1Ch 2:1 These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,
The sons of Israel - The order of the names here approximates to an order determined by legitimacy of birth. Dan’s undue prominency may, perhaps, be accounted for by his occupying the seventh place in the “blessing of Jacob” Gen_49:16.
These are the sons of Israel - For this genealogy see the parallel places at Gen_29:32; Gen_30:5; Gen_35:18, Gen_35:22; Gen_46:8, etc.
The twelve sons of Israel - first, the six sons of Leah; then Dan, the son of Rachel's handmaid; next, the sons of Rachel; and finally, the remaining sons of the handmaids. That a different place is assigned to Dan, viz., before the sons of Rachel, from that which he holds in the list in Gen_35:23., is perhaps to be accounted for by Rachel's wishing the son of her maid Bilhah to be accounted her own.
1Ch 2:2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
1Ch 2:3 The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.
The sons of Judah - The genealogy begins with him, though the fourth son of Jacob; because this book treats chiefly of the kings of Judah and because Jesse and David sprang from him, as well as the Messiah:
The sons of Judah - Whom he puts first, because the best part of the right of the firstborn, namely, the dominion, was conferred upon him, Gen_49:8, and because the Messiah was to come out of his loins.
1Ch 2:4 And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah - Through incest; they were twins, Gen_38:27 all the sons of Judah were five; who are before mentioned by name.
1Ch 2:5 The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul.
1Ch 2:6 And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.
The sons of Zerah - Here, for the first time, the writer of Chronicles draws from sources not otherwise known to us, recording facts not mentioned in the earlier Scriptures. Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara, sons of Zerah, are only known to us from this passage.
The sons of Zerah - If these be the same who are mentioned as the sons of Machol, 1Ki_4:31, either the same man had two names, Zerah and Machol, as was usual among the Hebrews: or, one of these was their immediate father, and the other their grand - father. These are named, because they were the glory of their father's house. When the Holy Ghost would magnify the wisdom of Solomon, he saith, he was wiser than these four men. That four brothers should be so eminent, was a rare thing.
The sons of Zerah - These five are here stated to be the sons of Zerah, that is, of Ezra, whence they were called Ezrahites (1Ki_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," &c. 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 in Egypt .
1Ch 2:7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.
And the sons of Carmi - “Achan” Jos_7:1 seems to have become “Achar,” in order to assimilate the word more closely to the Hebrew term for “troubler,” which was from the time of Achan’s sin regarded as the true meaning of his name Jos_7:25-26.
And the sons of Carmi - The Targum adds, this is Zimri; but in Jos_7:1 Carmi is said to be the son of Zabdi, who seems to be the same with Zimri; and some supply the word here, and read the sons of Zimri, Carmi, Achar, who was the grandson of Zimri; his proper name was Achan, Jos_7:1, but called Achar here by way of reproach. Jos_7:1 But the sons of Israel committed a sin in the cursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the thing which was cursed. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against the sons of Israel.
the troubler of Israel - "who transgressed in the thing accursed" devoted to the Lord, by taking it away for his own use, see Jos_6:17, hence the valley in which he was put to death was called Achor, Jos_6:26.
1Ch 2:8 And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.
The only name given here as that of a descendant of Ethan is Azariah, of whom nothing further is known, while the name recurs frequently. Nothing more is said of the remaining sons of Zerah; they are merely set down as famous men of antiquity. The posterity of the other three sons of Zerah are not mentioned, either because the writer could not find the genealogy of them or because the kingdom did not proceed from him, and returns to the genealogy of Hezron, from whence it did, or perhaps they had no children.
1Ch 2:9 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.
Chelubai - afterwards called Caleb.
The sons of Hezron - Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai; but the families springing from them are enumerated in a different order. First (1Ch_2:10-17) we have the family of Ram, because King David is descended from him; then (1Ch_2:18-24) the family of Chelubai or Caleb, from whose lineage came the illustrious Bezaleel; and finally (vv. 25-41), the posterity of the first-born, Jerahmeel.
1Ch 2:10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;
And Ram begat Amminadab - Ram is the same with Aram , Mat_1:3 the genealogy is carried down from him to Jesse in the same order as there, and in Rth_4:19 only here Nahshon the son of Amminadab is called the prince of the children of Judah .
the prince of the children of Judah - which is written for the honor of David, who descended from him; and Salmon his son is here called Salma.
