Chapter 1

1-9 - The first nine chapters of First Chronicles are good examples of the "endless genealogies" that Paul tells us to avoid (see 1 Tim.1:4 and Tit.3:9). Wearisome as these chapters are, the rest of the book isn't much better. Consequently, First Chronicles is probably the most boring book in the Bible -- maybe the most boring book in all of literature.

* Genealogies were important up until the time of Jesus Christ.  He fulfilled the numerous, lineage prophecies.  However, after His birth, life, death, and resurrection, it wasn't necessary to trace the Jewish lineages.

* After Christ ascended to Heaven, some people were boasting about their genealogies.  Therefore, in the New Testament, they were told not to worry about them.

1:1-2 - Was Enoch the sixth or the seventh from Adam?

* In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul refers to the first Adam and the second Adam. The second Adam refers to Jesus Christ; the eternal Christ and second person of the Godhead. Therefore, since we see that Enoch is the sixth from the earthly Adam, we know that he was seventh from the heavenly, eternal Adam: Jesus Christ.

1:32 - In this verse we are told that Keturah was Abraham's concubine, but Gen.25:1 says that she was his wife.

* Sarah was Abraham's first wife.  Sarah gave birth to the child of promise: Isaac.  Keturah was another one of his wives.  The writer of Chronicles labeled her a concubine for two reasons.  First, compared to his first wife, she was second in importance.  Second, she was likely his concubine for a time and later became his wife.

1:38 - Who was Anah? The brother of Zibeon.

* Anah was a descendant (not necessarily a literal son) of Seir the Horite.  This Hebrew word for the English word "son" has a variety of meanings and generally designates lineages; not necessarily fatherhood.

1:40 - Who was Anah? The son of Zibeon.

* This verse gives us a more specific lineage than Genesis 36:20 and 1 Chronicles 1:38.  In those verses, we find that Anah and Zibeon are both descendants of Seir the Horite.  However, in Genesis 36:24, we read that Anah was either a son or a descendant of Zibeon.

Chapter 2

2:3 - God killed Er for being "evil in the sight of the Lord."

* The Creator holds the right to judge people for their sins; even with death.

2:13-15 - Here we are told that Jesse had seven sons, but according to 1 Sam.16:10 he had eight.

* In 1 Samuel 16:10, this Hebrew word for "sons" can refer to grandchildren, too.  Therefore, it appears that Jesse showed seven children and one grandchild to Samuel.  It is also possible that he had another son that died.  This could explain why he was counted in the earlier historical accounts and omitted from some later ones.

2:17 - Who was Amasa's father?

* Ithra (Jithra) is the same person as Jether.  These are simply alternate spellings.  Incidentally, both names have the same meaning: abundance.  This is similar to a person being called both Mike and Michael.

2:18, 50 - Who was Caleb's father?

* 1 Chronicles 2:18 indicates that Caleb's father was Hezron.  1 Chronicles 2:19 indicates that Caleb married a woman named Ephrath and they had a son named Hur.

* In the KJV, 1 Chronicles 2:50 reads, "These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim."  Another translation of this verse (and verse 51) is this: "These were the descendants of Caleb: the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah (Ephrath): Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim, Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader."

Chapter 3

3:5-8 - This list of David's sons is given in two other places (2 Sam.5:14-16, 1 Chr.14:3-7), but none of them give the same set of names. In this list, for example, Nogah is missing, but it is included in the other two lists.

* Some of these names are the same and some are different.  Therefore, these writers simply omitted some of David's sons.  Incidentally, some of the names in 2 Samuel 5 are the same in 1 Chronicles, but they have slightly different spellings.

3:11-12, 15-16 - The gospel of Mathew Mt.1:6-11gives the same genealogy as is given here except Matthew, in an attempt to preserve the magical number 14, leaves out four generations (Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, and Jehoiakim).

* Matthew never indicated that he gave a complete genealogy.  He simply omitted these names.  Incidentally, in Matthew, the Greek word for "begat" can refer to sons, daughters and ancestors.

3:17-18 - Did Jeconiah have any sons?

* The word "write," in the phrase "write this man as childless," is also translated "record."  It is obvious, even by reading Jeremiah 22:30, that Jeconiah was not literally childless.  However, this prophecy came true because he had no successor.

* Jeremiah 22:30 indicates that his descendants would not "sit on David's throne and rule any more in Judah."  None of his descendants sat on this earthly throne.

3:19 - Who was Zerubbabel's father?

* Pedaiah was Zerubbabel's father.  This is evidenced in 1 Chronicles 3:19.

* Ezra 3:2 and Nehemiah 12:1 use a Hebrew word for "son" that means "grandfather."  There aren't any ancient Hebrew terms for grandfather or grandson.  This is why all of the Israelites are called the "sons of Israel (Jacob)," even though they could only literally be called his great grandchildren.

