Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 2

Verse 1

These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,

These are the sons of Israel The names of his twelve sons are enumerated without regard to order.

Verse 2

Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 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.

The sons of Judah. His descendants are enumerated first, because the right and privileges of the primogeniture had been transferred to him (Genesis 49:8), and because from his tribe the Messiah was to spring.

Verses 4-5

And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 6

And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.

Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara. These five are here stated to be the sons of Zerah -

i.e., of Ezra-whence they were called Ezrahites, (1 Kings 4:31). In that passage they are called "the sons of Mahol," which, however, is to be taken not as a proper name, but appellatively for 'sons of music, dancing,' etc. The traditional fame of their great sagacity and acquirements had descended to the time of Solomon, and formed a standard of comparison for showing the superior wisdom of that monarch. Jewish writers say that they were looked up to as prophets by their countrymen during the abode an Egypt.

Verse 7

And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.

The sons of Carmi - he was the son of Zimri, or Zabdi, as he is called, Joshua 7:1.

Achar - or Achan (Joshua 7:1). This variety in the form of the name is with great propriety used here, since, Achar means 'troubler.'

Verses 8-12

And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 13

And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,

Shimma, [ Shim`aa' (H8092), or Shim`aah (H8093) (2 Samuel 13:3; 2 Samuel 13:32), or Shamaah (H8048) (1 Samuel 16:9; 1 Samuel 17:13).]

Verse 14

Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,

Raddai, [ Raday (H7288)] - is considered by Ewald ('Geschichte,' 3:, 266) identical with Rei (1 Kings 1:8), these being David's two surviving brothers at the time of Solomon's accession. But this identification is more than doubtful.

Verse 15

Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: David the seventh. Since it appears (1 Samuel 16:10; 1 Samuel 17:12) that Jesse had eight sons, the presumption is, from David being mentioned here as the seventh son of his father, that one of them had died at an early age, without leaving issue.

Verse 16

Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.

Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. Here the sons are mentioned by the mother's line-instances among the Jews of the father sometimes being not taken into consideration at all; as is the case in many places of the Himalayah mountains, and at many courts of the Rajahs, as at Travancore, etc. (Joseph Wolff, 'Missionary Labours,' p 493).

Verse 17

And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.

Jether the Ishmealite - (cf. 2 Samuel 17:25.) In that passage he is called Ithra an Israelite; and there seems no reason why, in the early days of David, any one should be specially distinguished as an Israelite. The presumption is in favour of the reading followed by the, Septuagint, which calls him 'Jetra the Jezreelite.' The circumstance of his settling in another tribe, or of a woman marrying out of her own tribe, was sufficiently rare and singular to call for the statement that Abigail was married to a man of Jezreel.

Verse 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.

Caleb the son of Hezron. The notices concerning this person appear confused in our version. In 1 Chronicles 2:19 he is said to be the father of Hur, whereas in 1 Chronicles 2:50 he is called "the son of Hur." The words in this latter passage have been transposed in the copying, and should be read thus, 'Hur the son of Caleb.'

Begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth. The former was his spouse, while Jerioth seems to have been a secondary wife, and the mother of the children whose names are here given. On the death of his principal wife, he married Ephrath, and by her had Hur.

Verses 19-20

And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 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.

Hezron ... daughter of Machir the father of Gilead - i:e., chief of that town, which, with the lands adjacent, was no doubt the property of Machir, who was so desirous of a male heir. He was grandson of Joseph. The wife of Machir was of the tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 26:29).

Verse 22

And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead.

Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. Since the son of Segub and the grandson of Hezron, he was of the tribe of Judah; but from his maternal descent he is called, Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14, "the son of Manasseh." This designation implies that his inheritance lay in that tribe in right of his grandmother; in other words, because his maternal and adopting great-grandfather was Machir, the son of Manasseh; and Jair, inheriting his property, was his lineal representative. And accordingly. this is expressly stated to be the case; because the village-group of "Havoth-jair" was awarded to him in that tribe, in consequence of his valiant and patriotic exploits. This arrangement, however, took place previous to the law (Numbers 34:1-29) by which it was enacted that heiresses were to marry in their own tribe. But this instance of Jair shows, that in the case of a man obtaining an inheritance in another tribe, the law required him to become thoroughly incorporated with it, as a representative of the family through which the inheritance was received. He had been adopted into Manasseh, and it would never have been imagined that he was other than 'a son of Manasseh' naturally, had not this passage given information supplementary to that of the passage in Numbers.

Verse 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.

He took - rather 'he had taken.' This statement is accounting for his acquisition of so large a territory: he got it by right of conquest from the former possessors.

Kenath. This place, along with its group of surrounding villages, was gained by Nobah, one of Jair's officers sent by him to capture it (Numbers 32:1-2).

All these belonged to the sons of Machir. In their number Jair is included, as having completely identified himself, by his marriage and residence in Gilead, with the tribe of Manasseh.

Verse 24

And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.

Caleb-ephratah - so called from uniting the names of husband and wife (1 Chronicles 2:19), and supposed to be the same as was afterward called Bethlehem-ephratah.

Ashur the father of Tekoa (2 Samuel 14:2-4). He is called the father, either from his being the first founder, or perhaps the ruler, of the city.

Verses 25-30

And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 31

And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai.

The children of Sheshan; Ahlai, [ bªneey (H1121)] - sons, i:e., offspring.

Verses 32-33

And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 34

Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.

