Matthew Henry on 1 Chronicles 4:11-23
We may observe in these verses, 1. That here is a whole family of craftsmen, handicraft tradesmen, that applied themselves to all sorts of manufactures, in which they were ingenious and industrious above their neighbours, Ch1 4:14. There was a valley where they lived which was, from them, called the valley of craftsmen. Those that are craftsmen are not therefore to be looked upon as mean men. These craftsmen, though two of a trade often disagree, yet chose to live together, for the improving of arts by comparing notes, and that they might support one another's reputation. 2. That one of these married the daughter of Pharaoh (Ch1 4:18), which was the common name of the kings of Egypt. If an I…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Chronicles 4:17
she bare Miriam--It is difficult, as the verses stand at present, to see who is meant. The following readjustment of the text clears away the obscurity: "These are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took, and she bare Miriam, and his wife Jehudijah bare Jezreel," &c.
Adam Clarke on 1 Chronicles 4:15
Caleb the son of Jephunneh - We have already met with this eminent person in Num 13:6, Num 13:30; Num 14:24, and elsewhere; and seen his courageous piety and inflexible integrity. The Targum says here, "They called him Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, because he had purged his soul from the counsel of the spies.
John Gill on 1 Chronicles 4:17
And the sons of Ezra,.... Who was perhaps the son of Asareel, last mentioned:
Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon; only one of them, Mered, is after mentioned:
and she bare Miriam; which is not the name of a woman, but of a man, as Kimchi observes; and, according to him, his mother was the wife of Mered, which he gathers from the next verse; though she seems to be the wife of Ezra, who bare him other sons:
and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa; a prince of a city in the tribe of Judah, so called, Joshua 15:50.
