Now these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess;
Parallel Translations
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Now these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron: the firstborn, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess;
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Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
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Now these were the sons of David, that were born unto him in Hebron: the first-born, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second, Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess;
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Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 1 Chronicles 3:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 3:2-5 Sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; and the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah, David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
- Joshua 15:56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
- 1 Samuel 25:39-43 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed is Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from evil. Yahweh has returned the evildoing of Nabal on his own head.” David sent and spoke concerning Abigail, to take her to himself as wife. When David’s servants had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you, to take you to him as wife.” She arose, and bowed herself with her face to the earth, and said, “Behold, your servant is a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they both became his wives.
- 1 Samuel 27:3 David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.
- 2 Samuel 13:1 After this, Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
- 2 Samuel 13:29 The servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man got up on his mule, and fled.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He returneth to the genealogy of David, to show…
He returneth to the genealogy of David, to show that Christ came of his stock.
Which 2 Sam. 3:3, is called Chileab, born of her that was Nabal’s wife the Carmelite.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ch 3:1 Now these were the sons of David,…
1Ch 3:1 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
Ver. 1. Which were born unto him in Hebron.] During the time of his exile, we read not of any child he had: and so he had the less to care for.
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The second, Daniel.] Alias Chileab. See 2Sa 3:3.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The Jezreelitess; of that Jezreel in Judah, Jos 15:56,…
The Jezreelitess; of that Jezreel in Judah, Jos 15:56, not of that in Manasseh, Jos 17:16. The Carmelitess; so called, because she was the wife of Nabal, who dwelt in Carmel, 1Sa 25:2, which was in Judah, Jos 15:55.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We had an account of David's sons, Sa2 3:2,…
We had an account of David's sons, Sa2 3:2, etc., and Sa2 5:14, etc. 1. He had many sons; and no doubt wrote as he thought, Psa 127:5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of these arrows. 2. Some of them were a grief to him, as Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah; and we do not read of any of them that imitated his piety or devotion except Solomon, and he came far short of it. 3. One of them, which Bath-sheba bore to him, he called Nathan, probably in honour of Nathan the prophet, who reproved him for his sin in that matter and was instrumental to bring him to repentance. It seems he loved him the better for it as long as he lived. It is wisdom to esteem those our best friends that deal faithfully with us. From this son of David our Lord Jesus descended, as appears Luk 3:31. 4. Here are two Elishamas, and two Eliphelets, Ch1 3:6, Ch1 3:8. Probably the two former were dead, and therefore David called two more by their names, which he would not have done if there had been any ill omen in this practice as some fancy. 5. David had many concubines; but their children are not named, as not worthy of the honour (Ch1 3:9), the rather because the concubines had dealt treacherously with David in the affair of Absalom. 6. Of all David's sons Solomon was chosen to succeed him, perhaps not for any personal merits (his wisdom was God's gift), but so, Father, because it seemed good unto thee.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now these were the sons of David,.... The six…
Now these were the sons of David,.... The six following born in Hebron, who are reckoned in the same order as in Sa2 3:2, only here the second son is called Daniel, who there goes by the name of Chileab; he had two names, the reason of which see there; and here David's wife, Eglah, is said in the Targum to be Michal, Saul's daughter; see Gill on Sa2 3:5, to which is added an account of his reign both in Hebron and Jerusalem, agreeably to Sa2 5:5.
.
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1 Chronicles 3:5
ch1 3:5
ch1 3:5
ch1 3:5And these were born unto him in Jerusalem,.... Whose names follow, in all nine; there are but seven mentioned in Sa2 5:14 the reason of which see in the notes there; See Gill on Sa2 5:14. See Gill on Sa2 5:15. See Gill on Sa2 5:16. it may be observed that Bathsheba is here called Bathshua, and her father Ammiel, whose name is Eliam in Sa2 11:3, names of much the same signification.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The sons of David, ver. 1-9. His successors in…
The sons of David, ver. 1-9. His successors in the throne, ver. 10-16. The remains of his family in and after the captivity, ver. 17-24.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The children of David which were born to him…
CHAPTER III
The children of David which were born to him in Hebron, 1-4.
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Those born to him in Jerusalem, 5-9.
The regal line from Solomon, 10-24.
NOTES ON CHAP. III
Verse 1. The second, Daniel] In 2Sa 3:3, this person is called Chileab; he probably had two names. The Targum says, "The second, Daniel, who was also called Chileab, because he was in every respect like to his father." The Targumist refers here to the import of the word כלאב ke-le-ab, like to the father. Jarchi says the two names were given to this person because David, having taken Abigail immediately after the death of Nabal, it could not be ascertained whether this child were the son of David or of Nabal, therefore David called him דניאל Daniel, God is my Judge, and כלאב Chileab, he who is like to the father; probably from the striking resemblance he bore to David, his reputed father. "God is my Judge, I have not fathered another man's child; this is entirely like unto myself."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ch 3:1. Daniel — This son is called Chileab,…
1Ch 3:1. Daniel — This son is called Chileab, (2Sa 3:3,) but whether he had two names, or there be an error in one of these passages, is not possible to determine. The other alterations in names, which are found in the following verses, may be corrected by the parallel passages in Samuel. As the genealogy of Judah was given first, because the dominion was vested in that tribe, and the Messiah was to descend from it; so, for similar reasons, the genealogy of David is particularly recorded.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The sons of David - The writer returns to…
The sons of David - The writer returns to the point at which he had left the posterity of Ram 1Ch 2:9, 1Ch 2:15, and traces out the family of David - the royal house of the tribe of Judah.
Daniel - See the marginal note and reference.
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There are three lists of the sons of David, born in Jerusalem.
2Sa 5:14-16
1Ch 3:5-8
1Ch 14:4-7
1. Shammuah
Shimeah*
Shammuah
2. Shobab
Shobab
Shobab
3. Nathan
Nathan
Nathan
4. Solomon
Solomon
Solomon
5. Ibhar
Ibhar
Ibhar
6. Elishua
Elishama*
Elishua
7. a
Eliphelet*
Elpalet*
8. a
Nogah
Nogah
9. Nepheg
Nepheg
Nepheg
10. Japhia
Japhia
Japhia
11. Elishama
Elishama
Elishama
12. Eliada
Eliada
Beeliada*
13. Eliphelet
Eliphelet
Eliphelet
(Differences are marked with an asterick).
A comparison of the three lists serves to show:
(1) that “Shimeah” and the first “Elishama” in the list of this chapter are corruptions;
(2) that David had really 13 sons born in Jerusalem, of whom two - the first Eliphelet and Nogah - probably died in their childhood; and
(3) that Eliada, the twelfth son, was also called Beeliada, the term Baal, “lord,” not having (previous to the introduction of the Baal worship) a bad sense, but being regarded as an equivalent with El, “God.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Hebron, during the seven years that he reigned there…
Hebron, during the seven years that he reigned there over Juda. (Menochius) --- Jezrahel, a city of Juda, less noted than the one in Issachar. --- Daniel, or Cheliab, 2 Kings iii. 3.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain 2. The Descendants of David to Elioenai and his…
2. The Descendants of David to Elioenai and his Seven Sons: 1 Chronicles 3
1Ch_3:1.And these were the sons of David, that were born to him in Hebron: the first-born Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of 2Abigail the Carmelitess. The third Absalom,1 the son of Maachah, daughter 3of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah, son of Haggith. The fifth 4Shephatiah of Abital; the sixth Ithream, by Eglah his wife. Six were born unto him in Hebron, and he reigned there seven years and six months; and he reigned thirty and three years in Jerusalem. 5And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shima, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath 6,7shua daughter of Ammiel. And Ibhar, and Elishama,2 and Eliphelet. And Nogah,and Nepheg, and Japhia. 8And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9All the sons of David, except the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.
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10And the son of Solomon: Rehoboam, Abiah his son, Asa his son, Jehosha 11, 12phat his son. Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son. Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son. 13Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, 14Manasseh his son. Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15And the sons of Josiah: the first-born Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jechoniah his son, Zedekiah his son.
