Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrTrThe families of the scribes dwelling in Jabis; Thargathiim, and Samathiim, and Sochathim, these are the Kinæans that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
ULTAnd the clans of the scribes lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These, the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rekab.
USTThe families who wrote and copied important documents and who lived in the town of Jabez were the clan of Tirath, the clan of Shimeath, and the clan of Sucath. They were all from the Kenite people group who descended from Hammath, the ancestor of the family of Rekab.
BSBand the clans of the scribes [fn] who lived at Jabez—the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.[fn]
WEBBEThe families of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
NETand the clans of the scribes who lived in Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of Beth-Rechab.
LSVand the families of the scribes, the inhabitants of Jabez: Tirathites, Shimeathites, Suchathites. They [are] the Kenites, those coming of Hammath father of the house of Rechab.
FBVand the families of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, Shimeathites, and Sucathites. These are the Kenites who descended from Hammath, the father of the house of Recab.
T4TSalma’s descendants also included the families at Jabez town who wrote and copied important documents. These were the Tirath clan, the Shimeath clan, and the Sucath clan. They were all from the Ken people-group who came from Hammath city, and who had married members of the family [MTY] of Rechab.
LEBAnd the families of the scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Recab.
BBEAnd the families of scribes who were living at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites, the offspring of Hammath, the father of the family of Rechab.
JPSAnd the families of scribes that dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
ASVAnd the families of scribes that dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
DRAAnd the families of the scribes that dwell in Jabes, singing and making melody, and abiding in tents. These are the Cinites, who came of Calor (Chamath) father of the house of Rechab,
YLTand the families of the scribes the inhabitants of Jabez: Tirathites, Shimeathites, Suchathites. They [are] the Kenites, those coming of Hammath father of the house of Rechab.
Drbyand the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez: the Tireathites, the Shimeathites, the Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
RVAnd the families of scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
WbstrAnd the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
KJB-1769And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
KJB-1611[fn][fn]And the families of the Scribes, which dwelt at Iabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)
BshpsThe kinredes of the wryters dwelt at Iabes, the Thirathites, the Simeathites, the Suchathites, which are the Kenites that came of Hemath the father of the house of Rechab. (The kindreds of the wryters dwelt at Yabes, the Thirathites, the Simeathites, the Suchathites, which are the Kenites that came of Hemath the father of the house of Rechab.)
GnvaAnd the families of the Scribes dwelling at Iabez, the Tirathites, the Shimmeathites, the Shuchathites, which are the Kenites, that came of Hammath the father of the house of Rechab. (And the families of the Scribes dwelling at Yabez, the Tirathites, the Shimmeathites, the Shuchathites, which are the Kenites, that came of Hammath the father of the house of Rechab. )
CvdlAnd ye kynreds of the scrybes which dwelt at Iabes, are ye Thireathites, Simeathites, Suchothites, these are the Kenites, yt came of Hamath the father of Beth Rechab. (And ye/you_all kynreds of the scribes which dwelt at Yabes, are ye/you_all Thireathites, Simeathites, Suchothites, these are the Kenites, it came of Hamath the father of Beth Rechab.)
WyclAnd the kynredis of scryuens, dwellynge in Jabes, syngynge, and sownynge, and dwellynge in tabernaclis. These ben Cyneis, that camen of the heete of the fadir of the hows of Rechab. (And the kynredis of scryuens, dwelling in Yabes, singing, and sownynge, and dwelling in tabernacles/tents. These been Cyneis, that came of the heat of the father of the house of Rechab.)
LuthUnd die Freundschaften der Schreiber, die zu Jabez wohneten, sind die Thireathiter, Simeathiter, Suchathiter. Das sind die Kiniter, die da kommen sind von Hamath, des Vaters Beth-Rechabs. (And the Freundschaften the/of_the Schreiber, the to Yabez livedn, are the Thireathiter, Simeathiter, Suchathiter. The are the Kiniter, the there coming are from Hamath, the Vaters Beth-Rechabs.)
