32 And sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.
And Abraham addeth and taketh a wife, and her name `is' Keturah; and she beareth to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan hath begotten Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim; and the sons of Midian `are' Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah: all these `are' sons of Keturah.
Kings of Tarshish and of the isles send back a present. Kings of Sheba and Seba a reward bring near.
Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: I have stretched out My hand against Edom, And I have cut off from it man and beast, And given it up -- a waste, from Teman even to Dedan, By sword they do fall.
Flee, turn, go deep to dwell, ye inhabitants of Dedan, For the calamity of Esau I brought in upon him, The time I inspected him.
A company of camels covereth thee, Dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, All of them from Sheba do come, Gold and frankincense they bear, And of the praises of Jehovah they proclaim the tidings.
The burden on Arabia. In a forest in Arabia ye lodge, O travellers of Dedanim.
And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.
Passengers of Tema looked expectingly, Travellers of Sheba hoped for them.
And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth them into the hand of Midian seven years, and the hand of Midian is strong against Israel, from the presence of Midian have the sons of Israel made for themselves the flowings which `are' in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. And it hath been, if Israel hath sowed, that Midian hath come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, yea, they have come up against him, and encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the land till thine entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or ass; for they and their cattle come up, with their tents; they come in as the fulness of the locust for multitude, and of them and of their cattle there is no number, and they come into the land to destroy it. And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah.
`Execute the vengeance of the sons of Israel against the Midianites -- afterwards thou art gathered unto thy people.'
and Moab saith unto the elders of Midian, `Now doth the assembly lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licketh up the green thing of the field.' And Balak son of Zippor `is' king of Moab at that time, and he sendeth messengers unto Balaam son of Beor, to Pethor, which `is' by the River of the land of the sons of his people, to call for him, saying, `Lo, a people hath come out of Egypt; lo, it hath covered the eye of the land, and it is abiding over-against me; and now, come, I pray thee, curse for me this people, for it `is' mightier than I; it may be I prevail -- we smite it -- and I cast it out from the land; for I have known -- that which thou blessest is blessed, and that which thou cursest is cursed.' And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian go, and divinations in their hand, and they come in unto Balaam, and speak unto him the words of Balak,
And Pharaoh heareth of this thing, and seeketh to slay Moses, and Moses fleeth from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelleth in the land of Midian, and dwelleth by the well. And to a priest of Midian `are' seven daughters, and they come and draw, and fill the troughs, to water the flock of their father,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 1
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 1 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 1
This chapter gives us the genealogy of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah, 1 Chronicles 1:1 of the sons of Noah, and their posterity, to Abraham, 1 Chronicles 1:5 of the sons of Abraham and their posterity, 1 Chronicles 1:28 and of the sons of Esau, 1 Chronicles 1:35 and of the kings and dukes that reigned in Edom, 1 Chronicles 1:43.
Adam, Seth,.... These first four verses exactly agree with the account of the antediluvian patriarchs in Genesis 5:1, the first letter in Adam is larger than usual, as a memorial, as BuxtorfF13 observes, of the first and only man, from whence mankind had their beginning, and whose history the author had undertaken to write.
The sons of Japheth, Gomer,.... Here begins the genealogy of the sons of Noah after the flood; of the sons of Japheth the elder, in this and the two following verses; next of the sons of Ham, the younger brother, 1 Chronicles 1:8, then of Shem, whose posterity are mentioned last, because from him, in the line of Heber, sprang Abraham, the ancestor of the Jewish nation, of whom the Messiah was to come, for whose sake this genealogy is given, 1 Chronicles 1:17. The whole is the same with the account in Genesis 10:1
The sons of Abraham,.... The famous and well known ancestor of the Jews; of Ishmael his firstborn, and his posterity; of his sons by Keturah; and of Isaac and his sons, an account is given from hence to the end of 1 Chronicles 1:34 entirely agreeing with that in Genesis 25:1.
The sons of Esau,.... The firstborn of Isaac; his posterity are named in this and the two following verses, as in Genesis 36:1 only it should be observed, that Timna, 1 Chronicles 1:36 is not the name of a man, but was the concubine of Eliphaz, the eldest son of Esau, and the mother of Amalek, Genesis 36:12, and so in the Arabic version it is read,"and Timna, which was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, bare him Amalek;'and so the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint.
And the sons of Seir,.... This man and his posterity were not of the race of Esau, but are mentioned because they were a family into which Esau, and a son of his, married, and whose possessions he and his obtained. The account from hence, to the end of 1 Chronicles 1:42 is the same with Genesis 36:20, with some little variation of names.
Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom,.... Which had its name from Esau, who was so called, Genesis 25:30. From hence, to the end of the chapter, an account is given of the kings and dukes of Edom, in the same order as in Genesis 30:31.