The Descendants of Judah
1 Judah was the father of five sons: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2 Shobal was the father of Reaiah, the grandfather of Jahath, and the great-grandfather of Ahumai and Lahad. These men all belonged to the Zorathite clan.
3-4 Hur was the oldest son of Caleb and Ephrath. Some of his descendants settled the town of Bethlehem. Hur's other descendants included Etam, Penuel, and Ezer. Etam's sons were Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, and his daughter was Hazzelelponi. Penuel settled the town of Gedor, and Ezer settled the town of Hushah.
5 Ashhur, who settled the town of Tekoa, had two wives: Helah and Naarah. 6 Ashhur and Naarah were the parents of Ahuzzam, Hepher, Temeni, and Haahashtari. 7 Ashhur and Helah were the parents of Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
8 Koz, the father of Anub and Zobebah, was also the ancestor of the clans of Aharhel, the son of Harum.
9 Jabez was a man who got his name because of the pain he caused his mother during birth. But he was still the most respected son in his family. 10 One day he prayed to Israel's God, “Please bless me and give me a lot of land. Be with me so I will be safe from harm.” And God did just what Jabez had asked.
11 Chelub was the brother of Shuhah and the father of Mehir. Later, Mehir had a son, Eshton, 12 whose three sons were Bethrapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah. It was Tehinnah who settled the town of Nahash. These men and their families lived in the town of Recah.
13 Kenaz was the father of Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel had two sons: Hathath and Meonothai, 14 who was the father of Ophrah. Seraiah was the father of Joab, who settled a place called “Valley of Crafts” because the people who lived there were experts in making things.
15 Caleb son of Jephunneh had three sons: Iru, Elah, and Naam. Elah was the father of Kenaz.
16 Jehallelel was the father of Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17-18 Ezrah was the father of Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered was married to Bithiah the daughter of the king of Egypt. They had a daughter named Miriam and two sons: Shammai and Ishbah. It was Ishbah who settled the town of Eshtemoa. Mered was also married to a woman from the tribe of Judah, and their sons were Jered, Heber, and Jekuthiel. Jered settled the town of Gedor; Heber settled the town of Soco; and Jekuthiel settled the town of Zanoah.
19 A man named Hodiah was married to the sister of Naham. Hodiah's descendants included Keilah of the Garmite clan and Eshtemoa of the Maacathite clan.
20 Shimon was the father of Amnon, Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon.
Ishi was the father of Zoheth and Benzoheth.
21-22 Judah also had a son named Shelah, whose descendants included Jokim and the people of the town of Cozeba, as well as Er who settled the town of Lecah and Laadah who settled the town of Mareshah. The people who lived in Beth-Ashbea were also descendants of Shelah, and they were experts in weaving cloth. Shelah was the ancestor of Joash and Saraph, two men who married Moabite women and then settled near Bethlehem —but these family records are very old. 23 The members of these clans were the potters who lived in the towns of Netaim and Gederah and worked for the king.
The Descendants of Simeon
24 Simeon had five sons: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul. 25 The descendants of Shaul included his son Shallum, his grandson Mibsam, and his great-grandson Mishma. 26 The descendants of Mishma included his son Hammuel, his grandson Zaccur, and his great-grandson Shimei. 27 Shimei had 16 sons and 6 daughters. But his brothers did not have as many children, so the Simeon tribe was smaller than the Judah tribe.
28-31 Before David became king, the people of the Simeon tribe lived in the following towns: Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-Shual, Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-Marcaboth, Hazarsusim, Bethbiri, and Shaaraim. 32 They also lived in the five villages of Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, 33 as well as in the nearby villages as far as the town of Baal. These are the places where Simeon's descendants had settled, according to their own family records.
34-38 As their families and clans became larger, the people of Simeon had the following leaders: Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, Joel, Jehu, Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, and Ziza. 39 When the people needed more pastureland for their flocks and herds, they looked as far as the eastern side of the valley where the town of Gerar is located, 40 and they found a lot of good pastureland that was quiet and undisturbed. This had once belonged to the Hamites, 41 but when Hezekiah was king of Judah, the descendants of Simeon attacked and forced the Hamites and Meunites off the land, then settled there.
42 Some time later, 500 men from the Simeon tribe went into Edom under the command of Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel the sons of Ishi. 43 They killed the last of the Amalekites and lived there from then on.
1 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: 4 And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Beth-lehem.
5 ¶ And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6 And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. 7 And the sons of Helah were , Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan. 8 And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
9 ¶ And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
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 Ir-nahash. 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, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were , Zoheth, and Ben-zoheth.
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 Jashubi-lehem. 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.
24 ¶ The sons of Simeon were , Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul: 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son. 27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah. 28 And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual, 29 And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, 30 And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, 31 And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David. 32 And their villages were , Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities: 33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy. 34 And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, 36 And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah, 37 And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah; 38 These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly.
39 ¶ And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. 40 And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. 41 And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.