ClVgcognationes quoque scribarum habitantium in Jabes, canentes atque resonantes, et in tabernaculis commorantes. Hi sunt Cinæi, qui venerunt de Calore patris domus Rechab.[fn] (cognationes too scribarum habitantium in Yabes, canentes atque resonantes, and in tabernaculis commorantes. They are Cinæi, who venerunt about Calore of_the_father home Rechab. )
2.55Habitantium. ID. Tradunt Hebræi Jabes fuisse doctorem legis peritissimum, in cujus conspectu sedebant filii Cinæi, qui et Jobab cognati Moysi. Scribæ igitur dicuntur canentes atque resonantes, quia assidue in legis Dei locutione versabantur: in tabernaculis quoque commoratos regum narrat historia. Jabes Christum significat verum magistrum sanctorum laudes Deo canentium. Jabes enim interpretatur exsiccans, Christus autem fluxus carnalium cupiditatum in suis fidelibus exsiccavit. Cinæi, id est possessio vel possidentes, sunt omnes electi de quibus dicitur: Hæreditas mea Isræl, et quorum possessio Dominus est. Rechab interpretatur auriga vel ascendens. Hi autem venerunt de calore patris domus Rechab, quia a patre luminum gratia Spiritus inflammati, per quadrigam virtutum in cœlos ascendunt, de quibus dicitur: Quincunque Spiritu Dei aguntur, hi filii Dei sunt Rom. 8..
2.55Habitantium. ID. Tradunt Hebræi Yabes fuisse doctorem legis peritissimum, in cuyus in_sight sedebant children Cinæi, who and Yobab cognati of_Moses. Scribæ igitur dicuntur canentes atque resonantes, because assidue in legis of_God locutione versabantur: in tabernaculis too commoratos of_kings narrat historia. Yabes Christum significat verum magistrum sanctorum laudes Deo canentium. Yabes because interpretatur exsiccans, Christus however fluxus carnalium cupiditatum in to_his_own fidelibus exsiccavit. Cinæi, id it_is possessio or possidentes, are everyone electi about to_whom it_is_said: Hæreditas mea Isræl, and quorum possessio Master it_is. Rechab interpretatur auriga or ascendens. They however venerunt about calore of_the_father home Rechab, because from patre luminum gratia Spiritus inflammati, through quadrigam virtutum in cœlos ascendunt, about to_whom it_is_said: Quincunque Spiritu of_God aguntur, hi children of_God sunt Rom. 8..
2:9-55 The descendants of Hezron are given down to the time of David, in several sections: the direct line from Hezron to David (2:9-17; cp. Ruth 4:18-22), the other descendants of Hezron (1 Chr 2:18-41), then the descendants of Hezron’s son Caleb (2:42-55).
Like an intriguing mystery rife with consequence, uncertainty, and cryptic leads, the elusive backstory of the scribal community at Jabez begins with a single biblical reference in 1 Chronicles 2:55: “The families also of the scribes that lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, father of the house of Rechab.” With no other references to the town of Jabez in the entire Bible, this obscure verse might seem to be a hopeless dead end for tracking down the origins of Jabez and the Kenites who lived there. But when all the threads of information are carefully teased from this verse, they unravel a fascinating story of a location that became home to a people eventually commended by none other than the prophet Jeremiah as an example for God’s people to follow regarding faithfulness to God’s laws (Jeremiah 35).
The town of Jabez was likely founded by or renamed after the now-famous biblical character of the same name, who was a descendant of Judah and a distant relative of Judah’s great-grandson Hur (1 Chronicles 2:18-55; 4:1-10). Hur and his descendants appear to have founded or renamed a number of towns in Israel, as shown on the first map. Given that Judah and his brothers went down to Egypt with their families for four hundred years (Genesis 46-47; Exodus 12:40; Galatians 3:17), it is not clear exactly when these men, including Jabez, founded or renamed these towns. Most of these towns are mentioned in the book of Joshua in connection with the allotments of the tribes (Joshua 15:20-63), suggesting that they, along with Jabez, are at least as old as the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites around 1406 B.C.
