The First Book of the Chronicles
1 Chronicles 3
Chapter III · Vol. II, pp. 809–810
1 The sons of David. 10 His line to Zedekiah. 17 The successors of Jeconiah.
1 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron: the firstborn aAmnon, of Ahinoam the bJezreelitess; the second, cDaniel,1 of Abigail the Carmelitess;
A.M. cir. 2949. B.C. cir. 1055.
b Jos.15.56. 1 Sa.25.43.
c Or, Chileab, 2 Sa.3.3.
1 Called also Chileab, 2 Sa. 3. 3. Two contemporaneous names were common. So also was a change of name, one succeeding and superseding the other. It is probable this individual died young, as there is no special mention of him subsequently in the history.—C.
2 The third, dAbsalom the son of Maachah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth, eAdonijah the son of Haggith;
d 2 Sa.13.20-29; xiv.-xviii.
3 The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by fEglah his wife.
f 2 Sa.3.5. His beloved wife.
4 These six were born unto him in Hebron; and gthere he reigned seven years and six months:2 and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.
5 Andh these were born unto him in Jerusalem; iShimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of kBath-shua, the daughter of Ammiel.l
h 2 Sa.5.14-16. ch.14.3-7.
i Or, Shammua, 2 Sa.5.14. ch.14.4.
k Or, Bath-sheba, 2 Sa.11.3.
l Or, Eliam, 2 Sa.11.3.
6 Ibhar also, and mElishama, and Eliphelet,3
m Or, Elishua, 2 Sa.5.15. ch.14.5.
3 In this and ver. 8 these two names occur twice. Some think this is a mistake, but others suppose that two persons so called died young, and that the next born received the name of the deceased.—I.
9 These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines, and oTamar their sister.
o 2 Sa.13.1-19.
12 Amaziah his son, sAzariah his son, Jotham his son,
s Or, Uzziah, 2 Ki.15.1,38.
14 Amon his son, Josiah his son.
15 And the sons of Josiah were, the first-born Johanan,8 the second uJehoiakim, the third Zedekiah,x the fourth yShallum.
8 B.C. 762.
u Or, Eliakim, 2 Ki.23.34.
x Or, Mattaniah, 2 Ki.24.17.
y Or, Jehoahaz, 2 Ki.23.30. 2 Ch.36.1. Je.22.11.
16 And the sons of zJehoiakim; aJeconiah his son bZedekiah9 his son.
z Mat.1.11.
a Or, Jehoiachin, 2 Ki.24.6; or Coniah, Je.22.24. Mat.1.12.
b 2 Ki.24.17. Being his successor.
9 Supposed by some to be that Zedekiah whose name was originally Mattaniah, 2 Ki.24.17. If this were so he is called son, merely as successor of Jeconiah. But this Zedekiah may have been another, and an actual son of Jechoniah, of whom nothing more is historically recorded.—C.
18 Malchiram also, and Pedaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.
19 And the sons of Pedaiah were, dZerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:
d Ezr.2.2; 3.2; 5.2. Hag.1.1,12,14; 2.2,4,21,23. Zec.4.6,9. Mat.1.12. Lu.3.27. It seems Pedaiah adopted him, or became his father-in-law.
20 And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushab-hesed, five.
21 And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.
22 And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah: and the sons of eShemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.2
A.M. 3434. B.C. 570.
e Ezr.8.2.
2 That is—the sons of Shechaniah were six, reckoning to him Shemaiah and his five sons, as Jacob reckoned to himself Ephraim and Manasseh the sons of Joseph, Ge.48.5,6. This is evident from the word sons of Shechaniah, for only one proper son, Shemaiah, is mentioned, ver. 22, and as sons are ascribed to him, they must be his son and grandsons, by the virtue of patriarchal adoption. There is thus no use for the violent and unauthorized substitution of five, without authority of MSS., as Houbigant would read.—C.
Notes
Reflections.—Even good men may have large families with little appearance of piety or wisdom among most of them, while there is plenty of crosses: and often children die and leave their names to others. But it is highly becoming when we so love our reprovers, and especially our God, as to commemorate them in the names of our children.1 What distinguished respect God pays to his promise, and to the noted piety of his servants! Never, perhaps, but in David's family, did a crown go directly from father to son for seventeen generations! But great indeed is our mercy that we now have Jesus, the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, to complete and crown the list.
1 David called one of his sons Nathan; and many of them had Eli (My God) in their names.