(9) Sons of the concubines.--David's concubines (pilagshim, ???????) are mentioned several times in Samuel (e.g., 2Samuel 12:11), but their sons here only. However repugnant to modern ideas, it was and is part of the state of an Oriental potentate to possess a harem of many wives.

And Tamar (was) their sister.--Not the only one, but the sister whose unhappy fate had made her famous (2 Samuel 13).

A comparison of the above lists of David's sons with the parallels in Sam. makes it improbable that they were drawn from that source; for (1) the Hebrew text of the chronicle appears, in this instance, to be quite as original as that of Samuel; (2) Some of the names differ, without our being able to pronounce in favour of one or the other text; (3) The form of the lists is different, especially that of the second. The chronicler alone gives the number of the four and nine sons, assigning the former to "Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel," and arranging the latter in three triads. 1Chronicles 3:9 also is wanting in Samuel.

Verse 9. - This verse plainly adds concubines, perhaps the ten spoken of in 2 Samuel 15:16, to the number of the mothers of the foregoing sons. The mention of only one daughter of David, viz. Tamar, follows the manifest ordinary rule, that daughters are not recorded at all, except for one of two reasons - either that through a daughter the line was saved, or that the daughter had from some special reason made a place for herself in history.

3:1-24 Genealogies. - Of all the families of Israel, none were so illustrious as the family of David: here we have a full account of it. From this family, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. The attentive observer will perceive that the children of the righteous enjoy many advantages.These were all the sons of David,.... By his wives:

beside the sons of the concubines; who are not reckoned, and how many they were is not known; he had ten concubines at least, 2 Samuel 15:16 and 2 Samuel 20:3.

And Tamar their sister; not the sister of the sons of the concubines, but of his other sons, and only of Absalom by the mother's side, of whom see 2 Samuel 13:1.