Sheshan had no sons, but daughters - either he had no sons alive at his death, or his family consisted wholly of daughters, of whom Ahlai, 1 Chronicles 2:31, was one, she being specially mentioned on account of the domestic relation about to be noticed. This view is adopted by Junius and Tremellius. Wall, followed by Lord A. Hervey, think that Ahlai = Attai, 1 Chronicles 2:36, the son of Sheshan's daughter, and grandfather to Zabad. A third conjecture is, that Ahlai was the Hebrew name given to Jarha on his circumcision, signifying 'brother to me' [ 'ach (H251) liy (H3807a)], to express his adoption into the family of Israel-an example of a son-in-law reckoned as a son (see further, Lord A. Hervey, Genealogies,' p. 34).

Verse 35

And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai.

Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife. The adoption and marriage of a foreign slave in the family where he is serving is far from being a rare or extraordinary occurrence in Eastern countries. It is thought, however, by some, among whom is Michaelis, to have been a connection not sanctioned by the law of Moses. But this is not a well-founded objection, as the history of the Jews furnishes not a few examples of foreign proselytes in the same manner obtaining an inheritance in Israel; and doubtless Jarha had previously embraced the Jewish faith in place of the grovelling idolatries of his native. Egypt. In such a case, therefore, there could be no legal difficulty. Being a foreign slave, he had no inheritance in a different tribe to injure by this connection; while his marriage with Sheshan's daughter led to his adoption into the tribe of Judah, as well as his becoming heir of the family property.

Verses 36-41

And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad,

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 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.

The sons of Caleb - (cf. 1 Chronicles 2:18; 1 Chronicles 2:25.) The sons here noticed were the fruit of his union with a third wife.

Verses 43-48

And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema.

No JFB commentary on these verses.

Verse 49

She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.

The daughter of Caleb was Achsa. We learn from Joshua 15:16 that Caleb the spy had a daughter called by this name; and according to this genealogical record there was an eider Caleb, or Chelubai (1 Chronicles 2:9), two generations earlier, who had a daughter Achsa. Lord Hervey seems to be of opinion that the register is here confused, and doubts the existence of an early Caleb. But there seems to be two distinct pedigrees traced in this passage in direct succession-of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel, and Caleb the son of Hur, whose descent from the former Caleb is mentioned, 1 Chronicles 2:19: cf. 1 Chronicles 2:1 Chr. 11:50 . There is a considerable obscurity hanging over the origin of Caleb; and strong arguments are adduced to prove that he was a foreigner, who had formed a connection with the house of Hur, and was reckoned in the genealogies of Judah from his acquisition of land within the territory of that tribe (see the notes at Joshua 15:13). Lord Hervey, however maintains that there is only one Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel (1 Chronicles 2:42) being declared to be the father of Achsa (1 Chronicles 2:49); and this conclusion appears to him confirmed by 1 Chronicles 2:50, which is like the summing up of the preceding statement, describing Caleb as the son of Hur.

Verse 50

These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-je'arim,

Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim - or founder.

Verse 51

Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Bethgader.

Salma - or Salmon (Ruth 4:20-21), son of Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah, and founder or chief man of Beth-lehem. Kennicott suggests that Salma and Salmon are two different persons. But his opinion is unsupported. A greater difficulty is felt with regard to the genealogy, which appears to be so different in this passage from that described, 1 Chronicles 2:11, as to create a belief that the Salma mentioned there is the name of two separate individuals. But a reference to what is said on the word "begat" (1 Chronicles 1:1), will show that, as it is not meant here that Salma was the literal son of Caleb, there is really no discrepancy between the two passages.

Hareph the father of Beth-gader. This is a third descendant of Caleb. He was founder or ruler of a town of Judah, which is supposed by Porter to be Gederah, in the Shephelah (Joshua 15:36); sad by Grove to be Geder, in the extreme south [Septuagint, Arim pateer Bethgedoor].

Verse 52

And Shobal the father of Kirjath-je'arim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites.

No JFB commentary on this verse.

Verse 53

And the families of Kirjath-je'arim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites.

The families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, [ ha-Yitriy (H3505), the Ithrite].

And the Puhites, [ wªha-Puwtiy (H6336), the Puthite].

And the Shumathites, [ wªha-Shumaatiy (H8126), the Shumathite].

And the Mishraites, [ wªha-Mishraa`iy (H4954), the Mishraite]. These four families, or branches of population, went from their parent residence of Kirjath-jearim to colonize small towns or villages in the neighbourhood. From the latter sprang, in process of time, the new townships of Zorah and Eshtaol.

Verse 54

The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites.

The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites - Hebrew, singular, Netophah; seems to have been near Beth-lehem.

Ataroth, the house of Joab, [ `ATrowt-Beeyt-Yow'aab (H5854), crowns of the house of Joab; a city in Judah; Septuagint, Atarooth oikon Iooab].

And half of the Manahethites, [ ha-Maanachtiy (H2680), the Manahethite; Septuagint, heemisu tees Malathi; Alexandrine, tees Manath], the other half is represented, 1 Chronicles 2:52, to have sprung from Shobal. The place or places referred to are unknown.

Zorites - the place unknown [Septuagint, Eesari].

Verse 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 families of the scribes - either civil or ecclesiastical officers of a Kenite origin, who are here classed with the tribe of Judah, not as being descended from it, but as dwelling within its territory, and in a measure incorporated with its people.

Jabez - A place in Judah (1 Chronicles 4:9).

Kenites that came of Hemath - who settled in Judah; and were thus distinguished from another division of the Kenite clan which dwelt in Mannasseh (Judges 4:11).