1 Chronicles 1 Footnotes

1:1 To the modern reader, genealogies make for boring reading. Why did the Chronicler devote so much space (chaps. 1–9) to them? In the ancient world one’s identity was rooted in one’s family and then in one’s clan or tribe. Ethnicity was the essence of one’s public and private loyalties. The Chronicler’s primary purpose in writing his book was to impart a sense of unity and loyalty to a scattered and demoralized nation. The genealogy shows one’s place, who is family, and who is not. To whom am I obligated, and to what degree? One cannot deny family relationships, wrote the Chronicler to his “brothers.” The lists and genealogies make up between twenty-five to thirty percent of the Chronicles, based upon actual word count. Clearly, ancestry and relationships are a major part of the Chronicler’s message: the importance of Israel in world history and its essential unity.

Genealogies come in two basic forms: (1) linear: tracing a single line of descent from generation to generation; (2) lateral: tracing several parallel lines of “siblings” one after the other. The tracing is usually descending (tracing descendants) but occasionally ascending (tracing ancestors). The names found in the genealogies often represent not only the individual, but also the clan or the geographical region or towns founded by that individual. Here the Chronicler followed the genealogy in Gn 10 with only minor differences.

1:8 “Cush” represented the Sudan and Nubia in the south. “Mizraim” is literally “Egypt.” “Put” represents Libya in the west. As with the Table of Nations in Gn 10, these names also point to geographic relationships. Although “Canaan” is included with the other nations in the south and southwest of the Fertile Crescent, the languages and ethnicity of the Canaanites known to Israel are clearly Semitic from archaeological and extrabiblical literary evidence. Most of Canaan and the rest of Palestine were frequently under Egypt’s sphere of influence in ancient times.

1:17 The Chronicler began to focus upon the line that would end with Israel (Jacob).

1:24 The Chronicler recapitulated the line in summary fashion, following the path leading to Israel (Jacob).

1:34 From Adam to Jacob (Israel), the trail narrows down to the twelve tribes of Israel. Notice the Chronicler named him “Israel” not “Jacob.” He began presenting his theology right from the start, a theme that will echo back again and again: “We’re all together in this exile; one for all and all for one.” The Chronicler only rarely uses the name “Jacob” (16:13,17) rather than “Israel.” This was part of his emphasis upon the unity of the nation of Israel—that they all came from the same father.

1:35 “Esau’s sons”; throughout the Chronicler’s genealogies, the descendants of Esau (including Edom and Seir) were given substantial attention, probably because Edom had a significant economic and political presence in the postexilic era and because of their close proximity to Judah.

1:51 The use of the word “chiefs” suggests these names are not direct relatives. The list simply outlines their political structure, not so much the family relationships.