1 Chronicles 4
1 The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 Reaiah the son of Shobal became the father of Jahath; and Jahath became the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.
3 These were the sons of the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi; 4 and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.
5 Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6 Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
8 Koz became the father of Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him with pain.” 10 Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it not bring me pain!” God granted him that which he requested.
11 Chelub the brother of Shuhah became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12 Eshton became the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash. These are the men of Recah.
13 The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel: Hathath. 14 Meonothai became the father of Ophrah; and Seraiah became the father of Joab, the father of the valley of craftsmen; for they were craftsmen.
15 The sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam. The sons of Elah: Kenaz.
16 The sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17 The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon; and she bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 His wife the Jewess bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. These are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.
19 The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
20 The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben Hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Ben Zoheth.
21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea; 22 and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-Lehem. The records are ancient.
23 These were the potters, and those who lived among plants and hedges. There they lived with the king for his work.
24 The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers didn’t have many children, neither did all their family multiply like the children of Judah.
28 They lived at Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar Shual, 29 at Bilhah, at Ezem, at Tolad, 30 at Bethuel, at Hormah, at Ziklag, 31 at Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susim, at Beth Biri, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David. 32 Their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities; 33 and all their villages that were around the same cities to Baal. These were their habitations, and they have their genealogy.
34 Meshobab, 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 mentioned by name were princes in their families; and their fathers’ houses increased greatly.
39 They went to the entrance of Gedor, even to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 40 They found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceful; for those who lived there before were of Ham. 41 These written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and struck their tents, and the Meunim who were found there, and destroyed them utterly to this day, and lived in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.
42 Some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to Mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 They struck the remnant of the Amalekites who escaped, and have lived there to this day.
1 Chronicles 4 Commentary
Chapter Overview
First Chronicles 4 continues Judah’s family record and then turns to Simeon. The chapter moves among ancestors, towns, marriages, occupations, prayer, migration, and warfare. What appears to be a loose collection of names is a portrait of covenant families building communities and carrying their identity through generations.
Verses 1–23 develop Judahite branches not followed in the royal line of chapter 3. Verses 24–43 trace Simeon’s descendants and settlements. The prayer of Jabez is the best-known section, but it belongs within a larger record of ordinary people whose lives involved work, land, leadership, and dependence on God.
Key Themes
The opening names summarize material already connected with Judah in 1 Chronicles 2. “Sons” can mean direct sons, later descendants, or major family lines. Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal did not all belong to one immediate generation. The genealogy compresses relationships to trace clans and inheritance rather than provide a modern birth register.
Family and geography repeatedly overlap. Calling someone the “father” of Bethlehem, Tekoa, Gedor, or another town can identify an ancestor, clan founder, or leader associated with its residents. Hur’s connection with Bethlehem points toward the region later associated with David, while Ashhur’s two wives preserve distinct household branches without presenting plural marriage as an ideal.
Jabez interrupts the rapid list because he was “more honorable than his brothers.” The distinction is moral, not merely financial. The text does not say he earned God’s favor by being superior; it presents a man who called on the God of Israel and received a gracious answer.
His name sounded like the Hebrew word for pain, and his mother connected it with painful childbirth. Jabez asks that evil would not bring him the pain his name recalled. The wordplay shows that the sorrow surrounding a person’s beginning does not have to determine the direction of that person’s life.
“Enlarge my border” most naturally concerns territory, opportunity, or room for his household to flourish. It should not be turned into a promise that everyone who repeats the prayer will become wealthy. Chronicles describes one answered request, not a mechanical formula for guaranteed prosperity.
The heart of the prayer is, “that your hand might be with me.” Jabez does not ask only for more land; he asks for God’s active help and protection. Expansion without God’s presence could become pride, danger, or burden rather than blessing.
His request to be kept from evil expresses humble dependence. Christian readers may compare it with Jesus’ instruction to pray for deliverance from evil in Matthew 6. The application is continued reliance on God, not treating Jabez’s words as a charm.
Othniel and Caleb son of Jephunneh connect the genealogy with the conquest period. Judges 1 records Othniel’s capture of Kiriath Sepher and marriage to Caleb’s daughter. Chronicles shows that well-known leaders also belonged to households and continuing family lines.
The “valley of craftsmen” and the families who made fine linen, pottery, or worked for the king receive special notice. The covenant record includes skilled laborers as well as rulers and warriors. Inherited trades and supporting service helped sustain Israel’s towns and royal administration.
