1 Chronicles 1-2
New English Translation
Adam’s Descendants
1 Adam, Seth, Enosh, 2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jered, 3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, 4 Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.[a]
Japheth’s Descendants
5 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
6 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath,[b] and Togarmah.
7 The sons[c] of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites, and the Rodanites.[d]
Ham’s Descendants
8 The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim,[e] Put, and Canaan.
9 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca.
The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
10 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who established himself as a mighty warrior on earth.[f]
11 Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 12 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines descended[g]) , and the Caphtorites.
13 Canaan was the father of Sidon—his firstborn—and Heth, 14 as well as the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 15 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 16 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.
Shem’s Descendants
17 The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
The sons of Aram:[h] Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.[i]
18 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber. 19 Two sons were born to Eber: the first was named Peleg, for during his lifetime the earth was divided;[j] his brother’s name was Joktan.
20 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 Ebal,[k] Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah,[l] 25 Eber, Peleg, Reu, 26 Serug, Nahor, Terah, 27 Abram (that is, Abraham).
28 The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.
29 These were their descendants:
Ishmael’s Descendants
Ishmael’s firstborn son was Nebaioth; the others were[m] Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.
Keturah’s Descendants
32 The sons to whom Keturah, Abraham’s concubine,[n] gave birth: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah.
The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.
33 The sons of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
Isaac’s Descendants
34 Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel.
Esau’s Descendants
35 The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
36 The sons of Eliphaz: Teman, Omar, Zephi,[o] Gatam, Kenaz, and (by Timna) Amalek.[p]
37 The sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.
The Descendants of Seir
38 The sons of Seir: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.
39 The sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam. (Timna was Lotan’s sister.)[q]
40 The sons of Shobal: Alyan,[r] Manahath, Ebal, Shephi,[s] and Onam.
The sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah.
41 The son[t] of Anah: Dishon.
The sons of Dishon: Hamran,[u] Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
42 The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, Jaakan.[v]
The sons of Dishan:[w] Uz and Aran.
Kings of Edom
43 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor; the name of his city was Dinhabah.
44 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah, succeeded him.[x]
45 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him.
46 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad succeeded him. He struck down the Midianites in the plains of Moab; the name of his city was Avith.
47 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him.
48 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the River[y] succeeded him.
49 When Shaul died, Baal Hanan son of Achbor succeeded him.
50 When Baal Hanan died, Hadad succeeded him; the name of his city was Pai.[z] His wife[aa] was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred, daughter of Me-Zahab.
51 Hadad died.
Tribal Chiefs of Edom
The tribal chiefs of Edom were: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 52 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 53 Kenaz, Teman,[ab] Mibzar, 54 Magdiel, and Iram.[ac] These were the tribal chiefs of Edom.
Israel’s Descendants
2 These were the sons of Israel:[ad] Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar and Zebulun;
2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin;
Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
Judah’s Descendants
3 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bathshua,[ae] a Canaanite woman. Er, Judah’s firstborn, displeased the Lord, so the Lord killed him.[af]
4 Tamar, Judah’s[ag] daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
5 The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
6 The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, Dara[ah]—five in all.
7 The son[ai] of Carmi: Achan,[aj] who brought the disaster on Israel when he stole what was devoted to God.[ak]
8 The son[al] of Ethan: Azariah.
9 The sons born to Hezron: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.[am]
Ram’s Descendants
10 Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, the tribal chief of Judah. 11 Nahshon was the father of Salma,[an] and Salma was the father of Boaz. 12 Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse.
13 Jesse was the father of Eliab, his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third, 14 Nethanel fourth, Raddai fifth, 15 Ozem sixth, and David seventh. 16 Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abshai,[ao] Joab, and Asahel. 17 Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.
Caleb’s Descendants
18 Caleb son of Hezron fathered sons by his wife Azubah (also known as Jerioth).[ap] Her sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 When Azubah died, Caleb married[aq] Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 20 Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri was the father of Bezalel.
21 Later[ar] Hezron slept with[as] the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. (He had married[at] her when he was sixty years old.) She bore him Segub. 22 Segub was the father of Jair, who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 23 (Geshur and Aram captured the towns of Jair,[au] along with Kenath and its sixty surrounding towns.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.
