'These are the sons of Israel' — twelve names, and then Judah’s line takes over the book for four chapters. Er is 'wicked in the sight of Hashem'; Tamar’s Perez and Zerah carry the line; Zerah’s house yields 'Achar, the troubler of Israel, who committed a trespass concerning the devoted thing.' Through Hezron and Ram the names descend to Boaz, to Jesse — and the sons of Jesse are counted out until 'Ozem the sixth, David the seventh,' with their sisters Zeruiah and Abigail, whose sons Joab, Abishai, and Asahel will run through the whole story. The rest of the chapter maps Judah family by family — Caleb and Jerahmeel, towns and clans, down to 'the families of scribes who dwelt at Jabez' — the tribe drawn out in full around the king it produced.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;
verse value 2377
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֖לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֖לֶּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Judah" (וִיהוּדָ֔ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 36: these, and·Judah. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Israel" (root ישראל, 94x in I Chronicles); "these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ראובן ("Reuben") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root שמעון ("Simeon") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: אֵ֖לֶּה [these] (36) + בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + רְאוּבֵ֤ן [Reuben] (259) + שִׁמְעוֹן֙ [Simeon] (466) + לֵוִ֣י [Levi] (46) + וִיהוּדָ֔ה [and·Judah] (36) + יִשָּׂשכָ֖ר [Issachar] (830) + וּזְבֻלֽוּן [and·Zebulun] (101) = 2377.
Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
verse value 1452
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "Dan" (דָּ֚ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Benjamin" (וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Dan" (דָּ֚ן), "and·Asher" (וְאָשֵֽׁר). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Asher" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root דן ("Dan") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root יוסף ("Joseph") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: דָּ֚ן [Dan] (54) + יוֹסֵ֣ף [Joseph] (156) + וּבִנְיָמִ֔ן [and·Benjamin] (158) + נַפְתָּלִ֖י [Naphtali] (570) + גָּ֥ד [Gad] (7) + וְאָשֵֽׁר [and·Asher] (507) = 1452.
Malbim
'Dan, Joseph' — placing Dan before Joseph is also found once in the order of the journeys [Numbers], and our Sages say in the Midrash that this is because it was in the merit of Dan that Joseph and Benjamin were born.
The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah; which three were born to him of Bath-shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah’s first-born, was wicked in the sight of Hashem; and He slew him.
verse value 4480
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 76 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "Er" (עֵ֤ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Canaanitess" (הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑ית, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 270: Er, Er, wicked. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Onan" (וְאוֹנָן֙), "and·Shelah" (וְשֵׁלָ֔ה), "from·Bath-shua" (מִבַּת־שׁ֖וּעַ). The root יהודה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 175x in I Chronicles); "was·born" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ער ("Er") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root שלוש ("three") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Canaanitess', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 8 words.
Rashi
was evil in the eyes of the Lord It is explained (Gen. Rab. (85:4) that he would “plow in the gardens,” meaning he was intimate with her in an unnatural way.
Ralbag
'And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of Hashem' — the account is brief here, and it does not mention the death of Onan.
Metzudat David
'The sons of Judah' — out of honor for David, Scripture traces the lineage of the tribe of Judah first. 'Wicked in the sight of Hashem' — for he sinned against Him, and so He put him to death before he had completed his days.
Malbim
'Which three were born to him' — [the Hebrew verb is singular, 'was born,' rather than plural, 'were born'] — meaning that each one was born separately, and they were not twins. For according to the reckoning in Seder Olam, each of them fathered a child when he himself was only eight years old, which might have led one to assume they were born as twins. 'The Canaanitess' — this makes clear that the phrase (Genesis 38:2), 'the daughter of a Canaanite man,' does not mean 'merchant' but rather an actual Canaanite woman (and it must be said that the Midrash, Bereishit Rabbah 85:4, which interprets 'Canaanite' as 'merchant,' derives this from the fact that Scripture there does not call her 'Tamar the Canaanitess'). [Scripture here] does not mention Onan's deed, [which] he did because he knew the offspring would not be reckoned as his; Er, however, intended only evil. In truth, it is the way of this book not to record every detail, as is stated in many places.
And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
verse value 3075
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (לּ֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (לּ֖וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Zerah" (וְאֶת־זָ֑רַח, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "his·daughter-in-law" (כַּלָּת֔וֹ), "Perez" (אֶת־פֶּ֣רֶץ), "and·Zerah" (וְאֶת־זָ֑רַח). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "all·sons·of" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles); "to·him" (root לו, 20x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root כלה ("his·daughter-in-law") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root פרץ ("Perez") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Zerah', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְתָמָר֙ [and·Tamar] (646) + כַּלָּת֔וֹ [his·daughter-in-law] (456) + יָ֥לְדָה [bore] (49) + לּ֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־פֶּ֣רֶץ [Perez] (771) + וְאֶת־זָ֑רַח [and·Zerah] (622) + כׇּל־בְּנֵ֥י [all·sons·of] (112) + יְהוּדָ֖ה [Judah] (30) + חֲמִשָּֽׁה [five] (353) = 3075.
Rashi
And Tamar, his daughter in law I am amazed that he mentions the shame of David’s grandmother.
Malbim
'All the sons of Judah were five' — since it is the way of this book not to mention all of a man's sons, but only those who were distinguished and noteworthy — and everywhere it counts the sons of a particular man, he also had other sons besides them, whom it does not mention because they were not noteworthy individuals — here [Scripture] informs us that Judah had no other sons born to him besides these five. It also hints that Er and Onan came back by the secret of gilgul, through the levirate bond, in Perez and Zerah — and yet all five existed as real, distinct individuals.
Verse structure: 3 words, 16 letters. The shortest word is "Hezron" (חֶצְר֥וֹן, 5 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Perez" (בְּנֵי־פֶ֖רֶץ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "sons·of·Perez" (בְּנֵי־פֶ֖רֶץ), "and·Hamul" (וְחָמֽוּל). 3 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root חצרון ("Hezron") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: בְּנֵי־פֶ֖רֶץ [sons·of·Perez] (432) + חֶצְר֥וֹן [Hezron] (354) + וְחָמֽוּל [and·Hamul] (90) = 876.
Malbim
'Hezron, and Hamul' — [Scripture] will not mention the families of Hamul again, only the families of Perez, for the honor of the House of David.
And the sons of Zerah: Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.
verse value 1947
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "Zerah" (זֶ֗רַח, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Ethan" (וְאֵיתָ֧ן, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Zimri" (זִ֠מְרִ֠י), "and·Calcol" (וְכַלְכֹּ֥ל), "and·Dara" (וָדָ֖רַע). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "all·of·them" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root זמרי ("Zimri") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root איתן ("and·Ethan") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + זֶ֗רַח [Zerah] (215) + זִ֠מְרִ֠י [Zimri] (257) + וְאֵיתָ֧ן [and·Ethan] (467) + וְהֵימָ֛ן [and·Heman] (111) + וְכַלְכֹּ֥ל [and·Calcol] (106) + וָדָ֖רַע [and·Dara] (280) + כֻּלָּ֥ם [all·of·them] (90) + חֲמִשָּֽׁה [five] (353) = 1947.
Rashi
and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara They all lived at the time of David and at the time of Solomon, and they were exceedingly wise. Concerning this it says (I Kings 5:11): “And he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol.” Further on, regarding Solomon’s wisdom, the expression is “Darda,” for even though it was called the generation of knowledge (דֵּעָה דּוּר) because of its wisdom, Solomon was wiser than all of them. Now when Scripture says הָאֶזְרָחִי, the “aleph” is superfluous, like הַזַּרְחִי (Num. 26:20), [because] he was descended from Zerah, and in many places, the “aleph” is inserted into the word, and is not pronounced, e.g. (Job. 13:17): “and my speech (וְאַחְוָתִי)” (Isa. 19:6): “And they shall abandon (וְהֶאֶזְנִיחוּ).” And likewise, (Num. 11:4): “וְְהָאסַפְסוּף, and the rabble.” Now sometimes it is completely missing, as (II Sam. 19:14): “תֹמְרוּ, you shall say,” and likewise, (II Chron. 22:5): “... and the Arameans (הָרַמִּים) smote.” [The verse in Kings] is expounded by Pesikta (Peskikta d’Rav Kahana p. 34, Pesikta Rabbathi 14:9): “... than all men this refers to Adam. Ethan is Abraham. Heman is Moses. Calcol is Joseph. Darda is the generation of the desert. Mahol means that He forgave them for making the Calf.”
Ralbag
'Zimri' — this is the same as Carmi, who is called [by that name] later on; so he had two names.
Malbim
And the sons of Zerah: Zimri — This is the Zabdi mentioned in Joshua (7:1). It is possible that he had two names: since the name Zabdi is mentioned in Joshua in a disgraceful context, they changed his name in the Book of Genealogies from which Ezra copied his account, and called him Zimri; and likewise Ethan and Heman were sons of Zerah. It says 'five of them in all,' because he had no more, as stated above. Now in Kings (I Kings 5:11) it says, 'and he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol' — these men lived in the days of Solomon, and their father was named Mahol, who had named his four sons after 'the sons of Zerah'; they were great sages, and so it says that Solomon was wiser than they were. And according to the Sages, who hold that the sons of Zerah prophesied in Egypt, one can say that this refers to the sons of Zerah themselves here, who were prophets and sages. However, the psalms attributed to Heman the Ezrahite and to Ethan the Ezrahite (Psalms 88-89) cannot be ascribed to any of these, for it is evident from their content that the poets who composed them lived after the destruction and the abolition of the Davidic monarchy; they were other men, among the sons of Korah in the Babylonian exile, who bore these same names as well. And the Ethan and Heman mentioned later among the singers were yet other men, for it is stated (below, 6) that they were not sons of the same father.
And the sons of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who committed a trespass concerning the devoted thing.
verse value 2356
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "Achar" (עָכָר֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "Israel" (יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Carmi" (כַּרְמִ֑י), "Achar" (עָכָר֙), "troubler·of" (עוֹכֵ֣ר). The root עכר appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Israel" (root ישראל, 94x in I Chronicles); "that" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root כרמי ("Carmi") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root מעל ("trespassed") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Carmi', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + כַּרְמִ֑י [Carmi] (270) + עָכָר֙ [Achar] (290) + עוֹכֵ֣ר [troubler·of] (296) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + מָעַ֖ל [trespassed] (140) + בַּחֵֽרֶם [in·the·devoted·thing] (250) = 2356.
Rashi
And the sons of Carmi: Achar Now why do I call him Achar? Was his name not Achan? (It is explained) that [he was called thus] since he troubled Israel by transgressing the devoted thing, and because of him thirty-six thousand (sic) men fell. This is what I explained that whatever derogatory information he can tell, he tells, (but nevertheless) the kingship emanated from them.
Ralbag
'Achar, the troubler of Israel' — this is the same as Achan, mentioned in the Book of Joshua.
Metzudat David
'And the sons of Carmi' — Carmi was the son of Zabdi, that is, Zimri son of Zerah; and even though he was only one son, it says 'and the sons of,' for that is the way biblical language speaks, as in 'and the sons of Dan, Hushim' (Genesis 46:23), and there are many like it. 'Achar' — this is Achan, called by this name of disgrace, as it says, because he brought trouble upon Israel by trespassing regarding the devoted property in the days of Joshua, on account of which Israel fled before the enemy and fell by the sword.
Metzudat Zion
The troubler (ocher) - An expression of confusion and ruin, as in "you have troubled me" (Genesis 34). Trespass (ma'al) - An expression of sin and transgression.
