1 Chronicles 4:40
in 1 Chronicles 4There they found rich, good pasture, and the land was spacious, peaceful, and quiet; for some Hamites had lived there formerly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they that dwelt there aforetime were of Ham.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd they found fat pasture and good,.... In or near the valley of Gedor: and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; there was room enough for them and their flocks, and they had no enemies on either side to disturb them: for they of Ham had dwelt there of old; either the Canaanites who descended from Canaan the son of Ham, and had never been expelled from thence; or the Philistines, who were a colony of the Egyptians, the posterity of Ham; and these inhabitants being of this cursed race, the Simeonites scrupled not to dispossess them.
This site's exposition
Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah
on 1 Chronicles 4:34-43
The princes named here led their growing families to seek new pasture, first east of Gedor, where they found the land wide and quiet and destroyed a remnant of Ham's descendants who had held it of old, in the days of Hezekiah. A second company of five hundred went further, to mount Seir, and smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, the last blow this book records against the people whose destruction Israel was commanded from the days of Moses and Saul.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), made themselves masters of it, and dwelt there. This adds to the glory of Hezekiah's pious reign, that, as his kingdom in general prospered, so did particular families. It is said that they found fat pastures, and yet the land was quiet; even when the kings of Assyria were giving disturbance to all their neighbours this land escaped their alarms.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Fat pasture, &c. - Those who thus dwelt (as we do) in a fruitful country, and whose land is wide and quiet and peaceable, have reason to own themselves indebted to that God, who appoints the bounds of our habitation.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They of Ham had dwelt there of old - These were probably either Philistines or Egyptians, who dwelt at Gedor, which was situated in the environs of Joppa and Samnia. Those whom the five hundred Simeonites expelled from Seir were Amalekites, 1Ch 4:43.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּמְצְא֤וּ | vaiyimtzeu | and they found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| מִרְעֶה֙ | mireh | pasture | H4829 → | 13 times |
| שָׁמֵ֣ן | shamen | fertile | H8082 → | |
| וָט֔וֹב | vatov | and good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְהָאָ֙רֶץ֙ | vehaaretz | and the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| רַחֲבַ֣ת | rachavat | [was] broad of | H7342 → | |
| יָדַ֔יִם | yadayim | both hands | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְשֹׁקֶ֖טֶת | veshoketet | and at peace | H8252 → | |
| וּשְׁלֵוָ֑ה | ushelevah | and at ease | H7961 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִן־ | min- | [were] from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| חָ֔ם | cham | Ham | H2526 → | 16 times |
| הַיֹּשְׁבִ֥ים | haiyoshevim | the inhabitants | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׁ֖ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לְפָנִֽים׃ | lefanim | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַֽיִּמְצְא֤וּand they found
vaiyimtzeuH4672 →455 times
מִרְעֶה֙pasture
mirehH4829 →13 times
שָׁמֵ֣ןfertile
shamenH8082 →
וָט֔וֹבand good
vatovH2896 →538 times
וְהָאָ֙רֶץ֙and the land
vehaaretzH776 →2504 times
רַחֲבַ֣ת[was] broad of
rachavatH7342 →
יָדַ֔יִםboth hands
yadayimH3027 →1618 times
וְשֹׁקֶ֖טֶתand at peace
veshoketetH8252 →
וּשְׁלֵוָ֑הand at ease
ushelevahH7961 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מִן־[were] from
min-H4480 →1188 times
חָ֔םHam
chamH2526 →16 times
הַיֹּשְׁבִ֥יםthe inhabitants
haiyoshevimH3427 →1079 times
שָׁ֖םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
לְפָנִֽים׃<to> before
lefanimH6440 →2123 times
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
Psalms 78:51He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:22
wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 105:23
Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
- Psalms 135:8
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.
- Psalms 136:10
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 105:36
Then He struck all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor.
- Psalms 106:22
Through
Psalms 105:23Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob dwelt in the land of Ham.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:51
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 7:11–15
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
- Acts 13:17
The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made them into a great people during their stay in Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out of that land.
- Psalms 78:51
About 1 Chronicles

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
