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1 These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,

2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

3 The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born unto him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the sight of the Lord; and he slew him.

4 And Tamar his daughter in law bore him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.

5 The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul.

6 And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all.

7 And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.

8 And the sons of Ethan; Azariah.

9 The sons also of Hezron, that were born unto him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai.

10 And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah;

11 And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz,

12 And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse,

13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,

14 Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,

15 Ozem the sixth, David the seventh:

16 Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three.

17 And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.

18 And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.

19 And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took unto him Ephrath, which bare him Hur.

20 And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel.

21 And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was threescore years old; and she bare him Segub.

22 And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead.

23 And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath, and the towns thereof, even threescore cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir the father of Gilead.

24 And after that Hezron was dead in Calebephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bare him Ashur the father of Tekoa.

25 And the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were, Ram the firstborn, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah.

26 Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam.

27 And the sons of Ram the firstborn of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker.

28 And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab and Abishur.

29 And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban, and Molid.

30 And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children.

31 And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai.

32 And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children.

33 And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel.

34 Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha.

35 And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai.

36 And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad,

37 And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed,

38 And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah,

39 And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah,

40 And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum,

41 And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama.

42 Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.

43 And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema.

44 And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai.

45 And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Bethzur.

46 And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez.

47 And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Gesham, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph.

48 Maachah, Caleb's concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah.

49 She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsa.

50 These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim.

51 Salma the father of Bethlehem, Hareph the father of Bethgader.

52 And Shobal the father of Kirjathjearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites.

53 And the families of Kirjathjearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites,

54 The sons of Salma; Bethlehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites.

55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

<html><b>was evil in the eyes of the Lord</b> It is explained (<i>Gen. Rab.</i> (85:4) that he would “plow in the gardens,” meaning he was intimate with her in an unnatural way.</html>

<html><b>And Tamar, his daughter in law</b> I am amazed that he mentions the shame of David’s grandmother.</html>

<html><b>and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara</b> They all lived at the time of David and at the time of Solomon, and they were exceedingly wise. Concerning this it says (I Kings 5:11): “And he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol.” Further on, regarding Solomon’s wisdom, the expression is “Darda,” for even though it was called the generation of knowledge (דֵּעָה דּוּר) because of its wisdom, Solomon was wiser than all of them. Now when Scripture says הָאֶזְרָחִי, the “aleph” is superfluous, like הַזַּרְחִי (Num. 26:20), [because] he was descended from Zerah, and in many places, the “aleph” is inserted into the word, and is not pronounced, e.g. (Job. 13:17): “and my speech (וְאַחְוָתִי)” (Isa. 19:6): “And they shall abandon (וְהֶאֶזְנִיחוּ).” And likewise, (Num. 11:4): “וְְהָאסַפְסוּף, and the rabble.” Now sometimes it is completely missing, as (II Sam. 19:14): “תֹמְרוּ, you shall say,” and likewise, (II Chron. 22:5): “… and the Arameans (הָרַמִּים) smote.” [The verse in Kings] is expounded by <i>Pesikta</i> (<i>Peskikta d’Rav Kahana</i> p. 34, <i>Pesikta Rabbathi</i> 14:9): “… than all men this refers to Adam. Ethan is Abraham. Heman is Moses. Calcol is Joseph. Darda is the generation of the desert. Mahol means that He forgave them for making the Calf.”</html>

<html><b>And the sons of Carmi: Achar</b> Now why do I call him Achar? Was his name not Achan? (It is explained) that [he was called thus] since he troubled Israel by transgressing the devoted thing, and because of him thirty-six thousand (sic) men fell. This is what I explained that whatever derogatory information he can tell, he tells, (but nevertheless) the kingship emanated from them.</html>

<html><b>And the sons of Ethan: Azariah</b> Like (Gen. 46:23): “And the sons of Dan: Hushim.”</html>

