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