Malbim
And the sons of Carmi — Keep this principle in mind for the whole book: Ezra copied his work from the great Book of Genealogies, where the lineages of every family, with all its branches and offshoots, were recorded from beginning to end; Ezra copied only what was necessary, and only specific individuals. There it was written 'and the sons of Zimri,' listing all of Zimri's sons, who were many, Carmi among them; and afterward all the sons of Carmi were listed, Achan among them. Ezra skipped over what was not needed and copied only 'and the sons of Carmi,' skipping ahead to Achan — whom he recorded as 'Achar, the troubler of Israel.' That is why it is written 'and the sons of' in the plural, just as it was written in the Book of Genealogies, where many sons were mentioned. He is called 'Achar' rather than Achan because he brought trouble (achar) upon Israel, for the letters resh and nun interchange in names, as with Nebuchadnezzar/Nebuchadrezzar.
Verse structure: 3 words, 13 letters. The shortest word is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֥י, 4 letters) and the longest is "Azariah" (עֲזַרְיָֽה, 5 letters). 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root עזריה ("Azariah") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + אֵיתָ֖ן [Ethan] (461) + עֲזַרְיָֽה [Azariah] (292) = 821.
Rashi
And the sons of Ethan: Azariah Like (Gen. 46:23): “And the sons of Dan: Hushim.”
Malbim
And the sons of Ethan — In the great Book of Genealogies, all the sons of Ethan were recorded, and they were many, and afterward the lineage of the rest of Ethan's sons. Ezra skipped over all of them and took hold only of the firstborn, Azariah, skipping the rest; yet he wrote 'and the sons of' in the plural, just as it was written in the Book of Genealogies. It is as if it were written 'and the sons of Ethan: Azariah, etc.,' or 'and so on' — just as you find in Ezra (4:17; 7:12), where the words 'shalem' or 'gemir' [complete] serve to indicate 'etc.' or 'and so on.' For Ezra did not copy the entire Book of Genealogies, only the main points and what he needed; therefore 'and the sons of' is always used for a single son, because in truth there were many who are not mentioned here (as above, at the previous verse). Likewise it says (Genesis 46:23), 'and the sons of Dan: Hushim,' and 'and the sons of Pallu: Eliab' (Numbers 26:8) — they had other sons afterward as well, but only the one needed for the purpose at hand is recorded, for Hushim was among those who came down to Egypt, and regarding Eliab, Scripture wished to record Dathan. This is a general rule throughout. So too what was said above (1:41), 'and the sons of Anah: Dishon' — he had other sons who were not significant for that purpose; and so too below at verse 31, and so throughout.
The sons also of Hezron, who were born to him: Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.
verse value 2861
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jerahmeel" (אֶת־יְרַחְמְאֵ֥ל, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jerahmeel" (אֶת־יְרַחְמְאֵ֥ל), "and·Ram" (וְאֶת־רָ֖ם), "and·Chelubai" (וְאֶת־כְּלוּבָֽי). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "was·born·to·him" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "that" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ירחמאל ("Jerahmeel") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root רם ("and·Ram") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'was·born·to·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + חֶצְר֖וֹן [Hezron] (354) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + נֽוֹלַד־ל֑וֹ [was·born·to·him] (126) + אֶת־יְרַחְמְאֵ֥ל [Jerahmeel] (690) + וְאֶת־רָ֖ם [and·Ram] (647) + וְאֶת־כְּלוּבָֽי [and·Chelubai] (475) = 2861.
Rashi
and Celubai This is Caleb as is indicated below (v. 18): “And Caleb the son of Hezron,” and in I Sam. (25:3), it says: “... and he was a Calebite,” (כָלְבִּי), which the Targum renders: “of the house of Caleb,” and so he explains the word: כָלְבִּי, that he (Nabal) held himself [superior] and boasted that there was no one of such high lineage as he in the entire tribe; i.e, if Samuel gave him (David) the throne, the throne will come to me. Therefore, he said, (ibid. v. 10): “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? Nowadays, there are many slaves,” for he is descended from Ruth the Moabitess, and Jerahmeel his brother married a gentile woman, as is written below, and that is the meaning of “Celubai,” he was haughty and proud (with everythng); his heart exalted him.
Ralbag
'Chelubai' — this is the same as Caleb; he had two names.
Metzudat Zion
Chelubai (Keluvai) - This is Caleb.
Malbim
The sons also of Hezron, who were born to him — For it will be explained (at verse 21) that Hezron had sons born to him by the daughter of Machir, who were reckoned not to Hezron but to Manasseh; therefore it says 'who were born to him,' meaning those who were reckoned as his. And it will further be explained (at verse 24) that sons were born to him after his death; therefore it says 'who were born to him,' meaning during his lifetime. As for 'Jerahmeel' — the phrase is cast in a causative form of lineage, [functioning as 'whom he begot' though the verb 'was born' is passive] — this comes to include also his grandsons, whom he 'begot' by means of his own sons; that is, he 'begot' through Jerahmeel and by means of him, and so with all the rest. Scripture first details what he begot by means of Ram, and afterward (verse 18) what he begot by means of Caleb, and afterward (verse 25) what he begot by means of Jerahmeel, for grandsons are reckoned as sons. And Chelubai is Caleb.
And Ram begot Amminadab; and Amminadab begot Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;
verse value 2383
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "and·Ram" (וְרָ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "Amminadab" (אֶת־עַמִּֽינָדָ֑ב, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Ram" (וְרָ֖ם), "Amminadab" (אֶת־עַמִּֽינָדָ֑ב), "Nahshon" (אֶת־נַחְשׁ֔וֹן). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "Judah" (root יהודה, 20x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root עמינדב ("Amminadab") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root נשיא ("prince·of") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Amminadab', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְרָ֖ם [and·Ram] (246) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־עַמִּֽינָדָ֑ב [Amminadab] (577) + וְעַמִּֽינָדָב֙ [and·Amminadab] (182) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־נַחְשׁ֔וֹן [Nahshon] (815) + נְשִׂ֖יא [prince·of] (361) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + יְהוּדָֽה [Judah] (30) = 2383.
Rashi
Nahshon, the prince of the children of Judah He explains this only because of David’s honor.
Ralbag
'Prince of the children of Judah' — this was in the days of Moses, when Nahshon the son of Amminadab was the prince at that time.
Metzudat David
'And Ram begot' — out of honor for David, Scripture gives his lineage first, before mentioning the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn.
Malbim
And Ram — He gave Ram precedence because the lineage of the house of David stems from his root, and from each generation he mentions only the single individual through whom Jesse, the father of David, descended.
Verse structure: 6 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (הוֹלִ֣יד, 5 letters) and the longest is "and·Nahshon" (וְנַחְשׁוֹן֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Nahshon" (וְנַחְשׁוֹן֙), "Salma" (אֶת־שַׂלְמָ֔א), "and·Salma" (וְשַׂלְמָ֖א). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שלמא ("Salma") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וְנַחְשׁוֹן֙ [and·Nahshon] (420) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־שַׂלְמָ֔א [Salma] (772) + וְשַׂלְמָ֖א [and·Salma] (377) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־בֹּֽעַז [Boaz] (480) = 2159.
Rashi
and Salma begot Boaz Our Sages stated (Baba Bathra 91a): “Ibzan is Boaz,” but it is amazing because how can this be? Did not Nahshon die in the second year following the Exodus from Egypt? Now Salmon, his son, had already been born, and he was one of those who entered the land, and Boaz, his son, who was Ibzan, was born when he entered the land. Now from the Exodus from Egypt until Jephthah were three hundred years, and the Sages said that when Boaz was intimate with Ruth and she conceived, Boaz died immediately, and Ibzan was a judge after the death of Jephthah, as it is written (Judg. 12:8): “And after him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.” About this I am amazed, for we find concerning Abram, that he said, “After his blood had become clotted, etc.,” and he said, (Gen. 17: 17): “Shall a child be born to [a man who is] a hundred years old?” So how did Boaz beget [a child] at the age of three hundred? It is possible to say that for this reason Scripture says (Ruth 4:13): “... and the Lord gave her conception,” on the pattern of “... and the Lord blessed him.” (Ibzan - The father of all the cold ones, for a young woman lay beside him, and he became cold and did not touch her. Not appearing in some editions.)
Malbim
And Salma — He is Salmah and Salmon, mentioned in the Book of Ruth (4:21-22).
Verse structure: 6 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "and·Boaz" (וּבֹ֙עַז֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "Obed" (אֶת־עוֹבֵ֔ד, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Boaz" (וּבֹ֙עַז֙), "Jesse" (אֶת־יִשָֽׁי). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root עובד ("Obed") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וּבֹ֙עַז֙ [and·Boaz] (85) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־עוֹבֵ֔ד [Obed] (483) + וְעוֹבֵ֖ד [and·Obed] (88) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־יִשָֽׁי [Jesse] (721) = 1487.
and Jesse begot his first-born Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimea the third;
verse value 2958
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "the·second" (הַשֵּׁנִ֔י, 4 letters) and the longest is "Eliab" (אֶת־אֱלִיאָ֑ב, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Jesse" (וְאִישַׁ֛י), "his·firstborn" (אֶת־בְּכֹר֖וֹ), "Eliab" (אֶת־אֱלִיאָ֑ב). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "his·firstborn" (root בכור, 24x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אליאב ("Eliab") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אבינדב ("and·Abinadab") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Eliab', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאִישַׁ֛י [and·Jesse] (327) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־בְּכֹר֖וֹ [his·firstborn] (629) + אֶת־אֱלִיאָ֑ב [Eliab] (445) + וַאֲבִֽינָדָב֙ [and·Abinadab] (75) + הַשֵּׁנִ֔י [the·second] (365) + וְשִׁמְעָ֖א [and·Shimea] (417) + הַשְּׁלִשִֽׁי [the·third] (645) = 2958.
Rashi
And Ishai begot his firstborn This is written with the plene spelling, with an “aleph,” meaning that he was a man (אִישׁ), a mighty warrior.
Verse structure: 4 words, 20 letters. The shortest word is "Raddai" (רַדַּ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·fourth" (הָרְבִיעִ֔י, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Nethanel" (נְתַנְאֵל֙), "Raddai" (רַדַּ֖י). 4 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root נתנאל ("Nethanel") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root רביעי ("the·fourth") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: נְתַנְאֵל֙ [Nethanel] (531) + הָרְבִיעִ֔י [the·fourth] (297) + רַדַּ֖י [Raddai] (214) + הַחֲמִישִֽׁי [the·fifth] (373) = 1415.
Verse structure: 4 words, 16 letters. Verse gematria: 1157 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "Ozem" (אֹ֚צֶם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·seventh" (הַשְּׁבִעִֽי, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Ozem" (אֹ֚צֶם). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ששי ("the·sixth") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root דוד ("David") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: אֹ֚צֶם [Ozem] (131) + הַשִּׁשִּׁ֔י [the·sixth] (615) + דָּוִ֖יד [David] (24) + הַשְּׁבִעִֽי [the·seventh] (387) = 1157.
Rashi
David the seventh This is written with the plene spelling, with a “yud,” because of David’s honor, and now he found the pearl; therefore, he did not count the eighth [son], Elijah.
Metzudat David
'David the seventh' — Scripture does not mention the eighth son, Elihu, whom David appointed chief officer over Judah. One may suggest that Elihu was from a different mother: Zeruiah and Abigail were sisters to the seven brothers only through their mother, not through their father; for had Scripture counted Elihu among them as well, it could not have said, 'and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail,' since Elihu had no sisters, neither through his father nor through his mother, as indicated in II Samuel. Our Sages, however, did not say this.
Malbim
David the seventh — This contradicts what is stated in Samuel (I Samuel 16:10; 17:12), which counts eight sons for Jesse, with David being the youngest. The Sages hold, in the midrash, that the eighth was Elihu, mentioned among the officers whom David set over Judah — 'Elihu, one of the brothers of David' (below, 27:18) — who was younger than David; and David is called 'small' there because he made himself small [i.e., acted humbly], and so Rashi explains as well. Ibn Ezra and Radak explain that Elihu was a brother from the father's side but not from the mother's side, and therefore he is not counted here, since the text says 'and their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail' — and these were sisters from the mother's side, not the father's side; so they were sisters neither to Elihu from the father's side nor from the mother's side. Their view seems to be borne out by what is written (II Samuel 17:25): 'and Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Israelite, who had gone in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab' — this makes clear (according to the plain sense, though the midrashic reading is well known) that Abigail was the daughter of Nahash, not the daughter of Jesse; so she was their sister only through the mother. That is why it says 'sister of Zeruiah' rather than 'sister of David' — because Zeruiah's sister was so both from the father and from the mother, since Zeruiah too was a daughter of Nahash, and their mother had married Jesse after being widowed.
