The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Chronicles — Section 30

iless, tho daughter of Bho.d; nnd two, Pharez of Hezron, the most important hy far of the and Zerah, by Tamar, his own daughter-in- seven gra.ndsons. His three sons are an- liiw, under the cireumstances described nounced, nnd, as beginning with tbe flrst- (Gen. xxxviii. 6-30). 'fhere all these born, so presumably in order of seniority. namoeare found in exact accord in the Autho- 'fhey ar~: (A), Jerahmeel; (B), Ram; (0), rized Version, in tho Hebrew text, and in the Chelubo.1. Septua.dnt. The Septuo.gint Version, how- Vere. 10-15.-(B) Ram (the Are.m of the ever (Gen. xxxviii. 2), by nn evident in- Septuagint a.nd of Matt. i. ::l; Luke iii. 33) accuracy of translation. gives Shua as the is taken first in order, at onco to push on name, not of the father, but of the daughter, the lineage of Judah to the gTeat lantlmark ,'f tvoµ.a. :=£a.u&. Paro.lie! passages are also DAVID, who is reached at the seventh gene- found (Gen. xlvi. 12; Numb. xxvi. 19-22). ration from Ram (Ruth iv. l!J-22; Matt. Er and Onan died without issue, and the i. 3-5; Luke iii. 31-33), his name bein o descendants of Shelah are not mentioned ranked la.st of seven brothers only, sons of till we reach eh. iv. 21-23. The line is Jesse. now carried on by the twin sons of Tamar Ver. 11.-Salma, Hebrew i.:o',i,; but Ruth (vers. 5, 6). Pharez, with two sons, Hezron and Hamul (Gen. xl vi. 12; Ruth iv. 18), and iv. 20, m;i~~ and in followi~g •verse JiD~i/1. Zerah, with five sons, Zim.ri (or Zabdi, Josh. The variation of the first two of these forms vii. 1), Ethan, Heman, Ca.lcol, Dara (or with has many parallels, as between Chronicles many manuscripts, followed by the Targum, and the earlier Old Testament Scriptures. Syriac, aud Arabia versions, Darda). lfthese Vers. 13-15 give us what we have uot last four names are not identical with those in elsewhere, the names of the fourth, fifth, and l Kings iv. 31, they are not to be found in sixth sons of Jesse, viz. Ne.the.nee!, Radde.i any available connection elsewhere, and the (but see l Kings i. 8), a.nd Ozem. But, on last two not at all. Upon this supposition, the other hand, they make it appear that it is held by some that this very passage David wo.s the seventh of seven, instead of proves that the compiler drew on resources (1 Sam. xiv. 10, 11: xvii. 12) the eighth of not possessed by us. The weight of evi- eight sons. 'l'he missing sou, any wo.y, be- dence seems, however, largely in favour of longs to the seventh place. The Syriao the persons being the same. (See Gilbert and Arabic -rersions have taken the Elihu Barrington's 'Old Testament Genealogies,' of eh. xxvii. 18, oud put him in this i. 206-208, well summarized in art. place. Others, following the Septuagint, "Darda,'' Sm~h's • Bible Dictionnry,' for as suppose this Elihu, if strictly a brother of competent a discussion of the question as Do.vid, to be Elio.b, the oldest. The explana- the present do.ta will allow.) It neetle to be tion of the absence of the name here may be constantly remembered that an enumeration that he died early a.nd without issue, and like the above, or five so-called sons, does not would accordingly be the less wa.nted in a. necessarily involve their being five brothers, genee.logicn.l register. although in this co.so it looks the more o.s Vere. lG, 17.-These verses do not soy though they were so, o.s it is said live of that David "begat" Ze.uiah and Abigail, them in all but that these two wero sisters of the fore- Ver. 7.-We ho.ve then so far seven grand- going seven brethren. Light is thrown upon sons to Judo.h, when a new name, unmen- this by 2 Sam. xvii. 25, which 81\)'S that tioned before, is introduced-Carmi He is Abigail was the daughter of one No.ha.sh, neither described as one of the seven grand- and that Zeruio.h wo.s her sister. But it is sons nor as descended from any one of them, to leave us in greater d1nkness us to who but unenviably enough is marked RB the No.bath wo.s: whether Nnhnth wo.s another father of Achar-lo.ter form of Aohe.n- name for Jesse, or the n11m0 of Jesse's wife, the troubler of Israel. Josh. vii. 1-18 or the name of a former husb,md of Jesse's supplies the missing link, and states that wife, to whom she bore these two do.ught~rs Co.rmi is son of Zimri (Ze.bdi), one of the before ehe became wife to Jesse, and th11t aforeHuid seven grandsons. By the punish- former husband possibly none other th1m tho ment of dee.th, visited upon this Aoho.r, with Ammonite king (2 So.m. x. 2)-or whether his sons and daughters (Josh. vii. 24, 25), it noue of these conjectures be near the tn1tn, may be presumed tho.t the line of Judah some of which on tho face of them eeem through him been.me extinct. unlikely enough, is oe yet unsettlod. Mean- Ver. 8.-The line through Ethan, another time it is worth remembering that Zeruiah of the seven gra.ndsons, seems to stop with no.rued one of her celebrated sons, ond Azariah, o. name found nowhere else. probably the eldest of them, Abishai, o.ftor Ver. 9.-3. THE LINE OF JUDAH PUR- Jesse, Ishai being the some as our Jesse; yet SUED THROUGH THE THREE BRANCHES OF from the o.bove premises it is to.ken thnt HEZRON's SONS. The track of genea.logy she was strictly sister of Abigail, a.nd there- ihe11 rcttm1s upon Pho.re:i;, 1.1nd to the nume fore wo.s not reiilly rolute,l to Jesse. '.l'ho  THE FIRST DOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. (cu. 11, 1-5li,