The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles in our modern bible was originally compiled as one book in the Jewish bible, and tells of the history of the Jewish people, tracing their lineage starting at Adam. It also tells of the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, and then the rest of the kings of Judah, detailing how the kingdom of Judah descended further and further into sin. The book then ends with the captivity but tells of the eventual return of the people.
With that we can safely conclude that the Chronicler put together this compilation of genealogies and events after the return from exile.
This leads us to consider the purpose of the Chronicler in making this compilation? What was the intended purpose of the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 2 for the readers who were likely the Jews living after the time of the exile?
We actually can read 1 Chronicles 2 in the larger context of chapters 2 to 7. These chapters set out the family trees of each of the 12 tribes. Some of these trees are longer, some of them are remarkably short. If we do a quick comparison on the length of the genealogies of each of the 12 tribes we easily see that the most amount of ink is spilt on the tribe of Judah, tracing the descendants of Judah all the way till the time of the captivity. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of many of the other tribes.
As for the family of Judah, it is interesting because the family genealogy seems to be repeated. Once in chapter 2 and another time in chapter 4. As for the genealogy we are reading of today in chapter 2, it is largely focused on two things:
The line from Judah to David
The family of Hezron (one of the ancestors of David, in between David and Judah)
The line from Judah to David in chapter 2, should be read together with the Family tree of David in Chapter 3, which traces the family line of David from David all the way to Zerubbabel and his sons who were living in the post-exilic times. This connection from Judah all the way to Zerubbabel would offer the post-exilic Jewish readers hope in God’s faithfulness. This is because God’s covenant with David could still yet be fulfilled, as long as David’s descendants lived. In addition, the God-inspired blessing of Jacob to Judah, that “scepter shall not depart from Judah” would still have the potential to come true.
This would bring the post-exilic Jewish reader much comfort that there was still hope in the Jewish identity and that there was still something to look forward to collectively as a Jewish people. This would be of fundamental importance to preserving the fragile Jewish community that had returned from exile.
I think there is another purpose of the Chronicler in tracing the genealogies. The genealogies connect the post-exilic Jew to their ancient forefathers, including Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This connection is important because it in a very tangible way connects the stories they have in the Torah to them personally. Otherwise these stories in the Torah would just be to them as myths. By knowing the genealogies, they have a direct link to these forefathers and the promises of God.
I guess it is just like how today we often encourage believers to discover how their family came to believe and be baptised in the True Jesus Church. These testimonies help connect you in a very personal way to God’s grace. Are there testimonies of your family which could help you draw closer to God? Go find out what there!
Lastly, much of the chapter sets out the families of the three sons of Hezron: Jerahmeel (25 - 41), Ram (10 - 16), Caleb/Chelubai (18 - 21, 42 - 54 ). Note that this Caleb is not the same Caleb in the story of the 12 spies sent to spy the land. That Caleb is Caleb the son of Jephunneh. It is interesting to think about the Chronicler’s reason for selecting this particular family to elaborate on.
Perhaps the simple reason is that Hezron’s descendants contribute to a significant part of the tribe of Judah. How about you? What do you think is the Chronicler’s reason for elaborating on the descendants of Hezron?