The writer of 1 Chronicles 2:55 also mentions “the Kenites who came from Hammath.” The Kenites were not ethnic Israelites but instead were the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, and they accompanied the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land, eventually settling in the general area of Arad near the southwestern shore of the Dead Sea (Exodus 4:18; Judges 1:16). Some scholars have proposed that the Kenites were a clan of nomadic blacksmiths, based on linguistic studies of the term Kenite, but others have disagreed, since this role is never clearly associated with the Kenites in any ancient sources. Around 1215 B.C.–shortly before the Israelite judge Deborah called upon Barak to defend Israel against Jabin of Canaan and his commander Sisera, and nearly 200 years after the Kenites settled near Arad–a Kenite named Heber and his wife Jael moved away from the Kenites of Arad to the Oak of Zaanannim (literally, Elon-bezaanannim) near Kedesh-naphtali, Barak’s hometown. King Jabin of Canaan and Heber formed a treaty, so when Jabin’s commander Sisera was fleeing on foot from the battle with the Israelites, Sisera sought refuge in the tent of Heber and Jael, but Jael showed loyalty to Israel by killing Sisera in his sleep (Judges 4; also see “Deborah and Barak Defeat Sisera” map). It is possible that “the Kenites who came from Hammath” along the Sea of Galilee were descendants of Heber and Jael.
The next part of 1 Chronicles 2:55 reads that Hammath was the “father of the house of Rechab,” and though it might be tempting for readers today to gloss over this seemingly meaningless reference, the original readers of 1 & 2 Chronicles would have immediately recognized who the Rechabites were and understood why it was significant that they were associated with Hammath and, indirectly, with Jabez. Centuries earlier, around 841 B.C., the newly anointed King Jehu of Israel was on his way to destroy the family of King Ahab and the worshipers of Baal when he came across a Kenite named Jehonadab son of Rechab, and he invited him to join him. After arriving in Samaria, Jehu invited all worshipers and priests of Baal throughout Israel to offer a sacrifice at the temple of Baal. Once everyone was assembled, Jehu and Jehonadab ordered their men to put everyone in the temple to the sword (2 Kings 9-10; also see “Jehu Executes Judgment” map). Jehonadab later instructed his descendants, the Rechabites, to live in tents (a trait likely already characteristic of many Kenites–see Judges 5:24), build no houses, plant no vineyards or fields, and drink no wine. For centuries the Rechabites faithfully carried out Jehonadab’s instructions, and it seems that during this time many Kenites from Hammath, who were probably also Rechabites, relocated to the scribal community of Jabez. It seems likely, then, that many of them became scribes and perhaps gave up their characteristically nomadic lifestyle.
As mentioned earlier, the man Jabez was a relative of Hur, so it is likely that his town was located within the general region occupied by Hur’s descendants. Likewise, since Jabez was a scribal community, it makes sense that this town would have been located near Jerusalem and the Temple. First Chronicles 2:55 also mentions the clans of “the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites.” About eight miles south of Jerusalem there are ruins whose names may identify them as the locations of Jabez (Khirbat Abu Sebai`a) and the Shimeathite clan (Khirbat ash Sham`a).
By the time of Jeremiah, however, the political climate of Judah had changed significantly, and threats from the Babylonians and the Arameans led many Rechabites to relocate to the safety of Jerusalem and its walls (Jeremiah 35). This is also when the prophet Jeremiah tested whether the Rechabites would continue to obey the instructions of their ancestor Jehonadab, and he found them to be faithful. Jeremiah then commended the Rechabites as an example for Israel to follow regarding faithfulness to the instructions God had given them, and he prophesied that the Rechabites would never lack a descendant to stand before the Lord.
What became of Jabez and the Kenites after this is unclear. The only other mention made of them in Scripture besides 1 Chronicles 2:55 is found in Nehemiah 3:14, where it notes that a Rechabite named Malchijah was ruler of the district of Beth-hakkerem, and he headed up the efforts of those who repaired Jerusalem’s Dung Gate in 445 B.C. after Judeans returned from exile. Given that many Rechabites had moved to Jerusalem during Jeremiah’s time and that 1 Chronicles 2:55 is written in the past tense, it seems likely that Jabez was no longer home to Kenites after the exile. And since Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians, perhaps Jabez’s role as a scribal community had come to an end as well.
Author’s Note: This article and the accompanying maps grew out of research on the genealogies of the tribe of Judah, Jabez, the Kenites, and the Rechabites provided by Nancy Dawson (independent scholar and author of the book, All the Genealogies of the Bible, Zondervan Academic, 2023) and location identifications provided by Chris McKinney (Director of Research at Gesher Media,[email protected]) for Jabez, Salma, and the Shimeathites. I am grateful for their willingness to share their work.
