1 CHRONICLES LESSON 6


     We will begin this lesson in I Chronicles 4:1 "The sons of Judah;
Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal."

     This goes back to the time of the twelve sons of Israel. In this
lesson, we are tracing the lineage of the tribe of Judah. Much of
this, we dealt with in the last lesson. "Judah" means God be praised.
Pharez is one of the twin sons of Judah by his daughter-in-law Tamar.
Hezron is Judah's grandson. Carmi is his descendent through the other
twin Zarah. Hur is his descendent through Caleb. Shobal is a
descendent of Hur. Many times, the word "sons" is used loosely to mean
descendents.

     I Chronicles 4:2 "And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and
Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These [are] the families of the
Zorathites."

     This is an unusual place to begin, but perhaps, the penman
believes enough had already been recorded about the earlier sons and
grandsons of Judah. Reaiah is the same as Haroeh. Ahumai and Lahad,
brother,s formed the Zorathites. They were people of the town of Zorah
in the lowlands of Judah.

     I Chronicles 4:3 "And these [were of] the father of Etam;
Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister [was]
Hazelelponi:"  I Chronicles 4:4 "And 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."

     Etam was a rocky place just out of Bethlehem. Jezreel, Ishma,
Idbash, and Hazelelponi settled there. In verse 4, Penuel founded
Geder. Ezer founded Hushah. Hur, through Caleb and Salma, founded
Beth-lehem. Ephratah and Bethlehem are the same.

     I Chronicles 4:5  "And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives,
Helah and Naarah." I Chronicles 4:6 "And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and
Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These [were] the sons of Naarah."
I Chronicles 4:7 "And the sons of Helah [were], Zereth, and Jezoar,
and Ethnan."

     Tekoa is a place that was founded by Ashur. This is speaking of
the two wives of Ashur. Ashur was a son of Hezron, who was born after
the death of his father. Ashur had two wives named Helah and Naarah.
Each of his wives had several sons, and they all seemed to settle in
Tekoa.

     I Chronicles 4:8 "And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the
families of Aharhel the son of Harum." I Chronicles 4:9  "And Jabez
was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name
Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow." I Chronicles 4:10 "And
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."

     The families of all the aforementioned people from Coz to Jabez
are not mentioned directly. We may safely assume they are of the tribe
of Judah, since we are studying that at the moment. We, also, know
that Jabez is acquainted with the God of Israel, because he prayed and
God answered his prayer. Little else is known.

     I Chronicles 4:11  "And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir,
which [was] the father of Eshton." I Chronicles 4:12 "And Eshton begat
Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These
[are] the men of Rechah."

     Chelub is unknown, except for the fact mentioned in the Scripture
above. Rechah is an unidentified place in Judah, where this family
lived.

     I Chronicles 4:13 "And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah:
and the sons of Othniel; Hathath." I Chronicles 4:14 "And Meonothai
begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of
Charashim; for they were craftsmen."

     Kenaz was Caleb's younger brother, according to Judges chapter 3
verse 9.  He was connected to the Kenizites. Othniel delivered the
people from Kirjath-sepher, and they had peace 40 years. He was the
first judge of Israel after the death of Joshua. Seraiah was brother
to Othniel, and father to Joab. Hathath was son of Othniel of the
tribe of Judah. Meonothai was the father of Ophrah. Possibly, he is
the brother of Hathath. Joab seemed to have settled the valley of
Charashim. "Charashim" means craftsmen.

     I Chronicles 4:15 "And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz."

     This Caleb is descended from the Caleb who was son of Hur. Kenaz,
as well as this Caleb, are the sons of Jephunneh, the Kenezite. The
second Caleb had a grandson named Kenaz, who was the son of Elah. Iru
and Naam were brothers of Elah.

     I Chronicles 4:16 "And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah,
Tiria, and Asareel."

     This descendent and his sons are from the tribe of Judah, but we
do not know who Jehaleleel's father was.

     I Chronicles 4:17 "And the sons of Ezra [were], Jether, and
Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and
Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa."

     This is not the same Ezra, who penned the book by that name. This
is Ezra of Judah, and no more is known of him. This connection with
the other names earlier are difficult. Eshtemoa is an area where they
settled.

     I Chronicles 4:18 "And 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."

     It appears, that Jehudijah had children by Jered, the founder of
Gedor. Jekuthiel was the founder of Zanoah. Heber settled in Socho.
Mered took Bithiah, the daughter of the Pharaoh, and had children by
her.

     I Chronicles 4:19 "And the sons of [his] wife Hodiah the sister
of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the
Maachathite."

     Hodiah is one of the wives of Mered. Hodiah is the same as
Jehudiah in verse 18. She is Hebrew, and Bithiah was Egyptian. Hodiah
was the mother of Heber and Jered. Keilah is a city in the plains of
Judah. Eshtemoa is a mountain town of Judah just out of Hebron. The
Maachathites inhabit a small kingdom near Palestine. They had warriors
among the mighty men of Israel.

     I Chronicles 4:20 "And the sons of Shimon [were], Amnon, and
Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi [were], Zoheth, and
Ben-zoheth."

     These names must remain as just some of the descendents of Judah.
There are no Scriptures which shed more light upon them.

     I Chronicles 4:21  "The 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,"

     In this particular case, the son of Judah was a son of Judah, and
not a descendent further down the line. Shelah was a son of Judah by
his Canaanite wife, Shuah. This Er was a Shelanite. He was a nephew of
the first Er. He was the brother of Laadah. Mareshah is, also, a
Shelanite. He founded a place by the same name. It is interesting, to
me, that families had a trade, that they taught their children and
grandchildren. In this particular case, they wrought fine linen.

     I Chronicles 4:22 "And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash,
and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And
[these are] ancient things."

