40 And they found H4672 fat H8082 pasture H4829 and good, H2896 and the land H776 was wide, H7342 H3027 and quiet, H8252 and peaceable; H7961 for they of Ham H2526 had dwelt H3427 there of old. H6440
Then the five H2568 men H582 departed, H3212 and came H935 to Laish, H3919 and saw H7200 the people H5971 that were therein, H7130 how they dwelt H3427 careless, H983 after the manner H4941 of the Zidonians, H6722 quiet H8252 and secure; H982 and there was no magistrate H3423 H6114 in the land, H776 that might put them to shame H3637 in any thing; H1697 and they were far H7350 from the Zidonians, H6722 and had no business H1697 with any man. H120 And they came H935 unto their brethren H251 to Zorah H6881 and Eshtaol: H847 and their brethren H251 said H559 unto them, What say ye? And they said, H559 Arise, H6965 that we may go up H5927 against them: for we have seen H7200 the land, H776 and, behold, it is very H3966 good: H2896 and are ye still? H2814 be not slothful H6101 to go, H3212 and to enter H935 to possess H3423 the land. H776 When ye go, H935 ye shall come H935 unto a people H5971 secure, H982 and to a large H7342 land: H776 for God H430 hath given H5414 it into your hands; H3027 a place H4725 where there is no want H4270 of any thing H1697 that is in the earth. H776
And Ham, H2526 the father H1 of Canaan, H3667 saw H7200 the nakedness H6172 of his father, H1 and told H5046 his two H8147 brethren H251 without. H2351 And Shem H8035 and Japheth H3315 took H3947 a garment, H8071 and laid H7760 it upon both H8147 their shoulders, H7926 and went H3212 backward, H322 and covered H3680 the nakedness H6172 of their father; H1 and their faces H6440 were backward, H322 and they saw H7200 not their father's H1 nakedness. H6172 And Noah H5146 awoke H3364 from his wine, H3196 and knew H3045 what his younger H6996 son H1121 had done H6213 unto him. And he said, H559 Cursed H779 be Canaan; H3667 a servant H5650 of servants H5650 shall he be unto his brethren. H251 And he said, H559 Blessed H1288 be the LORD H3068 God H430 of Shem; H8035 and Canaan H3667 shall be H1961 his servant. H5650 God H430 shall enlarge H6601 Japheth, H3315 and he shall dwell H7931 in the tents H168 of Shem; H8035 and Canaan H3667 shall be his servant. H5650 And Noah H5146 lived H2421 after H310 the flood H3999 three H7969 hundred H3967 H8141 and fifty H2572 years. H8141 And all the days H3117 of Noah H5146 were nine H8672 hundred H3967 H8141 and fifty H2572 years: H8141 and he died. H4191
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 4
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 4 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 4
1Ch 4:1-8. Posterity of Judah by Caleb the Son of Hur.
1. the sons of Judah—that is, "the descendants," for with the exception of Pharez, none of those here mentioned were his immediate sons. Indeed, the others are mentioned solely to introduce the name of Shobal, whose genealogy the historian intended to trace (1Ch 2:52).
1Ch 4:9-20. Of Jabez, and His Prayer.
9, 10. Jabez—was, as many think, the son of Coz, or Kenaz, and is here eulogized for his sincere and fervent piety, as well, perhaps, as for some public and patriotic works which he performed. The Jewish writers affirm that he was an eminent doctor in the law, whose reputation drew so many scribes around him that a town was called by his name (1Ch 2:55); and to the piety of his character this passage bears ample testimony. The memory of the critical circumstances which marked his birth was perpetuated in his name (compare Ge 35:15); and yet, in the development of his high talents or distinguished worth in later life, his mother must have found a satisfaction and delight that amply compensated for all her early trials. His prayer which is here recorded, and which, like Jacob's, is in the form of a vow (Ge 28:20), seems to have been uttered when he was entering on an important or critical service, for the successful execution of which he placed confidence neither on his own nor his people's prowess, but looked anxiously for the aid and blessing of God. The enterprise was in all probability the expulsion of the Canaanites from the territory he occupied; and as this was a war of extermination, which God Himself had commanded, His blessing could be the more reasonably asked and expected in preserving them from all the evils to which the undertaking might expose him. In these words, "that it may not grieve me," and which might be more literally rendered, "that I may have no more sorrow," there is an allusion to the meaning of his name, Jabez, signifying "grief"; and the import of this petition is, Let me not experience the grief which my name implies, and which my sins may well produce.