Bithiah, a daughter of Pharaoh, appears as a wife of Mered. The passage does not explain how an Egyptian princess entered a Judahite family, so details should not be invented. Verses 17–18 are also grammatically difficult, but they clearly distinguish an Egyptian wife from a Judahite wife and connect their descendants with several towns.
Shelah was Judah’s surviving son in the account of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38. His descendants became linen workers, potters, and royal servants. Verse 22 preserves an obscure ancient notice about Moab; the text itself signals that these were old family records whose every detail may no longer be recoverable.
Verse 24 begins Simeon’s genealogy. Other passages sometimes use variant forms such as Nemuel and Jemuel or Zerah and Zohar. Such spelling differences are normal in ancient records and do not create separate tribal lines.
Simeon did not multiply as greatly as Judah. Its towns lay inside Judah’s larger allotment, as Joshua 19 explains. The tribes shared the southern region, and Simeon’s history was often absorbed into Judah’s stronger political and geographic presence.
Ziklag was one of the listed towns and later became David’s base during his years among the Philistines. First Samuel 27 records how Achish gave it to David. The phrase “until the reign of David” marks a point when settlement patterns or political relationships changed.
Simeonite leaders later sought new pasture because their families and flocks had grown. Their movement toward Gedor was practical, but it occurred within the contested realities of ancient tribal settlement. Genealogies preserve economic needs and migrations as well as ancestry.
The campaign took place in the days of Hezekiah, when Judah was also experiencing religious and administrative reform, as described in 2 Chronicles 31. The notice shows local clan activity continuing alongside the better-known events of the king’s reign.
The final expedition struck a remnant of Amalek at Mount Seir. Amalek had attacked Israel after the exodus in Exodus 17, and Israel received a specific covenant judgment concerning that nation in Deuteronomy 25. Chronicles places the Simeonite action inside that ancient conflict.
These warfare accounts should not be removed from their historical setting to justify modern religious violence. They describe Israel’s tribal history and commands tied to particular peoples. Christian application must be governed by Christ’s teaching, not by turning an ancient territorial campaign into a general mandate.
Important Verses and Questions
Why was Jabez called more honorable? The chapter does not provide a full biography, but it immediately records his prayer to Israel’s God. His honor appears connected with faith, dependence, and a desire to live under God’s hand rather than with fame or rank.
Does the prayer of Jabez guarantee prosperity? No. God granted this request, but the verse does not promise identical material expansion to everyone who repeats it. Biblical prayer submits desires to God’s wisdom, and James 4 warns that motives matter when people ask.
Can a painful name determine a person’s future? Jabez’s story says no. His name preserved his mother’s pain, but he appealed to God rather than surrendering to that label. Scripture acknowledges painful beginnings while showing that God’s grace is greater than them.
Why mention crafts and occupations? The details show how clans contributed to community life. Linen workers, potters, craftsmen, shepherds, and royal servants all belonged in the record. The history of God’s people includes productive work as well as worship and leadership.
Why are Judah and Simeon placed together? Simeon’s inheritance was located within Judah’s larger allotment, so the tribes shared the south. Judah became more numerous and dominant, while Simeonite families retained their genealogy and sometimes migrated to find pasture.
How should readers handle obscure phrases? Compare related passages, recognize variant names, and distinguish firm conclusions from possible explanations. The chapter’s main message does not depend on solving every uncertain identification.
Practical Applications
Bring painful history to God instead of allowing it to define you. Jabez did not deny the sorrow behind his name; he answered it with prayer. Believers can acknowledge wounds honestly while asking God for help, holiness, and protection from further evil.
Ask for opportunity together with God’s presence. Greater influence, responsibility, or resources are not automatically blessings. The wiser request is not merely, “Give me more,” but, “Be with me and keep me faithful in what you entrust.”
Honor skilled and ordinary work. Chronicles remembered craftspeople and royal laborers by family and place. Churches should likewise value people whose faithful labor supports homes, communities, and ministry even when their contribution is rarely public.
Do not build doctrine on an isolated phrase. Jabez’s prayer must be read with Scripture’s teaching about motives, suffering, contentment, and God’s will. A memorable verse becomes healthier when interpreted in its biblical context.
Preserve identity without idolizing prominence. Simeon was smaller than Judah, yet its families, towns, and leaders were recorded. God’s people do not need to be the largest or most visible group to pass on a faithful heritage.
Read difficult historical passages with humility. First Chronicles 4 contains uncertain wording and severe ancient conflicts. Faithful interpretation neither hides them nor uses them carelessly; it seeks the original setting, admits limits, and applies the text through the fuller witness of Scripture.