Chapter 3

1 The sons of David. 10 His line to Zedekiah. 17 The successors of Jeconiah.

1. In Hebron. For the parallel list of David’s sons born in Hebron see on 2 Sam. 3:2–5. There are slight variations in the wording of the two lists but no essential differences.

4. Seven years and six months. See on 2 Sam. 2:11.

5. In Jerusalem. For the parallel list of David’s sons born in Jerusalem (vs. 5–8) see on 2 Sam. 5:14–16. The list occurs again in 1 Chron. 14:3–7.

9. Tamar their sister. Not, of course, their only sister, but here given special mention because of her unhappy fate (2 Sam. 13).

10. Solomon’s son. Verses 10–16 list the kings of Judah who descended from David.

15. The firstborn Johanan. This son must not be confused with Jehoahaz, who succeeded his father Josiah to the throne and who was deposed and exiled to Egypt by Necho after a reign of only three months.

The second Jehoiakim. He was also known as Eliakim, and succeeded Jehoahaz at the age of 25, having been placed on the throne of Judah by Necho of Egypt (2 Kings 23:34, 36).

The third Zedekiah. His name was changed from Mattaniah to Zedekiah when Nebuchadnezzar made him king. He was only 21 at the end of Jehoiakim’s 11-year reign (2 Kings 24:17, 18).

The fourth Shallum. This was Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:30; cf. Jer. 22:11). Shallum was the first son of Josiah to reign after his father’s death. He was placed upon the throne by the people of Judah after the death of Josiah (2 Kings 23:30). Jehoahaz was not the first-born son of Josiah, but was 2 years younger than Jehoiakim (see on 2 Kings 23:30, 36). The order of the sons of Josiah was, according to succession to the throne, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah; but according to age, Jehoiakim, Jehoahaz, Zedekiah. Shallum, or Jehoahaz, may here be listed as fourth because he reigned only 3 months, whereas his 2 brothers each reigned 11 years.

16. Jeconiah. Jeconiah was also known as Coniah (Jer. 22:24, 28), and Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:6). In Hebrew, the name Jehoiachin is simply a transposition of the two component parts of Jeconiah.

17. The sons of Jeconiah. The posterity of Jehoiachin, who was taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, is given in vs. 17–24. This section is peculiar to Chronicles. Babylonian sources of the year 592 mention Jeconiah’s five sons (see on 2 Kings 25:30).

19. Zerubbabel. The question is raised, Is this the prince who with Joshua the high priest led the Jews on their return from exile following the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 2:2)? That one was called the son of Shealtiel (Ezra 3:2; 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Haggai 1:1; Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27). There are several possibilities. The two Zerubbabels may have been cousins, since Salathiel and Pedaiah were brothers (1 Chron. 3:17, 18), although in that case it seems strange that Salathiel’s son was left out of the present genealogy. If this Zerubbabel, the son of Pedaiah, is also the “son of Shealtiel,” it is possible that he was adopted by his apparently childless uncle, or that he was the actual child of one man, and the official son of the other through a levirate marriage (see on Gen. 38:8; Deut. 25:5–9). Another explanation is that Zerubbabel, although actually the son of Pedaiah, is called the son of Shealtiel because he succeeded Shealtiel as head of the family through whom David was descended.

22. Hattush. Some identify this man with the Hattush who returned with Ezra in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes (458/57 b.c.; see Ezra 7:7, 8; 8:2, 3). The identity is probable but conjectural. The name Hattush was not uncommon (see Neh. 3:10; 10:4; 12:2).

24. Hodaiah. Since Hodaiah is of the second generation after Hattush (1 Chron. 3:22–24), and since Ezra returned to Jerusalem in 457 b.c., the second generation after him would have been about 400 b.c. Therefore some date the authorship of the books of Chronicles about 400 b.c., although others hold that these latest names were added to bring the book up to date, in the same way that the last book of Moses, Deuteronomy, was completed after the death of the author by the addition of an account of Moses’ death. For a further discussion of the problem as it concerns the book of Deuteronomy, see Additional Note on Deut. 34.