1 Chronicles4
New American Standard
1The sons of Judah were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
2Reaiah the son of Shobal fathered Jahath, and Jahath fathered Ahumai and Lahad. These were the families of the Zorathites.
3These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi.
4Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.
5Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
6Naarah bore to him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.
7The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
8Koz fathered Anub and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel, the son of Harum.
9Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I gave birth to him in pain.”
10Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that You would greatly bless me and extend my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm so that it would not hurt me!” And God brought about what he requested.
11Chelub the brother of Shuhah fathered Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.
12Eshton fathered Beth-rapha and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Recah.
13Now the sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. And the sons of Othniel were Hathath and Meonothai.
14Meonothai fathered Ophrah, and Seraiah fathered Joab the father of Ge-harashim, for they were craftsmen.
15The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the son of Elah was Kenaz.
16The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph and Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.
17The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. And Mered’s wife conceived and gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
18(His Jewish 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 Bithia the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married.
19The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
20The sons of Shimon were Amnon and Rinnah, and Benhanan and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
21The 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 the linen workers at Beth-ashbea;
22and Jokim, the men of Cozeba, Joash, Saraph, who ruled in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And the records are ancient.
23These were the potters and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah; they lived there with the king for his work.
24The sons of Simeon were Nemuel and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul;
25Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, and Mishma his son.
26The sons of Mishma were Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, and Shimei his son.
27Now Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many sons, nor did all their family increase like the sons of Judah.
28They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, and Hazar-shual,
29in Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
30Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
31Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David.
32Their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities,
33and all their settlements that were around the same cities as far as Baal. These were their dwellings, and they have their genealogy.
34Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah,
35Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,
36and Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,
37and Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah—
38these mentioned by name were leaders in their families; and their fathers’ houses spread out greatly.
39They went to the entrance of Gedor, as far as the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.
40They found pasture that was rich and good, and the land was spread out on both sides, and peaceful and undisturbed; for those who lived there previously were Hamites.
41These people, recorded by name, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and they attacked their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and utterly destroyed them to this day; and they lived in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.
42From them, from the sons of Simeon, five hundred men went to Mount Seir, with Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, as their leaders.
43They destroyed the remnant of the Amalekites who escaped, and they have lived there to this day.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Chronicles 4.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Genealogies. (1-43).
vv1-43
In this chapter we have a further account of Judah, the most numerous and most famous of all the tribes; also an account of Simeon. The most remarkable person in this chapter is Jabez. We are not told upon what account Jabez was more honourable than his brethren; but we find that he was a praying man. The way to be truly great, is to seek to do God's will, and to pray earnestly. Here is the prayer he made. Jabez prayed to the living and true God, who alone can hear and answer prayer; and, in prayer he regarded him as a God in covenant with his people. He does not express his promise, but leaves it to be understood; he was afraid to promise in his own strength, and resolved to devote himself entirely to God. Lord, if thou wilt bless me and keep me, do what thou wilt with me; I will be at thy command and disposal for ever. As the text reads it, this was the language of a most ardent and affectionate desire, Oh that thou wouldest bless me! Four things Jabez prayed for. 1. That God would bless him indeed. Spiritual blessings are the best blessings: God's blessings are real things, and produce real effects. 2. That He would enlarge his coast. That God would enlarge our hearts, and so enlarge our portion in himself, and in the heavenly Canaan, ought to be our desire and prayer. 3. That God's hand might be with him. God's hand with us, to lead us, protect us, strengthen us, and to work all our works in us and for us, is a hand all-sufficient for us. 4. That he would keep him from evil, the evil of sin, the evil of trouble, all the evil designs of his enemies, that they might not hurt, nor make him a Jabez indeed, a man of sorrow. God granted that which he requested. God is ever ready to hear prayer: his ear is not now heavy.
Key Words
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יְהוּדָה: Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory
פֶּרֶץ: Perets, the name of two Israelites
חֶצְרוֹן: Chetsron, the name of a place in Palestine; also of two Israelites
כַּרְמִי: Karmi, the name of three Israelites
חוּר: Chur, the name of four Israelites and one Midianite
שׁוֹבָל: Shobal, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites
רְאָיָה: Reajah, the name of three Israelites
יָלַד: to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
יַחַת: Jachath, the name of four Israelites
Cross References
1 Chronicles 4Name given in remembrance of maternal sorrow during birth, matching Rachel naming Ben-oni.
Supported by JFB
Identifies Othniel's descent from Kenaz and Caleb's family line.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Verifies Hur as the firstborn of Ephratah and father of Bethlehem.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the valley of craftsmen near Jerusalem, matching the ancestral trade of Joab.
Supported by JFB
Connects the remnant of the Amalekites to those who escaped Saul's earlier destruction.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Links the families of the Zorathites back to Shobal's line.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Biblical origin of bearing children in sorrow, directly alluded to in Jabez's name.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Another historical name given because of tragedy or grief in the family.
Supported by JFB
Lists the sons of Simeon, matching Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels finding a quiet, secure land previously inhabited by tranquil, unsuspecting residents.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Traces Ashur, the father of Tekoa, within the families of Judah.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Caleb the son of Jephunneh's inheritance and Kenizzite family connection.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The divine command to blot out the memory of Amalek, fulfilled here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies Hezron as a son of Pharez, tracing Judah's early line.
Supported by Matthew Poole