1 Chronicles 8:33–9:13

mighty men of valour, archers--(see on Jdg 20:16). Great strength as well as skill was requisite in ancient archery, as the bow, which was of steel, was bent by treading with the feet, and pulling the string with both hands. Next: 1 Chronicles Chapter 9

And Ner begat Kish,.... Who also is called Abiel, as the Targum here adds; for Ner had two names, as other Jewish writers likewise say (r), see 1 Samuel 9:1, and Kish begat Saul; the first king of Israel, for whose sake chiefly the genealogy of Benjamin is revised and enlarged in this chapter: and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal, see 1 Samuel 31:2. Abinadab is called Ishui, 1 Samuel 14:49 and Eshbaal is the same with Ishbosheth, 2 Samuel 2:8, so Baal and Bosheth are used of the same idol of which they are names, Hosea 9:10. (r) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 152. 4.

And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal,.... The same with Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 4:4 so Jerubbaal is called Jerubbesheth, Judges 6:32. and Meribbaal begat Micah; called his young son in David's time, 2 Samuel 9:12.

And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz. The last but one is called Tahrea, 1 Chronicles 9:41, where Ahaz is left out, though supplied in our version.

And Ahaz begat Jehoadah,.... Called Jarah, 1 Chronicles 9:42. and Jehoadah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza; the same account is given, 1 Chronicles 9:42.

And Moza begat Binea; Rapha was his son,.... Called Rephaiah, 1 Chronicles 9:43. Elasah his son; whose name is Eleasah, 1 Chronicles 9:43. Azel his son.

And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bochim, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan,.... Which make the said number: all these were the sons of Azel; his family was large.

And the sons of Eshek his brother,.... The brother of Azel; who he was is not known, unless he is the same with Elasah, as is conjectured: were Ulam his firstborn, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third.

And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour,.... Men of great fortitude and courage, though their names are not expressed: archers; skilful in the use of the bow and arrows, as the Benjaminites formerly were famous for slinging stones: and had many sons, and sons' sons, an hundred and fifty; so that the posterity of Jonathan, whose genealogy is drawn down from 1 Chronicles 8:34 hither, were very great; and greater still, according to the Vulgate Latin version, in which the number is 150,000 in the edition of Sixtus the fifth, and so in most MSS of that version (s). all these are of the sons of Benjamin; his posterity, whose names are given in this chapter. (s) See James of the Contrariety of the Popish Bibles, p. 294.

Merib-baal--that is, Mephibosheth.

Jehoadah--or, Jara (Ch1 9:42).

So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies,.... Not now by the writer of this book in the preceding chapters; for two of the tribes are not reckoned at all, and the rest but in part; but there had been kept an exact account of them: and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel; not in the canonical book or books of Kings, but in the annals, journals, and diaries, which each king took care to be kept with some exactness, often referred to in the preceding books; out of which this writer, under a divine direction, had taken what was proper to be continued, and had carried the genealogy down to the captivity of the ten tribes; but the genealogy being lost with them, he could proceed no further, nor say anything more concerning them: but Judah; for so the word should be stopped, and read according to the Hebrew accents: who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression; their idolatry, and were now returned again; of them the writer proposes to give a further account.

Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities,.... Who first returned from Babylon upon the proclamation of Cyrus, and enjoyed their former possessions, and dwelt in the cities they had before, or in such as were allotted them, or they chose: were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims; the whole body that returned were divided into four classes, as they had been before the captivity; the Israelites were the common people in general, the body politic; the priests, the ecclesiastics, who officiated in sacred things; the Levites, who ministered to them; and the Nethinims were such persons as were "given", as the word signifies, to do servile work for the sanctuary, as, to be hewers of wood and drawers of water; such were the Gibeonites, Joshua 9:27, and such as were appointed by David for such work, see Ezra 8:20.

And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin,.... Of which tribes were the largest number that went into, and returned out of, captivity: and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh; such of those tribes who had joined the others when Jeroboam introduced his idolatry, or had fled to them when Samaria was besieged and taken by Shalmaneser, and so went into captivity with Judah, and now returned; and as many of them as took the advantage of the proclamation of Cyrus, who were carried captive with the ten tribes.

Uthai, the son of Ammihud,.... Called Athaiah, Nehemiah 11:4 though his ancestors there are differently reckoned here; his genealogy here is traced from his father Ammihud, through Omri, Imri, Bani, Pharez, to Judah.

And of the Shilonites,.... Not called so from the city of Shiloh, which was in Ephraim; whereas these here intended were of the tribe of Judah, and were either the descendants of a man whose name was Shiloni, Nehemiah 11:5 or rather these are the same with the Shelanites, Numbers 26:20 so called from Shelah the son of Judah; and so the Targum here is,"and of the tribe of Shelah:" Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons; the same with Maaseiah, Nehemiah 11:5.

And of the sons of Zerah,.... Another son of Judah: Jeuel, and their brethren; six hundred and ninety; or their kinsmen; for this number includes all of the posterity of Pharez, Shelah and Zerah mentioned.

And of the sons of Benjamin,.... Who were of the tribe of Benjamin, and went with Judah into captivity, and returned with them, and such of them as dwelt in Jerusalem before that: Sallu the son of Meshullam; whose pedigree is differently given, Nehemiah 11:7, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenaah; perhaps these men had two names, there called Joel and Pedaiah.

And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham,.... Who with two more, Elah and Meshullam, whose ancestors are given, of whom we have no mention elsewhere, were all of the tribe of Benjamin, said to settle at Jerusalem.

And their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred amd fifty and six,.... Which was the number of the Benjaminites there resident put together, and which greatly exceeded that of Judah, 1 Chronicles 9:6. all these men were chief of the fathers, in the house of their fathers; principal men in the families of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, even all the seven before mentioned.

And of the priests,.... Who returned and dwelt at Jerusalem: Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin; Jedaiah was the son of Jehoiarib, and Jachin is called Jachin, Nehemiah 11:10.

And Azariah the son of Hilkiah,.... That is, the son of Azariah, whose name was Seraiah, see 1 Chronicles 6:13, whose pedigree is traced up from Hilkiah through Meshullam, called Shallum, 1 Chronicles 6:12. Zadok, Meraioth, to Ahitub: the ruler of the house of God; high priest in it; which is to be understood of Ahitub, and not of Azariah or Seraiah in the time of Ezra; for Joshua was then high priest.

And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur,.... In this genealogy, between Jeroham and Pashur, were three more here omitted, Pelaliah, Amzi, Zechariah, Nehemiah 11:12, and then Pashur the son of Malchijah, as here: and Maasiai the son of Adiel; whose pedigree is traced up from hence, through Jahzerah, Meshullam, Meshillemith, to Immer; one of the five heads of the courses settled by David, 1 Chronicles 24:14. The names of this man, and of his ancestors, are given, with some variation, in Nehemiah 11:13.

And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, one thousand and seven hundred and threescore. These, with other priests, made up this number, which was greater than those of Judah and Benjamin, that dwelt in Jerusalem, put together: very able men for the work of the service of the house of God: men that had not only strength of body, which some part of the work of the priests required; but had courage and fortitude of mind to set about the service of God with cheerfulness, and to preserve it from corruption.