1 Chronicles 2:11–33

Jether the Ishmaelite--(compare Sa2 17:25). In that passage he is called Ithra an Israelite; and there seems no reason why, in the early days of David, anyone should be specially distinguished as an Israelite. The presumption is in favor of the reading followed by the Septuagint, which calls him "Jetra the Jezreelite." The circumstance of his settling in another tribe, or of a woman marrying out of her own tribe, was sufficiently rare and singular to call for the statement that Abigail was married to a man of Jezreel.

POSTERITY OF CALEB. (1Ch. 2:18-55) Caleb the son of Hezron--The notices concerning this person appear confused in our version. In Ch1 2:19 he is said to be the father of Hur, whereas in Ch1 2:50 he is called "the son of Hur." The words in this latter passage have been transposed in the copying, and should be read thus, "Hur the son of Caleb." begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth--The former was his spouse, while Jerioth seems to have been a secondary wife, and the mother of the children whose names are here given. On the death of his principal wife, he married Ephrath, and by her had Hur [Ch1 2:19].

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

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.

he took--rather "he had taken." This statement is accounting for his acquisition of so large a territory; he got it by right of conquest from the former possessors. Kenath--This place, along with its group of surrounding villages, was gained by Nobah, one of Jair's officers sent by him to capture it (Num 32:1-2). All these belonged to the sons of Machir--In their number Jair is included as having completely identified himself by his marriage and residence in Gilead with the tribe of Manasseh.

Caleb-ephratah--so called from uniting the names of husband and wife (Ch1 2:19), and supposed to be the same as was afterwards called Beth-lehem-ephratah. Ashur, the father of Tekoa-- (Sa2 14:2-4). He is called the father, either from his being the first founder, or perhaps the ruler, of the city.

Whose sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail..... That is, sisters of David: and the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three; all valiant men and captains in David's army; their father's name is nowhere mentioned.

And Abigail bare 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 2 Samuel 17:25, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite; he is called an Israelite, 2 Samuel 17:25, and so in the Targum here, he being either a proselyte, 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; so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it.

And Caleb the son of Hezron,.... The same that is called Chelubai, 1 Chronicles 2:9 but not the same with Caleb the son of Jephunneh, made mention of in the books of Numbers, Joshua, and Judges: he begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth; who were both his wives; or it may be rather, since Azubah is so particularly called his wife, Jerioth might be a concubine: or of Azubah he begat Jerioth; so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions; though it seems best with Hillerus (p) to interpret these names of the same person, and render the last clause, "that is, of Jerioth", of her whose name also was Jerioth, Azubah having two names; and the rather, since only the children of one are mentioned, as follows: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon of whom we read nowhere else; the Targum says, Azubah was so called, because she was barren and despised, which this clause contradicts. (p) Onomastic. Sacr. p. 568.

And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath,.... The Targum is, "Miriam, who was called Ephrath"; but, according to Josephus (q), it was his son Hur that was the husband of Miriam the sister of Moses: which bare him Hur; See Gill on Exodus 17:10. (q) Antiqu. l. 3. c. 2.

And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel. Who yet is not thought to be the same Bezaleel we read of in Exodus 31:2 though the fathers and grandfathers of both have the same names, and were of the same tribe.

And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead,.... Which Machir was the son of Manasseh, and Gilead was his grandson, Numbers 26:29 the Targum is,"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, 1 Chronicles 2:24 and whom the Targum there calls the daughter of Machir: whom he married when he was sixty years old; the Targum is sixty six; this seems to be his last wife: and she bare him Segub; the same name with the youngest son of Hiel, who rebuilt Jericho, 1 Kings 16:34.

And Segub begat Jair, who had twenty three cities in the land of Gilead. Which, according to Kimchi, he inherited in right of his wife, which, he says, he took out of the land of Gilead; but they seem to be rather what he took by force of arms from the former inhabitants; see Numbers 32:41.

And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them,.... 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 Joshua 12:5. with Kenath, and the towns thereof; which Jair took by Nobah his general, and called it after his name, Numbers 32:42, even sixty cities; see Deuteronomy 3:4. all these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead: being given him by Moses, Numbers 32:40.

And after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah,.... Supposed to be the same with Bethlehem; and was so called, both from Caleb the son of Hezron, and Ephrath his wife, 1 Chronicles 2:19, then Abiah, Hezron's wife, bare him 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, 2 Samuel 14:2.

And the sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron, were Ram the firstborn,.... So called by his father after the name of his brother, see 1 Chronicles 2:9. and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah; or "of Ahijah", as some (r) render it, this being the name of his wife, who bare him the sons before named, since mention is made of another wife in the next verse. (r) Junius, Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.

Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah,.... Distinct from his wife before named; or "another woman", which is a phrase for an harlot or concubine, Judges 11:2 which she might be, as Kimchi observes; though the former seems best: she was the mother of Onam; and perhaps was the only son she bore to Jerahmeel, of whose sons see 1 Chronicles 2:28.

And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel,.... By his first wife: were Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker; of whom no other notice is taken; perhaps they left no children.

And the sons of Onam,.... The son of Jerahmeel by his other wife: were Shammai and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur; whose posterity are mentioned in the two following verses.

And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail,.... Of the same name was a wife of Rehoboam, a daughter of his grandfather David's eldest brother, Eliab, 2 Chronicles 11:18. and she bare him Ahban, and Molid; which are no more mentioned, they perhaps leaving no posterity.

And the sons of Nadab,.... The eldest son of Shammai, 1 Chronicles 2:28, Seled and Appaim; but Seled died without children; and therefore we hear no more of him.

And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi: Sheshan,.... Though they had each of them but one son, yet the plural number is used, their posterity being included, as in 1 Chronicles 2:8 and so in the next clause: and the children of Sheshan; Ahlai; who, from 1 Chronicles 2:34 appears to be a daughter.

