Jerahmeel

January 1, 2019

Judah and Perez (Lk 3:33-3:33)

“The son of Amminadab,

The son of Admin,

The son of Arni,

The son of Hezron,

The son of Perez,

The son of Judah.”

 

τοῦ Ἀμιναδὰβ τοῦ Ἀδμεὶν τοῦ Ἀρνεὶ τοῦ Ἐσρὼμ τοῦ Φαρὲς τοῦ Ἰούδα

 

The two genealogies of Matthew and Luke are almost the same from Judah to Amminadab.  Luke listed them as Nahshon, the son of Amminadab (τοῦ Ἀμιναδὰβ), the son of Admin (τοῦ Ἀδμεὶν), the son of Arni (τοῦ Ἀρνεὶ), the son of Hezron (τοῦ Ἐσρὼμ), the son of Perez (τοῦ Φαρὲς), the son of Judah (τοῦ Ἰούδα).  Clearly, Judah had become the dominant tribe by the time of Jesus.  The story of the children for Judah is a very interesting tale as portrayed in Genesis, chapter 38.  Judah married a Canaanite woman named Bathshuah in Adullam.  They had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.  Then the story got more complicated.  Judah found a lady named Tamar to be a wife for his first-born wicked son Er, whom Yahweh put to death.  Then Judah sent Onan, his second son, to produce children for his brother from Tamar, Er’s wife.  However, Onan spilled his semen on the ground, so that he would not have any children.  Thus, Yahweh put him to death also.  Judah then told Tamar to live as a widow in her father’s house, until his youngest son Shelah was older and able to marry her.  Tamar, in the meantime, saw that Shelah had grown up, but was not being offered in marriage to her.  She decided to throw off her widow garments, put a veil on, and sit on the road from Adullam to Timnah.  Now Judah, whose wife Bathshuah had died, was on this same road and thought that she was a prostitute, because her face was covered.  He gave her his signature ring and the cord as a pledge that he would pay her later for her sexual favors.  They had sex and she conceived by him.  Three months later, Judah found out that his daughter-in-law Tamar was pregnant as a result of prostitution.  He wanted her immediately burned, but she told Judah that the owner of a ring and cord made her pregnant.  Judah admitted that she was right.  Tamar then had twins from this pregnancy, Perez and Zerah, who disputed about who was the first out of the womb.  Interesting enough, the line of Judah would have died out without this prostitute episode.  Thus, the sacred lineage of Judah goes through a father-in-law having paid sex with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who was a Canaanite.  According to Genesis, chapter 46:12, Perez, the son of Judah, had 2 sons, Hezron and Hamul. who went with Jacob to Egypt.  From 1 Chronicles, chapter 2:9-17, we learn about the linage of Hezron.  He had 3 sons, Jerahmeel, Aram, and Chelubai.  This Aram, Arni, or Ram was the father of Aminadab or Amminadab.  Luke added an Admin who is not found elsewhere or maybe another name for Ram.  Amminadab had a daughter, Elisheba, who married Aaron, the brother of Moses, in Exodus, chapter 6:23.  Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, the brother-in-law of Aaron and Moses.

March 1, 2018

The descendants of Perez (Mt 1:3-1:4)

“Perez was

The father of Hezron.

Hezron was

The father of Aram.

Aram was

The father of Aminadab.

Aminadab was

The father of Nahshon,

Nahshon was

The father of Salmon,”

 

Φαρὲς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἐσρώμ, Ἐσρὼμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀράμ,  Ἀρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἀμιναδάβ, Ἀμιναδὰβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ναασσών, Ναασσὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Σαλμών,

 

The genealogical lineage of Judah went through Perez (Φαρὲς), not Zerah.  According to Genesis, chapter 46, Perez had 2 sons, Hezron (Ἐσρώμ) and Hamul. who went with Jacob to Egypt.  From 1 Chronicles, chapter 2, we learn about the linage of Hezron.  He had 3 sons, Jerahmeel, Aram (Ἀράμ), and Chelubai.  This Aram became the father of Aminadab (Ἀμιναδάβ).  Aminadab had a daughter, Elisheba, who married Aaron, the brother of Moses, in Exodus, chapter 6.  Aminadab was the father of Nahshon (Ναασσών), a famous warrior prince of Judah, especially in Numbers, chapter 7.  Nahshon became the father of Salma or Salmon (Σαλμών).  The Greek text used the term ‘begat’ (ἐγέννησεν) to represent the relationships between these 5 men.  However, it seems perfectly acceptable to simply call them the father instead of saying “fathered them.”

