1 Chronicles 4:3

Verse 3. These were of the father of Etam] "And these are the rabbins (doctors) living at Etam, Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash." - T.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(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 these—Abi-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); Jezreel—not Ahab’s capital—from 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!”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. these were of the father of Etam] LXX. (“these were the sons of Etam”—Αἰτάν) yields better sense. Etam (1Ch_4:32) was a place; the “sons of Etam” would be families which derived their origin from the place.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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, Jdg 15:8 and is mentioned with Bethlehem and Tekoa in the tribe of Judah, Ch2 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.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Read, “These are the sons of the father (i. e. chief) of Etam” 2Ch 11:6, a city of Judah, not far from Bethlehem.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Posterity. So all the ancient versions seem to have read boni, instead of the present Hebrew abi, which literally means, "and these are the father of Etam." If words ever wanted sense, they do so here. (Kennicott) --- Etham is perhaps the name of a town. (Malvenda)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 3, 4. Etam is, with little doubt, the name of a place (2Ch_11:6) in Judah, south of Jerusalem. It was near Tekoah (ver. 5, 1Ch_2:24) and Bethlehem (next verse). The hiatus in the first clause may possibly be supplied by "the families of" from the last verse, or, more fitly, by "the sons of," inasmuch as some manuscripts have it so. The Septuagint, however, and Vulgate displace "the father of" ( i.e. chief of), replacing it by "the sons of." The Syriac Version leaves out any notice of the sister, Hazelelponi, and gives the former part of the verse thus: "These are Amina-dab"s sons, Ahizareel, Nesma, and Dibas, Pheguel and Husia; These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratha, who was the father," etc. With this the Arabic Version is partly in agreement, but closes the verse with the words, "These are the sons of Hur, son of Ephratha, the father of whom plural was of Bethlehem." The Chronicle Targum translates, "the rabbis dwelling at Etam." This variety indicates the difficulty felt by each in turn. The verse, however, purports to give the names of three brothers and one sister (Hazelel-poni, i.e. the shadow looking at me, Gesenius) connected with Etam, as in the following verse Penuel with Gedor (1Ch_2:51) and Ezer with Hushah. (1Ch_11:29 2Sa_23:27) Of no one of these, in all six other descendants of Hur, additional to those found at the close of ch. 2., is anything distinct known. It is to be noted that Hut himself is here called father of Bethlehem, while (1Ch_2:51) his son Salma is so called.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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, Jdg 15:8 and is mentioned with Bethlehem and Tekoa in the tribe of Judah, Ch2 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.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Etam ... Gedor ... Hushah

These are names of cities. (See: How to Translate Names)

Jezreel ... Ishma ... Idbash ... Peniel ... Ezer ... Hur ... Ephrathah

These are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)

Hazzelelponi

This is the name of a woman. (See: How to Translate Names)

These were descendants of Hur

"Peniel and Ezer were descendants of Hur." This points forward to the list that will follow.

Ephrathah

This is the name of a woman. See how you translated this in 1 Chronicles 2:50.

translationWords

firstborn

Bethlehem

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.