References (44)
The neighbor women named [confirmed and witnessed the naming of] the boy by saying: ”A son has been born to Naomi!” They named him Oved [meaning ”one who serves”]. He became the father of Jishaj [Jesse], David’s father.
[The Hebrew letter Beth is pronounced either ”b” or ”v” depending on its placement in the word. If ”Bet” begins the word, it is usually pronounced ”b”, otherwise ”v”. Ruth’s son’s name is spelled Obed but is pronounced Oved and is usually transliterated that way. The Hebrew name of David’s father is Yisay. Other common forms are Isai or Ishai; the English name is Jesse.
There is a beautiful balance in the book. The conclusion, verses 13–17, has 71 Hebrew words, exactly as many as the introduction, verses 1-5. The introduction focuses on Naomi’s emptiness and the conclusion on her fullness.]
Oved [became the father] of Jishaj [born about 1080 BC].
and Jishaj [became the father] of David [born c. 1040 BC].
[The highlight of the genealogy is the last name David, see ; . Between Salmon and David, probably not all family lines are included. Joshua takes Jericho around 1400 BC and David is born around 1040 BC. So there are 360 years between these events, but only three people are mentioned. If there are no missing links, Boaz, Oved and Jishaj must all have been over 120 years old when they gave birth to their sons, which is unlikely as life expectancy at this time was 70–80 years. The beginning and end of the family tree is described in other books. The gap is therefore either between Salmon and Boaz, or between Oved and Jishaj. Since we have several details about Oved and Boaz, how Naomi held him in her arms and all the women in the city witness the event in , it is most likely that Oved is the son of Boaz and Ruth. The conclusion is that the gap must be between Salmon, who lived during Joshua’s time, and Boaz who lived when the events in this book took place. The lack of family lines is not surprising and does not indicate that there are errors in the Bible. Both the Hebrew and Greek word for ”father” can also mean ”ancestor” or ”relative”. Depending on the author’s purpose, it is common to sometimes skip a few lines to show the overall relationship. Here the goal is to show how Pereth is related through Boaz to David. Another example is Matthew who sometimes skips some lines to get a literary symmetry of 3 groups with 14 generations in each group, see .]
[The third unit in the Books of Samuel deals with how the young David comes to the throne. It consists of seven units that go from positive events to negative ones. The first four describe his anointing, his service as a harpist, his victory over Goliath, and his popularity and friendship with Jonathan. At the center, the narrative turns, and in a chiastic pattern, three stories follow that describe his struggles and how Saul becomes increasingly harsh toward David.]
The Lord (Yahweh) said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul? See, I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself from among his sons."
And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell you what to do, and you shall anoint for me the one I tell you."
He [Samuel] answered, "Peace (shalom), I have come to sacrifice to the Lord (Yahweh). Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
And Jesse called Abinadab [Jesse's second eldest son, see ] and had him pass before Samuel. And he said, "The Lord (Yahweh) has not chosen this one either."
And Jesse had Shamma [Jesse's third son, also called Shimea, see ] come forward. And he said, "The Lord (Yahweh) has not chosen this one either."
And Jesse had seven of his sons come before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord (Yahweh) has not chosen any of these."
And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all your young men (Hebr. naar)?" And he [Jishai] said, "The youngest (insignificant) remains, but behold, he is tending the sheep."
And Samuel said to Jishai, "Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here."
Then one of the young men answered and said, "Behold, I have seen one of the young sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilled in playing and a mighty man (warrior, a man in his prime – Hebr. gever), a strong man (Hebr. chajil), a man of war (Hebr. milchama), and a man of good speech, and the Lord (Yahweh) is with him." [The three Hebrew words , chajil and milchama have slightly different connotations, but all three words also mean warrior or fighter.]
Therefore, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep."
And Jesse took a donkey and loaded it with bread and a jug of wine and a kid, and sent it with his son David to Saul.
And Saul sent messengers to Jesse, saying, "Let David, I pray thee, remain before me, for he hath found favor (undeserved love – Hebr. chen) in my sight."
And David was the son of an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah named Jesse, who had eight sons, and the man was an old man in Saul's days, having reached a ripe old age among men [so he could not go to the battlefield himself].
[David was the youngest, see . In , only seven sons are mentioned by name. In , the three eldest are mentioned, so one of the younger ones may have died early before starting a family and therefore not been included in the Chronicles.]
And the three eldest sons of Jesse had gone after Saul into battle, and the names of the three sons who had gone out to battle were: Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second, and Shammah, the third. []
Then Jishaj said to his son David, "Take, now (I beg you – Hebr. na), to your brothers [on their behalf], an ephah [22-36 liters] of dried grain [a sack] and these ten loaves of bread – run quickly to the camp, to your brothers.
And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and took and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp just as the army was going out to battle, and he gave the battle cry.
Then Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am your servant, the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite."
And it came to pass on the morning after the new moon, which was the second day, that David's place was empty, and Saul said to Jonathan, "Why has the son of Jesse [David] not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?"