January 3, 2017

The king reacts (Jer 36:24-36:26)

“Yet neither the king,

Nor any of his servants,

Who heard

All these words,

Was afraid.

They did not tear

Their garments.

Even when Elnathan,

Delaiah,

With Gemariah

Urged the king

Not to burn the scroll,

He would not listen to them.

The king commanded

Jerahmeel,

The king’s son,

With Seraiah,

The son of Azriel,

To arrest

The secretary Baruch

With the prophet Jeremiah.

But Yahweh hid them.”

Neither the king of Judah, King Jehoiakim, nor his servants, was alarmed by the words of the scroll. They did not tear their garments as a sign of sorrow or repentance. Instead, the king burned the scroll in its various pieces as mentioned above, despite the protests of some of his senior officials like Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah, who had demanded the first reading, earlier in this chapter. They did not want the king to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them. Instead, he sent his son Jerahmeel with his friend Seraiah, someone in the royal service, to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. However, Yahweh hid them, but it is not clear where or how.

October 24, 2014

The descendents of Jerahmeel (1 Chr 2:25-2:31)

“The sons of Jerahmeel, the first-born of Hezron, were Ram, his first-born, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. Jerahmeel also had another wife, whose name was Atarah, the mother of Onam. The sons of Ram, the first-born of Jerahmeel were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. The name of Abishur’s wife was Abihail. She bore him Ahban and Molid.  The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died childless. The son of Appaim was Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. The son of Sheshan was Ahlai. The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died childless. The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel.”

Now this genealogy goes over 11 generations starting with Jacob. It is very precise over time starting with (5) Jerahmeel, who was the son of (4) Hezron, who was the son of (3) Perez, who was the son of (2) Judah, who was the son of (1) Jacob. In fact, we see in 1 Samuel, chapter 27, that there was a group of people called the Jerahmeelites. Jerahmeel had 6 sons, Ram, Bunah, Oren, Ozem, Ahijah, and their step brother Onam. Although Ram had 3 sons, Maaz, Jamin, and Eker, this genealogy followed the sons of (6) Onam, whose mother was Atarah. His sons were (7) Shammai and Jada. Shammai’s sons were (8) Nadab and Abishur. The sons of Abishur were Ahban and Molid, while the sons of Nadab were Seled and (9) Appaim. His son was (10) Ishi, while his son was (11) Sheshan. The other son of Onam, Jada had 2 sons Jether and Jonathan. The 2 sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. Who are some of these people? Rather than follow Ram, whose uncle with the same name led to David, this genealogy follows Onam, the son of the second wife of Jerahmeel, although he does not seem important enough to be mentioned elsewhere. This Ram is less well known that his uncle, since David was not considered among the Jerahmeelites. His 3 sons are not that well know since this is the only mention of Maaz and Eker, while Jamin was also the name of one of Simeon’s sons. The names of Bunah and Oren only appear here. Ozem is the same name as one of David’s brothers, while the name of Ahijah appears to be the name of 6 other biblical characters.

 

October 23, 2014

The descendents of Hezron (1 Chr 2:9-2:9)

“The sons of Hezron, who were born to him, were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai.”

We are back at Hezron, one of the two sons of Perez, who was the son of Judah by Tamar. Apparently Hezron had 3 sons, Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai. Interesting enough, this is the only mention of these 3 sons in the biblical literature. (1) Jerahmeel was the founder of the family of Jerahmeelites. However, Jerahmeel will also have a son called (2) Ram, the same name as his brother. This is the only mention in biblical literature of (3) Chelubai. However, the following sections seem to indicate that this is another name for Caleb.