1 Chronicles 4:29 — Word Study
WLCוּבְבִלְהָ֥ה וּבְעֶ֖צֶם וּבְתוֹלָֽד׃
BSABilhahBilhâh [a troubled place] EzemʻEtsem [in the territory of Judah] ToladTôwlâd△ [meaning generation, a city in Simeon's territory]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּבְבִלְהָ֥ה | and in Bilhah | Conjunction, preposition, noun proper |
| וּבְעֶ֖צֶם | and in Ezem | Conjunction, preposition, noun proper |
| וּבְתוֹלָֽד׃ | and in Tolad | Conjunction, preposition, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, |
| KJV | And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, |
| ASV | and at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, |
| YLT | and in Bilhah, and in Ezem, and in Tolad, |
| WEB | at Bilhah, at Ezem, at Tolad, |
| BBE | And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, |
The translations agree on the names listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a simple list of names without complex clauses.
3 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 3 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — 1 Chronicles 4:29
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Cities of Simeongenerated
1 Chronicles 4:29 is part of a genealogical list that outlines the cities inhabited by the descendants of Simeon. This verse follows a series of names that indicate the locations where these families settled. The context emphasizes the territorial claims and settlements of the tribes of Israel, particularly focusing on Simeon's inheritance as noted in the surrounding verses.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua 19:3 | Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, |
| 2 | Joshua 19:4 | Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בִּלְהָה, u.ve.vil.Hahgenerated
The name בִּלְהָה (bilhah) refers to both a woman and a place. As a person, she is Rachel's handmaid and Jacob's concubine, mothering Dan and Naphtali. The name may mean 'troubled.' Additionally, it denotes a city in Simeon, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:29.
The parsing indicates that this word functions as a proper noun, specifically a place name. Its occurrence in the genealogical context highlights the significance of Bilhah's legacy through her descendants.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations agree here, consistently rendering the names Bilhah, Ezem, and Tolad without variation.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse consists of a series of prepositional phrases, each introducing a location associated with the descendants of Simeon. The finite verb is absent, as this verse lists names rather than actions.
The Hebrew word order places emphasis on the names themselves, presenting them as significant identifiers of heritage and territory.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates בִּלְהָה as βαλαα, which maintains the connection to the original Hebrew name while reflecting the Greek phonetic structure.
This choice indicates a direct rendering of the name without alteration, preserving its identity in the Greek translation.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
1 Chronicles 4:29 lists three places: Bilhah, Ezem, and Tolad. These names are significant as they represent locations associated with the tribe of Simeon, reflecting their heritage and settlements.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Bilhah means 'troubled' and refers to both a concubine of Jacob and a city in Palestine.
Ezem is a city in the territory of Judah that was later given to the tribe of Simeon.
Tolad means 'generation' and is a city located in the territory of Simeon.
These names reflect the heritage and territorial claims of the tribe of Simeon, emphasizing their settlements in ancient Palestine.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What do these names tell us about the history of the tribe of Simeon?
- How do the locations mentioned in this verse connect to the broader narrative of the Israelites?
- What significance do names and places hold in understanding genealogies in the Bible?
- How can we see the importance of heritage and territory in our own lives today?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on 1 Chronicles 4:29 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on 1 Chronicles 4 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(29) Many of the places assigned to Simeon in this list are reckoned among the towns of the extreme south of Judah in Joshua 15:26, et seq. Bilhah, or Balah, is, perhaps, Baalah (Joshua 15:29); Ezem (Authorised Version, Azem) and Eltolad are also mentioned there. Their sites are unknown.
Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Chronicles 4 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges29. Tolad] in Joshua 19:4 Eltolad, but el in this case is probably only the Arabic definite article.
Read Cambridge on 1 Chronicles 4 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
at Bilhah, at Ezem, at Tolad,
Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
Tyndale line
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
and at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
and at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad;
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
Strictly literal
and at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
and in Bilhah, and in Ezem, and in Tolad,
and in Bilhah, and in Ezem, and in Tolad,
And at Bilhah, and at 'Ezem, and at Tholad,
They also live at Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
From the Latin
And in Bala, and in Asom, and in Tholad,
Simplified
Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad,
And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the names listed in this verse. All three names — Bilhah, Ezem, and Tolad — are matched in both texts, confirming their consistency across these ancient witnesses.
