And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,
Azariah was the father of Amariah, and Amariah was the father of Ahitub, forming one intermediate link in the priestly line running downward from Aaron as given in 1 Chronicles 6:3-15. This link belongs to the genealogy of Levi set within the lists of names in the first nine chapters of Chronicles, a book giving particular attention to Judah and the priesthood. These genealogical catalogues were preserved with exceeding care and kept unbroken until Christ's first advent, showing the preservation of the records of God's children and the integrity of the tribes.
Such family records established hereditary descent, which was needed after the exile to assign land and to restore temple service to those whose inherited duty it was. They guarded the prerogatives and privileges of the priesthood and furnished the framework for the cherished hopes of Israel, the fulfillment of ancient prophecies and historic promises, and especially the Messianic hopes of the nation. The record of Levi matters because the Aaronic priesthood continued until the Jewish nation ceased and Christ's priesthood superseded it.
Ezra traces his own priestly descent to Aaron by selected ancestors scattered along this same line and drops several generations contained here. This shows the Hebrew habit of compressing a genealogical series, giving part for the whole, and calling a man the son of an ancestor of the third or fourth generation when the design is only to show relation to some remote ancestor rather than to unroll the chain at full length. The comparison warns that chronology must not be calculated on the supposition that a compressed series is complete, since much more time may have elapsed.
The verse stands in the long, tedious record of names in 1 Chronicles 4 to 19 and the opening chapters of Chronicles, dealing largely with chronology. It illustrates that the Bible includes material whose value may not be immediately clear to every reader, while such records can interest scholars studying the origin and distribution of races. The long genealogy shows that God remembers each person, even people forgotten by others, so reading such lists can comfort those who feel discouraged or forgotten.
Azariah was the father of Amariah, and Amariah was the father of Ahitub, forming one intermediate link in the priestly line running downward from Aaron as given in 1 Chronicles 6:3-15. This link belongs to the genealogy of Levi set within the lists of names in the first nine chapters of Chronicles, a book giving particular attention to Judah and the priesthood. These genealogical catalogues were preserved with exceeding care and kept unbroken until Christ's first advent, showing the preservation of the records of God's children and the integrity of the tribes.
Such family records established hereditary descent, which was needed after the exile to assign land and to restore temple service to those whose inherited duty it was. They guarded the prerogatives and privileges of the priesthood and furnished the framework for the cherished hopes of Israel, the fulfillment of ancient prophecies and historic promises, and especially the Messianic hopes of the nation. The record of Levi matters because the Aaronic priesthood continued until the Jewish nation ceased and Christ's priesthood superseded it.
Ezra traces his own priestly descent to Aaron by selected ancestors scattered along this same line and drops several generations contained here. This shows the Hebrew habit of compressing a genealogical series, giving part for the whole, and calling a man the son of an ancestor of the third or fourth generation when the design is only to show relation to some remote ancestor rather than to unroll the chain at full length. The comparison warns that chronology must not be calculated on the supposition that a compressed series is complete, since much more time may have elapsed.
The verse stands in the long, tedious record of names in 1 Chronicles 4 to 19 and the opening chapters of Chronicles, dealing largely with chronology. It illustrates that the Bible includes material whose value may not be immediately clear to every reader, while such records can interest scholars studying the origin and distribution of races. The long genealogy shows that God remembers each person, even people forgotten by others, so reading such lists can comfort those who feel discouraged or forgotten.