ISRAEL'S POSTEXILIC HISTORY: LESSON 2 NOTES PART 2

CHAPTER 1:29-33: THE SONS NOT OF PROMISE OF ABRAHAM

Here in this section we have the records of the sons of Abraham other than Isaac. These are:

ISHAMEL: A son of Sarah by Hagar. He is the child of worldly wisdom. He is the father of twelve sons and a great desert chieftan. Kedar is mentioned on occasion in the Biblical record and seem to represent this nomadic people living on the edge of the desert adjacent to Palestine and Syria.

THE SONS OF KETURAH: The concubine or another wife of Abraham. She marries Abraham after Sarah’s death and bears him six sons. They take up residence in the desert. Midian plays a future factor in Israel’s history, for in fact Midian settled east of the Sinai Peninsula beyond the Gulf of Aqaba and Moses married among these people. It is also worth noting that near the end of the Exodus when Balak, king of Moab, calls for Balaam, he invites the Midianites to join with him. Also, when Gideon must deliver Israel from oppression, it is the oppression of the Midiantes (Jud. 6:1-2).

ALL THE SONS OF ABRAHAM: Isaac, Ishmael, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

CHAPTER 1:34: THE SON OF ABRAHAM

Here we see the Seed line extended through Abraham via the son of promise, that is Isaac. It also records Isaac’s two sons, Esau and Israel (Jacob – Gen. 32:28). The usage of the name Israel is to keep the Seed line identified as another detour from the Seed line is about to take place.

A chart of this section of the genealogy. The chart is taken from the Logos computer program:

CHAPTER 1:35-54: THE SONS OF ESAU AND KINGS OF EDOM

The land of Edom, located around Mount Seir south of the Dead Sea, is settled by Esau and his descendants (Gen. 25:30; 32:3; 36:1, 8). The initial record of this lineage is in Genesis 36. Why does the author take the time to list these people? This is a people with which Israel has to reckon.

In the days of Saul we find Amalek’s descendants (v. 36).

Their first contact with Israel was at Rephidim in the wilderness of Sinai, where they made an unprovoked attack on the Israelites and were defeated after a desperate conflict (Ex. 17:8–13; Dt. 25:17f). Because of this attack the Amalekites were placed under a permanent ban and were to be destroyed (Dt. 25:19; 1 S. 15:2f; cf. Ps. 83:7). A year later, following the report of the spies, Israel ignored the advice of Moses and sought to enter southern Palestine. They were defeated by the Amalekites at Hormah (Nu. 14:43, 45). The spies had reported their presence in the south along with Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites (Nu. 13:29).

From the days of the judges two encounters are recorded. The Amalekites assisted Eglon king of Moab in his attack on Israelite territory (Jgs. 3:13). Later they combined forces with the Midianites and the “people of the East” (b^enê qeḏem), and raided Israelite crops and flocks in the days of Gideon, who was able to drive them out (Jgs. 6:3–5, 33; 7:12).

During these years the Amalekites were to be found mainly in the Negeb region, although for a time they gained a foothold in Ephraim (Jgs. 12:15). The foreign prophet Balaam looked away to their lands from his vantage point in Moab and described them as the “first of the nations” (Nu. 24:20), which may mean in regard either to origin or to status. When Samuel commanded Saul to destroy them they were in the Negeb area, S of Telaim in Judah. Saul drove them toward Shur in the wilderness toward Egypt (1 S. 15:1–9). On that occasion Saul spared Agag their king, for which he was rebuked by Samuel, who slew Agag personally (1 S. 15:33).

David fought the Amalekites in the area of Ziklag, which Achish king of Gath had given to him (1 S. 27:6; 30:1–20). It was an Amalekite who brought to David the news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan (in which he had a part), and who was put to death by David (2 S. 1:1–16).

After David’s time the Amalekites seem to have declined. In Hezekiah’s day the sons of Simeon attacked “the remnant of the Amalekites that had escaped,” taking their stronghold in Mt. Seir (1 Ch. 4:43).[1]

Likewise we find Teman of verse 36 to be another important name:

In the prophetic writings, Teman seems to have been considered the principal city of Edom and is often used as a poetic parallel for the entire land of Edom (Jer 49:7, 20; Am 1:12; Ob 9). Since Teman means “south” it is likely that Teman was located in the far south of Edom; however, its precise location remains unknown. The residents of Teman (Temanites; Gn 36:34, kjv Temani; 1 Chr 1:45) were evidently well known for their wisdom (Jer 49:7; Ob 9). This reputation may well derive from Eliphaz the Temanite, who was one of Job’s counselors (Jb 2:11; 4:1; 15:1; 22:1; 42:7, 9).[2]

As we come to the New Testament we find the Idumeans (Greek for “Red” as brought about from the name of the country Edom). Herod the Great of the New Testament is an Idumean—and so we find when the Messiah enters the world an Idumean, and Edmoite, a descendant of Esau is the king of Judaea (Mat. 2:1).