And Ram begat Amminadab - The family of Ram (1Ch_2:10-12), traced down through six members of Jesse. - This genealogy is also to be found in Ruth. 1Ch_4:19-21; but only here is Nahshon made more prominent than the others, by the addition, “prince of the sons of Judah .” Nahshon was a prince of Judah at the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (Num_1:7; Num_2:3; Num_7:12). Now between him, a contemporary of Moses, and Pharez, who at the immigration of Jacob into Egypt was about fifteen years old, lies a period of 430 years, during which the Israelites remained in Egypt . For that time only three names - Hezron, Ram, and Amminidab - are mentioned, from which it is clear that several links must have been passed over. So also, from Nahshon to David, for a period of over 400 years, four generations - Salma, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse - are too few; and consequently here also the less famous ancestors of David are omitted.
1Ch 2:11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,
1Ch 2:12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,
1Ch 2:13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,
And Jesse begat - Jesse had eight sons, 1Sa_16:10, one of them therefore is not reckoned, either because he was by another woman, and the writer only mentions those that were of the same mother with David as some scholars think; some others say he was dead before David came to the kingdom;
1Ch 2:14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,
1Ch 2:15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:
David the seventh - Jesse had eight sons, of whom David was the youngest 1Sa_16:10-11; 1Sa_17:12. Probably one of the sons shown to Samuel at Bethlehem did not grow up, died at an early age, without leaving issue.
David the seventh - It appears from the parallel places of Samuel, that Jesse had eight sons, of whom David was the eighth and youngest; but one may have died before David came to the throne. 1Sa_16:10, 1Sa_16:11, 1Sa_17:12-14
1Ch 2:16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.
Sisters - half-sisters. Abigail and Zeruiah were daughters not of Jesse, but of a certain Nahash, whose widow Jesse took to wife 2Sa_17:25. The sisters of David have become known through their heroic sons. Zeruiah is the mother of the heroes of the Davidic history, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel (cf. 1Sa_26:6; 2Sa_2:18; 2Sa_3:39; 2Sa_8:16, and elsewhere). Their father is nowhere mentioned. Abigail was, according to 2Sa_17:25, the daughter of Nahash, a sister of Zeruiah, and so was only a half-sister of David, and was the mother of Amasa the captain of the host, so well known on account of his share in the conspiracy of Absalom; cf. 2Sa_17:25; 2Sa_19:14, and 2Sa_20:10. His father was Jether, or Jithra, the Ishmaelite.
the sons of Zeruiah - All valiant men and captains in David's army; their father's name is nowhere mentioned.From the present passage, and from the fact that Abishai joined David as a comrade in arms before Joab 1Sa_26:6, it would seem that, although Joab was pre-eminent among the three 2Sa_2:13, 2Sa_2:16, Abishai was the eldest.
1Ch 2:17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.
Jether the Ishmeelite - “They called him Jether, because he girded himself with his sword, that he might assist David with the Arabians, when Abner was endeavoring to destroy David and the whole race of Jesse, as being unfit to enter into the congregation of the Lord, on account of Ruth the Moabitess” says the Targum.
Jether the Ishmeelite - he is called an Israelite, 2Sa_17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. This Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother, and so in the Targum here, he being either a proselyte (Ishmaelite by birth but an Israelite by religion), or else he was an Israelite by birth, but called an Ishmaelite, because he had dwelt among the Ishmaelites some time, as Obededom is called the Gittite for the like reason. In that passage 2Sa_17:25 he is called Ithra an Israelite. The Septuagint, which calls him "Jetra the Jezreelite." 2Sa 17:25 And Abessalom appointed Amessai in the room of Joab over the host. And Amessai was the son of a man whose name was Jether of Jezrael: he went in to Abigaia the daughter of Naas, the sister of Saruia the mother of Joab. (Septuagint)
Amasa - Who was Absalom's general, afterwards reconciled to David, and designed to be made general of his army, but was slain by Joab, see 2Sa_17:25,
1Ch 2:18 And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.
In the remainder of this chapter the writer obtains scarcely any assistance from the earlier Scriptures, and must have drawn almost entirely from genealogical sources, accessible to him, which have since perished.
Azubah was Caleb’s wife - Jerioth was his concubine. He had children by both; but those of Azubah are alone recorded.
The family of Caleb - We have first (1Ch_2:18-20) a list of the descendants of Caleb by two wives, then descendants which the daughter of the Gileadite Machir bore to his father Hezron (1Ch_2:21-23), and finally the sons whom Hezron's wife bore him after his death (1Ch_2:24). The grouping of these descendants of Hezron with the family of Caleb can only be accounted for by supposing that they had, through circumstances unknown to us, come into a more intimate connection with the family of Caleb than with the families of his brothers Ram and Jerahmeel.
