CHAPTER 9

(1200 B.C.)

SUMMARY OF THE GENEALOGIES OF THOSE RETURNING FROM BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

¹So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression. (This is a book which we do not now have, but which, no doubt, contained a complete record of the genealogies of every family in Israel. From this, the Author of Chronicles took only a part to serve His purpose of identifying certain key men in the history of the nation, by giving their background, so that something could be known of the coming Messiahs ancestors.

During the time of Christ, the genealogy of every Tribe, and also of every family in Israel, was kept in the Temple. This was very important for several reasons:

1. Each family in Israel could trace their ancestry all the way back to Abraham.

2. Each family could know to which Tribe they belonged.

3. As well, Israel knew that the Messiah was to come through the Tribe of Judah [Gen. 49:10], and that, if the kingly line of David from the Tribe of Judah had continued, Jesus would now be the king of Israel. So, there was no excuse for Israel not to know His identity.)

²Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the Priests, Levites, and the Nethinims. (It is believed that the Nethinims were the descendants of the Gibeonites who deceived Joshua at the beginning of the occupation of Canaan, and who were made hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation [Josh. 9:21]. This referred to wood and water for the sacrifices at the Tabernacle, and then the Temple.)

³And in Jerusalem dwelt of the Children of Judah, and of the Children of Benjamin, and of the Children of Ephraim, and Manasseh (the children of the two Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were representative of the ten Tribes, for the northern ten-Tribe kingdom was often called Ephraim);

⁴Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Pharez the son of Judah.

⁵And of the Shilonites; Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons.

⁶And of the sons of Zerah; Jeuel, and their brethren, six hundred and ninety.

⁷And of the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hasenuah,

⁸And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephathiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah;

⁹And their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty and six. All these men were chief of the fathers in the house of their fathers.

PRIESTS AND LEVITES RETURNING FROM BABYLON

¹⁰And of the Priests; Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin,

¹¹And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the House of God;

¹²And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasiai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;

¹³And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the House of God.

¹⁴And of the Levites; Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;

¹⁵And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph;

¹⁶And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites.

¹⁷And the porters were, Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren: Shallum was the chief;

¹⁸Who hitherto waited in the kings gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the Children of Levi.

¹⁹And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the Tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry.

²⁰And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him.

²¹And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation.

²²All these which were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the Seer did ordain in their set office. (Here we have proof that Samuel and David counseled together and received revelations of the coming Temple worship.)

²³So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the House of the LORD, namely, the House of the Tabernacle, by wards.

²⁴In four quarters were the porters, toward the east, west, north, and south.

²⁵And their brethren, which were in their villages, were to come after seven days from time to time with them.

²⁶For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office, and were over the chambers and treasuries of the House of God.

²⁷And they lodged round about the House of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them.

²⁸And certain of them had the charge of the ministering vessels, that they should bring them in and out by tale.

²⁹Some of them also were appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary, and the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.

³⁰And some of the sons of the Priests made the ointment of the spices.

³¹And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the set office over the things that were made in the pans.

³²And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath.

³³And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night. (This refers to the re-building of the Temple and Jerusalem after the captivity in Babylon. It seems that, at this time, great efforts were being made to carry on the worship of God as it had been instituted by David about 500 years before.)

³⁴These chief fathers of the Levites were chief throughout their generations; these dwelt at Jerusalem.

SAULS DESCENDANTS

³⁵And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wifes name was Maachah:

³⁶And his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab,

³⁷And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and Mikloth.

³⁸And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brethren at Jerusalem, over against their brethren.

³⁹And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

⁴⁰And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal: and Merib-baal begat Micah.

⁴¹And the sons of Micah were Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz.

⁴²And Ahaz begat Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza;

⁴³And Moza begat Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.

⁴⁴And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.