24 After Hezron’s death, Caleb slept with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s widow, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.[av]
Jerahmeel’s Descendants
25 The sons of Jerahmeel, Hezron’s firstborn, were Ram, the firstborn, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had another wife named Atarah; she was Onam’s mother.
27 The sons of Ram, Jerahmeel’s firstborn, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.
28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.
The sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur.
29 Abishur’s wife was Abihail, who bore him Ahban and Molid. 30 The sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim. (Seled died without having sons.)
31 The son[aw] of Appaim: Ishi.
The son of Ishi: Sheshan.
The son of Sheshan: Ahlai.
32 The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother: Jether and Jonathan. (Jether died without having sons.)
33 The sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza.
These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.
34 Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. Sheshan had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave his daughter to his servant Jarha as a wife; she bore him Attai.
36 Attai was the father of Nathan, and Nathan was the father of Zabad. 37 Zabad was the father of Ephlal, and Ephlal was the father of Obed. 38 Obed was the father of Jehu, and Jehu was the father of Azariah. 39 Azariah was the father of Helez, and Helez was the father of Eleasah. 40 Eleasah was the father of Sismai, and Sismai was the father of Shallum. 41 Shallum was the father of Jekamiah, and Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.
More of Caleb’s Descendants
42 The sons of Caleb, Jerahmeel’s brother: His firstborn Mesha, the father of Ziph, and his second son Mareshah,[ax] the father of Hebron.
43 The sons of Hebron: Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema.
44 Shema was the father of Raham, the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. 45 Shammai’s son was Maon, who was the father of Beth Zur.
46 Caleb’s concubine[ay] Ephah bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.
47 The sons of Jahdai: Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.
48 Caleb’s concubine Maacah bore Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah and Sheva the father of Machbenah and Gibea. Caleb’s daughter was Achsah.
50 These were the descendants of Caleb.
The sons[az] of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrath:[ba] Shobal, the father of Kiriath Jearim, 51 Salma, the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph, the father of Beth Gader.
52 The sons of Shobal, the father of Kiriath Jearim, were Haroeh, half the Manahathites,[bb] 53 the clans of Kiriath Jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. (The Zorathites and Eshtaolites descended from these groups.)[bc]
54 The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites, 55 and the clans of the scribes[bd] who lived in Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who descended[be] from Hammath, the father of Beth Rechab.[bf]
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 1:4 tc The LXX reads “Noah; the sons of Noah [were] Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Several English translations (e.g., NIV, NLT) follow the LXX.sn Shem, Ham, and Japheth were Noah’s three sons (Gen 6:10).
- 1 Chronicles 1:6 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX and Vulgate, read “Riphath” (see Gen 10:3). This is followed by several English translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NLT), while others (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) follow the MT reading (“Diphath”).
- 1 Chronicles 1:7 tn Or in this case, “descendants.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:7 tc The Kethib has רוֹדָנִים (Rodanim), which probably refers to the island of Rhodes. The Qere has דּוֹדָנִים (Dodanim), which refers to one of the most ancient and revered locations in ancient Greece. The MT and most medieval Hebrew mss of the parallel list in Gen 10:4 read “Dodanim,” but a few have “Rodanim.”tn Heb “Kittim and Rodanim.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:8 tn That is, “Egypt.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:10 tn Heb “he began to be a mighty warrior in the earth.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:12 tn Heb “came forth.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:17 tc The words “the sons of Aram” do not appear in the Hebrew text. Apparently the phrase וּבְנֵי אֲרָם (uvene ʾaram) has accidentally dropped out of the text by homoioteleuton (note the presence of אֲרָם just before this). The phrase is included in Gen 10:23.
- 1 Chronicles 1:17 tc The MT of the parallel geneaology in Gen 10:23 reads “Mash,” but the LXX there reads “Meshech” in agreement with 1 Chr 1:17.
- 1 Chronicles 1:19 sn Perhaps this refers to the scattering of the people at Babel (Gen 11:1-9).
