📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 9:3
What does 1 Chronicles 9:3 mean?
"In Jerusalem lived of the children of Judah, of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh:"
— 1 Chronicles 9:3 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
So all Israel were listed by genealogies; and behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. Judah was carried away captive to Babylon for their disobedience.
Now the first inhabitants who lived in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
In Jerusalem lived of the children of Judah, of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh:
Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Perez the son of Judah.
Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons.
Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their brothers, six hundred ninety.
Explanation
First Chronicles 9:3 is a simple introductory statement that identifies the tribal makeup of the people who resettled in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. In plain language, it says that when Israelites returned to live in Jerusalem, they came not only from Judah and Benjamin — the two tribes most closely associated with the southern kingdom and with Jerusalem itself — but also from Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the leading tribes of the former northern kingdom of Israel. The verse functions as a heading, introducing the list of family names and heads of households that follows in the rest of the chapter.
The book of 1 Chronicles was likely compiled by Ezra or a scribe working in his circle, written for the Jewish community that had returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild their national and religious life. Chapters 1–9
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