1 Chronicles
Chapter 2
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar and Zebulun;
Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali; and Gad and Asher.
THE TRIBE OF JUDAH AND THE HOUSE OF DAVID
Sons of Judah I
Judah had five sons in all. The first three were born to him by Bathshua, the Canaanite woman. They were Er, Onan, and Shelah. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was so evil that the Lord put him to death.
By his daughter-in-law Tamar, Judah had two more sons, Perez and Zerah.
Perez had two sons, Hezron and Hamul.
His brother Zerah had five sons: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda.
One of them, Achar, son of Carmi, brought trouble upon the people of Israel by keeping loot that had been devoted to God.
Ethan had one son, Azariah.
Hezron became the father of Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.
Ram was the father of Amminadab; Amminadab of Nahshon.
Nahshon, who was a prince of the tribe of Judah, was the father of Salmah; Salmah of Boaz;
Boaz of Obed; Obed of Jesse.
Jesse had seven sons: Eliab, the firstborn, Abinadab, Shimea,
Nethanel, Raddai,
Ozem and David, the youngest. Jesse had two daughters: Zeruiah and Abigail.
Zeruiah had three sons: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel.
Abigail married Jether the Ishmaelite. They had a son named Amasa.
Caleb, son of Hezron, married Azubah and had a daughter named Jerioth. Jerioth had three sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon.
Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, and they had a son named Hur.
Hur became the father of Uri and the grandfather of Bezalel.
When Hezron was sixty, he married Machir’s daughter, Gilead’s sister. They had a son named Segub, who had a son named Jair.
Jair ruled twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead.
But the kingdoms of Geshur and Aram took from them the villages of Jair, Kenath, and its towns, sixty towns in all. All this had belonged to the descendants of Machir, father of Gilead.
After Hezron’s death, his son Caleb married Ephrathah, his father’s widow. They had a son named Ashur, the father of Tekoa.
Jerahmeel, Hezron’s eldest son, had five sons: Ram, his firstborn; Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah.
Jerahmeel had another wife named Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.
Ram had three sons: Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
Onam was the father of Shammai and Jada; Shammai, of Nadab and Abishur.
Abishur’s wife was named Abihail; she gave birth to Ahban and Molid.
Nadab had two sons, Seled and Appaim, but Seled died without leaving a son.
Appaim was the father of Ishi, who was the father of Sheshan; Sheshan was the father of Ahlai.
Jada, Shammai’s brother, had two sons: Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without leaving any sons.
Jonathan had two sons: Peleth and Zaza. They were all descendants of Jerahmeel.
Sheshan had no sons, only daughters.
He had an Egyptian slave named Jarha, to whom he gave his daughter in marriage.
They had a son named Attai. The ancestral line from Attai to Elishama is as follows: Attai, Nathan,
Zabad, Ephlal, Obed,
Jehu, Azariah,
Helez, Eleasah,
Sismai, Shallum,
Jekamiah, and Elishama.
The firstborn son of Caleb, Jerahmeel’s brother, was named Mesha. Mesha was the father of Ziph, who was the father of Maresha.
Maresha was the father of Hebron, who had four sons: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema.
Shema became the father of Raham and the grandfather of Jorkeam. Rekem became the father of Shammai,
and grandfather of Maon. Maon became the father of Beth-Zur.
Caleb had a concubine named Ephah, who gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran also had a son named Gazez.
Jahdai had six sons: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
Caleb had another concubine, Maacah, who gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah.
Later, she had two more sons: Shaaph, who founded the town of Madmannah, and Sheva, who founded the towns of Machbenah and Gibea. The daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
The following were also descendants of Caleb. Hur was the firstborn son of Ephrath. Hur’s son Shobal was the father of Kiriath-jearim;
Salma, the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph, the father of Bethgader.
The sons of Shobal, the father of Kiriath-jearim, were Reaiah, half of the Manahathites,
and also the clans living in Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. The people of the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol belonged to these clans.
Sons of Salma: Bethlehem, Netophath, Atroth-beth-Joab, half of the Manahathites, and the Zorites.
The Soferites lived in the town of Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. They were Kenites, descendants of Hammath, the ancestor of the Rechabites.
Commentaries
Genealogies.
The first nine chapters list genealogies starting with Adam and ending with David. They include detailed names representing individuals, groups, territories, and cities, reflecting the historical context of the Chronicler’s time. Key to these genealogies are the tribe of Judah, from which King David comes, and the priestly tribe of Levi. This shows the Chronicler’s emphasis on God’s plan for creation and humanity, from the first human, to whom all history points, through David, the priesthood (represented by Levi), and an Israel united around the tribe of Judah.
From Adam to Abraham – From Abraham to Israel.
The information in this chapter is based on Genesis (Gn 5; 10; 25:1-4, 12-15; 35ff). The Chronicler follows a chronological order, leaving out those he chooses not to remember. With Noah, the lineage branches into three main groups that aim to explain the origins of Middle Eastern peoples: Japheth (1:5-7) corresponds to the European peoples who came from the sea; Ham (1:8-16) relates to African peoples, including the Canaanites, Philistines, and Phoenicians; and Shem (1:17-27) refers to the Semites, the group from which Abraham descended. Abraham’s descendants are primarily divided into two branches: Isaac and Ishmael (1:28-34), which are further subdivided into the descendants of Jacob/Israel (2:1ff) and Esau/Edom (1:35-54).
Sons of Judah I.
The chapter focuses on the sons of Judah, especially the descendants of the two sons born to Tamar: Perez and Zerah. Special attention is given to Perez’s descendants, from whom David will be born. The theme of immediate retribution, a theological constant of the Chronicler, appears subtly (3).
The Tribe of Judah and the House of David.
The passage is divided into three sections. In the middle is a genealogy of the house of David (3:1-24), flanked by two genealogies of the tribe of Judah (2:3-55 and 4:1-23). This structure highlights the Chronicler’s intention to demonstrate that the Davidic dynasty is closely tied to the history of this tribe (1 Chr 28:4).