1 Chronicles 4:1-43

The Book of 1 Chronicles

God rules History

1 Chronicles

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 4

Other families of Judah – 1 Chronicles 4:1-23

v1 Judah’s *descendants were Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. v2 Reaiah was Shobal’s son. Reaiah was the father of Jahath. Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. They were called the Zorath *clan. v3-4 Hur was the oldest son in Ephrathah’s family. Hur was the leader of Bethlehem. His three sons were Etam, Penuel, and Ezer. Etam’s sons were Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. They had a sister called Hazzelelponi. Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah.

v5 Tekoa’s father was Ashhur. Ashhur had two wives called Helah and Naarah. v6 The sons of Ashhur and Naarah were Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. They were the *descendants of Naarah. v7-8 Helah’s sons were Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan, and Koz. Koz was the father of Anub, Hazzobebah, and the Aharhel *clan. Aharhel was the son of Harum.

v9 There was a man called Jabez. People respected him more than they respected his brothers. His mother gave him the name Jabez. She said, ‘I had much pain at his birth.’ That is why she gave him that name. v10 Jabez prayed to *Israel’s God. ‘Please do good things for me and extend my borders. Let your power be with me. Protect me from danger and let nothing hurt me.’ And God did what Jabez had asked.

v11 Kelub, Shuhah’s brother, was the father of Mehir. Mehir was the father of Eshton. v12 Eshton was the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Ir Nahash. These people were from Recah.

v13 The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel’s sons were Hathath and Meonothai. v14 Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab. Joab was the *ancestor of the people from Ge Harashim. The valley had that name because the people there were skilled workers. v15 Caleb was Jephunneh’s son. Caleb’s sons were Iru, Elah, and Naam. Elah’s son was Kenaz. v16 Jehallelel’s sons were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. v17-18 Ezrah’s sons were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered married Bithiah, the daughter of the king of Egypt. The children of Mered and Bithiah were Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah. Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa. Mered also had a wife from Judah, who gave birth to Jered, Heber, and Jekuthiel. Jered became the father of Gedor. Heber became the father of Soco. And Jekuthiel became the father of Zanoah. v19 Hodiah’s wife was Naham’s sister. The sons of Hodiah’s wife were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. v20 Shimon’s sons were Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-Hanan, and Tilon. Ishi’s sons were Zoheth and Ben-Zoheth. v21-22 Shelah was one of Judah’s sons. Shelah’s sons were Er, Laadah, Jokim, Joash and Saraph; and the men in Cozeba. Er was the father of Lecah. Laadah was the father of Mareshah whose family worked with *linen at Bet Ashbea. Saraph ruled over Moab and Jashubi Lehem. (These details are from ancient records.) v23 These sons of Shelah made pots. They lived in Netaim and Gederah. They worked for the king.

In verse 19, we do not know the meaning of Garmite or of Maacathite. They were probably families that were *descendants of Keilah and Eshtemoa.

Verses 1-8 Hezron was a son of Perez (2:5). Carmi came from the family of Zerah. He was a son of Zimri and he was the father of Achar (2:7). Hur was a son of Caleb and Ephrathah (2:19). And Shobal was a son of Hur (2:50-51).

The list that follows is of the family from Shobal. They were called the Zorath *clan.

Verse 9-10 We do not know whose son Jabez was. His name is similar to the word for ‘pain’. His mother gave him that name because of the pain that she had at his birth. He was a good man and people respected him. *Jewish tradition says that he was a famous expert in the law. He was a sincere man who trusted in *Israel’s God.

We know nothing more about him but we do have this prayer. It shows us how he believed in God. He asked for God’s help. He needed God to act powerfully on his behalf. He asked God to protect him from all danger.

God gave to him what he had asked. God answers the prayers of those people who trust him.

Verses 11-12 Caleb (see verse 15) gave his daughter Achsah to be the wife of Othniel (Joshua 15:17). Later the *LORD used Othniel to save *Israel. He then became the leader of *Israel. He was the first judge of *Israel (Judges 3:9-10). (Although we call them ‘judges’, these men (and one woman) did not just have legal authority. The judges led *Israel before the nation had a king.)

Verse 14 There was a custom for people who had the same occupation to live in the same street or area. So, people with the same skills came together in the valley called Ge Harashim. They were probably workers in wood, iron and stone. The valley called Ge Harashim was near Jerusalem.

Verse 15 Caleb was Kenaz’s brother but Caleb was much older. Caleb was one of the men that Moses sent into the country called Canaan. They went to see what that country was like. All except Caleb and Joshua were afraid and gave a bad report of the country (Numbers Chapter s 13 to 14).

