Introduction: Completing the Genealogy of Yehudah
Chapter 4 of Divrei HaYamim I comes to complete the genealogy of the tribe of Yehudah. As we recall, the primary focus of the book is tracing the genealogy of Yehudah and the royal Davidic dynasty; Ezra therefore briefly lists here the sons and grandsons that he had not mentioned earlier, according to the order of the generations. We will follow the order of the verses and see how the commentators - foremost among them the Malbim - resolve the difficulties in this genealogical record.
בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה פֶּרֶץ חֶצְרוֹן וְכַרְמִי וְחוּר וְשׁוֹבָל׃ - The sons of Yehudah: Peretz, Chetzron, Carmi, Chur, and Shoval.
The Radak explains that the text's intention is to complete the genealogy of Yehudah - those who were not mentioned earlier. And this Chur is the Chur mentioned above among the sons of Calev son of Chetzron and Ephrat his wife, and he is the father of Calev who was the father of Shoval, as we saw in the lineage of Calev; here, the text completes what it had not mentioned earlier.
Why Repeat Names Already Mentioned? - The Malbim's Explanation
Anyone reading the verse immediately sees the difficulty: Peretz, Chetzron, Carmi - all of these names have already been mentioned earlier, so what need is there to repeat them? The Malbim explains in his characteristic way that Ezra saw the names in the master genealogical record and transcribed the lineage from there. He writes here: it appears that after repeating the genealogy of the sons of Yehudah a second time - from what he found in another scroll to complete the genealogy - he set forth headings for what he was about to discuss further. In other words, he found an additional genealogical scroll that also contained a genealogical record.
We must understand the background: people would record their lineages and construct family trees, which was extremely important. Today, everything is documented anyway; there is a population registry and official records. Even today there are genealogists, an actual profession, whose entire job is to sit and map out family trees: so-and-so's uncle is such-and-such, this person was born to that one, and in a second marriage married another. In Judaism, of course, this holds great significance - knowing who descends from whom. Among Chassidim, if a groom is a direct descendant of a revered Tzaddik, it boosts his shidduch prospects tremendously; people seek matches with Admorim rather than ordinary folk. In short, lineage carries great weight.
Thus, the Malbim explains, Ezra found another genealogical scroll where people had recorded their family lineages, and he set out headings here for what he found there and intended to discuss. Here, he is about to trace additional descendants of Chetzron, namely Ashchur; therefore he opened with "Peretz, Chetzron" - meaning, I am about to discuss Peretz and Chetzron because I found someone else who descends from them, that very Ashchur whom we have not yet mentioned. From the sons of Zerach he found no additions, so he stated only "Carmi" - Carmi concludes that branch and nothing is to be added. Next, he intends to discuss further the lineage of Chur, so he mentioned Chur as a heading, as he has additions there as well. Furthermore, he wishes to discuss the lineage of Shoval son of Calev, and so he mentioned Shoval. In practice, he details Shoval first, then Chur, and then Chetzron.
The Malbim also suggests an alternative interpretation that aligns closely with his approach earlier: the author of the book transcribed from the genealogical record, and wherever he did not wish to elaborate, he listed only a single name. That is, when one reads "The sons of Yehudah: Peretz, Chetzron, Carmi, Chur, and Shoval", for whatever he did not wish to dwell upon, he merely mentioned by name without detailing their descendants. When he returned to address the lineage of the sons of Yehudah, which he had already transcribed from the genealogical record in Chapter 2, he says "The sons of Yehudah" - as if it were written "The sons of Yehudah, etc." This is the Malbim's approach in many places: the text pauses at a name, says "his sons", and leaves it to the reader to supply them, "his sons, etc." Since he was transcribing from the genealogical record where all the sons' names appear, he saw no need to copy everything, providing instead an outline: "his sons, etc." - look there and you will see. Likewise, "Peretz", "the sons of Peretz: Chetzron, etc.", down to Carmi, Chur, and Shoval - all serving as an "et cetera."
