John Wesley's Notes on the Bible

Chapter 1: | Darby | Geneva | Gill | Jamieson Faussett Brown | Matthew Henry | Matthew Henry Concise | Wesley | Index | Bible Gateway |

Introduction   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   2 Kings   2 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 1
The chief design of these books is, to compleat the history of the kings of Judah; to gather up fragments of sacred history, which were omitted in the books of Samuel and Kings; to explain some passages there mentioned, and to give an exact account of the genealogies. This was then a work of great necessity, to preserve the distinction of the tribes and families; that it might appear, Christ came of that nation, tribe and family, of which he was to be born. And this account, having been hitherto neglected, is most seasonably mentioned in these books, compiled by Ezra after the captivity, because this was to be, in a manner, the last part of the Sacred history of the Old Testament. If many things herein are now obscure to us, they were not so to the Hebrew. And all the persons here named were known to them, by those exact genealogies, which they kept in their several families, and in public registers. In this first book we have a collection of Sacred genealogies, from Adam to David, with several histories inserted, chap. 1-9. An account of the translation of the kingdom from Saul to David, and of David's reign, chap. 10-21. An account of the settlement of ecclesiastical affairs by David, and of his preparations for building the temple, chap. 22-29. These are words of days as the Hebrew title runs, of the best days of the Old Testament Church. But now He is come, for whose sake the registers were preserved, the Jews have lost all their genealogies, even that of the priests, so that there is not any man in the world, that can prove himself of the house of Aaron.

---

The descents from Adam to Noah and his sons, ver. 1-4. The posterity of Japheth and Ham, ver. 5-16. Of Shem to Abraham, ver. 17-27. Abraham's posterity by Ishmael, ver. 28-31. By Keturah, ver. 32, 33. The posterity of Isaac by Esau, ver. 34-54.

Verse 1.   Sheth - Adam begat Sheth: and so in the following particulars. For brevity sake he only mentions their names; but the rest is easily understood out of the former books. This appears as the peculiar glory of the Jewish nation, that they alone were able to trace their pedigree from the first man that God created, which no other nation pretended to, but abused themselves and their posterity with fabulous accounts of their originals: the people of Thessaly fancying that they sprang from stones, the Athenians, that they grew out of the earth.

Verse 5.   The sons of Japheh - The historian repeating the account of the replenishing the earth by the sons of Noah, begins with those that were strangers to the church, the sons of Japheth, who peopled Europe, of whom he says little, as the Jews had hitherto little or no dealings with them. He proceeds to those that had many of them been enemies to the church, and thence hastens to the line of Abraham, breaking off abruptly from all the other families of the sons of Noah, but that of Arphaxad, from whom Christ was to come. The great promise of the Messiah was transmitted from Adam to Seth, from him to Shem, from him to Eber, and so to the Jewish nation, who were intrusted above all nations with that sacred treasure, 'till the promise was performed, and the Messiah was come: and then that nation was made not a people.

Verse 14.   The Jebusite - The names which follow until ver. 17, are not the names of particular persons, but of people or nations. And all these descended from Canaan, though some of them were afterwards extinct or confounded with others of their brethren by cohabitation or mutual marriages, whereby they lost their names: which is the reason why they are no more mentioned, at least under these names.

Verse 17.   The sons - Either the name of sons is so taken here as to include grandsons, or, these words, the children of Aram, are understood before Uz, out of Gen. x, 23, where they are expressed.

Verse 18.   Begat - Either immediately, or mediately by his son Cainan, who is expressed, Luke iii, 35.

Verse 19.   Divided - In their languages and habitations.

Verse 24.   Arphaxad - Having given a brief and general account of the original of the world and the people in it, he now returns to a more large and particular account of the genealogy of Shem, from whom the Jews were descended.

Verse 28.   The sons of Abraham - All nations but the seed of Abraham are already shaken off from this genealogy. Not that we conclude, no particular persons of any other nation but this found favour with God. Multitudes will be brought to heaven out of every nation, and we may hope there were many, very many people in the world, whose names were in the book of life, tho' they did not spring from the loins of Abraham.

Verse 36.   Timna - There is another Timna, the concubine of Eliphaz, Gen. xxxvi, 12, but this was one of his sons, though called by the same name; there being some names common both to men and women in the Hebrew and in other languages.

Verse 38.   Seir - One of another nation, prince of the Horims; whose genealogy is here described, because of that affinity which was contracted between his and Esau's posterity; and those who were not united and incorporated with them, were destroyed by them. See Deut. ii, 12.

Verse 54.   These are the dukes of Edom - Let us, in reading these genealogies, think of the multitudes that have gone thro' the world, have successively acted their parts in it, and retired into darkness. All these and all theirs had their day; many of them made a mighty noise in the world; until their day came to fall, and their place knew them no more. The paths of death are trodden paths. How soon are we to tread them?


Chapter 1: | Darby | Geneva | Gill | Jamieson Faussett Brown | Matthew Henry | Matthew Henry Concise | Wesley | Index | Bible Gateway |

Introduction   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   2 Kings   2 Chronicles

This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.

---

Genesis   Exodus   Leviticus   Numbers   Deuteronomy   Joshua   Judges   Ruth   1 Samuel   2 Samuel   1 Kings   2 Kings   1 Chronicles   2 Chronicles   Ezra   Nehemiah   Esther   Job   Psalm   Proverbs   Ecclesiastes   Song of Solomon   Isaiah   Jeremiah   Lamentations   Ezekiel   Daniel   Hosea   Joel   Amos   Obadiah   Jonah   Micah   Nahum   Habakkuk   Zephaniah   Haggai   Zechariah   Malachi   Matthew   Mark   Luke   John   Acts   Romans   1 Corinthians   2 Corinthians   Galatians   Ephesians   Philippians   Colossians   1 Thessalonians   2 Thessalonians   1 Timothy   2 Timothy   Titus   Philemon   Hebrews   James   1 Peter   2 Peter   1 John   2 John   3 John   Jude   Revelation