Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 2

Introduction

First Chronicles Chapter 2

1 Chronicles 2:1-26

1 Chronicles 2:1 "These [are] the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,"

1 Chronicles 2:2 "Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher."

When these twelve sons were born, their father was using the name, Jacob, instead of Israel. Jacob is the name generally used when speaking of the family. Israel is the name used when he and his family became a nation. "Jacob" means trickster. "Israel" means having power with God, or God’s fighter. Jacob tricked his brother out of his birthright, and received the right hand blessing. Israel fathered the twelve tribes, which Moses led out of Egypt to the promised land. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun were all sons of Abraham by Leah. I do not know why Dan is mentioned by himself, and before Rachel’s children, Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel’s maid, Bilhah, was the mother of Dan. Naphtali was the second son of Bilhah. Gad and Asher were sons of Leah’s maid, Zilpah. These twelve sons of Jacob were the twelve tribes of Israel. God will have Moses lead them out of Egypt, and give them their inheritance in the promised land. It was this group of people that God intrusted his law to. They were classified as God’s people.

1 Chronicles 2:3 "The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: [which] three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him."

Perhaps, Judah is mentioned first because it will be through this tribe that God will bring the Messiah. He will be the Lion of the tribe of Judah. "Er" means watchful. The mistake that Judah made, here, was marrying a Canaanitish woman. Er was killed by God for his sins, probably, the worship of the false gods of his mother. Onan refused to marry Tamar, his brother’s widow and raise a child for him. God killed him, also. Shelah was the young son, which Judah refused to give Tamar to wife.

1 Chronicles 2:4 "And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah [were] five."

We must remember how this happened. Tamar’s husband died, and his brothers should have married her and given her a son by their brother. It was really, the father, Judah’s place to see that they did what they were supposed to. When they did not, she disguised herself as a harlot and slept with Judah. These two sons are from that union. The lineage to David goes through her son, Pharez. Pharez’s twin was Zerah. Zerah’s descendents were called Zarhites, Ezrahites, and Izrahites.

1 Chronicles 2:5 "The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul."

The lineage leads through Hezron known, also, as Esrom. "Hamul" means pitied, or spared. Very little is known of him.

1 Chronicles 2:6 "And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all." There is little known in the Bible of these five sons of Zerah.

1 Chronicles 2:7 "And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed."

It is assumed from the trouble that came on the sons and daughters of Achar, that this line died out. Joshua 7:24 "And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor." Joshua 7:25 "And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones."

1 Chronicles 2:8 "And the sons of Ethan; Azariah."

This line ends with Azariah, because there is no further mention of him.

1 Chronicles 2:9 "The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai."

Hezron was the father of the Hezronites. He was, also, called Esrom. The lineage that leads to David goes through his son, Ram. "Jerahmeel" means whom God loves, or God will be compassionate. His descendents are called Jerahmeelites. Chelubai is elsewhere called Caleb. "Ram" means high. In the New Testament, he is called Aram.

1 Chronicles 2:10 "And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;"

Sometimes, Amminidab is spelled with just one m. The lineage continues through Amminadab. "Amminadab" means people of liberality. His daughter, Elisheba, was married to Aaron. Nashon is sometimes spelled Naasson. He was called captain. He was a prince of Judah, since God was King.

1 Chronicles 2:11 "And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,"

Salma is the same as Salmon. He married Rahab and had a son named Boaz. "Boaz" means fleetness. He is, also, called Booz of Rachab. He marries Ruth the Moabitess. They are the great-grandparents of David.

1 Chronicles 2:12 "And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse."

The name "Obed" means worshipper. The neighbors of Naomi gave Obed his name. Jesse is called a Bethlehemite, and an Ephrathite. Jesse had eight sons. His youngest was David.

