The First Book of the Chronicles
1 Chronicles 4
Chapter IV · Vol. II, pp. 810–811
1, 11 The posterity of Judah by Caleb the son of Hur. 5 Of Ashur the posthumous son of Hezron. 9 Concerning Jabez, and his prayer. 21 The posterity of Shelah. 24 The posterity and cities of Simeon. 39 Their conquest of Gedor, and of the Amalekites in Mount Seir.
2 And cReaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the dZorathites.
3 And these were of the father eof Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi:
4 And Penuel the father of fGedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of gHur, the first-born of Ephratah, the father of Beth-lehem.
f ver.18,39. Jos.15.36,58. ch.12.7.
g ch.2.50.
5 And hAshur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.2
h Or, Asher, ch.2.24; ver.6-8.
2 B.C. 1510.
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 imore honourable3 than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez,4 saying, Because kI bare him with sorrow.
i ver.10. Pr.10.26. Ac.17.11. Is.48.4.
3 His superiority of honour lay (1) In piety towards God, the true source and characteristic of honour. (2) In his pursuit of advancement being in dependence upon God. (3) In his complete dependence upon God's protection; and (4) In his unshaken confidence in restraining and preventing grace. C.——The Jews think that Jabez was an eminent doctor of the law, and that the scribes which dwelt at Jabez were his disciples. The Targum says he was called 'Jabets,' because in his counsel 'beytsatih,' he instituted a school for disciples, and that he was Othniel the son of Kenaz.—I.
4 That is, sorrowful.
k Ge.3.16. ch.7.23.
10 And Jabez lcalled on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest5 blessm me indeed, and nenlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep6 me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God ogranted him that which he requested.
11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
12 And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of 7Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah.
7 Or, the city of Nahash.
14 And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley1 of Charashim;2 for they were craftsmen.3
A.M. 2494. B.C. 1510.
1 Or, inhabitants of the valley.
2 Or, craftsmen.
3 'Charashim,' artists—of what description we are not told, but most probably workers in metallurgy, cutlery, jewellery, carpentry, &c.—C.
15 And the sons of Caleb qthe son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even 4Kenaz.5
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 father6 of Eshtemoa.
6 Father still denotes the founder or planter of a city.
18 And his wife rJehudijah bare Jered the father of sGedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh,7 which Mered took.
r Or, the Jewess, ver.19.
s ver.4,39.
7 She may have been an Egyptian princess, or an Israelitess, that, from some peculiar circumstance, was called by that name: such as having been born in or about the Egyptian court, or having saved a child from drowning, as Pharaoh's daughter saved Moses.—C.
19 And the sons of his wife tHodiah, the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.8
t Or, Jehudijah, mentioned before, ver.18.
8 About 1200.
20 And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth.
21 The sons of Shelah uthe son of Judah were, Er9 the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen,1 of the house of Ashbea,
9 B.C. 1700.
1 Two or three statements in this chapter lead us to conclude that about this time something like caste or confinement to particular trades and employments—still so common in the East Indies—had begun to take place amongst the Israelites. By 'fine linen' some understand flax, others cotton.—C.
22 And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who xhad the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem.2 And these are ancient things.
x Perhaps in David's time, 2 Sa.8.2.
2 B.C. 1040.
23 These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants3 and hedges:4 there they dwelt5 with the king for his work.
3 Now they were debased and impoverished.
4 The frequent reference to specific employments in this chapter may well induce us to adopt the translation of dwelling amongst 'plants and hedges' as descriptive of gardeners, instead of taking them for the names of places.—C.
5 'There they dwelt,' viz. at Beth-lehem.—C.
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;7 but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply likea to the children of Judah.8
7 This genealogy of Simeon differs from the parallel account of the same family, but the discrepancies may be fully reconciled by the recollection that it was common for the same person to have two or more contemporaneous or consecutive names.—C.
a Heb. unto, Ge.49.7-10. Nu.1.23,27; 26.14,22. Pr.17.6.
8 That 'children are a heritage of the Lord' is the statement of the Psalmist, Ps.127.3, a truth upon which alone can be founded any real population statistics. Simeon, Nu. 26. 14, amounted merely to 22,200, when Judah, ver. 22, amounted to 76,500. The statistical philosophy of the world will adopt any population theory but the will and blessing of God, and confide in any regulation and check upon overgrowth, but that apostasy and idolatry which brought the divine wrath upon Israel. Yet the true philosophy is the Bible, for it is uniformly a history of facts.—C.
28 And they bdwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and cHazar-shual,
b Jos.19.2-8.
c B.C. 1444.
30 And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
31 And at Beth-marcaboth, and 9Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim.1 These were their cities unto the reign of David.2
A.M. 2560. B.C. 1444.
9 Or, Hazar-susah, Jos.19.5.
1 B.C. 1048.
2 When David obtained Ziklag by grant from Achish, and probably others by right of reconquest.—C.
32 And their villages were, fEtam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities;
f Or, Ether, Jos.19.7.
33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto gBaal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.3
g Or, Balath-beer, Jos.19.7.
3 Or, as they divided themselves by nations among them.
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 hmentioned by their names were princes in their families; and the house of their fathers increased greatly.4
h Heb. coming by names, Ge.6.4. ch.5.24.
4 See note on ver. 27.—C.
39 And they went to the entrance of iGedor,5 even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their 6flocks.7
i Perhaps not that Jos.15.36,58. ver.4,18; ch.12.7.
5 About thirty-six miles south-west of Jerusalem. The city was assigned to Judah, Jos. 12. 13, but the 'entrance' was probably the southern border of the district next to Egypt.—C.
6 About 710.
7 This expedition of the Simeonites took place in the days of Hezekiah; and, as Calmet conjectures, near the time of the captivity of the ten tribes, when the remnant of Simeon would feel themselves obliged to retire more southward into Arabia Petræa for fear of the Jews, and to seek pasture for their flocks. Or it is possible that on the revolt of the ten tribes the ancestors of these persons had adhered to the family of David.—I.
40 And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable: for they of kHam8 had dwelt there of old.
41 And these written by name came in the days of lHezekiah king of Judah,9 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.
l 2 Ki.xviii.-xx. 2 Ch.xxix.-xxxii.
9 This took place about the time of the captivity of the ten tribes, and these bold and adventurous emigrants were consequently preserved from the disasters of their compatriots.—C.
42 And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mmount Seir,1 having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.
Notes
Reflections.—How often have parents most comfort in those children from whom they at first expected least of it! What honour doth learning, and especially piety, put upon men! But it is a singular mercy to have a loving God to address in our prayers. To set out in the world with much earnest supplication to God is a hopeful beginning; and the most extensive and substantial blessings may boldly be asked at his throne of grace, who takes pleasure in hearing and answering the fervent prayers of faith. They that wait upon him shall renew their strength, and be protected from all their enemies. How differently God disposes of men in respect of their callings and stations on earth! He advances them to honour and power, or degrades them to the meanest employments, as seemeth good in his sight. This world is a changing scene: nothing substantial or enduring is to be expected in it. Let it quicken our diligence to secure a better, where our dignity will be secure, without variableness or shadow of turning. Behold how God rewards the Simeonites, who cleaved to the family of David! They are provided with new habitations; when their brethren, who joined the kingdom of Israel, are carried into captivity. If I firmly adhere to God and my duty, he will always provide for me what I need; and that which appears an afflictive separation, shall at last prove a comfortable deliverance. But the curse of God shall hunt out the sinners, as it did the Amalekites, till they are utterly destroyed.