Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Print Page Options
Close NET

1 Chronicles 4
New English Translation

Judah’s Descendants

4 The descendants of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

2 Reaiah the son of Shobal was the father of Jahath, and Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.

3 These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. Their sister was Hazzelelponi.

4 Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.

5 Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah: Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, 8 and Koz, who was the father of Anub, Hazzobebah, and the clans of Aharhel the son of Harum.

9 Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, for she said, “I experienced pain when I gave birth to him.”[a] 10 Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only[b] you would greatly bless me and expand my territory.[c] May your hand be with me! Keep me from harm[d] so I might not endure pain.” God answered his prayer.[e]

11 Kelub, the brother of Shuhah, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir Nahash.[f] These were the men of Recah.

13 The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah.

The sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.[g] 14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.

Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of those who live in the Valley of the Craftsmen,[h] for they were craftsmen.

15 The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam.

The son of Elah: Kenaz.[i]

16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon.

Mered’s wife Bithiah[j] gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 (His Judahite wife gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the sons of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered married.[k]

19 The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham: the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben Hanan, and Tilon.

The descendants of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben Zoheth.[l]

21 The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea, 22 Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, both of whom ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (This information is from ancient records.)[m] 23 They were the potters who lived in Netaim and Gederah; they lived there and worked for the king.[n]

Simeon’s Descendants

24 The descendants of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul, 25 his son Shallum, his son Mibsam, and his son Mishma.

26 The descendants of Mishma: his son Hammuel, his son Zaccur, and his son Shimei.

27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. But his brothers did not have many sons, so their whole clan was not as numerous as the sons of Judah. 28 They lived in Beer Sheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and Shaaraim. These were their towns until the reign of David. 32 Their settlements also included Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five towns, 33 along with all their settlements that surrounded these towns as far as Baal.[o] These were the places where they lived; they kept genealogical records.

34 Their clan leaders were:[p] Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah (son of Seraiah, son of Asiel), 36 Eleoenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 Ziza son of Shipi (son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah). 38 These who are named above were the leaders of their clans.

