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1 Chronicles 8:1

in 1 Chronicles 8

Benjamin was the father of Bela, his firstborn; Ashbel was the second born, Aharah the third,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Benjamin begat Bela his first-born, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third,

KJV

Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third,

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This verse in 1 Chronicles 8

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
The reason of this return to the genealogy of the Benjamites seems to be the desire to connect the genealogical introduction with the historical body of the work. As the history is to begin with Saul, the genealogical portion is made to end with an account of the family of this Benjamite monarch.

This site's exposition

Bela his firstborn

on 1 Chronicles 8:1-7

Benjamin's genealogy resumes here after the roll in chapter 7, and the return signals what the chapter is building toward: a full record of the tribe that produced Saul. Bela's line runs to grandsons already settled at Geba and then moved to Manahath, the ordinary drift of families across generations. Barnes reads the return to Benjamin as the compiler bridging the genealogical section into the historical narrative that opens with Saul at the chapter's end.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn,.... See 1Ch 7:

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The names of many of the persons mentioned are different from those given by Moses--a diversity which may be accounted for in part on grounds formerly stated, namely, either that the persons had more than one name, or that the word "sons" is used in a loose sense for grandsons or descendants.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Now Benjamin begat, etc. - See what has been said on the preceding chapter, 1Ch 7:6 (note).

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And Benjamin begot Bela his firstborn He already traced his genealogy (above:6-11), but since he wished to trace his genealogy until Saul, he commences to trace it from Benjamin.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 8:1:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וּבִ֨נְיָמִ֔ןand Benjamin

    uvinyaminH1144 →166 times

  • הוֹלִ֖ידhe fathered

    holidH3205 →496 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • בֶּ֣לַעBela

    bela'H1106 →14 times

  • בְּכֹר֑וֹfirstborn his

    bekhoroH1060 →122 times

  • אַשְׁבֵּל֙Ashbel

    ʾashbelH788 →

  • הַשֵּׁנִ֔יthe second

    hasheniH8145 →156 times

  • וְאַחְרַ֖חand Ahrah

    veachrachH315 →

  • הַשְּׁלִישִֽׁי׃the third

    hashelishiH7992 →107 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

7 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Genesis 46:21

    The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 7:6–12

      The three sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 8:1–7

      Benjamin was the father of Bela, his firstborn; Ashbel was the second born, Aharah the third,

    • Deuteronomy 33:12

      Concerning Benjamin he said: “May the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him; God shields him all day long, and upon His shoulders he rests.”

    • Genesis 49:27

      Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

    • Numbers 26:38–40

      These were the descendants of Benjamin by their clans: The Belaite clan from Bela, the Ashbelite clan from Ashbel, the Ahiramite clan from Ahiram,

  • Through

    Numbers 26:38

    These were the descendants of Benjamin by their clans: The Belaite clan from Bela, the Ashbelite clan from Ashbel, the Ahiramite clan from Ahiram,

    it leads to

    • Genesis 46:2

      And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.

    • Genesis 46:21

      The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

About 1 Chronicles

Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 1 Chronicles 8 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in 1 Chronicles 8 →