1 Chronicles 8
The Message
The Family of Benjamin (Continued)
8 1-5 Benjamin’s firstborn son was Bela, followed by Ashbel, Aharah, Nohah, and Rapha—five in all. Bela’s sons were Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.
6-7 These are the families of Ehud that lived in Geba and were exiled to Manahath: Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, who led them to exile and had Uzza and Ahihud.
8-12 In the land of Moab, Shaharaim had children after he divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. From his new wife Hodesh he had Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah—sons who became heads of families. From his earlier wife Hushim he had Abitub and Elpaal. Elpaal’s sons were Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with all their villages.
13-28 Beriah and Shema were family chiefs who lived at Aijalon. They drove out the citizens of Gath. Their brothers were Shashak and Jeremoth. The sons of Beriah were Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, and Joha. The sons of Elpaal were Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab. The sons of Shimei were Jakim, Zicri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath. The sons of Shashak were Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, Abdon, Zicri, Hanan, Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, Iphdeiah, and Penuel. The sons of Jeroham were Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zicri. These were the chiefs of the families as listed in their family tree. They lived in Jerusalem.
29-32 Jeiel the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah. Abdon was his firstborn son, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zeker, and Mikloth. Mikloth had Shimeah. They lived in the neighborhood of their extended families in Jerusalem.
33-40 Ner had Kish, Kish had Saul, and Saul had Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. Jonathan had Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal had Micah. Micah’s sons were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. Ahaz had Jehoaddah and Jehoaddah had Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri had Moza and Moza had Binea. Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son. Azel had six sons named Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. His brother Eshek’s sons were Ulam his firstborn, followed by Jeush and Eliphelet. Ulam’s sons were warriors well known as archers. They had lots of sons and grandsons—at least 150. These were all in Benjamin’s family tree.
1 Chronicles 8
New English Translation
Benjamin’s Descendants (Continued)
8 Benjamin was the father of Bela, his firstborn; Ashbel was born second, Aharah[a] third, 2 Nohah fourth, and Rapha fifth.
3 Bela’s sons were Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.
6 These were the descendants of Ehud who were leaders of the families living in Geba who were forced to move to Manahath: 7 Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, who moved them. Gera[b] was the father of Uzzah and Ahihud.
8 Shaharaim fathered sons in Moab after he divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. 9 By his wife Hodesh he fathered Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malkam, 10 Jeuz, Sakia, and Mirmah. These were his sons; they were family leaders. 11 By Hushim he fathered Abitub and Elpaal.
12 The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono and Lod, as well as its surrounding towns), 13 Beriah, and Shema. They were leaders of the families living in Aijalon and chased out the inhabitants of Gath.
14 Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah.
17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.
19 Jakim, Zikri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.
22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zikri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.
26 Shamsherai, Shechariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zikri were the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were the family leaders listed in the genealogical records; they lived in Jerusalem.
29 The father of Gibeon[c] lived in Gibeon; his wife’s name was Maacah. 30 His firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal,[d] Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, Zeker, and Mikloth.[e]
32 Mikloth was the father of Shimeah. They also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.[f]
33 Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.[g]
34 The son of Jonathan: Meribbaal.[h]
Meribbaal was the father of Micah.
35 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.
36 Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza, 37 and Moza was the father of Binea. His son was Raphah, whose son was Eleasah, whose son was Azel.
38 Azel had six sons:[i] Azrikam his firstborn,[j] followed by Ishmael, Sheariah,[k] Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.
39 The sons of his brother Eshek:
Ulam was his firstborn, Jeush second, and Eliphelet third. 40 The sons of Ulam were warriors who were adept archers.[l] They had many sons and grandsons, a total of 150.
All these were the descendants of Benjamin.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 8:1 sn Aharah is called “Ahiram” in Num 26:38.
- 1 Chronicles 8:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gera) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 8:29 tc Some LXX mss supply the name “Jeiel,” which is not in the MT (cf. 1 Chr 9:35). The addition of the name here is followed by many English versions (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- 1 Chronicles 8:30 tc Some LXX mss add “Ner” here (cf. 1 Chr 9:36 and v. 33 below, where Ner is mentioned as the father of Kish). The form וְנֵר (vener) could have been accidentally omitted by homoioarcton since each name in the list has the conjunction prefixed to it. Some English versions follow the LXX here and add “Ner” (e.g., NAB, NIV, NLT).
- 1 Chronicles 8:31 tc The Hebrew text omits the name “Mikloth,” but it may have fallen out accidentally by haplography. Note that the name immediately follows at the beginning of v. 32; cf. NAB.
- 1 Chronicles 8:32 tn Heb “and also they, opposite their brothers, lived in Jerusalem with their brothers.” This redundancy has been removed in the translation.
- 1 Chronicles 8:33 sn Eshbaal is called “Ishbosheth” in 2 Sam 2:8.
- 1 Chronicles 8:34 sn Meribbaal is called “Mephibosheth” in 2 Sam 4:4.
- 1 Chronicles 8:38 tn Heb “sons and these were their names.”
- 1 Chronicles 8:38 tc The Hebrew text has בֹּכְרוּ (bokheru), which some understand as a name: “Bocheru” (so, e.g., NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). But the form should probably be revocalized בְּכֹרוֹ (bekhoro, “his firstborn”). A name has accidentally dropped from the list, and a scribe apparently read בֹּכְרוּ as one of the names.
- 1 Chronicles 8:38 tc The Lucianic recension of the LXX inserts another name here, καὶ Ἀζαριας (kai Azarias, “and Azariah”), presumably to make up the six sons mentioned at the beginning of the verse (see the previous tc note on “firstborn”). Cf. NAB.
