Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son: The antecedent of the first pronoun his is ambiguous, but it is probably Shaul from the previous verse, so Good News Translation make this explicit by saying Shallum was “Shaul’s son.” The second pronoun his probably refers to Shallum, so Good News Translation makes this clear by saying Mibsam was the “grandson” of Shaul. The third pronoun his probably refers to Mibsam, which Good News Translation makes clear by saying Mishma was the “great-grandson” of Shaul. Languages vary concerning whether Good News Translation will serve as a good model here or whether a chain of ancestors and descendants is more appropriate as in Revised Standard Version. Compare, for example, “The descendants of Shaul, in direct line, were Shallum, Mibsam and Mishma” (Bible en français courant; similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

It is also possible, however, to understand all three occurrences of the pronoun his as referring to Shaul. If this interpretation is followed, then Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma were brothers. When several brothers are named, the genealogical lists in 1 Chronicles often trace descendants through only the last brother named. This fact gives support to this second interpretation since the sons of Mishma are listed in the next verse.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .