1 Chronicles 2:3

The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

THE FIVE SONS OF JUDAH, FROM Genesis 38.

(3) The daughter of Shua the Canaanitess.—Shua was the father of Judah’s wife.

Er, the firstborn of Judah, was (became, proved) evil.—Word for word from Genesis 38:7. Suppressing other details relating to the sons of Judah, the chronicler copies this statement intact from Genesis, because it thoroughly harmonises with the moral he wishes to be drawn from the entire history of his people.

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 2:3. The sons of Judah — He puts Judah first, because the best part of the right of the firstborn, namely, the dominion, was conferred on him, Genesis 49:8; in consequence of which, his tribe obtained a pre- eminence among, and a kind of superiority over the rest, even before the time of David. And from David’s time, it is without doubt, that till the Babylonish captivity a kingly power continued in this tribe; Zerubbabel, also, who was their leader, when they returned to their own land, was of the same tribe. The chief reason, however, why the genealogy of Judah is set down first, is because the Messiah was to descend from him.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-55 Genealogies. - We are now come to the register of the children of Israel, that distinguished people, who were to dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations. But now, in Christ, all are welcome to his salvation who come to him; all have equal privileges according to their faith in him, their love and devotedness to him. All that is truly valuable consists in the favour, peace, and image of God, and a life spent to his glory, in promoting the welfare of our fellow-creatures.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sons of Israel - The order of the names here approximates to an order determined by legitimacy of birth. A single change - the removal of Dan to the place after Benjamin - would give the following result:

(1) The six sons of the first wife, Leah.

(2) the two sons of the second wife, Rachel.

(3) the two sons of the first concubine, Bilhah.

(4) the two sons of the second concubine, Zilpah.

Dan's undue prominency may, perhaps, be accounted for by his occupying the seventh place in the "blessing of Jacob" Genesis 49:16.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ch 2:3-12. Posterity of Judah.

3. The sons of Judah—His descendants are enumerated first, because the right and privileges of the primogeniture had been transferred to him (Ge 49:8), and because from his tribe the Messiah was to spring.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He puts

Judah first, because the best part of the right of the first-born, to wit, the dominion, was conferred upon him, Genesis 49:8, and because the Messiah was to come out of his loins.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The sons of Judah,.... The genealogy begins with him, though the fourth son of Jacob; because, as Kimchi says, this book treats chiefly of the kings of Judah; but rather not only because Jesse and David sprang from him, but also the King Messiah:

Er, and Onan, and Shelah, which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess; see Genesis 38:2,

and Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the Lord; because he did that which was evil:

and he slew him; he died by the immediate hand of God, and so his brother Onan, being wicked also, Genesis 38:7.

Geneva Study Bible

The sons of {a} Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him.

(a) Though Judah was not Jacob's eldest son, yet he first begins with him, because he would come to the genealogy of David, of whom came Christ.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3–17. The Descent of the Sons of Jesse from Judah

4. Pharez] R.V. Perez.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 3-9. - 2. THE LINE OF JUDAH, TO HIS THREE GREAT-GRANDSONS. The line of Judah is, with a well-known object, the first to be taken up, although Judah stands fourth of Israel's sons. Judah has five sons: three, Er, Onan, Shelah, by a Canaanitess, the daughter of Shad; and two, Pharez and Zerah, by Tamar, his own daughter-in-law, under the circumstances described (Genesis 38:6-30). There all these names are found in exact accord in the Authorized Version, in the Hebrew text, and in the Septuagint. The Septuagint Version, however (Genesis 38:2), by an evident inaccuracy of translation, gives Shua as the name, not of the father, but of the daughter, ῇ ὄνομα Σαυά. Parallel passages are also found (Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:19-22). Er and Onan died without issue, and the descendants of Shelah are not mentioned till we reach 1 Chronicles 4:21-23. The line is now carried on by the twin sons of Tamar (vers. 5, 6). Pharez, with two sons, Hezron and Hamul (Genesis 46:12; Ruth 4:18), and Zerah, with five sons, Zimri (or Zabdi, Joshua 7:1), Ethan, Heman, Calcol, Dara (or with many manuscripts, followed by the Targum, Syriac, and Arabic versions, Darda). If these last four names are not identical with those in 1 Kings 4:31, they are not to be found in any available connection elsewhere, and the last two not at all. Upon this supposition, it is held by some that this very passage proves that the compiler drew on resources not possessed by us. The weight of evidence seems, however, largely in favour of the persons being the same. (See Gilbert Barrington's 'Old Testament Genealogies,' 1:206-208, well summarized in art. "Darda," Smith's 'Bible Dictionary,' for as competent a discussion of the question as the present data will allow.) It needs to be constantly remembered that an enumeration like the above, of five so-called sons, does not necessarily involve their being five brothers, although in this case it looks the more as though they were so, as it is said five of them in all 1 Chronicles 2:3

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The sons of Judah and of Pharez, 1 Chronicles 2:3.f. - The five sons of Judah are given according to Genesis 38, as the remark on Er which is quoted from Genesis 38:7 of that chapter shows, while the names of the five sons are to be found also in Genesis 46:12. The two sons of Pharez are according to Genesis 46:12, cf. Numbers 26:21.