<html><b>and Celubai</b> This is Caleb as is indicated below (v. 18): “And Caleb the son of Hezron,” and in I Sam. (25:3), it says: “… and he was a Calebite,” (כָלְבִּי), which the Targum renders: “of the house of Caleb,” and so he explains the word: כָלְבִּי, that he (Nabal) held himself [superior] and boasted that there was no one of such high lineage as he in the entire tribe; i.e, if Samuel gave him (David) the throne, the throne will come to me. Therefore, he said, (ibid. v. 10): “Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? Nowadays, there are many slaves,” for he is descended from Ruth the Moabitess, and Jerahmeel his brother married a gentile woman, as is written below, and that is the meaning of “Celubai,” he was haughty and proud (with everythng); his heart exalted him.</html>

<html><b>Nahshon, the prince of the children of Judah</b> He explains this only because of David’s honor.</html>

<html><b>and Salma begot Boaz</b> Our Sages stated (<i>Baba Bathra</i> 91a): “Ibzan is Boaz,” but it is amazing because how can this be? Did not Nahshon die in the second year following the Exodus from Egypt? Now Salmon, his son, had already been born, and he was one of those who entered the land, and Boaz, his son, who was Ibzan, was born when he entered the land. Now from the Exodus from Egypt until Jephthah were three hundred years, and the Sages said that when Boaz was intimate with Ruth and she conceived, Boaz died immediately, and Ibzan was a judge after the death of Jephthah, as it is written (Judg. 12:8): “And after him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.” About this I am amazed, for we find concerning Abram, that he said, “After his blood had become clotted, etc.,” and he said, (Gen. 17: 17): “Shall a child be born to [a man who is] a hundred years old?” So how did Boaz beget [a child] at the age of three hundred? It is possible to say that for this reason Scripture says (Ruth 4:13): “… and the Lord gave her conception,” on the pattern of “… and the Lord blessed him.” (Ibzan - The father of all the cold ones, for a young woman lay beside him, and he became cold and did not touch her. Not appearing in some editions.)</html>

<html><b>And Ishai begot his firstborn</b> This is written with the plene spelling, with an “aleph,” meaning that he was a man (אִישׁ), a mighty warrior.</html>

<html><b>David the seventh</b> This is written with the plene spelling, with a “yud,” because of David’s honor, and now he found the pearl; therefore, he did not count the eighth [son], Elijah.</html>

<html><b>And their sisters: Zeruiah and Abigail</b> [They are mentioned] because of David’s honor, i.e., they [Joab, Abishai, and Asael] were his sister’s sons, mighty men and princes. So it is explained further.</html>

<html><b>Jether the Ishmaelite</b> And in II Sam. (17:25) it says, “the Israelite.” He lived in the land of Ishmael, on the pattern of (ibid. 6:11): “the house of Obed Edom the Gittite,” and so, (I Ki. 7: 13f.): “And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He (was) a widow’s son… and his father was a man of Tyre.”</html>

<html><b>And Caleb the son of Hezron begot Azubah Ishah</b> Because he had a wife named Azubah, he named his daughter Azubah Ishah, as it is written (v. 19): “… and Azubah died, and Caleb took to himself Ephrath.” From here is deduced that he had a wife named Azubah.</html>

<html><b>and she bore him Hur</b></html>

<html><b>And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot Bezalel</b> Figure that each of them was less than eight years old when they begot, for Caleb was forty years old during the episode of the spies, as it is written (Jos. 14: 7): “I was forty years old when [Moses, the servant of the Lord] sent, etc.,” and at that time they all were already born, for the Tabernacle that Bezalel made had been erected. Caleb was eight years old when he begot Azuba Ishah, nine years old when he begot Jerioth, and after the death of Azubah, his wife, he took Ephrath, and she bore him Hur in the following year, making him ten years old, and Hur was eight years old when he begot Uri, and Uri was eight years old when he begot Bezalel, thus making 26 years, and it is written (Exod. 36:1): “and every wise hearted man,” and a man is not less than thirteen years old. So Bezalel was thirteen years old when he made the Tabernacle. Thus, we have forty years less one. We find that each one of them was less than eight years old when they begot children, and so it is explained in Chapter “<i>Ben sorer umoreh</i>“ (<i>Sanh.</i> 69a). According to the Midrash, they begot at the age of six.</html>