And their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.
verse value 2617
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֣י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·their·sisters" (וְאַחְיֹתֵיהֶ֖ם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: Zeruiah, Zeruiah. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·their·sisters" (וְאַחְיֹתֵיהֶ֖ם), "and·Asahel" (וַעֲשָׂהאֵ֖ל). The root צרויה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "three" (root שלוש, 42x in I Chronicles); "and·Joab" (root יואב, 25x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אביגיל ("and·Abigail") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אבשי ("Abishai") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Abigail', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְאַחְיֹתֵיהֶ֖ם [and·their·sisters] (480) + צְרוּיָ֣ה [Zeruiah] (311) + וַאֲבִיגָ֑יִל [and·Abigail] (62) + וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + צְרוּיָ֗ה [Zeruiah] (311) + אַבְשַׁ֛י [Abishai] (313) + וְיוֹאָ֥ב [and·Joab] (25) + וַעֲשָׂהאֵ֖ל [and·Asahel] (412) + שְׁלֹשָֽׁה [three] (635) = 2617.
Rashi
And their sisters: Zeruiah and Abigail [They are mentioned] because of David’s honor, i.e., they [Joab, Abishai, and Asael] were his sister’s sons, mighty men and princes. So it is explained further.
And Abigail bore Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.
verse value 2429
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "Jether" (יֶ֖תֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·Ishmaelite" (הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִֽי, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Amasa" (אֶת־עֲמָשָׂ֑א), "Amasa" (עֲמָשָׂ֔א), "the·Ishmaelite" (הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִֽי). The root עמשא appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·the·father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אב ("and·the·father·of") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root יתר ("Jether") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Amasa', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַאֲבִיגַ֕יִל [and·Abigail] (62) + יָלְדָ֖ה [bore] (49) + אֶת־עֲמָשָׂ֑א [Amasa] (812) + וַאֲבִ֣י [and·the·father·of] (19) + עֲמָשָׂ֔א [Amasa] (411) + יֶ֖תֶר [Jether] (610) + הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִֽי [the·Ishmaelite] (466) = 2429.
Rashi
Jether the Ishmaelite And in II Sam. (17:25) it says, “the Israelite.” He lived in the land of Ishmael, on the pattern of (ibid. 6:11): “the house of Obed Edom the Gittite,” and so, (I Ki. 7: 13f.): “And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He (was) a widow’s son... and his father was a man of Tyre.”
Metzudat Zion
Jether the Ishmaelite - This is Ithra the Israelite, mentioned in the Book of Samuel. He is called "the Ishmaelite" because he had settled in the land of Ishmael; and to make known that he was actually of the people of Israel, he is called there "the Israelite."
Malbim
Jether the Ishmaelite — He is Ithra the Israelite [in Samuel], who resided in the land of Ishmael (Rashi and Radak). It may be said that he was a resident of Ishmaelite stock, and after he converted they changed his name from Jether to Ithra, and called him 'the Israelite.' So too the Midrash Ruth, cited in Yalkut Shimoni on Samuel (§127), states that he converted and Jesse gave him his daughter in marriage. And following what Rashi writes (at verse 28) — that the phrase 'and afterward Hezron came' means that it was not through formal marriage — one may say here as well that the phrase 'who had gone in to Abigail' means before he converted; and the law is that the child born of such a union is legitimate, and only afterward did he convert.
And Caleb the son of Hezron begot children of Azubah his wife—and of Jerioth—and these were her sons: Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.
verse value 3621
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "wife" (אִשָּׁ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Jerioth" (וְאֶת־יְרִיע֑וֹת, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Caleb" (וְכָלֵ֣ב), "son·of·Hezron" (בֶּן־חֶצְר֗וֹן), "Azubah" (אֶת־עֲזוּבָ֥ה). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Hezron" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root כלב ("and·Caleb") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root ישר ("Jesher") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Jerioth', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְכָלֵ֣ב [and·Caleb] (58) + בֶּן־חֶצְר֗וֹן [son·of·Hezron] (406) + הוֹלִ֛יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־עֲזוּבָ֥ה [Azubah] (491) + אִשָּׁ֖ה [wife] (306) + וְאֶת־יְרִיע֑וֹת [and·Jerioth] (1103) + וְאֵ֣לֶּה [and·these] (42) + בָנֶ֔יהָ [her·sons] (67) + יֵ֥שֶׁר [Jesher] (510) + וְשׁוֹבָ֖ב [and·Shobab] (316) + וְאַרְדּֽוֹן [and·Ardon] (267) = 3621.
Rashi
And Caleb the son of Hezron begot Azubah Ishah Because he had a wife named Azubah, he named his daughter Azubah Ishah, as it is written (v. 19): “... and Azubah died, and Caleb took to himself Ephrath.” From here is deduced that he had a wife named Azubah.
Ralbag
'And Caleb the son of Hezron begot children,' etc. — it appears that the intent here is that he had two wives: the name of the first was Azubah, and the name of the second was Jerioth; and afterward [Scripture] mentions that the sons of Azubah were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. It is possible that Jerioth was his concubine, and that is why it says 'Azubah, his wife' — to indicate that she alone was truly his wife. Or the intent of the phrase 'and of Jerioth' is that Jerioth herself was a daughter born to him from Azubah, and [Scripture] then lists the names of her sons. Now, from this passage it becomes clear that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, descended from Caleb the son of Hezron, not from Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
Metzudat David
'And Caleb the son of Hezron... begot Azubah, a wife' — out of honor for Caleb, who was a prince, Scripture advances him too ahead of Jerahmeel the firstborn. The meaning is that he fathered children from Azubah his wife and from Jerioth; and so too the word 'et' in 'as I go out of (et) the city' (Exodus 9:29) carries the sense of 'from' the city. 'And these were her sons' — that is, the sons of the one wife, namely Azubah.
Malbim
And Caleb the son of Hezron begot — According to Rashi's interpretation here, the name of Caleb's daughter was "Azubah-a-wife" (one may explain that because she was born after the death of Azubah, Caleb's [first] wife, he named her "Azubah-a-wife," meaning "Azubah, my wife," in her memory); and so too he begot Jerioth, and the sons of Jerioth were Jesher, and so on. And according to Radak, the meaning is that he begot children from Azubah his wife and from Jerioth (one may say, on his view, that Jerioth was his concubine and Azubah was his wife, and that is why it says "Azubah, a wife"). But it seems to me that the name of Caleb's wife was Azubah, as will be stated just below; and with Azubah his wife he begot a daughter whose name was "Ve'et-Yerioth" — the word "ve'et" being part of the proper name itself. And do not be surprised that the word "et" could be a person's name, for we find (Numbers 21:14) "et Vaheiv besufah," where "et" is a person's name, as stated at the beginning of Perek HaRo'eh (Berachot 54a): "Et and Vaheiv were two lepers" — and so too below, at verse 48. Nor should you wonder that the vav of "ve'et" could be an integral part of the name, for we find many such cases: "the sons of Elah: Ve-kenaz" (below, 4:15), and "these were the heads of their fathers' houses: ... Ve'efer" (below, 5:24). And so that we would know that this is the proper name of a woman, it says that he begot "a woman [named] Ve'et-Yerioth"; and "these were her sons" refers to the sons of Ve'et-Yerioth, Caleb's daughter: Jesher and Shobab.
And Azubah died, and Caleb took to him Ephrath, who bore him Hur.
verse value 3321
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֖וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·he·took·to·him" (וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ל֤וֹ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·she·died" (וַתָּ֖מׇת), "Azubah" (עֲזוּבָ֑ה), "and·he·took·to·him" (וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ל֤וֹ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·she·died" (root מות, 27x in I Chronicles); "to·him" (root לו, 20x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root לקח ("and·he·took·to·him") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אפרת ("Ephrath") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Azubah', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַתָּ֖מׇת [and·she·died] (846) + עֲזוּבָ֑ה [Azubah] (90) + וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ל֤וֹ [and·he·took·to·him] (160) + כָלֵב֙ [Caleb] (52) + אֶת־אֶפְרָ֔ת [Ephrath] (1082) + וַתֵּ֥לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + ל֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־חֽוּר [Hur] (615) = 3321.
Rashi
and she bore him Hur
Malbim
And Azubah died — Caleb's wife. And Caleb took to him Ephrath, who bore him Hur — For until then he had had only a daughter, and the daughter's sons.
Verse structure: 6 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "and·Hur" (וְחוּר֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "Bezalel" (אֶת־בְּצַלְאֵֽל, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Uri" (אֶת־אוּרִ֔י), "and·Uri" (וְאוּרִ֖י), "Bezalel" (אֶת־בְּצַלְאֵֽל). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וְחוּר֙ [and·Hur] (220) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־אוּרִ֔י [Uri] (618) + וְאוּרִ֖י [and·Uri] (223) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־בְּצַלְאֵֽל [Bezalel] (554) = 1725.
Rashi
And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot Bezalel Figure that each of them was less than eight years old when they begot, for Caleb was forty years old during the episode of the spies, as it is written (Jos. 14: 7): “I was forty years old when [Moses, the servant of the Lord] sent, etc.,” and at that time they all were already born, for the Tabernacle that Bezalel made had been erected. Caleb was eight years old when he begot Azuba Ishah, nine years old when he begot Jerioth, and after the death of Azubah, his wife, he took Ephrath, and she bore him Hur in the following year, making him ten years old, and Hur was eight years old when he begot Uri, and Uri was eight years old when he begot Bezalel, thus making 26 years, and it is written (Exod. 36:1): “and every wise hearted man,” and a man is not less than thirteen years old. So Bezalel was thirteen years old when he made the Tabernacle. Thus, we have forty years less one. We find that each one of them was less than eight years old when they begot children, and so it is explained in Chapter “Ben sorer umoreh“ (Sanh. 69a). According to the Midrash, they begot at the age of six.
Malbim
And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir — According to the plain sense, Hezron had relations with her without formal kiddushin, and begot Segub from her (so too Rashi explains, that "he went in to her" means without kiddushin); and afterward, when he was sixty years old, he took her as a wife through chuppah and kiddushin — though he had already begotten Segub from her, from the union that had come before. And when it says "and afterward he went in," it means: after he had gone in to the daughter of Machir [without kiddushin], he then took her with kiddushin; at the time of that marriage he was sixty years old, though she had already borne him Segub, before the marriage. And Segub begot Jair — Now in the Torah (Numbers 32:40-41) it is mentioned that Moses gave the Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and that Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages and called them Havvoth-jair. According to the plain sense, it appears that this was the same Jair the son of Segub mentioned here, called "Jair the son of Manasseh" because his father Segub was reckoned to Manasseh, the tribe of his mother, rather than to the tribe of Judah — for those born without kiddushin were reckoned after their mother, as with Jephthah, whom his brothers drove out, saying to him (Judges 11:2), "You shall not inherit in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." And we find a similar case in Ezra (2:61): one who took a wife from among the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name — see the commentary there. Therefore it says (below, verse 23), "all these were the sons of Machir" — for when Moses gave Machir the Gilead, Jair the son of Segub (who was also called "the son of Manasseh" after his mother's tribe) captured Havvoth-jair. And the Sages said that Segub, or Jair, took a wife from among the daughters of Manasseh, and the cities fell to him by inheritance; this too is correct, for since he was reckoned among the sons of Manasseh through his mother, they gave him a wife from among their daughters, and the cities came to him as a dowry or by inheritance. And the accounts here and in the Torah are one and the same (not two separate accounts, as Radak holds).
