Heads of families of the twelve tribes
1Some of the descendants of Judah are: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. 2Shobal was the father of Reaiah, who was the father of Jahath, the father of Ahumai and Lahad: these people lived in Zorah.
3These were the descendants of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash, whose sister was called Hazzelelponi. 4Penuel became father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the descendants of Hur, the first born of Ephrathah, father of Bethlehem.
5Ashhur, father of Tekoa, had two wives: Helah and Naarah. 6Naarah bore him four sons: Ahuzaam, Hepher, the Temeni and the Haahashtari. 7Ashur had three sons by Helah: Zereth, Zohar, Ethnan. 8Koz became father of Anub and Zobebah, and the clans of Aharhel son of Harum. 9Jabez was the known of them. His mother had given him the name Jabez, to recall that “In pain she had given birth to him.” 10Jabez called on the God of Israel, “If you truly bless me, you will give me much land. Be with me, and keep me from anything that might harm or cause me pain.” God gave him what he had prayed for.
11Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. 12Eshton, had three sons, Bethrapha, Paseah and Tehinnah. Tehinnah was the father of Imahas. The descendants of these men lived in Recah.
13Kenaz had two sons, Othniel and Seraiah. Othniel also had two sons: Hathath and Meonothai, 14who became the father of Ophrah. Seraiah became the father of Joab, the founder of Craftsmen’s Valley, where skilled workers lived.
15Caleb, son of Jephunneh had three sons: Iru, Elah and Naam. Son of Elah: Kenaz.
16The sons of Jehallelel were: Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel.
17Ezrah had four sons: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Mered’s wife Bithiah, a daughter of the King of Egypt, gave birth to a daughter, Miriam, and two sons, Shammai and Ishbah. Ishbah was the father of Eshtemoa. 18Mered also had a wife from the tribe of Judah who gave birth to three sons: Jered, the father of Gedor; Heber, father of Soco; and Jekuthiel, father of Zanoah.
19Hodiah married the sister of Naham. Their descendants formed the clan of Garm, which lived in the town of Keilah, and the clan of Maacath, which lived in the town of Eshtemoa.
20The sons of Shimon were: Amnon, Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon.
The sons of Ishi were: Zoheth and Ben-zoheth. 21The descendants of Shelah son of Judah were: Er, father of Lecah; Laadah, father of Mareshah; and the clans of linen weavers of Beth-ashbea; 22Jokim and the people who lived in Cozeba; Joash and Saraph who went to Moab to take wives before returning to Bethlehem (these are events of long ago.) 23They were potters and lived in the towns of Netaim and Gederah; they stayed with the king there, employed in his workshop.
24Simeon had five sons; Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul. 25Shaul’s son was Shallum, his grandson was Mibsam, and his great-grandson was Mishma. 26The sons of Mishma were: Hammuel, Zakur, Simi. 27Simi had sixteen sons and daughters, but his brothers did not have many children, and none of their families increased as the families of Judah did.
28They lived in Beersheba, Moladah and Hazarshual, 29Bilhah, Ezem and Tolad, 30Bethuel, Hormah and Ziklag. 31Beth-marcaboth, Hazarsusim, Bethbiri, Shaaraim. These were their towns until the reign of David. 32Their outlying villages were: Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen and Ashan, five towns, 33with all their surrounding villages as far as Baalath. Here they had their settlements and sorted themselves into their various groups.
34Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah son of Amaziah, 35Joel, Jehu son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36Elioenei, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37Ziza, Ben-shiphi, Benallon, Ben-jedaiah, Ben-shimri, Ben-shemaiah. 38These men came with their clans and families; they grew in number and spread. 39As they searched for pasture for their flocks they traveled from the Gerar pass to the eastern end of the valley, 40where they found good, fat pasture; the land was broad, untroubled, peaceful.
Hamites had been living there before them. 41But in the time of Hezekiah king of Judah this group of Simeon’s tribe arrived there, overran their tents and the dwellings they found there. They wiped them out through an anathema still in force today and settled in their place, since there was pasturage for their flocks.
42Some of them, belonging to the sons of Simeon, reached Mount Seir: five hundred men led by Pelathiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43They defeated the surviving fugitives of Amalek and still live there today.
