Barnes' Notes The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.
And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.
And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: Read, "These are the sons of the father (i. e. chief) of Etam" 2 Chronicles 11:6, a city of Judah, not far from Bethlehem.
And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem.
And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.
And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.
And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. It is remarkable that Jabez should be introduced without description, or patronymic, as if a well-known personage. We can only suppose that he was known to those for whom Chronicles was written, either by tradition, or by writings which have perished. In 1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez alludes to his name, "sorrowful" (margin): "Grant that the grief implied in my name may not come upon me!"
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton. It has been conjectured from the strangeness of all the names in this list, that we have here a fragment of Canaanite record, connected with the family of the "Shua," whose daughter Judah took to wife 1 Chronicles 2:3; Genesis 38:2, and whose family thus became related to the tribe of Judah.
And Eshton begat Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Irnahash. These are the men of Rechah.
And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.
And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen. The words "and Meonothai" should he added to the end of 1 Chronicles 4:13; but they should be retained also at the commencement of 1 Chronicles 4:14. Or, see the marginal note.
And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.
And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel.
And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. She bare Miriam - Rather, "she conceived." The mother is not mentioned, and it seems impossible to restore the original text with any certainty.
And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. His wife - i. e. Mered's. Mered, it would seem, had two wives, Bithiah, an Egyptian woman, and a Jewish wife (see the margin), whose name is not given. If Mered was a chief of rank, Bithlah may have been married to him with the consent of her father, for the Egyptian kings often gave their daughters in marriage to foreigners. Or she may have elected to forsake her countrymen and cleave to a Jewish husband, becoming a convert to his religion. Her name, Bithiah, "daughter of Yahweh," is like that of a convert.
And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. His wife Hodiah - Not as in the margin, but rather, "the sons of the wife of Hodiah." Hodiah is elsewhere always a man's name Nehemiah 8:7; Nehemiah 9:5; Nehemiah 10:10, Nehemiah 10:13, Nehemiah 10:18.
And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth.
The 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 them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea,
And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things. Who had the dominion in Moab - Moab was conquered by David 2 Samuel 8:2, and again by Omri, after which it remained subject until the death of Ahab 2 Kings 3:5. But a more ancient rule, in times of which we have no further record, is probably intended.
These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. Among plants and hedges - Rather, "in Netaim and Gederah" Joshua 15:36.With the king - Or, probably, "on the king's property." Both David and several of the later kings had large territorial possessions in various parts of Judaea 1 Chronicles 27:25, 1 Chronicles 27:31; 2 Chronicles 26:10; 2 Chronicles 27:4; 2 Chronicles 32:28-29.
The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:
Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.
And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son.
And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.
And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
And at Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusim, and at Bethbirei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. Unto the reign of David - It is not quite clear why this clause is added. Perhaps the writer is quoting from a document belonging to David's reign. Or, he may mean that some of the cities, as Ziklag 1 Samuel 27:6, were lost to Simeon about David's time.
And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:
And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy. And their genealogy - Rather, "and their register was according thereto" - they were registered, i. e. according to the places where they dwelt.
And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah,
And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,
And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and 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 their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly. These mentioned by their names were princes - The registered chiefs of the cities in the first list 1 Chronicles 4:28-31, in the time of Hezekiah 1 Chronicles 4:41.
And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. Gedor - Rather read, "Gerar" (Septuagint) a fertile district Genesis 26:6-12; 2 Chronicles 14:14-15 in Philistine country.
And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.
And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, 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. The habitations - Rather, "the Mehunim" (compare 2 Chronicles 36:7), called also "Maonites" (see Judges 10:12 note).
And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.
And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day. Unto this day - These words are probably taken from the record which the writer of Chronicles had before him, and do not imply that the Simeonites remained undisturbed in their conquests until after the return from the captivity. So 1 Chronicles 4:41. |
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