And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera ,.... Or, to wit, Naaman, &c.; so the words are to be connected with these are the sons or Ehud , in the preceding verse: he removed them ; to the above place, that is, either Gera, or rather Ehud, he advised them, directed and enjoined them to go thither, as being most convenient for them: and he begat Uzza and Ahihud ; after he had removed his other sons. read more
And Shaharaim ,.... Who was either a son of Ahihud, or rather a brother of his, another son of Ehud: begat children in the country of Moab ; whither he might go on account of the famine, as Elimelech did, 1:1 , after he had sent them away; which some understand of those that were removed from Geba to Manahath, 1 Chronicles 8:6 , but a different word is here used; and besides Shaharaim seems to be one of those that were removed. Kimchi takes Shilhootham, we render "had sent them... read more
And he begat of Hodesh his wife ,.... That is, he, I say, begat, namely, Shaharaim; the Targum makes this Hodesh to be the same with Baara, called so because she was newly espoused; but wrongly: the sons begotten of her were the seven following; Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcham, Jeuz, Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons ; the sons of Shaharaim by his wife Hodesh: heads of the fathers ; of the houses or families of their father. read more
He begat of Hodesh his wife - In the preceding verse it is said that Hushim and Baara were his wives; and here it is said he begat of Hodesh his wife, etc. And then his children by Hushim are mentioned, but not a word of Baara! It is likely therefore that Hodesh was another name for Baara, and this is asserted by the Targum: And he begot of Baara, that is Chodesh, his wife; so called because he espoused her anew. It is supposed that he had put her away before, and now remarried... read more
Ehud . We are brought to a halt again by the sudden introduction of this name. Even if it stand for Abihud ( 1 Chronicles 8:3 ) or for Ahoah ( 1 Chronicles 8:4 ), why is it changed in so short an interval? It is impossible to establish order in these verses except by most gratuitous conjecture. But it may be supposed that the verses say that Ehud's people once belonged to Manahath , that the heads of them removed them to Geba ( Joshua 18:24 ), and that he himself (query, Ehud?... read more
Shaharaim . It has been proposed, in the utter obscurity here, to add this name as a third to Uzza and Ahihud. This may be a way out, but if so, instead of repeating "and Shaharaim," it might be more natural to keep the former enigmatic nominative and object to begat , whether Ehud or Gera. There can be little doubt that a copyist's error has given us them ( אֹתָם ) in place of אֶת , in the latter part of this verse, before the names of the wives. The sentence then would translate,... read more
These verses give seven unknown sons of Ehud, Gera, or Shaharaim, as the case may be, by the wife Hodesh , whom one would have been glad to identify with Baara, and two unknown sons of the wife Hushim . read more
After he had sent them away - Translate it: “after he had divorced his wives, Hushim and Baara.” read more
Genealogies of the remaining tribes (7:1-8:40)Although the lists here are incomplete and in places difficult to follow, it seems that the tribes dealt with are Issachar (7:1-5), parts of Benjamin and Dan (6-12), Naphtali (13), the portion of Manasseh not listed earlier (14-19; cf. 5:23-24), Ephraim (20-29) and Asher (30-40).Benjamin is given in greater detail, possibly because it included Jerusalem in its tribal territory. Also this was the only tribe that joined Judah in the southern kingdom,... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 8:1-32
There is little or nothing of history in all these verses; we have not therefore much to observe. 1. As to the difficulties that occur in this and the foregoing genealogies we need not perplex ourselves. I presume Ezra took them as he found them in the books of the kings of Israel and Judah (1 Chron. 9:1), according as they were given in by the several tribes, each observing what method they thought fit. Hence some ascend, others desecnd; some have numbers affixed, others places; some have... read more