And Caleb the son of Hezron had children by Azubah [his] wife, and by Jerioth her sons are these Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon.
The chapter traces Judah's line straight down to David. Then it stops at a side branch. Caleb, one of Hezron's other sons, appears with his wife Azubah, a second woman named Jerioth, and three sons we never hear of again. Why does Scripture slow down for a family outside the royal line, and which Caleb is this?
This is not the better-known Caleb of Numbers, the son of Jephunneh. Commentators place the Caleb here much earlier, and note that the chapter has already given him a second name.
Caleb is the son of Hezron and the great-grandson of Judah. He is called Chelubai in verse 9, and I think there is a purpose in that. We find his genealogy in verses 18-20, and the descendants of his two wives, Azubah and Ephrath. In verses 42-49 we again find descendants of this same Caleb by his concubines... In verses 50-55 we meet the descendants of Caleb, the son of Hezron, through Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah. That is the third time in this chapter.
Jerioth's place is less certain than Azubah's. A Bible dictionary calls Azubah "wife of Caleb, son of Hezron." It calls Jerioth "wife or concubine of Caleb, son of Hezron" — the text itself does not settle it.
The royal line did not run through Caleb. Yet his household is written down anyway, and one writer draws out why relatives of the chosen line are worth recording.
Having brought the line down to David, the Holy Spirit, as it were, pauses. Then He notes the sons of Hezron other than Ram — that is, Jerahmeel and Chelubai, who is also called Caleb (see verses 9 and 18). The honoured line passed through Ram, but his natural relations have a place in the archives of Judah. No doubt everyone named was known for some quality or excellence, or for some special blessing given.
Two verses on, this same family produces two men whose work touched all Israel.
Hur: son of Caleb, the son of Hezron, and grandfather of Bezalel. Exodus 31:2; Exodus 35:30; Exodus 38:22; 1 Chronicles 2:19-20; 1 Chronicles 4:1; 2 Chronicles 1:5.
Hur held up Moses' hands in the battle with Amalek; Bezalel was the craftsman filled with wisdom to build the tabernacle. A verse listing three forgotten sons stands two steps away from both.
The repetitions and gaps in Caleb's family list are not tidied up. Writers connect that untidiness to the condition of the people who compiled it after the exile, when many could not prove their descent at all.
Must we conclude from all this that the text of Chronicles is a careless human compilation, with no historical value at all? ... No thoughtful Christian will deny that the genealogies of Chronicles are made up of fragments gathered in the middle of general confusion. Yet they are documents on which God sets His seal of approval.
The deeper reason for keeping this branch, one writer argues, is a second Caleb: the son of Jephunneh. He was not born into Judah at all.
Caleb the son of Jephunneh was not originally of the people of Judah... In Genesis 36:11 we learn that Kenaz is an Edomite name. So at some point the family of Kenaz, and therefore the family of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, was taken into the tribes of Israel. Many other foreigners came in the same way — Jethro, Rahab, and Ruth — who became members of the people of God because of their faith... So Caleb, who by his origin had no right of citizenship in Israel, received that right among Judah because of his faith. He was joined to the family of Caleb the son of Hezron (1 Chronicles 2:49)... This substitution is one of the important points the Spirit of God calls our attention to here.
Commentators differ. Darby is more cautious about linking the two men:
There is no proof that Caleb was the son of Hezron, son of Perez. If it was the same Caleb as in Numbers, he was the son of Jephunneh.
Whichever Caleb is meant, the name itself stands over the whole chapter.
To summarise, the name of Caleb is highlighted in this chapter. With this name goes the thought of "virtue." That means moral energy. With a goal in view, it lets the believer get over obstacles. It separates him from every weight and from the sin which so easily entangles him.
One writer looks past the names to the One who is recording them.
He records at the same time the names of those who had gone through the trials mentioned in this history without being blotted out of the book.
- Named. Caleb here is Hezron's son, also called Chelubai in verse 9 — not the later Caleb of Numbers. His wife is Azubah; Jerioth's place is less certain.
