1 Chronicles 8


1 Chronicles 8 is the eighth chapter of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Chronicles in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person or group, designated by modern scholars as "the Chronicler", and had the final shape established in late fifth or fourth century BCE. This chapter focuses on the tribe of Benjamin, especially the family of King Saul. It belongs to the section focusing on the list of genealogies from Adam to the lists of the people returning from exile in Babylon.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 40 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Alexandrinus.

Old Testament references

  • : ; ;.

    Structure

The whole chapter belongs to an arrangement comprising 1 Chronicles 2:3–8:40 with the king-producing tribes of Judah and Benjamin bracketing the series of lists as the priestly tribe of Levi anchors the center, in the following order:

Descendants of Benjamin (8:1–32)

This section contains a second genealogy of Benjamin and is considered as a later addition to the Chronicles, documenting family trees of individuals in the tribe of Benjamin, with dwelling places and historical notes, in four sections that end in verses 7, 12, 28 and 32, respectively. The first section is the family of Bela, then followed by the family of Shaharaim. Several families who lived in Aijalon and Jerusalem are listed in verses 13–28, continues with the forefathers of Saul in verses 29–32, to be followed with the genealogy of Saul in the subsequent section.

Verses 1–2

  • Cross references: ; ; 1 Chronicles 7:6
  • "Aharah": from is written as "Ahiram" in.

    Verse 5

  • "Reckoned": used only in Book of Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles, indicating the period when this list is compiled.

    Family of Saul (8:33–40)

This section focuses on the genealogy of Saul, nearly identical to the list in 1 Chronicles 9:35–44. Although the royal throne was occupied by David's line, the descendants of Saul was apparently still considered important, as the list continues to the ten generation after Saul's death into the 8th century BCE.

Verse 33

  • "Eshbaal": from Hebrew: אֶשְׁ בָּֽעַל, meaning "man of Baal", probably the original name of Saul's son that was 'corrected and disfigured' in into "Ishbosheth", to conceal the 'baal' component. In, he is known as "Ishvi".