📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 2:51
What does 1 Chronicles 2:51 mean?
"Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader."
— 1 Chronicles 2:51 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Maacah, Caleb’s concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah.
She bore also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbena, and the father of Gibea; and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
These were the sons of Caleb, the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim,
Salma the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph the father of Beth Gader.
Shobal the father of Kiriath Jearim had sons: Haroeh, half of the Menuhoth.
The families of Kiriath Jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; from them came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites.
The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth Beth Joab, and half of the Manahathites, the Zorites.
Explanation
This verse comes from a long genealogical list in 1 Chronicles 2, where the author traces the descendants of Judah, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Salma and Hareph are listed here as sons of Hur, a descendant of Caleb, and each is called "the father of" a particular place—Salma of Bethlehem and Hareph of Beth Gader. In this genealogical style, "father of" doesn't necessarily mean a biological father in the way we normally think of it; it more likely indicates that this person was the founder, chief settler, or ancestral head associated with establishing or naming that town or clan. So Salma
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