- Kept. The honoured line ran through Ram, not Caleb; yet Ram's natural relations still hold a place in the archives of Judah.
- Fruitful. Two verses on, this same household gives Israel Hur, who held up Moses' hands, and Bezalel, who made the tabernacle's furniture.
- Broken. The gaps and repeats are real — fragments gathered in a time of confusion — but God set His seal on them all the same.
- Opened. God writes an outsider into this patched-up family because of his faith. So the list ends up showing that faith, not birth, fixed his place in Judah.
And Azubah died, and Caleb took him Ephrath, and she bore him Hur.
This verse sits inside a long list of names in Judah's family record. One wife dies, Caleb marries again, and their son Hur begins a line that leads to the man who made the tabernacle furniture, and to the town where Israel's Ruler was to be born.
The Caleb in this verse belongs to Judah's line through Hezron. His family turns up in this chapter more than once, in pieces rather than in order.
Caleb's family record is a striking example of this disorder, and of how incompletely these family registers were kept. Caleb (who is, I think, called Chelubai in verse 9 for a reason) is the son of Hezron and the great-grandson of Judah. We find his genealogy in verses 18-20, along with the descendants of his two wives, Azubah and Ephrath... In verses 50-55 we meet the descendants of Caleb the son of Hezron for the third time in this chapter, through Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah. Part of that line was already given to us in verse 20.
Not everyone reads the family link the same way. Rossier makes this Caleb the son of Hezron; Darby is not sure the record proves it.
There is no proof that Caleb was the son of Hezron, the son of Pharez. If he was the same Caleb as the one in Numbers, he was the son of Jephunneh. One thing is certain: the Hezron in question died in Canaan, at Caleb Ephratah.
Either way, the place named in that note carries both names from this verse: Caleb and Ephratah.
The line of honour ran through another branch of the family, so Hur stands on a side path. The record keeps him anyway, and what he and his grandson did shows why.
The line of honour passed through Ram, but his relatives by blood also have a place in the archives of Judah. No doubt everyone named stood out for some quality or excellence, or for some special blessing given to him that would bring him still greater honour. Hur is the son of Caleb. This is the Hur who joined Aaron in holding up the hands of Moses when Israel fought and overcame Amalek. He also shared with Aaron the care of the people when Moses went up the mountain (Ex. 17:12). God named Hur's grandson Bezaleel and filled him with wisdom for a very special purpose: he was taught to make all the furniture for the tabernacle (Ex. 31). That gave him greater honour than all the riches of Jair, who had twenty-three cities and took sixty more.
Hur's grandson Bezaleel (Bezalel in the ESV) did the work on God's dwelling place, but that work did not come to him through the family tree. It came by God's call, and one writer draws a wider rule from it.
The opening of this brief chapter records how God called and qualified "Bezaleel and Aholiab" to do the work of the tabernacle... Whether it is "the work of the tabernacle" of old, or "the work of the ministry" now, the choosing, the call, the qualifying and the appointing should all be God's. And everything must be done as He commands. Man could not choose, call, qualify, or appoint anyone to do the work of the tabernacle. Neither can he for the work of the ministry.
The name of Caleb's second wife is also the name of a town, and that name changed over time.
It seems the town was first called Ephrath, Gen. 35:16, 19; Gen. 48:7; and later Ephratah, Ruth 4:11; Ps. 132:6. Once it is called Beth-lehem Ephratah, that is, the fruitful, because the ruler of Israel was to come from there. Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4, 15; John 7:42.
One writer finds a lesson in the order of the two words in that double name.
Nature's own power cannot hold anything up; it must come by the gift of grace and mercy. Ephratah, Bethlehem, is man's order — fruitfulness before blessing (Gen. 35:19). Blessing, then fruitfulness, Bethlehem-Ephratah (Micah 5:2), is God's way.
- Kept. The chapter gives Caleb's family three times over, in broken pieces. The record is untidy, and it still came down to us.
- Counted. Nobody in these archives is filler. Each name is there for some quality, excellence, or special blessing.
