Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.
Israel was the chosen nation, elect in type; no other people in their national capacity held the covenant privilege the Jews held. The Lord knows His own by name, and many good souls outside Abraham's seed surely found favor with Him, but this genealogy traces the one nation incorporated into His peculiar bond. The Ishmaelites get scant notice because they were cast out as children of the bondwoman, and their rejection foreshadowed the unbelieving Jews rejected after.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Chronicles 1:28-54
By the river - "Shaul of Plathiutha, a great city, built on the banks of the Euphrates." - T.
The Chronicler copies Genesis's king list almost word for word, but makes one telling change: he records that the final king Hadad died, whereas Genesis leaves him living because Moses wrote while he still reigned. This detail shows the Chronicler writing long after, when that ancient ruler had long passed from the earth.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Chronicles 1:43-50