Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 4:14
Meonothai was the father of Ophrah, and Seraiah was the father of Joab, the father of those living in Ge-harashim, which was given this name because its people were craftsmen.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler compiles a genealogical register of Judah’s tribal families, specifically tracing the descendants of Kenaz and Caleb. This list documents the post-exilic settlement patterns and clan structures of the returned community.
The words — הוֹלִ֣יד (ho.Lid) literally means “he fathered,” establishing the direct generational sequence. יוֹאָב֙ (yo.'Av) identifies the patriarch who becomes the eponymous ancestor of a specific settlement.
The thread — The occupational naming of Ge-harashim connects to the craftsmen and metalsmiths carried into exile in 2 Kings 24:14 and the Valley of the Craftsmen in Nehemiah 11:35. These passages show how trade guilds and family lines were preserved and reorganized after the Babylonian captivity.
Why it lands — The text records that community identity was anchored in both lineage and skilled labor. It requires the reader to recognize that tribal restoration involved the deliberate reassembly of families around their inherited trades.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 24:14 He carried into exile all Jerusalem—all the commanders and mighty men of valor, all the craftsmen and metalsmiths—ten thousand captives in all. Only the poorest people of the land remained.
- Nehemiah 11:35 Lod, and Ono; and in the Valley of the Craftsmen.