Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 8:28
All these were heads of families, the chiefs according to their genealogies, and they lived in Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler concludes a genealogical roster of the tribe of Benjamin by summarizing the status and location of its family leaders. This statement immediately follows a list of Jeroham’s sons and precedes a narrative shift to a different clan in Gibeon.
The words — יָשְׁב֥וּ (ya.she.Vu) literally means they dwelt or resided, while אָב֛וֹת ('a.Vot) translates to fathers or patriarchs. These terms anchor the verse’s factual claim that the listed genealogical heads maintained their household structures in the capital.
The thread — The presence of Israelite families in Jerusalem appears in Joshua 18:28 and Judges 1:21, where the text records both tribal allotments and the ongoing Jebusite occupation. This verse functions as a demographic note within that broader settlement pattern.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge the recorded continuity of tribal lineage and the historical reality of Jerusalem’s mixed population. It demands precise attention to genealogical boundaries rather than theological speculation.
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.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
These were heads of the fathers, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem.
Cross-references
- Judges 1:21 The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.
- Joshua 15:63 But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.
- Joshua 18:28 Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Nehemiah 11:1 Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.
- Nehemiah 11:7 From the descendants of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jeshaiah;