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1 Chronicles 4:14

in 1 Chronicles 4

Meonothai 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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab the father of Ge-harashim; for they were craftsmen.

KJV

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

This verse in 1 Chronicles 4

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
And Meonothai,.... Another son of Othniel: begat Ophrah; and Seraiah, the brother of Othniel, begat Joab; not David's general, but another of the same name, who lived long before him, see 1Ch 2:54. the father of the valley of Charashim: of the inhabitants of the valley, or the prince of them, called the valley of craftsmen, Neh 11:35 the reason of which is here given: for they were craftsmen; that dwelt in it, carpenters and smiths, both which the word signifies, men that wrought in stone, wood, and iron.

This site's exposition

Chelub the brother of Shuhah

on 1 Chronicles 4:11-20

This unit gathers several branches of Judah's families, among them the people of Ge-harashim, which was given this name because its people were craftsmen. Verse 18 records a marriage told nowhere else, of an Egyptian princess in Judah's genealogy: These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah.

This site's exposition

because its people were craftsmen

Ge-harashim means the valley of craftsmen, and Gill notes it appears as a settlement in Nehemiah 11:35. This Joab is an early man of Kenaz's family, long before David's commander. The place kept the trade in its name.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

There was a valley where they lived which was, from them, called the valley of craftsmen. Those that are craftsmen are not therefore to be looked upon as mean men.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

The words “and Meonothai” should he added to the end of 1Ch 4:13; but they should be retained also at the commencement of 1Ch 4:14. Or, see the marginal note.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And Seraiah begot Joab, the leader of Gei Harashim Joab was the leader of a valley in which there were craftsmen. Now why do I call it the Valley of Craftsmen? Because they were craftsmen; i.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 4:14:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The sons of Kenaz: Othniel. Even though the text had not mentioned Kenaz, it mentions his lines, as we have written (v. 11).
Radak: Provence, 1160–1235 · Radak on I Chronicles 4:13:1, via Sefaria, The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וּמְעוֹנֹתַ֖יand Meonothai

    umeonotaiH4587 →

  • הוֹלִ֣ידhe fathered

    holidH3205 →496 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • עָפְרָ֑הOphrah

    ʾaferahH6084 →

  • וּשְׂרָיָ֗הand Seraiah

    userayahH8304 →20 times

  • הוֹלִ֤ידhe fathered

    holidH3205 →496 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • יוֹאָב֙Joab

    yoavH3097 →144 times

  • אֲבִי֙[the] father of

    ʾaviH1 →1212 times

  • גֵּ֣יאGe

    gei'H1516 →59 times

  • חֲרָשִׁ֔יםHarashim

    charashimH2798 →

  • כִּ֥יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • חֲרָשִׁ֖יםcraftsmen

    charashimH2796 →37 times

  • הָיֽוּ׃ פthey were

    hayuH1961 →3559 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

7 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Kings 24:14

    He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 52:28

      These are the people Nebuchadnezzar carried away: in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;

    • 2 Kings 25:12

      But the captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

    • 2 Kings 24:16

      The king of Babylon also brought into exile to Babylon all seven thousand men of valor and a thousand craftsmen and metalsmiths—all strong and fit for battle.

    • Jeremiah 40:7

      When all the commanders and men of the armies in the field heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in…

    • Jeremiah 52:16

      But Nebuzaradan captain of the guard left behind some of the poorest of the land to tend the vineyards and fields.

  • Through

    Nehemiah 11:35

    Lod, and Ono; and in the Valley of the Craftsmen.

    it leads to

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About 1 Chronicles

King David Playing the Harp, Gerard van Honthorst, 1622. Public domain.
King David Playing the Harp, Gerard van Honthorst, 1622. Public domain.

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Berean Standard Bible, Nehemiah 11:35; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.