Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Chronicles 3:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence: “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “David's sons and daughter are listed across two capitals.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 3:1–9
Read 1 Chronicles 3:5 with 3:1–9. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: David's children are organized by Hebron and Jerusalem mothers, with Tamar named as their sister and concubines acknowledged.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “David's sons and daughter are listed across two capitals,” 1 Chronicles 3:5 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The dynasty is presented through women, places, and succession candidates before Solomon's line is isolated. 1 Chronicles 2:42–55 has just established this prior movement: Calebite branches are associated with Hebron, Beth-zur, concubines, Achsah, Bethlehem, villages, and Kenite scribal families at Jabez. Together those details explain why “David's sons and daughter are listed across two capitals” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 3:1–9 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 3:1–9 forms the complete movement “David's sons and daughter are listed across two capitals”: David's children are organized by Hebron and Jerusalem mothers, with Tamar named as their sister and concubines acknowledged.
Verse 1. 1 Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:
Verse 2. 2 The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:
Verse 3. 3 The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.
Verse 4. 4 These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.
Verse 5. 5 And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel:
Verse 6. 6 Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet,
Verse 7. 7 And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia,
Verse 8. 8 And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.
Verse 9. 9 These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.
Follow the Context
- David's children are organized by Hebron and Jerusalem mothers, with Tamar named as their sister and concubines acknowledged.
- The dynasty is presented through women, places, and succession candidates before Solomon's line is isolated.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Chronicles 3:5 does not permit the wording “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The list does not excuse David's family violence omitted here, rank mothers and children by worth, or turn royal fertility into virtue.
What Remains True
Communal memory must preserve real people, households, disruptions, and belonging without turning ancestry into superiority, spiritual rank, or entitlement. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: David's children are organized by Hebron and Jerusalem mothers, with Tamar named as their sister and concubines acknowledged. In 1 Chronicles 3:5, the concrete line “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua….” When a community tells its story, document people accurately, notice women and outsiders as persons, state gaps honestly, and reject ancestry tests for dignity, faith, citizenship, land, or leadership. This response follows from the unit's own movement: David's children are organized by Hebron and Jerusalem mothers, with Tamar named as their sister and concubines acknowledged.
Teach It Back
Explain why 1 Chronicles 3:5 opens the Jerusalem children through Bath-shua and names Solomon among four sons. Use 3:1–9, paraphrase “And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 3:1–9 — David's sons and daughter are listed across two capitalsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Names and spellings differ from Samuel, and the list's omission of family crises is literary selection rather than evidence those events did not matter.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 3:1–9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 3:1–9
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 3:1–9, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