Commentary - 1 Chronicles 2:9-17

Bird's-eye view

This passage is a crucial link in the great chain of redemption, tracing the official royal line from Hezron, the grandson of Judah, down to King David and his formidable nephews. At first glance, it appears to be nothing more than a dry list of names, the kind of passage that modern readers are tempted to skim. But to do so is to miss the point entirely. This is not a phone book; it is a treasure map. The Chronicler, writing to a post-exilic community, is reminding them of their identity by anchoring it in God's unwavering covenant faithfulness. God promised a king from the line of Judah, and this genealogy is the inspired record of that promise being meticulously fulfilled. It is the skeletal structure upon which the whole history of Israel's monarchy, and ultimately the incarnation of Christ the King, is built. It shows us that God works His sovereign will through the messy, complicated, and often surprising process of ordinary human history and procreation.

The genealogy moves with deliberate purpose from Hezron to Ram, and then through the notable generations that include Nahshon, leader during the wilderness wanderings, and Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer from the book of Ruth. The line culminates in Jesse and his sons, with David highlighted as the seventh and chosen one. The inclusion of David's sisters and their powerful sons, Joab and Amasa, reminds us that this is a real history, complete with the political and military realities that surrounded David's throne. This is the earthly lineage of the King, established by God's sovereign decree.

Outline

Context In 1 Chronicles

The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles are a massive genealogical undertaking, tracing the history of God's people from Adam all the way to the generation returning from the Babylonian exile. This is the Chronicler's way of re-establishing the identity of the nation. After the trauma of exile, the people needed to know who they were. The answer was that they were the people of God, the heirs of the covenant promises. This particular section, in chapter 2, zeroes in on the tribe of Judah, the tribe from which the Messiah was promised to come (Gen 49:10). Having established the broader family of Judah, the text now focuses on the specific branch of Hezron's family that will produce the Davidic dynasty. This is the foundation for the rest of the book, which will center almost exclusively on the reigns of David and his successors. Before you can tell the story of the kingdom, you must first establish the legitimacy of the king.

Key Issues

The Royal Ribs

We live in an age that disdains roots. We value autonomy, self-creation, and the idea that we can be whoever we want to be, disconnected from our past. The Bible will have none of it. The Bible is a book of history, a book of fathers and sons, a book of covenants passed down through generations. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the genealogies. These lists of "begats" are the load-bearing walls of Scripture. They show us that our faith is not based on an abstract philosophy or a set of timeless principles, but on a series of historical events, carried out by real people in real time, all under the meticulous, sovereign care of God. This passage in 1 Chronicles is a display of the royal ribs, the very bones of the promise that God would raise up a king for His people. Every name is a vertebra in the spine of redemptive history, a spine that leads directly to the Son of David, Jesus Christ.

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 Now the sons of Hezron, who were born to him were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.

The Chronicler zooms in. After dealing with Judah's sons, he focuses on Hezron, a grandson of Judah through Perez. From this one man, three significant family lines will emerge. But the Spirit of God immediately directs our attention to the second son, Ram. Jerahmeel will have his own history, as will Chelubai (another name for Caleb), but it is through Ram that the central promise will flow. God is constantly narrowing the focus, showing that His elective purpose runs like a golden thread through the tapestry of human history.

10-11 Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, leader of the sons of Judah; Nahshon became the father of Salma, Salma became the father of Boaz,

The pace is quick, a series of dominoes falling exactly as God ordained. We move from Ram to Amminadab, and then to a very significant figure: Nahshon. He is identified not just as a son, but as the leader of the sons of Judah. This refers to his role during the Exodus and wilderness wanderings (Num 1:7, 7:12). He was the chieftain of the most prominent tribe, the one that marched at the head of Israel. The royal line was already a leading family long before it wore a crown. Then we come to Salma, and through him, to Boaz. The moment we read the name Boaz, our minds should immediately go to the book of Ruth. This is not just a name in a list; it is a hyperlink to a whole story of covenant faithfulness, of redemption, and of God's grace to a Gentile woman, Ruth the Moabitess, who was grafted into this very line.

12 Boaz became the father of Obed, and Obed became the father of Jesse;

The fruit of the union between Boaz and Ruth was Obed. The women of Bethlehem celebrated his birth, saying "a son has been born to Naomi" (Ruth 4:17). He was a child of joy and restoration. And Obed, in turn, became the father of Jesse of Bethlehem. We have now arrived at the doorstep of the king. The stage is set. Every generation has been a necessary step, guided by God, to bring the line to this man in this small town.

13-15 and Jesse became the father of Eliab his firstborn, then Abinadab the second, Shimea the third, Nethanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, Ozem the sixth, David the seventh;

Here are the sons of Jesse. The list is given in order of birth, and it is a reminder of God's method of choosing. When Samuel came to anoint a king from Jesse's house, he was impressed by the firstborn, Eliab. He looked the part. But God's criteria are not man's. He passed over Eliab, and Abinadab, and Shimea, and all the rest, one by one. He passed over six sons to get to the one He had chosen. David is listed as the seventh. The number seven in Scripture often signifies completion and perfection. David was God's perfect choice for that time, the man after His own heart. God's election subverts human expectations, which always favor the first and the strongest.

16 and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were Abshai, Joab, and Asahel.

History is not just about the men. The Chronicler includes the sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail, because their sons become towering figures in David's kingdom. Zeruiah's three sons, Abishai, Joab, and Asahel, were the core of David's military command. They were fiercely loyal, incredibly brave, and often ruthless. Joab, in particular, was David's commander-in-chief, a man who was both indispensable and a constant source of trouble. Their inclusion here is a dose of gritty realism. The establishment of David's kingdom was a bloody, violent affair, and these were the men who secured it for him. This is not a fairy tale about a shepherd boy with a harp; it is the story of a real kingdom forged in war.

17 Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

And the realism continues. The second sister, Abigail, has a son named Amasa. And his father is not an Israelite from a good Judahite family. He is Jether the Ishmaelite. Let that sink in. Here, in the extended family of King David, is a descendant of Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman. Later, Amasa would become a commander in Absalom's rebellious army, and then briefly a commander in David's army. It's a messy family history. But the Chronicler includes it without comment. Why? To show us again that God's covenant purposes are not constrained by our neat ethnic or tribal lines. He brought Ruth the Moabitess into the direct line of the king, and He weaves an Ishmaelite into the king's extended family. The blood of the covenant is thicker than the blood of race.

Application

So what are we to do with this list of names? First, we are to thank God for it. This genealogy is part of the guarantee that Jesus of Nazareth was who He said He was. Matthew begins his gospel with just such a list to prove that Jesus is the son of David, the son of Abraham. Our salvation is historically grounded. Jesus is not a myth; He is the fulfillment of this very line. The promise made to Judah, narrowed to Hezron, passed through Nahshon and Boaz, and given to David, finds its ultimate yes and amen in Him.

Second, we should be humbled by God's sovereignty. God chose David, the seventh son. He included a Moabitess and an Ishmaelite in the story. He used fierce and flawed men like Joab to accomplish His purposes. God writes straight with crooked lines. He is not limited by our expectations, our prejudices, or our sins. He is always at work, weaving all of history into a story that culminates in the glory of His Son.

Finally, we should find our own place in the story. Through faith in Christ, we who were Gentiles, strangers to the covenants of promise, have been grafted in. We have been adopted into this family. Our names may not be in 1 Chronicles, but by grace they are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. This great family history, this royal line, has become our family history. We are sons and daughters of the King, and our task is to live like it.