And Reaiah This is the manner in which this genealogy [is written]; although Reaiah, [and his father] were not enumerated above, [he is mentioned here] because the Chronicler reckons [only] certain generations. Likewise, (vs. 7f.): “And the sons of Helah: Zereth, and Zohar, and Ethnan. And Koz begot...” Although he did not yet mention Koz, he mentions his sons.

And Ashhur the father of Tekoa had two wives This refers back [to 2:24]: “... and the wife of Hezron was Abijah, and she bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa,” for he did not trace his lineage until now.

and his mother named him Jabez, saying, “For I bore him in sadness” and she nicknamed him Jabez. A similar instance is Ben Oni. [Other editions read (Gen. 35:18): “... but his father called him Benjamin.”]

and increase my border with territories.

and Your hand is with me that You save me from harm if You will be with me and save me from harm. so as not to grieve me that no injury, pain, or sadness befall me, and he vowed whatever he vowed.

and God fulfilled that which he had requested and he paid his vow. From here proof is brought that when people subscribe to a charity (in public) for a certain cause, they should not vow but give without a vow. Its midrashic interpretation is well known.

And Celub, the brother of Shuhah He briefly enumerates families, although he did not mention him above; similarly (v. 13): “and the sons of Kenaz,” although he did not mention him above; and similarly (verse 14): “And Meonothai,” was not mentioned, for so is the manner of this Book.

the leader of Ir Nahash the name of a city, and Tehinnah (was) its leader.

these are the people of Rechah The sons of Eshton lived in that place Rechah. Another meaning: the people of Rechah The family was called the people of Rechah.

And Seraiah begot Joab, the leader of Gei Harashim Joab was the leader of a valley in which there were craftsmen. Now why do I call it the Valley of Craftsmen? Because they were craftsmen; i. e., those who dwelt in the Valley of the Craftsmen were craftsmen, and the valley was named after them.

And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh Our Sages said (Tem. 16a): “Caleb the son of Jephunneh is identical with Caleb the son of Hezron. Why was he called the son of Jephunneh? Because he turned away (שֶׁפָּנָה from the counsel of the spies.” Now do not wonder that the family of Caleb the son of Hezron, was already traced, for this is the manner [in which this book is written]: he traces part of the lineage, skips to another family, and then returns to the first family.

and the sons of Elah: Uknaz That was his name: Uknaz.

And his wife the Judahitess Caleb’s wife, who was born of Judah.

Jered, the father of Gedor, etc. the leaders of the cities, as it is written in Josh. (15:56): “and Jokdeam and Zanoah...,” (v. 58): “Halhul, Beth Zur, and Gedor,” (v. 36): “Jarmuth and Adullam, Soco and Azekah.”

And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh The “vav” separates between the sons of the Judahitess and the sons of Bithiah.

whom Mered married Caleb is Mered, who rebelled (שֶׁמָרַד) against the counsel of the spies, and so is the manner of the genealogy, that even for one, he says, “the sons of,” like (verse 15): “and the sons of Elah: Uknaz.”

The sons of Shelah the son of Judah Since he did not yet trace his geneology, he traces it now. Because of David’s honor, he first traced the genealogy of the sons of Tamar: Perez and Zerah, from whom he [David] was descended; now that he has traced the genealogy of the families of Perez and Zerah, he commences to trace the genealogy of all the families that were in that generation.

and the families of Beth Abodath Habbuz lit. the house of the linen work, for the curtains of the Sanctuary. They too were of the sons of Shelah.

And Jokim and the people of Kozeba until “and Jashubi Lehem.” All these were the sons of Shelah the son of Judah.

and Joash and Saraph Our Sages say that these were Mahlon and Chilion.

and the matters are ancient The meaning is: Do not say that since I began to trace the lineage of the people of our generation that they all came afterwards. All the people mentioned in this verse (were ancient) were early, [i.e.], they lived in earlier days.

who married in Moab who married Moabite women.

They, the potters They, Jokim, the people of Kozeba and Jashubi Lehem, were manufacturers of clay for the king’s work, and also for pots for the king’s food, and also for the priests.

and the dwellers in plantations who were engaged in the king’s planting.

and hedges craftsmen who made stone fences for the king’s work.

with the king The meaning is that the king stationed them in those towns because they were doing his work. An example (in Mishpatim) concerning a borrower (Exod. 22:14): “But if its owner was with it, he shall not pay,” i.e., with it, in its work.

The sons of Simeon Since Simeon dwelt in Judah’s territory, he traces his lineage first and mentions his towns before those of Reuben.

but his brothers did not have many sons and all their family did not multiply as much as the children of Judah They did not have as many children as the children of Judah. Since they were few, and Judah’s territory was too large for them, Judah accepted Simeon in its territory, because Simeon had no share in the land of Israel, as it says (Gen. 49:7): “I shall divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel,” and we learned in Genesis Rabbah (Shittah Hadashah): “I shall divide them among the Children of Israel to station scribes in Israel in the synagogues, etc.” Now how do we know that they agreed [to give them a share of their territory]? For it is written (Jos. 19:9): “Out of the lot of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon, for the portion of the children of Judah was too large for them; therefore the children of Simeon inherited in the midst of their inheritance,” lest the beasts of the field outnumber them. Now as regards the verse (ibid. v. 1): “And the second lot came out to Simeon,” this is what happened: They cast lots to choose which tribe would accept Simeon in its territory, and the lot fell upon the territory of Judah. And the meaning of the verse (Jud. 1:3): “And Judah said to Simeon his brother: Come up with me into my lot, and we will fight against the Canaanites, and I will also go with you into your lot,” refers to “the lot I have given you.”

They dwelt in Beersheba The children of Simeon dwelt in those towns of Judah.

these were their cities until David reigned The meaning is that when [the population of] the children of Judah grew, they complained about the children of Simeon in the days of Saul and wanted to drive them out of their land, but they could not drive them out, especially since all his [Saul’s] days were occupied with trouble and wars; but when David reigned, his tribe came to request from the children of Simeon the land that they had lent them, and David went and drove them out, for Saul had not been concerned with this matter because of [his] hatred for David, who was from Judah. This is the meaning of what is written: “... these were their cities until David reigned,” but when he reigned, he drove them out. [I heard this] from Rabbi Eliezer the son of Meshullam of blessed memory, and so did Rabbi Solomon the son of Levi, the brother of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan explain it.

And their villages The villages which were they? Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, etc.

this was [the account of] their settlements, and they had their genealogical record The meaning is that although he traced part of their lineage here, do not say that there were only those, for there is another genealogical record in which the genealogy of every tribe appears. So it was, i.e. [this record] delineated the genealogy [of each tribe] by itself.

And Meshobab and all those written.

These mentioned by name were princes in their families, and their fathers’ house spread exceedingly and they had no place to dwell in.

And they went therefore to the approach to Gedor, etc. to seek pasture for their flocks.

for the dwellers of yore were from Ham They dwelt in peace and tranquility, and no one came to harm them; therefore, they did not beware when they came upon them to fight, and an example of this is found in Judges (18:27): “... and they came to Laish, to a people tranquil and secure etc.,” (verse 7): “... and they had no bond with any man.” Because they were tranquil, they were not afraid, and they did not make a pact with anyone to help them; therefore, five hundred men defeated them. It is also written above (verse 7): “... after the manner of the Zidonians, tranquil and secure, etc.”

And they smote the remnant... that had escaped from being annihilated by David, for David destroyed every male in Edom.