And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead; whom he took to wife when he was threescore years old; and she bore him Segub.
verse value 3819
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "went·in" (בָּ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·daughter·of·Machir" (אֶל־בַּת־מָכִיר֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 18: and·he, and·he. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·daughter·of·Machir" (אֶל־בַּת־מָכִיר֙), "took·her" (לְקָחָ֔הּ), "son·of·sixty" (בֶּן־שִׁשִּׁ֣ים). The root הוא appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "went·in" (root בוא, 62x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אחר ("and·afterward") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root בוא ("went·in") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'year', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאַחַ֗ר [and·afterward] (215) + בָּ֤א [went·in] (3) + חֶצְרוֹן֙ [Hezron] (354) + אֶל־בַּת־מָכִיר֙ [to·daughter·of·Machir] (703) + אֲבִ֣י [father·of] (13) + גִלְעָ֔ד [Gilead] (107) + וְה֣וּא [and·he] (18) + לְקָחָ֔הּ [took·her] (143) + וְה֖וּא [and·he] (18) + בֶּן־שִׁשִּׁ֣ים [son·of·sixty] (702) + שָׁנָ֑ה [year] (355) + וַתֵּ֥לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + ל֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־שְׂגֽוּב [Segub] (712) = 3819.
Rashi
And afterwards Hezron came to the daughter of Machir This was because of David’s honor, because Hezron came to the daughter of Machir, taking her as a concubine, not for matrimony, similar to (Ps. 51:2): “... when he came to Bathsheba,” and he was sixty years old, thus making two uncomplimentary qualities for Machir’s daughter: one, that he did not take her for the purpose of matrimony, and one, that he was old, but because of the esteem of the families of Judah, they gave her to him, and when Jair begot [children], Machir’s sons gave him twenty-three cities to take one of his daughters as a wife.
Metzudat David
'And afterward' — meaning, after the three sons mentioned above were born to him. 'The father of Gilead' — because Gilead was prominent and well known, Scripture identifies Machir by reference to his son, calling him 'the father of Gilead'; and there are many examples like this.
And Segub begot Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead.
verse value 3048
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "cities" (עָרִ֔ים, 4 letters) and the longest is "Jair" (אֶת־יָאִ֑יר, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Segub" (וּשְׂג֖וּב), "Jair" (אֶת־יָאִ֑יר), "and·had" (וַֽיְהִי־ל֗וֹ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·had" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "and·three" (root שלוש, 42x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root עשרים ("twenty") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jair', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּשְׂג֖וּב [and·Segub] (317) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־יָאִ֑יר [Jair] (622) + וַֽיְהִי־ל֗וֹ [and·had] (67) + עֶשְׂרִ֤ים [twenty] (620) + וְשָׁלוֹשׁ֙ [and·three] (642) + עָרִ֔ים [cities] (320) + בְּאֶ֖רֶץ [in·the·land·of] (293) + הַגִּלְעָֽד [the·Gilead] (112) = 3048.
Metzudat David
'Who had' — our Sages say that he took a wife from the land of Gilead, and through her he inherited these cities; and this Jair is not the Jair mentioned in the Torah.
And Geshur and Aram took Havvoth-jair from them, with Kenath, and its villages, even threescore cities. All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.
verse value 5690
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 64 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֕לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "city" (עִ֑יר, 3 letters) and the longest is "Geshur·and·Aram" (גְּשֽׁוּר־וַ֠אֲרָ֠ם, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Geshur·and·Aram" (גְּשֽׁוּר־וַ֠אֲרָ֠ם), "Havvoth-" (אֶת־חַוֺּ֨ת), "jair" (יָאִ֧יר). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "all·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles); "city" (root עיר, 39x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root חוה ("Havvoth-") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'city', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקַּ֣ח [and·took] (124) + גְּשֽׁוּר־וַ֠אֲרָ֠ם [Geshur·and·Aram] (756) + אֶת־חַוֺּ֨ת [Havvoth-] (815) + יָאִ֧יר [jair] (221) + מֵאִתָּ֛ם [from·them] (481) + אֶת־קְנָ֥ת [Kenath] (951) + וְאֶת־בְּנֹתֶ֖יהָ [and·its·villages] (874) + שִׁשִּׁ֣ים [sixty] (650) + עִ֑יר [city] (280) + כׇּל־אֵ֕לֶּה [all·these] (86) + בְּנֵ֖י [sons·of] (62) + מָכִ֥יר [Machir] (270) + אֲבִֽי־גִלְעָֽד [father·of·Gilead] (120) = 5690.
Rashi
And Geshur and Aram took Geshur represents the Geshurites and the Maacathites because they were near the Arameans, who dwelt in the east of the land of Israel, and Aram dwelt in the east, as it is written (Isa. 9:11): “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west.” During the period of the Judges (Jud. 3:8), when Israel sinned, He (God) delivered them into the hands of the enemy, into the hands of Aram, and then (these) went and took them from them, and when David came, he restored them, and because he restored them, Scripture mentioned them here.
Ralbag
'All these were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead' — meaning, these sons belonged to Caleb the son of Hezron through [his marriage into] the family of Machir the father of Gilead, for they came from Machir's daughter; and this happened after he had taken Ephrath, as was related earlier.
Metzudat David
'Havvoth-jair' — because Jair son of Manasseh, mentioned in the Torah, called his cities Havvoth-jair, this Jair likewise called his cities Havvoth-jair, since his name matched his and his cities were numerous — like Jair the Gileadite, the judge mentioned in the book of Judges, whose sons had thirty cities, which were also called Havvoth-jair for this same reason. 'From them' — meaning, after Jair died, Geshur and Aram took these cities from his sons. 'With Kenath' — meaning, together with Kenath and its satellite villages, which in that district numbered sixty cities in all. 'All these were the sons of Machir' — the letter lamed is missing; it is as though it said, all these sixty cities belonged to the sons of Machir.
Metzudat Zion
Havvoth (Chavot) - The Targum renders it "kafranei" (villages).
Malbim
And Geshur and Aram took — Geshur and Aram bordered on this region, as stated (Deuteronomy 3:13): "Jair the son of Manasseh took the whole region of Argob, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites." They then took the cities back from the sons of Jair, who had held Havvoth-jair, and from the sons of Nobah, who had held Kenath and its villages (as stated Numbers 32:41-42); and altogether there were sixty cities, as stated (Deuteronomy 3:4), "sixty cities, all the region of Argob." All these were the sons of Machir — Meaning that Segub and his sons, and Jair and his sons, from whom the cities were taken, were reckoned to Machir through their mother, as explained above; for he was the father of Gilead, and all of them held the cities of Gilead through his right.
And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephrath, then Abiah Hezron’s wife bore him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.
verse value 4815
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "Abiah" (אֲבִיָּ֔ה) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "death·of·Hezron" (מוֹת־חֶצְר֖וֹן, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "death·of·Hezron" (מוֹת־חֶצְר֖וֹן), "in·Caleb-" (בְּכָלֵ֣ב), "wife·of" (וְאֵ֤שֶׁת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "death·of·Hezron" (root מות, 27x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אביה ("Abiah") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ephrath', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: וְאַחַ֥ר [and·after] (215) + מוֹת־חֶצְר֖וֹן [death·of·Hezron] (800) + בְּכָלֵ֣ב [in·Caleb-] (54) + אֶפְרָ֑תָה [ephrath] (686) + וְאֵ֤שֶׁת [wife·of] (707) + חֶצְרוֹן֙ [Hezron] (354) + אֲבִיָּ֔ה [Abiah] (18) + וַתֵּ֣לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + ל֔וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־אַשְׁח֖וּר [Ashhur] (916) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + תְקֽוֹעַ [Tekoa] (576) = 4815.
Rashi
In Caleb Ephrathah He called the city Caleb Ephrathah after his wife. and she bore him Ashhur after Hezron’s death. the father of Tekoa the ruler of the city Tekoa, which belonged to the tribe of Judah.
Metzudat David
'And after that Hezron was dead' — meaning, after Hezron died, at the time his son Caleb took Ephrath as a wife, then Hezron's wife, whose name was Abiah, bore him Ashhur. 'The father of Tekoa' — chief of Tekoa, which is the name of a city; meaning, all the men of Tekoa were his sons and his offspring — and so too wherever the term 'father' is used in connection with a city.
Malbim
And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephrath — It appears that the letter bet in "be-Chalev" [in Caleb] carries the sense of time, meaning "at the time of"; and the word "ve'eshet" ("and the wife of") carries that same sense back to the earlier clause as well. The intended reading of the verse is: "After the death of Hezron — [at the time of] the wife of Caleb, Ephrathah, and [at the time of] the wife of Hezron, Abiah..." For at the time that Caleb took Ephrath as a wife (verse 19), Hezron too had taken a wife named Abiah, and [then] died; and Abiah bore, after his death, Ashhur the father of Tekoa (who will be discussed below, at 4:5). Scripture states this because Caleb and Ephrath his wife raised Ashhur, who was orphaned of his father, and he was regarded by them as a son; therefore it mentions that Caleb's wife was, at that time, Ephrathah, and that she raised him. For this reason Ashhur is counted (below, 4:4-5) among the sons of Caleb — just as the Sages state in Sanhedrin (19), commenting on the phrase "whom she bore to Adriel the Meholathite" (II Samuel 21:8), that the one who raises a child is called the one who bore him. By this reading, the bet of "be-Chalev Efrata" carries a second sense as well, that of the word "with": that together with Caleb and Ephrath, Abiah the wife of Hezron bore Ashhur — for they too had a share in him, through having raised him.
And the sons of Jerahmeel the first-born of Hezron were Ram the first-born, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, Ahijah.
verse value 1930
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "Ram" (רָ֑ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Jerahmeel" (בְנֵי־יְרַחְמְאֵ֛ל, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "sons·of·Jerahmeel" (בְנֵי־יְרַחְמְאֵ֛ל), "Ram" (רָ֑ם), "and·Bunah" (וּבוּנָ֥ה). The root בכור appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of·Jerahmeel" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "firstborn·of" (root בכור, 24x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אחיה ("Ahijah") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ram', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּהְי֧וּ [and·they·were] (37) + בְנֵי־יְרַחְמְאֵ֛ל [sons·of·Jerahmeel] (351) + בְּכ֥וֹר [firstborn·of] (228) + חֶצְר֖וֹן [Hezron] (354) + הַבְּכ֣וֹר [the·firstborn] (233) + רָ֑ם [Ram] (240) + וּבוּנָ֥ה [and·Bunah] (69) + וָאֹ֛רֶן [and·Oren] (257) + וָאֹ֖צֶם [and·Ozem] (137) + אֲחִיָּֽה [Ahijah] (24) = 1930.
Rashi
And the sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron were Since he interrupted with the family of Caleb, he had to say, “the first born Hezron,” the firstborn of Jerahmeel.
Malbim
And the sons of Jerahmeel the first-born of Hezron were — This picks back up the lineage of Hezron's firstborn son, namely Jerahmeel. The first-born — Meaning that Jerahmeel's firstborn was Ram.
And Jerahmeel had another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.
verse value 2444
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 35 letters. Verse gematria: 2444 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "mother·of" (אֵ֥ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Jerahmeel" (לִֽירַחְמְאֵ֖ל, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "another" (אַחֶ֛רֶת), "to·Jerahmeel" (לִֽירַחְמְאֵ֖ל), "and·her·name" (וּשְׁמָ֣הּ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "and·her·name" (root שם, 67x in I Chronicles); "wife" (root אשה, 20x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root היא ("she") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Atarah', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתְּהִ֨י [and·it·was] (421) + אִשָּׁ֥ה [wife] (306) + אַחֶ֛רֶת [another] (609) + לִֽירַחְמְאֵ֖ל [to·Jerahmeel] (319) + וּשְׁמָ֣הּ [and·her·name] (351) + עֲטָרָ֑ה [Atarah] (284) + הִ֖יא [she] (16) + אֵ֥ם [mother·of] (41) + אוֹנָֽם [Onam] (97) = 2444.
