First Book of Chronicles 4

¹ Sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, Shobal.

² Reaiah son of Shobal became father of Jahath, and Jahath father of Ahumai and Lahad. These are the Zorathite clans.

³ These are Abi-etam, Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, whose sister was called Hazzelelponi.

⁴ Penuel became father of Gedor, Ezer father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah, father of Bethlehem.

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

⁶ Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, the Timnites, and the Ahashtarites. These are the sons of Naarah.

⁷ Sons of Helah: Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan.

⁸ Koz became father of Anub, Hazzobebah and the clans of Aharhel son of Harum.

⁹ Jabez won himself more honour than his brothers. His mother gave him the name Jabez, ‘because’ she said ‘in distress I gave birth to him’.

¹⁰ Jabez called on the God of Israel. ‘If you truly bless me,’ he said ‘you will extend my lands, your hand will be with me, you will keep harm away and my distress will cease.’ God granted him what he had asked.

¹¹ Chelub, Shuhah’s brother, became father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.

¹² Eshton became father of Bethrapha, Paseah and Tehinnah father of Irnahash, brother of Eselon the Kenizzite. These are the men of Recah.

¹³ Sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah. Sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai,

¹⁴ who became father of Ophrah. Seraiah became father of Joab, father of Geharashim-and they were in fact craftsmen.[*a]

¹⁵ Sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah and Naam. Sons of Elah: Kenaz.

¹⁶ Sons of Jehallelel: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiri-a, Asarel.

¹⁷ Sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, Jalon. Then she conceived Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa,

¹⁸ whose Judaean wife gave birth to Jered father of Gedor, Heber father of Soco, and Jekuthiel, father of Zanoah. These are the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh whom Mered married.

¹⁹ The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham father of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

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

²¹ Sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er father of Lecah, Laadah father of Mareshah, and the clans of linenworkers at Beth-ashbea,

²² Jokim, the men of Cozeba, Joash and Saraph who went to Moab to take wives before returning to Bethlehem. (Events, these, of long ago.)

²³ These were potters and lived at Netaim and Gederah; they stayed with the king there, employed in his workshop.

²⁴ Sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul;

²⁵ Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.

²⁶ The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son.

²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, and the sum of their clans did not multiply as the sons of Judah did.

²⁸ They lived in Beersheba, Moladah and Hazar-shual,

²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem and Tolad,

³⁰ Bethuel, Hormah and Ziklag,

³¹ Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, Shaaraim. These were their towns until the reign of David.

³² Their outlying villages were: Etam, Am, Rimmon, Tochen and Ashan, five towns,

³³ with all the outlying villages round these towns as far as Baalath. Here they had their settlements and sorted themselves into their various groups.

³⁴ Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah,

³⁵ Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel,

³⁶ Elioenei, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah,

³⁷ Ziza, Ben-shiphi, Ben-allon, Ben-jedaiah, Ben-shimri, Ben-shemaiah,

³⁸ These men here named came with their clans and families; they grew in number and spread.

³⁹ In search of pasture for their flocks they travelled from the Gerar pass to the eastern end of the valley,

⁴⁰ where they found good, fat pasture; the land was broad, untroubled, peaceful. Hamites[*b] had been living there before them.

⁴¹ The Simeonites, registered by name, arrived there in the time of Hezekiah king of Judah; they overran their tents and the dwellings they found there. They put them under a ban still in force today and settled in their place, since there was pasturage for their flocks.

⁴² Some of them, belonging to the sons of Simeon, reached Mount Seir: five hundred men led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.

⁴³ They defeated the surviving fugitives of Amalek and still live there today.