1 Chronicles 2:13 "And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,"

1 Chronicles 2:14 "Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,"

1 Chronicles 2:15 "Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:"

In 1 Samuel 16:10, Jesse had eight sons, so one of them is left out here. It is, possibly, because one of the sons had died early. He was, possibly, left out, because he never married, or had children. Eliab was the first son shown to Samuel to choose a king from among Jesse’s sons. He was, also, one of the brothers at the front line when David killed Goliath. His daughter, Abihail, married Rehoboam and they had three children. Abinadab was, also, at the front line. He, too, had been shown to Samuel, and turned down by the prophet. In fact, all of the sons of Jesse were turned down by Samuel, until David. David was anointed king. Shimma was, also, at the battlefront. He was known as Shimeah, Shammah, and Shimea. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is directly descended from him. There is very little known of the others. David, of course, is the eighth, and he is in the direct lineage of Jesus. David" means beloved of God. David was the second king of the united twelve tribes of Israel.

1 Chronicles 2:16 "Whose sisters [were] Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three."

1 Chronicles 2:17 "And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa [was] Jether the Ishmeelite."

These were, probably, step-sisters of David. They, probably, had the same mother and different fathers. They were daughters of Nahash, and not Jesse. Zeruiah was the mother of three of David’s generals, Abashai, Joab, and Asahel. Abigail is not the same Abigail, who married David, after David killed her husband, Nabal, who had insulted him. Amasa is David’s nephew. Amasa joined Absalom in the rebellion against David. Joab killed Amasa.

1 Chronicles 2:18 "And Caleb the son of Hezron begat [children] of Azubah [his] wife, and of Jerioth: her sons [are] these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon."

This is returning back earlier to Caleb, or Chelubai. It appears, that Jerioth and Azubah are the same person. Nothing much is known of these sons.

1 Chronicles 2:19 "And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur."

Ephrathites were people who lived in Bethlehem.

1 Chronicles 2:20 "And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel."

Hur was grand-father, and Uri was the father of Bezaleel. The Bible tells us that God empowered Bezaleel to do the work in the construction of the tabernacle and all of its beautiful work. Aholiab was his assistant. In Exodus chapter 31 through chapter 37, we read more about all that he did. Here is just a little about that. Exodus 31:2 "See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:" Exodus 31:3 "And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship," Exodus 31:4 "To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass," Exodus 31:5 "And in cutting of stones, to set [them], and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

1 Chronicles 2:21 "And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he [was] threescore years old; and she bare him Segub."

This reverts back, again, to Hezron. This is speaking of Abiah, the sister of Gilead. Machir, her father, was Manasseh’s oldest son. At the age of 60 years, Hezron and Abiah had a son named Segub. 14

1 Chronicles 2:22 "And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead."

Moses counts Jair as being from the tribe of Manasseh. He settled in Argob bordering on Gilead. It appears, that he was involved in taking 60 of the towns, but he is allotted 23 for his family.

1 Chronicles 2:23 "And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, [even] threescore cities. All these [belonged to] the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead."

It appears, that Jair took these cities from Machir, who was his relative. Machir was his great-grandfather. The cities were actually achir’s sons’.

1 Chronicles 2:24 "And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa."

This is two different statements. Hezron died in Caleb-ephratah. His last son by Abiah was Ashur, the father of Tekoa. Ashur was born after the death of his father. Tekoa is, probably, not a person, but a town in Judah.

1 Chronicles 2:25 "And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, [and] Ahijah."

Ram, above, is the nephew of Ram through whom the lineage to David flows. Very little is known of these sons.

1 Chronicles 2:26 "Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name [was] Atarah; she [was] the mother of Onam."

"Atarah" means crown. Very little else is known of her, or Onan.

1 Chronicles 2:1-26 Questions

1. Who were the sons of Israel?

2. What was Israel’s name, before it became Israel?

3. What does "Jacob" mean?

4. What does "Israel" mean?

5. In 1 Chronicles 2:1, what order are the names of the sons given?

6. Who will lead them to their promised land?

7. Who were Judah’s three sons by the daughter of Shua?

8. What happened to Er?

9. Why did God kill Onan?

10. Tell how Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, happened to have two sons by him?

11. Which one of her sons does the lineage to David go through?

12. What is another name for Hezron?

13. What does "Hamul" mean?

14. Quote Joshua 7:24-25.

15. Which of Hezron’s sons does the lineage to David go through?

16. Chelubai is called _________ elsewhere.

17. "Ram" means _________.

