1 Chronicles 3

3:1-24 Genealogies. - Of all the families of Israel, none were so illustrious as the family of David: here we have a full account of it. From this family, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. The attentive observer will perceive that the children of the righteous enjoy many advantages.

CHAPTER 31Ch 3:1-9. Sons of David.1-3. Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron—It is of consequence for the proper understanding of events in the domestic history of David, to bear in mind the place and time of his sons' birth. The oldest son, born after his father's accession to the sovereign authority, is according to Eastern notions, the proper heir to the throne. And hence the natural aspirations of ambition in Ammon, who was long unaware of the alienation of the crown, and could not be easily reconciled to the claims of a younger brother being placed above his own (see on [358]2Sa 3:1-5).

Chapter 3 Of all the families of Israel none was so illustrious as the family of David. That is the family which was mentioned in the foregoing chapter (v. 15). Here we have a full account of it. I. David’s sons (v. 1-9). II. His successors in the throne as long as the kingdom continued (v. 10–16). III. The remains of his family in and after the captivity (v. 17–24). From this family, "as concerning the flesh, Christ came."Verses 1-9 We had an account of David’s sons, 2 Sa. 3:2, etc., and 5:14, etc. 1. He had many sons; and no doubt wrote as he thought, Ps. 127:5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of these arrows. 2. Some of them were a grief to him, as Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah; and we do not read of any of them that imitated his piety or devotion except Solomon, and he came far short of it. 3. One of them, which Bath-sheba bore to him, he called Nathan, probably in honour of Nathan the prophet, who reproved him for his sin in that matter and was instrumental to bring him to repentance. It seems he loved him the better for it as long as he lived. It is wisdom to esteem those our best friends that deal faithfully with us. From this son of David our Lord Jesus descended, as appears Lu. 3:31. 4. Here are two Elishamas, and two Eliphelets, v. 6, 8. Probably the two former were dead, and therefore David called two more by their names, which he would not have done if there had been any ill omen in this practice as some fancy. 5. David had many concubines; but their children are not named, as not worthy of the honour (v. 9), the rather because the concubines had dealt treacherously with David in the affair of Absalom. 6. Of all David’s sons Solomon was chosen to succeed him, perhaps not for any personal merits (his wisdom was God’s gift), but so, Father, because it seemed good unto thee.

Ver. 1-4 Now these were the sons of David,.... The six following born in Hebron, who are reckoned in the same order as in 2Sa 3:2, only here the second son is called Daniel, who there goes by the name of Chileab; he had two names, the reason of which see there; and here David's wife, Eglah, is said in the Targum to be Michal, Saul's daughter, [See comments on 2Sa 3:5], to which is added an account of his reign both in Hebron and Jerusalem, agreeably to 2Sa 5:5.

[See comments on 1Ch 3:1].

3. Eglah his wife—supposed to be another name of Michal, who, though she had no son after her mockery of David for dancing before the ark [2Sa 6:16, 20], might have had one previous to that time. She has the title of wife appended to her name because she was his proper wife; and the mention of her name last probably arose from the circumstance that, having been withdrawn from David and married to another husband but afterwards restored, she had in reality become the last of his wives.

[See comments on 1Ch 3:1].

[See comments on 1Ch 3:1].

Ver. 5-8. And these were born unto him in Jerusalem,.... Whose names follow, in all nine; there are but seven mentioned in 2Sa 5:14 the reason of which see in the notes there; [See comments on 2Sa 5:14]. [See comments on 2Sa 5:15]. [See comments on 2Sa 5:16]. it may be observed that Bathsheba is here called Bathshua, and her father Ammiel, whose name is Eliam in 2Sa 11:3, names of much the same signification.

5. four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel—or, "Bath-sheba" (2Sa 11:3), and there her father is called "Eliam." Of course Solomon was not her "only son," but he is called so (Pr 4:3) from the distinguished affection of which he was the object; and though the oldest, he is named the last of Bath-sheba's children.

3:6 Eliphelet - And he had two other sons called by the same names, ver.8, probably they were by different wives: and probably they were then distinguished by some additional clause or title, which is here omitted, because the two first were dead before the two second were born, and therefore the names of the deceased were given to these to preserve their memory.

6. Elishama and Eliphelet—Two sons of the same name are twice mentioned (1Ch 3:8). They were the children of different mothers, and had probably some title or epithet appended by which the one was distinguished from the other. Or, it might be, that the former two were dead, and their names had been given to sons afterwards born to preserve their memories.

[See comments on 1Ch 3:5].

[See comments on 1Ch 3:5].

[See comments on 1Ch 3:5]

These were all the sons of David,.... By his wives:

beside the sons of the concubines; who are not reckoned, and how many they were is not known; he had ten concubines at least, 2Sa 15:16 and 2Sa 20:3.

And Tamar their sister; not the sister of the sons of the concubines, but of his other sons, and only of Absalom by the mother's side, of whom see 2Sa 13:1.

Verses 10-24 David having nineteen sons, we may suppose them to have raised many noble families in Israel whom we never hear of in the history. But the scripture gives us an account only of the descendants of Solomon here, and of Nathan, Lu. 3.