The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.
And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.
Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.
And the families of Kirjathjearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites.
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Study Notes for 1 Chronicles 2
Verse 1
the sons of Israel — The name was given to Jacob at Peniel (Gen 32:28). Leah's six stand in the order of Gen 35:23, and v.2 follows with Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher. Judah's line begins at once in v.3 and runs through David (v.15) to the exile, with a record of Jehoiachin's sons in 3:17–18.
Verse 3
Er, the firstborn of Judah — The verse sums up Gen 38. Judah's three sons were born to the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite (Gen 38:2). Er 'was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him' (Gen 38:7), and Onan after him (Gen 38:10). Tamar then bore Pharez and Zerah (v.4), and Pharez stands in Christ's line (Matt 1:3).
Verse 7
Achar, the troubler of Israel — Achar means 'troublesome', from akar, to trouble; Josh 7:1 writes the name Achan. Joshua said at his judgment, 'Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day' (Josh 7:25). Hosea calls the valley of Achor, where it happened, 'a door of hope' (Hos 2:15).
Verse 10
Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah — The Hebrew nasi is a tribal chief. Nahshon son of Amminadab was 'captain of the children of Judah' in the camp (Num 2:3) and the first to bring his offering at the dedication of the altar (Num 7:12). He stands in the line of David (Ruth 4:20) and of Christ (Matt 1:4).
Verse 15
David the seventh — David is the last of Jesse's sons named here. When Samuel asked for him, Jesse said 'There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep' (1 Sam 16:11). Matthew gives the line the same turn: 'Jesse begat David the king' (Matt 1:6).
Verse 16
Zeruiah, and Abigail — They were the sisters of Jesse's sons. Zeruiah's three sons, Abishai, Joab and Asahel, are named after their mother (2 Sam 2:18), and David said of them, 'these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me' (2 Sam 3:39). Abigail's son was Amasa (v.17).
Verse 18
Caleb the son of Hezron — Hezron's sons in v.9 are Jerahmeel, Ram and Chelubai, and v.42 calls Caleb 'the brother of Jerahmeel', so he is evidently the Chelubai of v.9. He is another man than Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the spy 'of the tribe of Judah' (Num 13:6; 1 Chr 4:15). After Azubah died he took Ephrath, who bore Hur (v.19).
Verse 20
Bezaleel — Hur's grandson. The LORD 'called by name' Bezaleel and 'filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship' to work the tabernacle in gold, silver and brass (Ex 31:2–5). The brasen altar he made was before the tabernacle in Solomon's day (2 Chr 1:5).
Verse 22
Segub begat Jair — Jair is Judah's through his father, and Manasseh's through his grandmother: v.21 says Segub's mother was 'the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead'. So Num 32:41 and Deut 3:14 call him 'Jair the son of Manasseh'. He took small towns and 'called them Havothjair'; v.23 counts 'threescore cities' belonging to the sons of Machir.
Verse 34
an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha — Sheshan had daughters only, so he gave one 'to Jarha his servant to wife' (v.35), and his line runs through their son Attai to Elishama (vv.35–41). The law told Israel, 'thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land' (Deut 23:7).
Verse 42
the father of Ziph… the father of Hebron — Ziph and Hebron are towns of Judah (Josh 15:24, 54), and Hebron is also called Kirjatharba. 'Father of' names the man whose family settled or led a place, as with Maon, 'the father of Bethzur' (v.45), and Salma, 'the father of Bethlehem' (v.51).
Verse 51
Salma the father of Bethlehem — Salma, son of Nahshon and father of Boaz (v.11), is Salmon in Ruth 4:21. Boaz 'came from Bethlehem' (Ruth 2:4). The town is the 'Bethlehem Ephratah' of Mic 5:2, 'out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel', which Matthew applies to Christ's birth (Matt 2:6).
Verse 55
the Kenites that came of Hemath — The Kenites were Moses' father-in-law's people, who went up 'with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah' (Judg 1:16). Hemath is 'the father of the house of Rechab', whose descendants told Jeremiah 'We will drink no wine' (Jer 35:6); the LORD promised that Jonadab 'shall not want a man to stand before me for ever' (Jer 35:19).
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