Chapter 4

^1 [a]The sons of Judah were: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.^{(A) 2} Reaiah, the son of Shobal, became the father of Jahath, and Jahath became the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites.

³ These were the sons of Hareph, the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; their sister was named Hazzelelponi. ⁴ Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These were the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.

⁵ Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah.^{(B) 6} Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, the Temenites, and the Ahashtarites. These were the sons of Naarah. ⁷ The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, Ethnan, and Koz. ⁸ Koz became the father of Anub and Zobebah, as well as of the clans of Aharhel, son of Harum. ⁹ Jabez was the most distinguished of his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I bore him with pain.” ¹⁰ Jabez prayed to the God of Israel: “Oh, that you may truly bless me and extend my boundaries! May your hand be with me and make me free of misfortune, without pain!” And God granted his prayer.

¹¹ Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹² Eshton became the father of Bethrapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of the city of Nahash. These were the men of Recah.

¹³ The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel were Hathath and Meonothai;^{(C) 14} Meonothai became the father of Ophrah. Seraiah became the father of Joab, the father of Geharashim, so called because they were artisans. ¹⁵ The sons of Caleb, son of Jephunneh, were Ir, Elah, and Naam. The sons of Elah: Kenaz.^{(D) 16} The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. ¹⁷ The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Jether became the father of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa.^{(E) 18} Mered’s Egyptian wife bore Jered, the father of Gedor, Heber, the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel, the father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married. ¹⁹ The sons of his Jewish wife, the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah, were Shimon the Garmite and Ishi the Maacathite. ²⁰ The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. The son of Ishi was Zoheth and the son of Zoheth….

²¹ The sons of Shelah, son of Judah, were: Er, the father of Lecah; Laadah, the father of Mareshah; the clans of the linen weavers’ guild in Bethashbea;^{(F) 22} Jokim; the people of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who held property in Moab, but returned to Bethlehem. (These are events of old.) ²³ They were potters and inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah, where they lived in the king’s service.

Simeon. ²⁴ The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul,^{(G) 25} whose son was Shallum, whose son was Mibsam, whose son was Mishma. ²⁶ The sons of Mishma were his son Hammuel, whose son was Zaccur, whose son was Shimei. ²⁷ Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. His brothers, however, did not have many sons, and as a result all their clans did not equal the number of the Judahites.

²⁸ They dwelt in Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, ²⁹ Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰ Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹ Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Bethbiri, and Shaaraim. Until the reign of David, these were their cities ³² and their villages. Etam, also, and Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five cities,^{(H) 33} together with all their outlying villages as far as Baal. Here is where they dwelt, and so it was inscribed of them in their family records.

³⁴ Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah, son of Amaziah, ³⁵ Joel, Jehu, son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, ³⁶ Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷ Ziza, son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah— ³⁸ these just named were princes in their clans, and their ancestral houses spread out to such an extent^{(I) 39} that they went to the approaches of Gedor,^[b] east of the valley, seeking pasture for their flocks. ⁴⁰ They found abundant and good pastures, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful—for the Hamites dwelt there formerly. ⁴¹ They who have just been listed by name set out during the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and attacked their tents and also the Meunites who were there. They put them under the ban that is still in force to this day and dwelt in their place because they found pasture there for their flocks.^(J)

⁴² Five hundred of them (the Simeonites) went to Mount Seir, with Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, sons of Ishi, at their head. ⁴³ They attacked the surviving Amalekites who had escaped, and have lived there to the present day.^(K)