Mesha his firstborn
The name "Mesha" is significant as it means "salvation" or "deliverance" in Hebrew. The concept of the firstborn in biblical times carried with it the idea of preeminence and inheritance rights. Mesha, as the firstborn, would have been seen as the primary heir and a figure of leadership within his family. This reflects the biblical theme of the firstborn's role in God's plan, often seen as a type of Christ, the ultimate firstborn over all creation.

who was the father of Ziph
Ziph is both a person and a place in the biblical narrative. The name "Ziph" means "flowing" or "battlement," and it is associated with a region in the Judean wilderness. This area is historically significant as a place where David hid from King Saul (1 Samuel 23). The mention of Ziph here connects the genealogy to a geographical location, underscoring the deep ties between the people and the land in biblical history.

and the sons of Mareshah
Mareshah, meaning "summit" or "beginning," is another name that carries both personal and geographical significance. It is a reminder of the high places and beginnings, perhaps symbolizing new ventures or leadership roles. The sons of Mareshah would have been seen as continuing the legacy and influence of their father, contributing to the ongoing account of God's people.

the father of Hebron
Hebron is a city of great importance in biblical history. The name "Hebron" means "association" or "friendship," and it is one of the oldest cities in the region, associated with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Hebron was a city of refuge and a Levitical city, highlighting its spiritual and cultural significance. The mention of Hebron here ties the genealogy to a place of covenant and promise, reminding readers of God's enduring faithfulness to His people.

I.--1Chronicles 2:42-45 : Caleb brother of Jerahmeel = Caleb son of Hezron (1Chronicles 2:18) = Chelubai (1Chronicles 2:9).

(42) Mesha.--The name of a king of Moab (2Kings 3:4), whose monument of victory, the famous Moabite stone, was found in 1868 at Dibou. Here the name is probably that of a principal Calebite clan, settled at Ziph, near Hebron (Joshua 15:54-55; 1Samuel 23:14). . . .

1. The first appearance, then, of the name in this chapter (ver. 9) exhibits it in a form different from that in which it appears the other times in this chapter or elsewhere, viz. as כְלוּבַי, instead of כָלֵב (or once as a patronymic, 1 Samuel 25:3, כּלִֹבִּי). The Vulgate follows the Hebrew, but the Septuagint has at once substituted Caleb. The Syriac Version has Salchi, and the Arabic Sachli, both of them, no doubt, mere transcribers' errors through the mistake of a letter. This form "Chelubai" is, then, an ἅπαξ λεγόμενον, and no different account has yet been given of the name appearing thus on this one occasion. It may be described, with Lange ('Comm. Old Testament,' in loc.), as "adjectivus gentilis" to כְלוּב, which word, however, occur where it will, is never treated as a synonym with Caleb except by the Septuagint, and then but once (1 Chronicles 4:11), making Lange's further claim of three forms for the name of Caleb wrong. The name might be translated the "Cheluban" or "Chelubite."

2. The Caleb called here first "Chelubai," again" Caleb the son of Hezron," and now "Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel," some, and Keil among them, have endeavoured to identify with Caleb the son of Jephunneh. This latter is a well-known figure in history. He, together with Joshua, was among those who, departing from Egypt, were pursued of Pharaoh, and of all the host these two alone lived to enter into the promised land. This is enough to give him distinction and a prominent place before the eye. To this Caleb unmistakable reference is made in twenty-eight passages, in sixteen of which he is called "son of Jephunneh," and in three of those sixteen "son of Jephunneh the Kenazite." Now, he tells us himself (Joshua 14:7) that he was forty years old in the seceded year after the Exodus. But it seems (Genesis 46:12, 26) that Hezron, grandson of Judah, and the father of the Caleb of this chapter, was, however young, one of those who went down into Egypt with Jacob, at a date, according to any chronology, which must render it impossible for any son of his to have been alive and only forty years of age at the time of the Exodus. This being so, either the statement already referred to, found at the close of ver. 49, that "the daughter of Caleb was Achsa," must be an interpolation from some ignorant transcriber's marginal annotation, or, unlikely as it is, Caleb the son of Hezron and Caleb the son of Jephunneh both named a daughter Achsa. It is, moreover, likely enough that the frequent describing of Caleb the son of Jephuuneli in this style was occasioned by the desire to distinguish him from some other Caleb, not a contemporary, indeed, but already well known m a generation preceding but not too remote. Other considerations decidedly concur with this view: e.g. Ram is brother of Caleb the son of Hezron; he has a grandson, Nahshon, of great distinction," a prince of the children of Judah," whose sister Aaron married; he was the elect of the Judah tribe to assist Moses and Aaron in the first numbering of the people (Numbers 1:7). Great prominence is given to him (Numbers 7:12; Numbers 10:14). He was clearly (Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:32) fifth in descent from Judah, in perfect agreement with the table of this chapter. Now, it was this grandson of the elder brother of Caleb who was contemporary with Caleb the son of Jephunneh. Similarly, the Bezaleel of this chapter (ver. 20), a great-grandson of Caleb the Hezronite, is spoken of (Exodus 31:1; Exodus 35:30) at the same date exactly at which Caleb the son of Jephunneh says he was still but forty years of age l

3. The identity of the Caleb of ver. 50, son of Hut, with Caleb the son of Jephuuneh is supposed by some, but is not clear. It appears to be asserted, without explanation, in the arts. "Caleb" and "Ephrath," signed A. C. H., Smith's 'Bible Dictionary,' though in the second part of the latter article it is alluded to as only possible. On the other hand, it may rather be that Caleb the son of Jephunneh, instead of being identical with this Caleb the son of Hur, is so called in order to distinguish him from this latter as a contemporary. Again, it has been happily conjectured ('Speaker's Commentary,' in loc.) that just as ver. 33 closes the table of Jerahmeel with "These were the sons of Jerahmeel," so ver. 49 should close the table of Caleb (ver. 42) with the words, These were the Boris of Caleb. With a slight alteration, ver. 50 would then begin The sons of Hur, etc. This is, however, only conjecture. Ver. 42, then, must be considered to give us another family of Caleb, i.e. a family by another wife, of name not given, just possibly the Jerioth unaccounted for in ver. 18. The first statement lauds us in perplexity. Mesha (מֵישַׁע) is the firstborn (i.e. by the wife or woman in question), and the founder of Ziph. And amid some omission or corruption of text, we are then confronted with the words, and the sons of Marsehah (מָרֵישָׁה) the father (or again, perhaps founder) of Hebron. The reading of the Septuagint gives Mareshah in both of these passages, and may come from a Hebrew text that we have not. The substitution could, however, scarcely be accounted for as a mere clerical error, considering both the omission of a resh and the replacing of an he with an ayin. The sentence refuses at present any treatment except the unsatisfactory one of pure conjecture. But employing this, it may be noted that the omitting of the words, "the sons of," before Mareshah would most help to clear the verse of confusion. In this and following verses, Ziph, Hebron, Tappuah, Jorkoam, and Beth-zur, are all names of places certainly, whether or not they are all of persons.

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