1st Chronicles Chapter 4 verse 21 Holy Bible

ASV 1stChronicles 4:21

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;
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BBE 1stChronicles 4:21

The sons of Shelah, the son of Judah: Er, the father of Lecah, and Laadah, the father of Mareshah, and the families of those who made delicate linen, of the family of Ashbea;
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DARBY 1stChronicles 4:21

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lechah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of byssus-workers, of the house of Ashbea,
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KJV 1stChronicles 4:21

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea,
read chapter 4 in KJV

WBT 1stChronicles 4:21

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea,
read chapter 4 in WBT

WEB 1stChronicles 4:21

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;
read chapter 4 in WEB

YLT 1stChronicles 4:21

Sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er father of Lecah, and Laadah father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of the service of fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;
read chapter 4 in YLT

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 21-23. - The first of these verses takes us back to 1 Chronicles 2:3, where the first three of the patriarch Judah's sons are introduced in the genealogy, as Er, Onan, and Shelah; where of Er it is said," He was evil in the sight of the Lord; and he slew him;" and where nothing is added of Onan or Shelah. It would appear now that Shelah gave the name of the slain brother to his son. Respecting this Er of Lecah - with little doubt the name of a place - and Laadah, nothing else can be adduced; but Marebah (1 Chronicles 2:42) is the name of a place in the Shefelah, given in the same passage with Kailah and Nezib (Joshua 15:44; see also 2 Chronicles 11:8; 2 Chronicles 14:9). The fine linen (בּוּצ) here spoken of is, according to Gesenius, equivalent in this passage and in the later Hebrew, to the byssus of the Egyptians (Exodus 26:31; 2 Chronicles 3:14), the שֵׁשׁ, from which the Syrian byssus (Ezekiel 27:16), to which בּוּצ does more strictly apply, is distinguished in some other places. It was of fine texture, costly, and used as the clothing of kings (1 Chronicles 15:27), of priests (2 Chronicles 5:12), and of the very wealthy (Esther 1:6; Esther 8:15). Gesenius says that, after long research and dispute, microscopic investigations in London have concluded that the threads of the cloth of byssus are linen, not cotton. Ashbea (אַשבֵּע) is not yet recognized elsewhere. Jokim. Gesenius considers this name (יוקִים) as a contracted form of יויָקִים (Joiakim) of Nehemiah 12:10. Chozeba. The meaning of this name is "lying;" not found elsewhere, it is probably the same as the אַכזִיב, a town in the tribe of Judah (Genesis 38:5), and that is probably the same as the אַכזִיבּ, of the "valley" list of Judah cities (Joshua 15:44) and of Micah 1:14, where it is mentioned in near connection with the Mareshah, which also accompanies it in the above "valley" list. Joash. This name appears in three forms: יואָשׁ, as in the text and 2 Kings 12:20; יְחואָשׁ, as in 2 Kings 12:1; and יועָשׁ, as in 1 Chronicles 7:8. Seraph. This is the word the plural of which gives us our seraphim (Isaiah 6:2), and is from a root of somewhat uncertain meaning. The different significations to which the root seems to lend itself in the substantive, according as it is used in the singular or plural, are startling (see Gesenius, 'Lexicon,' sub voce). The apparent meaning of this verse is that there was a time of old, when the above, of whom we can ascertain nothing elsewhere, ruled over Moab. Jerome, in the Vulgate, has made a strange rendering of this verse by translating some of the proper names, and reading at least one of them, the first, as though it were a form in the Hebrew (יָקִים), which it is not: Et qui stare fecit solem, virique Mendacii et Securus et Tircendens, qui principes fuerunt in Moab et qui reversi sunt in Lahem; haec autem verba vetera. Thus Jokim is turned into Elimelech, and the men of Chozeba into Mahlon and Chillon of the Book of Ruth, and Jashubi-lehem into Naomi and Ruth; and the last clause of the verse is equivalent to citing the Book of Ruth. Barrington ('Genealogies,' 1:179) regards Jokim as Shelah's third son in this enumeration; and ethers regard Jashubi-lehem as his fourth son. The preposition לְ prefixed to מואָב and following the verb, is to be noted Ver. 23 brings us to the last of Judah, and leaves us to part with the account of the tribe in the same obscurity which has lately involved it. The plants and hedges are probably an instance of inopportune translation of proper names, which should rather appear as Nelaira and Gedara, the former place or people not found elsewhere, but the latter possibly referred to. Joshua 15:36. Again, who they were that were the potters, is not clear - whether all of the preceding verse, or the last mentioned. From the last clause it may be probably safely concluded, that those designated, whoever they were, were employed habitually in the service, not indeed of one king necessarily, but of the succession of royalty. Passages that may be taken to throw interesting light upon this subject are 1 Chronicles 27:25-31; 2 Chronicles 26:10; 2 Chronicles 27:4; 2 Chronicles 32:27-29.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersII.--SONS OF SHELAH, THIRD SON OF JUDAH,1Chronicles 4:21-23 (omitted by Syriac version).The Shelanite clans were not noticed in 1 Chronicles 2 (See Genesis 38:5 and 1Chronicles 2:3.)(21) Er.--This Er who founded Lecah is, of course, distinct from Er "the firstborn of Judah." Lecah is unknown. Mareshah, a town in the lowlands of Judah, is connected with Caleb (1Chronicles 2:42). Such statements are not contradictory. At different periods different tribal divisions might have been settled in the same city. The present statement need only mean that Mareshah was a Shelanite foundation.The families of the house of them that wrought fine linen.--"The clans of the house of Byssus work at Beth-Ashbea." Beth-Ashbea is an unknown place. It was the seat of some Shelanite houses engaged in growing flax and weaving linen. Such industries in ancient times were confined to hereditary guilds, which jealously guarded their methods and trade secrets. . . .