Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 2:52
And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, [and] half of the Manahethites.
52. Haroeh and half of the Manahethites ] R.V. Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth. If the text be sound, render, Who provided for half the resting-places, the description applying to Shobal, whose work apparently was to supervise some of the halting-stations of the caravans which passed through the territory of Judah. Cp. similar details in 1Ch 4:21-23. Seraiah (Jer 51:59), who accompanied king Zedekiah to Babylon, bore the title of Prince of the resting-places, doubtless because he was entrusted with the duty of selecting the halting-places on the king’s journey. Some however would read Reaiah as in 1Ch 4:2, and would find the name of another son concealed in the phrase half of the Manahethites ( Menuhoth); cp. 1Ch 2:54, where however the Heb. word is different.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 52. Shobal – had sons] “Disciples and priests, to whom belonged the half of the oblations.” – T.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Haroeh; which may signify an overseer, a prophet, or teacher, or ruler; but here is a proper name, as appears from 1Ch 4:2, where he is called Reaiah, with no great variation in the Hebrew.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Shobal, the father of Kirjathjearim had sons,…. Which shows that Kirjathjearim is not the name of a man, or of any of Shobal’s sons, who are next mentioned, but of a place of which he was prince: the first is
Haroeh, who is called Reaiah, 1Ch 4:2 a word of the same signification:
and half of the Manahethites; which Kimchi takes to be the proper name of a man called Chatzihamanaheth, another son of Shobal’s; but Jarchi interprets it of the name of a place or province called Manahath, 1Ch 8:6 over half of which Haroeh was governor.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Shobal had sons, . These words, which are translated in the Vulgate, qui videbat dimidium requietionum , give, so interpreted, no fitting sense, but must contain proper names. The lxx have made from them three names, , on mere conjecture. Most commentators take for the name of the man who, in 1Ch 4:2, is called under the name Reaiah, , the son of Shobal. This is doubtless correct; but we must not take for another name of Reaiah, but, with Bertheau, must hold it to be a corruption of , or a conjecture arising from a false interpretation of by a transcriber or reader, who did not take Hazi-Hammenuhoth for a proper name, but understood it appellatively, and attempted to bring some sense out of the words by changing into the participle . The in 1Ch 2:54 corresponds to our , as one half of a race or district corresponds to the other, for the connection between the substantive and the adjective cannot but be acknowledged. Now, although signifies resting-place (Num 10:33; Jdg 20:43), and the words “the half of the resting-place,” or “of the resting-places,” point in the first instance to a district, yet not only does the context require that Hazi-Hammenuhoth should signify a family sprung from Shobal, but it is demanded also by a comparison of our phrase with hmnchty chtsy in 1Ch 2:54, which unquestionably denotes a family. It does not, however, seem necessary to alter the into ; for as in 1Ch 2:54 Bethlehem stands for the family in Bethlehem descended from Salma, so the district Hazi-Hammenuhoth may be used in 1Ch 2:52 to denote the family residing there. As to the geographical position of this district, see on 1Ch 2:54.
1Ch 2:53 Besides the families mentioned in 1Ch 2:52, the families of Kirjath-jearim, which in 1Ch 2:53 are enumerated by name, came of Shobal also. is simply a continuation of the families already mentioned, and the remark of Berth., that “the families of Kirjath-jearim are moreover distinguished from the sons of Shobal,” is as incorrect as the supplying of cop. before in 1Ch 2:52 is unnecessary. The meaning is simply this: Shobal had sons Reaiah, Hazi-Hammenuhoth, and the families of Kirjath-jearim, viz., the family of Jether, etc. David’s heroes, Ira and Gareb, 1Ch 11:40; 2Sa 23:38, belonged to the family of Jether ( ). The other three families are not met with elsewhere. , of these, the four families of Kirjath-jearim just mentioned, came the Zoreathites and the Eshtaulites, the inhabitants of the town of Zoreah, the home of Samson, now the ruin Sura, and of Eshtaol, which perhaps may be identified with Um Eshteyeh (see in Jos 15:33).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
half. For the other half see 1Ch 2:54.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Haroeh: or, Reaiah, 1Ch 4:2, as Haroeh and Reaiah have nearly the same signification, it is probable they were deemed perfectly interchangeable, and indifferently applied.
half of the Manahethites: or, half of the Menuchites, or, Hatsihammenuchoth.
Reciprocal: 1Ch 2:42 – the father of Hebron 1Ch 8:13 – the fathers