The Genealogies: 1 Chronicles 1-9:34

Narrator: Ivona Gentwo
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1 Chronicles 1 to 9:34
As we approach the first chapters of this book, it seems helpful to insist upon the importance of genealogies for the people of Israel.
They were necessary because, since the promise of the inheritance of Canaan had been made to Abraham and his seed, this seed had to be registered, since it alone had the right to enter the promised land.
Having arrived in Canaan, the people needed their genealogies in order to divide the land among their tribes and fathers' houses.
They were likewise necessary in order to prevent the surrounding nations from mixing with the chosen people.
Finally, and above all, they were indispensable in view of Messiah's kingship, for His lineage must go back through the series of kings, to Judah "the lawgiver," and then from Judah to Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Noah, Adam and God!
The genealogies were also important in order to establish the succession of the Aaronic priesthood, destined to walk continually before the true King, Jehovah's Anointed.
This, in brief, is the value of the genealogies. Their usefulness was all the greater ever since the people, after having fallen under God's judgment, passed through a period of disorder during which it was difficult, often even impossible, to prove their descent, as we see in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Yet we should quickly note that if one wants to enter into the details of the subject before us, one must be very guarded in his conclusions, for Jewish genealogies present innumerable difficulties. First, very frequently those who are called the son of so-and-so are not necessarily his children at all, but his grandsons, or even his grandnephews. Then there are cases where the head of a clan is regarded as the father of a generation, all the generations between being omitted. There are cases where through the "right of redemption" a distant relative (see the Book of Ruth) becomes the head of an extinct family. There are those cases, very frequent during the captivity, where one family took a place in the inheritance of another family which had disappeared, without being related by direct descent to the head of that race. There are cases too where, the name of ancestors being missing, the name of the birthplace replaced, so to say, the name of the family head. There are cases, common among the Jews, where a person had more than one name (see, for example, these well-known names: Benjamin and Benoni, Reuel and Jethro, Solomon and Jedidiah, etc.). And lastly there are cases where an abridged genealogy was given, the names indicated being nothing more than a few pointers to establish the line of descent.
These facts explain why the enumeration of the same tribe, given at two different periods, displays very noticeable differences. This becomes even more complicated due to the fact that the genealogies contain intentional omissions or transpositions of names meant to emphasize the purpose of the Spirit of God, especially in the book which we are studying.
Added to these many difficulties are the following problems. Sometimes the genealogies of Chronicles contain names of very ancient origin, which we do not find elsewhere in the Old Testament. Many names are not those of individuals, but of clans or families. Others are genealogies which we might term geographic, including, for want of other source material, the names of tribes, of districts, of cities. We have mentioned this fact in our study of Ezra 2. We find it again in 1 Chron. 2:18-24, 25-33, 42-55; 4:1-23, 28-33; 5:11-17; 7:37-4018And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. 19And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur. 20And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel. 21And 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. 22And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. 23And 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. 24And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa. (1 Chronicles 2:18‑24)
25And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah. 26Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. 28And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur. 29And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid. 30And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children. 31And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai. 32And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children. 33And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. (1 Chronicles 2:25‑33)
42Now 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. 43And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. 44And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai. 45And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Beth-zur. 46And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez. 47And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph. 48Maachah, Caleb's concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah. 49She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah. 50These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim, 51Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader. 52And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites. 53And the families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites. 54The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites. 55And 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. (1 Chronicles 2:42‑55)
1The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 2And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 3And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: 4And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem. 5And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan. 8And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. 9And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. 11And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton. 12And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah. 13And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath. 14And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen. 15And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz. 16And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel. 17And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. 19And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. 20And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth. 21The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea, 22And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And these are ancient things. 23These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. (1 Chronicles 4:1‑23)
28And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual, 29And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, 30And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, 31And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. 32And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities: 33And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy. (1 Chronicles 4:28‑33)
11And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah: 12Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 13And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven. 14These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; 15Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. 16And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders. 17All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. (1 Chronicles 5:11‑17)
37Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 38And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. 39And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia. 40All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father's house, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men. (1 Chronicles 7:37‑40), etc.
It would be easy to add other difficulties to this already long list. What has been said already should be sufficient to warn Christians who, when they attempt to study the genealogies, stumble over apparent contradictions at every step. Not that the subject in itself does not edify, as for that matter the entire Word of God does, but it is useless to enter upon it simply with one's own intelligence, as the rationalists have so often done. Moreover, we would hasten to point out that these are not the genealogies which the apostle warns us not to give heed to (1 Tim. 1:44Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. (1 Timothy 1:4); Titus. 3:9); he was warning against a certain philosophical system that sought to establish endless degrees in a hierarchy of spirits.
As we approach this study we would again insist upon the important fact that after the captivity, due to negligence, indifference, or other causes innumerable gaps existed in the genealogies, and that on this account it was often impossible to recognize certain persons as composing part of Israel, unless at the given moment a divine declaration by the Urim and Thummim should intervene (Ezra 2:6363And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim. (Ezra 2:63)).