and Jesse begot his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimea the third,
The verse opens the list of Jesse's sons, a list that ends with David. Two questions follow: why count brothers who never reign, and why is David the seventh son here when Samuel calls him the eighth?
Why record six brothers who never rule? One writer finds the answer in the numbering:
Notice the care and precision with which the sons of Jesse are given, named, and numbered in their order: clearly to tell us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, for God's purpose is bound up with that.
Eliab stands first by birth, and the whole opening section of Chronicles follows that same pattern of the natural coming before the chosen. Commenting on the arrangement of these genealogies, one writer names the rule:
In the nine chapters that make up the opening section we have the principle that the apostle Paul formulated long afterwards: not first the spiritual but the natural, then the spiritual. Even the general genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1 is governed by this divine purpose.
Eliab's position and his impressive appearance counted for nothing when a king was being sought. One writer draws out why the firstborn's rank actually told against him:
Eliab has a beautiful name and a stately presence: his name means "my God is Father." Yet notice that Eliab is the firstborn, and David stands at the other end, the eighth. This is against Eliab, though his fine appearance may appeal even to a prophet. He comes under the law of Genesis, and shows the rule: "it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual." But there is no natural Christ, and so none of the old creation. The eighth speaks of the new, and Eliab must give place to David.
The second son's name points to a generous father, yet he is passed over too:
So Abinadab is doomed as well, although as the second son he suggests help or salvation. His name fits that too: "my father is a generous giver." And why, man argues, should God not freely forgive sin? He is good, and the Father of men; why should He not pardon simply because it pleases Him? Why must the Christ be a David, an eighth son, taking man's ruin on Himself and going down to the depth of man's condemnation to redeem him? But it cannot be. Sin is the dark, basic opposite of God, and He cannot dwell with it.
The third son's name appears in more than one form. ESV spells it Shimea here, where older translations read Shimma:
Son of Jesse and brother of David. 1 Samuel 16:9; 1 Samuel 17:13. Called SHIMEAH in 2 Samuel 13:3, and SHIMMA in 1 Chronicles 2:13.
Commentators differ here. One writer, asked why Samuel makes David the eighth son and Chronicles the seventh, answers plainly:
Keil supposes that one of Jesse's sons may have died without children, and so dropped out of the list in the later book. I have nothing better to offer.
Another treats both numbers as deliberate, each fitting the book it stands in:
Is there not a truth hinted at in Samuel which is not needed for the Holy Spirit's purpose in Chronicles? We know that "eight" is right in Samuel and "seventh" in Chronicles. Each is just as much from God as the other. Seven speaks of rest in creation, and eight of rest in resurrection power and glory. David, being in Samuel the eighth, points to the true David who will restore everything, and who will reign over Israel Himself as the risen Man. For rest in creation became impossible once sin came in. Eight means God stepping in with grace when all is lost.
These brothers are the family God chose from. One writer traces the steps of that choice:
The Lord had chosen him, David, to be king over Israel forever; He had chosen Judah as prince; in Judah He had chosen the house of Jesse. Among the sons of Jesse He had taken pleasure in David, to make him king. The Lord's free choice and God's good pleasure rested on the least and most humble of them all.
- Named — Scripture records Eliab, Abinadab and Shimea by name and in order; the third also appears as Shimeah and Shimma elsewhere.
- Numbered — Scripture counts the brothers only so that David arrives as the seventh, and God's purpose hangs on that number.
- Passed over — Eliab's rank and fine looks told against him: the natural comes first, then the spiritual.
- Disputed — Samuel says eighth, Chronicles seventh. Some suggest a son died childless; others hold each number is true to its own book, where eight speaks of rest in resurrection.
- Chosen — God narrowed the choice: Judah, then the house of Jesse, then the least of Jesse's sons, by His own free good pleasure.
Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,
A fourth son and a fifth pass by in one line, and Scripture tells us nothing else about either man. Yet the count is deliberate, and it is running toward someone.
Why count sons whose stories Scripture never tells? One commentator finds the answer at the end of the list:
Look how carefully and exactly the sons of Jesse are given, named and numbered in their order. Clearly this is to tell us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, for the purpose of God is bound up with that. So "David the seventh" has a meaning far beyond the bare fact of his order. And in fact David was the eighth son, not the seventh. Before God he was both; but in His book God is giving us His thoughts, and not listing natural events here.
That raises a question. In Samuel, God refuses seven sons of Jesse and chooses the eighth. Commentators explain the shorter count here in different ways, and the same writer weighs one of them before settling the matter on other ground:
If the seven are refused and the eighth chosen according to Samuel, why is he numbered the seventh here in Chronicles? Some have supposed that one of Jesse's sons died, and that David would therefore be the seventh. Is that supposition satisfactory? ... We know that "eight" is right in Samuel and "seventh" in Chronicles. One is as divine as the other. Each agrees perfectly with the truth God is communicating there.
The two numbers each carry a picture of rest:
Seven is clearly connected with rest in creation, and eight with rest in resurrection power and glory. David, being the eighth in Samuel, points to the true David who will restore everything and reign over Israel Himself as the risen Man. For rest in creation became impossible once sin came in. Eight signifies God stepping in with grace when all is lost.
Here in Chronicles the number falls on the earthly side:
David, the type of God's rest in His Son when He sits on His earthly throne, is numbered the seventh here. It is God's rest in the renewed earth. But even this could not happen except through One who had passed through death. This seventh-day rest can only come by Christ as the risen Man. How wonderfully the "seventh" and the "eighth" are combined in the Person of Christ!