Reayah Son of Shoval
וּרְאָיָה בֶן שׁוֹבָל הֹלִיד אֶת יַחַת וְיַחַת הֹלִיד אֶת אֲחוּמַי וְאֶת לָהַד אֵלֶּה מִשְׁפְּחוֹת הַצָּרְעָתִי׃ - And Reayah son of Shoval begot Yachath, and Yachath begot Achumai and Lahad; these are the families of the Tzor'athites.
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains that such is the custom of this genealogical record: even though Reayah has not been mentioned at all yet, he is introduced here. There is a certain difficulty: it should have said, "And Shoval begot Reayah, and Reayah begot Yachath." To this, the verse responds: indeed, but by writing "And Reayah son of Shoval," you understand on your own that Shoval begot Reayah. So too further on: "And the sons of Chelah were Tzereth, Tzohar, and Etnan, and Kotz begot" - from where did Kotz come? First state that he was born, and only then discuss whom he begot! Rather, even though it had not yet mentioned Kotz, it mentions his offspring. In plain terms: the text abbreviates, leaving it to you to understand that one of the sons was Kotz, and then continues with him to state whom he begot. The same applies here: one of the sons was Reayah, and the text continues with him to recount whom he begot.
And who is Re'ayah? Radak explains that we have already encountered him above, as previously mentioned: there he is called "HaRo'eh" - "And Shoval... had sons: HaRo'eh, Chatzi HaMenuchot" - whereas here the text calls him Re'ayah. HaRo'eh and Re'ayah are one and the same person. Do not wonder at this, for it is common in genealogical records for letters in names to invert. Just as we saw with Batsheva, who is called at times "the daughter of Eliam" and at other times "the daughter of Ammiel" - is it Eliam or Ammiel? It is customary with family names for letters to transpose. This also clarifies why Shemuel was named Shemuel: after all, "Because from Hashem I asked for him (she'iltiv)" - she ought to have named him Shaul! Rather, it is the way of names for letters to invert, and they were not particular that the name follow the exact same grammatical form. We have already brought additional proofs for this earlier, showing that they did not insist on calling someone by the exact identical form, but rather used a name closely related in meaning. Therefore, "Ammiel" is "Eliam", and likewise "Re'ayah" is "HaRo'eh" - the very same person.
"These were the families of the Tzora'ites" - as mentioned above, from these descended the Tzora'ites and the Eshta'olites. Here Scripture mentions Yachat, Achumai, and Lahad, who were the primary families of the Tzora'ites, whom we did not see above; these are additions introduced only here.
Eleh the Father of Etam and Hatzelelponi - Shimshon's Mother
וְאֵלֶּה אֲבִי עֵיטָם יִזְרְעֶאל וְיִשְׁמָא וְיִדְבָּשׁ וְשֵׁם אֲחוֹתָם הַצְלֶלְפּוֹנִי׃ - "And these were the father of Etam: Yizre'el, Yishma, and Yidbash, and the name of their sister was Hatzelelponi."
Radak explains: "And these were the father of Etam" - these too were sons, descended from Shoval and Chur. And "Yizre'el" is pronounced with a quiescent alef, meaning it is silent.
As for why it mentions here "and the name of their sister" - just as we found earlier regarding the children of Zerubavel, "and Shelomit their sister" - it is quite possible that she was an only sister, which is why she is mentioned. Another explanation, which is more plausible and follows the Gra's approach, is that she was prominent in her generation and renowned by name. Just as we see that they were called "the sons of Tzeruyah," even though Tzeruyah was David's sister - why were Yoav, Avishai, and Asahel designated by their mother's name? Because their mother was prominent, the king's sister, they were called by her name. Here too, when dealing with prominent and well-known women, Scripture mentions them by name.
