Moza

Moza is the name of two men in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles. The first is a son of Caleb in the tribe of Judah; the second is a Benjamite descendant of Saul, listed in two parallel registers of the house of Kish.

A Son of Caleb

The first Moza appears in the Calebite register of Judah's descendants. He is born to Caleb by his concubine Ephah, alongside two brothers: "And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, and Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begot Gazez" (1Ch 2:46). The notice is bare: a name in a list, with no further narrative, no offspring traced from him, and no later reappearance in the Judahite line.

A Benjamite of the House of Saul

The second Moza belongs to the long Benjamite genealogy that runs through Saul's house. He is placed five generations down from Ahaz: "And Ahaz begot Jehoaddah; and Jehoaddah begot Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza" (1Ch 8:36). The line then proceeds forward through him: "And Moza begot Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son" (1Ch 8:37).

The same descent is repeated in the Chronicler's second Benjamite register, with minor variations in the supporting names. The ascending line reads: "And Ahaz begot Jarah; and Jarah begot Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza" (1Ch 9:42) — Jarah here standing where Jehoaddah stood in chapter 8. The descending line continues: "and Moza begot Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son" (1Ch 9:43), with Rephaiah corresponding to Raphah of the earlier list.

In both registers Moza serves as the hinge between the upper and lower halves of the genealogy: Zimri's son above him, Binea his son below, and the line carrying on through Eleasah and Azel.