I Chronicles 8:20

King James Version (1769)

20 And Elienai, and Zilthai, and Eliel,
Untruth

Misinterpretations often arise from imposing symbolic or prophetic meanings on these names, such as viewing Elienai ('God is towards me') as a personal assurance of divine favor unrelated to genealogy, or treating the list as mystical codes for end-times events; others erroneously see it as irrelevant filler text, missing its purpose in validating priestly and royal claims, or confuse it with unrelated narratives, divorcing it from the chapter's focus on Benjaminite descendants including King Saul's line.

Truth

This verse lists three individuals—Elienai, Zilthai, and Eliel—as part of the detailed genealogy of the tribe of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles 8, highlighting the Bible's emphasis on meticulously recording family lineages to preserve tribal identities, inheritance rights, and historical continuity, particularly vital in the post-exilic era for reestablishing Israel's covenant heritage and social structure.

Read I Chronicles 8