1 Chronicles 4

Family tree of Judah, Simeon

Judah’s family tree continued

1Judah had five sons: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. [1] 2Shobal had one son: Reaiah. Reaiah had one son: Jahath. Jahath had two sons: Ahumai and Lahad. These families were part of an extended family, the Zorah clan.

Hur’s branch of Judah’s family tree

3Etam had three sons and a daughter: Jezreel, Ishma, Idbash, and their sister Hazzelelponi. 4Penuel had one son: Gedor. Ezer had one son: Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, oldest son of Caleb and his wife Ephrath. Hur and his family lived in Bethlehem.

5Ashhur lived in the town of Tekoa with two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6Naarah gave birth to four sons: Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. 7Helah had three sons: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.

8Koz had two sons: Anub and Zobebah. They were part of an extended family, the clan of Aharhel, who was Harum’s son.

9Jabez was a man whose name means “Hurt.” [2] His mother said she gave him that name when he was born because it hurt. He was the most respected man among the brothers in his family. 10He once prayed to Israel’s God, “Please be kind to me. Bless me with a lot of land and keep me safe.” God did just that.

11Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, had one son: Mehir, who had a son named Eshton. 12Eshton had three sons: Beth-rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, who had a son named Ir-nahash. These men lived in the town of Recah. [3]

13Kenaz had two sons: Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel had two sons: Hathath and Meonothai. 14Meonothai had one son: Ophrah. Seraiah had one son: Joab, who led a community called Valley of Artisans, home to experts in various creative crafts.

15Caleb, son of Jephunneh, had three sons: Iru, Elah, and Naam. Elah had one son: Kenaz.

16Jehallelel had four sons: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

17Ezrah had four sons: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered married the king of Egypt’s daughter, Princess Bithiah. She gave birth to three children: Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, who had a son named Eshtemoa. 18Mered had a second wife from Judah. She gave birth to sons, each of whom had a son: Jered, with son Gedor, Heber, with his son, Soco, and Jekuthiel, with his son, Zanoah.

19Hodiah married the sister of Naham. He and his wife had two sons: Keilah of Garmite territory and Eshtemoa, who lived among the people of Maacah.

20Simon had four sons: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.

Ishi had two sons: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.

Family tree of Judah’s son, Shelah

21Judah’s son Shelah had the following descendants: Er, who had a son named Lecah, and Laadah, who had a son named Mareshah. They manufactured linen products in a guild at Beth-ashbea. [4] 22Judah’s descendants also included Jokim, the people who lived in Cozeba, Joash, and Saraph, who married a woman from Moab. But he came back home to Bethlehem. Keep in mind that we’re working from ancient family records. His descendants included the potters who lived and worked in Netaim and Gederah. They did work for the king.

Descendants of Simeon

24Simeon had five sons: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul. 25Shaul had a son, grandson, and great-grandson: Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma. 26Mishma also had a son, grandson, and great-grandson: Hammuel, Zaccur, Shimei. 27Shimei had 16 sons and six daughters. His brothers remained childless, which wasn’t normal at all for the people of Judah.

28Before David became king, [5] people of Simeon’s tribe lived scattered among these towns: They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. This was before David became king.

32There’s more. They lived in the five towns of Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, 33along with all the outlying villages and communities—as far as Baal. This is where they lived. They kept genealogical records. 34Leaders in Simeon’s growing tribe included: Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35Joel, Asiel with his son Seraiah and grandson Jehu the son of Seraiah Jehu, 36Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37Shemaiah, his son Shimri, grandson Jedaiah, great-grandson Allon, double-great grandson Shiphi, and triple-great grandson Ziza. 38That’s it. Those were the leaders of the families in a heartily growing clan of extended families.

39When they needed to find grazing fields for their flocks, they traveled as far as the eastern valley near the town of Gedor. 40It was a peaceful [6] land with sprawling fields and rich pastures. Descendants of Noah’s son Ham used to live there. 41When Hezekiah was king of Judah, the people of Simeon attacked the locals, descendants of Ham along with people known as the Meunites. Wiped them out. To this day, herders of Simeon’s tribe live in the land they took by exterminating all others.

42A militia of 500 Simeon men went to Mount Seir, under the leadership of Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, sons of Ishi. 43They wiped out what was left of Amalekite [7] people who had escaped previous attempts to kill them.

Footnotes

Intro Notes to 1 Chronicles

14:1

Déjà vu. This reports what the historian already said in 1 Chronicles 2:3-4. The first nine verses in this chapter repeats and expands on Judah’s genealogy, perhaps because the historian discovered more details while writing the material.

24:9

In the original Hebrew language of the Old Testament, “Jabez” is yabes. It can mean pain, grief, agony, or similar words. “Hurt” might work as a fine name for a wrestler, a Marine, or a healthcare insurance claims adjuster, but it could have been tough on a little boy. People in Bible times occasionally named their children after circumstances related to the birth. Esau was born hairy, so his parents gave him a name that sounds like the Hebrew word for “hair,” as in Harry (Genesis 25:25). His little brother Jacob came out holding onto to Esau’s heel, so they gave him a name that sounds like the word for “heel.” And during his young adult years, he was a heel (Genesis 27).