Structure in 1 Chronicles 8

The first portion of 1 Chronicles 8 is structured roughly by two sets of five lists of the descendants of Benjamin. The first group lists the names of sons for Benjamin, and then for succeeding generations of Benjamites:

1. Sons of Benjamin, vv. 1-2

2. Sons of Bela, vv. 3-5

3. Sons of Ehud, vv. 6-7

4. Sons of Shaharaim, vv. 8-10

5. Sons of Ethpaal, vv. 12-14

After that set of lists, we have another set of five lists that all end with the phrase, “these were the sons of X”:

1. Sons of Beriah, vv. 15-16

2. Sons of Elpaal, vv. 17-18

3. Sons of Shimei, vv. 19-21

4. Sons of Shashak, vv. 22-25

5. Sons of Jeroham, vv. 26-27

Verse 28 is a summary statement: “These were the heads of their father’s households according to their generations.” Similar phrases occur in verses 6 and 13, forming a rough three-part outline for the section. The fact that the text is grouped into fives may be significant. Five is the number of fingers on the hand, the number of warriors in a troop, and therefore a number with military associations. The numerological pattern points to Benjamin’s heritage of holy war—of slingers who can hit a hair with a sling, the heritage of Saul and Jonathan, “swifter than eagles, stronger than lions” (2 Samuel 1).