18. What is Ram called in the New Testament?

19. What does "Ammiadab" mean?

20. Nashon is sometimes spelled _____________.

21. Salma is the same as ___________.

22. Who was his wife?

23. Who was their son?

24. Who did Boaz marry?

25. What was the name of their son?

26. Who named him?

27. What does "Obed" mean?

28. How many sons did Jesse have?

29. How many does 1 Chronicles 2:13-14 give?

30. Why is there a discrepancy?

31. Who was the most famous son of Jesse?

32. Who were his sisters?

33. Three of Zeruiah’s sons were David’s _____________.

34. Who sided with Absalom against David?

35. Who was Bezaleel?

36. Quote Exodus 31:2-5.

37. Who did Hezron marry, when he was 60 years old?

38. Who had 23 cities in the land of Gilead?

39. Ashur was born _______ the death of his father.

40. What was Tekoa?

1 Chronicles 2:27-55

1 Chronicles 2:27 "And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker."

1 Chronicles 2:28 “And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur.”

We are showing the genealogy from Adam to king David in these lessons. This Ram is the nephew of the one who the genealogy goes through. Some scholars group all of these sons under Ram.

1 Chronicles 2:29 "And the name of the wife of Abishur [was] Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid."

The name "Abihail" means father of might, or mighty. "Ahban" means brother of the wise. "Molid" means begetter.

1 Chronicles 2:30 "And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children."

1 Chronicles 2:31 "And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai."

1 Chronicles 2:32 “And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.”

Ahlai was a daughter who married Jarha, an Egyptian slave.

1 Chronicles 2:33 "And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel."

"Jonathan" means Jehovah has given. Jonathan will carry on the family of Jada, because his brother had no children. Very little is known of Peleth and Zaza.

1 Chronicles 2:34 "Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name [was] Jarha."

1 Chronicles 2:35 "And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai."

1 Chronicles 2:36 "And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad,"

1 Chronicles 2:37 "And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed,"

1 Chronicles 2:38 "And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah,"

1 Chronicles 2:39 "And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah,"

1 Chronicles 2:40 "And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum,"

1 Chronicles 2:41 "And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama."

This is a list of Sheshan’s family through his daughter and his Egyptian servant. This list of names brings this family down to about the time of David.

1 Chronicles 2:42 "Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel [were], Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron."

This reverts back to the family of Caleb. It is not connected with the verses we just read. You remember, that Caleb was brother to Jerahmeel and Ram. Caleb is the same as Chelubai. Caleb and his wife, Azubah, had two sons. Mesha, and Mareshah. Mesha had a son named Ziph, and Maresha had Hebron.

1 Chronicles 2:43 "And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema."

The only thing I can say about this, is that they lived sometime between 1300 and 1400 B. C.

1 Chronicles 2:44 "And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai."

1 Chronicles 2:45 "And the son of Shammai [was] Maon: and Maon [was] the father of Beth-zur."

We must continue to remember that these people are descendents of Caleb and his wife Azubah.

1 Chronicles 2:46 "And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez."

1 Chronicles 2:47 "And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Gesham, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph."

1 Chronicles 2:48 "Maachah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah."

1 Chronicles 2:49 “She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb [was] Achsa."

The only distinction we can make here, is that these are sons and grandsons of Caleb, by his concubines. These particular people are not in the lineage that leads to David and ultimately to Jesus, so there is very little known of them.

1 Chronicles 2:50 "These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim,"

Ephratah was another wife of Caleb. Hur was her son. He was a companion of Moses and Aaron. His son was named Caleb, for his grandfather Caleb. Shobal was the founding father of Kirjath-jearim. This was a city of forests. It lay on the western border of Benjamin. This was once the place the ark of the covenant stayed.

1 Chronicles 2:51 "Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader."

Salma was the founding father of Bethlehem approximately 1400 B.C. Hareph was the founding father of Beth-gader. "Beth-gader" means house of the wall, and is, probably, the same as Geder.

1 Chronicles 2:52 "And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, [and] half of the Manahethites."

Half the Manahethites, possibly, means that these descendents were from Shobal.

