The material contained in these verses gives rise to no little perplexity, not only in itself but also when considered along with the genealogies of Judah in ii. 3 ff. Whether the Chronicler himself could have thrown any light on the points which puzzle us may well be doubted: he was more concerned to preserve all available genealogical matter than to consider or attempt to reconcile conflicting elements. Both the date and relationship of these notices must be confessed to be as yet uncertain, opinion being divided even on the question whether the list represents pre-exilic or post-exilic conditions. Remark that the list is essentially a Calebite one. ¹The sons of Judah; Perez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. =1.= As Hezron was the son of Perez (chapter ii. 5) and (if the LXX. be right) Shobal was the son of Hur (ii. 50, note), we have in this verse five, if not six, generations. _Carmi_] for the name, compare ii. 7, and v. 3. Here, however, Carmi is certainly an error for =Caleb=: see ii. 4, 5, 9, 50 and also the structure of the present chapter. Thus in accord with the usual practice of the Chronicler the chief ancestors are first named (verse 1), and then, in _reverse_ order, their descendants――sons of Shobal and Hur (verses 2‒10), and sons of Chelub (= Caleb) (verses 11‒15). ²And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. =2.= _Reaiah_] Compare note on ii. 52. _the Zorathites_] Compare note on ii. 53. ³And these were _the sons of_ the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi: =3.= _these were_ the sons of _the father of Etam_] The Hebrew has not got the words _the sons of_, and is certainly corrupt. The LXX. reads, _These were the sons of Etam._ Correction is difficult, largely owing to the obscurity of Etam. If Etam had been named as a son of Shobal in verse 2, we might follow the LXX. It is perhaps best to suppose that Etam begins the list of descendants of Hur, and to read “these were =the sons of Hur= the father of Etam.” Etam was a place, but whether near Bethlehem (the _Etam_ of 2 Chronicles xi. 6) or in southern Judah (the Simeonite _Etam_ of verse 32) is uncertain. ⁴and Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephrathah, the father of Beth-lehem. =4.= _Hur_] the first born of Ephrathah (= Ephrath) one of the wives of Caleb (ii. 19). Hur was _father of Bethlehem_ through his son Salma (ii. 50, 51, LXX.). For the name of the city compare Genesis xxxv. 19 (_Ephrath the same is Bethlehem_) and Micah v. 2 (Revised Version _Thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah_). ⁵And Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. ⁶And Naarah bare him Ahuzzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. ⁷And the sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar¹, and Ethnan.