God's choice passed over Nethanel, Raddai and every older brother. It rested on the least of them:
The Lord's free choice and God's good pleasure had rested on the least and most humble of them all. In God's eyes he was strong and mighty, no doubt, in his struggle with the lion and the bear in the wilderness. But in the eyes of men he had nothing that they should desire him. Was he not a picture of the Perfect Servant? The Lord acclaimed Him as the object of His good pleasure at the very moment He was taking a public place of deepest humiliation in the baptism of repentance.
The same pattern runs through the chapter. The family line does not run through the eldest:
Unfruitfulness especially marks the line of Jerahmeel. Although he was Hezron's eldest son (v. 9), he is once again placed last here (v. 25)... David's line does not come down from Jerahmeel, but from Ram, his younger brother.
Nethanel and Raddai are never heard of again. Yet God keeps their names:
He records at the same time the names of those who had gone through the trials mentioned in this history without being blotted out of the book. Here it is only the outward picture of this blessed memorial of the people of His grace; but in fact this is what we find here.
These names are not filler:
This special mention of Hezron's family and descendants is not a bare family list running from Judah to David, where the evil simply take their turn in order beside the good. These are men of renown. As long as the book of God is read, their names will stand out as the names of men whom God would honour.
- Counted. God numbers Jesse's sons in order for one reason: so the last name, David, lands in its place in His purpose.
- Counted twice. Samuel makes David the eighth son; Chronicles makes him the seventh. One writer calls both numbers God-given, each fitting the truth its own book teaches.
- Chosen. God's choice fell on the least of Jesse's sons, the one men would not have wanted. In the same way, David's line runs through the younger Ram, not the eldest son Jerahmeel.
- Crowned. Seven speaks of rest in creation, eight of rest in resurrection glory. Both meet in Christ, the risen Man who will reign.
- Kept. God writes down even the names with no story attached, keeping the record of the people of His grace.
Ozem the sixth, David the seventh;
One line in a family list carries the weight of the chapter. The writer counts off six brothers, then names David. But Samuel's record says Jesse had eight sons. So why is David the seventh here?
The six older brothers get no story, only a number:
Notice the care and precision in the list of Jesse's sons, named and numbered in order. Clearly this is to tell us that David is the seventh. He alone fills the mind of the inspired writer. The six are numbered only so that David might appear as the seventh, for with that the purpose of God is bound up. So "David the seventh" means far more than the bare fact that he came seventh. And in fact, David was the eighth son, not the seventh. Before God he was both; but in His book God is giving us His thoughts, and not here listing natural events.
Commentators differ on the two numbers. One answer is simple — a son dropped out of the record:
Keil supposes that one of Jesse's sons may have died without descendants, and so the later list leaves him out. I have nothing better to offer.
Another treats both numbers as deliberate, each suited to the book it stands in:
The neglected one is the chosen one. Not one of the previous seven was chosen, so the youngest must have been the eighth. … Is there not a truth hinted at in Samuel that the Holy Spirit did not need for His purpose in giving us the books of Chronicles? We know that "eight" is right in Samuel, and "seventh" in Chronicles. One is as divine as the other. Each agrees perfectly with the truth God is teaching there. The numbers seven and eight have a symbolic meaning in Scripture as well as a natural one. Seven is connected with rest in creation, and eight with rest in resurrection power and glory. Eight means God stepping in with grace when all is lost. The coming kingdom is for the earth, yet it must have a link with resurrection so that it may be stable. That link is the glorious risen Man as King.
The number reaches past David to Christ:
But He is also God's rest in creation. And here, in connection with the earth and God's earthly people, Christ is the "seventh." He is the Creator, and Scripture says, "On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested." Chronicles does not give the wonderful resurrection-like power found in Samuel. David appears suddenly at the death of Saul, and the tribes gather to make him king. It is simply the earthly kingdom, set up among men. Wonderful as this picture is, it stands far below the reality of the Lord reigning in glory! What is the power of David or the splendour of Solomon compared with the millennial glory of Christ? … But even this rest comes only through One Who had passed through death. So this seventh-day rest can only be by Christ as risen Man. How wonderfully the "seventh" and the "eighth" are combined in the Person of Christ!
The same writer reads David's rise in Samuel as a picture drawn from the far side of death:
Was it not like a resurrection from the dead when David came into the scene of Israel's ruin? For a little while he had been lost to Israel, hidden in the court of Achish. Israel lay crushed on the mountains of Gilboa, and the Philistines were triumphant. … Was he not like one risen from the dead? In resurrection power, as it were, he led Israel from Gilboa, the scene of ruin and death, to take possession of Mount Zion. … David was only a picture of Christ, Who, as the risen Man, is the "eighth."
David's place in the list also tells us how the royal line ran:
The pedigree shows the distinct line of constitutional royalty promised to the nation. The names given in it are not always those of the eldest in the family. David himself, for instance, was the seventh son of Jesse (1 Chron. 2:15). God had decreed that the line from Perez, the son of Judah, would end with the Messiah. So He kept it under His own constant oversight.
The same pattern appears in David's own family:
David, the head of this family, was the lastborn of his father's house, and his family bears the same clear mark of election according to grace. Amnon comes first, the son according to the flesh and the shame of his father's house. He is rejected, like everything that springs from nature. … Once again, nature's order is of no value.
- Counted — Six brothers get a number for one reason: so David can stand as the seventh. God's purpose is bound up with that name.
- Chosen — The royal line does not follow birth order. God kept it in His own hands until it reached the Messiah.
- Seventh — Seven is rest in creation. David the seventh pictures a kingdom on earth, far below the glory of Christ's reign.
- Eighth — Eight is rest in resurrection power. David's rise from ruin at Gilboa to Zion reads like a man raised from the dead.
- Combined — Both numbers meet in Christ: God's rest in creation, and the risen Man who makes that rest secure.