17, 18And the sons of Jechoniah the captive: Shealtiel his son. And Malchiram, and Pedaiah, and Shenazzar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. 19And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the Song of Solomon 3 of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister. 20And Hashubah, and 21Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushabhesed, five. And the Song of Solomon 4 of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jesaiah; the sons5 of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. 22And the sons of Shechaniah: Shemaiah; and the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, and Igal, and Bariah, and 23Neariah, and Shaphat, six. And the son of Neariah: Elioenai, and Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three. 24And the sons of Elioenai: Hodaiah,6 and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Delaiah, and Anani, seven.
EXEGETICAL
Preliminary Remark.—After the family of Ram, the middle son of Hezron was carried down, 1Ch_2:10-17, only to Jesse the father of David, and the genealogies of Caleb and Jerahmeel were interposed, 1Ch_2:18-55, the line of Ramites, starting from David, is resumed and traced from David to the time after the captivity. This is given in three paragraphs, of which the first registers all the sons of David except those born of concubines, 1Ch_3:1-9; the second, the series of kings of the house of David from Solomon to Jechoniah and Zedekiah, 1Ch_3:10-16; and the third, the descendants of Jechoniah to the seven sons of Elioenai, 1Ch_3:17-24. The names in the second of these paragraphs mostly recur, those in the third, at least partly, in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew (whereas Luk_3:23 ff. presents a totally different series of names from David to Shealtiel, and again from Zerubbabel to Joseph).
1. The Sons of David: 1Ch_3:1-9. a. The six sons born in Hebron: 1Ch_3:1-4.These six senior sons of David are, with one exception, enumerated literally as in 2Sa_3:2-5.—The first-born Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; literally, “to Ahinoam.” The ל before אחינעם designates the wife to whom the son belonged. Comp. on this Ahinoam, 1Sa_25:43; 1Sa_27:3, and on Amnon, who is also called Aminon (2Sa_13:20), 2 Samuel 13. The second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess. Instead of שֵׁנִי, properly “a second,” stands in the parallel 2Sa_3:3מִשְׁנֵהוּ, “his second,” with which הַמִּשְׁנֶה, 1Ch_5:12, is to be compared. A more important difference from 2Sa_3:3 is כִּלְאָב, quite another name, which stands there for דָּניֵּאל. This other designation of the second son of David may be explained by the supposition of a real double name, as in Uzziah Azariah (comp. on 2Ch_26:1), Jehoiakim Eliakim, Mattaniah Zedekiah (comp. also on 1Ch_3:15). The variant Δαλουία (perhaps = דְּלָיָה) Presented by the Sept. in 2Sa_3:3 may be an error of transcription for Δκνιήλ (or inversely “Daniel,” a later variation for the original Delaiah); but the name Cilab is still unexplained. On Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite (not to be confounded with Abigail the sister of David, 1Ch_2:16), comp. 1Sa_25:3 ff.
1Ch_3:2. The third Absalom. For אַבְשָׁלוֹם is also found אֲבְשָׁלוֹם, 1Ki_15:2; 1Ki_15:10. The ל before אַבְשָׁלוֹם might, in another connection, serve to lay emphasis on the name (“the well-known Absalom;” comp. Isa_32:1). Here, however, in a mere list of names, it scarcely has this import, but seems rather to have come into the text through an oversight, in consequence of the foregoing לאב in לַֽאֲבִיגַיִל. Other attempts to explain this לְ (which is wanting in some copies; see Note) are quite worthless, and deserve to be noted only as curiosa; for example, Kimchi’s proposal to take ל for לֹא, thereby designating him as properly not an Absalom, a father’s peace, but a rebel, or Hiller’s supposition (Onom. S. p. 733) that לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם is a fuller form for the simpler and more usual אַבְשָׁלוֹם, etc. On Geshur, comp. above 1Ch_2:23; on Adonijah, son of Haggith, comp. 1Ki_1:2.
1Ch_3:3. By Eglah his wife,לְעֶגְלָה אִשְׁתּוֹ; quite similar to 2Sa_3:5, לְעֶגְלָה אֵשֶׁת דָּוִיד. This addition “his wife,” or “wife of David,” appears to be inserted merely to make a full-toned conclusion of the series, and scarcely to distinguish Eglah as the most eminent wife of David, as some Rabbis and recently Thenius on 2Sa_3:5 think, who take Eglah only for another name of Michal, 1Sa_18:20, or even substitute מִיכָל as the original reading for עֶגְלָה (so Thenius).
1Ch_3:4. For the historical notices in this verse comp. 2Sa_2:11; 2Sa_5:5, The statement in 2Sa_2:10 (from which Ishbosheth appears to have reigned only two years in Mahanaim) conflicts only apparently with the seven years of the residence of David in Hebron; on which see Hengstenb. Gesch. d. Reiches Gottes unter dem A. B. ii. 2, p. 114 f.
b. The thirteen sons of David born in Jerusalem: 1Ch_3:5-9. These sons of David (of whom four are by Bathsheba) are again mentioned 1Ch_16:7-11, in the history of David. Less complete is the list in the parallel passage 2Sa_5:14-16, by the omission of the last two.
1Ch_3:5. The four sons of Bathsheba, or, as she is here called, Bathshua. The two names, occurring beside one another, receive their explanation from the intervening form בַּת־שֶׁוַע; as this, however, is obviously weakened from בַּת־שֶׁכַע (as בַּֽת־שׁוּעַ again is a weakening of בַּת־שֶׁוַע), the latter form appears to be the oldest and most original. Two other peculiarities of the names contained in our verse are—1. שִׁמְעָא as the name of the first of Bathsheba’s four sons, for which stands in 1Ch_14:4 and 2Sa_5:14; שַׁמּוּעַ; Ammiel (עַמִּיאֵל) the name of the father of Bathsheba, for which in 2Sa_11:3 is the form Eliam (אֱלִיעָם), containing the two elements of the name transposed. It is uncertain which of these two forms is correct and original.
1Ch_3:6-8. Here follow the nine sons born at Jerusalem of other wives. And Ibhar, and Elishama, and Eliphelet. As the two parallel passages 1Ch_14:5 and 2Sa_5:15 agree in presenting after Ibhar an Elishua, אֱלִישׁוּעַ, Elishama in our passage appears clearly an error of transcription, especially as this name occurs again in 1Ch_3:8. The following name Eliphelet (אֱלִיפֶלֶט) is found also in 1Ch_16:5, although in the somewhat abbreviated form אֶלְפֶּלֶט; on the contrary, it is wanting in 2Sa_5:15, where only one Eliphelet, the last of the series, is mentioned. It is uncertain whether this want be original, and the double position is the result of some error of the Chronist or his voucher (as Berth. thinks). That David should have repeated the same name in the sons of his different wives is of itself not incredible.
1Ch_3:7. And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia. The name נֹגָהּ, omitted by an oversight in 2Sa_5:15, is certainly original, though nothing be known concerning this Nogah, perhaps because he died early and childless. “The view of Movers, p. 229, that this name was not originally in the text, and came in by a false writing of the following נפג, has arisen from an undue preference for the text of the books of Samuel” (Berth.).
1Ch_3:8. And Elishama (comp. on 1Ch_3:6), and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. For אֶלְיָדָע appears 1Ch_16:7בְּעֶלְיָדָע, scarcely correct; for the other parallel 2Sa_5:16 and the Sept. and Syr. versions in 1Ch_14:7 have אֶלְיָדָע (Sept. cod. Vat.’Ελιαδέ—cod. Alex., indeed, Βαλλιαδέ)
1Ch_3:9. All the sons of David, except the sons of the concubines. These sons of David by concubines or slaves are also unnamed elsewhere; but their existence appears from 2Sa_5:13; 2Sa_12:11; 2Sa_15:16; 2Sa_16:22.—And Tamar their sister, not the only one, but the sister known from the history (2Sa_13:1 ff.).
