1 Chronicles 2:18-41

content/bible_journal/1chronicles_2:18-41.md

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+title = "1 Chronicles 2:18–41"
+date = "2023-08-31"
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+
+### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Chronicles2.18-41)
+
+The astute reader will notice that "Caleb" in v. 18 doesn't appear in the list
+of Hezron's sons from v. 9. But that's because "Chelubai" is a variant of
+"Caleb", and they are in fact the same person. This Caleb is also not to be
+confused with "Caleb the son of Jephunneh" from Numbers 13, who was one of the
+twelve spies sent to spy out the land, who alone with Joshua gave a good report
+to the people. Even though that Caleb was from the tribe of Judah, I don't see
+any mention of Jephunneh in this genealogy.
+
+Hezron's family, particularly Caleb's branch, is kind of a mess. Multiple
+wives, some of them passed from father to son. Hezron himself married again
+after he was sixty years old, which is fine except that his wife then had
+children which means she was much younger than him.
+
+Jerahmeel's branch fares better, though it's the only one where we are told
+certain sons died childless. This is also the only place where the names of
+Jerahmeel's descendants are recorded. These families lived in the southern part
+of Judah's territory. The story of Sheshan's daughter married to his Egyptian
+slave is a bit curious, as most Israelites would want their daughters to marry
+within the same tribe, to keep the inherited land within the tribe. However,
+David himself had a Moabite for an ancestor in Ruth. This is especially curious
+considering how much Ezra and Nehemiah were fighting the ungodly cultural
+influence of foreign husbands and wives among the Jews of their day, returning
+to the land after the Exile.
+
+* * *
+
+All of Your words are given with purpose. Illumine our hearts with Your truth.