📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 4:10
What does 1 Chronicles 4:10 mean?
"Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” God granted him that which he requested."
— 1 Chronicles 4:10 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan.
Hakkoz became the father of Anub, Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him with sorrow.”
Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border! May your hand be with me, and may you keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” God granted him that which he requested.
Chelub the brother of Shuhah became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton.
Eshton became the father of Beth Rapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir Nahash. These are the men of Recah.
The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel: Hathath.
Explanation
First Chronicles 4:10 records the prayer of a man named Jabez, who appears briefly in the middle of the long genealogical lists that open 1 Chronicles. The verse itself explains that his name meant "pain" or "sorrow" (his mother named him this because his birth caused her pain, as noted in verse 9), and yet the text says he was "more honorable than his brothers." Despite a name that marked him for hardship, Jabez turns to God directly and asks for blessing, expanded territory, God's protective presence, and deliverance from evil so that he would not experience or cause pain. The verse closes simply: "God granted him that which he requested."
The books of Chronicles were likely written after the Babylonian exile, compiled for the Jewish community that had returned to the land, to remind them of their identity and heritage through genealogies and historical retrospection. Amid pages of names with little commentary, Jabez's story stands out as a rare narrative moment, showing that even within a list meant to establish tribal lineage, individual faith and prayer mattered to the chronicler. Jabez was from the tribe of Judah, and his brief story serves as an example of personal piety worth remembering even generations later.
Theologically, the verse highlights several things: prayer directed to "the God of Israel" acknowledges God's covenant relationship with his people; the request for blessing and enlarged territory reflects a desire for God's favor to be tangible in one's life and circumstances, not merely spiritual in an abstract sense; the request for God's "hand" to be with him expresses d
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