Rashi
Now Jerahmeel had another wife whose name was Atarah According to the simple meaning of the verse, she was an Israelitess, but in Yebamoth of the Palestinian Talmud (this is not found in our editions of Yebamoth, but in Yer. Sanh. 2:3) it is written that he took a gentile woman with whom to crown himself (עֲטָרָה). She was a beautiful princess. she was the mother of Onam (I heard) that “mother” is like (Judg. 5:7): “I arose as a mother in Israel.” And she was the mother of Onam, and Onam is an expression meaning that he was humble and weak, an expression of mourning (אוֹנֵן), and like (Deut. 26:14): “I have not eaten of it in my mourning (בְאֹנִי),” and like (Num. 11:1): “... were as if in mourning over themselves (כְּמִתְאוֹנְנִים)” Sheshan, who gave his daughter to his Egyptian slave, Jarha, was descended from him, and [the Chronicler] tells of their disgrace; that is to say, they were not deserving of the kingship, and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who assassinated Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, was descended from him (Jer. 41:1).
Metzudat David
'Another wife' — besides the mother of his sons mentioned above. 'She was the mother of Onam' — because Onam was prominent and well known, Scripture identifies his mother by reference to him.
Malbim
And Jerahmeel had another wife — The Sages explain, in the Jerusalem Talmud, Yevamot, that she was a foreign woman (as in "for you are the son of another woman," Judges 11:2), and that her name was Atarah because he took her "to adorn himself with her" [le-hit'ater bah], for she was beautiful — for why else would it say "another wife" when the first one had not yet been mentioned? And this comes to teach that through his taking a foreign woman, and through Sheshan's giving his daughter to Jarha his servant, there descended from them — after twenty-four generations from Atarah, and fifteen generations from Jarha — Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, who killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, as stated in Jeremiah (41:1), that Ishmael was "of the royal seed" — that is, through his mother's line, which is why it does not say "of the sons of the kingdom."
And the sons of Ram the first-born of Jerahmeel were Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker.
verse value 1548
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. Verse gematria: 1548 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "Maaz" (מַ֥עַץ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jerahmeel" (יְרַחְמְאֵ֑ל, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "sons·of·Ram" (בְנֵי־רָ֖ם), "Maaz" (מַ֥עַץ), "and·Eker" (וָעֵֽקֶר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of·Ram" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "firstborn·of" (root בכור, 24x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ימין ("and·Jamin") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jerahmeel', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּהְי֥וּ [and·they·were] (37) + בְנֵי־רָ֖ם [sons·of·Ram] (302) + בְּכ֣וֹר [firstborn·of] (228) + יְרַחְמְאֵ֑ל [Jerahmeel] (289) + מַ֥עַץ [Maaz] (200) + וְיָמִ֖ין [and·Jamin] (116) + וָעֵֽקֶר [and·Eker] (376) = 1548.
And the sons of Onam were Shammai, and Jada; and the sons of Shammai: Nadab, and Abishur.
verse value 1635
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "Shammai" (שַׁמַּ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Onam" (בְנֵי־אוֹנָ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 350: Shammai, Shammai. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "sons·of·Onam" (בְנֵי־אוֹנָ֖ם), "and·Abishur" (וַאֲבִישֽׁוּר). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of·Onam" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שמי ("Shammai") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root ידע ("and·Jada") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Jada', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּהְי֥וּ [and·they·were] (37) + בְנֵי־אוֹנָ֖ם [sons·of·Onam] (159) + שַׁמַּ֣י [Shammai] (350) + וְיָדָ֑ע [and·Jada] (90) + וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + שַׁמַּ֔י [Shammai] (350) + נָדָ֖ב [Nadab] (56) + וַאֲבִישֽׁוּר [and·Abishur] (525) = 1635.
And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail; and she bore him Ahban, and Molid.
verse value 3059
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Molid" (וְאֶת־מוֹלִֽיד, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Abishur" (אֲבִישׁ֖וּר), "Abihail" (אֲבִיהָ֑יִל), "Ahban" (אֶת־אַחְבָּ֖ן). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·name" (root שם, 67x in I Chronicles); "wife·of" (root אשה, 20x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abihail', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְשֵׁ֛ם [and·name] (346) + אֵ֥שֶׁת [wife·of] (701) + אֲבִישׁ֖וּר [Abishur] (519) + אֲבִיהָ֑יִל [Abihail] (58) + וַתֵּ֣לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + ל֔וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־אַחְבָּ֖ן [Ahban] (462) + וְאֶת־מוֹלִֽיד [and·Molid] (497) = 3059.
And the sons of Nadab: Seled, and Appaim; but Seled died without children.
verse value 1038
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 28 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Appaim" (וְאַפָּ֑יִם, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 94: Seled, Seled. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Appaim" (וְאַפָּ֑יִם). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "not" (root לא, 28x in I Chronicles); "and·he·died" (root מות, 27x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root לא ("not") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Appaim', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + נָדָ֖ב [Nadab] (56) + סֶ֣לֶד [Seled] (94) + וְאַפָּ֑יִם [and·Appaim] (137) + וַיָּ֥מׇת [and·he·died] (456) + סֶ֖לֶד [Seled] (94) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + בָנִֽים [sons] (102) = 1038.
Malbim
Without children — Like "a nation not godly" [lo chasid] (Psalms 43:1); this is a descriptive form used for one lacking some particular quality.
And the sons of Appaim: Ishi. And the sons of Ishi: Sheshan. And the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai.
verse value 2464
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "Sheshan" (שֵׁשָׁ֔ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֥י, 4 letters). Words sharing gematria 650: Sheshan, Sheshan. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Ahlai" (אַחְלָֽי). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ישעי ("Ishi") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root ששן ("Sheshan") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ishi', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + אַפַּ֖יִם [Appaim] (131) + יִשְׁעִ֑י [Ishi] (390) + וּבְנֵ֤י [and·sons·of] (68) + יִשְׁעִי֙ [Ishi] (390) + שֵׁשָׁ֔ן [Sheshan] (650) + וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + שֵׁשָׁ֖ן [Sheshan] (650) + אַחְלָֽי [Ahlai] (49) = 2464.
Malbim
And the sons of Appaim: Ishi — I have already explained above (verses 7-8) that Ezra copied from the great Book of Genealogies, where Appaim's sons were recorded as numerous, but Ezra copied only one, and he copied the word "and the sons of" just as it was written in the Book of Genealogies; and so too with "and the sons of Ishi" and "and the sons of Sheshan." And the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai — see verse 34.
And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai: Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.
verse value 2852
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Jonathan" (וְיוֹנָתָ֑ן, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 610: Jether, Jether. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jada" (יָדָע֙), "and·Jonathan" (וְיוֹנָתָ֑ן). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "brother·of" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "not" (root לא, 28x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root יונתן ("and·Jonathan") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Jonathan', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֤י [and·sons·of] (68) + יָדָע֙ [Jada] (84) + אֲחִ֣י [brother·of] (19) + שַׁמַּ֔י [Shammai] (350) + יֶ֖תֶר [Jether] (610) + וְיוֹנָתָ֑ן [and·Jonathan] (522) + וַיָּ֥מׇת [and·he·died] (456) + יֶ֖תֶר [Jether] (610) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + בָנִֽים [sons] (102) = 2852.
Metzudat David
'Without children' — the Hebrew word for 'not' here is to be understood as 'without,' meaning he died childless.
And the sons of Jonathan: Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel.
verse value 1523
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֥לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "Peleth" (פֶּ֣לֶת, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jerahmeel" (יְרַחְמְאֵֽל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 21: and·Zaza, were. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Peleth" (פֶּ֣לֶת), "and·Zaza" (וְזָזָ֑א). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Zaza', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + יוֹנָתָ֖ן [Jonathan] (516) + פֶּ֣לֶת [Peleth] (510) + וְזָזָ֑א [and·Zaza] (21) + אֵ֥לֶּה [these] (36) + הָי֖וּ [were] (21) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + יְרַחְמְאֵֽל [Jerahmeel] (289) = 1523.
Malbim
These were the sons of Jerahmeel — Meaning that they were reckoned to him, for Atarah, the mother of Onam, had converted; unlike the sons of Jarha (verse 35), who were not reckoned to Jerahmeel.
Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.
verse value 3110
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 42 letters. The shortest word is "but" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·was" (וְלֹא־הָיָ֧ה, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·Sheshan" (לְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן), "and·to·Sheshan" (וּלְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן), "Egyptian" (מִצְרִ֖י). The root ששן appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·not·was" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "but" (root כי, 69x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root עבד ("servant") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root מצרי ("Egyptian") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'daughters', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְלֹא־הָיָ֧ה [and·not·was] (57) + לְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן [to·Sheshan] (680) + בָּנִ֖ים [sons] (102) + כִּ֣י [but] (30) + אִם־בָּנ֑וֹת [daughters] (499) + וּלְשֵׁשָׁ֛ן [and·to·Sheshan] (686) + עֶ֥בֶד [servant] (76) + מִצְרִ֖י [Egyptian] (340) + וּשְׁמ֥וֹ [and·his·name] (352) + יַרְחָֽע [Jarha] (288) = 3110.
Rashi
And Sheshan had no sons but daughters And that which he says above (verse 31): “... and the sons of Sheshan were Ahlai,” means that he [Ahlai] was ill and humble and died without children.
Ralbag
'Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters' — it appears that where it earlier said, 'and the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai' (verse 31), there was in fact only a daughter of his [by that name], and it used the plural 'sons' for a single individual — just as it says elsewhere, 'and the sons of Dan: Hushim,' using the plural for one son.
Metzudat David
'Now Sheshan had no sons' — for his son Ahlai died in his lifetime and left no offspring.
Malbim
Now Sheshan had no sons — This was the case at the time he gave his daughter to Jarha, for afterward he did have sons, as stated in verse 31, 'And the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai.' a servant, an Egyptian — Giving his daughter to his servant involved no sin, since the servant was thereby automatically freed, following the law that if a man gives his slave a free woman [in marriage], the slave goes free; and indeed our Sages already said (Pesachim 113a), 'If your daughter has come of age, free your slave and give her to him.' The only difficulty was that he was an Egyptian, and an Egyptian is forbidden to enter the congregation.
So Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bore him Attai.
verse value 4018
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 36 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֖וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "his·daughter" (אֶת־בִּתּ֛וֹ, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "his·daughter" (אֶת־בִּתּ֛וֹ), "to·Jarha" (לְיַרְחָ֥ע), "to·wife" (לְאִשָּׁ֑ה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "and·he·gave" (root נתן, 50x in I Chronicles); "his·servant" (root עבד, 41x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root נתן ("and·he·gave") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root עתי ("Attai") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·wife', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתֵּ֨ן [and·he·gave] (466) + שֵׁשָׁ֧ן [Sheshan] (650) + אֶת־בִּתּ֛וֹ [his·daughter] (809) + לְיַרְחָ֥ע [to·Jarha] (318) + עַבְדּ֖וֹ [his·servant] (82) + לְאִשָּׁ֑ה [to·wife] (336) + וַתֵּ֥לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + ל֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־עַתָּֽי [Attai] (881) = 4018.
Rashi
And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his slave for a wife From here they derived that if your daughter has matured, free your slave and give him to her (Pes. 113a), and from here the Sages derived in the Palestinian Talmud, Tractate Yebamoth (source unknown): “Do not trust a proselyte until fifteen generations, and fifteen generations are from Ittai the Egyptian until Ishmael, and some say sixteen generations, including Jarha.” The midrash states the following: “Is it possible that he was of the royal descent (מִזֶּרַע הַמְלוּכָה) [as in Jeremiah 41:1]? Now was not Ishmael of the seed of Jerahmeel and not from Ram? But rather it means that he passed his seed to the molech.”
