Chileab (Hebrew: כִלְאָב, Ḵīləʾāḇ) also known as Daniel, was the second son of David, King of Israel, according to the Bible. He was David's son with his second wife Abigail, widow of Nabal the Carmelite, and is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:1, and 2 Samuel 3:3. Unlike the other of David's three elder sons, Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah who were important characters in 2 Samuel, Chileab is only named in the list of David's sons and no further mention is made of him. Though being the second son, Chileab was not a contender for the throne of Israel, even after the death of the first-born Amnon, the third-born Absalom and fourth-born Adonijah. He may have died before his father. Later rabbinic traditions name him as one of four ancient Israelites who died without sin, the other three being Benjamin, Jesse and Amram. The throne eventually passed to his younger half brother, Solomon.
Chileab is known as Daluyah (Ancient Greek: Δαλουιὰ, Dalouià) in 2 Samuel in the Septuagint. It has been suggested that Chileab is the Daniel character mentioned in Ezekiel 28.
According to Rashi, Rabbi Isaac said that some questioned whether Abigail was pregnant through David or her first husband, Nabal; therefore, God arranged that Chileab would resemble David. It is possible his name "Chileab," which can be translated "perfection of the father," is a reference to (or cause of) that legend.
References
- David Mandel Who's Who in the Jewish Bible 2007- Page 74 "CHILEAB (Hebrew origin: Like the father) (2 Samuel 3:3) 10th century b.c.e. Chileab, born in Hebron, was King David's second son. His mother was Abigail, the widow of ... Bible does not mention him again. He was also called Daniel (1 Chronicles 3:1)."
- Warren W. Wiersbe The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament 2007 Page 580 "2. It's likely that David's second son, Chileab (or Daniel), died young, for apart from the royal genealogy, he is not mentioned in the biblical account (1 Chron. 3:1)."
- Avner Falk A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews 1996 Page 120 "By both lists, Chileab (or Daniel) was the heir to the throne after the deaths of Amnon and Absalom."
- Hans Wilhelm Hertzberg - I & II Samuel: a commentary - Page 254 1964 "3.1 the name Daniel surprisingly takes the place of Chileab; the old translations offer further deviations (Daluyah? Dodiyah?)."
- Klein, Reuven Chaim (2018). "Identifying the Daniel character in Ezekiel" (PDF). Jewish Bible Quarterly. 46 (4): 231–240. doi:10.17613/5z2g-gj55.
- ^ "II Samuel 3:3". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- James Orange -Synoptica Hebraea: Anglo-Hebrew Bible expositor 1858 Page 32 "Chiliab, Kl-ab, perfection of, father, 2 Sam. iii."