The Malbim explains: One might have thought that "Ve-eleh" (And these) is merely a connective phrase meaning "These are the ones of whom I am about to speak." The Malbim clarifies that this is not so; rather, "Eleh" is a proper name. Eleh was the father of Etam, and he too was born to Re'ayah son of Shoval. Likewise, Yizre'el, Yishma, and Yidbash were all born to one mother, and they had a distinguished sister named Hatzelelponi.
And what does "metzuyenet" (distinguished) mean? Did the others get poor grades? In truth, our modern usage of the word "metzuyan" has become distorted. In the Passover Haggadah we read: "Teaching that they were metzuyanim there" - does that mean they all scored a hundred on their exams? Rather, metzuyan means marked or distinct, as in: "Or if one saw a human bone, he built a tziyun (marker) beside it" - a tziyun is a sign. The people of Israel were marked out there: anyone who walked by and saw a Jew saw a clear sign on him; he was recognizable. So too here, a "distinguished sister" means marked, renowned, famous, prominent, and well-known, and her name was Hatzelelponi.
According to the tradition of Chazal, notes the Malbim, she was the mother of Shimshon. This aligns with what appears in Midrash Rabbah, that Shimshon descended from both the tribe of Dan and the tribe of Yehudah. Here we are discussing the descendants of the tribe of Yehudah; thus, on his father's side he was a Danite, while on his mother's side he had roots in Yehudah. When studying the narrative of Shimshon in Sefer Shoftim, we elaborated on this citing Rav Dessler: his dual roots in Dan and Yehudah gave rise to Shimshon's unique strengths, which he inherited from both tribes. Each tribe possessed a distinct power: Yehudah represents martial strength, whereas the tribe of Dan served as the rearguard for all the camps, gathering the stragglers whom the Clouds of Glory expelled. These distinct powers merged within one individual to deliver Israel from the hands of their enemies.
Based on what was noted above, the Malbim says, that Tzor'ah and Eshta'ol lay within the territory of Yehudah, one can understand why "the spirit of Hashem began to stir him in the camp of Dan, between Tzor'ah and Eshta'ol": because his maternal uncles, who were from Yehudah, lived there - descendants of Shoval the father of Kiryat Ye'arim. As explained there, before the tribe of Dan received its allotment in the north, they dwelt in this area. To this day we call the central coastal area "Gush Dan," but if you trace it historically, where did Dan ultimately settle? In Banias. Initially, however, they dwelt here. Thus, before their own territory fell to them, they lived within the territory of the descendants of Yehudah. Mano'ach, who was from Dan, took a wife from that locale - close to home, as it were. For where does one marry from? Not from another city or another land, but from those known in one's immediate surroundings. Since he lived there, and the Danites dwelt among the people of Yehudah, he married a woman from the daughters of Yehudah. Likewise, Penu'el the father of Gedor - all of them were descendants of Re'ayah, tracing their lineage back to Chur, who stands at the head of the genealogy, for Re'ayah was the son of Shoval, son of Calev, son of Chur.
An Abridgment in the Chain of Genealogy
וּפְנוּאֵל אֲבִי גְדֹר וְעֵזֶר אֲבִי חוּשָׁה אֵלֶּה בְנֵי חוּר בְּכוֹר אֶפְרָתָה אֲבִי בֵּית לָחֶם׃ - "And Penu'el the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Chushah; these are the sons of Chur, the firstborn of Efratah, the father of Beit Lechem."
"The father of Beit Lechem" - Radak explains that here Scripture abbreviates and does not mention Salma, who was the father of Beit Lechem; Hur was the father of Salma, and Salma was the father of Beit Lechem. That is to say, Scripture sometimes skips a link in the chain and abbreviates: instead of writing so-and-so son of so-and-so son of so-and-so, it goes straight to the ancestor, actually referring to the grandfather or great-grandfather.
Ashchur and His Sons
וּלְאַשְׁחוּר אֲבִי תְקוֹעַ הָיוּ שְׁתֵּי נָשִׁים חֶלְאָה וְנַעֲרָה׃ - "Ashchur the father of Tekoa had two wives: Chelah and Naarah."
