The big picture
Judah, one of Israel’s tribes, remains the focus as more family branches are named. The list briefly pauses for Jabez, a man whose prayer God answers. It also records craftsmen and people linked with royal work. Then it turns to Simeon, another tribe descended from Israel’s sons. Its families live in named towns and seek more pasture. Their search leads to violent conquest, so the chapter includes both ordinary work and the cost of taking land.
In this chapter
- More Branches Within Judah 1 Chronicles 4:1-8
Several leading names in Judah’s line begin the list, followed by smaller family branches.
- Jabez Prays for God’s Help 1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Jabez is described as more honourable than his brothers.
- Families Carry Skilled Work Forward 1 Chronicles 4:11-23
The list resumes with families linked to towns and trades.
- Simeon’s Families Live in Named Towns 1 Chronicles 4:24-33
The record turns to Simeon and traces several generations through his sons.
- The Search for Pasture Turns Violent 1 Chronicles 4:34-43
Named leaders belong to families that have grown greatly.
Central truth
The family lists preserve prayer, skilled work, and settlement, while also recording the violence behind some gains in land.
Scripture beside the summary
1 Chronicles · King James Version · 431 Chronicles 4:1-8
More Branches Within Judah
Several leading names in Judah’s line begin the list, followed by smaller family branches. Reaiah’s descendants form the families called Zorathites. A sister, Hazelelponi, is named beside her brothers. Other entries connect family heads with towns such as Gedor and Hushah. Ashur’s children are grouped under his two wives, Helah and Naarah. The record moves from one household to another without telling a separate account about each. Names of mothers, sisters, fathers, and settlements all help place these people within the larger tribe.
In everyday life
A census volunteer checks household cards beneath the awning of a travelling caravan. She places children under the correct mother and adds a sister beside her brothers. A note links one family to a distant hamlet. The cards become useful when those small links stay clear. Judah’s list spans generations rather than one census day.
Notice
1 Chronicles 4:5 Ashur’s two wives are named before their children are grouped. The record makes room for more than one branch within the same father’s household.
1 Chronicles 4:1-8
King James Version1The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.
2And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.
3And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi:
4And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Beth-lehem.
5And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
6And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.
7And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.
8And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Jabez Prays for God’s Help
Jabez is described as more honourable than his brothers. His mother links his name with the sorrow of his birth. He calls on Israel’s God for blessing and a wider border. He also asks for God’s hand to be with him and to keep him from harm. He does not want evil to bring him grief. God grants his request. The brief pause gives one man a voice within the names. It reports this answered prayer without turning his words into a promised formula for everyone.
In everyday life
A smallholder kneels beside a newly leased strip of ground with her work gloves in her lap. She asks God for help with the larger plot and for safety through the season. Then she rises to mend the boundary fence. Her request joins opportunity with dependence and concern about harm. The chapter reports that Jabez receives what he asks.
Notice
1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez asks for God’s hand along with more territory. The request is not only for a larger holding; it includes help and protection from grief.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
King James Version9And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
10And 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.
1 Chronicles 4:11-23
Families Carry Skilled Work Forward
The list resumes with families linked to towns and trades. Joab’s group belongs to the valley of craftsmen. Caleb’s sons appear, and another branch includes Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh. More names lead to the descendants of Shelah, one of Judah’s sons. Some families work in fine linen, while others are potters serving the king. The account calls some of these records ancient. It preserves work and family ties together. Royal history rests beside the skills of people who make cloth, shape clay, and supply daily needs.
In everyday life
A ceramic apprentice stamps the underside of a bowl in a shared kiln house. Her teacher shows her the same workshop mark on an older pot. Names in the firing ledger reveal several related makers across the years. Their family record includes the work of their hands. These biblical craftsmen also serve within a king’s household and land.
Notice
1 Chronicles 4:23 Potters are named in connection with the king’s work. The list remembers people by a practical task, not only by fathers and sons.
1 Chronicles 4:11-23
King James Version11And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.
12And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah.
13And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.
14And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.
15And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.
16And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel.
17And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
18And 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.
19And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.
20And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth.
21The 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,
22And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And these are ancient things.
23These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.
1 Chronicles 4:24-33
Simeon’s Families Live in Named Towns
The record turns to Simeon and traces several generations through his sons. Shimei has sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers have smaller families. As a whole, their tribe does not grow like Judah. Their towns and surrounding villages are then named. The account connects these places with the time of David’s reign. A family count therefore leads into a map of where people live. The number of children matters here because it helps explain the size of the group spread across those settlements.
In everyday life
A rural nurse marks households on a service map beside her clinic door. One large family fills several cards, while neighbouring families have only a few members. She checks the total before setting the visiting route. A single busy household does not tell her the size of the whole district. Simeon’s record traces a tribe, not a clinic’s patients.
Notice
1 Chronicles 4:27 Shimei’s large household is set beside the tribe’s smaller growth. One man’s many children do not mean that the whole group grew at Judah’s rate.
1 Chronicles 4:24-33
King James Version24The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:
25Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.
26And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son.
27And 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.
28And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual,
29And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
30And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
31And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David.
32And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:
33And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.
1 Chronicles 4:34-43
The Search for Pasture Turns Violent
Named leaders belong to families that have grown greatly. They go toward Gedor to seek pasture and find broad, peaceful land. During Hezekiah’s reign they attack the people living there, destroy them, and take their places. The stated reason is pasture for their flocks. Another five hundred men go to mount Seir under four named leaders. They kill the remaining Amalekites there and settle in the land. The account ties these gains to the families’ growth, but it also states the violence by which they obtain new homes.
In everyday life
A displaced shepherd shows an aid worker a photograph of the pasture he has lost. His flock now crowds a borrowed pen, and he counts the feed left in a sack. The worker writes down the place name without calling the loss a fresh start. Land gained by others has a human cost. The ancient account records conquest from the settlers’ side.
Notice
1 Chronicles 4:41 Pasture for flocks is the stated reason for taking the land. That practical need does not remove the account’s clear statement that its inhabitants were destroyed.
1 Chronicles 4:34-43
King James Version34And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah,
35And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,
36And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah,
37And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah;
38These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly.
39And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.
40And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.
41And 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.
42And 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.
43And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
1 Chronicles 4:1 begins with “The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.”
Where the chapter turns
1 Chronicles 4:22 forms a natural hinge: “And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And these are ancient things.”
The final note
1 Chronicles 4:43 leaves the reader with “And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words sons, father, begat, dwelt, bare, Beth help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- dominion
- responsibility or rule
- begat
- became the father of
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