- 1 Chronicles 1:22 tc Some medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac read “Obal” (see Gen 10:28).
- 1 Chronicles 1:24 tc Some LXX mss read “Arphaxad, Cainan, Shelah” (see also the notes on Gen 10:24; 11:12-13).
- 1 Chronicles 1:29 tn The words “the others were” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- 1 Chronicles 1:32 sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).
- 1 Chronicles 1:36 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss, along with some LXX mss and the Syriac, read “Zepho” (see Gen 36:11).
- 1 Chronicles 1:36 tn The Hebrew text has simply, “and Timna and Amalek,” but Gen 36:12 indicates that Timna, a concubine of Eliphaz, was the mother of Amalek. See also v. 39 below, which states that Timna was the sister of Lotan.
- 1 Chronicles 1:39 tn Perhaps this is the Timna mentioned in v. 36.
- 1 Chronicles 1:40 tc Some medieval Hebrew mss and a few LXX mss read “Alvan” (see Gen 36:23).
- 1 Chronicles 1:40 tc A few medieval Hebrew mss read “Shepho” (see Gen 36:23).
- 1 Chronicles 1:41 tn Heb “sons.” The Hebrew text has the plural, but only one son is listed. For stylistic reasons the singular “son” was used in the translation.
- 1 Chronicles 1:41 tn The parallel geneaology in Gen 36:26 has the variant spelling “Hemdan.” Some English versions follow the variant spelling here (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).
- 1 Chronicles 1:42 tn The parallel geneaology in Gen 36:27 has the variant spelling “Akan.” Among English versions that use the variant spelling here are NIV, NCV, NLT.
- 1 Chronicles 1:42 tc The MT reads “Dishon” here, but this should be emended to “Dishan.” See the list in v. 38 and Gen 36:28.
- 1 Chronicles 1:44 tn Heb “ruled in his place,” here and in vv. 45-50.
- 1 Chronicles 1:48 tn Or “near the river.” sn The river may refer to the Euphrates River (cf. NRSV, CEV, NLT).
- 1 Chronicles 1:50 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss, along with some LXX mss, the Syriac, and Vulgate, read “Pau.” See also Gen 36:39.
- 1 Chronicles 1:50 tn Heb “The name of his wife.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:53 tn The parallel genealogy in Gen 36:42 has the variant spelling “Temam.”
- 1 Chronicles 1:54 tn Each of the names in this list is preceded by the word “chief” in the Hebrew text. This has not been included in the translation because it would appear very redundant to the modern reader.
- 1 Chronicles 2:1 tn The groupings in the list that follows, as well as the conjunctions (vav-consecutives in Hebrew), reflect those of the Hebrew text.
- 1 Chronicles 2:3 tn The name means “daughter of Shua.” Shua is identified in Gen 38:2 as a “Canaanite man.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:3 tn Heb “was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so he [i.e., the Lord] killed him [i.e., Er].”
- 1 Chronicles 2:4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 2:6 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss, some LXX mss, and Syriac read “Darda” (see 1 Kgs 4:31 ET = 1 Kgs 5:11 HT).
- 1 Chronicles 2:7 tn Heb “sons.” The Hebrew text has the plural, but only one son is listed.
- 1 Chronicles 2:7 tc The Hebrew text has “Achar,” which means “disaster,” but a few medieval Hebrew mss read “Achan.” See Josh 7:1.
- 1 Chronicles 2:7 tn Heb “the troubler of Israel who was unfaithful with respect to the devoted [things].”
- 1 Chronicles 2:8 tn Heb “sons.” The Hebrew text has the plural, but only one son is listed.
- 1 Chronicles 2:9 tn The Hebrew text has “Celubai,” but see v. 18, where Caleb is described as the son of Hezron.
- 1 Chronicles 2:11 tc The LXX reads “Salmon” (cf. Ruth 4:21) and is followed by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
- 1 Chronicles 2:16 tn In 2 Sam 2:18 this name appears as “Abishai,” a spelling followed by many English versions here.
