1 Chronicles 8:8-11 Meaning: Finding God in a Forgotten Family
8Shaharaim became the father of children in the field of Moab, after he had sent them away. Hushim and Baara were his wives.
9By Hodesh his wife, he became the father of Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam,
10Jeuz, Shachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers’ households.
11By Hushim, he became the father of Abitub and Elpaal.
8And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.
9And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham,
10And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons, heads of the fathers.
11And of Hushim he begat Abitub, and Elpaal.
8And Shaharaim begat children in the field of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives.
9And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcam,
10and Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers’ houses.
11And of Hushim he begat Abitub and Elpaal.
8And Shaharaim begat in the field of Moab, after his sending them away; Hushim and Baara are his wives.
9And he begetteth of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham,
10and Jeuz, and Shachiah, and Mirmah. These are his sons, heads of fathers.
11And of Hushim he begat Ahitub and Elpaal.
8And Shaharaim begot [children] in the land of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives.
9And he begot of Hodesh his wife: Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham,
10and Jeuz, and Shobia, and Mirmah; these were his sons, chief fathers.
11And of Hushim he begot Abitub, and Elpaal.
Meaning in one sentence
In this genealogy of Shaharaim we see a broken family in Moab, but God preserves the tribe of Benjamin.
Context
This passage sits inside a long genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin. After listing several generations, the writer stops on a man named Shaharaim. He had two wives, Hushim and Baara, but he sent them away. Then he moved to the country of Moab, the same land where Naomi and her family fled during a famine. There he married a woman named Hodesh and had seven sons. The list also mentions two sons by his former wife Hushim. These names are not random. Each one represents a family line, a "head of a father's household" among the Benjamites. The chronicler is recording for the post-exile community how the tribe recovered and continued after disruption. God's people needed to know that every branch of the family tree, even the one with a divorce and a move to a foreign land, was known and counted.
Key Words
The verb behind "sent them away" is the Hebrew shalach (H7971). It means to send off, dismiss, or let go. In this context it most likely refers to divorce. The word is plain and unadorned. The chronicler does not explain the reason. He simply records what happened. That honesty matters. Scripture does not tidy up the hard parts of its characters' lives.
Another word to notice is the name Hodesh (H2321). It means "new moon", the time when the moon reappears after darkness. Some commentators, reading the Targum, suggest that Hodesh was actually Baara, the wife Shaharaim had divorced, now remarried. Whether or not that is correct, the name itself hints at renewal. What was broken found a beginning again.
Finally, the phrase "heads of fathers' households" uses the word rosh (head) and av (father). These men became leaders of families. The genealogies are not just lists. They are a record of God building a people out of ordinary, sometimes messy, lives.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions have read this passage as a sober witness to a difficult family situation. Matthew Henry notes that Shaharaim, like Elimelech, sought refuge in Moab during hardship, but the text seems to mark him as lacking natural affection for divorcing his wives. Yet the chronicler does not condemn him. He simply includes him in the record of Benjamin’s families.
Other readers focus on the grace woven through the genealogy. Even in a foreign land, after a divorce, God gave Shaharaim children who became family heads. Keil and Delitzsch treat the passage primarily as a historical note about the tribe's expansion. The different commentaries agree on one thing: God preserved the tribe of Benjamin through this man, with all his flaws, and that is what matters.
A common misunderstanding
A common mistake is to read these verses as a boring list of names with no meaning. People yawn and skip ahead. In fact, every name here belongs to a real person who fathered a family line in Israel. The chronicler chose to include this story, divorce, relocation to a pagan land, children by multiple wives, to show that God’s covenant community was built from real, imperfect families. There is no clean ancestry. There is only God’s faithfulness through flawed people.
Living This Out
This passage asks you to look at your own family history with new eyes. Maybe there is a divorce in your story, a move that felt like exile, or a relationship that started over from scratch. You might carry shame about where you came from. But the chronicler wrote down Shaharaim’s name and the names of his sons. They belonged. You belong too.
This week, try naming one hard thing in your family story and telling God, “You already know it, and I trust You to use it.” His people have always been made of people whose lives did not go smoothly. You are not disqualified.
Main takeaway: God records our messy family histories because He is faithful to preserve His people through every generation.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
God wrote down the names of a man named Shaharaim and his children. Some of those children were born after he moved to a new country. God remembers every name in your family too.
For ages 9, 12
Shaharaim had a hard family story. He sent away his first wives and started over in a different land. But God did not forget him. The Bible includes his family in the list of the tribe of Benjamin. That teaches us that God uses people even when their lives get messy. You do not need a perfect family for God to love you and have a plan for you.
Questions People Ask
Why did Shaharaim send his wives away?
The text does not say why. The Hebrew verb 'shalach' means to send off or dismiss, and most translators understand it as divorce. Some scholars suggest conflict within the clan of Geba, but we are not given a reason. The chronicler records the fact without judgment.
Who was Hodesh? Was she the same as Baara?
That is a point of debate. The Targum (an ancient Aramaic paraphrase) says Hodesh was Baara, called 'new moon' because she was renewed after being divorced. Some commentators like Adam Clarke accept this. Others, like Gill, think Hodesh was a third wife. The Hebrew simply lists her as a separate wife, so we cannot be certain.
What is the significance of Moab in this story?
Moab was a foreign land often associated with trouble for Israel, the place where Elimelech moved during a famine (Ruth 1:1). It shows that Shaharaim left the promised land, perhaps due to pressure or famine. Even there, God allowed his family to grow and become leaders.
Why is this genealogy in the Bible?
The Book of Chronicles was written after the exile to remind Israel of their heritage. Including even troubled families shows that God kept His promise to preserve the twelve tribes. No family line was lost. Every person, even one who moved to Moab and divorced his wives, was part of God's plan.
Does this passage approve of divorce or polygamy?
No. The Bible records many things without approving them. Shaharaim lived in a time and culture where polygamy was practiced, but later Scripture makes clear God's design for marriage is one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6). The chronicler is not endorsing; he is telling what happened.
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