Commentary: On Chronicles

The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and ‘Anani—seven in all. (1 Chronicles 3:24)

And ‘Anani—seven, this is King Messiah, and it says ‘Anani like that which is stated: And, behold, there came with the clouds of [‘anane] heaven one like a son of man (Daniel 7:13). Now, from ‘Anani onwards there is nothing to be added to the Davidic royal dynasty, and therefore [the list of his descendants] stops [here].

Those who deal with the book of lineage [Chronicles] are puzzled [as to] who listed these [descendants]. How could Ezra provide the lineage of generations that followed him? After all, Zerubbabel and Ezra were contemporaries, and there are ten generations from Zerubbabel to ‘Anani: Zerubbabel, Hananiah, Pelatiah, Arnan, Obadiah, Shecaniah, Shemaiah, Neariah, Elioenai, and Anani [see 1 Chronicles 3:19–24].

Judah Ibn Quraysh says [that] the lineage [of these descendants] was traced at the end of the Second Temple period from books of records belonging to kings, for they would write all the genealogical lists, as well as all [their own] deeds, as it is stated regarding Ahasuerus: to bring the book of records [of the chronicles] (Esther 6:1).

I answer [all who issue such claims that] certainly [the truth] is in accordance with the statement of the sages, who said [that] “Ezra wrote his book, and the genealogical list of Chronicles until his [time]” [b. Bava Batra 15a]. And he [also] provided the genealogical list of these [later descendants], as it is stated: and in Your book they were all written (Psalms 139:16). For from the beginning of the Torah until its end, prophets read and write [about] things they did not see, and which were not told to them, from the [very] beginning of the Torah. We can learn this from Eber, [as it states]: And two sons were born to Eber; the name of one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth dispersed [niflegah] (Genesis 10:25). Now, if you say [that this dispersion of the earth occurred] early in [Peleg’s] life, [that cannot be correct,] as his brother Joktan was younger than [Peleg], and he raised families that were [later] dispersed; and if you say [it happened] in the middle of his life, [one would respond by applying the exegetical principle that] scripture comes not to render matters obscure, but to clarify [i.e., the dispersion is certainly mentioned in order to tell us when it occurred, and therefore it must have happened on a specific day involving Peleg, not “sometime during his life”]. Hence you can learn that [the dispersion occurred not] during [the middle] of his life but at the end. This indicates that Eber was a great prophet, as he named his son Peleg [after a future event], through the holy spirit.

Likewise, our teacher Moses provided the genealogical list of all the kings of Esau until David, and all their chiefs until the inauguration of the Temple. And [another example]: Iddo prophesied many years before the birth of Josiah, [and yet] it is stated: Behold, a son will be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon you he will sacrifice [the priests of the high places] (1 Kings 13:2).

You can learn [from all this] that Ezra provided the genealogical list “until his [time]” [b. Bava Batra 15a]—that is, until himself—and he [also] provided the genealogical list until Anani before he listed his own lineage, and then Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi raised [the book’s status] through the holy spirit.

And if one were to ask: But you won’t find Ezra anywhere in the book of lineage [Chronicles], and [this includes] the lineage of Aaron the priest; [how, then, could the sages have said that he listed the genealogies until himself]? Know and reflect [on the following point], that Ezra’s lineage was established in his book, [where he is called] the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah [ . . . the son of Aaron the chief priest] (Ezra 7:1, 5). And [furthermore,] here [in Chronicles,] his lineage was [indeed] established: Eleazar begot Phineas until and Hilkiah begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Seraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak (1 Chronicles 5:30–40). Now, Jehozadak is [none other than] Ezra.