1 - 2 The Sons of Israel
1 These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, 2 Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
These verses list the sons of Jacob, here called “Israel”, in a random order. First the six children of Leah are mentioned, then one of Bilhah, then two of Rachel, then another of Bilhah and finally two of Zilpah. About twenty-two times there is a list of the sons of Jacob in the Bible, where the order often changes.
3 - 17 Descendants From Judah to David
3 The sons of Judah [were] Er, Onan and Shelah; [these] three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put him to death. 4 Tamar his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all. 5 The sons of Perez [were] Hezron and Hamul. 6 The sons of Zerah [were] Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Dara; five of them in all. 7 The son of Carmi [was] Achar, the troubler of Israel, who violated the ban. 8 The son of Ethan [was] Azariah. 9 Now the sons of Hezron, who were born to him [were] Jerahmeel, Ram and Chelubai. 10 Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, leader of the sons of Judah; 11 Nahshon became the father of Salma, Salma became the father of Boaz, 12 Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed became the father of Jesse; 13 and Jesse became the father of Eliab his firstborn, then Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, 14 Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, 15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh; 16 and their sisters [were] Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah [were] Abshai, Joab and Asahel. 17 Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.
In the rest of this chapter the descendants of Judah are mentioned. Judah’s genealogy is mentioned first because of the kingship that is associated with this tribe.
On the gravestone of Er we read the characteristic of his life: he “was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put him to death” (verse 3). It is a warning to live and walk before God’s face with fear, praying and watching, because every moment there can be said or done by us something that will characterize our lives. What will be read on my gravestone?
Few women are mentioned, but the name of Tamar shows a special grace from God (verse 4). She gives birth to Perez as a result of a lewd act she committed with Judah (Gen 38:14-18,27-30). It is God’s special grace that she is mentioned in the book of Ruth (Rth 4:12) and in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus (Mt 1:3).
Four of Zerah’s five sons, “Ethan, Heman, Calcol and Dara”, are known for their wisdom (verse 6). When the Holy Spirit represents the wisdom of Solomon, he declares Solomon wiser than these four men: “For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol” (1Kgs 4:31). It is rare that such a testimony can be given of four brothers.
It can also be mentioned that a psalm both of Ethan and of Heman is included in the Holy Scriptures (Psa 88:1; 89:1). They should not be confused with Heman and Ethan, the musicians of David (1Chr 15:19), for they are of the tribe of Levi and not of the tribe of Judah (cf. 1Chr 6:33-44).
The inscription on the gravestone of Achar, this is Achan, reads: “The troubler of Israel, who violated the ban” (verse 7). His sin is described in the book of Joshua (Jos 7:1). We see here that to the best families, here Judah, people can belong who are a disgrace to the family.
The names mentioned in verses 9-12 are the direct ancestors of David, to whom the chronicler works in the genealogies (cf. Rth 4:19-22). This does not mean that all names of the ancestors are mentioned from Ram onward. Three centuries have passed between Ram, the son of Hezron, and Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. Nahshon is “leader of the sons of Judah” in the days of Moses in the wilderness (Num 1:7; 2:3). Nahshon’s son, Salma, marries Rahab, the harlot, after the fall of Jericho (Mt 1:5).
Verse 16 shows that the three men “Abshai, Joab and Asahel”, who we know from David’s army, are the sons of David’s sister and thus his cousins. The same goes for Amasa, who is the son of another sister.
18 - 24 Descendants of Caleb (I)
18 Now Caleb the son of Hezron had sons by Azubah [his] wife, and by Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 20 Hur became the father of Uri, and Uri became the father of Bezalel. 21 Afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub. 22 Segub became the father of Jair, who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23 But Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath and its villages, [even] sixty cities. All these were the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead. 24 After the death of Hezron in Caleb-ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s wife, bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
Bezalel, the son of Uri (verse 20), is known to us from the building of the tabernacle (Exo 31:2-4).
Hezron, from whom Caleb and his descendants came forth, appears to have been a very fruitful man, even in his old age. When he dies, his wife Abijah is pregnant and gives birth to another child after his death (verse 24).
25 - 41 Descendants of Jerahmeel
25 Now the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron [were] Ram the firstborn, then Bunah, Oren, Ozem [and] Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27 The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin and Eker. 28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. And the sons of Shammai [were] Nadab and Abishur. 29 The name of Abishur’s wife [was] Abihail, and she bore him Ahban and Molid. 30 The sons of Nadab [were] Seled and Appaim, and Seled died without sons. 31 The son of Appaim [was] Ishi. And the son of Ishi [was] Sheshan. And the son of Sheshan [was] Ahlai. 32 The sons of Jada the brother of Shammai [were] Jether and Jonathan, and Jether died without sons. 33 The sons of Jonathan [were] Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. 34 Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant in marriage, and she bore him Attai. 36 Attai became the father of Nathan, and Nathan became the father of Zabad, 37 and Zabad became the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal became the father of Obed, 38 and Obed became the father of Jehu, and Jehu became the father of Azariah, 39 and Azariah became the father of Helez, and Helez became the father of Eleasah, 40 and Eleasah became the father of Sismai, and Sismai became the father of Shallum, 41 and Shallum became the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah became the father of Elishama.
This list includes names of people whose particular characteristic is that they died childless or without sons (verses 30,32-34). Childlessness is not new. God’s providence gives or withholds children, or sometimes gives them only of the same sex. For those who desire to have children, it is a great trial when the desire for children remains unfulfilled.
The need that this can bring with it cannot be understood by those who have children. Only the Lord can give His comfort therein. By His consolation they can come to accept in confidence that this is the way He wants to go with them. In this way they can serve Him in a special way. To those who love Him He will give a place and a name in His house, better than those of sons and daughters (Isa 56:5).
The marriage of Sesan’s daughter to an Egyptian slave (verse 35) can only be lawful if we assume that this slave has become a Jew, a proselyte.
42 - 55 Descendants of Caleb (II)
42 Now the sons of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, [were] Mesha his firstborn, who was the father of Ziph; and his son was Mareshah, the father of Hebron. 43 The sons of Hebron [were] Korah and Tappuah and Rekem and Shema. 44 Shema became the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam; and Rekem became the father of Shammai. 45 The son of Shammai was Maon, and Maon [was] the father of Bethzur. 46 Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Haran, Moza and Gazez; and Haran became the father of Gazez. 47 The sons of Jahdai [were] Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah and Shaaph. 48 Maacah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbena and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb [was] Achsah. 50 These were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, [were] Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim, 51 Salma the father of Bethlehem [and] Hareph the father of Beth-gader. 52 Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim had sons: Haroeh, half of the Manahathites, 53 and the families of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites and the Mishraites; from these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites. 54 The sons of Salma [were] Bethlehem and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites. 55 The families of scribes who lived at Jabez [were] the Tirathites, the Shimeathites [and] the Sucathites. Those are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
In this section, “the families of scribes” are noticeably (verse 55). Writing is important in the things of God. It means being busy with it and recording it and thus passing it on to the next generations. In this way, future generations can be taught the things of God.
The Kenites (verse 55b) do not originally belong to Israel. They are one of the heathen peoples of the land of Canaan (Gen 15:18-21). Here they are included in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah. It seems that over the years they have become more and more part of the tribe of Judah, may be by marriages. They are a people who, in addition to Caleb, one of the twelve spies, have also become known for the faithfulness of one of their families, that of the Rechabites. Their faithfulness to the customs of their fathers is so much appreciated by the LORD, that in the book of Jeremiah He sets this family as an example to His unfaithful people (Jer 35:12-16).