aram, and grandsons of Shem (Genesis 10:23).

Verse 18

And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber.

Arphaxad begat Selah. Cainan, the father's name, is omitted here (see the notes at Luke 3:36).

Verse 19

And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother's name was Joktan.

Peleg - (see the notes at Genesis 10:25.)

Verses 20-21

And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 22

And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

Ebal - or Obal (Genesis 10:28).

Verse 23

And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 24

Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,

Shem ... This comprises a list of ten, inclusive of Abraham.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verses 25-28

Eber, Peleg, Reu, of the Arabs in the present day.

Verse 29

These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

These are their generations - the heads of his twelve tribes. The great northern desert of Arabia, including the entire neck, was colonized by these tribes; and if we can recover, in the modern geography of this part of the country, Arab tribes bearing the names of those patriarchs - i:e., names corresponding with those preserved in the original catalogue of Scripture-we obtain at once so many evidences, not of mere similarity, but of absolute identification (Forster).

Nebaioth - gave rise to the Nabathaeans of the classic, and the Beni Nabat of Oriental, writers.

Kedar - the Arab tribe el-Khedeyre, on the coast of Hedgar, Adbeel-Adbilla, the name of a tribe in Yemen,

Verse 30

Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema,

Dumah - Dumah and Tema, the great Arab tribes of Beni Teman. Thus this writer ('Historical Geography of Arabia') traces the names of all the heads of the twelve tribes of Ishmael as perpetuated in the clans or tribes

Verse 31

Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 32

Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan.

Sons of Keturah. Those became founders of nomadic tribes in the north of Arabia and Syria as Midian of the Midianites (Genesis 36:35; Judges 6:2).

And Shuah - from whom Bildad sprang (Job 2:11).

Verses 33-35

And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 36

The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek. Sons of Eliphas - the tribe Adites, in the center country of the Saracens, so called from his mother, Adah (Genesis 36:10).

Teman - gave rise to the land of Teman, near the head of the Red Sea.

Omar - the tribe Beni Aroma settled at the northern point of Djebel Shera (mount Seir).

Zephi - the tribe Dzaf.

Gatam i:e. Katam, inhabited by the tribe Al Saruat, or 'people of Sarah.'

Kenaz - the tribe Aenezes, a tribe whose settlement lies in the neighbourhood of Syria.

Timna, and Amalek - i:e., and from Timna, Amalek, the Beni Malak of Zohran, and the Beni Maledj of the Shat el-Arab.

Reuel - a powerful branch of the great Aeneze tribe, the Rowalla Arabs.

Shammah - the great tribe Beni Shammar. In the same way the names of the other kings and dukes are traced in the modern tribes of Arabia. But it is unnecessary to mention anymore of those obscure nomads, except to notice that Jobab (1 Chronicles 1:44), one of the kings of Edom, is considered to be Job, and that his seat was in the royal city of Dinahab (Genesis 36:32), identified with O'Daeb, a well-known town in the center of Al Dahna, a great northern desert in the direction of Ohaldea and the Euphrates (Forster).