Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/80

16 and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; and Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz; and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimea the third; Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth; Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite. And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife,

ver. 25 a Ram is mentioned as a son of Jerahmeel and grandson of Hezron.

Nahshon, prince, etc.] See Num. i. 4, 7, ii. 3.

13. Shimea] so also xx. 7; but "Shammah" 1 Sam. xvi. 9.

14. Nethanel] the same name as Nathanael (John i. 45). The fourth, fifth and sixth brothers are not elsewhere named.

15. David the seventh] Jesse had eight sons (1 Sam. xvii. 12; cp. xvi. 10, 11). Here one seems deliberately passed over, perhaps because he had no children. (The Elihu "one of David's brethren" of 1 Chr. xxvii. 18 is probably to be identified with Eliab and not to be regarded as an eighth brother.)

16. sons of Zeruiah] Joab and his brothers are always thus named after their mother; perhaps their father died while they were young, or we may have a relic here of the ancient method of tracing kinship through the mother.

17. the Ishmaelite] 2 Sam. xvii. 25, "the Israelite," an error yielding no satisfactory sense.

18—24.&emsp; (Cp. vv. 42—55.)

18. Caleb] a clan dwelling in southern Judea, and probably distinct from Judah in the time of David (1 Sam. xxv. 3, xxx. 14). Other references to them or rather their reputed founder Caleb ben Jephunneh the Kenizzite (Num. xxxii. 12; Jos. xiv. 6, 14; 1 Chr. i. 36, where see note on Kenaz) point to an original connection with the Edomites. Their importance in these lists is explained by the fact that they were incorporated in Judah, and, after the exile, occupied townships close to Jerusalem (vv. 50—55) "forming possibly the bulk of the tribe in post-exilic Judah, since the Chronicler knows so few other families" (Curtis, Chron. p. 89). See also W. R. Smith, Old Testament in the Jewish Church, p. 279 ad fin.

begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth] the Heb. seems to be corrupt. Read perhaps begat children of Azubah, his wife, daughter of Jerioth; or took Azubah the wife of Jerioth. The name Azubah = forsaken is significant: see the note on ver. 42, Caleb, ad fin.