2. The Kings of the House of David from Solomon to the Exile: 1Ch_3:10-16.—As far as Josiah, they are enumerated, without naming any non-reigning descendants, as a simple line of sovereigns, embracing in it fifteen members (with the omission of the usurper Athaliah as an idolater and a foreigner) by the addition of a בְּנוֹ, “his son,” to each. At variance with this course, four sons of Josiah are then named, not perhaps in him, the great reformer, “to introduce a pause in the long line of David’s descendants” (Berth.), but “because with Josiah the regular succession ceased” (Keil).—The first-born Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. To Josiah succeeded, 2Ki_23:30, 2Ch_36:1, his son Jehoahaz as king. This Jehoahaz is called in Jer_22:11 properly Shallum; he was thus, as the present list shows, the youngest, or at all events one of the youngest, among them; not to be identified with the first-born Johanan, as many older writers (Seb. Schmidt, Starke, etc.), and of the moderns, for example, Hitzig (Begriff der Kritik, etc., p. 182ff., and Gesch. d. Volks Isr. p. 246), do. For, 1. The statement of Jeremiah, that Shallum became king in his father’s stead, is quite positive and unhesitating. 2. From comparing 2Ki_23:31; 2Ki_23:36, with 2Ch_36:2; 2Ch_36:5, it appears that Jehoahaz was two years younger than Jehoiakim, and therefore not the first-born. 3. The preferring of a younger son before an older to the throne is not surprising, if we consider the analogous case of Solomon, who, though one of the youngest of the sons of David (the youngest of the four sons of Bathsheba), succeeded to the throne. 4. The double name Jehoahaz Shallum is not more surprising than Jehoahaz Johanan would be; the mutually exchanging names are in both cases, if not quite alike in meaning, yet expressive of similar ideas (יְהוֹאָחָז, “whom Jehovah holds,” and שַׁלּוּם, “who is requited (of God),” and so יְהוֹחָנָן); comp. the numerous cases of double raming, of which some examples are quoted on 1Ch_3:1, also Simonis Onom. p. 20. The only inaccuracy that can be imputed to the Chronist in the present statements is, that he names Shallum in the last place, and so appears to favour the opinion that he was the youngest of the four brothers, whereas Zedekiah was much younger than he; indeed, as a comparison of 2Ki_23:31 with 1Ch_26:18 shows, at least 13 or 14 years younger (for Shallum was 23 years old when he ascended the throne, while Zedekiah, who ascended the throne 11 years later, was then only 21 years of age). How this inaccuracy in the order is to be explained, Keil shows very well, p. 55 f.: “In our genealogy Zedekiah is placed after Jehoiakim and before Shallum, because, on the one hand, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah held the throne a longer time, each for eleven years; on the other hand, Zedekiah and Shallum were the sons of Hamutal (2Ki_23:31; 2Ki_24:18), Jehoiakim the son of Zebidah (2Ki_23:36). With respect to age, they should have succeeded thus: Johanan, Jehoiakim, Shallum, and Zedekiah; and in regard to their reign, Shallum should have stood before Jehoiakim. But in both cases those born of the same mother Hamutal would have been separated. To avoid this, Shallum appears to have been reckoned beside his brother Zedekiah in the fourth place.” Regarded thus, the passage loses its obscurity, which Nägelsbach has still imputed to it (on Jer_22:11), without going quite so far as Hitzig, who here lays a whole series of errors to the charge of the Chronist. Comp. against the imputations of the latter, Movers, p. 157 f.: “The two names (Johanan and Jehoahaz) are to be distinguished exactly as Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin; had the Chronist named Jehoahaz along with Shallum, or, as Hitzig thinks right, called him the first-born, the error would certainly have been undeniable. Further misled by the passage of Jeremiah, he has taken Shallum for another son of Josiah, the fourth, and different from Jehoahaz. Shallum Jehoahaz is certainly named the fourth in 1Ch_3:15, incorrectly indeed, for he was the third; hut the Chronist could not mistake the passage of Jeremiah, for it clearly says: ‘who (Shallum) reigned instead of Josiah his father.’ How should an error in the Jewish line of kings occur in a Jewish historian!”
1Ch_3:16. And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jechoniah his son, Zedekiah his son. Instead of יָכוֹן יָהוּ=יְכָנְיָה (whom God establishes), the son of Jehoiakim in 2Ch_36:9, as in 2Ki_24:8 ff., bears the equivalent name Jehoiachin (יְהוֹיָכִין; comp. יוֹיָכִין, Eze_1:2) whereas he is called, Jer_26:1; Jer_27:20; Jer_28:4, and Est_2:6, יְכָנְיָה, quite as here and Jer_22:24; Jer_22:28; Jer_37:1, Conjahu (בָּנְיָהוּ, an abbreviation of יְכָנְיָה ,יְכְנְיָהוּ). The Zedekiah here named can only be regarded as a son of Jechoniah, and so a grandson of Jehoiakim and great - grandson of Josiah; for the בְּנוֹ added to his name uniformly designates in the previous genealogical line the son of the aforesaid: and the circumstance; that this son of Jechoniah is named here apart from his other sons, may find its explanation in this, that this Zedekiah, perhaps the first-born, did not go into captivity with his father and brethren, but died beforehand as a royal prince in Jerusalem. He is therefore not to be confounded with the Zedekiah who was mentioned in the foregoing verse as a third son of Josiah, and, 2Ki_24:17 ff., 2Ch_36:11, became successor of Jechoniah on the throne; he is a grand-nephew of king Zedekiah, who before his accession was called Mattaniah, and whose subsequent name, as well in Chronicles (2Ch_36:10) as in Kings (2Ki_24:17 ff.), is uniformly written צִדְקִיָהוּ (not, as here, צִדְקִיָה). This last variety of name is merely graphical, though in the present case, where the double name (Mattaniah Zedekiah) serves as a mark of the king, it may have a further import. Against the assumption of some ancients (even of Starke), that the Zedekiah of our verse is the same as king Zedekiah, who is quoted (1Ch_3:15) as a son of Jehoiachin, because he was his successor on the throne, comp. the just remarks of Calov. in the Biblia illustrata. With respect to 2Ch_36:10, where Zedekiah the successor of Jehoiachin appears to be erroneously termed his brother, which in reality is only inexactness, or a wider sense of the word אָח (= relative in general), see on the passage.
3. The Descendants of Jechoniah to the Seven Sons of Elioenai: 1Ch_3:17-24.—And the sons of Jechoniah the captive. It is certainly possible to translate the words וּבְנֵי יְבָנְיָה אַסִּר with the Sept., Vulg., Kimchi, Jun., etc., and even Keil: “And the sons of Jechoniah were Assir.” But the appellative meaning of אַסִּר, “the captive,” adopted by Luther, Starke, Berth., Kamph., is decidedly preferable. For, 1. As one of the sons of Jechoniah, the early deceased Zedekiah, has been already named, we expect here a remark of Jechoniah indicating that he as captive or in captivity begat the sons now to be named. 2. An Assir, as connecting link between Jechoniah and Shealtiel, nowhere occurs, neither in Mat_1:12 nor in the Seder Olam Sutta (comp. Herzfeld, Gesch. d. V. Israel, i. 379). 3. The absence of בְּנוֹ after אַסִּר, while it stands after שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל makes it impossible to see in Assir a link between Jechoniah and Shealtiel. 4. Neither can Assir be regarded as a brother of Shealtiel, because the copula could not then be wanting between the two names, and because the singular בְֹּנוֹ after שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל is inexplicable, if two sons of Jechoniah were named. 5. The combination proposed by Keil (p. 57), that Assir, the only son of Jechoniah besides the early deceased Zedekiah, left only a daughter, by whom he became the father-in-law of Neri, a descendant of David of the line of Nathan, and by this son-in-law, again (Luk_3:27), the father, or strictly the grandfather, of Shealtiel, of Malchiram, Pedaiah, and the other sons named 1Ch_3:18, fails through its excessive artificiality, and through this, that it takes בְּנוֹ at the close of our verse, notwithstanding the constant use of the Chronist in the foregoing genealogy, in the sense of his grandson. 6. The single objection that can be made to the appellative meaning of אַסִּר, that it wants the article, loses much of its force from the abrupt and merely allusive manner of our genealogist. 7. The Masoretic accentuation points out אַסִּר as an appellative addition to יְכָנְיָה, a circumstance not to be overlooked in the present case, as it proves our interpretation to be supported by no less respectable and ancient authorities than the opposite one.
