1 Chronicles 4

The Descendants of Judah

¹The descendants of Judah:

²Reaiah son of Shobal was the father of Jahath, and Jahath was the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.

³These were the sons^{+4:3 LXX (see also Vulgate); Hebrew These were of the father} of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. And their sister was named Hazzelelponi. ⁴Penuel was the father^{+4:4 Or the founder; also in verses 5, 12, 14, 17, 18, and possibly elsewhere} of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah.

These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.

⁶Naarah bore to him Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the descendants of Naarah.

⁷The sons of Helah were Zereth, Zohar,^{+4:7 Alternate MT reading; the other alternate (see also Vulgate) reads Izhar.} Ethnan, ⁸and Koz, who was the father of Anub and Zobebah and of the clans of Aharhel son of Harum.

The Prayer of Jabez

⁹Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez,^{+4:9 Jabez sounds like the Hebrew for pain or distress.} saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”

¹⁰And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.”

More Descendants of Judah

¹¹Chelub the brother of Shuhah was the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹²Eshton was the father of Beth-rapha, of Paseah, and of Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These were the men of Recah.

Hathath and Meonothai.^{+4:13 Vulgate and some LXX; Hebrew does not include and Meonothai.}

¹⁴Meonothai was the father of Ophrah, and Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of those living in Ge-harashim, which was given this name because its people were craftsmen.^{+4:14 Literally Ge-harashim, for they were craftsmen. The Hebrew Ge-harashim means valley of craftsmen.}

And Mered’s wife Bithiah gave birth^{+4:17 Literally she gave birth} to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah.^{+4:18 This statement is at the end of verse 18 in the Hebrew.}

Mered also took a Judean^{+4:18 Or Judahite} wife, who gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.

¹⁹The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.^{+4:19 Or were the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite}

Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah and the clans of the linen workers at Beth-ashbea, ²²Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi-lehem. (These names are from ancient records.) ²³These were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the service of the king.

The Descendants of Simeon

²⁴The descendants of Simeon:

Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah,^{+4:24 Zerah is a variant of Zohar; see Genesis 46:10 and Exodus 6:15.} and Shaul.

²⁷Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, so their whole clan did not become as numerous as the sons of Judah. ²⁸They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, ²⁹Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until the reign of David. ³²And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan— five towns— ³³and all their surrounding villages as far as Baal.^{+4:33 Hebrew; some LXX manuscripts (see also Joshua 19:8) Baalath} These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record:

³⁴Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, ³⁵Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah (son of Seraiah, son of Asiel), ³⁶Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷and Ziza son of Shiphi (son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah).

³⁸These men listed by name were the leaders of their clans. Their families increased greatly, ³⁹and they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, in search of pasture for their flocks. ⁴⁰There they found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful, and quiet; for some Hamites had lived there formerly.

⁴¹These who were noted by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. They attacked the Hamites in their dwellings as well as the Meunites who were there, devoting them to destruction^{+4:41 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.} even to this day. Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks. ⁴²And five hundred of these Simeonites led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, went to Mount Seir ⁴³and struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped. And they have lived there to this day.