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1 Chronicles 3

Chapter 3 in 30 seconds

David's sons are listed, six born in Hebron and the rest in Jerusalem, including Solomon. Then come the kings of Judah, from Solomon to Josiah, and the royal family carried off to Babylon. The line keeps going after the exile through Zerubbabel. God's promise to David did not die in Babylon.

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In this chapterThe Big QuestionWho Wrote Chronicles? · after verse 24

The Descendants of David// 2 Samuel 3:1–5

¹These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron:

The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam of Jezreel;

the second was Daniel by Abigail of Carmel;

²the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;

the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;

³the fifth was Shephatiah by Abital;

and the sixth was Ithream by his wife Eglah.

⁴These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months.

And David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years, ⁵and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem:

Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.

1CH 3:5[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → MT 1:2-12
1CH 3:5[ALLUDED TO]The New Testament refers to this → LK 3:31-38
1CH 3:5[NOTE]NATHAN AND SOLOMON. Matthew traces Jesus' family through Solomon, Matthew 1:6, and Luke traces it through Nathan, Luke 3:31. Both were sons of David and Bathsheba.

⁶David’s other sons were Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, ⁷Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet—nine in all.

⁹These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.

The Descendants of Solomon

¹⁰Solomon’s son was Rehoboam: Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, ¹¹Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, ¹²Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, ¹³Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, ¹⁴Amon his son, and Josiah his son.

¹⁵The sons of Josiah: Johanan was the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second, Zedekiah the third, and Shallum the fourth.

¹⁶The successors of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, and Zedekiah.

1CH 3:16[NOTE]JECONIAH is King Jehoiachin, 2 Kings 24:6. Matthew skips some kings in this list, like Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah and Jehoiakim, many think to make three groups of fourteen, Matthew 1:17. They are still in Jesus' family line, so they are underlined here.

The Royal Line After the Exile

¹⁷The descendants of Jeconiah the captive: Shealtiel his son, ¹⁸Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.

¹⁹The sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei.

The children of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, their sister Shelomith, ²⁰and five others: Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed.

1CH 3:19[TEXT]WHOSE SON? Here Zerubbabel is the son of Pedaiah. Ezra 3:2, Haggai 1:1 and Matthew 1:12 call him the son of Shealtiel. Some think Pedaiah raised his brother Shealtiel's son, or married his widow to carry on his name, Deuteronomy 25:5 to 6. Some copies of the Greek say Shealtiel here.

²¹The descendants of Hananiah: Pelatiah, Jeshaiah, and the sons of Rephaiah, of Arnan, of Obadiah, and of Shecaniah.

²²The six descendants of Shecaniah were Shemaiah and his sons: Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, and Shaphat.

²³The sons of Neariah: Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam—three in all.

²⁴The sons of Elioenai: Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani—seven in all.

The Big Question

Who Wrote Chronicles?

The Traditional View

1 Chronicles 3:17 to 24 · 29:29 · 2 Chronicles 36:22 to 23 · Ezra 1:1 to 3

THE BOOK DOES NOT SAY: Chronicles never names its writer. It does name its sources, like the records of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet and Gad the seer, 29:29, and the Book of the Kings of Israel, 9:1.
THE JEWISH TRADITION: The Talmud says Ezra wrote his own book and the family lists of Chronicles up to his time. Ezra was a priest and a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, Ezra 7:6.
THE SAME ENDING AND BEGINNING: 2 Chronicles ends with Cyrus telling the Jews to go home and build the temple, 36:22 to 23. Ezra begins with the same words, Ezra 1:1 to 3. Many see this as a sign the books came from the same hand or the same circle.
THE LAST WORD: In most printed Hebrew Bibles, Chronicles comes last, so the Hebrew Bible ends with Cyrus telling God's people, may he go up, 2 Chronicles 36:23.
WHO IT WAS WRITTEN FOR: The people back from Babylon, rebuilding the temple. The book shows them that God's promise to David and the worship David set up still mattered.
THE QUESTION: Did Ezra write Chronicles, or someone later?

Who Wrote Chronicles? · Every View

1 Chronicles 9:1 · 29:7 · 2 Chronicles 9:29 · 12:15 · Ezra 7:6

VIEW 1: EZRA: Tradition says Ezra, about 450 BC. Supporters point to the priestly interests, the same ending and beginning, and the style shared with Ezra and Nehemiah.
VIEW 2: A LATER CHRONICLER: Many scholars say an unnamed priest or Levite wrote it about 400 to 250 BC. Their main reason is 3:17 to 24, where Zerubbabel's line runs on for several more generations. Zerubbabel led the people home about 538 to 520 BC.
THE GOLD COINS CLUE: 29:7 counts gifts in Persian gold coins first made about 515 BC. So the writer lived after that, in the Persian time or later. Everyone agrees this is not a word from David's day.
VIEW 3: TWO STAGES: Some think the book was written in Ezra's day and the last names in chapter 3 were added later, as the family records were kept up.
THE SOURCES: Most think the writer used Samuel and Kings, and often copies them word for word. He names more than a dozen other records, like the records of Nathan, Gad, Iddo and Shemaiah, which are now lost, 2 Chronicles 9:29 and 12:15.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Chronicles was written after the exile, by someone who loved the temple and its worship, to give hope to God's people back home.

1 Chronicles 3

The Descendants of David// 2 Samuel 3:1–5

The Descendants of Solomon

The Royal Line After the Exile

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