1 Chronicles 14:5 Meaning and Explanation
“And Ibhar, and Elishua, and Elpalet,”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →A settled house is one of the signs the Chronicler uses to mark a kingdom that has taken hold. David had spent years in caves and border towns with men who came to him in secret. Now children are being born in Jerusalem and written down by name, and a register like this one quietly measures how far the story has traveled.
Three of the sons born to David in Jerusalem are named here, Ibhar, Elishua, and Elpalet, part of a household register that shows the king settled and established in his new capital.
The Context of 1 Chronicles 14:5
Chapter 14 opens with Hiram of Tyre sending cedar, masons, and carpenters to build David a house, and verse 2 states the recognition of David that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel for the sake of his people. Verse 3 reports more wives and more children in Jerusalem, and verses 4 through 7 list those children, beginning with Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. Verse 5 continues with Ibhar, Elishua, and Elpalet. From verse 8 the chapter turns to war, as the Philistines come up to seek David.
What Does 1 Chronicles 14:5 Mean?
Three names arrive with nothing attached, joined by the repeated 'And' that carries the register forward from verse 4 through verse 7. The first four sons include Nathan and Solomon, men the rest of Scripture follows closely, while the sons of this verse are known by their names alone. Two of the three begin with an element used across Israel in names for God, a common feature of families in this period. The parallel record in 2 Samuel 5:15 keeps Ibhar and Elishua in the same order within a shorter total, and 1 Chronicles 3:6 preserves a related spelling, a reminder that ancient registers were copied and pronounced across many centuries.
Placement gives the register its meaning. Verse 2 has just said the LORD confirmed David as king and lifted his kingdom on high for the sake of Israel, and verse 3 reports the growth of his household in the capital. Chronicles presents that growing family as visible evidence of an established reign, matching the promise that God would raise up the seed of David after him and establish his kingdom (1 Chronicles 17:11). The law had cautioned Israel's kings about multiplying wives (Deuteronomy 17:17), and the wider story of the monarchy shows how rivalry inside a large royal house could strain a nation. The record keeps blessing and strain together.
The promise given to David concerned a son. Every name in this register belongs to the household through which that promise was traveling, and two sons from verse 4, Solomon and Nathan, stand in the genealogies that lead to Jesus (Matthew 1:6; Luke 3:31). Ibhar, Elishua, and Elpalet fall outside that particular line, and their presence still matters, since the promise came to a real family with ordinary children in a working city. God carries his largest purposes through households like this one, where names outlast every memory of the people who bore them and every detail of what they did.
Bible Verses Related to 1 Chronicles 14:5
“Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet,”
- 1 Chronicles 3:6
“Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia,”
- 2 Samuel 5:15
“And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.”
- 1 Chronicles 14:2
“Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”
- Deuteronomy 17:17
Where 1 Chronicles 14:5 Echoes in Scripture
Psalm 89:4 records the divine oath to establish the seed of David for ever and to build up his throne to all generations. A register like this one shows what that oath looked like on the ground: children born in Jerusalem, entered in a list, growing up inside a promise far larger than any of them. The psalm holds the oath in view through generations that went badly, which is part of why these names were preserved and copied at all.
How to Apply 1 Chronicles 14:5 Today
Households are where most of the work of God actually happens. Children are named, meals are cooked, quarrels are settled, and years later somebody can trace what God was doing through all of it. We can treat our own family records with that seriousness, writing down the story, telling children where their names came from, praying for each person by name rather than in a bundle. Where our households are complicated, this chapter offers honest company. The house of David held blessing and difficulty together, and God kept his promise through it without pretending the difficulty away.
Reflection & Prayer
Whose name in our family or circle needs prayer today, and when exactly will we pray it? Lord, you know every household by name. Thank you for working your promises through ordinary families with ordinary struggles. Teach us to build our homes with care, to bless the children in our lives, and to trust you with the parts of our story we cannot fix. Amen.