10. God granted him that which he requested—Whatever was the kind of undertaking which roused his anxieties, Jabez enjoyed a remarkable degree of prosperity, and God, in this instance, proved that He was not only the hearer, but the answerer of prayer.
13. the sons of Kenaz—the grandfather of Caleb, who from that relationship is called a Kenezite (Nu 32:12).
14. Joab, the father of the valley of Carashim—literally, "the father of the inhabitants of the valley"—"the valley of craftsmen," as the word denotes. They dwelt together, according to a custom which, independently of any law, extensively prevails in Eastern countries for persons of the same trade to inhabit the same street or the same quarter, and to follow the same occupation from father to son, through many generations. Their occupation was probably that of carpenters, and the valley where they lived seems to have been in the neighborhood of Jerusalem (Ne 11:35).
17, 18. she bare Miriam—It is difficult, as the verses stand at present, to see who is meant. The following readjustment of the text clears away the obscurity: "These are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took, and she bare Miriam, and his wife Jehudijah bare Jezreel," &c.
18. Jehudijah—"the Jewess," to distinguish her from his other wife, who was an Egyptian. This passage records a very interesting fact—the marriage of an Egyptian princess to a descendant of Caleb. The marriage must have taken place in the wilderness. The barriers of a different national language and national religion kept the Hebrews separate from the Egyptians; but they did not wholly prevent intimacies, and even occasional intermarriages between private individuals of the two nations. Before such unions, however, could be sanctioned, the Egyptian party must have renounced idolatry, and this daughter of Pharaoh, as appears from her name, had become a convert to the worship of the God of Israel.
1Ch 4:21-23. Posterity of Shelah.
21. Laadah … the father … of the house of them that wrought fine linen—Here, again, is another incidental evidence that in very early times certain trades were followed by particular families among the Hebrews, apparently in hereditary succession. Their knowledge of the art of linen manufacture had been, most probably, acquired in Egypt, where the duty of bringing up families to the occupations of their forefathers was a compulsory obligation, whereas in Israel, as in many parts of Asia to this day, it was optional, though common.
22, 23. had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem—"And these are ancient things" seems a strange rendering of a proper name; and, besides, it conveys a meaning that has no bearing on the record. The following improved translation has been suggested: "Sojourned in Moab, but returned to Beth-lehem and Adaberim-athekim. These and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gedera were potters employed by the king in his own work." Gedera or Gederoth, and Netaim, belonged to the tribe of Judah, and lay on the southeast border of the Philistines' territory (Jos 15:36; 2Ch 28:18).
1Ch 4:24-43. Of Simeon.
24. The sons of Simeon—They are classed along with those of Judah, as their possession was partly taken out of the extensive territory of the latter (Jos 19:1). The difference in several particulars of the genealogy given here from that given in other passages is occasioned by some of the persons mentioned having more than one name [compare Ge 46:10; Ex 6:15; Nu 26:12].
27. his brethren had not many children—(see Nu 1:22; 26:14).
31-43. These were their cities unto the reign of David—In consequence of the sloth or cowardice of the Simeonites, some of the cities within their allotted territory were only nominally theirs. They were never taken from the Philistines until David's time, when, the Simeonites having forfeited all claim to them, he assigned them to his own tribe of Judah (1Sa 27:6).
38, 39. increased greatly, and they went to the entrance of Gedor—Simeon having only a part of the land of Judah, they were forced to seek accommodation elsewhere; but their establishment in the new and fertile pastures of Gederah was soon broken up; for, being attacked by a band of nomad plunderers, they were driven from place to place till some of them effected by force a settlement on Mount Seir.