- Used. The son born of this marriage helped Aaron hold up Moses' hands when Israel beat Amalek. A name in a list turns out to be a man God used.
- Called. Hur's grandson Bezaleel made the furniture for God's dwelling. God named him and gave him wisdom for it; no man could choose, call, or appoint anyone to that work.
- Fulfilled. Ephrath means fruitful, and the same name marks the town Israel's Ruler was to come from. God's order there is blessing first, then fruitfulness.
And Hur begot Uri, and Uri begot Bezaleel.
Three names pass by here in one short line. Scripture tells us elsewhere what two of these men did. The list looks dry, but the question it raises is not: why does God record these fathers and sons at all?
One commentator points to the disorder in these lists. Caleb's descendants appear three times in this one chapter, and our verse sits inside the first.
Caleb's genealogy is a striking example of this disorder, and of how incompletely the genealogical records were kept. Caleb (called Chelubai in verse 9, and not without reason, I think) is the son of Hezron and the great-grandson of Judah. We find his genealogy in verses 18-20, with the descendants of his two wives, Azubah and Ephrath… In verses 50-55, for the third time in this chapter, we meet the descendants of Caleb, the son of Hezron, through Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah. Part of Hur's genealogy was already given to us in verse 20.
Neither Hur nor Bezalel is a blank entry. One writer recalls what each man did, then weighs it against the wealth of a relative listed in the same chapter.
Hur is the son of Caleb. This is the Hur who, with Aaron, held up the hands of Moses when Israel fought and overcame Amalek. He also shared with Aaron the care of the people when Moses went up the mountain (Ex. 17:12). God named Bezaleel, grandson of Hur, gave him wisdom for a very special purpose, and taught him to make all the furniture for the tabernacle (Ex. 31). This gave greater honour than all the riches of Jair, who had twenty-three cities and took sixty more.
The same writer asks why the record includes even Segub, who was only half-brother to Ram:
Is it not because of his connection with the ancestry of David? That line was always so choice with God that even the slightest link with it earns a place in these genealogies.
Everything Bezalel became came to him as a gift:
Son of Uri, of the tribe of Judah. God called him and filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding and knowledge. He was to design skilled works in gold, silver, brass, stone, and timber for the tabernacle, and to oversee the work.
That pattern still holds. One writer takes three things God says He did and applies them to service today:
Jehovah says, "I have called; I have given; I have filled." These words show that He chose the two men and qualified them for the work. The New Testament ministry rests equally in the hands of the Lord. He alone has the right to choose His servants for the ministry… And whoever He calls into that work, He also qualifies. His Spirit gives the wisdom and power to carry out the work into which the Lord calls. It is therefore all of Him; no room for boasting or jealousy.
It can seem strange that metalwork and carving needed the Spirit's filling. One writer points to what the tabernacle was built to show.
It is a great mistake to think these men were only skillful workmen. It is just as wrong to see here nothing more than a recognition that God gives all ability. Something special is going on. Remember what the Tabernacle was to show, and we are not surprised… The Tabernacle was meant to display the glories of Christ. So why wonder that the Holy Spirit gave special gifts and oversight, so that every part would express the thoughts of God exactly?
One writer finds meaning in the three names themselves.
Bezaleel means "in the shadow of God"; this tells of his trust, filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom and understanding. He may well be taken as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Uri means "Light of Jehovah," and Hur means "white."… Bezaleel did everything just as God commanded, and God was pleased. In the same way our Lord has done His work in perfect wisdom, to the eternal glory of God His Father.
The wider family carries a consistent character, and Hur is counted among those who show it.
With this name is associated the thought of "virtue," that is, of moral energy which in view of a goal to be attained enables the believer to overcome obstacles, separating him from every weight and the sin which so easily entangles him. 2 Peter 1:5 says, "In your faith have also virtue." Caleb is an example in this. With this name are associated characters of the same caliber as the son of Jephunneh: Othniel, Achsah; Hur…
- Named — nothing here is filler. God records even a distant relative because of his link to David's line.