- 1 Chronicles 2:18 tn Heb “and Caleb son of Hezron fathered [children] with Azubah, a wife, and with Jerioth.” Jerioth could be viewed as a second wife (so NLT; cf. also NASB, NIV, NRSV), but the following context mentions only “her [presumably Azubah’s] sons.” Another option, the one chosen in the translation, is that Jerioth is another name for Azubah.
- 1 Chronicles 2:19 tn Heb “took for himself.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 sn This means “later” in relation to the births of the three sons (Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb) mentioned in v. 9.
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
- 1 Chronicles 2:21 tn Heb “he took,” referring to taking in marriage.
- 1 Chronicles 2:23 tn Or “Havvoth Jair” (NIV, NRSV). Some translations do not translate the phrase (“havvoth” = “the towns of”), but treat it as part of the place name.
- 1 Chronicles 2:24 tc Heb “And after the death of Hezron in Caleb Ephrathah, and the wife of Hezron, Abijah, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.” The translations assumes three diferences from the MT. 1) Where the MT preserves only the preposition ב (bet, “in”), the NET agrees with the text behind the LXX and Vulgate in reading בָּא ב (baʾ b-, “went to”). Caleb is thus the subject of the verb rather than an otherwise unattested place name, and Ephrath(a) is a reference to his wife (see vv. 19 and 50). A directional he on the end of Ephratha would be unusual on a personal name but the he also appears in v. 50 where it cannot be a directional he. Also the phrase בָּא ב is viewed as a euphemism for sexual relations, rather than a description of entering the town of Ephrath (or Bethlehem). 2) The ו (vav, “and”) is not read before “wife of Hezron.” 3) A ו (vav) is restored after אֲבִיָּה (ʾaviyyah, “Abijah”) to make אָבִיהוּ (ʾavihu, “his father”). This less common form of the noun with the suffix also occurs in 1 Chron 26:10 and 2 Chron 3:1. Thus “the wife of Hezron his father” is a descriptor of Caleb’s second wife, Ephrath. Some translations follow the MT on the first point to make Abijah the subject of the following verb as in “after Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s wife, bore to him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the preterite verb form cannot properly be preceded by its subject in this fashion. One would need to suppose that the phrase “and the wife of Hezron, Abijah” is not appositional but rather a parenthetic clause “and the wife of Hezron was Abijah.” R. Braun (1 Samuel [WBC], 40) is favorable to the idea that “the name of Hezron’s wife represents a misplaced gloss on v 21” (citing Williamson, JBL 98, 355). In the reading adopted here, this would mean that Caleb’s second wife, Ephrath, had actually been his late father’s wife (probably Caleb’s stepmother). Perhaps the text was subsequently altered because Caleb’s actions appeared improper in light of the injunctions in Lev 18:8; 20:11; Deut 22:30; 27:20 (which probably refer, however, to a son having sexual relations with his stepmother while his father is still alive).
- 1 Chronicles 2:31 tn Heb “sons.” The Hebrew text has the plural “sons” in all three instances in this verse, even though the following lists have only one name each.
- 1 Chronicles 2:42 tc Heb “and the sons of Mareshah,” but this does not fit contextually. Perhaps the text originally had וּבְנוֹ מִשְׁנֶה מָרֵשָׁה (uveno mishneh mareshah, “and his second son, Mareshah”), with מִשְׁנֶה (“second”) later accidentally falling out by homoioteleuton (cf. the note in BHS here).
- 1 Chronicles 2:46 sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 1:32.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50 tn Heb “son.” The Hebrew text has the singular, but the following list contains more than one name.
- 1 Chronicles 2:50 tn The Hebrew text reads “Ephrathah” here, but see v. 19, which mentions “Ephrath” as the wife of Caleb and mother of Hur.
- 1 Chronicles 2:52 tn The Hebrew text has “Menuchites” here, but v. 54 has “Manachathites.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:53 tn Heb “from these went forth the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 tn Or perhaps “the Sopherim.” The NAB transliterates this term and treats it as a proper name.
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 tn Heb “came.”
- 1 Chronicles 2:55 tn Or (if בֵּית [beth] is translated as “house” rather than considered to be part of the name) “the father of the house [i.e., family] of Rechab.”
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