Chapter VIII.
1–40 (compare vii. 6–12).
The Genealogy of Benjamin.
1–40. Various indications combine to show that the names in this list reflect post-exilic conditions. It has generally been compared with the “Benjamite” genealogy in vii. 6–12 which was supposed to express the relationships and strength of the tribe at the time of David. If, however, according to the view adopted in this volume, the passage vii. 6–12 is in reality a genealogy of Zebulun, comparison between it and this list is futile. Such parallels as can justly be made between the names in the two lists are due to the Benjamite colouring which has been imparted to vii. 6–12 after the initial error in vii. 6 turned the “sons of Zebulun” into “Benjamin.”
This, the real genealogy of Benjamin, unfortunately presents not a few problems for which as yet no convincing solution can be offered. The difficulties are due in large measure to the corrupt state of the text in several verses: especially verses 6–14.
¹And Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third;
1. Benjamin begat ...] Compare Genesis xlvi. 21.
firstborn] = Becher in Genesis xlvi. 21. In the unvocalised Hebrew text the noun and proper name are represented by the same letters, BKR.
Ashbel] literally “man of Baal.” Compare note on Eshbaal, verse 33.
²Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth.
2. Nohah ... Huram] the list is assuredly based on Genesis xlvi. 21 and Numbers xxvi. 38–40, despite the surface divergences. Several of the changes are due to textual errors, e.g. Aharah and Ahoah are probably both variants of Ahiram (Genesis xlvi. 21).
³And Bela had sons, Addar¹, and Gera, and Abihud; ⁴and Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah;
3. Abihud] read perhaps (a slight change in the Hebrew) Gera, father of Ehud.
⁵and Gera, and Shephuphan¹, and Huram.
5. Shephuphan, and Huram] See vii. 12, note on Shuppim.
6–28. Apparently a list of five post-exilic families [Elpaal (verses 11, 18), Beriah (verses 13, 16), Shema (verses 13, 21), Shashak (verses 14, 25), and Jeroham (verses 14, 27)], whose genealogy seems to be traced from Ehud, and whose descendants reside in Jerusalem (so verse 28, but see note ad loc.). The uncertainty on the former point is the inevitable consequence of the corrupt state of the text in verses 6–14.
⁶And these are the sons of Ehud; these are the heads of fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they carried them captive to Manahath:
6. Ehud] Ehud (the deliverer of Israel from Moab) was descended from Gera (verse 5; Judges iii. 15).
Geba] Compare vi. 60.
they carried them captive] an utterly obscure phrase, most probably due to textual error. It is a plausible suggestion that the phrase is a corruption of proper names commencing the list which we should expect to follow the preceding words: “these are the heads of,” etc. Hogg, Jewish Quarterly Review xi. 102 ff., therefore conjectured the names “Iglaam and Alemoth”; and similarly in verse 7, in place of the equally obscure words “he carried them captive; and he,” he would read “and Iglaam begat.”
⁷and Naaman, and Ahijah, and Gera, he carried them captive; and he begat Uzza and Ahihud.
7. Naaman, and Ahijah, and Gera] perhaps to be deleted, as a repetition of verse 5.
⁸And Shaharaim begat children in the field of Moab, after he had sent¹ them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives. ⁹And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcam; ¹⁰and Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers’ houses.
8, 9. Again the Hebrew text appears to be in disorder, and the verses in consequence are so obscure that conjectures are all precarious.
Hushim] is elsewhere the name of a man. Hence verse 11 below should perhaps read And Hushim begat....
¹¹And of Hushim he begat Abitub and Elpaal.
11. Abitub] no sons of his are recorded.
¹²And the sons of Elpaal; Eber, and Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod, with the towns thereof:
12. sons of Elpaal] Elpaal’s sons are given also and more fully in verses 17, 18; and, as the three names in the present verse appear to be transcriptional variants of three mentioned in 17, 18, it is probable that this verse is a marginal note which has crept into the text.
who built Ono and Lod] the subject is not Shemed, but Elpaal; “built,” i.e. entered into possession of. Ono and Lod (= Lydda), some seven and eleven miles respectively south of Jaffa, are referred to in Nehemiah vii. 35, xi. 35, and Ezra ii. 33. The Targum adds, which the sons of Israel laid waste and burnt with fire, when they made war in Gibeah with the tribe of Benjamin.
¹³and Beriah, and Shema, who were heads of fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who put to flight the inhabitants of Gath;
13. Aijalon] compare Joshua x. 12. It was situated near the Jaffa road, about thirteen miles from Jerusalem.
who put ... Gath] an interesting remark, which should be compared with vii. 21, 23—note the name Beriah in both passages. The relation of the two passages is, however, uncertain.
¹⁴and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth; ¹⁵and Zebadiah, and Arad, and Eder; ¹⁶and Michael, and Ishpah, and Joha, the sons of Beriah; ¹⁷and Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hizki, and Heber; ¹⁸and Ishmerai, and Izliah, and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal; ¹⁹and Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi;
14. And Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth] Read, following LXX., And their brethren Shashak and Jeremoth. The pronoun of course refers to Beriah and Shema (verse 13), and to Abitub and Elpaal (verse 11)—these four, with Shashak and Jeremoth, being sons of Hushim, if verse 11 be emended and verses 12, 13 be regarded as a marginal addition, as is suggested above.
