And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath ,.... Reaiah is the same with Haroeh, 1 Chronicles 2:52 the names are of the same signification: and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites ; who inhabited Zoreah, as the Targum, at least part of it; see 1 Chronicles 2:53 . read more
And these were of the father of Etam ,.... Or of the prince of Etam: or, as the Targum, these are princes that dwelt in Etam, a place not far from Zorah, Judges 15:8 and is mentioned with Bethlehem and Tekoa in the tribe of Judah, 2 Chronicles 11:6 , namely, which follow: Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash ; these were the sons of the governor of Etam: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi ; who, perhaps, was a person of great note in those days, though now unknown; indeed, a... read more
And Penuel the father of Gedor ,.... The prince of that place, according to some, and the same with Hareph, 1 Chronicles 2:51 , and Ezer the father of Hushah : thought to be the same with Shuah, 1 Chronicles 4:11 , these are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah : Caleb's wife, 1 Chronicles 2:19 the Targum adds, the same with Miriam; and so other Jewish writers F24 Shemot Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 90. 4. Yalkut in 1 Chron. ii. 19. say, Miriam had two names, and one was... read more
These were of the father of Etam - "And these are the rabbins (doctors) living at Etam, Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash." - T. read more
The Carrot of 1 Chronicles 4:1 is considered to lie doubtful between the Carmi of 1 Chronicles 2:7 or the Chelubai of 1 Chronicles 2:9 , in which last alternation the five names of this verse would repeat the line of descent with which chrii, had made us familiar. Even then the object or advantage of repeating the first four of these, so far as what follows is concerned, is not evident. We keep near the close of 1 Chronicles 2:1-55 . also in respect of another allusion to the... read more
EXPOSITION After the large space given to the "sons of David," of the tribe of Judah, in the previous chapter, this chapter returns for twenty-three verses to group together a few additional ramifications of the same tribe, whose registers were for some reasons, perhaps not very evident, preserved and known. The first verses follow in the direction already indicated in 1 Chronicles 2:1-55 ; near the end of which we were left with Shobal and Haroeh, probably the same with Reaiah (the... read more
Etam is, with little doubt, the name of a place ( 2 Chronicles 11:6 ) in Judah, south of Jerusalem. It was near Tekoah ( 1 Chronicles 4:5 , and 1 Chronicles 2:24 ) and Bethlehem (next verse). The hiatus in the first clause may possibly be supplied by "the families of" from the last verse, or, more fitly, by "the sons of," inasmuch as some manuscripts have it so. The Septuagint, however, and Vulgate displace "the father of" ( i.e. chief of ), replacing it by "the sons of." The... read more
Read, “These are the sons of the father (i. e. chief) of Etam” 2 Chronicles 11:6, a city of Judah, not far from Bethlehem. read more
1 Chronicles 4:2-3. The families of the Zorathites So denominated, not from a man, but a place named Zoreah, (1 Chronicles 2:53, and Joshua 15:33,) situated in the tribe of Judah. Here several families of that tribe settled; who were descended from Jahath, Ahumai, and Lahad, the sons and grandsons of Shobal. Of the father of Etam Descended from the proprietor or chief man of a place, called Etam, which was in this tribe, 1 Chronicles 4:32. read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 4:1-10
One reason, no doubt, why Ezra is here most particular in the register of the tribe of Judah is because it was that tribe which, with its appendages, Simeon, Benjamin, and Levi, made up the kingdom of Judah, which not only long survived the other tribes in Canaan, but in process of time, now when this was written, returned out of captivity, when the generality of the other tribes were lost in the kingdom of Assyria. The most remarkable person in this paragraph is Jabez. It is not said whose... read more