The king of Babylon k A. M. 3442. did eat bread continually before him ||ance given him of the king, a daily A. M. 3442, all the days of his life. rate for every day, all the days of B. C. 562. 30 And his allowance was a continual allow- his life. 2 Sam. ix. 7, gan to reign over it; three hundred and eighty-eight years from the revolt of the ten tribes from it; and one hundred and thirty-four years from the excision of the Israelitish commonwealth; and would have still continued under the sunshine of the divine protection, had it not been for the almost constant and horrid ingratitude of the people, and their invincible itch of imitating the idolatries and witcheries of other nations: crimes which, though abominable before God, were but too generally practised by mankind, through the amazing degeneracy of the human nature. 232 B. C. 562. Having now gone through the history of the Jewish state, from its first beginning to its total captivity in a foreign land, we must acknowledge it to be a history of such remarkable particulars, as distinguish it from all other histories: a history of a state founded upon such principles, governed in such a manner, concerned in such extraordinary circumstances, distinguished by such wonderful facts, and its condition, from the beginning to the end, so corresponding to its obedience or disobedience to the principles upon which it was first founded, that it cannot be paralleled by the history of any people in the world. 2 THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLE S. ARGUMENT. 'n THE ancient Hebrews made but one book of the Chronicles, which they called “7, dibrei hajamim, the words of the days, that is, Diaries, or Journals; and, as the Hebrew word 'D', jamim, also signifies years, these books may be called Annals. The LXX. entitled them apaλeiñoμevwv, the books of things left, or overlooked, by the preceding historians, hereby signifying that this work is a kind of supplement to the other historical books of the Old Testament: and, indeed, we find many particulars in it which are omitted in the other books. It appears, by 2 Chron. xxxv. 25, that these books were written after the time of the Prophet Jeremiah; and they must also have been written after the captivity, since mention is made in the latter of them of the restoration of the Jews by Cyrus the Great, king of Persia. Compare the last verses of the second book of Chronicles with the beginning of Ezra. It is not certain who compiled these books. They are generally, says Mr. Locke, attributed to Ezra, assisted by the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The learned Huetius, in his Demonstratio Evangelica, has given it as his opinion, that Ezra not only digested these books, but added to them the first six chapters of the book that bears his name, and which he afterward continued. And he likewise thinks that Nehemiah had some hand in this work; and that it was collected not only out of the public journals, but from the writings of the Prophets Shimeah, Iddo, Jehu, Nathan, Abijah, Isaiah, and others. The design of the author of the books of Chronicles was certainly not to write a regular history, but, as we have observed, a kind of supplement to the other books. It is remarkable, that he sometimes conceals the dishonour of God's saints. He does not mention the fact of David with Uriah, nor the idolatry of Solomon; reckons the four battles, mentioned 2 Sam. xxi., but three; 1 Chron. xx., omitting that wherein David did not come off with honour; namely, his encounter with Ishbibenob. Speaking of the difference of names, &c., found in these books, Calmet remarks, very judiciously, that it is not extraordinary that books, which have passed through so many hands, for so many ages, should have suffered some alterations in dates and numbers. In copies of books so ancient, and written in a language so little known, we may certainly wonder, rather that there are so few mistakes, than that there are any. The author begins these books with a genealogy from Adam to his own time, which had not been exhibited in any book of Scripture before, but was now rendered necessary in order to preserve among their tribes and families that distinction which was in danger of being lost by their dispersion in the captivity; and to make it evident that the great Messiah sprang out of that tribe and family, from which he was to descend, according to the ancient predictions of the prophets; the fulfilling of predictions concerning him, being a confirmation of his divine mission and authority. And this genealogy now found in this book, (which was written after the Babylonish captivity,) is the only full and happy demonstration we have, that those calamities and confusions which befell the Jewish people at that time, did not end in the total loss of their family registers. But now HE is come, for whose sake these registers were preserved, the Jews have lost all their genealogies, even that of the priests, so that there is not any man in the world that can prove himself to be of the house of Aaron. The books of Chronicles have been too much neglected by many readers, who are influenced by a false persuasion, that they contain few particulars but what had already been recorded, in the books of Samuel and the Kings. But it is very evident, as St. Jerome observes, that these books comprehend a large number of passages of great importance to the explication of the other scriptures. They seem, however, to have been especially designed for an abridgment of the history of the kingdom of Judah, as the books of the Kings were of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah together. The succession of David's line is, in particular, the express subject of this history. This first book, on which we are now entering, contains, I. A collection of sacred genealogies, from Adam to David, with the several histories intermixed, chap. i.-ix. II. An account of the translation of the kingdom from Saul to David, and of David's reign, chap. x.-xxi. III. An account of the settlement of ecclesiastical affairs by David, of his preparations for building the temple, and his death, chap. xxii.-xxix. 6 And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and the Hamathite. Riphath, and Togarmah. 