Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 4:11
And Chelub the brother of Shuah begot Mehir, which [was] the father of Eshton.
It has been conjectured from the strangeness of all the names in this list, that we have here a fragment of Canaanite record, connected with the family of the Shua, whose daughter Judah took to wife 1Ch 2:3; Gen 38:2, and whose family thus became related to the tribe of Judah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir,…. If Shuah is the same with Hushah, 1Ch 4:4, then Chelub was the son of Ezer:
which was the father of Eshton; not the prince of a place called Eshton, as Vatablus; for it is the name of a man, the son of Mehir, and who in the next verse is said to beget sons.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The genealogy of the men of Rechah. – As to their connection with the larger families of Judah, nothing has been handed down to us. Chelub, another form of the name Caleb or Chelubai (see 1Ch 2:9 and 1Ch 2:18), is distinguished from the better known Caleb son of Hezron (1Ch 2:18 and 1Ch 2:42), and from the son of Jephunneh (1Ch 4:15), by the additional clause, “the son of Shuah.” Shuah is not met with elsewhere, but is without reason identified with Hushah, 1Ch 4:4, by the older commentators. Mehir the father of Eshton is likewise unknown. Eshton begat the house (the family) of Rapha, of whom also nothing further is said; for they can be connected neither with the Benjamite Rapha (1Ch 8:2) nor with the children of Rapha (1Ch 20:4, 1Ch 20:6, 1Ch 20:8). Paseah and Tehinnah are also unknown, for it is uncertain whether the sons of Paseah mentioned among the Nethinim, Ezr 2:49; Neh 7:51, have any connection with our Paseah. Tehinnah is called “father of the city of Nahash.” The latter name is probably not properly the name of a town, but rather the name of a person Nahash, not unlikely the same as the father of Abigail (2Sa 17:25), the step-sister of David (cf. 1Ch 2:16). The men (or people) of Rechah are unknown.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Genealogies. | B. C. 1420. |
11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton. 12 And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Irnahash. These are the men of Rechah. 13 And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath. 14 And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen. 15 And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz. 16 And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel. 17 And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took. 19 And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. 20 And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth. 21 The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea, 22 And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things. 23 These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.
We may observe in these verses, 1. That here is a whole family of craftsmen, handicraft tradesmen, that applied themselves to all sorts of manufactures, in which they were ingenious and industrious above their neighbours, v. 14. There was a valley where they lived which was, from them, called the valley of craftsmen. Those that are craftsmen are not therefore to be looked upon as mean men. These craftsmen, though two of a trade often disagree, yet chose to live together, for the improving of arts by comparing notes, and that they might support one another’s reputation. 2. That one of these married the daughter of Pharaoh (v. 18), which was the common name of the kings of Egypt. If an Israelite in Egypt before the bondage began, while Joseph’s merits were yet fresh in mind, was preferred to be the king’s son-in-law, it is not to be thought strange: few Israelites could, like Moses, refuse an alliance with the court. 3. That another is said to be the father of the house of those that wrought fine linen, v. 21. It is inserted in their genealogy as their honour that they were the best weavers in the kingdom, and they brought up their children, from one generation to another, to the same business, not aiming to make them gentlemen. This Laadah is said to be the father of those that wrought fine linen, as before the flood Jubal is said to be the father of musicians and Jabal of shepherds, c. His posterity inhabited the city of Mareshah, the manufacture or staple commodity of which place was linen-cloth, with which their kings and priests were clothed. 4. That another family had had dominion in Moab, but were now in servitude in Babylon,1Ch 4:221Ch 4:23. (1.) It was found among the ancient things that they had the dominion in Moab. Probably in David’s time, when that country was conquered, they transplanted themselves thither, and were put in places of power there, which they held for several generations; but this was a great while ago, time out of mind. (2.) Their posterity were now potters and gardeners, as is supposed in Babylon, where they dwelt with the king for his work, got a good livelihood by their industry, and therefore cared not for returning with their brethren to their own land, after the years of captivity had expired. Those that now have dominion know not what their posterity may be reduced to, nor what mean employments they may be glad to take up with. But those were unworthy the name of Israelites that would dwell among plants and hedges rather than be at the pains to return to Canaan.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(11-12) A fragment relating to the men of Rechah, a name which occurs nowhere else, and for which Rechab appears a plausible correction. So the Vat., LXX. . Compare 1Ch. 2:55, where the Sopherim of Jabez are called Rechabites, and see Notes on the passage. These Rechabites united with the Salmaite branch of Hurites; and Hur was a son of Caleb, 1Ch. 2:19. Hence it is likely that the Chelub of 1Ch. 4:11 is identical with the Caleb-Chelubai of 1 Chronicles 2, who represents a main division of the Hezronites. Others suppose that the epithet, brother of Shuah (Shuhah), is meant to obviate this identification. The other names in this short section are wholly unknown. But their form shows at once that Beth-rapha and Ir-nahash (serpent city) are towns.
Paseah (lame; comp. Latin Claudius as a family name) recurs Neh. 3:6; and as the name of a clan of Nethinim, Ezr. 2:49, Neh. 7:51. The subscription, these are the men of Rechah (Rechab), probably looks back as far as 1Ch. 4:8.
(1315) The sons of Kenazi.e., the Kenizzite element in Judah. Kenaz was the name of an Edomite clan, 1Ch. 1:53, and of an old Canaanite race.
Othniel.Jdg. 1:13, one of the heroes of the conquest; Jdg. 3:9, he vanquishes Chushan-rishathaim, king of Aram-naharaim. In both passages he is called son of Kenaz, Calebs younger brother. The Kenizzites, who cast in their lot with the Calebites of Judah, were naturally called younger brothers of their new kindred.
Seraiah is unknown.
The sons of Othniel, Hathath.Eathath means dread, Job. 6:21. Comp. the name Hittites, from the same root. The sons of Othniel (lion of God) would be a terror to their foes.
And Meonothai has perhaps been accidentally omitted at the end of this verse, before the same phrase in 1Ch. 4:14. Or the genealogist may have purposely omitted it, as implied by what follows 1Ch. 4:14. Meonothai is apparently a gentilic name, i.e., Meonothites. The name Maon occurs Jos. 15:55 as a Judcan town; and Maon was the residence of the Calebite Nabal, 1Sa. 25:2-3.
Ophrah.Occurs several times as the name of a town; in Jud. 1:7 as the city of Gideon, who belonged to Manasseh; in Jos. 18:23, as a place in Benjamin. The latter may be meant here, as the boundaries of the tribes varied at different epochs.
Joab, father of the valley of Charashim.Charashim means workers in wood, or metal, or stone, 1Ch. 14:1, 2Ch. 24:12, 1Ch. 22:15. This valley of craftsmen (Val-aux-forges, as Reuss translates it) is mentioned again, Neh. 11:35. Lod, that is Lydda-Diospolis of Roman times, was situate here; a place occupied by Benjamites after the return. In Neh. 7:11, Ezr. 2:6, in a list of those who returned with Zerubbabel, mention is made of some sons of Joab. For the term father in this connection, comp. Gen. 4:20-21.
Theyi.e., the sons of Joab, were craftsmen or smiths.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Very honourable testimony is here given to the descendants of Judah, who excelled in different handicrafts and mechanical arts.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ch 4:11 And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which [was] the father of Eshton.
Ver. 11. Brother of Shuah. ] Called Hushah. 1Ch 4:4