And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai,.... 1 Chronicles 2:28, Jether and Jonathan: and Jether died without children; the posterity of Jonathan are given the next verse.

And the sons of Jonathan; 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, 1 Samuel 27:10.

The persons mentioned in the former paragraph are most of them such as we read of, and most of them such as we read much of, in other scriptures; but very few of those to whom this paragraph relates are mentioned any where else. It should seem, the tribe of Judah were more full and exact in their genealogies than any other of the tribes, in which we must acknowledge a special providence, for the clearing of the genealogy of Christ. 1. Here we find Bezaleel, who was head-workman in building the tabernacle, Exo 31:2. 2. Hezron, who was the son of Pharez (Ch1 2:5), was the father of all this progeny, his sons, Caleb and Jerahmeel, being very fruitful, and he himself likewise, even in his old age, for he left his wife pregnant when he died, Ch1 2:24. This Hezron was one of the seventy that went down with Jacob into Egypt, Gen 46:12. There his family thus increased, as other oppressed families there did. We cannot but suppose that he died during the Israelites' bondage in Egypt; and yet it is here said he died in Caleb-Ephratah (that is, Bethlehem), in the land of Canaan, Ch1 2:24. Perhaps, though the body of the people continued in Egypt, yet some that were more active than the rest, at least before their bondage came to be extreme, visited Canaan sometimes and got footing there, though afterwards they lost it. The achievements of Jair, here mentioned (Ch1 2:22, Ch1 2:23), we had an account of in Num 32:41; and, it is supposed, they were long after the conquest of Canaan. The Jews say, Hezron married his third wife when he was sixty years old (Ch1 2:21), and another afterwards (Ch1 2:24), because he had a great desire of posterity in the family of Pharez, from whom the Messiah was to descend. 3. Here is mention of one that died without children (Ch1 2:30), and another (Ch1 2:32), and of one that had no sons, but daughters, Ch1 2:34. Let those that are in any of these ways afflicted not think their case new or singular. Providence orders these affairs of families by an incontestable sovereignty, as pleaseth him, giving children, or withholding them, or giving all of one sex. He is not bound to please us, but we are bound to acquiesce in his good pleasure. To those that love him he will himself be better than ten sons, and give them in his house a place and a name better than of sons and daughters. Let not those therefore that are written childless envy the families that are built up and replenished. Shall our eye be evil because God's is good? 4. Here is mention of one who had an only daughter, and married her to his servant an Egyptian, Ch1 2:34, Ch1 2:35. If it be mentioned to his praise, we must suppose that this Egyptian was proselyted to the Jewish religion and that he was very eminent for wisdom and virtue, otherwise it would not have become a true-born Israelite to match a daughter to him, especially an only daughter. If Egyptians become converts, and servants do worthily, neither their parentage nor their servitude should be a bar to their preferment. Such a one this Egyptian servant might be that she who married him might live as happily with him as if she had married one of the rulers of her tribe. 5. The pedigree of several of these terminates, not in a person, but in a place or country, as one is said to be the father of Kirjath-jearim (Ch1 2:50), another of Bethlehem (Ch1 2:51), which was afterwards David's city, because these places fell to their lot in the division of the land. 6. here are some that are said to be families of scribes (Ch1 2:55), such as kept up learning in their family, especially scripture-learning, and taught the people the good knowledge of God. Among all these great families we are glad to find some that were families of scribes. Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets - all the families of Israel families of scribes, well instructed to the kingdom of heaven, and able to bring out of their treasury things new and old!

Here is, I. The family of Jacob. His twelve sons are here named, that illustrious number so often celebrated almost throughout the whole Bible, from the first to the last book of it. At every turn we meet with the twelve tribes that descended from these twelve patriarchs. The personal character of several of them was none of the best (the first four were much blemished), and yet the covenant was entailed on their seed; for it was of grace, free grace, that it was said, Jacob have I loved - not of works, lest any man should boast. II. The family of Judah. That tribe was most praised, most increased, and most dignified, of any of the tribes, and therefore the genealogy of it is the first and largest of them all. In the account here given of the first branches of that illustrious tree, of which Christ was to be the top branch, we meet, 1. With some that were very bad. Here is Er, Judah's eldest son, that was evil in the sight of the Lord, and was cut off, in the beginning of his days, by a stroke of divine vengeance: The Lord slew him, Ch1 2:3. His next brother, Onan, was no better, and fared no better. Here is Tamar, with whom Judah, her father-in-law, committed incest, Ch1 2:4. And here is Achan, called Achar - a troubler, that troubled Israel by taking of the accursed thing, Ch1 2:7. Note, The best and most honourable families may have those belonging to them that are blemishes. 2. With some that were very wise and good, as Heman and Ethan, Calcol and Dara, who were not perhaps the immediate sons of Zerah, but descendants from him, and are named because they were the glory of their father's house; for, when the Holy Ghost would magnify the wisdom of Solomon, he declares him wiser than these four men, who, though the sons of Mahol, are called Ezrahites, from Zerah, Kg1 4:31. That four brothers should be eminent for wisdom and grace was a rare thing. 3. With some that were very great, as Nahshon, who was prince of the tribe of Judah when the camp of Israel was formed in the wilderness, and so led the van in that glorious march, and Salman, or Salmon, who was in that post of honour when they entered into Canaan, Ch1 2:10, Ch1 2:11. III. The family of Jesse, of which a particularly account is kept for the sake of David, and the Son of David, who is a rod out of the stem of Jesse, Isa 11:1. Hence it appears that David was a seventh son, and that his three great commanders, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel, were the sons of one of his sisters, and Amasa of another. Three of the four went down slain to the pit, though they were the terror of the mighty.