17 The sons of Shem; Elam, and As 7 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tar-shur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and shish, Kittim, and 2Dodanim. Verse 1. Adam, Sheth, Enosh-Adam was the father of Sheth, and Sheth the father of Enosh, and so on to the sons of Noah. For brevity's sake he only mentions the names, the rest being easily understood out of the former books. No mention is made of the posterity of Cain or Abel, nor of the other sons of Adam, because the sacred writer was only engaged to give a detail of the patriarchs, in a line from Adam to Noah. The history of the Bible was not designed as a history of the world, but as a history of the church, and of the deduction of the sacred promise of the seed of the woman. This was the peculiar glory of the Jewish nation, that they alone were able to trace their pedigree from the first man that God created, which no other nation pretended to, but abused themselves and their posterity with fabulous accounts of their originals; the people of Thessaly fancying that they sprang from stones, the Athenians, that they grew out of the earth. Verse 5. The sons of Japheth-The historian, repeating the account of the replenishing the earth by the sons of Noah, begins with those that were strangers to the church, the sons of Japheth, who peopled Europe, of whom he says little, as the Jews had hitherto little or no dealings with them. He pro || Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech. 18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. ceeds to those that had many of them been enemies to the church, and thence hastens to the line of Abraham, breaking off abruptly from all the other families of the sons of Noah, but that of Arphaxad, from whom Christ was to come. The great promise of the Messiah was transmitted from Adam to Seth, from him to Shem, from him to Eber, and so to the Jewish nation, who were intrusted above all nations with that sacred treasure, till the promise was performed, and the Messiah was come. Verse 14. The Jebusite--The names which follow until verse 17 are not the names of particular persons, but of people, or nations. And all these descended from Canaan, though some of them were afterward extinct, or confounded with others of their brethren by cohabitation or mutual marriages, whereby they lost their names; which is the reason why they are no more mentioned, at least under these names. Verses 17-19. The sons of Shem-Either the name of sons is so taken here as to include grandsons, or the children of Aram are understood before Uz, out of Gen. x. 23, where they are expressed. Arphaxad begat-Either immediately, or mediately by his son Canaan, who is expressed Luke iii. 35. Divided-In their languages and habitations. 30 Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad,|| Aran. and Tema, 43 ¶ Now these are the kings that reigned 31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These in the land of Edom before any king reigned are the sons of Ishmael. over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 32 ¶ Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan. 33 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah. 44 And when Bela was dead, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. 45 And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. 46 And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, which smote Midian in the field 34 And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of Isaac; Esau, and Israel. S 35 The sons of Esau; Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. of his city was Avith: 47 And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Mazrekah reigned in his stead. 36 The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, 48 And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of 38 And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. 39 And the sons of Lotan; Hori, and mam: and Timna was Lotan's sister. Gen. xi. 10; Luke iii. 31, &c.- - Gen. xi. 15. 50 And when Baal-hanan was dead, 12 Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was 13 Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Ho- Mezahab. Gen. 5 Gen. xxi. 2, 3. Gen. xvi. 11, 15.- Lo Gen. 13-16 Or, Hadar, Gen. xxv. 15. Gen. xxv. 1, 2. 4 Gen. xxi. 2. Gen. xxv. 25. Gen. xxxvi. 9.-6 Or, Zepke, Gen. xxxvi. 11. Gen. xxxvi. 20. Verse 24. Shem, Arphaxad, &c.-Having given a brief and general account of the original of the world, and the people in it, he now returns to a more large and particular account of the genealogy of Shem, from whom the Jews were descended. Verse 28. The sons of Abraham-All nations but the seed of Abraham are already shaken off from this genealogy. Not that we conclude, no particular persons of any other nation but this found favour with God; multitudes will be brought to heaven out of every nation, and we may hope there were many, very many people in the world, whose names were in the book of life, though they did not spring from the loins of Abraham. Verse 36. And Timna--There is another Timna, the concubine of Eliphaz, Gen. xxxvi. 12; but this was one of his sons, though called by the same name; there being some names common both to men and women in the Hebrew and in other languages. Verse 38. The sons of Seir-This Seir was not Esau, nor of his posterity, but the ancient lord of this country, from whom it had its name, (see Gen. xxxvi. 20,) whose genealogy is here set down, that it might be understood from whom Eliphaz's concubine and the mother of Amalek sprung; and because of that affinity which was contracted between his and Esau's posterity. Those who were not united and incorporated with them, were destroyed by these and all theirs had their day: many of them them, Deut. ii. 12. Verse 54. These are the dukes of Edom-Let us, in reading these genealogies, think of the multitudes that have gone through the world, have successively acted their parts in it, and retired into darkness. All made a mighty noise in the world, until their day came to fall, and their place knew them no more. The paths of death are trodden paths. How soon are we to tread them! 3 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad,|| Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: and Asher. NOTES ON CHAPTER II. Verse 3. The sons of Judah-He puts Judah first, because the best part of the right of the firstborn, namely, the dominion, was conferred on him, Gen. xlix. 8; in consequence of which, his tribe obtained a pre-eminence among, and a kind of superiority over the rest, even before the time of David. And from David's time, it is without doubt, that till the Babylonish captivity a kingly power continued in this tribe; Zerubbabel, also, who was their leader, when they returned to their own land, was of the same tribe. The chief reason, however, why the genealogy of Judah is set down first, is because the Messiah was to descend from him. five of them in all. grandfather. These are named, because they were the glory of their father's house. When the Holy Ghost would magnify the wisdom of Solomon, he saith, he was wiser than these four men. That four brothers should be so eminent, was a rare thing. Verse 7. The sons of Carmi-This man is here mentioned, because he was the son of Zimri, who was also called Zabdi, Josh. vii. 18. Achar, the troubler of Israel-He who in Josh. vii. is called Achan, is here, by a small variation, elegantly and significantly called Achar, which means troubler: because he had brought Israel into great danger and distress, by the sin he committed. Verses 9, 10. And Ram-Who is mentioned in the genealogy of our Saviour, (Matt. i. 3, 4,) and called Aram. Nashon, prince of the children of Judah-Namely, when, being come out of Egypt, they pitched under their several standards, Num Verse 6. And Dara-If these be the same who are mentioned as the sons of Mahol, (1 Kings iv. 31,)|| either the same man had two names, Zerah and Mahol, as was usual among the Hebrews, or one of these was their immediate father, and the other their ||bers ii. 3. |