Verse 1
1 Chronicles 4:1. The sons of
Judah — The posterity: for only
Pharez was his immediate son.
But they are all mentioned here
only to show Shobal’s descent
from Judah.
Verse 2-3
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.
Verse 4
1 Chronicles 4:4. Penuel the
father of Gedor — In 1
Chronicles 4:18, Jered is said
to be the father, that is, the
founder or lord of Gedor. It is
probable they were both
concerned in building or
governing it. The sons of Hur —
By some other wife than her by
whom he had the children,
mentioned 1 Chronicles 2:20. The
father of Beth-lehem — In 1
Chronicles 2:51, Salma is said
to be the father of Beth-lehem.
But this may be understood as in
the foregoing clause of this
verse.
Verse 9
1 Chronicles 4:9. Jabez was more
honourable, &c. — For courage
and fervent piety. His mother
called his name Jabez — That is,
sorrowful; saying, Because I
bare him with sorrow — She had
hard labour when she was in
travail with him. She records
this, that it might be a
memorandum to herself, to be
thankful to God as long as she
lived, for bringing her through
that sorrow: and a memorandum to
him, that she bore him into a
vale of tears, in which he might
expect few days and full of
trouble. And the sorrow implied
in his name might serve to put a
seriousness upon his spirit.
Verse 10
1 Chronicles 4:10. Jabez called
on the God of Israel — The
living and true God, who alone
can hear and answer prayer: and
in prayer he had an eye to him
as the God of Israel, a God in
covenant with his people, the
God with whom Jacob wrestled and
prevailed, and was thence called
Israel. Saying, O that thou
wouldest bless me indeed! — He
did not say in what respect he
desired God to bless him, but
leaves that to God, giving him,
as it were, a blank paper, that
he might write what he pleased.
Spiritual blessings are the best
blessings, and those are blessed
indeed, who are blessed with
them. God’s blessings are real
things, and produce real
effects. We can but wish a
blessing: he commands it. And
enlarge my coast — Prosper my
endeavours for the increase of
what has fallen to my lot: drive
out these Canaanites, whom thou
hast commanded us to root out;
and therefore I justly beg and
expect thy blessing in the
execution of thy command. That
thy hand might be with me — The
prayer of Moses for this tribe
of Judah was, that his own hands
might be sufficient for him; but
Jabez expects not that, unless
he have God’s hand with him, and
the presence of his power. God’s
hand with us to lead, protect,
strengthen us, and to work all
our works in and for us, is
indeed a hand sufficient for us,
yea, all-sufficient. And keep me
from evil — The evil of sin, the
evil of trouble; all the evil
designs of my enemies, and all
disastrous events. That it may
not grieve me — That it may not
oppress and overcome me. He uses
this expression in allusion to
his name, which signifies grief:
as if he had said, Lord, let me
not have that grief which my
name implies, and which my sin
deserves. God granted him that
which he requested — Prospered
him remarkably in his
undertakings, in his worldly
business, in his conflicts with
the Canaanites, and his
endeavours after knowledge, and
holiness, and other spiritual
blessings.
Verses 12-14
1 Chronicles 4:12-14. These are
the men of Rechah — From these
sprung the inhabitants of
Rechah, a town not mentioned
elsewhere. The sons of Kenaz —
Who was the son, either of
Chelub, (1 Chronicles 4:11,) or
of his son Eshton, (1 Chronicles
4:12,) and the father of
Jephunneh, and consequently
Caleb’s grandfather, (1
Chronicles 4:15,) whence Caleb
is called a Kenezite, Numbers
32:12. Hathath — Understand, and
Meonothai, out of the beginning
of the following verse, as in 1
Chronicles 4:7, where Coz must
be supplied from the next verse.
And similar ellipses we meet
with elsewhere. Joab, the father
of the valley — Of the
inhabitants of the valley.
Verse 18
1 Chronicles 4:18. Bithiah, the
daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered
took — That is, married. But it
is not likely that he married
the daughter of the king of
Egypt, unless some natural
daughter; but rather of some
other person called by that
name, who might either be an
Israelite, or one brought by
force out of Egypt by way of
spoil.
