1 Chronicles 8
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1Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third,
CHAPTER 8
1Ch 8:1-32. Sons and Chief Men of Benjamin.
1. Now Benjamin begat, &c.--This chapter contains some supplementary particulars in addition to what has been already said regarding the tribe of Benjamin (see on 1Ch 7:6). The names of many of the persons mentioned are different from those given by Moses--a diversity which may be accounted for in part on grounds formerly stated, namely, either that the persons had more than one name, or that the word "sons" is used in a loose sense for grandsons or descendants. But there are other circumstances to be taken into account in considering the details of this chapter; namely, first, that the genealogies of the Benjamites were disordered or destroyed by the almost total extermination of this tribe (Jud 20:11-48); secondly, that a great number of Benjamites, born in Assyria, are mentioned here, who returned from the long captivity in Babylon, and established themselves--some in Jerusalem, others in different parts of Judea. There were more returned from Babylon of the families belonging to this tribe than to any other except Judah; and hence many strange names are here introduced; some of which will be found in the list of the restored exiles (compare Ezr 2:1-70).
2Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth.
3And the sons of Bela were, Addar, and Gera, and Abihud,
4And Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah,
5And Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram.
6And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath:
6. these are the sons of Ehud--most probably the judge of Israel (Jud 3:15). His descendants, who had at first been established in Geba in Benjamin, emigrated in a body under the direction of Gera (1Ch 8:7) to Manahath, where their increased numbers would find more ample accommodation. Manahath was within the territory of Judah.
7And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzza, and Ahihud.
8And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.
8. Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab--He had probably been driven to take refuge in that foreign land on the same calamitous occasion that forced Elimelech to emigrate thither (Ru 1:1). But, destitute of natural affection, he forsook or divorced his two wives, and in the land of his sojourn married a third, by whom he had several sons. But there is another explanation given of the conduct of this Benjamite polygamist. His children by Hushim are mentioned (1Ch 8:11), while his other wife is unnoticed. Hence it has been thought probable that it is Baara who is mentioned under the name of Hodesh, so called because her husband, after long desertion, returned and cohabited with her as before.
Nine sons are here assigned to Bela. Genesis (44:41) only finds us clearly three of them, and these in very different order, viz. Gera, Naaman, and Arel; and Numbers (Num_26:39, Num_26:40) finds us only three, viz. Ard, Naaman, and Shupham. Yet our Huram may correspond with Hupham, and then the four pairs of names—Shephuphan and Huram, Shupham and Hupham, Shuppim and Huppim, and Muppim and Huppim—may be interpreted as designating one and the same couple of persons. The recurrence of the name Gera in verse 5, so close upon the same name in verse 3, would of course be more remarkable, and point inevitably to the disordered state of the text, if it were necessary to suppose that these nine persons were really brothers, as well as called sons of Bela.
1Ch_8:6, 1Ch_8:7
Ehud. We are brought to a halt again by the sudden introduction of this name. Even if it stand for Abihud (1Ch_8:3) or for Ahoah (1Ch_8:4), why is it changed in so short an interval? It is impossible to establish order in these verses except by most gratuitous conjecture. But it may be supposed that the verses say that Ehud's people once belonged to Manahath, that the heads of them removed them to Geba (Jos_18:24), and that he himself (query, Ehud? but commonly read Gera) removed them, and also Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera (which look very much like the Naaman, Ahoah, and Gera of 1Ch_8:4, 1Ch_8:5); and finally that after the removing "he" had two fresh sons, Uzza and Ahihud.
Shaharaim. It has been proposed, in the utter obscurity here, to add this name as a third to Uzza and Ahihud. This may be a way out, but if so, instead of repeating "and Shaharaim," it might be more natural to keep the former enigmatic nominative and object to begat, whether Ehud or Gera. There can be little doubt that a copyist's error has given us them (אֹתָם) in place of אֶת, in the latter part of this verse, before the names of the wives. The sentence then would translate, "after his sending away [whether by divorce or not] Hushim and Baara his wives."
9And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham,
10And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons, heads of the fathers.
11And of Hushim he begat Abitub, and Elpaal.
12The sons of Elpaal; Eber, and Misham, and Shamed, who built Ono, and Lod, with the towns thereof:
These verses give seven unknown sons of Ehud, Gera, or Shaharaim, as the case may be, by the wife Hodesh, whom one would have been glad to identify with Baara, and two unknown sons of the wife Hushim.
One of the sons of this last-named wife, Hushim, was named Elpaal. From 1Ch_8:12 to 1Ch_8:28 we have a numerous list of his descendants, evidently in different degrees of relationship, but with the thread picked up apparently several times, in the persons of the first-mentioned "sons," viz. the five, Eber, Misham, Shamed, Beriah, Shema (see 1Ch_8:16, 1Ch_8:18, 1Ch_8:21, 1Ch_8:25, 1Ch_8:27).
Ono and Lod. These places are not mentioned in Joshua as originally assigned to Benjamin. They were obtained or "built" afterwards. They are first mentioned in this passage, afterwards in Ezr_2:33; Neh_6:2; Neh_7:37; Neh_11:36. Led is, with little doubt, the Lydda of Act_9:32.
13Beriah also, and Shema, who were heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove away the inhabitants of Gath:
Aijalon. A similar kind of history belongs to this place. It was assigned to Dan (Jos_19:40-48). Unsubdued by them (Jdg_1:34-36), the Ephraimites possessed it awhile (1Ch_6:47-49), until it came to be more like the common property or care of Benjamin and Judah, situated as it was on their boundary line (1Sa_14:31; 2Ch_11:10; 2Ch_28:18).