1 Chronicles 2:53 "And the families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites."

Kirjath-jearim is a place. This just means that these various people lived in that place. Ithrites were the descendents living at Kirjath-jearim. The Puhites were descended from Shobal. The Shumathites, the Mishraites, Zareathites, and Eshtaulites were family tribes that lived in Kirjathjearim. Very little else is known of any of them. They later were, probably, absorbed by other tribes.

1 Chronicles 2:54 "The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites."

Salma was the prince of Beth-lehem. "Bethlehem" means house of bread. This would be the city where the LORD Jesus would be born. The Netophathites lived around Beth-lehem, actually 3 12 miles south. Two of David’s men are said to be of them. Ataroth was inhabited by the house of Joab. This Joab could be the same as the captain of the host for David. If he is the same, his mother was David’s sister. The Zorites are connected in some way with Joab.

1 Chronicles 2:55 "And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, [and] Suchathites. These [are] the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab."

The Tirathites, Shimeathites, and the Suchathites were families of scribes. Ezra, who is thought to have compiled the Chronicles, was, also, a well known scribe. We discussed before, how well the records were kept. Perhaps, these scribes were, also, interested in keeping God’s Word pure. They were very careful to have each word exact when copying the law of Moses. We all have a lot to thank the scribes for. There would be nothing to study of the Word had they not been dedicated to that task. The Kenites were a Nomadic tribe that lived near Bethlehem, mostly in the rocky country. The house of the Rechabites were part of the Kenites. David kept friendly relations with them. The Kenites were heavily intermarried with the Israelites. The Rechabites would not drink wine. These Nomadic people were people of high principles.

1 Chronicles 2:27-55 Questions

1. Who were the sons of Ram?

2. Who is the Ram in 1 Chronicles 2:27?

3. What does "Abihail" mean?

4. Who did Ahlai marry?

5. What does "Jonathan" mean?

6. The list of names, which end in 1 Chronicles 2:40, bring this group of people down to what time?

7. Who were Caleb’s brothers?

8. 1 Chronicles 2:46-49 is a list of whom?

9. What, special, do we remember about Hur?

10. What was Kirjath-jearim?

11. Who were the families of Kirjath-jearim?

12. Salma was the _________ of Beth-lehem.

13. Who is the Joab, in 1 Chronicles 2:54?

14. Who was his mother?

15. What kind of families were the people in 1 Chronicles 2:55?

16. The Kenites were a __________ tribe.

17. What set the Kenites apart from the others?

18. We could say, they were people of _______ ________.

Verses 1-2

1Ch 2:1-2

1 Chronicles 2:1-2

"These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

1 Chronicles 1:1-2. Israel was another name for Jacob, which he received from the angel after his wrestling with him. (Genesis 32:28). These 12 sons of Israel were born in Mesopotamia, except Benjamin who was born near Bethel. (Genesis 35:16-20). The family history of Esau is given in the preceding chapter. There is nothing said as to why it is given before Israel or Jacob. We do know, however, that Esau was the older of the brothers and that would make it regular to enumerate his family first.

Verses 3-4

1Ch 2:3-4

1 Chronicles 2:3-4

"The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah; which three were born unto him of Shua’s daughter the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah; and he slew him. And Tamar his daughter-in-law bare him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:3. A number of chapters will be devoted to the families of the sons of Jacob. They will not be considered in the order of their birth. The first one named is Judah, although he was fourth in age. But he was first in point of importance, because he was the one through whom the blood line passed, making him a lineal ancestor of Christ. In Genesis 38:3-5 is the account of these sons, showing the circumstances under which they were born.. A few verses onward is the record of the death of Er. Neither there nor here are we told what particular thing it was of which he was guilty. We are told merely that he was evil in the sight of the Lord, which brought death to him.

1 Chronicles 2:4. The brevity of this book has a significant example in this verse. The mention of Judah’s begetting a son by his daughter-in-law, Tamar, would arouse our curiosity at least, and some who are critical against the Bible might make more of it than the facts would justify. The Lord is not giving us this short statement of the case from the principle of evasion. The whole 38th chapter of Genesis is given to the case, and the reader is urged to consult it with care.

