דברי הימים א, פרק ב׳, פסוק ט״ו

The family line of Jesse builds toward a significant peak, detailing the members of his household before concluding with his most famous descendant. As the registry unfolds, it names Ozem as the sixth child and arrives at David, presenting him as the final figure of this family line, even if he was not necessarily the youngest [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To reflect his immense significance, David's name is recorded in a fuller, expanded form as a mark of honor [רש״י]. He embodies the seventh degree of kingship, an elevated status he earned through his great humility [חומת אנך].

Identifying David as the seventh son presents a historical puzzle. Earlier records in the Book of Samuel explicitly state that Jesse had eight sons and describe David as the youngest. The primary approach among commentators is that the missing eighth brother is Elihu, who is mentioned later in the Book of Chronicles as an appointed leader over the tribe of Judah.

There are several ways to understand why Elihu is left out of this specific count. One perspective suggests that once the lineage reached David, the true gem of the family, the record simply stopped and chose not to list the final brother [רש״י]. In this view, Elihu was actually younger than David. When earlier texts refer to David as the youngest, it is not a comment on his physical age, but rather a reflection of his character, highlighting how he humbly made himself small [רד״ק, מלבי״ם].

Alternatively, Elihu may have been a half-brother born to Jesse through a different wife. While the Book of Samuel counts all eight of Jesse's children, this specific registry only lists the seven brothers born to the same mother [רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. This idea is supported by the subsequent mention of two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. Other records note that Abigail was the daughter of Nahash, indicating that the mother of these seven brothers was previously married to a man named Nahash before being widowed and marrying Jesse. As a result, Zeruiah and Abigail shared a mother with the seven brothers but had no blood relation to Elihu, which explains why he is excluded from this distinct family unit [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם].

A final, more straightforward explanation for the missing brother is that one of the eight sons mentioned in the Book of Samuel passed away. Consequently, he is no longer included in this lasting registry of the family lineage [רד״ק].