1 Chronicles 4
New Living Translation
Other Descendants of Judah
4 The descendants of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2 Shobal’s son Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.
3 The descendants of[a] Etam were Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, their sister Hazzelelponi, 4 Penuel (the father of[b] Gedor), and Ezer (the father of Hushah). These were the descendants of Hur (the firstborn of Ephrathah), the ancestor of Bethlehem.
5 Ashhur (the father of Tekoa) had two wives, named Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah gave birth to Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. 7 Helah gave birth to Zereth, Izhar,[c] Ethnan, 8 and Koz, who became the ancestor of Anub, Zobebah, and all the families of Aharhel son of Harum.
9 There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez[d] because his birth had been so painful. 10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.
11 Kelub (the brother of Shuhah) was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir-nahash. These were the descendants of Recah.
13 The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai.[e] 14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, the founder of the Valley of Craftsmen,[f] so called because they were craftsmen.
15 The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam. The son of Elah was Kenaz.
16 The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17 The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. One of Mered’s wives became[g] the mother of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah (the father of Eshtemoa). 18 He married a woman from Judah, who became the mother of Jered (the father of Gedor), Heber (the father of Soco), and Jekuthiel (the father of Zanoah). Mered also married Bithia, a daughter of Pharaoh, and she bore him children.
19 Hodiah’s wife was the sister of Naham. One of her sons was the father of Keilah the Garmite, and another was the father of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
20 The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.
The descendants of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
Descendants of Judah’s Son Shelah
21 Shelah was one of Judah’s sons. The descendants of Shelah were Er (the father of Lecah); Laadah (the father of Mareshah); the families of linen workers at Beth-ashbea; 22 Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who ruled over Moab and Jashubi-lehem. These names all come from ancient records. 23 They were the pottery makers who lived in Netaim and Gederah. They lived there and worked for the king.
Descendants of Simeon
24 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel,[h] Jamin, Jarib, Zohar,[i] and Shaul.
25 The descendants of Shaul were Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma.
26 The descendants of Mishma were Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei.
27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but none of his brothers had large families. So Simeon’s tribe never grew as large as the tribe of Judah.
28 They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These towns were under their control until the time of King David. 32 Their descendants also lived in Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan—five towns 33 and their surrounding villages as far away as Baalath.[j] This was their territory, and these names are listed in their genealogical records.
34 Other descendants of Simeon included Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35 Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 and Ziza son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah.
38 These were the names of some of the leaders of Simeon’s wealthy clans. Their families grew, 39 and they traveled to the region of Gerar,[k] in the east part of the valley, seeking pastureland for their flocks. 40 They found lush pastures there, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful.
Some of Ham’s descendants had been living in that region. 41 But during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, these leaders of Simeon invaded the region and completely destroyed[l] the homes of the descendants of Ham and of the Meunites. No trace of them remains today. They killed everyone who lived there and took the land for themselves, because they wanted its good pastureland for their flocks. 42 Five hundred of these invaders from the tribe of Simeon went to Mount Seir, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel—all sons of Ishi. 43 They destroyed the few Amalekites who had survived, and they have lived there ever since.
Footnotes
- 4:3 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads father of. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 4:4 Or the founder of; also in 4:5, 12, 14, 17, 18, and perhaps other instances where the text reads the father of.
- 4:7 As in an alternate reading in the Masoretic Text (see also Latin Vulgate); the other alternate and the Greek version read Zohar.
- 4:9 Jabez sounds like a Hebrew word meaning “distress” or “pain.”
- 4:13 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew lacks and Meonothai.
- 4:14 Or Joab, the father of Ge-harashim.
- 4:17 Or Jether’s wife became; Hebrew reads She became.
- 4:24a As in Syriac version (see also Gen 46:10; Exod 6:15); Hebrew reads Nemuel.
- 4:24b As in parallel texts at Gen 46:10 and Exod 6:15; Hebrew reads Zerah.
- 4:33 As in some Greek manuscripts (see also Josh 19:8); Hebrew reads Baal.
- 4:39 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Gedor.
- 4:41 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
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 Chronicles 4:9 tn In Hebrew the name יַעְבֵּץ (yaʿbets, “Jabez”) sounds like the noun עֹצֶב (ʿotsev) which means “pain.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1 Chronicles 4:10 tn Heb “and God brought about what he had asked.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:12 tn Or “of the city of Nahash.”
- 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.
- 1 Chronicles 4:14 tn Heb “Ge-harashim,” which could be left untranslated as a place name.
- 1 Chronicles 4:15 tn Heb “and the sons of Elah and Kenaz.” Kenaz was actually the son of Elah.
- 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.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:18 tn Heb “took,” referring to taking in marriage.
- 1 Chronicles 4:20 tn Or “and the son of Zoheth” (NAB). The word בֶּן (ben) in Hebrew means “son [of].”
- 1 Chronicles 4:22 tn Heb “and the words are old.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:23 tn Heb “and those who lived in Netaim and Gederah; with the king in his work they lived there.”
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:41 tn Heb “and they lived in place of them.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:43 tn Heb “and struck down the remnant that had escaped belonging to Amalek.”
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