Verses 5-8

1Ch 2:5-8

1 Chronicles 2:5-8

"The sons of Perez: Hezron, and Hamul. And the sons of Zerah: Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara; five of them in all. And the sons of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who committed a trespass in the devoted thing. And the sons of Ethan: Azariah.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:5-6. Since Pharez and Hezron, son and grandson of Tamar, are in the blood line, their names are set down in the record.

1 Chronicles 2:7-8. Not all of the sons of Judah are named above, neither does this verse tell us that Carmi was one of them. But 1 Chronicles 4:1 says he was, so in the present verse we should read the statements with him in mind. The special item of interest to us is the relation of Carmi to Achar, another form of Achan, famous for his sin at Jericho.

Verses 9-17

1Ch 2:9-17

1 Chronicles 2:9-17

"The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him: Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. And Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; and Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat his first-born Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimea the third, Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, David the seventh; and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. And Abigail bare Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:9. We are particularly interested in the names of the men who are in the blood line. Hezron had three sons, but Ram is the one to mark, because he was in line.

1 Chronicles 2:10. Three of the men descended through Judah, and forming part of the line, are named in this passage. Nashon is specified as a prince; it has no necessary official meaning. It comes from NAN and Strong defines it, "properly an exalted one, i. e. a king or sheik." It could include the idea of an official as far as the definition is concerned, but the connection would have to show such a meaning before it could be thus understood.

1 Chronicles 2:11-12. These verses correspond with the closing 3 verses of the book of Ruth. See the comments made at Ruth 4:18-22 in that book.

1 Chronicles 2:13-15. Not only was David in the blood line of Christ, but the inspired historian gives enough of the names preceding and following him, that we can get a view of his family connection. He is said to be the 7th son of his father, but in 1 Samuel 16:10 it is shown that he had 7 sons besides David. All this is on the basis that some one of the sons was of such little importance that he was left out of the royal list, and the document compiled by Ezra for the Bible followed that list. ‘

1 Chronicles 2:16-17.. As a rule, there was not much attention paid to the birth of daughters. But a special point of interest called for the notation of David’s sisters. Their sons became prominent in the affairs of the nation. Read 2 Samuel 2. Joab became especially noted on account of his connection with the military service of David.

Verses 18-20

1Ch 2:18-20

1 Chronicles 2:18-20

"And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. And Azubah died, and Caleb took unto him Ephrath, who bare him Hur. And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezalel.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:18. This Caleb must not be confused with the man associated with Joshua as a spy. His father was Jephunneh; the father of this one was Hezron.

1 Chronicles 2:19-20. Similarity of names should not be allowed to confuse us. This Hur was a son of Caleb who was a son of Hezron. The one in the days of Moses was from another family.

Verses 21-24

1Ch 2:21-24

1 Chronicles 2:21-24

"And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he took to wife when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub. And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. And Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath, and the villages thereof, even threescore cities. All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead. And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephrathah, then Abijah Hezron’s wife bare him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:21. Went in to is one Biblical way of mentioning the intimate relation of the sexes. Whom he married. The last word is defined in the margin by "took," and the lexicon gives the same. There were no formal marriage ceremonies in those days. A man took a woman from her family association, went in unto her, which means he became intimate with her, and that made them one flesh, the only Biblical basis of marriage.

1 Chronicles 2:22. Had the cities means he held them or controlled them, and it means the cities that had belonged to the land of Gilead.

1 Chronicles 2:23. From them means Jair took these towns from the communities of Gilead. Of Jair means that at the time of this writing, the towns mentioned were considered as belonging to Jair, having been taken from the people of Gilead.

1 Chronicles 2:24. The construction of this verse is a little vague. The thing that happened was this. After Hezron was dead, Caleb had relations with Ephratah, and they had a son named Ashur.

