1 Chronicles 3:20

Study note

Setting — The chronicler records a genealogical list of Zerubbabel’s descendants immediately after naming Meshullam and Hananiah in 1 Chronicles 3:19. The passage functions as a formal register of post-exilic family lines without narrative commentary.

The words — חֶ֖סֶד (Che.sed) = "steadfast love" or "loyalty," forming the second half of the compound name Jushab-hesed. חָמֵֽשׁ (cha.Mesh) = "five," a precise numeral anchoring the count of sons listed.

The thread — This verse extends the Davidic genealogy through Zerubbabel, which the chronicler repeats in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 to verify post-exilic priestly and lay lineages. The name Hashubah also appears in those parallel registers, confirming the chronicler’s reliance on official family records.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that biblical faithfulness is traced through documented lineage rather than isolated miracles. A reader must acknowledge that covenant promises are preserved through meticulous record-keeping and generational continuity.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.