I Chronicles 6-9
Dear RTB’ers,
After listing David’s and Solomon’s sons yesterday, we saw the author of Chronicles covering Jacob’s sons geographically. He began in the fourth chapter with Judah (wherein Jerusalem is located) and Simeon, with its cities inside Judah’s borders.
Then in the fifth chapter he covered the land of Gilead, those tribes living in the TransJordan – Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He even added a bit of history there, with the Assyrians taking them all into exile.
Today in the sixth chapter the author inserts Levi’s lineage into his pattern of covering Jacob’s sons geographically. You’ll recall that the Levites were dispersed throughout the Promised Land, with 48 cities and pasturelands across all twelve tribes. The Chronicles author also details these Levitical settlements and duties alongside their lineages.
In the seventh chapter the author returns to his geographical genealogy by covering those tribes nearest Judah to the north: Benjamin, Ephraim, and the other half-tribe of Manasseh, with Issachar, Naphtali, and Asher also included. Two tribes did not have their genealogies included – Dan and Zebulun.
Finally, in today’s last two chapters the Chronicles author covers Saul’s lineage (chapter 8 and the end of chapter 9) and a genealogy of those exiles who returned from Babylon, with a particular focus on the Levites the priests, and the temple servants (and their duties).
So, what to make of all these names in these nine chapters? Clearly someone took the time to put it all together, no doubt with substantial support from leaders of all the tribes. Each of these people, only names in ancient history to us, were known to God and made up His people, His kingdom on earth. And their descendants have continued through the years, the Jewish people, still in their Promised Land, and still being constantly challenged by their nearby enemies.
Blessings.
Fred