1 Chronicles 4:32

1Ch 4:32 And their villages [were], Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:

Ver. 32. Five cities.] Called before villages, because unwalled, haply. The Hague in Holland hath two thousand households in it: the inhabitants will not wall it, they say, as desiring to have it counted rather the principal village of Europe, than a lesser city.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(32) And their villages.—This belongs to 1Ch_4:31. The verb should be cancelled.

Etam, and Ain, Rimmon . . .—Why are these five cities separated from the former thirteen? The old Jewish expositors Rashi and Kimchi assert, that whereas the thirteen were lost to the Simeonites from the time of David, these five remained in their possession. The separation is made in Joshua 19 as well as here. (Many MSS. read “and Rimmon.”)

Five cities.—Jos_19:7 : “Ain, Rimmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages.” Etam may be a mistake for Ether. But there were two Etams, one in the hills of Judah, south of Bethlehem (see 1Ch_4:3, Note; 2Ch_11:6), and one in the south of Judah (Jdg_15:8)—perhaps the place intended here. Ether occurs in Jos_15:42 along with Ashan. Both were in the lowlands of Judah. Ain and Rimmon are spoken of as one place (Neh_11:29): they must have been close to each other (comp. Buda-Pesth). Tochen only here.

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

32. And their villages were] These villages (ḥǎçêrîm) are called at the end of the verse cities, but sometimes ḥǎçêrîm are described as un-walled (Lev_25:31) and sometimes as dependencies of cities (1Ch_4:33 of this ch.). In these two cases ḥǎçêrîm would be distinguished from cities.

Etam] In the parallel passage, Jos_19:7, Etam is omitted and the villages (“cities”) are reckoned as four not five.

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 Meshobab, and Jamlech,.... These, with those that follow to the end of Ch1 4:37 were famous men in the tribe of Simeon, of rank and dignity, and eminent for courage and valour, as the latter part of the chapter testifies, though they are nowhere else taken notice of. Jamlech, as Fabritius (k) observes, is not very different from Jamblichus, the name of a famous Platonic philosopher.

(k) Bibliothec. Gr. l. 4. c. 28. p. 294.

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

And Meshobab, and Jamlech,.... These, with those that follow to the end of Ch1 4:37 were famous men in the tribe of Simeon, of rank and dignity, and eminent for courage and valour, as the latter part of the chapter testifies, though they are nowhere else taken notice of. Jamlech, as Fabritius (k) observes, is not very different from Jamblichus, the name of a famous Platonic philosopher.

(k) Bibliothec. Gr. l. 4. c. 28. p. 294.

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.)

General Information:

The list of places where Simeon's descendants lived continues.

Etam ... Ain ... Rimmon ... Token ... Ashan

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

outlying villages

the villages that were near but outside the main town

Baalath

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

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

And their villages The villages which were they? Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, etc.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.