And the sons of Eshek his brother ,.... The brother of Azel; who he was is not known, unless he is the same with Elasah, as is conjectured: were Ulam his firstborn, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third . read more
And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour ,.... Men of great fortitude and courage, though their names are not expressed: archers ; skilful in the use of the bow and arrows, as the Benjaminites formerly were famous for slinging stones: and had many sons, and sons' sons, an hundred and fifty ; so that the posterity of Jonathan, whose genealogy is drawn down from 1 Chronicles 8:34 hither, were very great; and greater still, according to the Vulgate Latin version, in which the... read more
The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor - The Targum speaks honourably of them: "The sons of Ulam were mighty and strong men, subduing by wisdom their evil concupiscence, as men bend a bow; therefore they had many sons and grandsons." Of the six sons of Azel, mentioned 1 Chronicles 8:38 , R. S. Jarchi says that their allegorical expositions were sufficient to load thirteen thousand camels! No doubt these were reputed to be deeply learned men. There was a time when the... read more
These verses are occupied with the immediate ancestors and posterity of Saul. And apparently the same account, minus some of its deficiencies, is repeated in the next chapter, 1 Chronicles 8:35 -44. The two may be taken together here, and the latter will help the interpretation of the former. read more
The genealogy runs on from Micah to Ulam with nothing special to remark upon. Ulam is twelfth from Saul, while his "sons and sons' sons" (verse 40) are spoken of. The time of Hezekiah must be reached, therefore, who was thirteenth from David. The table of next chapter stops with the name Azel ( 1 Chronicles 9:44 ), and wears the appearance of having just missed the last two verses of this chapter. read more
The name Ulam is found also among the descendants of Gilead, grandson of Manasseh ( 1 Chronicles 7:17 ). HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON 1 Chronicles 8:1-40 . - Readings between the lines. "Reading between the lines," or extracting from these tables some moral truths which, if they do not contain, they may fairly suggest, we gather — I. THAT ALLIANCES OFTEN END IN ENTANGLEMENTS AND ENTAIL UNCONSIDERED CONSEQUENCES . Shaharaim went into Moab and there... read more
Sons, and sons’ sons - This genealogy of the house of Saul appears by the number of the generations to belong probably to the time of Hezekiah (compare 1 Chronicles 4:41). Ulam’s “sons’ sons” are in the 13th generation from Jonathan, as Hezekiah is in the 13th generation from David. read more
1 Chronicles 8:40. Archers Hebrew, that tread the bow: for the bows of steel, which these used, required great strength to bend them; which therefore they did by treading the bow with their feet, and pulling the string with both their hands. 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
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 8:33-40
It is observable that among all the genealogies of the tribes there is no mention of any of the kings of Israel after the defection from the house of David, much less of their families; not a word of Jeroboam's house or Baasha?s, of Umri's or Jehu?s; for they were all idolaters. But of the family of Saul, which was the royal family before the elevation of David, we have here a particular account. 1. Before Saul, Kish and Ner only are named, his father and grandfather, 1 Chron. 8:33. His... read more