Marital Multiplication

March 28, 2024 at 2:44 pm | Posted in I Chronicles | Leave a comment
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1 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess: 2 The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:

I Chronicles 3:1-2

David had seven or eight wives – it’s hard to be sure – and some concubines. From the account in II Samuel and here in I Chronicles we can see that some if not all of these marriages except for Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba (Bathshua) were for the purpose of political alliances. Absalom was the son of the princess of the foreign king of Geshur, and she is the example given here to indicate that David most likely married her for political reasons.

This practice of “multiplying wives” was forbidden by God’s law, but David – and to a ridiculous extent his son, Solomon – violated this law. However, we should not take their doing so as a basis for trying to justify the sinful practice of polygamy. David had many sons (and a great deal of trouble) because of this. It wasn’t hard for Satan to figure out how to tempt David with Bathsheba. He simply watched and saw his obvious weakness. No man should ever believe that he is beyond temptation.

The Messiah descended directly from Solomon’s line, and Solomon was the son of Bathsheba. When the pattern of listing the descendants of each tribe in I Chronicles, starting with the father of each tribe, is interrupted, it signals to the reader that something noteworthy occurred in the history of God’s people, which the Chronicler injects to remind people that he is not listing mere natural descent, genealogy, and family lines, but is demonstrating the hand of God at work, controlling and guiding this process.

Presently Chronicling the Past with an Eye toward the Future

March 21, 2024 at 11:59 am | Posted in Biblical names, I Chronicles | 2 Comments
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1 Adam, Sheth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, 3 Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

I Chronicles 1:1-4

The Jewish people tended to think of Abraham as the father of their nation and heritage, but Chronicles reminded them that God traced their beginnings to THE beginning. Over the centuries Chronicles has sometimes gotten a bad rap as merely the leftover bits that were not included in I & II Samuel and I & II Kings. This is partly due to the name given to it in the popular Greek version of the Bible known as the Septuagint. In reality the Chronicles, although perhaps tedious to modern readers in the genealogical sections, have their own purpose. They offer commentary on, and motivation based on, the entire Old Testament.

The descendants of Shem are the ones that lead to Abraham, but Shem, in the verses shown above, is listed last after Ham and Japheth in order to highlight that Shem is the thread to follow, and to segue into the most key figures in Jewish history.

The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.

I Chronicles 1:17

27 Abram; the same is Abraham. 28 The sons of Abraham; Isaac, and Ishmael. 29 These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

I Chronicles 1:27-29

These “generations” statements (“toldot“) are meant to the mirror the style of Genesis. While the original Hebrew name for Chronicles is something like “The Times of the Days” or “The Things that Went on in Those Days,” it is important to remember that they are more than a mere reporting of history. They are designed to highlight God’s directions to those He has chosen from the beginning, and to remind the people of the nation of Judah that, despite many setbacks, His ultimate promises would be fulfilled.

The Bible’s historical books, and the stories of its historical figures, from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob (Israel) to David, instruct us in the present and point us to the future, even as they chronicle the past.

The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the Lord; and he slew him.

I Chronicles 2:3

Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:

I Chronicles 2:15  

Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:

I Chronicles 3:1


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