3:20 - Seven sons of Zerubbabel are listed, not five as is said in verse 20.

* In verse 20, five descendants of Zerubbabel are listed.  Therefore, the word "five" that we find at the end of verse 20 is simply indicating that Zerubbabel also has these, five descendants.

3:22 - Five sons of Shemiah are listed, not six as is said in this verse.

* One descendant of Shemiah was omitted from the text.

Chapter 6

6:1, 16 - Was Mahli the son of Levi?

* According to 1 Chronicles 6:16-19, Mahli was Levi's grandson and the son of Merari.  This Hebrew word for "son" is better translated "grandson."

6:27 - Was Samuel an Ephraimite or a Levite

* 1 Chronicles 6:16-30 indicates that Samuel is a Levite and descended from Elkanah.  In 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah is called an Ephraimite because his family lived in a Levitical city in the boundaries of Ephraim.

6:28 - Who was Samuel's firstborn son? Vashni or Joel (1 Sam.8:2)?

* 1 Samuel 8:2 indicates that Joel was Samuel's firstborn son.  This is also indicated by 1 Chronicles 6:33.  In 1 Chronicles 6:28, we likely see another name that Joel was called: Vashni.  Incidentally, the Syriac and Arabic translations (along with NKJV, TLB, ASV, NIV, etc.) have "Joel" instead of Vashni.

* Some translators believe that the Hebrew word "veshni" means "second" and was accidentally translated into a proper name.  At any rate, Joel was the firstborn son of Samuel.

6:66,69 - What tribe was Aijalon from? Ephraim or Dan (Jos.21:23-24)?

* Aijalon was originally assigned to Dan.  However, because of their idolatry and wickedness, Aijalon was reassigned to Ephraim (as it is recorded in Chronicles).  Many passages of scriptures indicate how Dan quickly fell into wickedness and lost their inheritance.

Chapter 7

7:6, 8:1 - There are four lists of Benjamin's sons in the Bible. None of them agree and only one name (Bela) is found in all four lists.

* These lists aren't recording "sons."  They are recording descendants.  This Hebrew word for "sons" includes descendants like grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Chapter 8

8:33, 9:39 - Was Ner or Abiel the father of Kish?

* Kish was Saul's father.  Ner was Kish's father.  Abiel was their Ner's father.

* In 1 Samuel 9:1, when we read that "Kish was the son of Abiel," this Hebrew word for "son" doesn't indicate a father-son relationship.  It is widely used to represent a descendant and it has a wide variety of meanings.  In this instance, it is referring to a grandson.  There is no ancient Hebrew word that specifically and only means "grandson," therefore some of the genealogies can appear confusing or misleading.

Chapter 10

10:4, 14 - How did Saul die?

* Saul was hit by a Philistine arrow (1 Samuel 31:3).  Next, Saul laid on his armor bearer's sword (1 Samuel 31:4).  While he was dying, an Amalekite came by and killed him (2 Samuel 1:6-10).

10:6 - Did all of Saul's family die with him? This verse says that they did, but 2 Sam.2:7-9 says that one of his sons survived.

* Ishbosheth was probably an illegitimate son of Saul's.  He may have been born from a concubine or another woman.  This is likely why he is not mentioned as being part of "Saul's house" or one of his three sons.  Incidentally, Ishbosheth was also called "Eshbaal" (see 1 Chronicles 8:33), which indicates his pagan heritage and the probability of being born illegitimately.

10:13 - Did Saul inquire of the Lord?

* In 1 Samuel 28:6, this Hebrew word for "inquire" can be translated "demand."  When Saul sought the Lord in this way, He did not hear him.

* In 1 Chronicles 10:13 and 14, this different Hebrew word for "inquire" means "worship," "seek," "search," "follow" and "ask."  Saul did not do this and this is part of the reason why God judged Him by taking his life.

Chapter 11

11:23 - Among those killed by the "mighty man", Benaiah, was a giant Egyptian "five cubits high". Since a cubit is 18 inches or so, that would have made him about 7'6" (2.3 meters).

* Yao Ming is a Chinese basketball player that does television commercials and plays in the NBA. He is 7' 6". Many people have grown over 8' tall.

Chapter 12

12:8 - The Gadites had faces like lions and could run as fast as deer on the mountains.

* This verse reads, "Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as gazelles on the mountains."  These men were simply excellent soldiers.

Chapter 13

13:9-10 - God, who has a tough time expressing his gratitude, kills Uzza for trying to keep the ark from falling. But where did God kill him?

* God gave specific instructions regarding carrying the Ark and touching the Ark.  Both of these instructions were ignored.  Therefore, God judged Uzzah by taking his life.

