1 CHRONICLES - CHAPTER 1
ADAM TO NOAH – 1 CHRONICLES 1:1-3
v1 Adam was the father of Seth. Seth was the father of Enosh. Enosh was the father of Kenan. v2 Kenan was the father of Mahalalel. Mahalalel was the father of Jared. Jared was the father of Enoch. v3 Enoch was the father of Methuselah. Methuselah was the father of Lamech. And Lamech was the father of Noah.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 1-3
The writer sets out to show that the exiles are God’s people, Israel. The people who had come back from exile needed to find their origins and reconnect with their past as the nation called Israel, and to assist them in this, the writer records the history of their families. He starts at the beginning with Adam, the first man. He makes a list of the 10 names from Adam to Noah.
The list is of Israel's ancestors. It does not mention the other sons and their families. They all died in the flood, so Noah was the ancestor of all people.
NOAH'S FAMILY – 1 CHRONICLES 1:4-23
v4 The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. v5 Japheth’s sons were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. v6 Gomer’s sons were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. v7 Javan’s sons were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. v8 Ham’s sons were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. v9 Cush’s sons were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah’s sons were Sheba and Dedan. v10 Cush was the father of Nimrod. Nimrod grew up to become a very powerful person in this world. v11-12 Mizraim was the ancestor of the people from these nations: the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim and Caphtorim. The Philistines came from Casluhim. v13-16 Canaan’s first child was Sidon. And Canaan was the ancestor of the people from these nations: the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
v17 Shem’s sons were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. Aram’s sons were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech. v18 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah. Shelah was the father of Eber. v19 Eber had two sons. The name of one son was Peleg. He had this name because of an event during his life. While he was alive, God divided the people. Peleg’s brother was Joktan. v20-23 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these men were Joktan’s sons.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 4-23
The verses from 4 to 23 show the same names as in Genesis Chapter 10. Here are the sons of Noah in order of their ages: Shem was the first, followed by Ham, and Japheth was the youngest. The three sons of Noah are here because they started the new world. Noah, his sons, and their wives were the only people alive after the flood.
VERSES 5-7
We have the family of the youngest son first. The writer wants to follow the family of Shem. Abraham and Israel came from the family of Shem. So, he puts Shem as the last of the three. From the 7 sons of Japheth came the people in Europe and northern Asia.
VERSE 8
The people in Africa and the south-west of Asia come from the 4 sons of Ham.
VERSES 9-10
Cush had 5 sons. They each were the start of separate clans. These clans moved to the east of the Red Sea. They spread across southern Arabia and in the valley of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. It is not clear whether Nimrod was a 6th son of Cush. But he was from the family of Cush. He became the first powerful man since the flood. He was the ruler of Babylon and Assyria.
VERSES 11-16
Mizraim was a son of Ham. The Philistines came from the family of Mizraim. Later, the Philistines came to live in the country called Canaan. There, they were a frequent enemy of the Israelites.
Another son of Ham was Canaan. From him came several nations. These nations were Israel's neighbours, and they often fought against Israel.
The Amorites were a clan that spread through the country called Canaan. Later they became a nation to the north of Israel. The Girgashites were a clan in the country called Canaan. The Hivites were another clan in the country called Canaan. The Arkites lived in the city called Arka that was in the country called Syria. We do not know anything about the Sinites. The Arvadites were a clan that went to live on the island called Arvad. This island was near the coast of the country called Syria. The Zemarites were another clan in the country called Canaan. The Hamathites were a clan that lived near the northern boundary of Israel. Hamath was their main city.
VERSES 17-23
From the five sons of Shem came various nations in the same region as Israel. Elam went to the north of the bay called the Persian Gulf. The family of Aram became Syria. Lud was in the centre of the country that we call Turkey.
Eber was Abraham's ancestor, and he was the ancestor of several other people, who were called the Habiru or Apiru. The word Hebrew may have come from the name Eber or from the word Habiru.
One of the sons of Eber was Peleg. Peleg means ‘separated’. He had this name because, during his life, God separated the people. This refers to what happened at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). Until this time, all of the world’s people spoke one language. But they became too proud. They tried to build up to the sky. But God would not allow them to do it. God confused their language so that they could not understand each other. He scattered them all over the earth.
SHEM TO ABRAHAM – 1 CHRONICLES 1:24-27
v24-26 Abram’s ancestors included Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, and Terah. v27 God changed Abram’s name to Abraham.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 24-27
The list of names from Shem to Abram comes from Genesis 11:10-26. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5). Until that time, Abram and his wife Sarai had no children. Sarai was too old to have children and Abram was 99 years old. But God promised them a son. God changed their names. ‘Abraham’ means ‘father of a crowd.’ His wife’s name became Sarah.
ABRAHAM – 1 CHRONICLES 1:28-34
v28 Abraham’s sons were Isaac and Ishmael. v29-31 These were the sons of Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael’s first son was Nebaioth. His other sons were Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These men were Ishmael’s sons. v32 The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s slave woman, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan’s sons were Sheba and Dedan. v33 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these men were descendants of Keturah. v34 Abraham was the father of Isaac. And Isaac’s sons were Esau and Israel.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 28-34
Abraham had sons from three women. He had the first son Ishmael by Hagar. Hagar was not his wife. She was the servant of Sarah. Then he had Isaac by his wife Sarah. She was his principal wife. Abraham married a slave girl, Keturah, as a secondary wife. It was the custom to have a principal wife. People did not consider that a secondary wife had an equal rank with other wives. Keturah gave him 6 sons.
First, the writer tells us about the children of Hagar and Keturah. Then he gives the family of Isaac because he was Israel's ancestor. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Later, the LORD gave Jacob the new name of Israel (Genesis 32:28). The Chronicles always call him Israel (except in 1 Chronicles chapter 16).
The Jews came from Isaac. The Arab nations came from Ishmael and Keturah.
ESAU AND EDOM - 1 CHRONICLES 1:35-54
v35 Esau’s sons were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. v36 Eliphaz’s sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. v37 Reuel’s sons were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
v38 Seir’s sons were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. v39 Lotan’s sons were Hori and Homam. Lotan’s sister was Timna. v40 Shobal’s sons were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. Zibeon’s sons were Aiah and Anah. v41 Anah’s son was Dishon. Dishon’s sons were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. v42 Ezer’s sons were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. Dishan’s sons were Uz and Aran.
v43 These kings ruled in Edom before there were kings in Israel. Bela son of Beor was king of Edom. His city was Dinhabah. v44 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah became king. He was from Bozrah. v45 When Jobab died, Husham became king. He was from the country called Teman.
v46 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king. His city was Avith. Hadad defeated Midian in the country called Moab. v47 When Hadad died, Samlah became king. He was from Masrekah. v48 When Samlah died, Shaul became king. He was from Rehoboth by the river. v49 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor became king. v50 When Baal-Hanan died, Hadad became king. His city was Pau. Hadad’s wife was Mehetabel, and she was the daughter of Matred. Matred was the daughter of Me-Zahab. v51-54 Hadad died. The leaders of the families of Edom were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. These men were the leaders of Edom.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 35-42
Esau had 5 sons. These sons, in turn, had their own sons. Esau took his family and he went to live in the hill country called Seir. Seir was to the east of the valley called Arabah, east of the Dead Sea. Seir was the ancestor of the people who lived there. Esau had the name Edom (Genesis 25:30), so the families of Esau and Seir became the nation called Edom.
VERSES 43-54
The first king in Israel was Saul.
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