Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom ,.... Which had its name from Esau, who was so called, Genesis 25:30 . From hence, to the end of the chapter, an account is given of the kings and dukes of Edom, in the same order as in Genesis 30:31 . read more
Before any king reigned over - Israel - See Genesis 36:31 ; (note), etc., where the same verses occur, as I have supposed borrowed from this place; and see the notes there. Bela the son of Beor - "Balaam the impious son of Beor, the same as Laban the Syrian, who formed a confederacy with the sons of Esau, to destroy Jacob and his children; and he studied to destroy them utterly. Afterwards he reigned in Sodom; and the name of his royal city was Dinhabah, because it... read more
G. LIST OF KINGS OF EDOM . These verses contain a list of kings who reigned in Edom , during a period expressly notified as anterior to the institution of kings in Israel. Some further point of practical use than has been yet ascertained may lie in the preservation of these snatches of Edom's history. Something surely hangs on the emphatic but otherwise gratuitous statement, that kings were unknown in Israel when this line reigned in Edom. It may turn out to cover the fulfilment of... read more
The slight differences favor the view, that the writer of Chronicles has here, as elsewhere, abridged from Genesis (see the marginal references). read more
1:1-9:34 GENEALOGIES OF THE TRIBES OF ISRAELThe long lists of names that characterize Chronicles may not make interesting reading for us today, but they were important to the original readers. First, these genealogies proved to those who returned that they were a true continuation of the former kingdom. Second, they indicated who among the people had to carry out various religious duties and who among them were of the royal family of David. The lists recorded the origin and development of each... read more
before any king. See note on Genesis 36:31 , which must have been before the writer's eyes. children = sons. read more
"And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor; and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Belah died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Avith. And Hadad died, and Samlah... read more
GenealogiesThe writer begins his history with a series of genealogies, without introduction or heading, which embraces the descendants of Adam to Noah, the descendants of Noah through Japheth, Ham and Shem, the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael and the sons of Keturah, the descendants of Isaac through Esau and the rulers of Edom. These genealogies, which occupy the first nine chapters of this book, and occur frequently throughout the remaining chapters, relate to (a) peoples, (b)... read more
(43) Before any king reigned over the children of Israel.—Comp. Numbers 20:14-21, the message of Moses to the king of Edom, asking for a free passage for Israel through his domains. As the older people, and as having been earlier established in its permanent home, Edom was naturally a stage beyond Israel in political development. Unhappily brief as it is, this notice is very appropriately inserted here in an introduction to the history of the kings of the house of David.Bela the son of... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 1:28-54
All nations but the seed of Abraham are already shaken off from this genealogy: they have no part nor lot in this matter. The Lord's portion is his people. Of them he keeps an account, knows them by name; but those who are strangers to him he beholds afar off. Not that we are to conclude that therefore no particular persons of any other nation but the seed of Abraham found favour with God. It was a truth, before Peter perceived it, that in every nation he that feared God and wrought... read more