Verse 21
1 Chronicles 4:21. The sons of
Shelah — Having spoken of the
posterity of Judah by Pharez,
and by Zarah, he now comes to
his progeny by Shelah. The
families of them, that wrought
fine linen — From him came all
those families that were famous
for weaving and working in fine
linen; wherewith their kings and
priests were clothed.
Verse 22-23
1 Chronicles 4:22-23. Who had
the dominion in Moab — Which
they ruled in the name and for
the use of the kings of Judah,
to whom Moab was subject from
David’s time. Ancient things —
The sense is, those blessed
times are long since past. Our
ancestors had the dominion over
the heathen, but their
degenerate posterity are slaves
in Chaldea, where they are
employed as potters or
gardeners, or in other servile
works These were — Or, rather,
these are the potters, &c. — For
he seems to oppose their present
servitude to their former glory,
and to show how low and mean
they were in spirit, in that
they would rather tarry among
the heathen to do their drudgery
than return to Jerusalem to
serve God, and enjoy their
freedom. There they dwelt — Or,
rather, now dwell, when their
brethren are returned: for Ezra
seems to have written this,
after leave was given by Cyrus
for the return of the Jews. With
the king for his work — The king
of Persia, esteeming it a
greater honour and happiness to
serve that earthly monarch in
the meanest employments, than
the King of kings in his temple,
and in his most noble and
heavenly work.
Verse 24
1 Chronicles 4:24. The sons of
Simeon were Nemuel, &c. — These
are here joined with Judah,
because their possession was
taken out of Judah’s portion,
Joshua 19:1. This account seems
to differ from that in Genesis
46:10, both in the number and
names of the persons; which is
not strange, considering how
customary it was among the
Hebrews for one person to have
two or three names given to him
upon different occasions. And
for Ohad, he may be omitted
here, because he left no
posterity after him as the rest
did.
Verse 27
1 Chronicles 4:27. Neither did
their family multiply like the
children of Judah — The tribe of
Simeon did not increase
proportionably to the tribe of
Judah in which they dwelt, as
appears by those two catalogues,
Numbers 1:22; Numbers 26:14;
which is to be ascribed to God’s
curse upon them, delivered by
the month of holy Jacob,
(Genesis 49.,) and signified by
Moses’s neglect of them, when he
blessed all the other tribes.
Verse 31
1 Chronicles 4:31. These were
their cities — Several of these
cities, though given to Simeon
by Joshua, yet, through the
sloth or cowardice of that
tribe, were not taken from the
Philistines until David’s time,
who took some of them, and, the
Simeonites having justly
forfeited their right to them by
their neglect, gave them to his
own tribe. For it is evident
concerning Ziklag, one of them,
that it was in the Philistines’
hands in David’s time, and by
them given to him, and by him
annexed to the tribe of Judah, 1
Samuel 27:6.
Verse 40
1 Chronicles 4:40. They found
fat pasture, &c. — Those who
thus dwelt (as we do) in a
fruitful country, and whose land
is wide, and quiet, and
peaceable, have reason to own
themselves indebted to that God,
who appoints the bounds o four
habitation. Of Ham — The
Canaanites, who descended from
Ham. And, accordingly, these
words contain a reason why they
went and possessed this place,
because it was not in the hands
of their brethren of Judah, but
in the possession of that people
which they had authority to
expel.
Verse 41
1 Chronicles 4:41. These came in
the days of Hezekiah — But a
little before their captivity,
which was in the sixth year of
Hezekiah, 2 Kings 17. So their
joy in their new, pleasant, and
fruitful possessions, lasted but
for a very little while. And
smote their tents — The people
dwelling in tents; in which, it
seems, they continued to dwell
for the convenience of
pasturage. And destroyed them
unto this day — So as that they
could never after recover
themselves.
Verse 43
1 Chronicles 4:43. They smote
the rest of the Amalekites — Not
destroyed by Saul, or David, or
his successors. That dwelt there
unto this day — Until the
Babylonish captivity, or the
time next after it, when these
books were written. For,
although the main body of the
tribe of Simeon, dwelling in
Canaan, were carried into
captivity, yet this small
remnant of them, having removed
their dwellings, and being
planted In mount Seir, which lay
southward from Judah, might
possibly be continued and
preserved in those parts, when
their brethren were gone into
captivity. |