And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a rebellious rebel, did I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?
For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you will not be established, nor your kingdom. Now send and bring him, for he deserves to die." [Saul understands that Jonathan has been more loyal to David than to him, see .]
And Saul said to his servants who stood around him, "Listen, I beg you, sons of Benjamin, should the son of Jesse [from the tribe of Judah] give fields and vineyards to all of you, should he make you leaders over 1,000 and leaders over 100,
so that you all conspire against me, and there was no one who revealed to me when my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse, and there is no one among you who feels sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has incited my servants against me to lie in ambush as he does this day?"
Then Doeg the Edomite, who was set over Saul's servants, answered and said, "I saw the son of Jesse [David] come to Nov [a Levitical city just northeast of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus, see ], to Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub. [; ]
And Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, when you gave him bread and a sword and asked God (Elohim) for him, so that he might rise up against me and lie in ambush as he does today?"
But Naval answered David's servants and said, "Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who have forsaken their masters,
And there met them a worthless (useless – Hebr. belijaal) man whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a man of Benjamin. [Sheba was from the same tribe as Saul, perhaps even a relative, see .] And he blew the shofar and said, "We have no part in David, nor do we have any inheritance in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tent, Israel!"
These were David's last words:
Thus says (declares, proclaims) David, the son of Jesse,
thus says (declares, proclaims) the man who was highly exalted,
the anointed of the God of Jacob,
the psalmist (leader of praise, song accompanied by instrumental music) of Israel.
And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king and said,
"What share do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, Israel,
see to your own house, David." And Israel went to their tents.
Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jishai was the father of
Eliav, who was his firstborn,
Avinadav the second,
Shimea the third,
He had not sought answers from the Lord (Yahweh). Therefore, the Lord killed him and transferred the kingdom to David, the son of Jesse.
But the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the thirty, and he said,
"We are yours, David,
and with you we stand, O son of Jesse.
Peace, peace be with you,
and peace be with those who help you,
for your God helps you!" David accepted them and made them commanders of his army.
David, the son of Jesse, had reigned over all Israel.
When all Israel realized that the king would not listen to them, the people gave him this answer:
"What share do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Go home to your tents, Israel!
Now look after your own house, David." Then all Israel went home.
Rehoboam took Mahalath as his wife. She was the daughter of Jerimoth, the son of David, and of Abihail, the daughter of Eliab, the son of Jesse.
End of the prayers of David, son of Jesse.
[This is an addition that does not belong to Psalm 72, but concludes the second book. Because the Psalter is so extensive, it could not fit on one scroll and was often divided into two. The first contained Psalms 1-72 and the second Psalms 73-150. This addition probably has to do with the fact that it concludes the first scroll, which mainly contains psalms written by David. There are also finds with other compilations of psalms, probably for other purposes, in a similar way to how we compile different songbooks today.]
But a branch (a shoot) shall grow out of the stump of Jishai [David's father],
and a shoot shall sprout (bear fruit) from his roots.
It shall come to pass that the branch of Yishai [David's father] shall stand as a banner (a signal flag, a clear sign) for the nations. The Gentile nations shall seek him for knowledge. His presence (dwelling) [on earth] shall be majestic (glorious, have weight and dignity, be saturated with the full presence of God).
Salmon begot Boaz, whose mother was Rahab
(Gk. Rachav) [a pagan who welcomed the Israeli spies in Jericho, see ],
Boaz begot Obed, whose mother was Ruth
[a Moabite who accompanied her mother-in-law Naomi back to Judah, see Ruth 1-4],
Obed begot
Jesse (Isaiah),
Jishai begot David, the king. [Both "David" and "king" are in the definite form in Greek, which gives extra emphasis. Literally: "Davidthe, kingthe".]
[The second part has fourteen links between Solomon and Jehoiachin, David is mentioned again but is not counted as a link. Thirty names are mentioned, including the repetition of David and Bathsheba's husband Uriah, who is not included in the family tree. Of these, 29 are men and one is a woman.]
David begot Solomon, whose mother [Bathsheba; Hebr. Batsheva] was the wife of Uriah [whom David stole from him, see ],
son to Jesse (Jishai),
son of Obed (Oved),
son of Boaz,
son of Salma,
son of Nahshon (Nachshon),
When he had deposed him, God raised up David as their king. He testified about him: "I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will." [Quotations from and .]
And further, Isaiah says:
The root of Jesse [the Messiah],
he who stands up to rule over the nations,
in him
the Gentiles shall hope. [] [There is a clear thread running through these four quotations, showing that the Gentiles have always been part of God's plan to be blessed through the Israelites, see . In the first, David praises God among the Gentiles; in the second, Moses exhorts the Gentiles to rejoice together with the Jews; in the third, the psalmist exhorts the Gentiles to praise the Lord; and in the fourth, Isaiah prophesies that the Gentiles will live under the Messiah and have their hope in him.]