14And Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth,
15And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Ader,
16And Michael, and Ispah, and Joha, the sons of Beriah;
17And Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hezeki, and Heber,
18Ishmerai also, and Jezliah, and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal;
19And Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi,
20And Elienai, and Zilthai, and Eliel,
21And Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, the sons of Shimhi;
22And Ishpan, and Heber, and Eliel,
23And Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan,
24And Hananiah, and Elam, and Antothijah,
25And Iphedeiah, and Penuel, the sons of Shashak;
26And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah,
27And Jaresiah, and Eliah, and Zichri, the sons of Jeroham.
28These were heads of the fathers, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem.
28. These dwelt in Jerusalem--The ordinary and stated inhabitants of Jerusalem were Judahites, Benjamites, and Levites. But at the time referred to here, the chiefs or heads of the principal families who are enumerated (1Ch 8:14-27) established themselves in the city after their return from the captivity.
1Ch 8:33-40. Stock of Saul and Jonathan.
These dwelt in Jerusalem (Jos_18:28; 1Ch_9:2-9; Neh_11:1-4).
29And at Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon; whose wife’s name was Maachah:
These verses are occupied with the immediate ancestors and posterity of Saul. And apparently the same account, minus some of its deficiencies, is repeated in the next chapter, 1Ch_8:35 -44. The two may be taken together here, and the latter will help the interpretation of the former.
The father—i.e, the chief—of Gibeon. (For Gibeon, see Jos_9:3, Jos_9:7-18; Jos_10:2; Jos_11:19; Neh_7:25; Neh_3:7.) The father of Gibeon (1Ch_9:35) was Jehiel (יְעִיאֵל; Chethiv spells with vau; not יְחִיאֵל, 1Ch_15:24). Of Jehiel by this name we do not elsewhere read. And even if it were on other grounds possible to identify the person with the Abiel of 1Sa_9:1 and 1Sa_14:51, it is not possible to identify the names. Compare the similar remarkable omission of the name of the "father of Gibea" (1Ch_2:49), an omission to be filled very possibly by this same name Jehiel.
1Ch_8:30, 1Ch_8:31
These verses contain the names of eight sons of Jehiel instead of the ten of 1Ch_9:36, 1Ch_9:37. Both of the missing names, however (viz. Ner after Baal, and Mikloth after Zacher), are introduced in verses immediately succeeding, where their sons are spoken of. One name, Zacher, also is spelt as Zechariah in 1Ch_9:37. Both these passages agree in representing Net as the grandfather of Saul. Not so the two passages in Samuel (1Sa_9:1; 1Sa_14:51), the first of which writes Abiel in the place of the grandfather instead of great-grandfather, which, however, need occasion little difficulty; and the second of which would certainly allow Ner to be grandfather to Saul, but seems to call him uncle. Even then, if we accept what the passage allows, it is somewhat remarkable that in the next verse Ner should be signalized as father of Abner rather than of Kish—a difficulty, however, much less considerable if we accept the suggestion (see 'Speaker's Commentary,' in loc.) to translate verse 51 thus, by the substitution of the word "sons" for "son:" "And Kish the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner, were sons of Abiel." It must be remembered at the same time that this is not equivalent to saying that they were necessarily brothers, but only descendants of the chief of the family, of the Demarch or Phylarch under mention in the genealogy.
1Ch_8:33, 1Ch_8:34
The number of Saul's children was certainly nine. In addition to the four (1Sa_31:2) mentioned here, there was Ishui, probably standing second (1Sa_14:49), and there were two daughters, Merab and Michal (1Sa_14:49), and there were two sons by Rizpah (2Sa_21:8), named Armoui and Mephi-bosheth. Esh-baal; the same with Ishbo-sheth (2Sa_2:8; 2Sa_3:7-14; 2Sa_4:4-12). Merib-baal; the same with Mephibosheth (2Sa_9:12). Micah is, therefore, the great-grandson of Saul.
30And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab,
31And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher.
32And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them.
33And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
33. Ner begat Kish--The father of Ner, though not mentioned here, is stated (1Ch 9:35) to have been Jehiel. Moreover, the father of Kish is said (1Sa 9:1) to have been Abiel, the son of Zeror, whence it would seem that Abiel and Ner were names of the same person.
Abinadab--the same as Ishui (1Sa 14:49).
Esh-baal--that is, Ish-bosheth.
34And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah.
34. Merib-baal--that is, Mephibosheth.
35And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz.
Tarea; spelt Tahrea in verse 41 of next chapter. Ahaz, the last of the four names contained in this verse, is supplied in italics, Authorized Version, next chapter, verse 41.
36And Ahaz begat Jehoadah; and Jehoadah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza,
36. Jehoadah--or, Jara (1Ch 9:42).
Jehoadah. The parallel passage in next chapter (verse 42) has Jarah; but some manuscripts have Jahdah (יַעְדָּה), which comes very near our Jehoadah (יִהוֹעַדָּה). Zimri. It is possible that this Zimri may rightly be identified with the usurper Zimri of 1Ki_16:9-20.
37And Moza begat Binea: Rapha was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son:
Rapha. This name appears as Rephaiah in next chapter (verse 43).
38And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.
39And the sons of Eshek his brother were, Ulam his firstborn, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third.
The genealogy runs on from Micah to Ulam with nothing special to remark upon. Ulam is twelfth from Saul, while his "sons and sons' sons" (verse 40) are spoken of. The time of Hezekiah must be reached, therefore, who was thirteenth from David. The table of next chapter stops with the name Azel (1Ch_9:44), and wears the appearance of having just missed the last two verses of this chapter.
The name Ulam is found also among the descendants of Gilead, grandson of Manasseh (1Ch_7:17).
40And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons’ sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin.
40. mighty men of valour, archers--(see on Jud 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.
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