📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 1:51
What does 1 Chronicles 1:51 mean?
"Then Hadad died. The chiefs of Edom were: chief Timna, chief Aliah, chief Jetheth,"
— 1 Chronicles 1:51 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the River reigned in his place.
Shaul died, and Baal Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
Baal Hanan died, and Hadad reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pai: and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
Then Hadad died. The chiefs of Edom were: chief Timna, chief Aliah, chief Jetheth,
chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,
chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,
chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom.
Explanation
First Chronicles 1:51 sits in the middle of a long genealogical record, and on the surface it simply notes the death of a man named Hadad, who was one of the kings of Edom, and then begins listing the tribal chiefs who governed Edom after the kingship apparently ceased. The chiefs named here—Timna, Aliah, and Jetheth—are the first three of eleven such leaders listed in the verses that follow, each representing a clan or territorial division within Edom, the nation descended from Esau, Jacob's brother.
The book of 1 Chronicles was likely compiled after the Babylonian exile, probably by a priestly or scribal figure traditionally identified as Ezra, for the Jewish community returning to their homeland. The first nine chapters consist almost entirely of genealogies stretching from Adam through the tribes of Israel, and this particular section (1 Chronicles 1) traces the descendants of Esau and the history of Edom before turning to Israel's own line. The purpose of including Edom's history was to set the stage: since Esau and Jacob were brothers, their two nations' histories were intertwined, and the Chronicler wanted his readers—recently returned from exile and rebuilding their identity—to understand where they fit within the larger sweep of world and family history, including the histories of neighboring, related peoples.
Theologically, this ver
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