1Ch_3:18. And Malchiram, and Pedaiah, etc. These six other sons of the captive Jechoniah, Kimchi, Tremell., Piscat., Hiller, Burmann, and recently Hitzig on Hag_1:1; Hag_1:12, regard not as brothers, but as sons of Shealtiel, because Zerubbabel elsewhere appears (Hag_1:1; Ezr_3:2; Ezr_5:2; Mat_1:12) as son, or at all events direct successor, perhaps grandson, of Shealtiel, whereas here he would appear to be his nephew, if his father Pedaiah (1Ch_3:19) had actually to pass for a brother of Shealtiel. Against this hypothesis is—1. The copula before מַלְכִּירָם, which makes it impossible to regard the six named in our verse otherwise than as brothers of Shealtiel. 2. The paternal relation of Pedaiah to Zerubbabel, as attested 1Ch_3:19, may be easily reconciled with the elsewhere attested filial relation of Zerubbabel to Shealtiel, by the assumption of intermarriage or adoption; in other words, the Chronist’s making Zerubbabel to be son of Pedaiah and nephew of Shealtiel may well be taken for a more exact statement than that of the other reporters (Hag., Ezra, and Matt.). Besides, the five sons of Jechoniah named along with Shealtiel and Pedaiah are otherwise unknown. Only of Pedaiah are further descendants known in the following verses.
1Ch_3:19. And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. The latter is not elsewhere named: concerning the former, of whose identity with the celebrated prince and leader of the first band of returning captives, 536 b.c. there can be no well-founded doubt (although Hottinger, S. J. Baumgarten, Starke, and the ancients incline to assume two or even three different Zerubbabels), comp. on the previous verse.—And the son of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah. On the somewhat surprising sing. וּבֶן, on account of the plural number of sons, and the variant וּבְנֵי, see Crit. Note. Bertheau, moreover, justly remarks: “In the names of the sons of Zerubbabel appear to be reflected the hopes of the Israelites at the time of the return from Babylon, in Meshullam (friend of God), comp. Isa_42:19, Hananiah (grace of God), Berechiah, Hasadiah, Jushab-Chesed (mercy will return).”—And Shelomith their sister. She is perhaps named after the first two sons, because she sprang from the same mother. Her name divides the collective family of Zerubbabel into two groups, the former of two, the latter of five sons. Possibly the second group contains exclusively or chiefly younger sons of Zerubbabel born after the return from the exile.
1Ch_3:21. And the son of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. The two grandsons of Zerubbabel are otherwise unknown, but must have belonged to the contemporaries of Ezra, about 450 b.C.—The sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. In what relation these four families stand to Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Hananiah, is not clear, as the express statement that their heads, Rephaiah, etc., were sons of Hananiah, and brothers of those two, is wanting; and the various readings of the old translators (Sept., Vulg., Syr.), that give, instead of the plur. בְּנֵי, always the sing with the suff. בְּנוֹ, thereby originating a continuous line of descent, with seven members from Hananiah to Shechaniah, have little claim to credibility. For, 1. The line of David’s descent would, if 1Ch_3:21 actually reckoned seven successive generations, seem to be continued far into the 3d century b.C. (for in 1Ch_3:22-24 four generations more are added),—much further than a rational estimate of the age of our author, who must have lived at the latest about 330 b.C., will admit (comp. Einl. p. 3). 2. The assumption of an addition to the series, arising from a younger writer than the Chronist, is extremely doubtful. 3. The Hattush of 1Ch_3:22 appears to be the same with the descendant of David bearing the same name mentioned Ezr_8:2, a younger contemporary of Ezra, which is quite possible, and even probable, if this Hattush be the fourth in descent from Zerubbabel, but, on the contrary, impossible if he be the ninth. 4. The brief mode of enumerating with the mere בְּנוֹ, appending the son only to the father without mention of other descendants, does not agree with the verses around from 1Ch_3:18, in which a more copious enumeration, almost in every number giving a plurality of children, is presented. If it appear, on the whole, most probable that the sons of Rephaiah, etc., are designations of contemporary families of the house of David, not successive generations, it still remains doubtful how these families are connected with the last-named descendant of Zerubbabel. On this there are, in the main, two opinions among recent expositors: a. Ew., Berth., Kamph., etc., take Rephaiah, Arnan, Obadiah, and Shechaniah, as well as the two before named, Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, to be sons of Hananiah, and assume that, on account of the great celebrity and wide extension of their families, these last four sons are named, “not as individuals, but as families ” (for which cases like 1Ch_1:41; 1Ch_2:42; 1Ch_4:15; 1Ch_24:26, etc., afford examples).
b. Movers, Herzfeld, Hävernick, Keil see in these four families, generations “whose descent the Chronist could not or would not more precisely define, and therefore merely enumerates one after another” (Herzf.), and are inclined to regard the whole series from בְּנֵי רְפָיָה to the end of the chapter as “a genealogical fragment, perhaps inserted afterwards into the text of Chronicles” (Keil), and accept where possible the assumption defined by the ancients, as Heidegger, Vitringa, Carpzov, etc., of a corruption of the present Masoretic text, perhaps a gap before בְּנֵי רְפָיָה (so likewise Keil). We may reserve the choice between these two views; for while the assumption of a corruption of the text seems to be natural enough, and to be rendered even probable by the change of בְּנֵי into בּנוֹ in the Sept., yet, on the other hand, we scruple to ascribe to the Chronist an uncertain or defective knowledge concerning the families of the house of David after Zerubbabel, as it is to be presumed that he would be especially well informed on matters so near his own time.
1Ch_3:22. And the sons of Shechaniah: Shemaiah. The plur. בְּנֵי, as in 1Ch_1:41, 1Ch_2:42, etc. On Hattush son of Shemaiah, then named in the first place, see on previous verse, and Introd. § 3, Rem. The closing notice, that six sons of Shemaiah are named in all, is strange, because only five of them are named; and it is quite unfeasible, with J. H. Mich., Starke, and others (as in Gen_46:15), to assume that the father is included. We can scarcely escape the assumption, that one of the six names has fallen out of the text by an old error of transcription; but we can hardly regard the sixth name Sesa (Sessa), presented by the Vulg. in the Edit. Sixt. of 1590, as anything else than a poor emendation arising from the number שִׁשָּׁה, since no other text presents this name.
1Ch_3:23. And the son of Neariah: Elioenai. With the latter name, which is here written without ה (אֶלְיוֹעֵינַי), but elsewhere in full אֶלְיְהוֹעֵינַי (my eyes unto Jehovah), comp. Ezr_8:4, and, with respect to the sentence which contains its etymology, Psa_25:15.
1Ch_3:24. And the sons of Elioenai: Hodaiah, etc. With the name הוֹדַוְיָהוּ (or perhaps הוֹדוּיָהוּ “praise Jehovah, praise God”) compare the shorter form הוֹדַוְיָה, 1Ch_5:24, 1Ch_9:7, Ezr_2:40, and הוֹדְוָה, Neh_7:43; see also Crit. Note.
