Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 33: Tuesday

“So all Israel was enrolled by genealogies; and behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. And Judah was carried away into exile to Babylon for their unfaithfulness.”
1 Chronicles 9:1

Tuesday’s Bible reading is 1 Chronicles 5–9. Chapters 5–8 conclude the genealogies prior to the exile of Judah to Babylon, and chapter 9 moves to those who returned to their land. Matthew Henry writes:

“This chapter intimates to us that one end of recording all these genealogies was to direct the Jews, now that they had returned out of captivity, with whom to incorporate and where to reside; for here we have an account of those who first took possession of Jerusalem after their return from Babylon, and began the rebuilding of it upon the old foundation.

“I. The Israelites, ver. 2-9.
II. The priests, ver. 10-13.
III. The Levites and other Nethinim, ver. 14-26.
IV. Here is the particular charge of some of the priests and Levites, ver. 27-34.
V. A repetition of the genealogy of king Saul,ver. 35-44.

“…These verses [1 Chronicles 9:35–44] are the very same with ch. viii. 29-38, giving an account of the ancestors of Saul and the posterity of Jonathan. There it is the conclusion of the genealogy of Benjamin; here it is an introduction to the story of Saul.”¹

Chapter 10 is a brief record of the reign of Saul as king of Israel, and the rest of 1 Chronicles is about the reign of David..

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Isaiah 42 Photograph: ChristianPhotos.net – Free High Resolution Photos for Christian Publications
¹Matthew Henry, “1 Chronicles,” Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Original content: Copyright ©2011 Iwana Carpenter