1 Chronicles Chapter 3    

“Daniel of Abigail the Carmelitess.” Daniel was the son of David and Abigail, and he had a second name, “Chileab” (2 Sam. 3:3). [For more on Daniel, see commentary on 2 Sam. 3:3, “Chileab”].

“Talmai king of Geshur.” Geshur was north of the Sea of Galilee. Absalom went outside of the people of Israel to marry. It is possible that the marriage was arranged so that Talmai would have family in the royal family and even perhaps the future king of Israel.

“Johanan.” In the Book of Kings he is referred to as Jehoahaz (cp. 2 Kings 23:30).

“Shallum.” This is apparently the given name of the king of Judah also known as Jehoahaz. He was captured and replaced by Pharaoh Necoh and died in Egypt (2 Kings 23:30-34).

“Zedekiah his son.” This phrase has confused scholars and there are different opinions about it. One thing that is clear is that King Josiah’s sons included Jehoiakim, his second son, and Zedekiah, his third son (1 Chron. 3:15). It was Josiah’s son Zedekiah that Nebuchadnezzar made king when he deposed Jehoiachin, who is also called Jeconiah and Coniah (2 Kings 24:8-17; 2 Chron. 36:9-10). The two most likely possibilities for the Zedekiah here in 1 Chronicles 3:16 are that he was a son of Jehoiachin born before he was made king but then carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, or that the Masoretic Hebrew text was miscopied and Zedekiah here in 1 Chronicles 3:16 refers to Jehoiachin’s uncle Zedekiah. There are seven sons of Jehoiachin listed in 1 Chronicles 3:17-18, but Jehoiachin is called “Jehoiachin the captive,” so it is possible that Zedekiah was born before Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon as a captive and his other seven sons were born while he was a captive in Babylon.

Genealogies are complex, but what we know for certain is that Jehoiachin was removed from the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, who illegitimately replaced him with his uncle Zedekiah. But Jehoiachin outlived Zedekiah and was taken from prison in Babylon and set on a throne there (2 Kings 25:27-30; Jer. 52:31-34). After Jehoiachin, no descendant of David has sat as king on David’s throne in Jerusalem even until this day, and no legitimate king will sit there until Jesus Christ returns and takes his place on the throne of David (Isa. 9:6-7).

“five.” It seems that these five are the sons of Shimei (1 Chron. 3:19).