Their extended families increased greatly in numbers. 39 They went to the entrance of Gedor, to the east of the valley, looking for pasture for their sheep. 40 They found fertile and rich pasture; the land was very broad, undisturbed and peaceful. Indeed some Hamites had been living there before that. 41 The men whose names are listed came during the time of King Hezekiah of Judah and attacked the Hamites’ settlements,[q] as well as the Meunites they discovered there, and they wiped them out, as can be seen to this very day. They dispossessed them,[r] for they found pasture for their sheep there. 42 Five hundred men of Simeon, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, went to the hill country of Seir 43 and defeated the rest of the Amalekite refugees;[s] they live there to this very day.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:9 tn In Hebrew the name יַעְבֵּץ (yaʿbets, “Jabez”) sounds like the noun עֹצֶב (ʿotsev) which means “pain.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 4:10 tn Here the word אִם (ʾim, “if only”) begins an oath formula (see HALOT 60 s.v. and GKC 151e, 159dd, 167a). A full reporting of the oath would include both the request made of God and the promise made to God (cf. Gen 28:20; Num 21:2; Judg 11:30; 1 Sam 1:11; 2 Sam 15:8; Ps 81:9-14). Jabez’ promise is not recorded here, only that God granted his request. Perhaps Jabez’ vow in return had not been preserved by tradition and so the author could not include it, or perhaps those details were simply less important to the purpose of the book. Likely the author wants to emphasize to the post-exilic community (the original audience of the book) that God answers prayer, including concerns for their borders. That God granted his request implies that Jabez was faithful to his vow, so that his destiny was different than the expectation arising from his namesake. This should challenge the audience to consider their own faithfulness to God.
  3. 1 Chronicles 4:10 sn It is not certain whether the person Jabez should be connected with the town Jabez mentioned in 1 Chr 2:55. If Jabez were the head of the town (“more respected than his brothers” v. 9), then the request for an enlarged territory would not be a simple request for his own benefit, but an example of a leader of character whose faithfulness to God benefits those under his leadership.
  4. 1 Chronicles 4:10 tc The Hebrew text is difficult. As it stands in the MT, it says “and do some harm so that I might not be hurt.” When directly modifying עָשָׂה (ʿasah; “to do”), the preposition מִן (min; “from,”) can indicate the source or type of action, hence “do some harm” (cf. Lev 4:22; 18:30). But this makes little sense in context unless we suppose with no other basis that it refers to harming enemies. There is no other example of the privative use of מִן (min) with the verb עָשָׂה (ʿasah), which would have meant “act so as to prevent” harm. And one expects it would be confusing to use מִן (min) for both the type of action done and the type of action excluded or prevented. On the basis of a parallel to Isa 26:18, BHS suggests inserting יְשׁוּעָתִי (yeshuati; “my salvation”) on the possibility that it was omitted by haplography (as “do” and “my salvation,” עָשִׂיתָ and יְשׁוּעָתִי, share similar consonants). This would mean “perform my salvation from harm.” Instead of מֵרָעָה (meraʿah; “from harm”), the LXX has γνῶσιν (gnosin; “knowledge”) which normally stands for Hebrew דַעַת (daʿat) or דֵעָה (deʿah) “knowledge; wisdom,” implying a simple confusion of dalet (ד) and resh (ר). The Greek text says “do/produce wisdom so that I will not be humiliated,” though the Hebrew behind this would be “act wisely so that I will not be grieved.” Rather than ask God to act wisely, we might suppose that the verb was first singular “may your hand be with me so that I may act wisely in order to not be grieved.” This would involve the loss of a yod at the end of the verb, which matches the verbal forms preceding it. Finally one might suppose that instead of רָעָה (raʿah; “harm”), some form of the root of רֵעָה (reʿah; “friend”) was original, meaning something like, “act from friendship…” but there is no direct parallel for this.
  5. 1 Chronicles 4:10 tn Heb “and God brought about what he had asked.”
  6. 1 Chronicles 4:12 tn Or “of the city of Nahash.”
  7. 1 Chronicles 4:13 tc “Meonothai” is read here by some mss of the LXX, along with the Vulgate. The name apparently was dropped from the Hebrew text by haplography. Note that the name appears at the beginning of the next verse as well.
  8. 1 Chronicles 4:14 tn Heb “Ge-harashim,” which could be left untranslated as a place name.
  9. 1 Chronicles 4:15 tn Heb “and the sons of Elah and Kenaz.” Kenaz was actually the son of Elah.
  10. 1 Chronicles 4:17 tn The Hebrew text has simply, “and she gave birth to,” without identifying the subject. The words “Mered’s wife Bithiah” are added in the translation for clarification. See v. 18b, which mentions “Bethiah, whom Mered married.”
  11. 1 Chronicles 4:18 tn Heb “took,” referring to taking in marriage.
  12. 1 Chronicles 4:20 tn Or “and the son of Zoheth” (NAB). The word בֶּן (ben) in Hebrew means “son [of].”
  13. 1 Chronicles 4:22 tn Heb “and the words are old.”
  14. 1 Chronicles 4:23 tn Heb “and those who lived in Netaim and Gederah; with the king in his work they lived there.”
  15. 1 Chronicles 4:33 tc Some LXX mss read “Baalath” (cf. Josh 19:8). This is followed by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).
  16. 1 Chronicles 4:34 tn The words “their clan leaders were” are added in the translation for clarification. See v. 38a, which makes this clear.
  17. 1 Chronicles 4:41 tn The Hebrew text reads “their tents,” apparently referring to those of the Hamites mentioned at the end of v. 40. Some prefer to emend the text to read, “the tents of Ham.”
  18. 1 Chronicles 4:41 tn Heb “and they lived in place of them.”
  19. 1 Chronicles 4:43 tn Heb “and struck down the remnant that had escaped belonging to Amalek.”
Listen to 1 Chronicles 4
Close NKJV

1 Chronicles 4
New King James Version

The Family of Judah

4 The sons of Judah were (A)Perez, Hezron, [a]Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 And [b]Reaiah the son of Shobal begot Jahath, and Jahath begot Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites. 3 These were the sons of the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi; 4 and Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah.

These were the sons of (B)Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah the father of Bethlehem.

5 And (C)Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah were Zereth, Zohar, and Ethnan; 8 and Koz begot Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.

9 Now Jabez was (D)more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name [c]Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my [d]territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

11 Chelub the brother of (E)Shuhah begot Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12 And Eshton begot Beth-Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of [e]Ir-Nahash. These were the men of Rechah.

13 The sons of Kenaz were (F)Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel were [f]Hathath, 14 and Meonothai who begot Ophrah. Seraiah begot Joab the father of (G)Ge Harashim,[g] for they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of (H)Caleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was [h]Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And [i]Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 ([j]His wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Sochoh, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) And these were the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.

19 The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the (I)Maachathite. 20 And the sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

21 The sons of (J)Shelah (K)the son of Judah were Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the linen workers of the house of Ashbea; 22 also Jokim, the men of Chozeba, and Joash; Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem. Now the [k]records are ancient. 23 These were the potters and those who dwell at [l]Netaim and [m]Gederah; there they dwelt with the king for his work.

The Family of Simeon(L)

24 The (M)sons of Simeon were [n]Nemuel, Jamin, [o]Jarib, [p]Zerah, and Shaul, 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, and Mishma his son. 26 And the sons of Mishma were Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, and Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, (N)nor did any of their families multiply as much as the children of Judah.

