The First Book of the Chronicles
Commentary by Robert Jamieson
Chapter 1
[1Ch 1:1-23]. Adam's Line to Noah.
1. Adam, &c.--"Begat" must be understood. Only that one member of the family is mentioned, who came in the direct order of succession.
4-23. Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth--The three sons of this patriarch are enumerated, partly because they were the founders of the new world, and partly because the fulfilment of Noah's prophecy ([Ge 9:25-27]) could not otherwise appear to have been verified.
24-27. Shem, &c.--This comprises a list of ten, inclusive of Abraham.
[1Ch 1:29-31]. Sons of Ishmael.
29. These are their generations--the heads of his twelve tribes. The great northern desert of Arabia, including the entire neck, was colonized by these tribes; and if we can recover, in the modern geography of this part of the country, Arab tribes bearing the names of those patriarchs, that is, names corresponding with those preserved in the original catalogue of Scripture, we obtain at once so many evidences, not of mere similarity, but of absolute identification [Forster].
Nebaioth--gave rise to the Nabathæans of the classic, and the Beni Nabat of Oriental writers.
Kedar--the Arab tribe, El Khedeyre, on the coast of Hedgar.
Abdeel--Abdilla, the name of a tribe in Yemen.
30. Dumah--Dumah and Tema, the great Arab tribes of Beni Teman. Thus this writer [Historical Geography of Arabia] traces the names of all the heads of the twelve tribes of Ishmael as perpetuated in the clans or tribes of the Arabs in the present day.
[1Ch 1:32], 33. Sons of Keturah.
32. sons of Keturah--These became founders of nomadic tribes in the north of Arabia and Syria, as Midian of the Midianites ([Ge 36:35]; [Jud 6:2]).
and Shuah--from whom Bildad sprang ([Job 2:11]).
[1Ch 1:34-42]. Posterity of Abraham by Esau.
36. sons of Eliphaz--the tribe Adites, in the center country of the Saracens, so called from his mother, Adah ([Ge 36:10]).
Teman--gave rise to the land of Teman, near the head of the Red Sea.
Omar--the tribe Beni-Amma, settled at the northern point of Djebel Shera (Mount Seir).
Zephi--the tribe Dzaf.
Gatam--Katam, inhabited by the tribe Al Saruat, or "people of Sarah."
Kenaz--the tribe Aenezes, a tribe whose settlement lies in the neighborhood of Syria.
Amalek--the Beni Malak of Zohran, and the Beni Maledj of the Shat el Arab.
37. Reuel--a powerful branch of the great Aeneze tribe, the Rowalla Arabs.
Shammah--the great tribe Beni Shammar. In the same way, the names of the other kings and dukes are traced in the modern tribes of Arabia. But it is unnecessary to mention any more of these obscure nomads, except to notice that Jobab ([1Ch 1:44]), one of the kings of Edom, is considered to be Job, and that his seat was in the royal city of Dinahab ([Ge 36:32]; [1Ch 1:43]), identified with O'Daeb, a well-known town in the center of Al Dahna, a great northern desert in the direction of Chaldea and the Euphrates [Forster].
Chapter 2
[1Ch 2:1], . Sons of Israel.
[1Ch 2:3-12]. Posterity of Judah.
3. The sons of Judah--His descendants are enumerated first, because the right and privileges of the primogeniture had been transferred to him ([Ge 49:8]), and because from his tribe the Messiah was to spring.
6. Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara--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.
7. the sons of Carmi--He was the son of Zimri, or Zabdi, as he is called ([Jos 7:1]).
Achar--or Achan ([Jos 7:1]). This variety in the form of the name is with great propriety used here, since Achar means "troubler."
[1Ch 2:13-17]. Children of Jesse.
15. David the seventh--As it appears ([1Sa 16:10]; ) that Jesse had eight sons, the presumption is from David being mentioned here as the seventh son of his father, that one of them had died at an early age, without leaving issue.
17. Jether the Ishmaelite--(compare [2Sa 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.
[1Ch 2:18-55]. Posterity of Caleb.
18. Caleb the son of Hezron--The notices concerning this person appear confused in our version. In [1Ch 2:19] he is said to be the father of Hur, whereas in [1Ch 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 [1Ch 2:19].
21. 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 ([Nu 26:29]).
22. 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 ([Nu 32:41]; [De 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 ([Nu 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.
23. 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 ([Nu 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.
24. Caleb-ephratah--so called from uniting the names of husband and wife ([1Ch 2:19]), and supposed to be the same as was afterwards called Beth-lehem-ephratah.