1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 1-2: The Importance of Lineage From Adam to Jesus Messiah (Part 1)

Several years ago, I dug into my family’s ancestry. I knew one of my mom’s cousins was a well-known Socialist revolutionary in Spain. For some reason, she was proud of him. Yet, on my dad’s side, I discovered my great great grandfather helped to abolish slavery in Puerto Rico! Now, that’s something to brag about! When it comes to Jewish history, it was important that the lineage of the Messiah lead from King David, then further back to Abraham, then even further back to Adam. We get that in the first chapters of Chronicles. Written by Ezra after the exile, it’s a journal of the history of the Jews. Let’s dig in…

Note, since we’ve covered most of the other books in the Old Testament, I’ve linked the names of some of these people to their respective historical accounts so you can dig deeper. Some are great stories, some are terrible stories, but they all had an impact on what goes on in the world today, as well as our salvation through Jesus Messiah. Keep in mind, history does repeat itself — if we don’t learn from it.

1 Chronicles 1

From Adam to Noah’s Sons

The descendants of Adam were Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah.

The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Descendants of Japheth

The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.

Descendants of Ham

The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. 10 Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth.

11 Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 12 Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines came.

13 Canaan’s oldest son was Sidon, the ancestor of the Sidonians. Canaan was also the ancestor of the Hittites, 14 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 15 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 16 Arvadites, Zemarites, and Hamathites.

Descendants of Shem

17 The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

The descendants of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

18 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah.

Shelah was the father of Eber.

19 Eber had two sons. The first was named Peleg (which means “division”), for during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups. His brother’s name was Joktan.

20 Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 21 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 22 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 23 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan.

24 So this is the family line descended from Shem: Arphaxad, Shelah, 25 Eber, Peleg, Reu, 26 Serug, Nahor, Terah, 27 and Abram, later known as Abraham.

Descendants of Abraham

28 The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. 29 These are their genealogical records:

The sons of Ishmael were Nebaioth (the oldest), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 30 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the sons of Ishmael.

32 The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.

33 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

All these were descendants of Abraham through his concubine Keturah.

Descendants of Isaac

34 Abraham was the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel (Jacob).

Descendants of Esau

35 The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

36 The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz, and Amalek, who was born to Timna.

37 The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah.

Original Peoples of Edom

38 The descendants of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan.

39 The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was named Timna.

40 The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah.

41 The son of Anah was Dishon.

The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

42 The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran.

Rulers of Edom

43 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites:

Bela son of Beor, who ruled from his city of Dinhabah.

44 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became king in his place.

45 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became king in his place.

46 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who destroyed the Midianite army in the land of Moab.

47 When Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became king in his place.

48 When Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became king in his place.

49 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became king in his place.

50 When Baal-hanan died, Hadad became king in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. His wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. 51 Then Hadad died.

The clan leaders of Edom were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 52 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 53 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 54 Magdiel, and Iram. These are the clan leaders of Edom.

1 Chronicles 1 NLT

1 Chronicles 2

Descendants of Israel

The sons of Israel (Jacob) were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Descendants of Judah

Judah had three sons from Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. Their names were Er, Onan, and Shelah. But the Lord saw that the oldest son, Er, was a wicked man, so he killed him. Later Judah had twin sons from Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law. Their names were Perez and Zerah. So Judah had five sons in all.

The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda—five in all.

The son of Carmi (a descendant of Zimri) was Achan, who brought disaster on Israel by taking plunder that had been set apart for the Lord.

The son of Ethan was Azariah.

From Judah’s Grandson Hezron to David

The sons of Hezron were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb.

10 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of Judah.
11 Nahshon was the father of Salmon (who married Rahab the prostitute in Jericho).
Salmon was the father of Boaz (who married Ruth, the Moabite).
12 Boaz was the father of Obed.
Obed was the father of Jesse.

13 Jesse’s first son was Eliab, his second was Abinadab, his third was Shimea, 14 his fourth was Nethanel, his fifth was Raddai, 15 his sixth was Ozem, and his seventh was David.

16 Their sisters were named Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah had three sons named Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. 17 Abigail married a man named Jether, an Ishmaelite, and they had a son named Amasa.

Other Descendants of Hezron

18 Hezron’s son Caleb had sons from his wife Azubah and from Jerioth. Her sons were named Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 19 After Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrathah, and they had a son named Hur. 20 Hur was the father of Uri. Uri was the father of Bezalel.

21 When Hezron was sixty years old, he married Gilead’s sister, the daughter of Makir. They had a son named Segub. 22 Segub was the father of Jair, who ruled twenty-three towns in the land of Gilead. 23 (But Geshur and Aram captured the Towns of Jair and also took Kenath and its sixty surrounding villages.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

24 Soon after Hezron died in the town of Caleb-ephrathah, his wife Abijah gave birth to a son named Ashhur (the father of Tekoa).

Descendants of Hezron’s Son Jerahmeel

25 The sons of Jerahmeel, the oldest son of Hezron, were Ram (the firstborn), Bunah, Oren, Ozem, and Ahijah. 26 Jerahmeel had a second wife named Atarah. She was the mother of Onam.

27 The sons of Ram, the oldest son of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker.

28 The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada.

The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur.

29 The sons of Abishur and his wife Abihail were Ahban and Molid.

30 The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without children, 31 but Appaim had a son named Ishi. The son of Ishi was Sheshan. Sheshan had a descendant named Ahlai.

32 The sons of Jada, Shammai’s brother, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without children, 33 but Jonathan had two sons named Peleth and Zaza.

These were all descendants of Jerahmeel.

34 Sheshan had no sons, though he did have daughters. He also had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. 35 Sheshan gave one of his daughters to be the wife of Jarha, and they had a son named Attai.

