1 Chronicles
Chapter 4
Sons of Judah II
Some of the descendants of Judah are Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
Shobal was the father of Reaiah, who was the father of Jahath, the father of Ahumai and Lahad; these people lived in Zorah.
These were the descendants of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, whose sister was called Hazzelelponi.
Penuel became the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah.These are the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.
Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives: Helah and Naarah.
Naarah bore him four sons: Ahuzaam, Hepher, the Temenites, and the Ahashtarites.
Ashur had three sons by Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
Koz became the father of Anub and Zobebah and the clans of Aharhel, son of Harum.
Jabez was the most distinguished of them. His mother had given him the name Jabez to recall that: “In pain, she had given birth to him.”
Jabez called on the God of Israel, “Bless me by giving me more land. Be with me, and keep me from anything that might harm or cause pain.” God gave him what he had prayed for.
Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.
Eshton had three sons, Bethrapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah: Tehinnah, the father of the city of Nahash. The descendants of these men lived in Recah.
Kenaz had two sons, Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel also had two sons: Hathath and Meonothai,
who became the father of Ophrah. Seraiah became the father of Joab and the founder of Craftsmen’s Valley, where skilled workers lived.
Caleb, son of Jephunneh, had three sons: Ir, Elah, and Naam, and the son of Elah, Kenaz.
The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
Ezrah had four sons: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Jether became the father of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah. Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa.
Mered also had a wife from the tribe of Judah, who gave birth to three sons: Jered, the father of Gedor; Heber, father of Soco; and Jekuthiel, father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married.
Hodiah married the sister of Naham. Their descendants formed the clan of Garm, which lived in the town of Keilah, and the clan of Maacath, which lived in the village of Eshtemoa.
The sons of Shimon were: Amnon, Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
The descendants of Shelah, son of Judah, included Er, who was the father of Lecah; Laadah, the father of Mareshah; and the clans of linen weavers from Bethashbea.
Jokim and the people who lived in Cozeba; Joash and Saraph, who went to Moab to marry before returning to Bethlehem (these are ancient events).
They were potters living in the towns of Netaim and Gederah. They stayed with the king there and worked in his workshop.
SIMEON AND THE TRANSJORDAN TRIBES
Descendants of Simeon
Simeon had five sons: Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul.
Shaul’s son was Shallum. His grandson was Mibsam, and his great-grandson was Mishma.
The sons of Mishma were Hammuel and Zaccur, whose son was Shimei.
Shimei had sixteen sons and daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, and none of their families increased as the families of Judah did.
They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, and Hazarshual,
Bilhah, Ezem, and Tolad,
Bethuel, Hormah, and Ziklag,
Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Bethbiri, and Shaaraim. These were their towns until the reign of David.
Their outlying villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five towns,
with all their surrounding villages as far as Baalath.Here, they established their settlements and organized themselves into various groups.
Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah,
Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel,
Elioenei, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,
Ziza, son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah.
These men came with their clans and families. They grew in number and spread.
As they searched for pasture for their flocks, they traveled from the Gedor Pass to the valley’s eastern end,
where they found good, fat pasture. The land was wide, untroubled, and peaceful. Hamites had been living there before them.
But in the time of Hezekiah, king of Judah, this Simeon tribe group arrived and overran their tents and the dwellings they found there. They wiped them out through an anathema still in force today and settled in their place, since there was pasture for their flocks.
Some of them, belonging to the sons of Simeon, reached Mount Seir: five hundred men led by Pelathiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.
They defeated the surviving fugitives of Amalek who had escaped and still live there today.
Commentaries
Genealogies.
The first nine chapters list genealogies starting with Adam and ending with David. They include detailed names representing individuals, groups, territories, and cities, reflecting the historical context of the Chronicler’s time. Key to these genealogies are the tribe of Judah, from which King David comes, and the priestly tribe of Levi. This shows the Chronicler’s emphasis on God’s plan for creation and humanity, from the first human, to whom all history points, through David, the priesthood (represented by Levi), and an Israel united around the tribe of Judah.
The Tribe of Judah and the House of David.
The passage is divided into three sections. In the middle is a genealogy of the house of David (3:1-24), flanked by two genealogies of the tribe of Judah (2:3-55 and 4:1-23). This structure highlights the Chronicler’s intention to demonstrate that the Davidic dynasty is closely tied to the history of this tribe (1 Chr 28:4).
Sons of Judah II.
The Chronicler expands the list of Judah’s descendants in chapter 2.
Simeon and the Transjordan Tribes.
After Judah, the tribes of Simeon and those from Transjordan are listed: Reuben, Gad, and part of Manasseh, whose disobedience to God is highlighted, leading to their exile.
Descendants of Simeon.
Historically, Simeon was associated with the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15; 19:1-8) and was eventually integrated into it during the reign of David, as noted by the Chronicler (4:31).