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "and·Attai" (וְעַתַּי֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "Nathan" (אֶת־נָתָ֔ן, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Attai" (וְעַתַּי֙), "Nathan" (אֶת־נָתָ֔ן), "Zabad" (אֶת־זָבָֽד). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "Nathan" (root נתן, 50x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root זבד ("Zabad") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וְעַתַּי֙ [and·Attai] (486) + הֹלִ֣יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־נָתָ֔ן [Nathan] (901) + וְנָתָ֖ן [and·Nathan] (506) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־זָבָֽד [Zabad] (414) = 2411.
Verse structure: 6 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "and·Zabad" (וְזָבָד֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "Ephlal" (אֶת־אֶפְלָ֔ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Ephlal" (אֶת־אֶפְלָ֔ל), "and·Ephlal" (וְאֶפְלָ֖ל). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וְזָבָד֙ [and·Zabad] (19) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־אֶפְלָ֔ל [Ephlal] (542) + וְאֶפְלָ֖ל [and·Ephlal] (147) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־עוֹבֵֽד [Obed] (483) = 1301.
Verse structure: 6 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (הֹלִ֥יד, 4 letters) and the longest is "Azariah" (אֶת־עֲזַרְיָֽה, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jehu" (אֶת־יֵה֔וּא). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root יהוא ("Jehu") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וְעוֹבֵד֙ [and·Obed] (88) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־יֵה֔וּא [Jehu] (423) + וְיֵה֖וּא [and·Jehu] (28) + הֹלִ֥יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־עֲזַרְיָֽה [Azariah] (693) = 1336.
Verse structure: 6 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (הֹלִ֣יד, 4 letters) and the longest is "Eleasah" (אֶת־אֶלְעָשָֽׂה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 49: begot, begot. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Helez" (אֶת־חָ֔לֶץ), "and·Helez" (וְחֶ֖לֶץ), "Eleasah" (אֶת־אֶלְעָשָֽׂה). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root חלץ ("Helez") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אלעשה ("Eleasah") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וַֽעֲזַרְיָה֙ [and·Azariah] (298) + הֹלִ֣יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־חָ֔לֶץ [Helez] (529) + וְחֶ֖לֶץ [and·Helez] (134) + הֹלִ֥יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־אֶלְעָשָֽׂה [Eleasah] (807) = 1866.
and Eleasah begot Sisamai, and Sisamai begot Shallum;
verse value 2034
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 31 letters. Verse gematria: 2034 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "begot" (הֹלִ֣יד, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Eleasah" (וְאֶלְעָשָׂה֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 49: begot, begot. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Eleasah" (וְאֶלְעָשָׂה֙), "Sisamai" (אֶת־סִֽסְמָ֔י), "and·Sisamai" (וְסִסְמַ֖י). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שלום ("Shallum") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וְאֶלְעָשָׂה֙ [and·Eleasah] (412) + הֹלִ֣יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־סִֽסְמָ֔י [Sisamai] (571) + וְסִסְמַ֖י [and·Sisamai] (176) + הֹלִ֥יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־שַׁלּֽוּם [Shallum] (777) = 2034.
and Shallum begot Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begot Elishama.
verse value 2075
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "begot" (הֹלִ֥יד, 4 letters) and the longest is "Elishama" (אֶת־אֱלִישָׁמָֽע, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jekamiah" (אֶת־יְקַמְיָ֔ה), "and·Jekamiah" (וִיקַמְיָ֖ה), "Elishama" (אֶת־אֱלִישָׁמָֽע). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root יקמיה ("Jekamiah") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אלישמע ("Elishama") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וְשַׁלּוּם֙ [and·Shallum] (382) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־יְקַמְיָ֔ה [Jekamiah] (566) + וִיקַמְיָ֖ה [and·Jekamiah] (171) + הֹלִ֥יד [begot] (49) + אֶת־אֱלִישָׁמָֽע [Elishama] (852) = 2075.
And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha his first-born, who was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.
verse value 2090
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "Caleb" (כָלֵב֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jerahmeel" (יְרַחְמְאֵ֔ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 68: and·sons·of, and·sons·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Mesha" (מֵישָׁ֥ע), "father·of·Ziph" (אֲבִי־זִ֑יף). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "brother·of" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root חברון ("Hebron") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'father·of·Ziph', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֤י [and·sons·of] (68) + כָלֵב֙ [Caleb] (52) + אֲחִ֣י [brother·of] (19) + יְרַחְמְאֵ֔ל [Jerahmeel] (289) + מֵישָׁ֥ע [Mesha] (420) + בְּכֹר֖וֹ [his·first-born] (228) + ה֣וּא [he] (12) + אֲבִי־זִ֑יף [father·of·Ziph] (110) + וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + מָרֵשָׁ֖ה [Mareshah] (545) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + חֶבְרֽוֹן [Hebron] (266) = 2090.
Rashi
And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel Since he traced the lineage of part of the family of Caleb and interrupted in the lineage of Jerahmeel, it was necessary to say that Caleb was the brother of Jerahmeel, that this was not another Caleb. This is the manner of the entire genealogy: he does not trace lineages in sequence. He traces the lineage of part of such and such a family; he goes on to other families, and when he has completed part of this family, he goes back to tracing the lineage of the first family, and then returns to the other one, and the entire book of genealogy is mixed. he was the father of Ziph The ruler of Ziph, the ruler of all the inhabitants of Mareshah, and the ruler of Hebron, and the names of these towns are mentioned in the Book of Joshua (15:24, 44, 54), as it is written: “Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, etc.” (And it is written there:) “And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah, and Hebron (sic).”
Ralbag
'And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel' — here [Scripture] calls these sons 'the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel' because they descended from him: that is, they were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, and Hur was the son of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel. Now, we did not conclude that these are the sons of Caleb the son of Hezron [himself], since [Scripture] had already given the names of his [Hezron's] sons earlier. But it is possible that here [Scripture] is listing the names of the grandsons of Caleb the son of Hezron, and that Mesha his first-born is the same as Jesher (verse 18), mentioned earlier, and that it is also now listing the sons he had from his concubines.
Metzudat David
'And the sons of Caleb' — although Scripture had already begun to relate the descendants of Caleb, it broke off and turned to relate the descendants of his brother Jerahmeel, and now it returns again to relate more of the descendants of Caleb; such is the way of this book — to tell a little, break off into another account, and then return to the first. 'Mesha his first-born' — perhaps those mentioned above were more prominent than he, and so Scripture listed them first. 'And the sons of Mareshah' — the word 'Ziph' is missing; it is as though it said, 'and the sons of Ziph, Mareshah,' etc.; and since Scripture had just mentioned Ziph, it relied on the reader to understand.
Malbim
And the sons of Caleb — Now, according to the plain-sense commentators, what is stated in verse 18, 'and Caleb the son of Chetzron begot Azubah,' refers to Kelubai the son of Chetzron; and Scripture first recorded the sons of Ram the son of Chetzron, out of honor for David, and only afterward recorded the sons of Kelubai — and even there it did not record all his sons, only the notable ones among them, such as Hur and Bezalel, who are mentioned in the Torah. It then recorded the sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Chetzron, and now returns to Caleb the son of Chetzron to record the rest of his sons, who were born to him before the sons of Azubah and Ephrath — for Hur was not Caleb's firstborn (his firstborn was named Mesha); rather, Hur was the firstborn of Ephrath, as stated in verse 50. But the view of our Sages is that what is stated in verse 18, 'and Caleb the son of Chetzron begot Azubah,' refers to Caleb the son of Jephunneh; and it is clear to me that, in their view, this Caleb was not literally the son of Chetzron, since he was the son of Jephunneh, but rather a descendant of the sons of Chetzron — for it is the way of this book to call anyone descended from a man 'his son.' It is impossible that Caleb [the spy] was the literal son of Chetzron, since it is implied that the three sons born to Chetzron were born to him before he took the daughter of Machir, when he was not yet sixty years old, as stated in verse 21 — and Chetzron was among those who went down to Egypt [with Jacob]; how then could Caleb have been forty years old when Moses sent him [as a spy]? It must be, then, that where he is called 'Caleb the son of Chetzron,' this means a descendant of Chetzron's son (just as 'Achan the son of Zerah,' Joshua 7:24, means a descendant). Accordingly, on the view of our Sages, [Scripture] has not yet spoken here of the descendants of Kelubai the son of Chetzron, the brother of Jerahmeel — for it first recorded the descendants of Ram, and among them the descendants of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who was likewise descended from Ram and traced back to Chetzron, his ancestor; then it recorded the sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn; and only now does it begin with Kelubai — therefore calling him 'the brother of Jerahmeel,' since the Caleb mentioned earlier was not called 'the brother of Jerahmeel.' who was the father of Ziph — for from him came the sons of Ziph and the sons of Mareshah. But further on (4:21) it says, 'and Laadah, the father of Mareshah' — [how could Mareshah have two fathers]? One may answer that there were two [places called] Mareshah, or that from Laadah came the people of the villages surrounding Mareshah. the father of Hebron — for Mesha had a son named Hebron, from whose sons great families likewise descended, as Scripture goes on to explain: 'and the sons of Hebron: Korah,' and so on.
And the sons of Hebron: Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema.
verse value 1898
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 24 letters. Verse gematria: 1898 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Korah" (קֹ֥רַח, 3 letters) and the longest is "Hebron" (חֶבְר֑וֹן, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Tappuah" (וְתַפֻּ֖חַ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root רקם ("and·Rekem") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root שמע ("and·Shema") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hebron', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + חֶבְר֑וֹן [Hebron] (266) + קֹ֥רַח [Korah] (308) + וְתַפֻּ֖חַ [and·Tappuah] (494) + וְרֶ֥קֶם [and·Rekem] (346) + וָשָֽׁמַע [and·Shema] (416) = 1898.
And Shema begot Raham, the father of Jorkeam; and Rekem begot Shammai.
verse value 2705
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 36 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "begot" (הוֹלִ֔יד, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Raham" (אֶת־רַ֖חַם), "Jorkeam" (יׇרְקְעָ֑ם), "Shammai" (אֶת־שַׁמָּֽי). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jorkeam', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְשֶׁ֣מַע [and·Shema] (416) + הוֹלִ֔יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־רַ֖חַם [Raham] (649) + אֲבִ֣י [father·of] (13) + יׇרְקְעָ֑ם [Jorkeam] (420) + וְרֶ֖קֶם [and·Rekem] (346) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־שַׁמָּֽי [Shammai] (751) = 2705.
Rashi
the father of Jorkeam Every “father” stated here means the ruler of that written immediately after.
Malbim
Raham, the father of Jorkeam — the people of the town of Jorkeam descended from him; and from Rekem the son of Hebron came Maon, his grandson, to whom the people of Beth-zur traced their lineage.
And the son of Shammai was Maon; and Maon was the father of Beth-zur.
verse value 1467
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 24 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·son·of·Shammai" (וּבֶן־שַׁמַּ֖י, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·son·of·Shammai" (וּבֶן־שַׁמַּ֖י), "and·Maon" (וּמָע֖וֹן), "Beth-zur" (בֵֽית־צֽוּר). The root מעון appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·son·of·Shammai" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Beth-zur" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מעון ("Maon") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root בית ("Beth-zur") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Maon', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבֶן־שַׁמַּ֖י [and·son·of·Shammai] (408) + מָע֑וֹן [Maon] (166) + וּמָע֖וֹן [and·Maon] (172) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + בֵֽית־צֽוּר [Beth-zur] (708) = 1467.