28 They dwelt at Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, 29 [q]Bilhah, Ezem, [r]Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth Marcaboth, [s]Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David. 32 And their villages were [t]Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five cities— 33 and all the villages that were around these cities as far as [u]Baal. These were their dwelling places, and they maintained their genealogy: 34 Meshobab, Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah; 35 Joel, and Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel; 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, and Benaiah; 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah— 38 these mentioned by name were leaders in their families, and their father’s house increased greatly.

39 So they went to the entrance of Gedor, as far as the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 40 And they found rich, good pasture, and the land was broad, quiet, and peaceful; for some Hamites formerly lived there.

41 These recorded by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and they (O)attacked[v] their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and (P)utterly destroyed them, as it is to this day. So they dwelt in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks there. 42 Now some of them, five hundred men of the sons of Simeon, went to Mount Seir, having as their captains Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they [w]defeated (Q)the rest of the Amalekites who had escaped. They have dwelt there to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:1 Chelubai, 1 Chr. 2:9 or Caleb, 1 Chr. 2:18
  2. 1 Chronicles 4:2 Haroeh, 1 Chr. 2:52
  3. 1 Chronicles 4:9 Lit. He Will Cause Pain
  4. 1 Chronicles 4:10 border
  5. 1 Chronicles 4:12 Lit. City of Nahash
  6. 1 Chronicles 4:13 LXX, Vg. add and Meonothai
  7. 1 Chronicles 4:14 Lit. Valley of Craftsmen
  8. 1 Chronicles 4:15 Or Uknaz
  9. 1 Chronicles 4:17 Lit. she
  10. 1 Chronicles 4:18 Or His Judean wife
  11. 1 Chronicles 4:22 Lit. words
  12. 1 Chronicles 4:23 Lit. Plants
  13. 1 Chronicles 4:23 Lit. Hedges
  14. 1 Chronicles 4:24 Jemuel, Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15; Num. 26:12
  15. 1 Chronicles 4:24 Jachin, Gen. 46:10; Num. 26:12
  16. 1 Chronicles 4:24 Zohar, Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15
  17. 1 Chronicles 4:29 Balah, Josh. 19:3
  18. 1 Chronicles 4:29 Eltolad, Josh. 19:4
  19. 1 Chronicles 4:31 Hazar Susah, Josh. 19:5
  20. 1 Chronicles 4:32 Ether, Josh. 19:7
  21. 1 Chronicles 4:33 Baalath Beer, Josh. 19:8
  22. 1 Chronicles 4:41 Lit. struck
  23. 1 Chronicles 4:43 Lit. struck
Listen to 1 Chronicles 4
Close NIV

1 Chronicles 4
New International Version

Other Clans of Judah

4 The descendants of Judah:(A)

Perez, Hezron,(B) Karmi, Hur and Shobal.

2 Reaiah son of Shobal was the father of Jahath, and Jahath the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.

3 These were the sons[a] of Etam:

Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash. Their sister was named Hazzelelponi. 4 Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah.

These were the descendants of Hur,(C) the firstborn of Ephrathah and father[b] of Bethlehem.(D)

5 Ashhur(E) the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

7 The sons of Helah:

Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, 8 and Koz, who was the father of Anub and Hazzobebah and of the clans of Aharhel son of Harum.

9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez,[c] saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

11 Kelub, Shuhah’s brother, was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash.[d] These were the men of Rekah.

13 The sons of Kenaz:

Othniel(F) and Seraiah.

The sons of Othniel:

Hathath and Meonothai.[e] 14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah.

Seraiah was the father of Joab,

the father of Ge Harashim.[f] It was called this because its people were skilled workers.

15 The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh:

Iru, Elah and Naam.

The son of Elah:

Kenaz.

16 The sons of Jehallelel:

Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.

17 The sons of Ezrah:

Jether, Mered, Epher and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives gave birth to Miriam,(G) Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 (His wife from the tribe of Judah gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soko, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.(H)) These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered had married.

19 The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham:

the father of Keilah(I) the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maakathite.(J)

20 The sons of Shimon:

Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan and Tilon.

The descendants of Ishi:

Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth.

21 The sons of Shelah(K) son of Judah:

Er the father of Lekah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth Ashbea, 22 Jokim, the men of Kozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (These records are from ancient times.) 23 They were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah; they stayed there and worked for the king.

Simeon(L)

24 The descendants of Simeon:(M)

Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib,(N) Zerah and Shaul;

25 Shallum was Shaul’s son, Mibsam his son and Mishma his son.

26 The descendants of Mishma:

Hammuel his son, Zakkur his son and Shimei his son.

