And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.

1 CHRONICLES 2:17KJV
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1 Chronicles 2:17 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 2:17 mean?

1 Chronicles 2:17 states that Abigail gave birth to Amasa, and Amasa’s father was Jether, who was an Ishmeelite. This verse is part of a genealogy, listing family connections within the tribe of Judah.

This verse appears in a section where the writer is recording the descendants of Judah for the people of Israel. Abigail here is not David’s wife but his sister, and her son Amasa would later become a military leader. The mention of Jether as an Ishmeelite highlights a connection outside the main Israelite tribes, which is unusual in these genealogies.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 2:17

  • אֲבִיגַיִל (Avigayil, “Abigail”): This name refers here to David’s sister, not his wife, which can be confusing since both share the same name.
  • יָלַד (yalad, “bare”): This verb means “to give birth,” indicating Abigail is the biological mother of Amasa.
  • יֶתֶר (Yeter, “Jether”): The name of Amasa’s father, who is identified as an Ishmeelite, suggesting a non-Israelite background.
  • יִשְׁמְעֵאלִי (Yishme‘eli, “Ishmeelite”): This term means a descendant of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, which is notable because most genealogies focus on Israelite lineage.

Why 1 Chronicles 2:17 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Amasa, a significant figure later in Israel’s history, had a mixed heritage through his father Jether the Ishmeelite.
  • The genealogy highlights that not all key leaders in Israel came from purely Israelite backgrounds, showing some diversity within the tribe of Judah.
  • The mention of Abigail as David’s sister helps distinguish her from David’s wife, which can prevent confusion in reading other parts of the Bible.

Where else these words appear

“Jether” Hebrew H3500 · used in 8 verses

  • Exodus 4:18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
  • 1 Kings 2:5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
  • 1 Chronicles 2:32 And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.

“Ishmeelite” Hebrew H3459 · used in 8 verses

  • Genesis 37:25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
  • Genesis 37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
  • Judges 8:24 And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey.(For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

“Amasa” Hebrew H6021 · used in 12 verses

  • 2 Samuel 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.
  • 2 Samuel 20:5 So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.
  • 2 Samuel 20:12 And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.

“Abigail” Hebrew H26 · used in 17 verses

  • 1 Samuel 25:3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.
  • 1 Samuel 25:36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
  • 1 Samuel 30:5 And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.