The family of Caleb - This person must have lived some time before Israel left Egypt ; for Bezaleel, the principal person employed in constructing the tabernacle, was his grandson.
Azubah - “And why was she called Azubah? Because she was barren and despised. But her injury was manifested before the Lord; and she was comforted, and adorned with wisdom; and she span, skilfully, goats’ hair for the court of the tabernacle.” Says the Targum.
And Caleb the son of Hezron - The same that is called Chelubai, 1Ch_2:9 but not the same with Caleb the son of Jephunneh, made mention of in the books of Numbers, Joshua, and Judges:
her sons are these - Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon of whom we read nowhere else.
1Ch 2:19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur.
which bare him Hur - according to Josephus, it was his son Hur that was the husband of Miriam the sister of Moses. From Hur descended, by Uri, the famous Bezaleel, the skilful architect of the tabernacle (Exo_31:2; Exo_35:30).
1Ch 2:20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel.
Uri begat Bezaleel - This was probably the famous artist mentioned Exo_31:2.
1Ch 2:21 And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub.
Machir the father of Gilead - Which Machir was the son of Manasseh, and Gilead was his grandson, Num_26:29. The Targum says,"but he enticed a virgin, the daughter of Machir;''which suggests, that he committed fornication with her, though he afterwards married her; her name is not mentioned; to me it seems to be Abiah, 1Ch_2:24 and whom the Targum there calls the daughter of Machir:
Gilead - Of a man so called: a man of noted valour, and the great champion in those parts.
1Ch 2:22 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--As the son of Segub and the grandson of Hezron, he was of the tribe of Judah; but from his maternal descent he is called (Num_32:41; Deu_3:14) "the son of Manasseh." This designation implies that his inheritance lay in that tribe in right of his grandmother; in other words, his maternal and adopting great-grandfather was Machir the son of Manasseh. Jair, inheriting his property, was his lineal representative; and accordingly this is expressly stated to be the case; for 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 (Num_36:1-13), 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 it 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.
Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead--This Jair, belonging on his mother's side to the tribe of Manasseh, is set down in Num_32:40., Deu_3:14, as a descendant of Manasseh. After Moses' victory over Og king of Bashan , Jair's family conquered the district of Argob in Bashan , i.e., in the plain of Jaulan and Hauran; and to the conquered cities, when they were bestowed upon him for a possession by Moses, the name Havvoth-jair, i.e., Jair's-life, was given. Cf. Num_32:41 and Deu_3:14, where this name is explained. These are the twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead .
1Ch 2:23 And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.
These cities named Jair's – they were taken away from the Jairites by Geshur and Aram , by the Arameans of Geshur and of other places. Geshur denotes the inhabitants of a district of Aram, or Syria, on the north-western frontier of Bashan, in the neighbourhood of Hermon, on the east side of the upper Jordan, which had still its own kings in the time of David (2Sa_3:3; 2Sa_13:37; 2Sa_14:23; 2Sa_15:8), but which had been assigned to the Manassites by Moses; cf. Jos_13:13.
All these belonged to the sons of Machir - Segub and Jair, with their descendants, were reckoned sons of Machir, rather than sons of Hezron, although only descended from Machir on the mother’s side. The reason of this seems to have been that they cast in their lot with the Manassites, and remained in their portion of the trans-Jordanic region.
And he took Geshur, and Aram - Cities or countries which the Geshurites and Aramaeans, or Syrians, before inhabited; and which he took from them, together with other towns, which, being taken by him, were called after his name; the Targum is, the Geshurites and Aramaeans took the villages of Jair from them; that is, from the sons of Jair in later times; see Jos_12:5.
with Kenath, and the towns thereof - Kenath was situated in the tribe of Manasseh, east of Jordan . This place, along with its group of surrounding villages, was gained by Nobah, one of Jair's officers sent by him to capture it (Num_32:1-2).
1Ch 2:24 And after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.
Tekoa - A known place whose father he is called, because he was either the progenitor of the people inhabiting there: or, their prince and ruler: or, the builder of the city.