The seven sons of Elioenai here named, if we are to suppose a direct genealogical connection of the families enumerated from 1Ch_3:21 b with the before-named descendants of Zerubbabel (if, consequently, the assumption of Movers, Herzfeld, and Keil, that 1Ch_3:21 b–24 form an unconnected interpolation, is to be rejected), would be the seventh generation inclusive from Zerubbabel, and, if the length of a generation be fixed at 30 years, would have to be placed near the middle of the 4th century b.C., as, for example, Bertheau (p. 35) reckons the years 386–356 b.C., Ewald (Gesch. d. V. Isr. 2d edit. i. 229) the time after 350, as the period of the existence of the seven sons of Elioenai, who are supposed to be contemporary with the author of Chronicles. The assumption that we are here dealing with direct descendants of Zerubbabel is liable to serious doubt. For, besides the loose connection of בְּנֵי רְפָיָה and the following families in 1Ch_3:21, it appears to favour the fragment hypothesis, that “in the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew , 1, not a single name of the descendants of Zerubbabel agrees with the names in this register,” and that at least seven members must be supposed to be overleaped at once by Matthew or his genealogical voucher (so Clericus, and recently Keil). In reply to this, it may be assumed certainly, that those descendants of Zerubbabel whose pedigree is traced by the Chronist to his own time need not necessarily have been the direct ancestors of Joseph (or Mary), but that the line of Abiud, Eliakim, etc., leading to Jesus in Matthew, might have sprung from another of the seven sons of Zerubbabel. Besides, Matthew must have made very great omissions in the interval of 500 years between Zerubbabel and Joseph, as he reckons only twelve members for this period (comp. the edit. of the Bibelw. on Matt. p. 8 f.): an omission of six or seven successive members would be nothing inconceivable in his mode of proceeding. And if the genealogy of Hananiah, communicated at length by the Chronist, in particular the family of Elioenai with his seven sons, were deemed worthy of special notice on account of their celebrity, high reputation, and eminent services on behalf of the theocracy, this would not prove that the New Testament pedigree of Jesus must necessarily have mentioned these famous descendants of Zerubbabel as belonging to the ancestors of our Lord. For lowlines and obscurity, not splendour and fame, should be the characteristic of the pedigree of Jesus after the exile. if the line of the ancestors of Jesus, reaching from David to the exile, according to Mathew’s arrangement, contains crowned heads, and thus forms a lofty range of royal names, it corresponds to the plan of the apostolic genealogists, that the third line from the exile to Joseph and Mary should include in it chiefly undistinguished names, and thus form a descending line which ends in the carpenter Joseph (see Lange, p. 6). Nothing decisive can thus be inferred from a comparison of the New Testament genealogies of the Messiah with our passage for the relation of the names therein contained to the posterity of Zerubbabel, or for the question whether those named in 1Ch_3:21 b–24 are to be regarded as descendants or as remoter connections of this prince.
Footnotes:
[1]For לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם many mss. and most old prints read אַבְשָׁלוֹם. Comp. Exeg. Expl.
[2] וֶֽאֱלִישָׁמָע in this first place is perhaps an error of the transcriber for וֶֽאֱלִישׁוּעַ, which appears not only in the two parallel passages 1Ch_14:5 and 2Sa_5:15 (after וְיִבְחָר), but also in cod. vat. of the Sept, as it gives ’Ελισά.
[3]For וּבֶן before זְרֻבָּבֶל some mss., as well as the old translators, read וּבְנֵי, an unnecessary amendment (comp. Exeg. Remark on 1Ch_2:7).
[4]The same variation as in 1Ch_3:19 (see Note 2).
[5]For בני, “sons of,” the Sept. reads from this to the end of the verse בְּנוֹ, “his son,” so that from Hananiah to Shechaniah it yields a series of seven successive generations. So also R. Benjamin in R. Azariah de Rossi in Meor Aenajim (comp. Zunz, Gottesdienstliche Vorträge der Juden, p. 31).
[6] Keri: הוֹדַוְיָהוּ (for which, according to the Hebrew law of sounds, we should expect הוֹדוּיָהוּ). The Kethit הודויהי cannot be so pronounced, and appears to arise from a confusion of the forms Hodavjahu and Hodijahu.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain Ch. 1Ch_3:1-24. The Genealogy of the House of David
Ch. 1Ch_3:1-24. The Genealogy of the House of David
1–4 (= 2Sa_3:2-5). The Sons born to David in Hebron
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1. Daniel] LXX. (B) Δαμνιήλ, (A) Δαλουιά. In 2Sa_3:3 Chileab, but LXX. Δαλουιά. The real name of David’s second son remains therefore uncertain.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Amnon.—For his story see 2 Samuel 13
(1) Amnon.—For his story see 2 Samuel 13
Of Ahinoam.—Literally, to Ahin. (1Sa_25:43).
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The second Daniel of Abigail the Carmelitess.—Better, A second, Daniel, to Abigail, &c. Sam. adds, “wife of Nabal the Carmelite.” (See 1 Samuel 25 for her story.)
I.—The sons of David.—This section is parallel to 2Sa_3:2-5 (comp. 1Ch_3:1-4) and 2Sa_5:14-16 (1Ch_3:5-9), with which comp. 1Ch_14:3-7.
(1-4) The six sons born in Hebron. The sons and mothers agree with those of the parallel passage in Sam., with the one exception of the second son, who is here called Daniel, but in Samuel, Chileab. The LXX. (2Sa_3:3) has Δαλουια, which may represent Heb. Delaiah (Iah hath freed), though in our 1Ch_3:24 that name is spelt Δαλααια, or Δαλαια. In the present passage the Vatican LXX. has Δαμνιήλ, the Alex. Δαλουνια. Perhaps Daniel is a corruption of Delaiah, as this name recurs in the line of David. Chileab may have had a second name (comp. Uzziah-Azariah, Mattaniah-Zedekiah), especially as Chileab appears to be a nickname, meaning “dog.” (Comp. the Latin Canidius, Caninius, as a family name.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 1-9. The whole of this chapter is occupied…
Vers. 1-9. The whole of this chapter is occupied with the descendants of David: the first nine verses of it with his own sons, classified according to the place of their birth, Hebron or Jerusalem; the remaining verses with the line of kings of his house to Jeconiah and Zedekiah (ver. 16), the grandsons of Zerubbabel (ver. 21), and descendants of Shechaniah (ver. 24). To the seven years and six months (2Sa_2:11) of David"s reign at Hebron six sons belong, each of a different mother. To the thirty and throe years (2Sa_5:5; 1Ki_2:11) of his reign at Jerusalem belong other thirteen sons, viz. four of one mother, Bethshua, and nine of other mothers, whose names are not given. The list of the six Hebron sons, with their mothers, is nearly identical with that ofa. 2Sa_3:2-5, although the differences, slight as they are, would of the two indicate our list here rather as not copied than copied thence. The only noticeable difference, however, is in the name of the second son, announced here as Daniel, instead of Chileab, while the Septuagint has Daloui This, together with the circumstance that one word would, as regards the Hebrew characters, comparatively easily convert into the other. renders it probable that it is merely a corrupt text or text obscure at this point which has occasioned the difference. The meaning of the name Daniel, put side by side with what we read inyibal 1Sa_24:15, 1Sa_25:39, suggests strongly that it is the right name of the two. It was a name likely to be given by David to his first child by Abigail. Additional suspicion is thrown on the name Chileab through the three last letters of it, leab," constituting also the three first of the very next word, of Abigail" (lyin) which looks very much like the over-haste of the pen uncorrected. It is remarkable that the Syriac and Arabic versions translate "Caleb," both here and in the parallel passage. For the sons born in Jerusalem we have all three parallel lists at command, and the variations are rather greater. The other two lists are in 2Sa_5:14-16; 1Ch_14:4-7. The first of these omits Eliphelet and Nogah (possibly they died young or without issue) and the latter calls Eliphelet Elpalet (flpla). Again, Shimeah and Elishama in our passage must yield, overruled by the consent of the other two, to Shammuah and Elishua. Again, it is to be noticed that the name Eliada (God (la) knoweth), on occasion of its latest occurence, (1Ch_14:7) appears as Beel iada (the Lord (lb) knoweth), preserving therein probably its earlier form, viz. that used before a settled bad sense had come to be attached to the word Baal (see "Speaker"s Commentary," in loc.).
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-9.
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Checkered life.
These verses suggest to us the thought which continually recurs in studying the life of David, viz.
