families of the Zorathites. 3And these were the sons of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi: 4and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Beth-lehem. 5And Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6And Naarah bare him Ahuzzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7And the sons of Helah were Zereth, [1]Izhar, and Ethnan. 8And Hakkoz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. 9And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his
the Zorathites] Cp. note on ii. 53.
3. these were the sons of the father of Etam] The Heb. has not got the words the sons of, and is certainly corrupt. The LXX. reads, These were the sons of Etam. Correction is difficult, largely owing to the obscurity of Etam. If Etam had been named as a son of Shobal in ver. 2, we might follow the LXX. It is perhaps best to suppose that Etam begins the list of descendants of Hur, and to read "these were the sons of Hur the father of Etam." Etam was a place, but whether near Bethlehem (the Etam of 2 Chr. xi. 6) or in southern Judah (the Simeonite Etam of ver. 32) is uncertain.
4. Hur] the first born of Ephrathah (= Ephrath) one of the wives of Caleb (ii. 19). Hur was father of Bethlehem through his son Salma (ii. 50, 51, LXX.). For the name of the city cp. Gen. xxxv. 19 (Ephrath the same is Bethlehem) and Mic. v. 2 (R.V. Thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah).
5. Ashhur the father of Tekoa] Ashhur is probably only a variant of Hur (see note ii. 24). Hur then is the exilic or post-exilic "father" (founder) of the Calebite population of Tekoa (5 miles from Bethlehem), and of Bethlehem, etc., through his sons (ii. 50—52).
Helah and Naarah] Neither the names of the wives nor those of the children yield any certain information.
8. And Hakkoz] But Heb. Koz. The absence of connection with the preceding verse is striking. Perhaps Koz was properly one of the sons of Helah (ver. 7), and a motive for the severance of his name may be found in the wish to make less obvious his Calebite (i.e. non-Levitical) origin, in case he were identified with the priestly Hakkoz of xxiv. 10; Ez. ii. 61, a family who were unable to prove an untainted pedigree.
9. The connection of this verse also does not appear. According to Targ. (on ver. 13) Jabez = Othniel, the nephew or brother of Caleb.
And Jabez, etc.] Render, And Jabez came to be honoured above his brethren, but his mother had called his name Jabez, saying, Because
- ↑ Another reading is, and Zohar.
