Discovery Box1 Chronicles 2:18-24
Context2:18 Caleb son of Hezron fathered sons by his wife Azubah (also known as Jerioth). 1 Her sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. 2:19 When Azubah died, Caleb married 2 Ephrath, who bore him Hur. 2:20 Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri was the father of Bezalel.
2:21 Later 3 Hezron had sexual relations with 4 the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. (He had married 5 her when he was sixty years old.) She bore him Segub. 2:22 Segub was the father of Jair, who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. 2:23 (Geshur and Aram captured the towns of Jair, 6 along with Kenath and its sixty surrounding towns.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.
2:24 After Hezron’s death, Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s widow, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa. 7
[2:18] 1 tn Heb “and Caleb son of Hezron fathered [children] with Azubah, a wife, and with Jerioth.” Jerioth could be viewed as a second wife (so NLT; cf. also NASB, NIV, NRSV), but the following context mentions only “her [presumably Azubah’s] sons.” Another option, the one chosen in the translation, is that Jerioth is another name for Azubah.
[2:19] 2 tn Heb “took for himself.”
[2:21] 3 sn This means “later” in relation to the births of the three sons (Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb) mentioned in v. 9.
[2:21] 4 tn Heb “Hezron went to.”
[2:21] 5 tn Heb “he took,” referring to taking in marriage.
[2:23] 6 tn Or “Havvoth Jair” (NIV, NRSV). Some translations do not translate the phrase (“havvoth” = “the towns of”), but treat it as part of the place name.
[2:24] 7 tn Heb “And after the death of Hezron in Caleb Ephrathah, and the wife of Hezron, Abijah, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.” Perhaps one could translate: “After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s wife, bore to him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the text suggests that Abijah was born after his father’s death. Because of the awkward syntax and the odd appearance of “Caleb Ephrathah” as a place name, some prefer to emend the text. Some alter בְּכָלֵב אֶפְרָתָה (bÿkhalev ’efratah, “in Caleb Ephrathah”) to בָּא כָלֵב אֶפְרָתָה (bo’ khalev ’efratah, “Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath”) and then change אֲבִיָּה (’aviyyah, “Abijah”) to אָבִיהוּ (’avihu, “his father”). This results in the following translation: “And after Hezron’s death, Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s wife, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa” (cf. NAB). This would mean that Caleb’s second wife Ephrath had actually been his late father’s wife (probably Caleb’s stepmother). Perhaps the text was subsequently altered because Caleb’s actions appeared improper in light of the injunctions in Lev 18:8; 20:11; Deut 22:30; 27:20 (which probably refer, however, to a son having sexual relations with his stepmother while his father is still alive).
