Endnote 9 – 7 vs 8

First Chronicles 2:13–15 lists only seven sons in a genealogy, as does the first-century C.E. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, but if the artist was relying on these sources, he must have had some reason for rejecting the narrative account in Samuel. The great scholar of Jewish legends Louis Ginzberg “was puzzled the Dura artists should have painted six brothers [plus David], as he felt it unlikely that they would have resorted to the Chronicles or to Josephus’ account” (as reported by Joseph Gutmann, “The Illustrated Midrash in the Dura Synagogue Paintings: A New Dimension for the Study of Judaism,” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research 50 (1983) pp. 91–104, here p. 97.). Evidently, the artist chose, or was told by those who commissioned the artwork, to draw a total of seven—not eight—brothers.