Deep Dive

I Chronicles 4:39

A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →

and they journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, in search of pasture for their flocks.

Commentaries

Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.

Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentaryv. 39

And these written by name,.... Before in Ch1 4:34, came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; as Dr. Lightfoot (m) thinks, not within the first fourteen years of his reign, when the Syrian army was abroad, and none dost peep out, but in his last fifteen years, when the army was destroyed and gone: and smote their tents; the tents of those who dwelt there for the sake of feeding their flocks, and whose pasturage the Simeonites wanted: and the habitations that were found there; or the Meunaim or Maonites, which the Septuagint Version here calls Mineans, a people sometimes mentioned along with the Philistines, and others: see Jdg 10:11. and destroyed them utterly unto this day: to the writing of this book; they had not then recovered their possessions: and dwelt in their room, because there was pasture there for their flocks; which was the thing they were in search of. (m) Works, vol. 1. p. 111.

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Matthew Henry Bible Commentaryv. 39

In this chapter we have, I. A further account of the genealogies of the tribe of Judah, the most numerous and most famous of all the tribes. The posterity of Shobal the son of Hur (Ch1 4:1-4), of Ashur the posthumous son of Hezron (who was mentioned, Ch1 2:24), with something particular concerning Jabez (Ch1 4:5-10), of Chelub and others (Ch1 4:11-20), of Shelah (Ch1 4:21-23). II. An account of the posterity and cities of Simeon, their conquest of Gedon, and of the Amalekites in Mount Seir (v. 24-43).

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Tyndale Open Study Notesv. 39

4:39 Gerar: The actual territory is not certain, since Gedor (as in Hebrew) is a common name; the Greek variant Gerar would refer to a city in Philistia, to the west of Judah (Gen 10:19).

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