- Called — Bezalel did not volunteer or qualify himself. God chose him by name, and God still chooses His own servants.
- Filled — the skill was a gift of the Spirit. The work had to display the glories of Christ, not the talent of a craftsman.
- Shadowed — his name means "in the shadow of God." One writer sees in him a picture of the Lord Jesus, who finished His work to the Father's glory.
- Honoured — Hur held up Moses' hands, and his grandson built God's dwelling. That record outweighs any relative's riches.
And afterwards Hezron went to the daughter of Machir, the father of Gilead, and he took her when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub.
Judah's family record pauses to note a marriage. Hezron takes a wife from another tribe, and a son named Segub is born. The detail looks small. Yet it links Judah to Manasseh, it opens onto conquered land east of the Jordan, and it teaches which names God keeps.
Hezron's wife came from a leading family in the tribe of Manasseh. A reference work on Bible names describes her father:
Eldest son of Manasseh, and father of Gilead. His descendants were warlike and were the foremost in the tribe.
So Gilead — the land east of the Jordan — stands behind this marriage from the start.
The record has already traced Hezron's line down to David. It then pauses over sons outside that royal line. Segub, born of this second marriage, is one of them. One writer asks why the record names such a man at all, and answers by pointing to the line he stands beside:
But even Segub is named, though he was only half-brother to Ram. Is it not because of his connection with the ancestry of David? That line was always so precious to God that even the slightest link with it gives a man a place in these genealogies. This special mention of Hezron's family is not a mere list from Judah to David, where the evil take their place in order beside the good. These are men of renown, and while the book of God is read, their names will stand out as the names of those whom God would honour.
The same writer sets Bezaleel, whom God gave wisdom to make the furniture of the tabernacle, Israel's tent of worship, above a man who held twenty-three cities and took sixty more. These lists do not measure honour by property.
The effect of this marriage shows up in Segub's son Jair. Scripture lists him under two tribes, and his mother's side explains why:
Son of Segub, a descendant of Judah. But he is called 'son of Manasseh' because his mother was the daughter of Machir. He is also called one of 'the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead.' He conquered the region of Argob with some towns, which he named Havoth-jair, 'the towns of Jair.'
Commentators read Jair's conquests as more than military history. When Israel as a whole failed to take what God had given, some still pressed forward:
Here and there these genealogies highlight people whose borders God extended in the promised land. This was a time when most of the people had failed to conquer all of their inheritance. Jair has already given evidence of this in 1 Chronicles 2. The names of Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel are also examples of this personal energy of faith, which finds its borders enlarged as it relies upon God. So it is with us: our spiritual borders expand in the heavenly sphere while we are on earth. To reach this we must recognise our ruin, which nothing can repair, and the inability we have shown to extend our own borders. We must show humble dependence, which relies on the grace of God alone in order to possess them.
The same principle is drawn out elsewhere: whatever the state of the nation, personal faith was never overlooked.
But that which has been preserved here of the genealogies of the people... reveals to us another circumstance, namely, that, wherever there has been faith, God has blessed His people individually.
Jair's story does not end in triumph. He lost the towns he won. One writer notes this reversal, yet still lists him among men of energy:
Jair (although he later lost everything that his energy had at first gained, 1 Chronicles 2:22-23)
Gilead lay east of the Jordan. Some tribes settled there rather than cross over, and one writer warns about the blessings they held:
Still, the history of the holy book shows us that these tribes were the first to suffer, and to fall into the hands of the Gentiles. "Don't you know," says Ahab, "that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and the Syrians hold it?" Happy are those who patiently wait for the blessings of God until they have crossed the Jordan, and who meanwhile take patience as their portion rather than the blessings on this side! Those blessings are gifts of the providence of God, yet they are less secure.
Records like this one read as broken pieces — a marriage here, a son there, with gaps around them. One writer grants this, and answers it:
No enlightened Christian will deny that the genealogies of Chronicles consist of fragments gathered in the middle of general confusion. Yet God sets His seal of approval on these documents.