* This place was called both Nachon and Chidon.  This was likely a person's name and he was called by both names.  It is not unusual for a person to be called by two names.  See Jacob/Israel, Saul/Paul, Daniel/Belteshazzar, Azariah/Abednego, Sarai/Sarah, Abram/Abraham, etc.  Incidentally, over time, place names also change.

Chapter 14

14:3 - "And David took more wives..." with the apparent approval of God.

* There is no evidence that God supported polygamy.  Incidentally, 1 Chronicles 14:2 (the previous verse) indicates that David's kingdom was being exalted because of the Israelites; not necessarily because of him and surely not for his polygamy.

14:4-7 - This list of David's sons is given in two other places, but none list the same set of names.

* The author of this list omitted a few people.

Chapter 16

16:30 - In this verse we are told that the earth is stable and does not move. If so, then it must not spin on its axis or travel about the sun.

* In the KJV, 1 Chronicles 16:30 reads, "Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved."  These Hebrew words for "earth" and "world" indicate the "people of the earth/world."  Therefore, another translation of this verse is: "Fear before him, all the people of the earth and the people of the world will be stable and unmoved."

16:34 - "For his mercy endures forever." Why then is the Bible so full of cruelties that he committed or commanded?

* God gives everyone person His mercy (and lots of it).  All have sinned and deserve judgment.

* Incidentally, this Hebrew word for "forever" means "the vanishing point is concealed."  One day, God's mercy will come to an end and Jesus Christ will return and everyone will be judged.  Some will have eternal life and some will experience the Second Death.

Chapter 18

18:4 - When David "smote Hadarezer" did he take 7000 horsemen as it says here or 700 as is said in 2 Sam.8:7?

* 7000 horsemen were taken by David.  2 Samuel 8:4 indicates that 700 companies of horsemen were taken.  These horsemen were in companies of 100.  Therefore, there were a total of 7000 horsemen taken (as we see in 1 Chronicles 18:4).  The word "companies" is implied, yet omitted by the author of 2 Samuel 8:4.

18:16 - Was Abiathar the son or the father of Abimelch?

* According to 1 Samuel 22:20-23 and 1 Samuel 23:6,  Ahimelech was the father of Abiathar. 

* According to 2 Samuel 8:17, 1 Chronicles 18:16, and 1 Chronicles 24:6, Abiathar (the son of Ahimelech) was the father of a child he named Ahimelech.

Chapter 19

19:4 - David's servants had their buttocks exposed.

* This is correct.

19:18 - On what must have been a particularly good day for killing but not so good for counting, David kills 7000 (2 Sam.10:18 says 700) men in chariots and 40,000 footmen (2 Sam.10:18 says they were horsemen).

* 2 Samuel 10:18 indicates David killed 700 men in chariots.  1 Chronicles 19:18 indicates he killed 7000 men in chariots.  This omission is very similar to the one in 2 Samuel 8:4.  The author of 2 Samuel simply indicated the number of companies (or leaders).  There were 700 companies with 100 in each.  Therefore, there were 7000 men in chariots.

* These horsemen were also trained as footmen.  Therefore, 2 Samuel 10:18 calls them horsemen and 1 Chronicles 19:18 calls them footmen.  These same men were both.

Chapter 20

20:3 - David tortures all the inhabitants of several cities "with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes." This must have been an example of the "sure mercies of David" that are praised in Acts 13:34.

* David's army conquered the wicked pagans of Rabbah (and others) and put the people to work.  There is no indication that he sawed these people.  The phrase "put them under saws" means that he put saws in their hands.

* The Hebrew word that was translated "pass," in the KJV's phrase "pass through the brickkiln," also means "transition."  This Hebrew word for "brickkiln" also means "brickwork."  Therefore, it is apparent that David made these people transition into brickwork (and not walk into a brick kiln).

Chapter 21

21:1 - Was it Satan or God who "provoked David to number Israel"?

* In 2 Samuel 24:1, this Hebrew word is translated "moved" and not "tempted."  God let David be tempted to take this census.  Since God is sovereign and in control of all things, even when He allows something to happen, it may be said that He made it happen.  Consequently, He didn't literally tempt David, but He let him be tempted.

* 1 Chronicles 21:1 indicates that Satan tempted David to take the census.  This is exactly what happened.

21:5 - According to this verse David's army had 1,100,000 men from Israel and 470,000 men from Judah, but 2 Sam.24:9 says the numbers were 800,000 and 500,000, respectively. Of course, either of these numbers is ridiculously high for a battle between two tribal armies in 1000 BCE. (The United States had about 1.37 million active duty soldiers in 2001.)

* 2 Samuel 24:9 indicates Israel had 800,000 "valiant" men.  These were trained men that had battle experience.  1 Chronicles 21:5 indicates Israel had 1,100,000 total soldiers.  Both figures are correct.  Israel had 800,000 "valiant" men and 300,000 "non-valiant" men.