This returns to what was stated earlier: "Abijah, the wife of Chetzron... bore him Ashchur the father of Tekoa" (above, 2:24). There Scripture did not trace his lineage, but here it traces it. The Malbim explains: once Scripture completed the genealogy of Calev son of Chetzron - since, as we saw, Reayah son of Shoval descended from him - it now returns to Ashchur, whom Abijah, the wife of Chetzron, bore after Chetzron's death, and whom Calev and his wife Ephrath raised. Earlier Scripture did not recount his genealogy, and here it sets forth his lineage.
וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ נַעֲרָה אֶת אֲחֻזָּם וְאֶת חֵפֶר וְאֶת תֵּימְנִי וְאֶת הָאֲחַשְׁתָּרִי אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי נַעֲרָה׃ - "And Naarah bore him Achuzam, Chefer, the Teimeni, and the Achashtari. These were the sons of Naarah."
וּבְנֵי חֶלְאָה צֶרֶת וְצֹחַר וְאֶתְנָן׃ וְקוֹץ הוֹלִיד אֶת עָנוּב וְאֶת הַצֹּבֵבָה וּמִשְׁפְּחֹת אֲחַרְחֵל בֶּן הָרוּם׃ - "And the sons of Chelah were Tzereth, Tzohar, and Etnan. And Kotz begot Anuv, Hatzovevah, and the families of Acharchel son of Harum."
Regarding the words "And Kotz," Metzudat David comments: perhaps he is one of those mentioned above, and he went by two names. This is the very question that recurs again and again in this book: Scripture mentions a name that was never discussed beforehand, introducing a person whose pedigree is completely unclear. After all, the standard way is to mention Avraham, then Yitzchak, and then "the sons of Yitzchak"; one cannot mention Avraham and immediately say "and the sons of Yitzchak" - where did Yitzchak come from?
Therefore, the solutions are one of two approaches. Either the name introduced with "the sons of so-and-so" refers to someone mentioned earlier under a different name - as in an illustrative example: suppose among the descendants of Avraham we mentioned Yaakov, "Avraham begot Yaakov," and that Yaakov had two names, both Yaakov and Yitzchak; then, when you later see "and the sons of Yitzchak," it refers to that same Yaakov mentioned earlier. That is one way to resolve the difficulty. Another approach, taken by other commentators and by the Malbim, is that Scripture did not enumerate everyone; rather, it excerpted from the comprehensive genealogical scroll and listed only a portion of the names. Consequently, there are individuals whose offspring are recorded later without them having been named beforehand. Here Metzudat David follows the first approach: "And Kotz begot" - where was Kotz mentioned before? We had mentioned Tzereth, Tzohar, and Etnan, and one of them was also known by the name Kotz.
The Malbim explains differently: "And the sons of Chelah were Tzereth, Tzohar, Etnan, and Kotz" - period. And then: "And Kotz begot Anuv and Hatzovevah." The word "and Kotz" is read in connection with what precedes it as well as what follows it. We have already seen several times that this is a recognized exegetical method, as the Malbim cites in the name of the Vilna Gaon, that a single word can be expounded both upward and downward. Thus, it is as though the text reads, "And the sons of Chelah were Tzereth, Tzohar, Etnan, and Kotz," and then continues, "and Kotz begot Anuv and Hatzovevah." Do not wonder where Kotz was mentioned previously - he was already included among the sons of Chelah. "And the families of Acharchel son of Harum" - these too descended from Chelah.
Ya'avetz - The Name and the Sorrow
וַיְהִי יַעְבֵּץ נִכְבָּד מֵאֶחָיו וְאִמּוֹ קָרְאָה שְׁמוֹ יַעְבֵּץ לֵאמֹר כִּי יָלַדְתִּי בְּעֹצֶב׃ - "And Ya'avetz was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Ya'avetz, saying, 'Because I bore him with sorrow.'"
