📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 4:20
What does 1 Chronicles 4:20 mean?
"The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben Hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth, and Ben Zoheth."
— 1 Chronicles 4:20 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon; and she bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
His wife the Jewess bore Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. These are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.
The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maacathite.
The sons of Shimon: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben Hanan, and Tilon. The sons of Ishi: Zoheth, and Ben Zoheth.
The sons of Shelah the son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of those who worked fine linen, of the house of Ashbea;
and Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. These records are ancient.
These were the potters, and the inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah: they lived there with the king for his work.
Explanation
1 Chronicles 4:20 is a brief genealogical notice listing the descendants of two men, Shimon and Ishi, who belong to the tribe of Judah. In plain language, it simply records names: Shimon had four sons—Amnon, Rinnah, Ben Hanan, and Tilon—and Ishi had two sons, Zoheth and Ben Zoheth. Beyond these names and family relationships, the verse gives no narrative detail, no story, and no further information about who these individuals were or what they did.
This verse sits within the larger genealogical section of 1 Chronicles (chapters 1–9), which was likely compiled after the Babylonian exile, traditionally attributed to Ezra or a scribe working in that tradition. The Chronicler wrote to the Jewish community that had returned from exile in Babylon, a people who needed to reestablish their identity, their connection to the land, and their continuity with the covenant promises given to their ancestors. Genealogies like this one served a very practical purpose: they helped verify tribal identity, land inheritance rights, and priestly or family lineage at a time when written records and communal memory were essential for rebuilding national and religious life. Chapter 4 in particular focuses on the tribe of Judah, tracing various family lines that descended from Judah's sons, including lesser-known branches like this one involving Shimon and Ishi.
Theologically, verses like this remind
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