     Jokim, Joash, and Saraph were descended from Shelah. Chozeba is a
city in the lowlands of Judah. Moab is the heathen land that Ruth came
from. "Jashubi-lehem" means returner of bread. This is speaking of a
place.

     I Chronicles 4:23 "These [were] the potters, and those that dwelt
among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work."

     This is the end of the genealogy of the tribe of Judah. These
people, who worked as potters, were primarily workers for the various
kings.

     I Chronicles 4:24  "The sons of Simeon [were], Nemuel, and Jamin,
Jarib, Zerah, [and] Shaul:"

     This jumps to the genealogy of the tribe of Simeon. "Simeon"
means hearing. His descendents were called Simeonites. For some
reason, Ohad is skipped in the sons of Simeon. Numbers chapter 26
verses 12, 13 and 14 have the same names as listed here. Ohad is
listed as one of the sons in Genesis chapter 46 verse 10. Their mother
was a Canaanitish woman. Nemuel is the same as Jemuel. His descendents
were Nemulites.  "Jamin" means right hand. His descendents were called
Jaminites. "Jarib" means he will contend.  His descendents became the
Jachinites.  Zerah is the same as Zohar.  They became the Zerahites.
"Shaul" means asked of God. They became the Shaulites.

     I Chronicles 4:25 "Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his
son."  I Chronicles 4:26 "And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son,
Zacchur his son, Shimei his son." I Chronicles 4:27 "And 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."

     All of these are speaking of the descendents of Shaul. It
appears, he was the only son in the family who had large families.
Shaul's descendent, Shimei, was the one who had sixteen sons and six
daughters. The tribe of Simeon did not multiply as greatly as the
tribe of Judah.

     I Chronicles 4:28 "And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and
Hazar-shual," I Chronicles 4:29 "And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at
Tolad," I Chronicles 4:30 "And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at
Ziklag," I Chronicles 4:31 "And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim,
and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These [were] their cities unto the
reign of David."  I Chronicles 4:32 "And their villages [were], Etam,
and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:"  I Chronicles
4:33 "And all their villages that [were] round about the same cities,
unto Baal. These [were] their habitations, and their genealogy."

     All of the above are a list of towns and cities where the tribe
of Simeon lived. It shows that even up until the time of David, they
lived in these towns, and cities, and the surrounding areas. This area
had originally been allotted to Judah, but it was taken out of that
area to make the divisions more fair to all concerned. Baal, here, is
a town named Baalath-beer. From generation to generation, they lived
in these places.

     I Chronicles 4:34 "And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah, the son
of Amaziah," I Chronicles 4:35 "And Joel, and Jehu the son of
Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,"  I Chronicles 4:36
"And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel,
and Jesimiel, and Benaiah," I Chronicles 4:37 "And Ziza the son of
Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the
son of Shemaiah;" I Chronicles 4:38 "These mentioned by [their] names
[were] princes in their families: and the house of their fathers
increased greatly."

     There are 22 listed here, and very little is known of them,
except what we read right here. They were the leaders of the families
descended from Simeon.

     I Chronicles 4:39  "And they went to the entrance of Gedor,
[even] unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their
flocks." I Chronicles 4:40 "And they found fat pasture and good, and
the land [was] wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for [they] of Ham had
dwelt there of old."

     It appeared, they had primarily only towns and cities, and they
sought land to graze their flocks. Gedor is unknown, except it was a
land that Ham had settled many years before. This pasture land had
been prepared for this purpose through the years. It was, now, a land
of heathen people, that the LORD had told them to drive out. They
wanted the land, because it would be a good place for their sheep.

     I Chronicles 4:41 "And 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."

     This land was of the Philistines, or Amalekites. This does not
mean that they attacked Judah, or Hezekiah. This is just dating the
time at the reign of Hezekiah. The Amalekites and the Philistines were
mutual enemies of Judah and Simeon. It appears, that the princes of
Simeon overcame them, and took the pastureland.

     I Chronicles 4:42 "And [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." I Chronicles 4:43 "And they smote the rest of the Amalekites
that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day."

     The princes of Simeon were small in number even with their
followers. We see that God was with them, and they overcame the
Amalekites, and took their land. The captains were sons of Ishi.
Nothing is known of Ishi, except that he was a Simeonite, and what we
read here.









                     1 Chronicles 6 Questions


1.  Name the sons of Judah?
2.  What does "Judah" mean?
3.  Who was the mother of Pharez?
4.  Are those listed, in verse 1, really sons of Judah?
5.  Hur is his descendent through whom?
6.  What two brothers founded the Zorathites?
7.  What was Etam?
8.  Who founded Beth-lehem?
9.  Who were the two wives of Ashur?
10. Who was Kenaz?
11. Who was the first judge of Israel, after the death of Joshua?
12. How many years was their peace with him as judge?
13. What does "Charashim" mean?
14. Is the Ezra, in verse 17, the same who penned Ezra?
15. Who took Bithiah?
16. Who is the same as Hodiah?
17. What country was Bithiah from?
18. Shela was the son of Judah by whom?
19. Name three descendents of Shelah.
20. What does "Jashubi-lehem" mean?
21. Who were the sons of Simeon listed in verse 24?
22. What does "Simeon" mean?
23. What other son is listed in Genesis?
24. What does "Jamin" mean?
25. Zerah is the same as ________.
26. Who was the only son of Simeon, who had many descendents?
27. Who had 16 sons and 6 daughters?
28. Where did they all live?
29. Baal, in verse 33, is speaking of where?
30. Who were the princes listed from Simeon's families?
31. Why did they go to the east side of the valley?
32. Who were the captains, who led them?
33. How many men did they have to fight against the Amalekites?