1 Chronicles 6:28

6:1-81 Genealogies. - We have an account of Levi in this chapter. The priests and Levites were more concerned than any other Israelites, to preserve their descent clear, and to be able to prove it; because all the honours and privileges of their office depended upon their descent. Now, the Spirit of God calls ministers to their work, without any limit as to the families they came from; and then, as now, though believers and ministers may be very useful to the church, none but our great High Priest can make atonement for sin, nor can any be accepted but through his atonement.

The sons of Kohath, Amminadab,.... The same with Izhar, 1 Chronicles 6:2 the posterity of his brethren, Amram, Hebron, and Uzziel, are omitted; and his genealogy is carried to a considerable length, for the sake of Samuel the prophet, who sprang from him: it stands thus, Korah, Assir, Elkanah, Ebiasaph, Assir, Tahath, Uriel, called Zephaniah, 1 Chronicles 6:36 Uzziah, the same with Azariah, 1 Chronicles 6:36 . Shaul, whose name is Joel, 1 Chronicles 6:36 then through the sons of Elkanah, before mentioned, Amasai, Ahimoth, called Mahath, 1 Chronicles 6:35 another Elkanah, Zophai, or Zuph, 1 Chronicles 6:35 . Nahath, the same with Toah, 1 Chronicles 6:34 and Tohu, 1 Samuel 1:1 , Eliab, called Eliel, 1 Chronicles 6:34 , and Elihu, 1 Samuel 1:1 , Jeroham, another Elkanah, the father of Samuel the prophet, whose firstborn was Vashni, and whose name also was Joel, 1 Chronicles 6:33 and so here it is read in the Syriac and Arabic versions: and his second son Abiah.

(28) And the sons of Samuel. —Heb., Shemuel The third break in the Kohathite list. We see from 1Chronicles 6:33-34 that Samuel (Shemuel, name of God) is son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham; hence we might suppose that the clause “Samuel his son” has been accidentally omitted at the end of 1Chronicles 6:27. But it is quite possible that the writer assumed the connection to be too well known to require specification, or that he has here thrown together three independent genealogical fragments. Comp. with 1Chronicles 6:27-28 the pedigree of Elkanah, 1Samuel 1:1 : “Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph.” Here again the names vary, yet not so as to obliterate their identity. Elihu (“El is He”) = Eliab, Eliel; Tohu, a fuller form of Toah = Nahath. The firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.—Vashni is not a proper name, but a corrupt form of the Hebrew phrase “and the second” (shēnî, secundus). The sons of the prophet Samuel were Joel, the firstborn, and Abiah, 1Samuel 8:2 (see also 1Chronicles 6:33 below). Joel has fallen out of the text here; it should run, “Joel the firstborn, and the second Abiah.” Reviewing the Kohathite list (22-28) we conclude that it represents three statistical fragments which have been put in juxtaposition by the chronicler or the author whom he has followed, and that in accordance with the real connection between the members, as appears on comparison with the continuous list which immediately follows in 1Chronicles 6:33-38.

The fact that “Samuel his son” is the missing link between 1Chronicles 6:27-28, makes it likely that “Elkanah his son” is the true connection between 1Chronicles 6:24-25. From Levi to the sons of Samuel about twenty generations are reckoned. Usher’s chronology dates the descent of Jacob and his sons into Egypt at 1706 B.C. Twenty generations are six hundred years. The sons of Samuel would, according to this, be living about 1106 B.C. and later. Ruth 4:18-22 reckons only ten generations from Judah to Jesse, the father of David. This again shows that in their genealogical tables the Hebrews did not uniformly supply every link, but were often content with a statement of the principal names.

28. the sons of Samuel—The sons of Samuel are here named Vashni and Abiah. The first-born is called Joel (1Sa 8:2); and this name is given to him in 1Ch 6:33. It is now generally thought by the best critics that, through an error of the copyists, an omission has been made of the oldest son's name, and that Vashni, which is not the name of a person, merely signifies "and the second." This critical emendation of the text makes all clear, as well as consistent with other passages relating to the family of Samuel.

( 1 Chronicles 6:10-15 ). "And the sons of Elkanah, Amasai and Ahimoth." As it is clear that with אלק וּבני אל a new list begins, and that the preceding enumeration is that of the descendants of Abiasaph, it is at once suggested that this Elkanah was the brother of the Abiasaph mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:15 . If, however, we compare the genealogy of Heman, we find there ( 1 Chronicles 6:36 and 1 Chronicles 6:35 ) a list of the descendants of Joel in an ascending line, thus, - Elkanah, Amasai, Mahath, Elkanah, Zuph; from which it would seem to follow that our Elkanah is the son of Moel mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:36 , for Ahimoth may be without difficulty considered to be another form of the name Mahath. This conclusion would be assured if only the beginning of 1 Chronicles 6:26 were in harmony with it. In this verse, indeed, בּנו אלקנה, as we read in the Kethibh, may be without difficulty taken to mean that Elkanah was the son of Ahimoth, just as in 1 Chronicles 6:20 Elkanah is introduced as son of Mahath. But in this way no meaning can be assigned to the אלקנה which follows בני, and Bertheau accordingly is of opinion that this אלקנה has come into the text by an error. The Masoretes also felt the difficulty, and have substituted for the Kethibh בנו the Keri בּני, but then nothing can be made of the first אלקנה in 1 Chronicles 6:26 .

Beyond doubt the traditional text is here corrupt, and from a comparison of 1 Chronicles 6:35 and 1 Chronicles 6:34 the only conclusion we can draw with any certainty is that the list from צופי onwards contains the names of descendants of Elkanah the son of Mahath, which is so far favourable to the Keri אלקנה בּני. The name Elkanah, on the contrary, which immediately precedes בנו, seems to point to a hiatus in the text, and gives room for the conjecture that in 1 Chronicles 6:10 the sons of Elkanah, the brother of Abiasaph and Assir, were named, and that there followed thereupon an enumeration of the sons or descendants of the Elkanah whom we meet with in 1 Chronicles 6:36 as son of Joel, after which came the names Elkanah בּנו, Zophai בּנו, etc. נחת and אליאב we consider to be other forms of תּוח and אליאל, 1 Chronicles 6:34 , and צופי is only another form of צוּף. The succeeding names, Jeroham and Elkanah ( 1 Chronicles 6:27 ), agree with those in 1 Chronicles 6:34 ; but between the clauses "Elkanah his son" ( 1 Chronicles 6:27 ), and "and the sons of Samuel" ( 1 Chronicles 6:28 ), the connecting link בּנו שׁמוּאל, cf. 1 Chronicles 6:33 , is again wanting, as is also, before or after הבּכר ( 1 Chronicles 6:28 ), the name of the first-born, viz., Joel; cf. 1 Chronicles 6:33 with 1 Samuel 8:2 .