1 Chronicles 9:35

"And in Gibeon there dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife was Maacah; and his first-born son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab, and Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and Mikloth. And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against their brethren. And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malcashua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. And the son of Jonathan was Meribbaal; and Meribbaal begat Micah. And the sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz. And Ahaz begot Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza; and Moza begat Benia; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son. And Azel had six sons, whose names are these: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheriah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel."

1 Chronicles 9:35-44 is a duplicate of 1 Chronicles 8:29-38. Twelve generations of King Saul are listed here; and the reason for their being repeated would appear to be that they are an appropriate background for the record of the death of Saul, related in the very next chapter.

This brings us to the end of these amazing genealogies. Unbelieving scholars have leveled all kinds of critical allegations against these records; but the truth is that not any of them has been able to shed any light whatever upon these records.

"These genealogies are the skeletal framework of the entire O.T. They bind the whole book together and afford the most convincing demonstration that the O.T. is genuine history as contrasted with myth or legend."[1]

"This chapter has a list of the post-exilic inhabitants of Jerusalem, to which has been appended a list of the ancestors of king Saul as a fitting introduction to the story of Saul which immediately follows."[2] J. Barton Payne sharply disagreed with Dentan's statement here, affirming that, "This chapter enumerates the inhabitants of Jerusalem prior to the city's capture and the removal of its people to Babylon."[3] This writer believes that Payne's opinion is the more trustworthy. The principal support of Dentan's view comes, "From an emendation that changes the meaning of verse 2 in this chapter."[4] It is a weakness of the RSV that it follows that change of the sacred text without adequate authority.

The truly significant fact that comes to light here is that with the records before the Chronicler (whom we believe to have been Ezra) as revealed in this chapter, "It was possible for Ezra to restore the legitimate theocracy in Jerusalem after their return from Babylon."[5] This may have resulted from the detailed account in this chapter of the various services and responsibilities of the Levites.

These nine chapters, composed principally of genealogical tables, must, without doubt, be among the most neglected chapters in the Bible.