Calebephratah - Supposed to be the same with Bethlehem ; and was so called, both from Caleb the son of Hezron, and Ephrath his wife, 1Ch_2:19,
Ashur the father of Tekoa - being left with child by him at his death; the whole verse is paraphrased thus in the Targum,"and after Hezron died in the house of Caleb his son in Ephrath, the wife of Hezron the daughter of Machir was left with child, and she bare to him after his death Ashur the prince of the Tekoites;''whose son gave name very probably to the city of Tekoa, 2Sa_14:2.
1Ch 2:25 And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah.
And Ahijah - There is no “and” in the original. Hence, some would read: “the sons” were born “of” or “from Ahijah,” the first wife of Jerahmeel. Ahijah is the name of his wife, who bore him the sons before named, since mention is made of another wife in the next verse.
Ram the firstborn - So called by his father after the name of his brother, see 1Ch_2:9.
the sons of - Of the persons mentioned in 1Ch_2:25-33, nothing more is recorded or known.
1Ch 2:26 Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.
she was the mother of Onam - Only one son of the second wife is given, Onam, whose posterity follows in 1Ch_2:28-33.
1Ch 2:27 And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker.
Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker - of whom no other notice is taken.
1Ch 2:28 And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur.
Nadab, and Abishur - whose posterity are mentioned in the two following verses.
1Ch 2:29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid.
Abihail - Of the same name was a wife of Rehoboam, a daughter of his grandfather David's eldest brother, Eliab, 2Ch_11:18.
Ahban and Molid - which are no more mentioned.
1Ch 2:30 And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children.
1Ch 2:31 And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai.
And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi: Sheshan - An expression often used where there is but one son.Though they had each of them but one son, yet the plural number is used, their posterity being included.
the children of Sheshan; Ahlai - who, from 1Ch_2:34 appears to be a daughter. Ahlai cannot well have been a son, but must have been a daughter, the heiress of Sheshan; for, according to 1Ch_2:34, Sheshen had no sons, but only daughters, and gave his daughter to an Egyptian slave whom he possessed, to wife, by whom she became the mother of a numerous posterity.
1Ch 2:32 And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.
1Ch 2:33 And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel.
Peleth and Zaza - Of whom no mention is made elsewhere:
these were the sons of Jerahmeel - not only his immediate sons, but their posterity, called from him Jerahmeelites.
1Ch 2:34 Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.
Whose name was Jarha - “And he gave him his liberty, and gave him Sheshan his daughter to wife.” - T.
Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters - And but one of that sort, whose name was Ahlai, 1Ch_2:31 the plural being put here for the singular.
Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian – likely one born in his house, and brought up by him, and a proselyte, such an one as Eliezer in Abraham's family.
Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian – In 1Ch_2:34-41 there follows the family of Sheshan, which was originated by the marriage of his daughter with his Egyptian slave, and which is continued through thirteen generations. The name of this daughter is in 1Ch_2:25. not mentioned, but she is without doubt the Ahlai mentioned in 1Ch_2:31. But since this Ahlai is the tenth in descent from Judah through Pharez, she was probably born in Egypt ; and the Egyptian slave Jarha was most likely a slave whom Sheshan had in Egypt , and whom he adopted as his son for the propagation of his race, by giving him his daughter and heir to wife. If this be the case, the race begotten by Jarha with the daughter of Sheshan is traced down till towards the end of the period of the judges. The Egyptian slave Jarha is not elsewhere met with; and though the names which his posterity bore are found again in various parts of the Old Testament, of none of them can it be proved that they belonged to men of this family, so as to show that one of these persons had become famous in history.
1Ch 2:35 And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai.
and she bare him Attai - the genealogy of whose descendants is given to the end of 1Ch_2:41, of whom no mention is made elsewhere, but of Zabad; and, according to the Jews, it is given for the sake of Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, the last person mentioned in this genealogy; which Ishmael slew Gedaliah governor of Jerusalem, and is said to be of the seed royal, Jer_41:1.
Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant --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. 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.
Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant --When the people of the East have no sons, they frequently marry their daughters to their slaves, even when they have much property to bestow upon them
1Ch 2:36 And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad,
1Ch 2:37 And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed,
1Ch 2:38 And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah,
1Ch 2:39 And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah,
1Ch 2:40 And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum,
1Ch 2:41 And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama.
1Ch 2:42 Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.
Ziph, like Jorkoam 1Ch_2:44 and Beth-zur 1Ch_2:45, is the name of a place where the respective chiefs (“fathers”) settled. Similarly Madmannah, Machbenah, and Gibea 1Ch_2:49, Kirjath-jearim (Jos_9:17 note), Bethlehem and Beth-gader (Jedur, 1Ch_2:51) are unmistakeable names of places in the list, names which it is not probable were ever borne by persons.
