1. he defiled] Genesis xxxv. 22, xlix. 4.
his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph] Compare Genesis xlviii. 5, “Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine,” words of Jacob which might be interpreted to mean that the rights of the firstborn were to pass from Reuben and Simeon to Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph.
the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright] i.e. though the birthright of Reuben has been given to Joseph, yet the genealogy of Joseph is not to be given before that of Reuben. Verse 2 intimates that, though Joseph possessed the birthright, Judah had a primacy as supplying the royal family. In this confusion of claims the natural order is followed and the genealogy of Reuben is given first.
²For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the prince[¹]; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
[¹] Or, leader.
2. Judah prevailed above his brethren] Compare Genesis xlix. 8 (Jacob to Judah) “Thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.”
the prince] The Hebrew word is nāgīd. The immediate reference is to David (Saul being virtually ignored by the Chronicler).
³the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
3. the sons of Reuben] The same four names (with one unimportant variation in spelling in Authorized Version) appear Genesis xlvi. 9; Exodus vi. 14.
Hanoch] the correct spelling of the familiar name Enoch; compare i. 3.