Here again the same issue arises: where was Ya'avetz mentioned before? You have not mentioned him at all, yet you immediately open by saying that Ya'avetz was honorable. Who is he? Whose son is he? Radak suggests: the first possibility, as we noted, is that Ya'avetz is one of those mentioned earlier and possessed two names. The second possibility is that he is an entirely different person; even though Scripture did not mention his genealogy, it mentions his story - that is, even if it does not specify precisely which lineage he came from, it tells you about the nature and deeds of this person: that Ya'avetz was more honorable than his brothers.
And why did his mother name him Ya'betz? "Saying: Because I bore him in pain (otzeb)." Seemingly, it would have been more accurate to name him "Ya'tzev" - if she bore him in pain (otzeb), why Ya'betz? Radak states a principle we have mentioned several times: the ancients were not particular that a name match the event completely, but rather that it be close in concept. Just as with Noach - "This one will comfort us (yenachamenu) from our work" - if so, name him Menachem; why Noach? And similarly, "and she named him Shmuel, for I asked him (she'iltiv) of the Lord" - name him Shaul! Why did she name him Shmuel? They were not particular that it be completely identical to the event, but rather similar and related in theme. Likewise Moshe - "Because I drew him (meshitive) from the water" - she should have named him Mashuy or Meshiti; why Moshe? And there are many more examples, showing that the ancients were not particular to name precisely according to the root, but rather based on something similar to what happened to them.
Metzudat David, on the other hand, says that she deliberately named him Ya'betz because she intended the reverse of sorrow. She did not want to perpetuate the sorrow: she bore him in pain, and therefore she called his name Ya'betz to signify a reversal of the sorrow. For had she called him "Ya'tzev," it would be as if she were perpetuating the sorrow; she therefore said "Ya'betz," as if to say that sorrow should be transformed into joy.
The Malbim explains: regarding the family of Ya'betz - he was the most distinguished of all his brothers, and his mother named him Ya'betz because she bore him in pain. The Malbim adds: it is possible that she died in childbirth, just as we saw with Rachel, who named her son "Ben-oni" - my mourning, my grief. So too here, she died in childbirth, and therefore named him Ya'betz because she bore him in pain.
The Prayer of Ya'betz
וַיִּקְרָא יַעְבֵּץ לֵאלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר אִם בָּרֵךְ תְּבָרְכֵנִי וְהִרְבִּיתָ אֶת גְּבוּלִי וְהָיְתָה יָדְךָ עִמִּי וְעָשִׂיתָ מֵּרָעָה לְבִלְתִּי עׇצְבִּי וַיָּבֵא אֱלֹהִים אֵת אֲשֶׁר שָׁאָל׃ - And Ya'betz called to the God of Israel, saying: If You will indeed bless me and enlarge my border, and Your hand will be with me, and You will keep me from evil so that it may not grieve me! And God granted what he requested.
The commentary attributed to Rashi explains according to the plain meaning: "and enlarge my border" - in territories. We will soon see how Chazal expound this. Radak explains why Ya'betz saw fit to offer this special prayer: it is very possible that he feared because of his name. Since his name expressed a connection to sorrow, he feared that the name itself might bring sorrow in its wake, God forbid. Therefore, he offered a prayer to Hashem: "so that it may not grieve me" - that I should not experience sorrow, that the Holy One, blessed be He, not cause me distress and sorrow. And then he made a vow that if Hashem granted him success and blessed him, he would do such and such.
This phenomenon appears in several biblical verses, where Scripture implies an "I will do," yet does not state what. We find this with Yaakov according to some commentators: "If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I go, and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear... and Hashem will be my God" - and what then? It does not state what he will do; it does not say what he gives in return. He made a vow, but it is not stated what he would give. Now, ostensibly it states: "and of all that You give me, I will surely tithe it to You" - but upon the condition of "If God will be with me," he did not state what he would do. Some explain that what is written at the end applies to everything: if God will be with me, etc., then "I will surely tithe it." Similarly, there is a concept of someone who makes a conditional threat without specifying the consequence, as we find with Eli who said to Shmuel: "if you do not tell me" - without stating what would happen. He asked him to reveal what Hashem had revealed to him in prophecy, but did not say what he would do if he withheld it. Thus, we frequently see that the statement is seemingly cut off in the middle - either the speaker did not finish, or he did finish and the author of the book did not record it. Radak says the same here: Scripture did not mention what he vowed.
