Shaul

November 4, 2014

The descendents of Kohath (1 Chr 6:22-6:28)

“The sons of Kohath were Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth, Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. The sons of Samuel were Joel his first-born and the second son Abijah.”

This genealogy goes to 22 generations. Right from the beginning there is a problem. (2) Amminadab is not listed as a son of (1) Kohath earlier in this chapter or elsewhere. Most believe that this is an error and it should refer to Izhar. Amminadab in Exodus, chapter 6, refers to the man of Judah, the father of Nahshon and Elisheba who married Aaron. (3) Korah is called the son of Izhar in the same passage. This Korah played a major role in the revolt against Moses in Numbers, chapter 16, where he was clearly called the son of Izhar, son of Kohath. He died with his whole family when the earth split and devoured him. There is another (4) Assir who is a son of (6) Ebiasaph, who was the son of (5) Elkanah who was the son of this Assir (7).   This Elkanah was the grandson of Korah who had rebelled against Moses. Notice that were 3 other people in this lineage who were also named (12) (15) Elkanah. (8) Tahath was both the name of a person and a place. There were a couple of people with the name of (9) Uriel. There were 5 people with the name of (10) Uzziah, including the famous King Uzziah or Azariah of Judah from 781-740. (11) Shaul is sometimes referred to as Saul, but this is not King Saul. There are 3 other people named (13) Amasai. This is the only mention of (14) Ahimoth and (16) Zophai. There were 3 people with the name of (17) Nahath but 7 people with the name of (18) Eliab. There were 7 people with the name of (19) Jeroham. However, this one is the father of (20) Elkanah who was the father of (21) Samuel as in 1 Samuel, chapters 1-2. There seems to be about 5 or 6 people with this name, mostly Levites. Samuel’s sons were (22) Joel and (22) Abijah as indicated in 1 Samuel, chapter 8, who did not follow in the footsteps of their father. Their official functional roles were laid out in Numbers, chapter 4.

 

October 29, 2014

Shaul (1 Chr 4:25-4:27)

“Shallum was the son of Shaul. Mibsam was his son. Mishma was his son. The sons of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei. Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. However, his brothers did not have many children, so that all their family did not multiply like the Judeans.”

Here there are 5 generations descendent from Simeon via Shallum who must have been the most important of Simeon’s sons. There were over 15 people with the name of (1) Shallum, including a King of Israel (743 BCE). Interesting enough both (2) Mibsam and (3) Mishma were the names of the sons of Ishmael. I am not sure whether this is a coincidence or an attempt to say something here. This is the only mention of the name Hammuel, the son of Mishma. There are 5 or 6 people with the name of Zaccur. There 16 different biblical figures with the name of (4) Shimei. This Shimei was very productive with over 22 children. However, his brothers and their families did not multiply like the family of Judah. This might be the reason that the family of Simeon will blend and become simply Judah.

October 29, 2014

Simeon (1 Chr 4:24-4:24)

“The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul.”

Now we switch to the family of Simeon the son of Jacob or Israel that will eventually become part of Judah. The 6 children of Simeon in Genesis, chapter 46, were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul. However, there are only 5 sons of Simeon mentioned here. Ohad was listed as the 3rd son of Simeon in both Genesis, chapter 46, and Exodus, chapter 6, but there is no mention of him here. (1) Nemuel was called Jemuel in Genesis. (2) Zerah was called Zohar. There are other instances of Zerah, especially as the son of Judah. (3) Jamin has the same spelling as in the earlier works. Obviously, this list is dependent on Numbers, chapter 26, at the time of the census where Nemuel was the head of the clan of the Nemuelites. Jamin was the head of the clan of the Jaminites. Jachin was the head of the clan of the Jachinites. (4) Jarib has replaced Jachin in this listing. There are 3 others with the same name of Jarib in biblical literature. Zerah was the head of the clan of the Zerahites. Finally (5) Shaul was the head of the clan of the Shaulites.

 

October 22, 2014

The kings of Edom (1 Chr 1:43-1:50)

“These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites. Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom. The name of his city was Dinhabah. When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah of Bozrah succeeded him as king. When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king. The name of his city was Avith. When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him as king. When Samlah died, Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates succeeded him as king. When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor succeeded him as king. When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadad succeeded him as king. The name of his city was Pai. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. Hadad also died”

These are the descendants of Esau or Edom, the Edomite kings before there were kings in Israel. This is almost the exact wording of Genesis, chapter 36. (1) Bela was the son of Beor who lived in Dinhabah, and had a city named after him. There was another Beor later. (2) Jobab was the son of Zerab in Bozrah. Jobab was also the name of a son of Joktan. Zerab was a son of Reuel, the grandson of Esau. (3) Husham was from the land of the Temanites. (4) Hadad was the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in Moam in Avith. Hadad was a common biblical name, and also the name of a Syrian god. (5) Samlah was from Masrekah. (6) Shaul was from Rehoboth, on the Euphrates. There was another Shaul, son of Simeon. (7) Baal-hunan was the son of Achbor. (8) Hadad was Hadar in Genesis. He was from Pai but Paul in Genesis. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab. None of these names appear again in biblical literature.