Synopsis of the Chapter
The descendants of Judah and Simeon, and their victories and heroic deeds.
Verse 1: The Sons of Judah ¶
1. THE SONS OF JUDAH: PEREZ, HEZRON, AND CARMI, etc. — 'Sons' means descendants: for Judah begot Perez, Perez begot Hezron, Hezron begot Carmi, etc. 'Sons' here therefore means grandsons and great-grandsons, who descend in a long line from Judah. For the author's purpose in this book was to name men who were famous for virtue or for a large family, who descended from Judah or some other Patriarch.
Verse 4: Ephrathah, Father of Bethlehem ¶
4. EPHRATHAH, FATHER OF BETHLEHEM. 'Father' means 'prince,' says Vatablus, for thus the servants of Naaman call him 'father,' 4 Kings V. Others however think Bethlehem is the name of the son of 'Ephrathah,' not of the city so called. For thus in chapter II, verse 54, 'Bethlehem' is called 'the son of Salma.'
Verse 5: Ashhur the Father of Tekoa ¶
5. ASHHUR THE FATHER (that is, prince) OF TEKOA — says Vatablus. Others however think 'Ashhur' was properly the father of a son whose name was 'Tekoa.'
Verse 9: Jabez ¶
9. SHE CALLED HIS NAME JABEZ, SAYING: BECAUSE I BORE HIM IN SORROW. — For 'Jabez' in Hebrew signifies sorrow. This Jabez seems to have been the son of Harum who preceded, brother of Aharhel, verse 8, and of Othniel, verse 13. It is a metathesis or transposition of letters; for 'Jabez' in Hebrew is Jaabes for Jaaseb: for עצב otseb is sorrow, as follows. So Pagninus. Thus for kebes, that is 'lamb,' one says keseb, that is, for כשב one says כבש.
Verse 14: The Valley of Craftsmen ¶
14. SERAIAH BEGOT JOAB THE FATHER (that is, prince) OF THE VALLEY OF CRAFTSMEN. — 'For this reason,' says St. Jerome, 'he is called the father of the Valley of Craftsmen, because among his sons were architects for building the house of the Lord.'
Verse 21: In the House of the Oath ¶
21. IN THE HOUSE OF THE OATH. — In Hebrew Esbaa is a proper name meaning 'oath'; whence the Septuagint translates, 'In the house of Aseba.' Our Translator in these ten chapters often does not retain the proper Hebrew names, but translates their meanings, because he thinks some mystery lies hidden in the meanings, or some allusion fitting to the thing or person.
Verse 22: He Who Made the Sun Stand Still ¶
22. AND HE WHO MADE THE SUN STAND STILL, AND THE MEN OF FALSEHOOD, SECURE AND BURNING. — All these are proper names, whose meanings our Translator rendered in translation. The Septuagint, Pagninus, Vatablus, and others retain the Hebrew names as proper, and translate: 'Joakim also, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who ruled in Moab.' For Joakim, or as it is in Hebrew, Jokim, means the same as 'he who made to stand,' namely the sun. Chozeba means 'falsehood'; Joash means 'secure'; Saraph means 'burning.'
Hear them as quoted by St. Jerome in the Traditions: 'He who made the sun stand still goes back to the line of Perez from whom David descended, judging it fitting to end the line of Judah, from which the royal tribe arose, with the history of David. For the Hebrews hand down that this was Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, the father of Mahlon and Chilion, in whose time the sun stood still.'
But it is clear that this is a fable of the Rabbis: first, because the passage deals with the descendants of Shelah, whereas 'Elimelech' was from the descendants of Perez. Therefore no miraculous halting of the sun is to be introduced here, beyond those narrated as occurring under Joshua, chapter X, and under Hezekiah, Isaiah XXXVIII. Wherefore this Jokim seems to have been a distinguished man who performed heroic deeds of valor, so that he appeared to be like a second Joshua who stopped the sun, and therefore, like Joshua, was called Jokim, that is 'Stopper of the sun'; even if in reality he did not stop the sun, as Joshua did. So today men are called Hercules, Samsons, Juliuses, Alexanders, to imitate those ancient heroes so named, even though they have not performed their heroic deeds.
AND WHO RETURNED TO LAHEM — that is 'to Bethlehem,' which by aphaeresis is called 'Lahem' or 'Lehem.'
THESE HOWEVER ARE ANCIENT WORDS — as if to say: These are the ancient names of ancient heroes. So Vatablus.
Verse 23: The Potters ¶
23. THESE ARE THE POTTERS (some incorrectly read 'individuals') DWELLING IN PLANTATIONS AND IN HEDGES, WITH THE KING IN HIS WORKS. — Vatablus: 'These are those potters dwelling in Netaim and Gederah with the king in his work.' These are place names derived from gardens and hedges, as if to say: These are those famous potters who dwelt in Netaim and Gederah, that is among plants and hedges, namely who worked in the gardens near king David, to assist his royal works, and therefore were held in great esteem by him. So Vatablus, and likewise Pagninus.
Verse 40: Those of the Stock of Ham ¶
40. IN WHICH THOSE OF THE STOCK OF HAM HAD FORMERLY DWELT — that is, the Canaanites; for they descended from Canaan the son of Ham the son of Noah. The meaning is, as if to say: The Simeonites, as the number of their tribe's children grew, since they dwelt in cramped quarters, especially in the midst of the tribe of Judah, which in the schism under Rehoboam took back its cities from the Simeonites; for this reason they attacked the neighboring Canaanites who had remained in the Holy Land after Joshua and could not be expelled by the Hebrews, and occupied their cities, fields, and pastures at the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah: but they enjoyed them for only a short time, for in the sixth year of Hezekiah they were carried captive with the remaining nine tribes to Assyria by Shalmaneser, 4 Kings XVII, 6, and chapter XVIII, verse 10.