- Marriage — Hezron's wife was the daughter of Machir, Manasseh's eldest son and the father of Gilead. Machir's descendants were warlike, the foremost in their tribe.
- Named — Segub had no part in the royal line, yet the record keeps his name. Nearness to the ancestry of David was enough.
- Reach — Through his mother, Scripture counts Segub's son Jair with Manasseh as well as Judah. He took towns that carried his own name.
- Energy — One writer groups Jair with Caleb, Achsah and Othniel. God enlarged their borders while the nation as a whole failed to take its inheritance.
- Loss — Jair later lost everything his energy had gained. Blessings held east of the Jordan are real gifts of God's providence, yet less secure than what lies across it.
And Segub begot Jair, who had twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead;
A long list of names pauses here on one man. Jair, the son of Segub, held twenty-three towns in Gilead. Why does a genealogy stop to count one man's cities? And why is a man of Judah holding land in another tribe's territory?
Jair belongs to two tribes at once. His father's line is Judah; his mother's line is Manasseh. So Scripture names him from either side.
Son of Segub, a descendant of Judah but called "son of Manasseh" from his mother, the daughter of Machir. He is also called one of "the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead." He conquered the territory of Argob with some towns, which he called HAVOTH-JAIR, "the towns of Jair." Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:22-23.
The towns were not handed to Jair. He took them, and then put his own name on them. That name has a meaning of its own, and one writer ties it to what Jair did.
Among Machir's sons we find Jair active in the conquest of the land. His name means the "enlightener." Bringing in light is the way to conquer Satan's kingdom of darkness. Life comes into the soul with light, if it is true light. So Jair calls the cities he conquers the "lives (havvoth) of Jair." Men call Og's luxury and self-pleasing "life," but Jair shows us what life really is.
Writers differ on what the name Gilead means. One reading sets it against the meaning of Manasseh, the tribe Jair is counted with.
Gesenius takes Gilead to mean "hard, rocky." On the other hand, there seems to be reason for linking it instead with Jacob's Galeed (Genesis 31:47), "a heap of witness." That would put it in striking contrast with Manasseh, the name joined to it, which means "forgetting." A heap of witness exists for the very purpose of making forgetting impossible.
Most of Israel never took full possession of the land. One name with twenty-three towns beside it stands out against that. These genealogies pick out such people more than once.
Here and there these genealogies point out people whose borders God enlarged in the promised land, at a time when most of the nation had failed to fully conquer their inheritance. Jair has already shown this in 1 Chronicles 2. Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel are further examples of this personal energy of faith, which finds its borders enlarged as it relies on God. So it is with us. Our spiritual borders grow in the heavenly places while we are still on earth. To reach this we must own our ruin, which we cannot repair, and the inability we have shown to enlarge our own borders. And we must show humble dependence, which relies on the grace of God alone to have them.
The very next verse records Geshur and Aram taking those towns back. Jair stands with the energetic figures of this chapter, but with a warning attached to him that the others do not carry.
The name of Caleb stands out in this chapter. Linked with it are people of the same quality as Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Othniel, Achsah, Hur, Jair, and the house of Rechab. Jair, though, later lost everything his energy had won at first (1 Chronicles 2:22-23).
Lists like this one look patched together, with names appearing from nowhere and lines breaking off. That impression is not denied — but the conclusion drawn from it is.
Must we conclude from all this that the text of Chronicles is a human and random collection, and that the book therefore has no historical value? That is what the rationalists claim. But thank God, their reasoning is always at fault when it attacks His Word. No enlightened Christian will deny that the genealogies of Chronicles are made up of fragments gathered in the middle of general confusion. Yet they are documents on which God sets His seal of approval.
- Named — Jair's father's line is Judah, his mother's line Manasseh, so Scripture lists him under either tribe. His towns are the Havoth-Jair, "the towns of Jair."
- Light — His name means "enlightener," and bringing in light conquers the kingdom of darkness. He called the cities he won the lives of Jair — real life, not the self-pleasing life men praise.