* 2 Samuel 24:9 also indicates that Judah had 500,000 soldiers.  1 Chronicles 21:5 indicates that Judah had 470,000 soldiers.  1 Chronicles 21:6 tells us why there is a discrepancy.  ". . . he did not number Levi and Benjamin among them . . ."

21:7, 10-15, 17 - God gets angry with David for counting the people (maybe he was upset because 2 Sam. and 1 Chr. disagree on the results) and, for a punishment, offers him three choices: Three (2 Sam.24:13 says seven) years of famine, three months to be destroyed by enemies, or three days of pestilence. When David can't make up his mind, God decides for him and sends a pestilence that kills 70,000 men. (Presumably women and children were also killed. If so, the total must have been more than 200,000.) In the middle of the slaughter, God "repents of the evil" that he was doing and tells the angel to stop the killing. One wonders what God had in mind in the first place, since it was David who was supposed to have sinned by taking the census -- not the people. Even David was confused by this, and asked God, "these sheep, what have they done?"

* David knew and trusted God.  He knew that they deserved punishment, but he also knew that God was loving and would eventually bless and restore them.

* David pleaded with God because he didn't want Him to judge his people.  However, everyone has sinned.  All people are sinners and are unable to perfectly follow God.  Therefore, He has the right to judge them as He sees fit.  Nonetheless, He decides to have some mercy on them.

21:25 - David buys the threshingfloor for 600 shekels of gold, but in 2 Sam.24:24 he gets a much better deal and pays only 50 shekels of silver.

* 2 Samuel 24:24 indicates that David bought the threshing floor for 50 shekels of silver.  This was simply part of the transaction and possibly only the initial deal.

* 1 Chronicles 21:25 indicates he bought the entire place (Mount Moriah) for 600 shekels of gold (verse 22 also indicates that he was buying the entire "place" and not just the threshing floor for 600 shekels of gold).

Chapter 22

22:14 - David provides Solomon with a fantastically large amount of gold and silver with which to build the temple: 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver. Since a talent was about 60 pounds, this would be about 3,000 tons of gold and 30,000 tons of silver. This would be about 96 million ounces of gold, which nearly as much as is currently in the United States depository in Fort Knox. Not bad for a small tribe in 1000 BCE.

* Fort Knox is only one of several, large depositories in the United States.

* Solomon had an extremely large amount of gold and silver.  However, this verse doesn't say that he used it all for this project.  1 Kings lists some of Solomon's projects (for instance, see 1 Kings 7:1 and 2).

Chapter 23

23:6 - Was Mahli the son of Levi?

* According to 1 Chronicles 6:16-19, Mahli was Levi's grandson and the son of Merari.  This Hebrew word for "son" is better translated "grandson."

Chapter 24

24:6 - Was Abiathar the son or the father of Abemelech?

* According to 1 Samuel 22:20-23 and 1 Samuel 23:6,  Ahimelech was the father of Abiathar. 

* According to 2 Samuel 8:17, 1 Chronicles 18:16, and 1 Chronicles 24:6, Abiathar (the son of Ahimelech) was the father of a child he named Ahimelech.

Chapter 25

25:3 - "The sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six." But only five are listed.

* In the KJV, Jeduthun's son named "Shimei" was omitted.  However, he is listed in many other texts (like the NKJV, NIV, TLB, and some Hebrew and Septuagint manuscripts).  He is also mentioned in verse 17 of this chapter.

Chapter 26

26:13-14 - Does the Bible condemn gambling?

* Gambling is traditionally defined as spending money while risking it and trying to gain more money. We never see this condoned in the scriptures.

* In this passage, we see God telling His people to cast lots. This was His way of determining who would receive what. Since God ordained it, then it was perfectly right. It surely had nothing to do with a worldly desire to get rich by risking money. In this case, they cast lots to determine their duties as they served the Lord.

Chapter 29

29:7 - King David collects ten thousand drams (or darics) for the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. This is especially interesting since darics were coins named after King Darius I who lived some five hundred years after David.

* The Hebrew word "adarkon" is translated "dram" in the KJV.  At this point, this word is likely referring to a measure of weight and not a coin.  Coins were probably not invented until many years after King David's time.

29:29 - The acts of David are said to be found in the books of Samuel the seer, Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer. Were these long-lost books supposed to be in the Bible? If so, how could God allow them to be lost? If not, why does God tell us about books that no longer exist (if they ever did)?

* No, these books were not supposed to be in the Bible.

* The writer of Chronicles tells us that these books existed and were valuable.  However, they have been lost.  They may have been lost as a reminder that there are more mysteries of God that we will never discover until we meet Him in Heaven.