1 Chronicles 1:1-2

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. 1 Chronicles 1:1 The Book begins with a long list of names, genealogies and censuses, which bewilder the modern reader. But such lists are found elsewhere in the Bible, because in the view of the ancients, they give expression to a vision of history and the great connections that mark the plan of God; for this reason, the accuracy of the information conveyed is not essential. In like manner, Genesis establishes a continuity between Adam and Abraham as a way of locating the first patriarch in the trajectory of God’s plan (see Gen 5; 11). The evangelists will endeavor to construct a genealogy of Jesus that goes back either to Abraham (Mt 1) or to Adam (Lk 3:23), in order to show that all of history was leading up to Jesus Christ. In the first nine chapters of Chronicles we will likewise find at work a theological conception of human history. Here are its main perspectives: all human beings are connected with one another by their common origin in Adam, but from among them God chose a people and, inseparable at the center of this people, King David and the priests. The king is the sign of the Messianic promises, while the priests are the guardians of the sanctuary wherein Israel meets God. In the author’s eyes, all of humanity gravitates around God’s will to establish his reign and his worship among us. Such is the author’s grand vision, which is given learned expression in these endless lists.
2. 1 Chronicles 1:1 This is the list in Gen 5.