- Reach — Most of the nation failed to take its full inheritance. God still enlarged the borders of people who relied on Him: Jair, Caleb, Achsah, Othniel. Our own borders grow the same way.
- Loss — Jair later lost everything his energy first won. Ground gained still has to be held.
- Kept — These fragments were gathered out of real confusion, yet God set His seal on them. The record stands, and this one name in it is there on purpose.
and Geshur and Aram took the villages of Jair from them, with Kenath and its dependent towns, sixty cities. All these were sons of Machir the father of Gilead.
Sixty towns in Gilead change hands inside one line of a genealogy. Jair won them and named them; now Geshur and Aram hold them — so how does a family lose what its own energy gained?
The name of these towns simply records who held them.
This means "towns of Jair." They were in "the region of Argob, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites." They were also called "Bashan-havoth-jair." Deuteronomy 3:14. They were small towns of Gilead. Numbers 32:41. The same are called "towns of Jair" in Joshua 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chronicles 2:23.
Kenath also had a history before this verse. One reference work fills that in, and notes how this verse should read:
City of Bashan, taken by Nobah, and called after his own name. It was afterwards re-taken with the villages of Jair by Geshur and Aram, as the passage in Chronicles should read. Numbers 32:42; 1 Chronicles 2:23.
The verse counts all these men as Machir's descendants, yet the chapter is tracing Judah. A marriage explains the double label.
Son of Segub, a descendant of Judah but called "son of Manasseh" from his mother the daughter of Machir. He is also called one of "the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead." He conquered the territory of Argob with some towns, which he called Havoth-jair. Numbers 32:41; 1 Chronicles 2:22-23.
One writer sees a pattern in these genealogies. A few people gained ground when the nation did not, and he brings that home to the reader.
Here and there these genealogies highlight people whose borders God extended in the promised land. At that time the mass of the people had failed to conquer their inheritance fully. Jair has already given evidence of this in 1 Chronicles 2. The names of Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel are likewise examples of this personal energy of faith. Faith like this relies upon God, and God enlarges its borders. So it is with us: our spiritual borders expand in the heavenly sphere while we are upon earth.
The same writer lists Jair with Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and then adds one note drawn from this verse.
Alongside this name stand characters of the same caliber as the son of Jephunneh: Othniel, Achsah, Hur, Jair, and the house of Rechab. Jair, though, later lost everything that his energy had at first acquired. 1 Chronicles 2:22-23.
Gilead lay in the land of the two and a half tribes. One writer follows its later history.
When Israel declined, captivity began with the two and a half tribes. Even in the days of Ahab, Ramoth in Gilead was in the hands of the Syrians. Later those parts were the first to fall captive to Assyria. Just so, the spirit of the world captures the earthly-minded Christian most easily.
Jair is not the only man in this genealogy who gained something. Another writer sets his towns beside a gift given to Bezaleel, from Hur's line.
No doubt every one named here was prominent for some quality or excellence, or for some special blessing given to him that would bring still greater honour. God named Bezaleel, the grandson of Hur, and gave him wisdom for a very special purpose. He taught him to make all the furniture for the tabernacle (Exodus 31). That was greater honour than all the riches of Jair, who had twenty-three cities and took sixty more.
- Named — Havvoth-jair means "towns of Jair," small towns of Gilead in the region of Argob. Nobah had taken Kenath earlier and given it his own name.
- Won — Jair was a descendant of Judah, counted under Manasseh through Machir's daughter. He took Argob and its towns. God enlarged his borders while the nation as a whole failed to take its inheritance.
- Lost — Geshur and Aram took those towns back. Jair lost everything his energy had first gained.
- Why — this land lay east of the Jordan, where captivity began. Gilead fell to Syria and then to Assyria. The spirit of the world captures an earthly-minded believer just as easily.
- Better — God gave Bezaleel, in the same genealogy, wisdom to make the furniture of the tabernacle. That counted for more than Jair's twenty-three cities and sixty more.