27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children; so their entire clan did not become as numerous as the people of Judah. 28 They lived in Beersheba,(O) Moladah,(P) Hazar Shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem,(Q) Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah,(R) Ziklag,(S) 31 Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri and Shaaraim.(T) These were their towns until the reign of David. 32 Their surrounding villages were Etam, Ain,(U) Rimmon, Token and Ashan(V)—five towns— 33 and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath.[g] These were their settlements. And they kept a genealogical record.

34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, 36 also Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 and Ziza son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah.

38 The men listed above by name were leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly, 39 and they went to the outskirts of Gedor(W) to the east of the valley in search of pasture for their flocks. 40 They found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful and quiet.(X) Some Hamites had lived there formerly.

41 The men whose names were listed came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings and also the Meunites(Y) who were there and completely destroyed[h] them, as is evident to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks. 42 And five hundred of these Simeonites, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, invaded the hill country of Seir.(Z) 43 They killed the remaining Amalekites(AA) who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:3 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Vulgate); Hebrew father
  2. 1 Chronicles 4:4 Father may mean civic leader or military leader; also in verses 12, 14, 17, 18 and possibly elsewhere.
  3. 1 Chronicles 4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain.
  4. 1 Chronicles 4:12 Or of the city of Nahash
  5. 1 Chronicles 4:13 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; Hebrew does not have and Meonothai.
  6. 1 Chronicles 4:14 Ge Harashim means valley of skilled workers.
  7. 1 Chronicles 4:33 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Joshua 19:8); Hebrew Baal
  8. 1 Chronicles 4:41 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Listen to 1 Chronicles 4
Close KJV

1 Chronicles 4
King James Version

4 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.

2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.

3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi:

4 And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem.

5 And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

6 And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.

7 And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.

8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.

9 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.

10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.

12 And Eshton begat Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Irnahash. These are the men of Rechah.

13 And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.

14 And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.

15 And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.

16 And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel.

17 And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

18 And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took.

19 And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.

20 And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth.

21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea,

22 And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things.

23 These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.

24 The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:

25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.

26 And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son.

27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters: but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.

28 And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,

29 And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,

30 And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,

31 And at Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusim, and at Bethbirei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David.

32 And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:

33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.

34 And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah, the son of Amaziah,

35 And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,

36 And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah,

37 And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah;

38 These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly.

39 And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

40 And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.

41 And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks.

42 And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.

43 And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.

Listen to 1 Chronicles 4
Close ESV

1 Chronicles 4
English Standard Version

Descendants of Judah

4 (A)The sons of Judah: (B)Perez, Hezron, (C)Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 (D)Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the (E)Zorathites. 3 These were the sons[a] of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi, 4 and (F)Penuel fathered (G)Gedor, and Ezer fathered Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of (H)Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. 5 (I)Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah; 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. 8 Koz fathered Anub, Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum. 9 Jabez was (J)more honorable than his brothers; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”[b] 10 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm[c] so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked. 11 Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, fathered Mehir, who fathered Eshton. 12 Eshton fathered Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah. 13 The sons of (K)Kenaz: (L)Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai.[d] 14 Meonothai fathered Ophrah; and Seraiah fathered Joab, the father of Ge-harashim,[e] so-called because they were craftsmen. 15 The sons of (M)Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son[f] of Elah: Kenaz. 16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. 17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married;[g] and she conceived and bore[h] Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his Judahite wife bore (N)Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. 19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. 20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21 The sons of (O)Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the house of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and returned to Lehem[i] (now the records[j] are ancient). 23 These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service.

Descendants of Simeon

24 (P)The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, (Q)nor did all their clan multiply (R)like the men of Judah. 28 (S)They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 (T)Bilhah, Ezem, (U)Tolad, 30 (V)Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, (W)Hazar-susim, (X)Beth-biri, and (Y)Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. 32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, 33 along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as (Z)Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record.

34 Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah— 38 these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, (AA)and their fathers' houses increased greatly. 39 They journeyed to the entrance of (AB)Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, 40 where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, (AC)quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. 41 (AD)These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, (AE)and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to (AF)Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they defeated (AG)the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:3 Septuagint (compare Vulgate); Hebrew father
  2. 1 Chronicles 4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain
  3. 1 Chronicles 4:10 Or evil
  4. 1 Chronicles 4:13 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks Meonothai
  5. 1 Chronicles 4:14 Ge-harashim means valley of craftsmen
  6. 1 Chronicles 4:15 Hebrew sons
  7. 1 Chronicles 4:17 The clause These are… married is transposed from verse 18
  8. 1 Chronicles 4:17 Hebrew lacks and bore
  9. 1 Chronicles 4:22 Vulgate (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and Jashubi-lahem
  10. 1 Chronicles 4:22 Or matters
Next
1 Chronicles 3
1 Chronicles 5
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Learn the Bible in 30 days
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV

King James Version (KJV)

Public Domain

English Standard Version (ESV)

The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.

ESV Study Bible