Abraham’s Descendants: The previous section ended with Abraham, so this section dwells on Abraham’s descendants. The Chronicler hastens from Adam and Noah to Abraham, narrowing his focus all the time to get to the specific part of the family that he wants to portray, namely, the tribe of Judah (see next section).

This section starts with a heading in 1:28, introducing the two sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. First Chronicles 1:29–31 contains the genealogy of Ishmael, while 1:32–33 presents the descendants of Abraham through Keturah. After an introduction (1:34), 1:35–2:2 takes the Isaac lineage further, presenting first the descendants of Esau (1:35–54) and then of Israel (2:1–2). Israel, of course, refers to Jacob—a custom that the Chronicler followed throughout (apart from 16:13, 17, w…