The First Book of the Chronicles

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- Chapter 4 -

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

Truly, Reaiah, the son of Shobal, conceived Jahath; from him were born Ahumai and Lahad. These are the kindred of the Zorathites.

And this is the stock of Etam: Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash. And the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi.

Now Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratha, the father of Bethlehem.

Truly, for Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, there were two wives: Helah and Naarah.

And Naarah bore to him: Ahuzzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These are the sons of Naarah.

And the sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.

Now Koz conceived Anub, and Zobebah, and the kindred of Aharhel, the son of Harum.

The Prayer of Jabez

But Jabez was renowned, more so than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “For I bore him in sorrow.”(a)

Truly, Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, “If only, when blessing, you will bless me, and will broaden my borders, and your hand will be with me, and you will cause me not to be oppressed by evil.” And God granted to him the things for which he prayed.

More Descendants of Judah

Now Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, conceived Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

Then Eshton conceived Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of the city of Nahash. These are the men of Recah.

Now the sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. And the sons of Othniel were Hathath and Meonothai.

Meonothai conceived Ophrah, but Seraiah conceived Joab, the father of the Valley of Artisans. For indeed, there were artisans there.

Truly, the sons of Chelub, the son of Jephunneh, were Iru, and Elah, and Naam. And the sons of Elah: Kenaz.(b)

Also, the sons of Jehallelel: Ziph and Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel.

And the sons of Ezrah: Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon; and he conceived Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa.

And then his wife, Judaia, bore Jered, the father of Gedor, and Heber, the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel, the father of Zanoah. Now there were sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married,(c)

and sons of his wife Hodiah, the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and of Eshtemoa, who was from Maacathi.

And the sons of Shimon: Amnon, and Rinnah, son of Hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Benzoheth.(d)

The sons of Shelah, the son of Judah: Er, the father of Lecah, and Laadah, the father of Mareshah, and the kindred of the house of the workers of fine linen in the house of the oath,

and he who caused the sun to stand still, and the men of Lying, and Secure, and Burning, who were leaders in Moab, and who returned into Lehem. Now these words are ancient.(e)

These are the potters living in the Plantations and in the Hedges, with a king in his works, and they were dwelling there.(f)

The Descendants of Simeon

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

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

The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son.

The sons of Shimei were sixteen, and there were six daughters. But his brothers did not have many sons, and the entire kindred was not equal to the sum of the sons of Judah.

Now they lived in Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,

and in Bilhah, and in Ezem, and in Tolad,

and in Bethuel, and in Hormah, and in Ziklag,

and in Beth-marcaboth, and in Hazarsusim, and in Bethbiri, and in Shaaraim. These were their cities until king David.

And their towns were Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities,

with all their villages, on every side of these cities, as far as Baal. This is their habitation and the distribution of the settlements.

And there were Meshobab and Jamlech, and Joshah, the son of Amaziah,

and Joel, and Jehu, the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,

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

as well as Ziza, the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah.

These were the names of the leaders in their kindred. And they were multiplied greatly within the houses of their marriages.

And they set out, so that they might enter into Gedor, as far as the eastern valley, and so that they might seek pastures for their flocks.

And they found fat and very good pastures, and a very wide and quiet and fruitful land, in which some from the stock of Ham had lived before.

So then, those whose names have been written above, went forth in the days of Hezekiah, the king of Judah. And they struck down the inhabitants who had been found there with their dwellings. And they wiped them out, even to the present day. And they lived in place of them, because they found very fat pastures there.

Also, some of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went away to mount Seir, having as leaders Pelatiah and Neariah and Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.

And they struck down the remnant of the Amalekites, those who had been able to escape, and they lived there in place of them, even to this day.

Footnotes

(a)4:9 Jabes:That is, sorrowful.(Challoner)

(b)4:15 The word sons is plural, even though Elah had only one son, because all of that one son’s own sons would also be attributed to Elah as his ‘sons’.(Conte)

(c)4:18 It is not clear from the Latin or Hebrew text what the relationship is among the persons mentioned in these verses.(Conte)

(d)4:20 Benzoheth may have been the son of Zoheth and the grandson of Ishi. The word ‘son’ was used broadly by the Jews to include descendents beyond immediate sons.(Conte)

(e)4:22 He that made, etc:Viz., Joazim, the meaning of whose name in Hebrew is, he that made the sun to stand. In like manner the following names, Lying (Chozeba), Secure (Joas), and Burning (Saraph), are substituted in place of the Hebrew names of the same signification.(Challoner)

(f)4:23 Plantations and Hedges:These are the proper names of the places where they dwelt. In Hebrew Atharim and Gadira.(Challoner)

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

Reaiah the son of Shobal became the father of Jahath; and Jahath became the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.

These were the sons of the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. The name of their sister was Hazzelelponi.

Penuel was the father of Gedor and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.

Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

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

The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.

Hakkoz became the father of Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.

The Prayer of Jabez

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez,(a) saying, “Because I bore him with sorrow.”

Jabez called on the God

(b)

of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” God granted him that which he requested.

More Descendants of Judah

Chelub the brother of Shuhah became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

Eshton became the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash. These are the men of Recah.

The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel: Hathath.(c)

Meonothai became the father of Ophrah: and Seraiah became the father of Joab the father of Ge Harashim, for they were craftsmen.

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

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

The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon; and Mered’s wife bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.

His wife the Jewess bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. These are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.

The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

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

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;

and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. These records are ancient.

These were the potters, and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah; they lived there with the king for his work.

The Descendants of Simeon

The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul;

Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, and Mishma his son.

The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son.

Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers didn’t have many children, and all their family didn’t multiply like the children of Judah.

They lived at Beersheba, Moladah, Hazarshual,

at Bilhah, at Ezem, at Tolad,

at Bethuel, at Hormah, at Ziklag,

at Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, at Beth Biri, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities until David’s reign.

Their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities;

and all their villages that were around the same cities, as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept their genealogy.

Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah,

Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,

Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,

and Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah—

these mentioned by name were princes in their families. Their fathers’ houses increased greatly.

They went to the entrance of Gedor, even to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.

They found rich, good pasture, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceful, for those who lived there before were descended from Ham.

These written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and struck their tents and the Meunim who were found there; and they destroyed them utterly to this day, and lived in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.

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

They struck the remnant of the Amalekites who escaped, and have lived there to this day.

Footnotes

(a)4:9 “Jabez” sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “pain”.

(b)4:10 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).