I HOW JOY AND SORROW MINGLE IN THE LIVES OF MEN. To David were given many elements of joy: he had the outward dignity, the comfortable and even splendid surroundings, the authority and influence which belong to Oriental sovereignty: he reigned altogether forty years (ver. 4). For this large period of his life the pleasures of regal pomp, wealth, and power were at his command. But his was far from a cloudless day. In the home circle, where the sweetest joys are commonly found, there were abundant sources of trouble and distress. In his "first love," Michal, he was bitterly disappointed, and she was "childless unto the day of her death." His concubines deserted and dishonoured him. (2Sa_16:22) As we read in these verses (vers. 1-8) the names of his children, we are struck with the thought how little there was in them to give their father a parent"s joy! how much to cause him a profound anxiety, or even poignant grief! If national prosperity or military success elated the king"s heart, domestic dissatisfaction, home troubles, must soon have clouded his brow. Thus is it with us all: joy and sorrow may not spring from these two sources, they may not mingle in these proportions, but they are bound up together in the same bundle; they intermingle and interlace in every human life. Bodily gratifications, success, power, the endearments of human love, the hope of higher and greater things, the joy of beneficence, on the one hand; care, loss, toil, disappointment, regret, the "wounded spirit," on the other hand. It is a checkered scene, this plain of human life; sunshine and shadow fall fitfully upon it as we pass on to the far horizon. This aspect of David"s household, recalling to us the contrasts of his experience, may lead us to remember
II HOW GOD DISCIPLINES OUR HEARTS. David would hardly have been the humble and devout man he was and continued to be, if he had enjoyed an unbroken course of triumph and satisfaction. The best graces of the human soul cannot thrive in perpetual sunshine; they must have the searching winds and the pelting rains of heaven. If God sends us loss and trouble, if he "breaks our schemes of earthly joy," it is to foster in our hearts those virtues of meekness, resignation, lowliness of heart, considerateness of others, etc., which we should not keep alive if the "barns were always filled with plenty," and the cup were always overflowing with earthly joy. We may especially learn here
III How GOD PREPARES US FOR HOLY SERVICE. David would never have left us the psalms which proceeded from his pen if his earthly life had not been the checkered thing it was. It was from a troubled if not a broken heart that those deep utterances were poured. It was from a soul that could find no rest and joy but in the faithful God, "the very present Help in trouble," that flowed the precious passages which are the comfort of mankind.
1. God never calls us to any estate so high as that of sacred service thespiritual help we render our kind.
2. We cannot possibly serve to the full height of our power if we do notlearn sympathy by suffering.
3. Therefore God leads his children into deep waters, that, through suchbaptism, they may comfort, heal, and bless the sorrowing and stricken souls who wait their ministering hand. C. HOMILIES BY F. WHITFIELD Vers. 1-24.
Genealogy of Israel"s royal household.
Before entering upon the genealogies of the tribes of Israel in their due order, we are directed to fix our attention on the royal line. In vers. 1-9 we have all the sons of David enumerated, viz. six born in Hebron and thirteen in Jerusalem. The number of David"s sons born after his removal to Jerusalem was eleven; only nine are mentioned here two are omitted, either on account of early death or no issue. In vers. 10-16 the line is given from Solomon to Jeconiah and Zedekiah the time of the Exile. From vers. 17-24 we have the line of the captive and exiled Jeconiah, and other families. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned over forty years. Seven years and a half of these were over Judah in Hebron, and thirty-three over Israel and Judah united in Jerusalem. In 2Sa 5. we have his first public anointing to be king over Israel. This anointing took place at the time that David was king over Judah in Hebron. In 2Sa 2. we are told that the men of Judah came to Hebron to which place David went by the command of God and there they anointed him king. This, however, was not his first anointing. The Divine call and anointing took place ten years previously, during the reign of Saul, and was carried out at God"s command by Samuel the prophet, as is fully recorded in 1Sa 16. Of Solomon himself little is said in this chapter. He reigned forty years over Israel in Jerusalem. Our attention is chiefly directed to David. The historian enters into more minute details in his case, both with regard to his family and to his reign. As the head of the royal line, he is brought into greater prominence. As the type of Christ, this is also as it should be. From this fountain-head all blessings flow. David, like David"s Son and Lord, has here the pre-eminence. Throughout this chapter three kings of the royal line stand prominently forward in connection with the people of God David, Solomon, and Zedekiah. Others, such as Josiah and Hezekiah, were distinguished as kings, but it is to these our attention is chiefly directed, on account of their typical bearing in connection with the kingdom of God. We shall look at them in this light, and see the reason why such prominence is given. W.
Vers. 1-9.
The kings of the royal line David and Solomon: the lessons of their lives.
Under the reign of David the kingdoms of Israel and Judah may be said to have been established. It was marked from first to last by conflict, war, and bloodshed. Foes on every side, both hidden and open, had to be encountered, battle after battle to be fought. In all this he stood alone, and thus stands before us as the type of Christ. He encountered all our spiritual foes. He fought the great fight. "Oft the people there was none with him." All the powers of darkness were leagued against him. He endured the frown of man, and bore the wrath of God. He fought the fight and won the victory, and the kingdom of God was thus established in the Name of David"s Son and Lord. In his sufferings in Gethsemane and on the cross he trod all the powers of darkness down, and in his resurrection from the dead God set his seal to the accomplishment of his work and the establishment of his spiritual kingdom, against which the gates of hell can never prevail. Of him it could be said, as was said of David himself, (see 1Ch_22:18) only in an infinitely higher sense, "Hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people." But, though David may be said to have founded and established the kingdom, he was not permitted to build the house of God. This was to be Solomon"s work. The kingdom, thus established, was passed over to him to erect in it the great temple of God. Solomon, "the peaceful one," as his name signifies, was thus entrusted to complete the great work for which David had made all the preparation. Solomon follows David spiritually as surely as historically. It is but the gospel story in another form. In these early chapters of this book we see these names of David, Solomon, and Zedekiah closely interwoven with those of the twelve tribes, or the entire family of God. They are, in fact, inseparable. As the "vine and the branches," they are one living tree. Not only is it true of David and Solomon spiritually, but of all God"s people it is first conflict, then rest. It is through the former we enter into the latter. "Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom." Only they who "fight the good fight of faith," who are the true soldiers of the cross, know how deep is the peace of God that becomes the portion of the soul. There is a peace which flows from the sight of a suffering Saviour bearing our sins. This is not the peace we mean. It is that peace which is the result of being true to Christ, living near to him, being wholly on his side a marked man who is not ashamed of his reproach. All this involves a daily, yea, hourly, conflict; and out of this God opens the channels of the soul for a peace to flow in which "passeth all understanding," and to which other Christians are strangers. But not only are David and Solomon the law of the kingdom of God, it is the law of all things. Before the peace always goes the sword. This was our Lord"s teaching when he said, "I am not come to send peace, but a sword." Peace follows. The storm and tempest are absolutely necessary to purify the air. To these both spring and summer owe their beauty. It is first the sorrow and then the joy that is the order of life. "The evening and the morning were the first day," and seem on the very first page of God"s Word to reflect this truth. Through the evening the world still passes to its mornings. The first chapter of Genesis is all sunlight. But what a deep, dark cloud passes over all the book of God, what a history of sin and sorrow, crying and tears, till we reach its close, and then the sun rises again, never more to go down! We might go on to show how all life is full of this law; but this will suffice to help the reader"s further thoughts. And as every stone of Solomon"s temple rested on the work David had finished, and the preparation he had made, so do all the "living stones" of God"s spiritual temple rest on the finished work of Christ, and erything really substantial on his conflict, struggle, and cross. And peace deeper than anything Solomon"s reign could shadow forth fills their souls, even that peace which was his gift to all his people when he said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Now these are the sons of David.
1Ch_3:1-9
Now these are the sons of David.