Verses 16-23 Mered’s wife Bithiah was a daughter of the king of Egypt. Her name means ‘daughter of Yahweh.’ ‘Yahweh’ is the same word as ‘the *LORD’; it is the name of *Israel’s God. This seems to show that she left the gods of Egypt in order to serve the real God.

This passage shows the custom for a family to continue the same occupation. The family of Mareshah made clothes from *linen. And the family of Saraph made pots.

The *tribe of Simeon – 1 Chronicles 4:24-43

v24 Simeon’s sons were Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul. v25 Shaul’s son was Shallum. Shallum’s son was Mibsam. Mibsam’s son was Mishma. v26 Mishma’s son was Hammuel. Hammuel’s son was Zaccur. Zaccur’s son was Shimei. v27 Shimei had 16 sons and 6 daughters. But his brothers did not have many children. So, their *clan did not become as large as Judah’s *clan did. v28-31 Shimei’s children lived in these cities: Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, Beth Biri, and Shaaraim. They lived in them until David became king. v32 The 5 villages near these cities were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Token, and Ashan. v33 There were also other villages as far away as Baalath. This is where they lived. And they wrote the history of their *clan.

v34-38 The men in this list were leaders of their *clans. They were Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah, Joel, Jehu, Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, and Ziza. Joshah was a son of Amaziah. Jehu was a son of Joshibiah. Joshibiah was the son of Seraiah, and Seraiah was the son of Asiel. Ziza was the son of Shiphi, and Shiphi was the son of Allon. Allon was the son of Jedaiah and Jedaiah was the son of Shimri. Shimri was the son of Shemaiah. These families grew very large. v39 They travelled to the east side of the valley as far as Gedor. They looked for land where their sheep could find food. v40 They found good fields with plenty of grass. The land was open country, quiet and calm. The people who had lived there before were the *descendants of Ham.

v41 When Hezekiah was king in Judah these men came to Gedor. They fought against the *descendants of Ham and the Meunites who lived there. These men destroyed the homes and they killed all the people. Then they lived there because there was food for their sheep. v42 And some of them, 500 of Simeon’s *clan, went to *Mount Seir. Their leaders were Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel. They were Ishi’s sons. v43 They killed the last of the *descendants of Amalek and they have lived there ever since.

The Meunites (in verse 41) were a *clan who lived in the town called Gedor. Gedor was in the territory of Judah. The Meunites were not *Israelites. They were *descendants of Edom.

Verses 24-27 This passage (4:24-43) shows the early family of Simeon (verses 24-27). Then it records the towns where his *tribe lived (verses 28-31). And then it shows some of their later movements (verses 34-43).

The names here differ from the lists in earlier parts of the Bible (Genesis 46:10; Numbers 26:12). This is because some people had more than one name.

There was a count of the *tribes in the time of Moses (Numbers chapter 1). This count showed that there were 59 300 people in the *tribe of Simeon. At the same time there were 74 600 people in the *tribe of Judah. Some years later, there was another count of the *tribes (Numbers chapter 26). At this count the number of people in the *tribe of Simeon had reduced to 22 200. The *tribe of Judah had increased to 76 500 people. Simeon was the smallest *tribe in *Israel.

From then on, the rate of increase was less for Simeon than for Judah.

Verses 28-33 Over a long period of time, the *tribe of Judah took control of these cities. When David became king, all of these cities and villages were in Judah.

Verses 34-43 The *tribe of Simeon did not support the kings of Judah. The *kingdom divided during the rule of Rehoboam. Simeon was one of the 10 *tribes that formed the new country called *Israel. The *tribe of Simeon had to leave Judah. During the rule of Hezekiah, many of them went east to Gedor. There is some doubt about where Gedor was. But it seems likely that it was near the Jordan valley. The Meunites were a *clan of Edom.

About 500 people from the *tribe of Simeon went to *Mount Seir. *Mount Seir was across the Jordan river, in the country called Edom. Here they killed the last of the *descendants of Amalek.

descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
clan ~ part of a tribe, a group of families.
tribe ~ The Israelites originally consisted of the 12 large families of the sons of Jacob. These families became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
linen ~ a type of material that is like cotton. Linen is a very good quality material.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. The name probably means: ‘He is always God.’ This name has a relationship with God’s special promises to his people.
tribe ~ The Israelites originally consisted of the 12 large families of the sons of Jacob. These families became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
Mount ~ mountain.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules and the people over whom a king rules.