Benjamin's sons; Ehud's family, carried away to Manahath; Shaharaim, who sent away his wives Hushim and Baara and had sons in Moab. Benjaminites live in Jerusalem alongside Judah.
"And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal begat Micah."
Saul's line continues for about a dozen generations after Jonathan, to the sons of Ulam, "mighty men of valour, archers."
Esh-baal and Ish-bosheth
Samuel calls Saul's son Ish-bosheth ("man of shame") and Jonathan's son Mephibosheth; Chronicles keeps the original names Esh-baal ("man of Baal" or "Baal exists") and Merib-baal. Baal ("lord") could be a title of Israel's God in early times; later scribes replaced it with bosheth, "shame." All library texts here keep the Baal names. See the passage page.
An Eshbaal inscription
A jar from Khirbet Qeiyafa (c. 1000 BC) is inscribed "Eshbaal son of Beda." It shows the name was used in Saul's time; it is not Saul's son, whose father was Saul.
Saul's family survives
Chronicles gives Saul's descendants more space than Samuel; his line did not end with the fall of his house.
What the evidence shows
- Chronicles preserves the names Esh-baal and Merib-baal.
- The Qeiyafa jar names Saul's son. It names Eshbaal son of Beda.
- Bosheth replaced Baal in Samuel's names.
Continue the journey
Journey of a Passage1 Chronicles 8:33–34 (and 9:39–40): Esh-baal and Merib-baalChronicles names Saul's son Esh-baal and Jonathan's son Merib-baal.More from this lesson
Why this matters to the rest of Scripture
- 2 Samuel 2:8; 4:4Ish-bosheth and Mephibosheth.
- Ishui.