Verses 25-41

1Ch 2:25-41

1 Chronicles 2:25-41

"And the sons of Jerahmeel the first-born of Hezron were Ram the first-born, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, Ahijah. And Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. And the sons of Ram the first-born of Jerahmeel were Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. And the sons of Onam were Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai: Nadab, and Abishur. And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail; and she bare him Ahban, and Molid. And the sons of Nadab: Seled, and Appaim; but Seled died without children. And the sons of Appaim: Ishi. And the sons of Ishi: Sheshan. And the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai. And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai: Jether, and Jonathan; and Jether died without children. And the sons of Jonathan: Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai. And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad, and Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, and Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah, and Eleasah begat Sismai, and Sismai begat Shallum, and Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:25-33. This paragraph is a list of the family tree of Jerahmeel, one of the sons of Hezron. There is no special connection with other parts of the history.

1 Chronicles 2:34-41. Because it was unusual to record the birth of a daughter, or at any rate to attach much importance to it, the writer tells us that Sheshan had no sons, which is the reason for mentioning his daughters. He gave his daughter to his servant in order to have a son by "proxy." She bare him means, his daughter bare a son for her father, but who had been begotten by the servant. We will not have much occasion to consider this family elsewhere, so the paragraph may close here.

Verses 42-55

1Ch 2:42-55

1 Chronicles 2:42-55

"And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha his first-born, who was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. And the sons of Hebron: Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkeam; and Rekem begat Shammai. And the son of Shammai was Maon; and Maon was the father of Beth-zur. And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begat Gazez. And the sons of Jahdai: Regem, and Jothan, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph. Maacah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Sheber and Tirhanah. She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbena, and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.

1 Chronicles 2:50-55

"These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim, Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader. And Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim had sons: Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth. And the families of Kiriath-jearim: The Ithrites, and the Puthites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. The sons of Salma: Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites. And the families of scribes that dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab."

Although there is a great deal of new material in this chapter (1 Chronicles 2:25-41), other scriptures parallel much of it:

"1 Chronicles 2:1-2 are parallel with Genesis 35:22 b-26 and Exodus 1:1-6. 1 Chronicles 2:3-4 are in Genesis 38:2-7;

Genesis 38:29; Genesis 46:12 a, and Numbers 26:18 f. 1 Chronicles 2:5 appears in Genesis 46:12 b; Numbers 26:21;

Ruth 4:18. 1 Chronicles 2:6-8 are related to Joshua 7:1; 1 Kings 5:11. 1 Chronicles 2:9-17 is parallel with Ruth 4:19-22;

1 Samuel 16:8-9; 2 Samuel 2:18; 2Sa 17:35."

Our purpose in this commentary does not require any extensive comment on these genealogies. In the first place, they are not completely understood as to their exact meaning by anyone living millenniums after the generations enumerated. "It is impossible now to unravel these genealogies with any certainty." The duplication of many names, the appearance of many names that cannot be distinguished as applicable whether to persons or places, and other uncertainties greatly complicate the problem of any complete understanding of these chapters. It is also true that textual corruptions in a few places add to the problem.

Nevertheless, the great purpose of the sacred author is fully achieved in these opening nine chapters, which are, in reality, the introduction to the entire Chronicles. The very existence of such extensive records among the Jews is overwhelming evidence that the New Testament genealogies (Matthew 1 and Luke 3) were unanimously received by that whole first-century generation as absolutely accurate; nor were those records ever challenged by the enemies of Christianity. The importance of this in the proper identification of the Messiah is indeed significant.

The "Caleb" of 1 Chronicles 2:18 was identified by Francisco as "the Caleb of the exodus," but Payne declared: "The Caleb of the exodus came three hundred years later." This is typical of scholarly disagreement on many such problems in this chapter. The simple truth is that many such questions cannot be dogmatically answered at the present time.

Jacob M. Meyers, writing in The Anchor Bible stated: "Such technical details need not detain us."

In the verses which are parallel with other scriptures, see my comments under the parallel passages.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 2:42-55. I have grouped all of these verses into one paragraph because they pertain to the family names of Caleb. The exact identity of this man is uncertain. Young does not attempt to clarify it, and Moffatt’s translation throws little or no light on the subject. It is sufficient for us to know that no other historical matter is dependent on the identity of this particular man or any of his family. Such passages doubtless were useful in determining the settlement of an inheritance; but further than that we need not be concerned.