1 chronicles 1 and 2

Read 1 Chronicles 1 and 2 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions are:

1 Chr 1:1-4 {s} The genealogy of the patriarchs before the Flood
1 Chr 1:5 {s} The sons of Japheth, the firstborn of Noah
1 Chr 1:6 {s} The sons of Gomer
1 Chr 1:7 {s} The sons of Javan
1 Chr 1:8-9 {s} The sons of Ham, the youngest of Noah, and Cush his son
1 Chr 1:10 {s} Cush begot Nimrod who began to be a mighty one on the earth
1 Chr 1:11-12 {s} The sons of Mizraim
1 Chr 1:3-16 {s} The sons of Canaan
1 Chr 1:7 {s} The sons of Shem, the second born of Noah
1 Chr 1:18-23 {s} The sons of Arphaxad
1 Chr 1:24-27 {s} The line of Shem to Abraham
1 Chr 1:28 {s} The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael
1 Chr 1:29-31 {s} The sons of Ishmael
1 Chr 1:32 {s} The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine
1 Chr 1:33 {s} The sons of Midian, the son of Keturah
1 Chr 1:34 {s} Abraham begot Isaac, the sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel
1 Chr 1:35 {s} The sons of Esau
1 Chr 1:36 {s} The sons of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, including Amalek by Timna
1 Chr 1:37 {s} The sons of Reuel, the son of Esau
1 Chr 1:38 {s} The sons of Seir
1 Chr 1:39 {s} The sons of Lotan, the son of Seir (Lotan’s sister wasTimna)
1 Chr 1:40 {s} The sons of Shobal and Zibeon, sons of Seir
1 Chr 1:41-42 {p} The sons of Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan, the sons of Seir
1 Chr 1:43-51a {s} The kings of Edom, before there were kings in Israel
1 Chr 1:51b-54 {p} The chiefs of Edom
1 Chr 2:1-2 {p} The sons of Israel
1 Chr 2:3 {s} The sons of Judah by the Canaanitess
1 Chr 2:4 {s} The sons of Judah by Tamar
1 Chr 2:5 {s} The sons of Perez, the son of Judah by Tamar
1 Chr 2:6 {s} The sons of Zerah, the son of Judah by Tamar
1 Chr 2:7 {s} Achan the son of Carmi, who is Zimri (Targum), the son of Zerah
1 Chr 2:8 {s} The son of Ethan, the son of Zerah, was Azariah
1 Chr 2:9-20 {s} The sons of Hezron, the firstborn of Perez + the sons of Ram and Caleb, his sons
1 Chr 2:21-22 {s} Jair, the grandson of Hezron by the sister of Gilead, who had 23 cities in Gilead
1 Chr 2:23-24 {s} After Hezron died, his wife Abijah bore him Asshur the father of Tekoa
1 Chr 2:25-26 {s} The sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron
1 Chr 2:27-32 {s} The sons of Ram + Onam, sons of Jerahmeel
1 Chr 2:33-41 {s} The sons of Jonathan, the grandson of Onam, and Sheshan, the descendant of Onam
1 Chr 2:42-46 {s} The descendants of Caleb, the son of Hezron
1 Chr 2:47-49 {s} The descendants of Caleb’s concubines + his daughter Achsah
1 Chr 2:50-53 {s} The descendants of Hur the son of Caleb, through Shobal, his son
1 Chr 2:54-55 {s} The descendants of Hur through Salma, his son

1-2 Chronicles was originally a single work; it’s name in the Greek Septuagint reveals that it is a chronicle or record of things omitted in Samuel and Kings. And while it is true that there are many parallels in Kings and Chronicles, there are many things recorded in Chronicles which are unique to it. It used as sources, Torah, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings, and also, many books which were available then but which are lost to us today (“the book of the kings of Judah and Israel,” 2 Chr 16:11, “the book of Samuel the seer,” 1 Chr 29:29, “the annals of the book of the kings,” 2 Chr 24:27, and so on).

Jewish tradition holds the author to be Ezra, at the time of the return from Babylonian exile (a fact not disputed by serious scholars). The conclusion of Chronicles and the introduction of Ezra are identical and reveal that the book of Ezra is the continuation of Chronicles.

The first chapters of Chronicles are genealogies. The temptation is to skip them altogether, but we can learn from them if we allow them to teach us, as God included them in His word for a reason. All scripture is profitable, Amen? ♥

For example, I ask myself, why are the weak and strong paragraph divisions grouped as they are? The strong themes I discovered, then, are:

1 Chr 1:1-42 {sx22+p} The genealogy from Adam to Abraham, and the record of his sons
1 Chr :43-54 {s+p} The kings + chiefs of Edom
1 Chr 2:1-2 {p} The sons of Israel
1 Chr 2 is the record of the genealogies of Judah, which is not ended by the end of the chapter.

Gen 36:1 and 36:8 tell us that Esau is Edom. So the family of Abraham is chronicled, and then the sons of Isaac, Abraham’s son, are set apart from each other. The family of Esau, who is Edom, is given, and the family of Israel is given.

I believe the two lines of sons are set apart, because Jacob and Esau, or Israel and Edom, as they became known as the nations they founded, represent the two lines in the earth who are at war: the line of the God-fearing seed and the line of the God-disdaining seed. This warfare is rooted in a spiritual warfare which often erupts in the natural, between spiritual seed, not biological seed. This is why God will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Amalek is a descendant of Edom, who preys upon the God-fearing. The book of 1 Sam closed with David – the Messiah type’s – victorious war with Amalek – the enemy type. I have written on the difference between Israel and Edom before, and Brad Scott has two very valuable books on this topic also: The Principle of the Seed, and The Tares Among the Wheat.

The record of Judah then very quickly gives the genealogy of David. Why? David is a type of Messiah, who is the Promised Seed. God had said to Eve, “Your Seed shall bruise his head,” (Gen 3:15). Adam is the ancestor of David, and David is the ancestor of Messiah Yeshua through his mother. (This is why the promise of the Seed was given to Eve and not to Adam. Eve would be His mother, through Mary, but Adam was not His father, as YHVH was His Father.) So Chronicles begins by laying out, historically and officially, David’s family tree, to show us that His word which He spoke in Gen 3:15 was true and He was bringing it to pass. Aren’t you glad!