Now the sons of Caleb - This was not Caleb the son of Jephunneh, but Caleb the son of Hezron, 1Ch_2:18, 1Ch_2:50. Called Chelubai, 1Ch_2:9 and is the same Caleb spoken of in 1Ch_2:18 and his sons next reckoned were by a third wife, Azubah, Ephrath being dead, 1Ch_2:19.
Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph - who gave name to the city of Ziph; there were two of this name in the tribe of Judah, Jos_15:24 or this is the title of Mesha, governor of the city of Ziph; so the Targum calls him, prince of the Ziphites.
the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron - according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, the words are to be supplied thus, "and the sons of Ziph were Mareshah the father of Hebron"; which, though sometimes the name of a city in the tribe of Judah, is here the name of a man, from whom, perhaps, the city had its name, since Hebron is said to have sons in the next verse; One scholar makes Mesha to be the prince of Ziph, and prince of the children of Mareshah, and prince of Hebron.
1Ch 2:43 And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema.
Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema - One of these, Tappuah, is the name of a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos_15:34 and there is also Bethtappuah in the same tribe, 1Ch_2:53 which one, or both, might have their name from this man; and Shema also, 1Ch_2:26.
1Ch 2:44 And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai.
1Ch 2:45 And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Bethzur.
the son of Shammai was Maon - Who gave name to a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos_15:55; 1Sa_23:24.
Maon was the father of Bethzur - prince of a very strong fortified city of this name in the same tribe, Jos_15:58, unless this was a son of Maon's, from whom the city had its name.
Bethzur - situated in the tribe of Judah , twenty miles south from Jerusalem , towards Hebron , according to Eusebius. It was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch_11:7) and was a fortress of great consequence.
1Ch 2:46 And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez.
Haran begat Gazez - whom he likely so named after his brother.
Haran begat Gazez - Gazez, perhaps a grandson of Caleb, especially if the clause “ Haran begat Gazez” be merely an explanatory addition. But Haran may also have given to his son the name of his younger brother, so that a son and grandson of Caleb may have borne the same name.
Descendants of Caleb by two concubines - Caleb's concubine of this name bore three sons: Haran , of whom nothing further is known; Moza, which, though in Jos_18:26 it is the name of a Benjamite town, is not necessarily on that account the name of a town here.
1Ch 2:47 And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph.
And the sons of Jahdai - The genealogical connection of the names in this verse is entirely wanting; for Jahdai, of whom six sons are enumerated, appears quite abruptly. One scholar supposes, but without sufficient ground, that it is another name of Moza. Of his sons' names, Jotham occurs frequently of different persons; Ephah, as has been already remarked, is in 1Ch_1:33 the name of a chief of a Midianite tribe; and lastly, Shaaph is used in 1Ch_2:49 of another person.
1Ch 2:48 Maachah, Caleb's concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah.
1Ch 2:49 She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
Shaaph the father of Madmannah - Prince of a place so called, in the tribe of Judah , Jos_15:31.
Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibeah - prince of two cities of those names in the same tribe; of the latter see Jos_15:57, Madmannah was a city situated in the southern part of Judah , and towards Gaza , according to Eusebius. Jos_15:31; Isa_10:31, Madmenah
Gibea: It is probable this was not Gibeah of Benjamin, and the royal residence of Saul, but Gibeah in the tribe of Judah , to which all these other cities belonged. Jos_15:57; 2Sa_21:6.
the daughter of Caleb was Achsah - Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, had a daughter of this name, but neither he nor she are here meant, Jos_15:16 but by whom Caleb, the son of Hezron, had this daughter, is not said; perhaps by Maachah his concubine last mentioned.
1Ch 2:50 These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim,
Caleb the son of Hur - Hur was the son, not the father, of Caleb 1Ch_2:19.
Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim - of the inhabitants of that place; they sprung from him; or, as the Targum, he was prince of Kirjathjearim, a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos_15:60.
the son of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah - the following lists of Caleb's descendants are limited to the families descended from his son Hur. The relationship of Hur to Caleb is not given in detail here; it is presupposed as known from 1Ch_2:19 And when Azubah died, Caleb took Ephrath to himself, who bore him Hur. A famous descendant of Hur has already been mentioned in 1Ch_2:20, viz., Bezaleel the son of Uri. Here, in 1Ch_2:50 and 1Ch_2:51, three sons of Hur are named, Shobal, Salma, and Hareph, with the families descended from the first two. All information is wanting as to whether these sons of Hur were brothers of Uri, or his cousins in nearer or remoter degree, as indeed is every means of a more accurate determination of the degrees of relationship.
