📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 4:2
What does 1 Chronicles 4:2 mean?
"Reaiah the son of Shobal became the father of Jahath; and Jahath became the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites."
— 1 Chronicles 4:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
Reaiah the son of Shobal became the father of Jahath; and Jahath became the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.
These were the sons of the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. The name of their sister was Hazzelelponi.
Penuel was the father of Gedor and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem.
Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.
Explanation
1 Chronicles 4:2 records a small link in a genealogical chain: Reaiah, son of Shobal, had a son named Jahath, and Jahath in turn fathered two sons, Ahumai and Lahad. The verse closes by noting that these men and their descendants became known as "the families of the Zorathites," meaning they settled in or were associated with the town of Zorah, a place located in the territory of Judah near the border with Dan. On the surface it is simply a name list, but within the structure of Chronicles it serves to anchor a particular clan within the larger tribe of Judah.
The book of 1 Chronicles was written after the Babylonian exile, likely by a priestly or Levitical figure compiling Israel's history for a community that had returned to the land and needed to reconnect with its identity. The opening chapters (1–9) consist almost entirely of genealogies, tracing lineage from Adam through
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