1 Chronicles 1

1 Chronicles 1:1

I. THE GENEALOGIES (Chaps. 19) The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles contain genealogical tables, or “family trees,” as we like to call them. Genealogies were very important to the Jews in seeking to maintain their tribal distinctions. After the confusion of the captivity, it was also important to establish the kingly and priestly lines once more. There are several instances in these chapters where names differ from the names given in other parts of the Bible. There are different reasons for these apparent inconsistencies. Sometimes a man had more than one name. It should not surprise us that some names changed in spelling over the centuries. After all, there is a whole millennium between some of the genealogies in Genesis and their counterparts here in Chronicles (1400400 B.C.). Many cases are copyists’ errors. A look at the Hebrew language will show just how easily this could have happened. These “discrepancies” do not stumble the serious student, since most did not exist in the original documents and in no way affect any major doctrine of the faith. A. From Adam to Abraham (1:1-27)The Book of Genesis appears to have been the source of these genealogies. Verses 1-4 go back to Genesis 5 (Adam to Noah). Verses 5-23 give the descendants of Noah, as recorded in Genesis 10. From Genesis 11 comes the genealogy of Abraham (vv. 24-27).

1 Chronicles 1:28

B. From Abraham to Israel (1:28-54)Abraham’s natural descendants, listed in Genesis 25, are given in verses 28-33. The descendants of Isaac, the son of promise, are dealt with next. Esau, from Genesis 36, is mentioned in verses 35-54, thus clearing the way for the descendants of Jacob (Israel). Chapters 2 through 9 trace the posterity of Israel. Here in the first chapter the chronicler is narrowing the focus from Adam, the father of the human race, to Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. He quickly clears the stage of all but the chosen nation. Here we also have the beginning of the messianic line (cf. Luk_3:34-38).

ADAM |NOAH |JAPHETHSHEM |HAMABRAHAM |ISHMAELISAAC |ESAUJACOB