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A family record
As we read their names they convey no meaning to us, but as defined etymologically we may get a new aspect of part at least of the kings household. Ibhar signifies God chooseth; Elishama, God heareth; Eliphelet, God is deliverance; Eliada, God knoweth. Keeping in mind the well-established feet that in Oriental countries it was customary to mark family history by the names of the children, we can but be struck with the deep religiousness of the family record now before us. In every child David sees some new manifestation of God. Every son was an historical landmark, Every life was a new phase of providence. Blessed is the man who need not look beyond his own house for signs and proofs of the manifold and never-ceasing goodness of God. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Significance of Hebrew names
A name is to us a matter of convenience; to the Hebrews it was a solemn and sacred thing. Our names are short and simple, and generally meaningless. Bible names are thought-fossils, rich in memories of the past. We often designate our streets by the letters of the alphabet, we distinguish our houses by Arabic numerals, and in large bodies of men we distinguish one from another by placing numbers on their caps or badges. The number on the house has nothing to do with the size or location of the dwelling; the number on the cap or badge tells nothing of the brain or heart beneath. But the old Hebrews would have thought it sacrilegious to give names in such careless fashion. Their names of places were often given altar solemn thought and prayer. Historical records were few. The name must contain the history of the past and embody the sublimest hopes of the future. The name Bethel, or House of God, recalled to every Jew the night when Jacob slept on his stony pillow, and the word Meribah, or bitterness, commemorated in the mind of every Jewish boy the murmuring and rebellion in the wilderness. (W. P. Faunce.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain CRITICAL NOTES.] Having completed list of descendants of Jerahmeel…
CRITICAL NOTES.] Having completed list of descendants of Jerahmeel and Caleb writer returns to ch. 1Ch_2:15, gives line of David, royal house of tribe of Judah, to the Captivity and afterwards. Many difficulties in names and order cannot be touched here.
1Ch_3:1-9.—Sons of David. First, those born in Hebron. Daniel, Chileab (2Sa_3:3). Reigned, 1Ch_3:4 (2Sa_2:11; 2Sa_5:5; 1Ki_2:11). Second, those born in Jerusalem, 1Ch_3:5-9. Shimea, Shamnuah; Bathshua, Bathsheba; Ammiel, Eliam, letters merely transposed. Concubines.—1Ch_3:9 (2Sa_15:16), “One daughter (Tamar) mentioned according to rule, that daughters are given only when the line is saved, or that they had for special reasons made a place for themselves in history” [Murphy].
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1Ch_3:10-16.—Descent to Captivity. First, as far as King Josiah, 1Ch_3:10-14. Abia, or Abijah, for Abijam (1Ki_15:1). Azariah (“help of Jah”), called Uzziah (“strength of Jah”) in 2Ki_15:30, immediately after death, and so named elsewhere (2Ch_26:1; 2Ki_14:21). Four successions follow sons of Josiah, 1Ch_3:15-16. Jeconiah, 1Ch_3:16; Coniah in Jer_22:24, and Jehoiachin in Kings, meaning “Jehovah will establish.”
1Ch_3:17-24.—Descent to Exile and afterwards. This text is difficult and disarranged apparently. The following arrangement is given by Dr. Davidson (Hermeneutics): “V. 17. And the sons of Jeconiah the captive; Salathiel (asked of God) (Shealtiel, Ezr_3:2; Neh_12:1; Hag_1:12; Hag_1:14; Hag_2:2) his son: 1Ch_5:18. And the sons of Salathiel; Zerubbabel (sown i.e., begotten, in Babylon—who was the direct son of Pedaiah; but omitting several intermediate links, is called the son of Salathiel, Mat_1:12) and Shimei (renowned): and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam (friend, i.e., of God), Hananiah (graciously given of God), and Shelomith (pacific), their sister. 1Ch_3:19. And Hashubah (esteemed), and Ohel, and Berechiah (blessed of Jehovah), and Hasadiah (beloved of God), Jushab-hezed (whose love is returned).
1Ch_3:20. And Malchiram, and Rephaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
1Ch_3:21. The sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah; his son Arnan, his son Obadiah (worshipper of Jehovah), his son Shecaniah (dwelling with Jehovah).”
1Ch_3:22.—Shemaiah, or Shimei (1Ch_3:19, cf. Zec_12:13). Hattush probably accompanied Ezra from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezr_8:2).
HOMILETICS
THE SONS OF DAVID.—1Ch_3:1-10
I. Their places of birth. The verses classified according to the place of birth. In Hebron, six sons born, each of a different mother. In Jerusalem, thirteen, four of one mother and nine of others not mentioned. Places often identified with birth of important persons. Bunyan and Bedford, &c. Let character and conduct give renown to place.
II. Their varied lives. Absolalom, son of a king’s daughter, a murderer and rebel, “died a fool.” Amnon violated his sister Tamar, and was slain. Adonijah conspired against the throne, and met with bitter disappointment. Nathan reminded his father of the prophet who reproved his sin, brought him to repentance, and had the honour of belonging to the ancestry of Jesus (Luk_3:31). Solomon, wisest, most gifted, and successor. But what checkered lives! Little to give parental joy. Much to cause anxiety and grief. Amid the splendour of his reign and the power of his palace, his cup was mixed with grief and sorrow, &c. “Trust not thou in their (children’s) life, neither respect their multitude: for one that is just is better than a thousand; and better it is to die without children, than to have them that are ungodly” (Sir_16:3).
“Virtue, not pedigree, stamps nobility.”
THE GOLDEN AGE.—1Ch_3:10-16
David’s successors given up to the Captivity. For convenience call it the golden age.
I. The description of the period.
1. A long period. “Seldom has a crown gone in direct line from father to son for seventeen descents together as here”—say Henry. Judah survived Kingdom of Israel by 135 years, and lasted from B.C. 975 to B.C. 586.
2. A prosperous period. In population, resources, and empire Judah great; soil fertile; aristocracy hereditary in sacerdotal caste; an army always subordinate; a venerated centre of worship and administration; on the whole, peaceful and uninterrupted success of kings. In language, literature, and religion a glorious period.
II. The nature of individual reigns. Peaceful and warlike; powerful and weak; long and short. Kings wise and foolish; godly and idolatrous; reigned by natural right and fixed on throne by foreign potentates. The first part began in splendour, the latter ended in desolation. In David and Solomon we pass from conflict to peace; in Jeconiah and Zedekiah from grief to exile.
“This strange, sad world is but our Father’s school;
All chance and change His love shall grandly overrule”
[F. R. Havergal].
THE DECAYING GLORY.—1Ch_3:17-24
In these verses we have the royal remnant during captivity. The decaying glory.
I. The dark beginning. Jeconiah adopted Salathiel, otherwise written childless, the signet God plucked from his hand, dear as an ornament, yet rejected (Jer_22:24). There is a striking contrast between this beautiful name (Jehoiakin, Jehovah will establish) and the miserable fate of the man. Enthroned by Necho, powerless against Nebuchadnezzar, Jerusalem was besieged, Jeconiah taken prisoner, bound in fetters and carried to Babylon (2Ch_36:6-7).
II. The gradual decay. Zerubbabel the last with any shred of authority. After him royal line disappears into obscure private life. Nehemiah next governor of whom we read. Sennacherib repulsed, religious revivals under Hezekiah and Josiah, but the impious reign of Manasseh and the lingering decay of the people under the four feeble descendants of Josiah prepared for the final ruin. Babylon in successive deportations drained away their strength. The temple was destroyed amid wailing of prophets; the nation ceased amid taunts of heathen tribes, released from the yoke of David. “The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish: yea, those nations shall be utterly destroyed.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
1Ch_3:1-24. Review the list.
1. Indicative of God’s providential discipline. In bestowing mercy upon bad men, fulfilling his word to good men, and unfolding his purpose in wonderful events to all ages.
2. Indicative of vicissitudes in human life. In joy and grief, in splendours of the palace and the obscurity of exile. Revolutions in time and place. Change everywhere. “There is no remembrance of former things: neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come hereafter” (Ecc_1:11).
3. Indicative of vanity of worldly fame. The humorist Thackeray asks, “What boots it whether it be Westminster or a little country spire which covers your ashes; or if a few days sooner or later the world forgets you?”
“Thus are we fortune’s pastimes; one day live
Advanced to heaven by the people’s breath,
The next, hurled down into th’ abyss of death” [May].
1Ch_3:10-16. Sketch the lives of David and Solomon, Hezekiah’s reign, Manasseh’s wickedness, and Josiah’s piety.
1Ch_3:19. Zerubbabel.
1. Distinguished in work. (a) Leading a liberated people to their own land. (b) Rebuilding the Temple. (c) Instituting civil government.
2. Distinguished in the prosecution of that work. Courage, patience, faith, and enthusiasm. A personal example and a power among his people.
