1 Chronicles 29

⁴ For a discussion of redemption, see Exodus 13:11–16; Ruth 2:19–20 and comments; Word List: Redemption.

⁵ As with most biblical genealogies, the genealogies in 1 Chronicles Chapters 1–9 have omissions; the writer only includes those names that are important for his purposes. We must also keep in mind that in the Old Testament the word “father” can mean any ancestor, and the word “son” can mean any descendant.

⁶ The writer of 1 Chronicles uses the name Israel in preference to Jacob (see Genesis 32:28).

⁷ Esau was also called Edom (Genesis 36:1). Edom the country was also called the hill country of Seir (Genesis 36:9).

⁸ The writer had two good reasons for focusing on the line of Judah: first, Judah’s line was divinely chosen from among the twelve sons of Israel (Jacob); and second, of the exiles returning from Babylon, most belonged to the tribe of Judah. Incidentally, the word “Jew” is derived from the name “Judah.”

⁹ This Caleb is not the same as the Caleb son of Jephunneh who, together with Joshua, explored the promised land (Numbers 13:6).

¹⁰ Judah’s last king, Zedekiah, was Jehoiachin’s uncle; neither he nor his sons survived (2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 52:11).

¹¹ In verse 16, the Hebrew word for Jehoiachin is Jeconiah (the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew); Matthew uses the Hebrew name in his genealogy (Matthew 1:12).

¹² The firstborn son was traditionally given a double share of the inheritance. In Joseph’s case, his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each received a full share; thus Joseph, in effect, received a double share.

¹³ For a discussion on the subject of consecration, see Exodus 29:1–9 and comment; Word List: Consecration.

¹⁴ The Name of the Lord refers to God’s own Person and Presence. The temple was being built not just for the Lord’s honor and reputation but for the Lord Himself, whose very presence was going to be manifested in His temple (1 Kings 8:10–13; 2 Chronicles 5:13).

¹⁵ The name Solomon is derived from the Hebrew word for “peace.” Indeed, God kept that promise to grant peace and quiet (verse 9): in his entire reign, Solomon only had to engage in one battle (2 Chronicles 8:3).

¹⁶ The Hebrew word for plans used in verses 11–12 is the same as the word for pattern used in Exodus 25:9,40.

¹⁷ In verse 18, the writer says that David was given the plan for the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold. The writer is referring to the two large cherubim that Solomon made to overshadow the ark in the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 6:23–28; 1 Chronicles 3:10–13). The cherubim were winged figures that could be “ridden,” and so the writer calls them a “chariot.”

¹⁸ The state resources were twenty-five times greater than the personal gifts of David and the leaders. In verse 7, darics are mentioned; the daric was a coin of the Persian Empire named after the emperor Darius.