1 Chronicles 8:1 - Meaning and Application

There is little or nothing in these verses that tells a story, so there is not much to explain. As for the difficulties in this genealogy, and in the ones before it, we should not trouble ourselves too much over them. Ezra probably copied them as he found them in the books of the kings of Israel and Judah (Ezra 9:1), just as the different tribes had handed them down, each in its own way.

That is why some lists move upward, while others move downward. Some include numbers, others places. Some mix in historical notes, and others do not. Some are shorter, others longer. Some agree with other records, and others differ. Some were likely torn, erased, or faded, while others were clearer. The records of Dan and Reuben were completely lost.

Ezra wrote as he was led by the Holy Spirit, but there was no need for inspiration to fix every defect in these genealogies. It was enough that he copied them as they came to him, or at least the parts needed for the present purpose. That purpose was to help the returned captives settle, as closely as they could, with their own families and in their former towns.

Many things in these genealogies may seem tangled, abrupt, and hard for us to follow. But they were probably plain enough to the people of that time, who knew how to fill in the missing parts. In that way, the records fully served the purpose for which they were published.

Many great nations now existed in the world, with many famous men in them, yet their names are buried in lasting forgetfulness. By contrast, the names of many people of Israel, God's people, are carefully preserved here in lasting memory. They were like the upright ones, people whose memory is blessed. Many of them likely fell short of lasting honor, because even the wicked kings of Judah are included in this line. Still, keeping their names here pointed ahead to the writing of all God's spiritual Israel in the Lamb's book of life.

The tribe of Benjamin had once been brought very low in the time of the judges, after the sin of Gibeah, when only 600 men escaped the sword of justice. Even so, in these genealogies Benjamin appears almost as strong as any other tribe. This shows the honor of God, who helps the weak and lifts up those who have been brought low.

One name mentioned here is Ehud (1 Chronicles 8:6). In the verse before, Gera is mentioned (1 Chronicles 8:5), and in (1 Chronicles 8:8) someone is named who had children in the land of Moab. This makes me think it may have been Ehud, the second judge of Israel. He was the son of Gera and a Benjamite (Judges 3:15). He delivered Israel from Moabite oppression by killing the king of Moab, and that may have given him more influence in Moab than his story records. It may also have led some of his descendants to settle there.

Some Benjamites are said to have driven out the people of Gath (1 Chronicles 8:13). Perhaps they were the ones who had slain the Ephraimites (1 Chronicles 7:21), or their descendants, acting in return. One of those who carried out this act of justice was also named Beriah, a name that kept the memory of that wrong alive.

Special notice is given to those who lived in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 8:28, 1 Chronicles 8:32). This may have been meant to encourage the descendants of those families to return there after the captivity and settle in the city again. For all that appears, few were willing to do so, because it was a dangerous place. That is why we read in (Nehemiah 11:2) that the people blessed those who gladly offered to live in Jerusalem, since most preferred the cities of Judah.

In the same way, those whose godly parents lived in the new Jerusalem should feel called to make that city their aim too. They should set their hearts toward it and keep walking toward it, whatever it costs them.