דברי הימים א, פרק ד׳, פסוק א׳

The history of a family is often told by highlighting its most prominent members, even if it means skipping across time. The genealogy of the tribe of Judah is presented as a summary of its major lineages, leaping over certain generations to capture a broader picture. References to Judah's offspring extend beyond his immediate sons to include a wider network of grandsons and great-grandsons. For instance, Perez is Judah's direct son, and Hezron is his grandson. Carmi, however, descends from Judah's other son, Zerah, while Hur and Shobal represent much later generations emerging from the line of Caleb.

There are different ways to understand how this specific sequence of names is structured. The primary approach among commentators is that it serves as a brief completion of Judah's family tree, filling in details that were not fully covered earlier [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. In contrast, another perspective suggests viewing the names as a direct, unbroken chain of generations, where each individual is simply the father of the next [רלב״ג].

A third approach views this collection of names as a structural index or a map of milestones. Rather than a standard family tree, it outlines the specific lineages that will be explored later from a different genealogical record. It points to the continuation of Hezron's line, marks the end of Zerah's branch through Carmi—whose descendants will no longer be detailed—and sets the stage for the unfolding histories of Hur and Shobal. Alternatively, this list acts as a shorthand outline for a lengthy genealogy that was already recorded. It functions as a brief reminder, where an implied "and so on" follows each name, prompting the reader to recall the complete family sequence established previously [מלבי״ם].