3. Distinguished as the object of prophecy. Often addressed by name by Haggai and Zechariah; received glorious predictions concerning temple he was building and future magnificence of Jerusalem and Judah, which exercised great influence upon his mind and preserved a spirit which endured till the coming of Christ. A name suggestive of important events.
1. Return of captives.
2. Restoration of national government.
3. Establishment of religious worship. “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house,” &c. (Zec_4:9).
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
1Ch_3:1-24. Sons of, &c. It was, perhaps, ordained by Providence, to hinder us from tyrannising over one another, that no individual should be of such importance as to cause, by his retirement or death, any chasm in the world [Dr. Johnson].
“Men die and are forgotten. The great world
Goes on the same. Among the myriads
Of men that live, or have lived, or shall live,
What is a single life, or thine, or mine,
That we should think all nature would stand still
If we were gone?
The great are not great to me unless they are good” [S. Richardson].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Genealogies (continued)
Genealogies (continued)
The genealogies here include the sons of David, his successors on the throne of Judah, and the descendants of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin).
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1. The sons of David] Some of the names that follow are given differently in the corresponding sections in 2Sa_3:2-5; 2Sa_5:13-16 : cp. also 2Sa_14:3-7.
5. Nathan] According to St. Luke's genealogy he was ancestor of our Lord, 2Sa_3:31.
Bath-shua] i.e. Bathsheba.
15. Johanan] This son of Josiah was never king and presumably died before his father. Shallum] probably the Jehoahaz of 2Ki_23:30, since he was younger than his brother and successor, Jehoiakim: cp. also Jer_22:11.
16. Jeconiah] called also Jehoiachin (2Ki_24:6) and Coniah (Jer_22:24). Zedekiah his son] The Zedekiah of this verse is probably identical with the Zedekiah of 1Ch_3:15, and consequently was brother (not son) of Jehoiakim (2Ki_24:17), and uncle of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) whom he succeeded.
17. Jeconiah; Assir] RV 'Jeconiah the captive.' Salathiel] the Shealtiel of Ezr_3:2. He is called son of Jeconiah because he was his heir, but he belonged to the line of Nathan, a younger son of David.
18. Shenazar] possibly the Sheshbazzar of Ezr_1:8 : see note there.
19. Zerubbabel] here represented as son of Pedaiah and nephew of Salathiel (Shealtiel); but in Ezr_3:2 styled 'son, of Shealtiel': see note there.
21. Pelatiah, etc.] It seems most likely that this and the five names that follow all represent sons of Hananiah, constituting a single generation, in which case the generations reckoned after Zerubbabel amount to six. Zerubbabel lived about 520 b.c., and if 30 years be reckoned as a generation, the sixth generation would bring the last down to about 340 (the time of Alexander the Great).
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain CHAPTER 3 From David to Zedekiah
CHAPTER 3 From David to Zedekiah
1. The sons of David (1Ch 3:1-9)
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2. David’s line to Zedekiah (1Ch 3:10-15)
3. The sons of Jeconiah (1Ch 3:16-24)
Six sons were born to David during his reign in Hebron. Four are mentioned as the offspring from Bath-shua, another name for Bath-sheba (2Sa 11:3). Then follow the names of other nine sons. As the name Elishama appears twice, it has been suggested that one is Elishua (2Sa 5:15). Eglah is called David’s wife. Some claim that it is Michal, who became childless after her mockery when David danced before the ark. Then the line of Solomon is traced up to Zedekiah. The usurping Queen Athaliah (2Ki 11:3) is omitted, for she was not of the house of David. Then follows the list of the sons of Jeconiah. The name “Assir” which follows Jeconiah in verse 17 means “the captive.” “Jeconiah, the captive,” is the proper rendering. His son Salathiel was therefore born in the captivity (Mat 1:12). Jeconiah was written “childless,” which does not mean that he was to have no sons, but that no son of his should sit upon the throne of David (Jer 22:30). The son of Salathiel was Zerubbabel (Mat 1:12; Ezr 3:2; Ezr 5:2; Hag 1:1; Hag 1:12). It seems that, in some way, the different names as they appear in the Hebrew text were dislocated. The following arrangement has been suggested to remove the difficulty.
“And the sons of Jeconiah, the captive, Salathiel, his son. And the sons of Salathiel; Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, Hananiah and Shelomith their sister. And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, jushab-hezed. And Malchiram, and Rephaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. The sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah and Jesiah; the sons of Rephaiah; his son Arnan, his son Obadiah, his son Shecaniah.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain From David to the Exile
From David to the Exile
v. 1. Now, these were the sons of David which were born unto him in Hebron, after his accession to the throne, but before the conquest of Jerusalem: the first-born, Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, who, therefore, aspired to the throne; the second, Daniel (or Chileab, 2Sa 3:3), of Abigail the Carmelitess;
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v. 2. the third, Absalom, the son of Maachah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith;
v. 3. the fifth, Shephatiah, of Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, his wife, whom we have no reason to identify with Michal, as many commentators do, since it is expressly stated that. Michal had no child, at least from David, till the day of her death, 2Sa 6:23. For the whole passage compare 2Sa 3:2-5.
v. 4. These six were born unto him in Hebron, and, in the natural order of things, would have been heirs to the throne in that order; and there he reigned seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years, 2Sa 5:5.
v. 5. And these were born unto him in Jerusalem: Shimea (or Shammua), and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four; of Bathshua (or Bathsheba), the daughter of Ammiel, called Eliam 2Sa 11:3;
v. 6. Ibhar also, and Elishama (or Elishua), and Eliphelet,
v. 7. and Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
v. 8. arid Elishama, and Eliada (or Beeliada), and Eliphelet, nine. Cf 2Sa 5:14-16.
v. 9. These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar, their sister, the full sister of Absalom, against whom Amnon sinned so grievously, 2Sa 13:1.
v. 10. And Solomon’s son was Rehoboam (the men named from here on being the princes who succeeded their fathers on the throne of Judah, except toward the end of the seventeen successive reigns in the same dynasty), Abia (or Abijam), his son; Asa, his son; Jehoshaphat, his son;
v. 11. Joram, his son; Ahaziah (or Azariah, or Jehoahaz), his son; Joash, his son;
v. 12. Amaziah, his son; Azariah (or Uzziah), his son; Jotham, his son;
v. 13. Ahaz, his son; Hezekiah, his son; Manasseh, his son;
v. 14. Amon, his son; Josiah, his son.
v. 15. And the sons of Josiah, after whose death the disintegration of the kingdom set-in in earnest, were: the first born, Johanan (or Jehoahaz), who reigned only three months; the second, Jehoiakim, invested with the royal power by Pharaoh-nechoh; the third, Zedekiah, whose original name was Mattaniah; the fourth, Shallum.
v. 16. And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jeeoniah (or Jehoiachin, or Coniah), his son; Zedekiah, his son. Thus the Lord, by virtue of His promise to David and as a reward for his piety, kept his lineal descendants on the throne of Judah during all these years, a token of the fulfilment of the greater promise, the sending of the Messiah.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 David was a son of Jesse, who was a…
David
David was a son of Jesse, who was a descendant of Judah. (See: 1 Chronicles 2:15)
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Ahinoam ... Abigail ... Maakah ... Haggith ... Abital ... Eglah
These are the names of women, all of whom were David's wives. (See: How to Translate Names)
Talmai ... Shephatiah ... Ithream
These are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)
Daniel
This man has the same name as an Israelite prophet but is a different person.
translationWords
son
David
Hebron
firstborn
Amnon
Carmel
Absalom
king
Geshur
Adonijah
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 3:1-24 The genealogy of David continues the genealogy of…
3:1-24 The genealogy of David continues the genealogy of Ram (2:10-17), which included David as the seventh son of Jesse (2:15). David’s genealogy is divided into three sections: David’s sons (3:1-9); the kings of Judah down to Jehoiachin and Zedekiah (3:10-16), who were exiled to Babylon; and the descendants of Jehoiachin down to the time of the Chronicler (3:17-24).
3:1-9 The list of David’s sons relies on information from Samuel (2 Sam 3:2-5; 5:14-16); the list is divided between sons . . . born while David ruled in Hebron, and those born . . . in Jerusalem.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.