(19) And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei.--Zerubbabel, the famous prince who, with Joshua the high priest, led the first colony of restored exiles from Babylon to Canaan, under the edict of Cyrus (B.C. cir. 536). Zerubbabel (LXX., ?????????), means born at Babel. His father is appropriately named Pedaiah (Iah hath redeemed). Zerubbabel is called son of Shealtiel (Haggai 1:1, &c.; Ezra 3:2; Ezra 5:2--part of the chronicle it should be remembered; Matthew 1:12). Hence some expositors, ancient and modern, have assumed that the six persons named in 1Chronicles 3:18, including Pedaiah, the father of Zerubbabel, were sons, not brothers of Salathiel (Shealtiel). In this way they bring Zerubbabel into the direct line of descent from Shealtiel. But our Hebrew text, though peculiar, can hardly mean this. It makes Zerubbabel the son of Pedaiah, and nephew of Shealtiel. If Zerubbabel, for reasons unknown, became adopted son and heir of Shealtiel, his uncle, the seemingly discordant statements of the different passages before us are all reconciled; while that of our text is the more exact.

And the sons of Zerubbabel.--The Hebrew received text has "and the son." This is not to be altered, although some MSS. have the plural. (Comp. 1Chronicles 3:21; 1Chronicles 3:23.) This use of the singular is characteristic of the present genealogical fragment (see 1Chronicles 3:17-18), "And the sons of Jeconiah captive--Salathiel his son, and Malchiram," &c.

Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister.--This seems to mean that the three were the offspring of one wife.

Verse 19. - Pedaiah is now given as the father of Zeraubabel and Shimei. Of the latter of these nothing else is known, unless Lord Hervey's theory below be correct. The former is a great name - its derivation perhaps doubtful. Strictly it signifies "scattered to Babylon," but (Gesenius, 'Lexicon') if the initial part of the word be strengthened into זְרוַּע, the signification might be "born in Babylon." We have in this name another instance of the treatment just commented on with regard to the name Salathiel in Luke 3:28. Zerubbabel is elsewhere invariably described as son of Salathiel, or Shealtiel; but as the genealogy of St. Luke gives the natural descent of Salathiel as from Neri, so does our genealogy in this one place give us the natural descent of Zerubbabel as from Pedaiah, one of Salathiel's brothers; while all other passages (e.g. Ezra 3:8; Haggai 1:12; Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27)give us that for which the genealogical table is chiefly designed, viz. the matter of succession, according to which Zerubbabel would be-shown as son, i.e. link of succession, following on Shealtiel. Verse 19. - Meshullam. Though this name recurs, and very frequently, in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, yet the person here denoted by it - son of Zerubbabel - is found here only. Hananiah, 1.q. Joanna of Luke 3:27, the names being the same, but with the component parts transposed, as in instances already given above. In the Gospel, Hananiah appears as grandson of Zorobabel, Rhesa intervening. Shelomith. This person is mentioned here only. The word, though evidently a feminine form, is found for the name of a man, chief of the Izarhites (1 Chronicles 23:18), but very possibly by a mere clerical error, as the true form is given in the very next chapter (1 Chronicles 24:22) for the same character, viz. שְׁלמֹות.

3:1-24 Genealogies. - Of all the families of Israel, none were so illustrious as the family of David: here we have a full account of it. From this family, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. The attentive observer will perceive that the children of the righteous enjoy many advantages.And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel and Shimei,.... Here arises a difficulty, since elsewhere Zerubbabel is said to be the son of Shealtiel, Haggai 1:1 some think this is not the same Zerubbabel here as there; so Grotius (u); but I see no reason for that; but this difficulty may be removed by observing, that if Pedaiah was a son of Salathiel, as Kimchi thinks, then Zerubbabel, being his grandson, may be called his son, as grandsons are sometimes called sons in Scripture; or rather, Salathiel, having no children, adopted Zerubbabel, his brother's son, and made him successor in the government; so that he was the son of Pedaiah by birth, and of Salathiel by adoption; or else Salathiel dying without children, his brother Pedaiah, according to the law, married his widow, and by her had Zerubbabel, who was the proper son of Pedaiah, and the legal son of Salathiel:

and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam: who is called Abiud, Matthew 1:13 another son of his, with their father, is mentioned in this verse, and five more in the next. From hence to the end of the chapter, the genealogy is carried on from the captivity of Babylon, out of which Zerubbabel came, to the coming of Christ; and if Ezra was the writer of this book, as is generally thought, who was contemporary with Zerubbabel, this account must be written by another hand: and it may be observed, that it is carried on in the same number of generations as in Matthew; and here it stands thus:

Zerubbabel, Hananiah, Jesaiah, Rephaiah, Arnan, Obadiah, Shecaniah, Shemaiah, Neariah, Elioenai, Anani; in Matthew thus, "Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Sadoc, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph"; the difference in names may be accounted for by their having two names; and it is remarkable that the Targum makes Anani to be the King Messiah, who was to be revealed; which, though it makes one generation less to his time, yet plainly shows that the Jews expected the Messiah to come at the end of this genealogy, and about the time Jesus the true Messiah did. Anani is reckoned by other Jews a name of the Messiah, who is said to come in the clouds of heaven, which "Anani" signifies; see Gill on Daniel 7:13.

(u) In Luc. 3.