36 Attai was the father of Nathan.
Nathan was the father of Zabad.
37 Zabad was the father of Ephlal.
Ephlal was the father of Obed.
38 Obed was the father of Jehu.
Jehu was the father of Azariah.
39 Azariah was the father of Helez.
Helez was the father of Eleasah.
40 Eleasah was the father of Sismai.
Sismai was the father of Shallum.
41 Shallum was the father of Jekamiah.
Jekamiah was the father of Elishama.

Descendants of Hezron’s Son Caleb

42 The descendants of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel, included Mesha (the firstborn), who became the father of Ziph. Caleb’s descendants also included the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron.

43 The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. 44 Shema was the father of Raham. Raham was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem was the father of Shammai. 45 The son of Shammai was Maon. Maon was the father of Beth-zur.

46 Caleb’s concubine Ephah gave birth to Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran was the father of Gazez.

47 The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph.

48 Another of Caleb’s concubines, Maacah, gave birth to Sheber and Tirhanah. 49 She also gave birth to Shaaph (the father of Madmannah) and Sheva (the father of Macbenah and Gibea). Caleb also had a daughter named Acsah.

50 These were all descendants of Caleb.

Descendants of Caleb’s Son Hur

The sons of Hur, the oldest son of Caleb’s wife Ephrathah, were Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim), 51 Salma (the founder of Bethlehem), and Hareph (the founder of Beth-gader).

52 The descendants of Shobal (the founder of Kiriath-jearim) were Haroeh, half the Manahathites, 53 and the families of Kiriath-jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites, from whom came the people of Zorah and Eshtaol.

54 The descendants of Salma were the people of Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, the other half of the Manahathites, the Zorites, 55 and the families of scribes living at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. All these were Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the family of Recab.

1 Chronicles 2 NLT

Where’s the Messiah?

We got to David, then the record went into a different lineage. Pastor Sandy Adams explains…

Chapter 1

Verses 1-4 cover about 1500 years – from the creation to after the flood… Remember Adam lived 930 years. Evidently, conditions before the flood allowed people to live to long ages. That starts to change with Noah’s family. Verses 5-28 trace the lineage of Noah’s 3 sons. Verses 5-7 lists Japheth’s sons…Gomer fathered the Germanic tribes – Magog, Russia – Madai, the Medes and Persians – Javan, Greece – Tubal, the Turks.

Verses 8-16 track Ham’s offspring… Cush apparently branched off into two families – Nimrod fathered the Babylonians. And Cush is also associated with the Ethiopians. Mizraim were the Egyptians. Put was Libya. And the Canaanites were the people who inhabited Israel before God gave the land to the Hebrews.

Verses 17-28 speak of the sons of Shem… Elam fathered the Persians – Asshur the Assyrians – Arphaxad was the ancestor of Abram and Israel. Noah’s three sons fathered the earth’s three major people groups… Japheth fathered the Caucasian peoples. Shem sired the Oriental groups, including the Hebrews. And the descendants of Ham migrated to Africa… [See, if we all go back far enough, we’re all related.]

…1 Chronicles 1:1-29 takes us from Adam to Abraham – about 4000 years. The rest of chapter 1 focuses on the family of Abraham. Remember his original name was “Abram”, but God changed it to “Abraham” or “father of many nations.”

Not only were the Israelites descendents of Abraham, but so were many of the nations scattered across the Middle East. Ishmael and the Arabs – the Midianites and Edomites – even Sheba and Dedan – tribes of the Arabian Peninsula were Abraham’s descendents.

Sandy Adams

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 begins with Abraham’s 12 great-grandsons. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, Jacob – whose name was changed to Israel – begot 12 sons…

Ezra provides us the genealogy of each tribe, and the boundaries of their territory.

Verse 3 starts to list the family of Judah. Follow the genealogy down to verse 12 and you find a man named Jesse. He had seven sons… the youngest of which was a shepherd boy named David. Of course, David became king of Israel – and heir to the promised Messiah.

One other of the sons of Judah gets special treatment in chapter 2. Caleb was one of 12 spies Moses sent to scope out the Promised Land. Ten of the spies brought back gloom and doom. Victory was impossible. There were giants in the land! Only Caleb and Joshua believed in God. Their positive assessment was laced with faith. Israel could take the land if they trusted in their mighty God. Verse 18-55 traces the genealogy of Caleb’s family.

Sandy Adams

Leading us to Jesus Messiah

What’s interesting in all this, are the names and the countries. These 2 chapters, along with Pastor Sandy’s explanation, brings to light all the countries in the world that are in the news right now. Many of these are the ones that will be in the Ezekiel 38 war — Gog and Magog.

The Messiah’s lineage goes from Abraham to David. In the coming chapters, we’ll get through the rest of the kings of Judah. The 2 books of Chronicles were originally one long book with the whole history of Judah from Abraham to the Nehemiah. It’s a recap and retelling of some, as well as adding a few stories that the writers of the other Old Testament books missed. It’s also worth noting that it skips over the ugly stuff. I guess Ezra wanted to focus on God and His Goodness throughout the history of the Jews.

70 years of exile didn’t interfere with the royal lineage of David. Because of Jesus, we are all children of Abraham through faith. The Book of Hebrews ties the Old Testament faithful people to Jesus Messiah, who is our High Priest. The lineage from David to Jesus Messiah had to be preserved through wars, sin, idolatry, and the judgment of exile. For Jesus to be the Messiah, His lienage had to match up with these records. That’s what makes this book of Chronicles so important. Read Matthew 1 and Luke 3.

Do YOU KNOW Jesus, the Messiah?

If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…

Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…

Chronicles Overview


Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be The Glory!

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