1 Chronicles 2:55
in 1 Chronicles 2Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, half the Manahathites, the Zorites, and the clans of the scribes who lived at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the families of scribes that dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
KJV
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Kenites - It is remarkable that Kenites - people of a race quite distinct from the Israelites Gen 15:19 - should be attached to, and, as it were, included in the descendants of Judah. It seems, however, that the friendly feeling between the two tribes - based on the conduct of the Kenites at the time of the Exodus Exo 18:10-19; Num 10:29-32; 1Sa 15:6 - led to their intermixture and almost amalgamation with the Israelites, Kenite families not only dwelling among them but being actually regarded as of one blood with them.
This site's exposition
Salma the father of Beth–lehem
on 1 Chronicles 2:51-55
Salma's sons found Bethlehem itself along with Netophah and other towns, closing Judah's genealogy where the royal line already led earlier in the chapter. The last verse names the scribes of Jabez as Kenites of the house of Rechab, the same clan Jeremiah 35 later holds up as an example of obedience, a people not of Israelite blood so bound to Judah by loyalty that Chronicles counts them within the tribe's own record.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Scribes - Either civil, who were public notaries, that wrote and signed legal instruments: or ecclesiastical. And these were either Levites, or Simeonites, or rather Kenites, and are here mentioned not as if they were of the tribe of Judah, but because they dwelt among them, and probably were allied to them by marriages, and so in a manner incorporated with them.
And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez,....
At every turn we meet with the twelve tribes that descended from these twelve patriarchs. The personal character of several of them was none of the best (the first four were much blemished), and yet the covenant was entailed on their seed; for it was of grace, free grace, that it was said, Jacob have I loved--not of works, lest any man should boast.
Among all these great families we are glad to find some that were families of scribes. Would to God that all the Lord's people were prophets --all the families of Israel families of scribes, well instructed to the kingdom of heaven, and able to bring out of their treasury things new and old!
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the families of the scribes--either civil or ecclesiastical officers of the Kenite origin, who are here classed with the tribe of Judah, not as being descended from it, but as dwelling within its territory, and in a measure incorporated with its people.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The families - “The families of the Rechabites, the sons of Eliezer the son of Misco, the disciple of Jabez; he was Othniel, the son of Kenaz. And he was called Jabez, because in his council he instituted a school of disciples; they were called Tirathim, because in their hymns their voice was like trumpets; and Shimathim, because in hearing they lifted up their faces, i.e., in prayer; and Suchathim, because they were overshadowed by the Spirit of prophecy. These Salmaei were the children of Zipporah, who were numbered among the Levites who came from the stock of Moses, the master of Israel, whose righteousness profited them more than chariots and horses.” - T. See on 1Ch 4:9-10 (note). Is the above explanation of Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Suchathites, the Targumist refers to the import of the Hebrew roots, whence these names are derived. See 1Ch 4:10. In this chapter many names of cities are given as the names of men.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת | umishpechot | and [the] clans of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| סֹפְרִים֙ | soferim | [the] Sophrites | H5608 → | 159 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֣י | yoshevu | [who were] dwelling | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יַעְבֵּ֔ץ | ya'betz | of Jabez | H3258 → | 4 times |
| תִּרְעָתִ֥ים | tiratim | Tirathites | H8654 → | |
| שִׁמְעָתִ֖ים | shimatim | Shimeathites | H8101 → | |
| שׂוּכָתִ֑ים | sukhatim | Sucathites | H7756 → | |
| הֵ֚מָּה | hemah | they [were] | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הַקִּינִ֣ים | hakinim | the Kenites | H7017 → | |
| הַבָּאִ֔ים | habaim | who came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֵחַמַּ֖ת | mechamat | from Hammath | H2575 → | |
| אֲבִ֥י | ʾavi | [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| בֵית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| רֵכָֽב׃ ס | rekhav | Rechab | H7394 → |
וּמִשְׁפְּח֤וֹתand [the] clans of
umishpechotH4940 →303 times
סֹפְרִים֙[the] Sophrites
soferimH5608 →159 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֣י[who were] dwelling
yoshevuH3427 →1079 times
יַעְבֵּ֔ץof Jabez
ya'betzH3258 →4 times
תִּרְעָתִ֥יםTirathites
tiratimH8654 →
שִׁמְעָתִ֖יםShimeathites
shimatimH8101 →
שׂוּכָתִ֑יםSucathites
sukhatimH7756 →
הֵ֚מָּהthey [were]
hemahH1992 →553 times
הַקִּינִ֣יםthe Kenites
hakinimH7017 →
הַבָּאִ֔יםwho came
habaimH935 →2568 times
מֵחַמַּ֖תfrom Hammath
mechamatH2575 →
אֲבִ֥י[the] father of
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
בֵית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
רֵכָֽב׃ סRechab
rekhavH7394 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Judges 1:16Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live…
it leads to
- Numbers 10:29–32
Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,…
- Judges 4:11
Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
- 1 Samuel 15:6
And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away…
- Numbers 10:29–32
Through
Jeremiah 35:19this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before Me.’”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 15:19
Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you return, I will restore you; you will stand in My presence. And if you speak words that are noble instead of worthless, you will be…
- Luke 21:36
So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Jeremiah 15:19
Through
Judges 4:11Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:33
Their border started at Heleph and the great tree of Zaanannim, passing Adami-nekeb and Jabneel as far as Lakkum and ending at the Jordan.
- Judges 1:16
Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live…
- Numbers 10:29
Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,…
- Joshua 19:33
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.