- 1 Chronicles 8:40 tn Heb “and the sons of Ulam were men, warriors and treaders of a bow.”
1 Chronicles 8
New International Version
The Genealogy of Saul the Benjamite(A)
8 Benjamin(B) was the father of Bela his firstborn,
Ashbel the second son, Aharah the third,
2 Nohah the fourth and Rapha the fifth.
3 The sons of Bela were:
Addar,(C) Gera, Abihud,[a] 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah,(D) 5 Gera, Shephuphan and Huram.
6 These were the descendants of Ehud,(E) who were heads of families of those living in Geba and were deported to Manahath:
7 Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera, who deported them and who was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.
8 Sons were born to Shaharaim in Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. 9 By his wife Hodesh he had Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malkam, 10 Jeuz, Sakia and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of families. 11 By Hushim he had Abitub and Elpaal.
12 The sons of Elpaal:
Eber, Misham, Shemed (who built Ono(F) and Lod with its surrounding villages), 13 and Beriah and Shema, who were heads of families of those living in Aijalon(G) and who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.(H)
14 Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah and Joha were the sons of Beriah.
17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal.
19 Jakim, Zikri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei.
22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zikri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah and Penuel were the sons of Shashak.
26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah and Zikri were the sons of Jeroham.
28 All these were heads of families, chiefs as listed in their genealogy, and they lived in Jerusalem.
29 Jeiel[b] the father[c] of Gibeon lived in Gibeon.(I)
His wife’s name was Maakah, 30 and his firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner,[d] Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, Zeker 32 and Mikloth, who was the father of Shimeah. They too lived near their relatives in Jerusalem.
33 Ner(J) was the father of Kish,(K) Kish the father of Saul(L), and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal.[e](M)
34 The son of Jonathan:(N)
Merib-Baal,[f](O) who was the father of Micah.
35 The sons of Micah:
Pithon, Melek, Tarea and Ahaz.
36 Ahaz was the father of Jehoaddah, Jehoaddah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri, and Zimri was the father of Moza. 37 Moza was the father of Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son and Azel his son.
38 Azel had six sons, and these were their names:
Azrikam, Bokeru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel.
39 The sons of his brother Eshek:
Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second son and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were brave warriors who could handle the bow. They had many sons and grandsons—150 in all.
All these were the descendants of Benjamin.(P)
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 8:3 Or Gera the father of Ehud
- 1 Chronicles 8:29 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 9:35); Hebrew does not have Jeiel.
- 1 Chronicles 8:29 Father may mean civic leader or military leader.
- 1 Chronicles 8:30 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 9:36); Hebrew does not have Ner.
- 1 Chronicles 8:33 Also known as Ish-Bosheth
- 1 Chronicles 8:34 Also known as Mephibosheth
1 Chronicles 8
New King James Version
The Family Tree of King Saul of Benjamin(A)
8 Now Benjamin begot (B)Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, [a]Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 The sons of Bela were [b]Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, [c]Shephuphan, and Huram.
6 These are the sons of Ehud, who were the heads of the fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of (C)Geba, and who forced them to move to (D)Manahath: 7 Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera who forced them to move. He begot Uzza and Ahihud.
8 Also Shaharaim had children in the country of Moab, after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. 9 By Hodesh his wife he begot Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, 10 Jeuz, Sachiah, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of their fathers’ houses.
11 And by Hushim he begot Abitub and Elpaal. 12 The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns; 13 and Beriah and (E)Shema, who were heads of their fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath. 14 Ahio, Shashak, Jeremoth, 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ispah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. 17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Jizliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. 19 Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of [d]Shimei. 22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Antothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. 26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham.
28 These were heads of the fathers’ houses by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem.
29 Now [e]the father of Gibeon, whose (F)wife’s name was Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon. 30 And his firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, [f]Zecher, 32 and Mikloth, who begot [g]Shimeah. They also dwelt [h]alongside their [i]relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren. 33 (G)Ner[j] begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, [k]Abinadab, and [l]Esh-Baal. 34 The son of Jonathan was [m]Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot (H)Micah. 35 The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, [n]Tarea, and Ahaz. 36 And Ahaz begot [o]Jehoaddah; Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza. 37 Moza begot Binea, [p]Raphah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son.
38 Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. 39 And the sons of Eshek his brother were Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third.
40 The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor—archers. They had many sons and grandsons, one hundred and fifty in all. These were all sons of Benjamin.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 8:1 Ahiram, Num. 26:38
- 1 Chronicles 8:3 Ard, Num. 26:40
- 1 Chronicles 8:5 Shupham, Num. 26:39, or Shuppim, 1 Chr. 7:12
- 1 Chronicles 8:21 Shema, 1 Chr. 7:13
- 1 Chronicles 8:29 Jeiel, 1 Chr. 9:35
- 1 Chronicles 8:31 Zechariah, 1 Chr. 9:37
- 1 Chronicles 8:32 Shimeam, 1 Chr. 9:38
- 1 Chronicles 8:32 Lit. opposite
- 1 Chronicles 8:32 brethren
- 1 Chronicles 8:33 Also the son of Gibeon, 1 Chr. 9:36, 39
- 1 Chronicles 8:33 Jishui, 1 Sam. 14:49
- 1 Chronicles 8:33 Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. 2:8
- 1 Chronicles 8:34 Mephibosheth, 2 Sam. 4:4
- 1 Chronicles 8:35 Tahrea, 1 Chr. 9:41
- 1 Chronicles 8:36 Jarah, 1 Chr. 9:42
- 1 Chronicles 8:37 Raphaiah, 1 Chr. 9:43
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