And "and You will keep me from evil so that it may not grieve me" (ve'asita mere'ah levilti otzbi) - the phrasing of which is somewhat difficult - Radak explains as though it were written: "and You will act so that I will not be grieved by evil"; that You deal with me so that I will not be saddened by any evil thing, and that my name will not bring me sorrow, God forbid.
The Malbim explains: since he was born under an unfavorable constellation (mazal), as we saw that his mother died during childbirth or endured great agony at his birth, he therefore prays to nullify the decree of the celestial configuration. According to the Malbim, this matter was an astrological decree associated with the time of his birth, not a direct decree from Hashem; he was given his name because of what happened to him and his mother, but the astrological decree meant he was born under an ill omen, at an unfortunate hour. Therefore, he asks to annul the decree of the celestial spheres through Hashem's blessing, which adds no sorrow with it.
"If You will indeed bless me and enlarge my border" - the Malbim explains, unlike the commentary attributed to Rashi, that He should enlarge his boundary not in territorial estates, but in wisdom, which is the boundary designated for him; just as Chazal state in Temurah 16a on "and enlarge my border" - with students. Furthermore, he said: if You, Hashem, let Your hand be with me to assist me in serving Hashem, then "keep me from evil so that it may not grieve me" - that I will not be grieved by the evils of this world.
Notice the difference between this and Radak's approach: Radak explains this as a prayer that no evil will befall me at all, whereas the Malbim explains that even if evil does occur, it will not affect me at all and I will not be perturbed by it. Rather, I will possess complete and pure faith that whatever the Merciful One does is for the best; then, even if something occurs that is displeasing to me, I will not regard it as evil, but rather view everything as good. This is the way of the spiritually complete individuals who enjoy divine providence, for whom evil transforms into good: even that which is called or appears to be evil, such a person regards as good, knowing its entire purpose is only to bestow good upon him.
And this is what is meant by "And God granted what he requested": the Malbim says that he was guided by divine providence, and the Holy One, blessed be He, watched over him to fulfill his prayer. Hashem also enlarged his border by enabling him to disseminate Torah to the multitudes, and all matters of this world - both the bad and the good - were viewed by him equally, just as he had asked. Accordingly, it emerges that Hashem did not necessarily bring him only overt good, but rather that he did not view hardship as something negative to flee from; instead, he regarded everything as good.
In summary:
In this chapter, Scripture completes the genealogy of Yehudah from an additional genealogical scroll. Therefore, it opens with names that have already been mentioned - serving as markers and headings for what it is about to elaborate on: additions to the lineage of Chetzron (Ashchur), to the lineage of Chur, and to the lineage of Shoval. We learned the concise style of the Book: mentioning a son before the father has been mentioned ("and Reayah the son of Shoval", "and Kotz begot"), skipping a link in the chain, and a single word that applies both to what precedes it and to what follows it. We learned that the letters of names are sometimes interchanged (Haroeh - Reayah, Eliam - Ammiel, Shaul - Shmuel), and that the ancients assigned names based on thematic approximation rather than strict precision. We saw Hatzlelponi, the distinguished sister - singled out and renowned - who, according to the tradition of Chazal, was the mother of Shimshon, which explains his roots in both Dan and Yehudah and his dual strength. Finally, we concluded with the prayer of Yaavetz, who was born in pain (otzev) and prayed for blessing, for the expansion of his borders with Torah and disciples, and that he not be grieved by the world's afflictions - that everything in his life should be for the good; "and God brought about that which he requested."