And after the death of Hezron in Caleb-Ephratah, Abijah, Hezron's wife, bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa.
One line of Judah's family record holds a death, a birth, and a town. Why would Scripture keep such a small family detail, and what does it tell us about the God who kept it?
Chronicles tells Israel's story from one angle. These lists of names are where it starts.
The Books of Chronicles give us the history of the same period from another angle: that of blessing and of the grace of God. More particularly, they give us the history of the house of David, the house to which God showed this grace.
The same writer notes when these books were drawn up, and why they record so few faults:
These books were written or drawn up after the captivity (see 1 Chron. 6:15). They preserve God's history of His people, recorded by the Holy Spirit, as He loved to remember it. They show only the faults we need to know to understand the instructions of His grace.
Which Caleb does the verse mean, and when did Hezron die? Darby weighs both questions:
There is no proof that Caleb was the son of Hezron, son of Perez; if it was the same Caleb as in Numbers, he was the son of Jephunneh. One thing is certain. The Hezron in question died in Canaan in Caleb Ephratah, and Abiah bore a son after this. So we see there were no early names in Chronicles with "jah"; Abijah was the grandson of one who died in Canaan. In general the names come after the Exodus.
Translations split here. The ESV has Caleb going in to "Ephrathah, the wife of Hezron his father," and she bears Ashhur. The older version these writers use reads Caleb Ephratah as the place where Hezron died, and gives the wife's name as Abiah.
Tekoa is a town, not only a name in a list. Here is what became of it:
City of Judah, probably founded by Ashhur. Rehoboam built or fortified it 'for defence.' 2 Chr. 11:6. The 'wise woman' Joab employed to speak to the king about the return of Absalom was from this city. 2 Sam. 14:2, 4, 9. It stood on a hill, so it was a good place for blowing the trumpet in time of danger, as in Jer. 6:1. The prophet Amos was among its herdsmen.
This part of the chapter is patchy, and commentators say so. Rossier lists verses 18–24 among the lists that show it:
Sometimes the genealogies of Chronicles contain names of very ancient origin, which we do not find elsewhere in the Old Testament. Many names are not those of single people, but of clans or families. Others are genealogies we might call geographic. For lack of other source material, they include the names of tribes, of districts, of cities… We find this again in 1 Chron. 2:18-24, 25-33, 42-55.
Does that patchiness discredit the book? Rossier says the opposite:
No enlightened Christian will deny that the genealogies of Chronicles are made up of fragments gathered in the middle of general confusion. Yet they are documents on which God sets His seal of approval.
Two men named Caleb meet in this chapter, and commentators differ on how they are related. Rossier sees one of them brought into the family of the other, and not by birth:
So Caleb, by his origin, had no right of citizenship in Israel at all. He received this right among the people of Judah by virtue of his faith. He was included in the family of Caleb the son of Hezron, as it appears in 1 Chronicles 2:49 and in the passages already cited in Joshua.
Rossier ties the name Caleb to a quality, not just a bloodline:
With this name goes the thought of "virtue," that is, of moral energy. With a goal in view, it enables the believer to overcome obstacles. It separates him from every weight and the sin that so easily entangles him. 2 Peter 1:5 says, "In your faith have also virtue."
A record like this says something about God's memory:
There is something deeply solemn for the soul in being allowed to go over such a record of names. People forgot them long ago. But God has remembered every one, with every detail of their pathway through this world. Some day our names will be lost to mankind too. Yet God will forget neither us nor our ways.
- Remembered — Chronicles is history told from the side of grace, preserved by the Holy Spirit "as He loved to remember it."
- Dated — Hezron dies, then the son is born. Names ending in "jah" are not early ones; in general these names come after the Exodus.
- Founded — "Father of Tekoa" means founder. Tekoa became a fortress, the home of the wise woman who spoke to the king, and the place where Amos kept herds.
- Fragmentary — Verses 18–24 are pieces gathered in a time of confusion. They use clans, districts and cities as names. God still sets His seal on them.
- Remembered — People forget names. God does not. He keeps our ways too.