1 Chronicles 4

1The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.footnote a

2And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.footnote b

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.

9And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.footnote c

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.footnote dfootnote e

11And 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.footnote f

13And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.footnote g

14And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.footnote hfootnote ifootnote j

15And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.footnote k

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.footnote l

19And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.footnote m

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.

24The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:footnote nfootnote o

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.footnote p

28And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual,

29And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,footnote qfootnote r

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.footnote s

32And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:footnote t

33And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.footnote ufootnote v

34And 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.footnote w

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.

The Descendants of Judah

1The descendants of Judah:
Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.

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 sonsfootnote a of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. And their sister was named Hazzelelponi. 4Penuel was the fatherfootnote b of Gedor, and Ezer was the father of Hushah.
These were the descendants of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah and the father of Bethlehem.

5Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.

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

7The sons of Helah were Zereth, Zohar,footnote c 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,footnote d 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.”
And God granted the request of Jabez.

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.

13The sons of Kenaz:
Othniel and Seraiah.
The sons of Othniel:
Hathath and Meonothai.footnote e

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.footnote f

15The sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh:
Iru, Elah, and Naam.
The sonfootnote g of Elah:
Kenaz.

16The sons of Jehallelel:
Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.

17The sons of Ezrah:
Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon.
And Mered’s wife Bithiah gave birthfootnote h to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah.footnote i
Mered also took a Judeanfootnote j 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.footnote k

20The sons of Shimon:
Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.
The descendants of Ishi:
Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.

21The sons of Shelah son of Judah:
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,footnote l and Shaul.

25The sons of Shaul:
Shallum, Mibsam, and Mishma.

26The sons of Mishma:
Hammuel, Zaccur, and Shimei.

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.footnote m 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 destructionfootnote n 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.