<html><b>And afterwards Hezron came to the daughter of Machir</b> This was because of David’s honor, because Hezron came to the daughter of Machir, taking her as a concubine, not for matrimony, similar to (Ps. 51:2): “… when he came to Bathsheba,” and he was sixty years old, thus making two uncomplimentary qualities for Machir’s daughter: one, that he did not take her for the purpose of matrimony, and one, that he was old, but because of the esteem of the families of Judah, they gave her to him, and when Jair begot [children], Machir’s sons gave him twenty-three cities to take one of his daughters as a wife.</html>

<html><b>And Geshur and Aram took</b> Geshur represents the Geshurites and the Maacathites because they were near the Arameans, who dwelt in the east of the land of Israel, and Aram dwelt in the east, as it is written (Isa. 9:11): “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west.” During the period of the Judges (Jud. 3:8), when Israel sinned, He (God) delivered them into the hands of the enemy, into the hands of Aram, and then (these) went and took them from them, and when David came, he restored them, and because he restored them, Scripture mentioned them here.</html>

<html><b>In Caleb Ephrathah</b> He called the city Caleb Ephrathah after his wife. <b>and she bore him Ashhur</b> after Hezron’s death. <b>the father of Tekoa</b> the ruler of the city Tekoa, which belonged to the tribe of Judah.</html>

<html><b>And the sons of Jerahmeel, the firstborn of Hezron were</b> Since he interrupted with the family of Caleb, he had to say, “the first born Hezron,” the firstborn of Jerahmeel.</html>

<html><b>Now Jerahmeel had another wife whose name was Atarah</b> According to the simple meaning of the verse, she was an Israelitess, but in <i>Yebamoth</i> of the Palestinian Talmud (this is not found in our editions of <i>Yebamoth</i>, but in <i>Yer. Sanh.</i> 2:3) it is written that he took a gentile woman with whom to crown himself (עֲטָרָה). She was a beautiful princess. <b>she was the mother of Onam</b> (I heard) that “mother” is like (Judg. 5:7): “I arose as a mother in Israel.” And she was the mother of Onam, and Onam is an expression meaning that he was humble and weak, an expression of mourning (אוֹנֵן), and like (Deut. 26:14): “I have not eaten of it in my mourning (בְאֹנִי),” and like (Num. 11:1): “… were as if in mourning over themselves (כְּמִתְאוֹנְנִים)” Sheshan, who gave his daughter to his Egyptian slave, Jarha, was descended from him, and [the Chronicler] tells of their disgrace; that is to say, they were not deserving of the kingship, and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who assassinated Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, was descended from him (Jer. 41:1).</html>

<html><b>And Sheshan had no sons but daughters</b> And that which he says above (verse 31): “… and the sons of Sheshan were Ahlai,” means that he [Ahlai] was ill and humble and died without children.</html>

<html><b>And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his slave for a wife</b> From here they derived that if your daughter has matured, free your slave and give him to her (<i>Pes.</i> 113a), and from here the Sages derived in the Palestinian Talmud, Tractate <i>Yebamoth</i> (source unknown): “Do not trust a proselyte until fifteen generations, and fifteen generations are from Ittai the Egyptian until Ishmael, and some say sixteen generations, including Jarha.” The midrash states the following: “Is it possible that he was of the royal descent (מִזֶּרַע הַמְלוּכָה) [as in Jeremiah 41:1]? Now was not Ishmael of the seed of Jerahmeel and not from Ram? But rather it means that he passed his seed to the molech.”</html>