²⁰and Elienai and Zillethai, and Eliel;
20. Elienai] Read, perhaps, Elioenai, a name meaning “My eyes look towards Jehovah,” compare iii. 23.
²¹and Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, the sons of Shimei¹; ²²and Ishpan, and Eber, and Eliel; ²³and Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan;
21. Shimei] = Shema (verse 13).
²⁴and Hananiah, and Elam, and Anthothijah; ²⁵and Iphdeiah, and Penuel, the sons of Shashak; ²⁶and Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah;
24. Anthothijah] The name is a trace of an ancient Egyptian war-goddess ‘Anath, apparently associated with Jehovah in the Jewish temple at Elephantine (see ‘Anath-bethel in the papyri). Compare also Anathoth near Jerusalem.
²⁷and Jaareshiah, and Elijah, and Zichri, the sons of Jeroham.
27. Jeroham] = Jeremoth (verse 14).
²⁸These were heads of fathers’ houses throughout their generations, chief men: these dwelt in Jerusalem.
28. these dwelt in Jerusalem] i.e. in the writer’s day the heads of families enumerated in verses 15–27 dwelt in Jerusalem. Compare ix. 2, 3; Nehemiah xi. 1–8. But the words may be a gloss brought in from ix. 34 along with the following verses (see below).
29–38 (= chapter ix. 35–44).
The Genealogy of the house of Saul.
29–38. These verses, which set forth the ancestors and descendants of Saul, are found also in ix. 35–44, where they serve as the introduction to the account of Saul’s death in ch. x. The latter passage would naturally seem to be the original place of these verses, but the arguments in favour of that view are not conclusive, and the point must be allowed to be doubtful.
²⁹And in Gibeon there dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife’s name was Maacah:
29. Gibeon] some six miles north of Jerusalem, was apparently the residence in post-exilic days of families which claimed descent from the house of Saul. Compare 2 Chronicles i. 3.
Jeiel] added in accordance with ix. 35.
³⁰and his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab;
30. and Baal] Add with LXX. (A) and ix. 36 and Ner. LXX. (B) shows that a word is missing after Baal for it reads Βααλακαίμ (= Βαὰλ καὶ Ν....?).
³¹and Gedor, and Ahio, and Zecher¹.
31. and Zecher] Read with ix. 37, and Zechariah, and Mikloth.
³²And Mikloth begat Shimeah¹. And they also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against their brethren.
32. with their brethren, etc.] i.e. with some of their brethren in Jerusalem over against other of their brethren in Gibeon and other places. “They” would seem to refer to Mikloth and Shimeah, but the clause is far from clear, and it may be noted that verse 32b looks like the heading of a list that has been lost.
³³And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab¹, and Eshbaal².
33. begat Kish] here and in ix. 39, read begat Abner—as in 1 Samuel xiv. 51, etc.
Jonathan ... Abinadab] Slain with Saul on Mt Gilboa; x. 2; 1 Samuel xxxi. 2.
Eshbaal] In 2 Samuel ii. 8 called Ish-bosheth. In the (more generally read) Samuel text the offensive name Eshbaal, “Man (i.e. worshipper) of Baal,” has been changed to Ishbosheth, “Man of the Shameful-thing” (i.e. of the idol), but it has been left standing in the less-used text of Chronicles The title Baal (“Lord”) was applied in early days (e.g. in the days of Saul) to the national God of Israel, but in later days the prophets objected to it because of its general use in designation of the heathen gods also. Hosea (ii. 17), for example, declares that the true worshippers of Jehovah must no longer call him “My Baal” (Baali). Thus to Saul and Samuel the name Eshbaal was acceptable as meaning “Man of the Lord,” i.e. of Jehovah, but to the late reviser of the book of Samuel it was offensive as signifying “Man of Baal,” i.e. of one of the gods worshipped by the old Canaanite peoples or by the neighbouring nations. Since the text of Chronicles has retained such forms as Eshbaal (here), Ashbel (verse 1), it seems that the conscientious alterations of such forms in the books of Samuel, Kings, etc., are later than the time of the Chronicler.
³⁴And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal¹; and Merib-baal begat Micah.
34. Merib-baal] A name meaning “Baal pleadeth”; in chapter ix. 40b (Hebrew) it is written Meri-baal, i.e. “Man of Baal.” The person meant seems to be Mephibosheth (2 Samuel ix. 6, 12).
³⁵And the sons of Micah; Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea¹, and Ahaz.
35. Tarea] In ix. 41, Tahrea.
³⁶And Ahaz begat Jehoaddah¹; and Jehoaddah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza:
36. Jehoaddah] In ix. 42, Jarah.
³⁷and Moza begat Binea; Raphah¹ was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son: ³⁸and Azel had six sons, whose names are these; Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹And the sons of Eshek his brother; Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons’ sons, an hundred and fifty. All these were of the sons of Benjamin.
37. Raphah] In ix. 43, Rephaiah.