And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Haran, and Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begot Gazez.
verse value 3053
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "Caleb" (כָּלֵ֔ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Moza" (וְאֶת־מוֹצָ֖א, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 49: she·bore, he·begot. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Haran" (אֶת־חָרָ֥ן), "and·Moza" (וְאֶת־מוֹצָ֖א), "and·Gazez" (וְאֶת־גָּזֵ֑ז). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מוצא ("and·Moza") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Gazez', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְעֵיפָה֙ [and·Ephah] (171) + פִּילֶ֣גֶשׁ [concubine·of] (423) + כָּלֵ֔ב [Caleb] (52) + יָ֥לְדָ֛ה [she·bore] (49) + אֶת־חָרָ֥ן [Haran] (659) + וְאֶת־מוֹצָ֖א [and·Moza] (544) + וְאֶת־גָּזֵ֑ז [and·Gazez] (424) + וְחָרָ֖ן [and·Haran] (264) + הֹלִ֥יד [he·begot] (49) + אֶת־גָּזֵֽז [Gazez] (418) = 3053.
Malbim
And Haran begot Gazez, and the sons of Jahdai — meaning that from him came the sons of Jahdai, who traced their descent to him and were his descendants — namely, Regem, and Jotham, and so on, and Shaaph. [Scripture] does not record the chain of generations from father to son in order, as it was written in the great Book of Genealogies, where it was recorded that he begot Gazez, and the line was traced down to Jahdai, and from there, the sons of Jahdai; but Ezra skipped what was unnecessary and included only what was well-known and distinguished.
And the sons of Jahdai: Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph.
verse value 1923
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "Regem" (רֶ֧גֶם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Jotham" (וְיוֹתָ֛ם, 5 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jahdai" (יׇהְדָּ֑י), "Regem" (רֶ֧גֶם), "and·Jotham" (וְיוֹתָ֛ם). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root יותם ("and·Jotham") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jahdai', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. 6 of the verse's 8 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + יׇהְדָּ֑י [Jahdai] (29) + רֶ֧גֶם [Regem] (243) + וְיוֹתָ֛ם [and·Jotham] (462) + וְגֵישָׁ֥ן [and·Geshan] (369) + וָפֶ֖לֶט [and·Pelet] (125) + וְעֵיפָ֥ה [and·Ephah] (171) + וָשָֽׁעַף [and·Shaaph] (456) = 1923.
Rashi
And the sons of Jehdai He was one of the sons of Ephah, and the reason he does not mention who his father was is that he does not have to mention any of the sons of Ephah except this Jehdai.
Metzudat David
'And the sons of Jahdai' — he was one of the sons of Ephah, Caleb's concubine mentioned above, and he had two names.
Maacah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah.
verse value 2226
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "Caleb" (כָּלֵב֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Tirhanah" (וְאֶֽת־תִּרְחֲנָֽה, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Sheber" (שֶׁ֖בֶר), "and·Tirhanah" (וְאֶֽת־תִּרְחֲנָֽה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "he·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מעכה ("Maacah") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: פִּילֶ֤גֶשׁ [concubine·of] (423) + כָּלֵב֙ [Caleb] (52) + מַֽעֲכָ֔ה [Maacah] (135) + יָ֥לַד [he·bore] (44) + שֶׁ֖בֶר [Sheber] (502) + וְאֶֽת־תִּרְחֲנָֽה [and·Tirhanah] (1070) = 2226.
Maacah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber — The commentators strained very hard to explain this: in their view, the word 'begot' (in the masculine) stands in place of 'bore' (feminine) — but then what is stated further on, 'and she bore,' becomes redundant. In my view, the meaning is that a man named Sheber, together with his wife Tirhanah, fathered Maacah, Caleb's concubine — for Sheber and his wife Tirhanah were well known in those days, and the daughter born to them became a concubine to Caleb because of her distinguished birth. That is why it says 'and Tirhanah' — for Maacah was distinguished both through her father Sheber, and through having been borne by Tirhanah, who was of eminent lineage. And Maacah (daughter of Sheber and Tirhanah), Caleb's concubine, bore Shaaph the father of Madmannah, from whom came the people of Madmannah, and she also bore Sheva, who was the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea. [It is also possible that the word 'et' (the untranslated direct-object particle) before Sheva's name is itself part of the name, so that his name was 'Et-Sheva' — as above in verse 18, in the name 've'et Yeriot,' where this same word 'et' is found functioning as part of a name. Likewise, it is possible that 've'et Tirhanah' was itself the woman's name, 'Et-Tirhanah,' meaning that Sheber and his wife Et-Tirhanah fathered Maacah, Caleb's concubine.] And she also bore Achsah, Caleb's daughter. Now, we find (Joshua 15:16) that Caleb the son of Jephunneh had a daughter named Achsah, from which it would appear, in line with the view of our Sages, that the verse here speaks of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and that from verse 46 on it returns to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of whom it spoke in verse 18 according to our Sages. But according to the plain-sense approach, that the verse here speaks of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel, he too had a daughter named Achsah — and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who lived after him, likewise named his own daughter Achsah, after her.
And the wife of Shaaph the father of Madmannah bore Sheva the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea. And the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
verse value 2590
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "Shaaph" (שַׁ֚עַף, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·daughter·of·Caleb" (וּבַת־כָּלֵ֖ב, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 13: father·of, father·of. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Shaaph" (שַׁ֚עַף), "Madmannah" (מַדְמַנָּ֔ה), "Sheva" (אֶת־שְׁוָ֛א). The root אב appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Gibea', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַתֵּ֗לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + שַׁ֚עַף [Shaaph] (450) + אֲבִ֣י [father·of] (13) + מַדְמַנָּ֔ה [Madmannah] (139) + אֶת־שְׁוָ֛א [Sheva] (708) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + מַכְבֵּנָ֖ה [Machbenah] (117) + וַאֲבִ֣י [and·father·of] (19) + גִבְעָ֑א [Gibea] (76) + וּבַת־כָּלֵ֖ב [and·daughter·of·Caleb] (460) + עַכְסָֽה [Achsah] (155) = 2590.
Rashi
And she bore Shaaph, the father of Madmannah, Sheva, the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea These two towns were his. and Caleb’s daughter was Achsah Now he starts at the beginning, and begins with Achsah because she was Othniel’s wife, as is written there (Jos. 15:16, Jud. 1:12): “And Caleb said: ‘He that shall smite Kirjath Sepher, etc.’”
Ralbag
'And the daughter of Caleb was Achsah' — since we find that the daughter of Caleb the son of Jephunneh was [likewise] Achsah, it would appear that Caleb the son of Jephunneh is the same as Caleb the son of Hur, and that his father had two names. And if we say that what is mentioned here belongs to Caleb the son of Hezron, then Caleb the son of Jephunneh would be the same as Caleb the son of Hezron; and from this passage our Sages, of blessed memory, were compelled to say that 'the early generations fathered children at eight years old' (Sanhedrin 69), since Caleb was forty years old when Moses sent him with the spies, yet Bezalel had already done the work of the Tabernacle. But it is also possible to say that this does not require that Caleb the son of Jephunneh be the same as Caleb the son of Hezron, even though we grant that this statement [about Achsah] concerns Caleb the son of Hezron and not Caleb the son of Hur. For even though he had a daughter named Achsah, it is possible that he was not [the same as] Caleb the son of Jephunneh, but that each of them separately had a daughter named Achsah. And if we say that the one mentioned in this passage is Caleb the son of Hur, then its statement afterward, 'these were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur' (verse 50), refers back to the sons already mentioned, and its saying 'Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim' would be missing the letter vav — as though it said 'and Shobal' — meaning that he too was among his sons.
Metzudat David
'The wife of Shaaph the father of Madmannah bore Sheva' — meaning, Shaaph fathered, through his wife, Sheva, who was chief over Machbenah and over Gibea; or it means that the men of those cities were his descendants.
These were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur the first-born of Ephrath: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim;
verse value 2742
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 42 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֤לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֤לֶּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Hur" (בֶּן־ח֖וּר, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "son·of·Hur" (בֶּן־ח֖וּר). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root קריה ("Kiriath") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root יערים ("jearim") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ephrath', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: אֵ֤לֶּה [these] (36) + הָיוּ֙ [were] (21) + בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + כָלֵ֔ב [Caleb] (52) + בֶּן־ח֖וּר [son·of·Hur] (266) + בְּכ֣וֹר [firstborn·of] (228) + אֶפְרָ֑תָה [Ephrath] (686) + שׁוֹבָ֕ל [Shobal] (338) + אֲבִ֖י [father·of] (13) + קִרְיַ֥ת [Kiriath] (710) + יְעָרִֽים [jearim] (330) = 2742.
Rashi
These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah The interpretation is: These were the sons of Caleb. בֶּן חוּר is like בְּנוֹ חוּר, his son was Hur, and that Hur was the firstborn of Ephrath, his wife, not the firstborn of Caleb, and so it is explained above (verse 19): “And Caleb took to himself Ephrath, and she bore him Hur.” Another explanation [is that] “for these were the sons of, etc.” Hur was Caleb’s son, and he begot a son whom he named Caleb, and this is its explanation: And these were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur: Shobal, etc. the firstborn of Ephrathah but not the firstborn of Caleb. This refers to Hur. So it appears to us.
Metzudat David
'These were the sons of Caleb... The sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrath' — above (2:19–20) it was stated that Hur, son of Caleb, fathered Uri; here it states that Hur had yet another son, also named Caleb, and the following are the sons of this (second) Caleb. 'The first-born of Ephrath' — Hur was the firstborn to his mother, but not to his father; for Mesha, mentioned there, was Caleb's actual firstborn.
Malbim
These were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur the first-born of Ephrath — The commentators explain that Hur the son of Caleb (mentioned in verses 19-20), who begot Uri, had another son named Caleb, and that the Caleb mentioned here is Uri's brother, whose descendants are now recorded. And although the text above mentioned only that Hur begot Uri, I have already written that not all the descendants were listed there, only the most notable ones. There is also room to explain that 'these were the sons of Caleb' refers back to the earlier Caleb, the son of Chetzron — meaning that these too were his sons: that the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrath, was Shobal. This is also suggested in chapter 4, where verse 1 lists Hur and Shobal without mentioning Caleb the father of Shobal at all, showing that Shobal was the son of Hur — and it likewise concludes there, in verse 4, 'these are the sons of Hur.' However, from the fact that the one who set the cantillation marks placed the etnachta [the major pause] on the word 'Ephrath,' it is clear that he understood the verse according to the first explanation.
Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader.
verse value 1794
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 1794 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Beth-lehem" (בֵֽית־לָ֔חֶם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 13: father·of, father·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Hareph" (חָרֵ֖ף), "Beth-gader" (בֵית־גָּדֵֽר). The root אב appears 2 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Beth-lehem" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: שַׂלְמָא֙ [Salma] (371) + אֲבִ֣י [father·of] (13) + בֵֽית־לָ֔חֶם [Beth-lehem] (490) + חָרֵ֖ף [Hareph] (288) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + בֵית־גָּדֵֽר [Beth-gader] (619) = 1794.
And Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim had sons: Haroeh, and half of the Menuhoth.
verse value 2388
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֖י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "father·of" (אֲבִ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·Menuhoth" (הַמְּנֻחֽוֹת, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·Shobal" (לְשׁוֹבָ֔ל), "the·Menuhoth" (הַמְּנֻחֽוֹת). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root חצי ("half·of") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root מנוחה ("the·Menuhoth") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'jearim', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּהְי֤וּ [and·they·were] (37) + בָנִים֙ [sons] (102) + לְשׁוֹבָ֔ל [to·Shobal] (368) + אֲבִ֖י [father·of] (13) + קִרְיַ֣ת [Kiriath] (710) + יְעָרִ֑ים [jearim] (330) + הָרֹאֶ֖ה [Haroeh] (211) + חֲצִ֥י [half·of] (108) + הַמְּנֻחֽוֹת [the·Menuhoth] (509) = 2388.