1Ch 2:51 Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Bethgader.
Salma the father of Bethlehem - Or prince of Bethlehem , the birth-place of David and Christ. This Salma is, however, not the same person as Salma mentioned in 1Ch_2:11 and Rth_4:20 among the ancestors of David; for the latter belonged to the family of Ram, the former to the family of Caleb.
Hareph, the father of Bethgader - prince of a place of that name called Gedor, 1Ch_4:4 and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem, and where this man's name is Penuel; Gedor was in the tribe of Judah, Jos_15:58. Nothing further is told of Hareph, but in the following verses further descendants of both the other sons of Hur are enumerated.
1Ch 2:52 And Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites.
Shobal, the father of Kirjathjearim had sons - Which shows that Kirjathjearim is not the name of a man, or of any of Shobal's sons, who are next mentioned, but of a place of which he was prince.
Haroeh - who is called Reaiah, 1Ch_4:2. As Haroeh and Reaiah have nearly the same signification, it is probable they were deemed perfectly interchangeable.
half of the Manahethites - the name of a place or province called Manahath, 1Ch_8:6 over half of which Haroeh was governor.
1Ch 2:53 And the families of Kirjathjearim; 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 Ithrite, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; who had their names from Jether, Putha, Shumath, and Mishra, descendants of Shobal:
of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites - that is, from the Mishraites sprung the inhabitants of Zeroth and Eshtaol, places in the tribe of Judah, Jos_15:33.
1Ch 2:54 The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites.
Ataroth, the house of Joab - Rather, “Ataroth-beth-Joab,” probably so called, to distinguish it from Ataroth-Adar, a city of Benjamin Jos_18 :13. It is uncertain from what Joab it derived its distinctive appellation.
The sons of Salma - Another son of the younger Caleb, 1Ch_2:50 whose sons were Bethlehem , the inhabitants of the place, at least many of them, of which he was prince, 1Ch_2:51 and the Netophathite; the inhabitants of Netophah, a place in the tribe of Judah , mentioned along with Bethlehem , Neh_7:26.
Ataroth, the house of Joab - Ataroth seems to be the name of a place in the tribe of Judah , where the family of Joab lived, the inhabitants of which were the descendants of Salma:
the Zorites - part also of them, called Zareathites, 1Ch_2:53.
1Ch 2:55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
Kenites - It is remarkable that Kenites - people of a race quite distinct from the Israelites Gen_15:19 - should be attached to, and, as it were, included in the descendants of Judah . It seems, however, that the friendly feeling between the two tribes - based on the conduct of the Kenites at the time of the Exodus Exo_18:10-19; Num_10:29-32; 1Sa_15:6 - led to their intermixture and almost amalgamation with the Israelites, Kenite families not only dwelling among them but being actually regarded as of one blood with them.
The families - “The families of the Rechabites, the sons of Eliezer the son of Misco, the disciple of Jabez; he was Othniel, the son of Kenaz. And he was called Jabez, because in his council he instituted a school of disciples; they were called Tirathim, because in their hymns their voice was like trumpets; and Shimathim, because in hearing they lifted up their faces, i.e., in prayer; and Suchathim, because they were overshadowed by the Spirit of prophecy. These Salmaei were the children of Zipporah, who were numbered among the Levites who came from the stock of Moses, the master of Israel , whose righteousness profited them more than chariots and horses.” – says the Targum. 1Ch_4:9-10
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez - A city in Judah , the founder of which, perhaps, was Jabez, mentioned in 1Ch_4:9 in which learned men dwelt:
these are the Kenites - that is, the Suchathites are the Kenites, who, it is well known, dwelt in tents, and not in cities; they seem to be the Kenites that sprung from Jethro, here made mention of, because some of them dwelt in the tribe of Judah, and among the posterity of Salma, see Jdg_1:16.
that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab - the prince of that family, and who from Rechab were called Rechabites, Jer_35:2.
the families of the scribes--either civil or ecclesiastical officers of the 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.
Kenites that came of Hemath--who settled in Judah , and were thus distinguished from another division of the Kenite clan which dwelt in Manasseh (Jdg_4:11).
