1 Chronicles 4:23
in 1 Chronicles 4These were the potters who lived at Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the service of the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These were the potters, and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah: there they dwelt with the king for his work.
KJV
These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Among plants and hedges - Rather, “in Netaim and Gederah” Jos 15:36. With the king - Or, probably, “on the king’s property.” Both David and several of the later kings had large territorial possessions in various parts of Judaea 1Ch 27:25, 1Ch 27:31; 2Ch 26:10; 2Ch 27:4; 2Ch 32:28-29.
This site's exposition
the son of Judah were, Er the father
on 1 Chronicles 4:21-23
Shelah's line is remembered by trade as much as by name, the house of Ashbea that wrought fine linen, likely a craft carried out of Egypt, and men who once held dominion in Moab, called ancient things by the time the Chronicler writes. Verse twenty-three names potters and gardeners who dwelt with the king for his work, ordinary trades set down for permanent record beside the roster of a tribe's princes. Spurgeon took the phrase as a sermon text in its own right, on the honor of any labor done for the true King.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
There are - He seems to oppose their present servitude to their former glory, and to shew their mean spirits that had rather tarry among the Heathen to do their drudgery, than return to Jerusalem to serve God and enjoy their freedom.
These were the potters,....
(1.) It was found among the ancient things that they had the dominion in Moab. Probably in David's time, when that country was conquered, they transplanted themselves thither, and were put in places of power there, which they held for several generations; but this was a great while ago, time out of mind.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
ALL labor is honorable. No man ever needs to be ashamed of an honest calling. Whether a potter or a gardener, or whatever else his occupation may be, the workman need never blush at the craft or toil by which he earns his honest wage. "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread," belongs to us all. The sluggard may well be ashamed of his sloth, but not the diligent man of his industry. It is quite certain that the Word of God does not disparage the most humble calling.
ALL labor is honorable. No man ever needs to be ashamed of an honest calling. Whether a potter or a gardener, or whatever else his occupation may be, the workman need never blush at the craft or toil by which he earns his honest wage. "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread," belongs to us all. The sluggard may well be ashamed of his sloth, but not the diligent man of his industry. It is quite certain that the Word of God does not disparage the most humble calling. I suppose that there is scarcely a trade or occupation which is not mentioned in sacred Scripture. The rough hand and the rugged face of the peasant are to be preferred before the dainty finger and the sleek form of the Pharisee. And the election of Divine Grace has comprised men of all sorts—herdsman and fisherman, brick maker and tent maker—those who plowed the soil and those who plowed the sea. From all ranks and classes and conditions of men God has been pleased to call forth His own and He has loved them, none the less, because they have had to soil their hands with potter's clay, or bend their backs to till the field. Wretched is the clown who sits in the shade while his comrades work in the sun! There is an honor, then, and a dignity, too, in humble honest toil. The Bible itself does not disdain to record the humble craftsman's name. To serve a king always was and still is deemed a thing to be desired. Those who do such duties claim some deference from their fellows. Work done well, however common, is accounted worthy of its wage, but work done for royalty generally has some special attraction to commend it. Such a man is privileged by appointment to be purveyor of this or that to Her Majesty, the Queen, and he takes good care to let us know it. It is published in his shop window. It is painted over his door. It is printed on his cards.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
These were the potters - “These are the disciples of the law, for whose sake the world was created; who preside in judgment, and establish the world; and they build and perfect the fallen down house of Israel: they dwelt there with the Shechinah of the King of the world, in the study of the law and the intercalation or months, and determining the commencement of years and festivals: and they computed the times from heaven in the days of Ruth, the mother of kingdoms, to the days of Solomon the king.” - T. I am afraid this paraphrase gives us as little light as the text itself, which speaks of potters, and those who dwelt among plants and hedges. They were probably brickmakers; perhaps potters also, who had their dwelling in low grounds, and fabricated the clay into pots and bricks that was digged up in forming fences in the king’s domains.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵ֚מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹצְרִ֔ים | haiyotzrim | [were] the potters | H3335 → | |
| וְיֹשְׁבֵ֥י | veyoshevei | and [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| נְטָעִ֖ים | netaim | Netaim | H5196 → | |
| וּגְדֵרָ֑ה | ugederah | and Gederah | H1449 → | |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בִּמְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ | bimlakhto | in service his | H4399 → | 167 times |
| יָ֥שְׁבוּ | yashevu | they dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָֽׁם׃ ס | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
הֵ֚מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
הַיּ֣וֹצְרִ֔ים[were] the potters
haiyotzrimH3335 →
וְיֹשְׁבֵ֥יand [the] inhabitants of
veyosheveiH3427 →1079 times
נְטָעִ֖יםNetaim
netaimH5196 →
וּגְדֵרָ֑הand Gederah
ugederahH1449 →
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בִּמְלַאכְתּ֖וֹin service his
bimlakhtoH4399 →167 times
יָ֥שְׁבוּthey dwelt
yashevuH3427 →1079 times
שָֽׁם׃ סthere
shamH8033 →834 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Psalms 81:6“I relieved his shoulder of the burden; his hands were freed from the basket.
it leads to
- Isaiah 9:4
For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
- Isaiah 10:27
On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.
- Exodus 6:6
Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched…
- Matthew 11:29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
- Exodus 1:14
and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.
- Isaiah 9:4
Through
1 Chronicles 4:14Meonothai 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.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 11:35
Lod, and Ono; and in the Valley of the Craftsmen.
- 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.
- Nehemiah 11:35
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1400, With the King for His Work!; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1400: “With the King for His Work!” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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.