Charts related to this section of the genealogy:

CHAPTER 2:1-2: THE SONS OF ISRAEL

We now return to the Seed line. In these verses we have the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve patriarchs of Israel, recorded: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Jospeh, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. “It is of interest to note that the usual listing of Ephraim and Manasseh does not appear and that their father Joseph is listed in his own place.”[3]

CHAPTER 2:3-55: THE DESCENDANTS OF JUDAH

The author now shows the importance of Judah. 1 Chronicles 2:3-55 gives attention to Judah and his descendants. “Jacob had said (Genesis 49:10) that the scepter would not depart from Judah until Shiloh should come. “Shiloh” is a descriptive term signifying a prince of peace, a kingly seed.

Judah’s five sons: Er, Onan, Shelah, Pharez, and Zerah (vv. 3-4). Er and Onan were stricken down by God for wickedness (Gen. 38:6-10). Shelah not being of age was promised as husband to Tamar once old enough (Gen. 38:11), which promise Judah neglected. Tamar played the part of a religious prostitute and Judah visiting her became the mother of Judah’s last two sons: Pharez and Zerah.

PHAREZ: His sons are mentioned in verse 5. The lineage will pick up with his son Hezron in verse 9.

ZERAH: We find his sons recorded in verses 6-8. Solomon’s wisdom is contrasted to the wisdom of these men in 1 Kings 4:31. It is also worth noting that Achar the son of Carmi, the son of Zerah is the Achan of Joshua 7 (as the troubler of Israel see Jos. 6:18).

HEZRON: The son of Pharez, the son of Judah. The father of three:

JERAHMEEL: Verses 25-41 record his family. “Nothing more definitive is known concerning any of these beyond the fact that they are in the line of descent from Perez through Hezron and Jerahmeel.”[4]

RAM: Verses 10-17 record this family. Here we find many of the men of great Biblical history: Salma – Salmon of Mat. 1 – marries Rahab of Jericho, and they have Boaz, who marries Ruth of Moab, they have Obed, who is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David. We likewise see the great men of David, his cousins, the sons of his sister Zeruiah: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel (v. 16).

We also find another cousin, Amasa, the son of David’s sister Abigail. He was the captain of Absalom’s army (2 Sam. 17:25) and later the captain of Daivd’s army (2 Sam. 19:13).

One mark of question in this account: It says that Jesse had seven sons (see v. 15), yet 1 Samuel 16:10-11 indicates that seven sons of Jesse had passed before Samuel prior to David the youngest being brought forth. How is this possible? Is it 7 or is it 8 sons of Jesse?

The passage in 1 Chronicles records the names of seven sons of Jesse, perhaps because one of David’s brothers died, and his name was not preserved…It is not uncommon practice for the surviving children to speak of their family in terms of the remaining number, so that any member of the family which would have been composed of eight sons, identifies himself as one of seven brothers. This would likely be the case in David’s family if the brother had died before marriage, leaving no posterity, and had made no significant contribution during the rise and reign of David. There would have been no reason to retain his name among the genealogical records of the sons of Jesse.[5]

CHELUBAI: Also known as Caleb. Is he or is he not the faithful spy associated with Joshua? It is possible (see v. 49 and Jos. 15:17; Jud. 1:12-13). His family is recorded in verses 18-20. It is possible that his son Hur is the one that held up Moses arm in Exodus 17:12. It is a surety that Bezaleel, his great-grandson, the grandson of Hur, is the master craftsman in the construction of the tabernacle (Exo. 31:2). There is additional family recorded in verses 42-49.

Hezron later fathered two more sons by Abiah, the daughter of Machir (who was of the tribe of Manasseh). He was a great man of the area of Gilead (“The name is applied generally to the mountain mass lying between the Yarmuk on the North, and Wady Chesban on the South; the Jordan being the boundary on the West, while on the East it marched with the desert.”[6]—see also the map).

Additional genealogies are given, including antoher Caleb, the son of Hur. These names are recorded to show the settling of the villages around Jerusalem and setting the stage to understand geographically where David was from—and in prophecy where the Messiah will enter the world.

One name of note for the future in verse 55 – Rechab. “The Kenites were a branch of the Midianite people and they lived in Judah toward the southern and western borders of the Dead Sea. Rechab was founder of a people called Rechabites (Jeremiah 35:2). They were a people whose moral standards were so high that they shamed the Hebrews.”[7]

[1] Geoffrey W. Bromiley, vol. 1, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002), 104.
[2] Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1988), 2042.
[3] Robert E. Black. The Books of Chronicles in Bible Study Textbook Series. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1991.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Norman L. Geisler and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1992. Print.
[6] James Orr, M.A., D.D., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia : 1915 Edition, ed. James Orr (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1999).
[7] Robert E. Black. The Books of Chronicles in Bible Study Textbook Series. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1991.