Rashi
who ruled over half the Menuhoth There was a province in the land named Menuhoth, as it is written (8:6): “... and they exiled them to Manahath,” and he ruled over half the province. Further it is stated, who ruled over the other half of the province. who ruled הָרֹאֶה, pour maire du pays in French, as ruler over the land.
Ralbag
'And Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim had sons,' etc. — meaning, apart from [being the father of] Kiriath-jearim, he had two more sons: the name of one was Haroeh, and the name of the second was 'half of the Menuhoth.' And it says that from Kiriath-jearim came forth many families — the Ithrites, the Puthites, and the rest of the families that it lists.
Metzudat David
'Haroeh, and half of the Menuhoth' — the name of the one is Haroeh, and the name of the other is 'Half of the Menuhoth'; and one should not find it strange that human names are combined this way, so that they seem to carry a descriptive meaning — compare 'Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer' (below, 25), which likewise seem to carry a meaning, yet are simply the names of people.
Malbim
Haroeh — this is Reaiah the son of Shobal (below, 4:2). half of the Menuhoth — meaning, 'the father of half of the Menuhoth' (the earlier word 'father' extends to cover both names) — that is, he ruled over half the town of Menuhoth, or that half its inhabitants descended from him and belonged to his ancestral house. Some explain that 'Chatzi ha-Menuchot' is the name of a person, or two names, so that [Shobal] had three sons: (1) Haroeh, (2) Chatzi, (3) HaMenuchot. And do not be puzzled by the letter heh at the start of the name, for this is quite common — [as in] 'HaSoferet' (Ezra 2:55), 'HaKotz' (ibid. 41; Nehemiah 3:21), 'HaLochesh' (Nehemiah 3:12; 10:25), and in this book there are many such names: 'HaTzelelponi' (4:3), 'HaAchashtari' (4:6), 'HaTzovevah,' 'HaRum' (4:8), and so on for many more.
And the families of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, and the Puthites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zorathites, and the Eshtaolites.
verse value 6115
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "Kiriath" (קִרְיַ֣ת, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Eshtaolites" (וְהָאֶשְׁתָּ֖אֻֽלִֽי, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·the·Puthites" (וְהַפּוּתִ֔י), "and·the·Shumathites" (וְהַשֻּׁמָתִ֖י), "and·the·Mishraites" (וְהַמִּשְׁרָעִ֑י). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles); "went·out" (root יצא, 24x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root משפחה ("and·families·of") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root יתרי ("the·Ithrites") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·Mishraites', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּמִשְׁפְּחוֹת֙ [and·families·of] (840) + קִרְיַ֣ת [Kiriath] (710) + יְעָרִ֔ים [jearim] (330) + הַיִּתְרִי֙ [the·Ithrites] (625) + וְהַפּוּתִ֔י [and·the·Puthites] (507) + וְהַשֻּׁמָתִ֖י [and·the·Shumathites] (761) + וְהַמִּשְׁרָעִ֑י [and·the·Mishraites] (631) + מֵאֵ֗לֶּה [from·these] (76) + יָֽצְאוּ֙ [went·out] (107) + הַצָּ֣רְעָתִ֔י [the·Zorathites] (775) + וְהָאֶשְׁתָּ֖אֻֽלִֽי [and·the·Eshtaolites] (753) = 6115.
Rashi
And the families of Kirjath Jearim The inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim. from these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites the inhabitants of Zorah and Eshtaol. Do not wonder that it is written (Judg. 13:25): “And the spirit of the Lord began to come upon him at times [in the camp of Dan] between Zorah and Eshtaol,” which means that these two towns belonged to the Danites, [which presents a difficulty] because all these stated here belonged to the Judahites. We can say [to solve this discrepancy that] the towns and the boundary that were between Zorah and Eshtaol belonged to Dan, but Zorah and Eshtaol themselves belonged to the Judahites.
Metzudat David
'Kiriath-jearim' — meaning, the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim. 'Of them' — from these sons, these families, came forth the inhabitants of Zorah and Eshtaol, two towns within the territory of Judah.
Malbim
And the families — He means: the families of the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, who descended from Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim, were the families of the Ithrites and the families of the Puthites, etc. Of them came the Zorathites, and the Eshtaolites — That is, the sons of Zorah and Eshtaol who were in the territory of Judah (Joshua 15), for there was another Zorah and Eshtaol in the territory of Dan (Judges 13). Below, 4:2, he will explain how the Zorathites descended from Shobal.
The sons of Salma: Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites.
verse value 3602
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Netophathites" (וּנְט֣וֹפָתִ֔י, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 412: Beth-, beth. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Netophathites" (וּנְט֣וֹפָתִ֔י), "Atroth" (עַטְר֖וֹת), "the·Manahathites" (הַמָּנַחְתִּ֖י). The root בית appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Beth-" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "joab" (root יואב, 25x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root לחם ("lehem") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root נטופתי ("and·Netophathites") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'joab', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + שַׂלְמָ֗א [Salma] (371) + בֵּ֥ית [Beth-] (412) + לֶ֙חֶם֙ [lehem] (78) + וּנְט֣וֹפָתִ֔י [and·Netophathites] (561) + עַטְר֖וֹת [Atroth] (685) + בֵּ֣ית [beth] (412) + יוֹאָ֑ב [joab] (19) + וַחֲצִ֥י [and·half·of] (114) + הַמָּנַחְתִּ֖י [the·Manahathites] (513) + הַצׇּרְעִֽי [the·Zorites] (375) = 3602.
Rashi
The sons of Salma: Bethlehem The sons of Salma were inhabitants of Bethlehem. and the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab and also of the inhabitants of Netophoth and Atroth Beth Joab, half the province of the Manahtite the people of Zorah seized for themselves and dwelled in them. They are names of places, (II Sam. 28:29f.): “Maharai the Netophathite... Baanah the Netophathite,” David’s mighty men. And Manahath [is also a name of a place, as below (8:6)]: “... and they exiled them to Manahath.”
Ralbag
'The sons of Salma' — who was the father of Beth-lehem, meaning [his son was named] Beth-lehem — and from it [Beth-lehem] came forth these families: the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-joab, half of the Manahathites, and the Zorites. Now the name 'half of the Manahathites' resembles somewhat the name 'half of the Menuhoth' [mentioned above].
Metzudat David
'Beth-lehem' — the men of Beth-lehem were among his descendants, and so too the men of Netophah. 'Atroth-beth-joab,' etc. — these are the names of places or of families.
Malbim
The sons of Salma — the second son of Caleb — were the men of Beth-lehem, as it is written, “Salma, the father of Beth-lehem.” (And the sons of) the Netophathites — a city in Judah (II Samuel 23:28). (And the sons of) Atroth-beth-joab — (the name of a city; for there were several cities called Atroth, distinguished by their added names: Atroth-addar, Atroth-beth-joab). (And the sons of) half of the Manahathites, the Zorites — half the men of the city of Manahath, where the sons of Zorah dwelt, for the other half was descended from Shobal (as above, 2:52). (And the word “sons” at the head of the verse carries forward five times, referring to all the names listed.) Now, according to Radak, the Zorah and Eshtaol mentioned in Judges were in the territory of Judah; and regarding what is written (Judges 13:25), “And the spirit of Hashem began to move him in Mahaneh-dan” — that the sons of Dan camped there on their way to wage war against Laish, as is written (Judges 18:12), “therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan, [which is] behind Kiriath-jearim” — one may explain that on account of this, these places were called by the name Manahoth, from the language of “nachah” and “chanah” (resting and encamping), for there the sons of Dan rested and encamped. And half of the Manahoth on the Eshtaol side descended from Raiah son of Shobal, as it says, “and the family of Kiriath-jearim: of them came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites.” And he explains that from the sons of Salma came the other half of the Manahoth, on the Zorah side — hence it says “and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites” — for although he attributes (below, 4:2) the families of the Zorathites to Raiah son of Shobal, those who dwelt in the Manahoth of Dan, on the Zorah side, were the sons of Salma.
And the families of scribes who dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
verse value 6256
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 69 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "these" (הֵ֚מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·families·of" (וּמִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "scribes" (סֹֽפְרִים֙), "Tirathites" (תִּרְעָתִ֥ים), "Shimeathites" (שִׁמְעָתִ֖ים). The root ישב appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "house·of·Rechab" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "who·came" (root בוא, 62x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ספר ("scribes") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root ישב ("inhabitants·of") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sucathites', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words.
Rashi
And the families of scholars, those who dwelt with Jabez Jabez’s company, over whom he ruled, as is written below (4:9): “And Jabez was more esteemed than his brothers.” Tirathites, Shimathites, Suchathites All of these are names of their father’s house. they are the Kinites And where do they live? They are surely the inhabitants of Cain, a name of a place, as is written (Jos. 15:57): “Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities...” who were descended from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab who were descended from Hammath, who was of the house of Rechab, and they settled in Cain. Another interpretation: Jabez is the name of a city which belonged to Issachar, as it is written (Jos. 19:20): “And Rabbith and Kishion, and Ebez.” they are the Kinites silversmiths. (Jud. 16:4) “... and she gave it to the silversmith.” The Targum renders צוֹרֵף as קִינָאָה.
Ralbag
'And the families of scribes,' etc. — I think the intent here is that 'Hammath the father of the house of Rechab' [mentioned here] is the same as 'Hareph the father of Beth-gader' (verse 51); the father had two names, and the son [i.e., the place he founded] likewise had two names — and you will find the like of this again further on. Here [Scripture] completes its account of the families that descended from these three [sons] named first — Shobal, Salma, and Hareph — and states that they were families of sages and scribes who dwelt at Jabez. Some of them were called Tirathites, some Shimeathites, and some Sucathites; all of these were the Kenites who descended from Hammath the father of the house of Rechab. It appears that Rechab had a son named Kayin, from whom these families branched out and came to be called Kenites.
Metzudat David
'And the families of scribes' — from his descendants too came the families of scribes and sages, the company of Jabez, who dwelt with him and occupied themselves with Torah, and were subordinate to him — as it is stated, 'And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren' (below, 4). 'The Tirathites,' etc. — these are the names of the families of scribes. 'These are the Kenites' — these families were called by the collective name 'Kenites.' 'Who came of Hammath' — meaning, descendants of a man named Hammath, who was the father of the house of Rechab.
Metzudat Zion
Scribes (Soferim) - Also "sages"; and in the words of our Sages: "The learned man recites the blessing, and the unlearned man fulfills his obligation [by listening]" (Chullin 108).
Malbim
And the families of scribes who dwelt at Jabez — The commentators explain that this means the scribes and sages who dwelt in the city of Abez (in the territory of Issachar, Joshua 19), who were “knowers of understanding of the times,” or that Jabez built it and named it after himself; and they were the families of the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites — these are the Kenites. Rashi explains them as smiths, for the Targum renders “tzoref” (smith) as “kina’ah.” Radak explains them as those who came from the sons of Keni, or from the city of Kain. But it seems to me — since it is stated (Judges 1:16), “And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah... and went and dwelt among the people,” and our sages have a tradition that these were the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, who went to Othniel son of Kenaz — he is Jabez — to learn Torah, and settled and intermingled with the sons of Judah — that they were scribes and sages who dwelt in the city of Jabez, which Jabez built in the wilderness of Judah, and afterward split into many families: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites, named after their patriarchal houses. Or, according to the view of our sages, that the names indicated their character according to their wisdom, and people later assumed that they, too, belonged to the family of Jabez and the sons of Judah. Therefore Ezra, the author of the book, informs us that they are not of the family of Judah, but are the Kenites, the sons of Keni. These are the Kenites who came of Hammath — for Hammath was the head of their family. Hammath was the father of the house of Rechab, from whom came the Rechabites, dwellers in tents, who separated themselves from the desires of the world, as is mentioned in Jeremiah, chapter 35 (6–10).
Malbim