Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 4:3
And these [were of] the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister [was] Hazelelponi:
3. these were of the father of Etam ] LXX. (“these were the sons of Etam” ) yields better sense. Etam (1Ch 4:32) was a place; the “sons of Etam” would be families which derived their origin from the place.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Read, These are the sons of the father (i. e. chief) of Etam 2Ch 11:6, a city of Judah, not far from Bethlehem.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. These were of the father of Etam] “And these are the rabbins (doctors) living at Etam, Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash.” – T.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Etam is the name either of a man, or of a place; of which see below, 1Ch 4:32; 2Ch 11:6; whose inhabitants descended from him. The name of his father is not here expressed.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And these were of the father of Etam,…. Or of the prince of Etam: or, as the Targum, these are princes that dwelt in Etam, a place not far from Zorah, Jud 15:8 and is mentioned with Bethlehem and Tekoa in the tribe of Judah, 2Ch 11:6, namely, which follow:
Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash; these were the sons of the governor of Etam:
and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi; who, perhaps, was a person of great note in those days, though now unknown; indeed, a Jewish chronologer w tells us, that the mother of Samson was Hazalelponith, of the tribe of Judah.
w Juchasin, fol. 10. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1Ch 4:3 and 1Ch 4:4 contain notices of the descendants of Hur. The first words of the third verse, “these, father of Etam, Jezreel,” have no meaning; but the last sentence of the second verse suggests that should be supplied, when we read, “and these are the families of (from) Abi-Etam.” The lxx and Vulgate have , which is also to be found in several codices, while other codices read . Both readings are probably only conjectures. Whether is to be taken as the name of a person, or appellatively, father = lord of Etam, cannot be decided. is in 1Ch 4:32, and probably also in Jdg 15:8, Jdg 15:11, the name of a town of the Simeonites; and in 2Ch 11:6, the name of a little town in the highlands of Judah, south of Jerusalem. If be the name of a place, only the lest named can be here meant. The names Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash denote persons as progenitors and head of families or branches of families. For as the name of a person, cf. Hos 1:4. That these names should be those of persons is required by the succeeding remark, “and their sister Hazelel-poni.” The formation of this name, with the derivative termination i, seems to express a relationship of race; but the word may also be an adjective, and as such may be a proper name: cf. Ew. 273, e.
1Ch 4:4 Penuel, in Gen 32:31., Jdg 8:8, name of a place in the East-Jordan land, as here, and in Jdg 8:25 the name of a man. Gedor is, we may suppose, the town of that name in the mountains of Judah, which is still to be found in the ruin Jedur (see on Jos 15:58). Penuel is here called father of Bedor, while in 1Ch 4:18 one Jered is so called, whence we must conclude that the inhabitants of Gedor were descended from both. Ezer (Help) occurs in 1Ch 7:21; 1Ch 12:9; Neh 3:19, of other men; father of Hushah, i.e., according to the analogy of Abi-Gedor, also the name of a place not elsewhere mentioned, where the hero Sibbecai had his birth, 1Ch 11:29; 2Sa 23:27. Those thus named in 1Ch 4:3 and 1Ch 4:4 are sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah (1Ch 2:19), the father of Bethlehem. The inhabitants of Bethlehem then, according to this, were descended from Hur through his son Salma, who is called in 1Ch 2:51 father of Bethlehem. The circumstance, too, that in our 1Ch 4:3, 1Ch 4:4 other names of persons are enumerated as descendants of Hur than those given in 1Ch 2:50-55 gives rise to no discrepancy, for there is no ground for the supposition that in 1Ch 2:50-55 all the descendants of Hur have been mentioned.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(3) And these were of the father of Etam.Heb., And these (were) the father of Etam. Some MSS., the LXX., and the Vulg. read and these (were) the sons of Etam; other MSS., with the Syriac and Arabic versions, have the sons of the father of Etam. Both variants look like evasions of a difficulty. The unusual expression and theseAbi-Etam may be a brief way of stating that the clans whose names are given were the dominant houses of Etam (or Abi-etam; compare Abiezer, Jdg. 7:11; Jdg. 8:2). Etam is known from the history of Samson (Jdg. 15:8, and 2Ch. 11:6); Jezreelnot Ahabs capitalfrom Jos. 15:56, and as the city of Ahinoam, wife of David, from 1Ch. 3:1. Both places were in the hill-country of Judah. The other three names are unknown.
Their sister.Their sister-town (see 1Ch. 1:39; 1Ch. 1:52, and Notes).
Hazelelponi.Means make shadow, O thou that regardest me!
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1Ch 4:3. These were of the father of Etam These are the race of Etam. Houbigant. The Hebrew may be rendered, says Kennicott, these or those are the father of Etam. The ancient versions read sons instead of father. At the end of the 7th verse Houbigant reads, and Coz, and so, at the end of the 8th, and Jabez.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
these were of. Some codices, with Septuagint, read “these were the sons of”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Etam: Jdg 15:11, 2Ch 11:6