Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Chronicles 8:33

"And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal." — 1 Chronicles 8:33 (ASV)

This verse, combined with 1 Chronicles 9:35–39, seems to present a genealogy of Saul that differs from the one inferred from 1 Samuel 9:1 and 1 Samuel 14:50–51.

In the note for 1 Samuel 14:49, it is concluded that Saul’s second son bore the two names of “Ishui” and “Abinadab.” However, the order of the names listed here suggests another explanation:

1. Jonathan
2. Malchi-shua
3. Abinadab

This order suggests that Ishui, the second son, died young, and that Abinadab was actually the fourth son.

Esh-baal – Before the introduction of Phoenician Baal-worship into Israel by Ahab, the word “Baal” (בעל ba‛al) did not have a negative meaning in Hebrew. It was simply an equivalent of the more common word for God, אל ('el), as noted in 1 Chronicles 3:1. Therefore, it is not strange to find names from this period like “Esh-baal” (man of God), “Baal,” “Beel-iada,” and “Merib-baal.”

Later, such names became offensive to pious ears and were changed, for better or for worse. For example, “Beel-iada” became “El-iada” (let God aid), “Esh-baal” became “Ish-bosheth” (man of shame), and “Merib-baal” became “Mephibosheth.”