<html><b>And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel</b> Since he traced the lineage of part of the family of Caleb and interrupted in the lineage of Jerahmeel, it was necessary to say that Caleb was the brother of Jerahmeel, that this was not another Caleb. This is the manner of the entire genealogy: he does not trace lineages in sequence. He traces the lineage of part of such and such a family; he goes on to other families, and when he has completed part of this family, he goes back to tracing the lineage of the first family, and then returns to the other one, and the entire book of genealogy is mixed. <b>he was the father of Ziph</b> The ruler of Ziph, the ruler of all the inhabitants of Mareshah, and the ruler of Hebron, and the names of these towns are mentioned in the Book of Joshua (15:24, 44, 54), as it is written: “Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, etc.” (And it is written there:) “And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah, and Hebron (sic).”</html>

<html><b>the father of Jorkeam</b> Every “father” stated here means the ruler of that written immediately after.</html>

<html><b>And the sons of Jehdai</b> He was one of the sons of Ephah, and the reason he does not mention who his father was is that he does not have to mention any of the sons of Ephah except this Jehdai.</html>

<html><b>And she bore Shaaph, the father of Madmannah, Sheva, the father of Machbenah and the father of Gibea</b> These two towns were his. <b>and Caleb’s daughter was Achsah</b> Now he starts at the beginning, and begins with Achsah because she was Othniel’s wife, as is written there (Jos. 15:16, Jud. 1:12): “And Caleb said: ‘He that shall smite Kirjath Sepher, etc.’”</html>

<html><b>These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah</b> The interpretation is: These were the sons of Caleb. בֶּן חוּר is like בְּנוֹ חוּר, his son was Hur, and that Hur was the firstborn of Ephrath, his wife, not the firstborn of Caleb, and so it is explained above (verse 19): “And Caleb took to himself Ephrath, and she bore him Hur.” Another explanation [is that] “for these were the sons of, etc.” Hur was Caleb’s son, and he begot a son whom he named Caleb, and this is its explanation: And these were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur: Shobal, etc. <b>the firstborn of Ephrathah</b> but not the firstborn of Caleb. This refers to Hur. So it appears to us.</html>

<html><b>who ruled over half the Menuhoth</b> There was a province in the land named Menuhoth, as it is written (8:6): “… and they exiled them to Manahath,” and he ruled over half the province. Further it is stated, who ruled over the other half of the province. who ruled הָרֹאֶה, pour maire du pays in French, as ruler over the land.</html>

<html><b>And the families of Kirjath Jearim</b> The inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim. <b>from these came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites</b> the inhabitants of Zorah and Eshtaol. Do not wonder that it is written (Judg. 13:25): “And the spirit of the Lord began to come upon him at times [in the camp of Dan] between Zorah and Eshtaol,” which means that these two towns belonged to the Danites, [which presents a difficulty] because all these stated here belonged to the Judahites. We can say [to solve this discrepancy that] the towns and the boundary that were between Zorah and Eshtaol belonged to Dan, but Zorah and Eshtaol themselves belonged to the Judahites.</html>

<html><b>The sons of Salma: Bethlehem</b> The sons of Salma were inhabitants of Bethlehem. <b>and the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab</b> and also of the inhabitants of Netophoth and Atroth Beth Joab, half the province of the Manahtite the people of Zorah seized for themselves and dwelled in them. They are names of places, (II Sam. 28:29f.): “Maharai the Netophathite… Baanah the Netophathite,” David’s mighty men. And Manahath [is also a name of a place, as below (8:6)]: “… and they exiled them to Manahath.”</html>

<html><b>And the families of scholars, those who dwelt with Jabez</b> Jabez’s company, over whom he ruled, as is written below (4:9): “And Jabez was more esteemed than his brothers.” <b>Tirathites, Shimathites, Suchathites</b> All of these are names of their father’s house. <b>they are the Kinites</b> And where do they live? They are surely the inhabitants of Cain, a name of a place, as is written (Jos. 15:57): “Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities…” <b>who were descended from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab</b> who were descended from Hammath, who was of the house of Rechab, and they settled in Cain. Another interpretation: Jabez is the name of a city which belonged to Issachar, as it is written (Jos. 19:20): “And Rabbith and Kishion, and Ebez.” <b>they are the Kinites</b> silversmiths. (Jud. 16:4) “… and she gave it to the silversmith.” The Targum renders צוֹרֵף as קִינָאָה.</html>