וּבְבִלְהָ֥ה וּבְעֶ֖צֶם וּבְתוֹלָֽד׃
3 of the 3 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in 1 Chronicles 4:29
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
בִּלְהָה (bilhah) refers to both a woman and a place. As a person, she is Rachel's handmaid and Jacob's concubine, mothering Dan and Naphtali. The name may mean 'troubled.' Additionally, it denotes a city in Simeon, mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:29.
בִּלְהָה n.pr.f. (etym. dub.) handmaid of Rachel, concubine of Jacob
base
בִּלְהָה n.pr.loc. a city of Simeon 1 Ch 4:29
ref
H1090a בִּלְהָה mandmaid of Rachel, concubine of Jacob H1090b בִּלְהָה a city of Simeon
1090 Bilhah bil-haw'
from 1089; timid; Bilhah, the name of one of Jacob's
concubines; also of a place in Palestine:--Bilhah.
see HEBREW for 01089
בִּלְהָה (bil.hah) — Bilhah.
A woman living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.29.29; married to Israel (H3478);
mother of: Dan (H1835H) and Naphtali (H5321)
§ Bilhah = "troubled"
Rachel's handmaid whom she gave to Jacob as a concubine, mother to two of Jacob's children, Dan and Naphtali
בִּלְהָה (bil.hah) — Bilhah.
§ Bilhah = "troubled"
n prloc
a city in Simeon
Conj | Prep | N-proper — Conjunction · preposition · noun properHC/R/Npl
Bilhah
Faltering; bashful, Rachel’s handmaid, whom she gave to Jacob (Gen. 29:29). She was the mother of Dan and Naphtali (Gen. 30:3-8). Reuben was cursed by his father for committing adultry with her (35:22; 49:4). He was deprived of the birth-right, which was given to the sons of Joseph.
(timid, bashful), handmaid of Rachel, (Genesis 29:29) and concubine of Jacob, to whom she bore Dan and Naphtali. (Genesis 30:3-8; 35:25; 46:25; 1 Chronicles 7:13) (B.C 53.)
The handmaid of Rachel, given by her to her husband Jacob when herself childless, that she might become a mother through her handmaid. Bilhah was the mother of Dan and Naphtali, Ge 30:1- 8.
Bilhan, who is old or confused
עֶ֫צֶם (Etsem) refers to 'bone' and is also the name of a location in Palestine, specifically a city in the Negev of Judah that was allotted to Simeon. The entries indicate that it is closely related to another word, H6106, but do not provide further details on its usage or significance.
עֶ֫צֶם n.pr.loc. in Negeb of Judah, Simeon
base
H6107 עֶ֫צֶם
6107 `Etsem eh'-tsem
the same as 6106; bone; Etsem, a place in Palestine:--Azem,
Ezem.
see HEBREW for 06106
עֶ֫צֶם (e.tsem) — Ezem.
§ Azem or Ezem = "bone"
a city in the Nekeb of Judah afterwards allotted to Simeon
Conj | Prep | N-proper — Conjunction · preposition · noun properHC/R/Npl
(bone), one of the towns of Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:29)
a bone
תּוֹלָ֑ד (towlad) refers to a place in Palestine, specifically a town in the territory of Simeon. It is linked to the concept of 'posterity' or 'generation,' as noted in the entries. The term appears in 1 Chronicles 4:29.
תּוֹלָ֑ד n.pr.loc. in Simeon 1 Ch 4:29
ref
H8434 תּוֹלָ֑ד
8434 Towlad to-lawd'
from 3205; posterity; Tolad, a place in Palestine:--Tolad.
Compare 513.
see HEBREW for 03205
see HEBREW for 0513
תּוֹלָ֑ד (to.lad) — Tolad.
§ Tolad = "generation"
a town in Simeon
also 'El-tolad'
Conj | Prep | N-proper — Conjunction · preposition · noun properHC/R/Npl
to-'lad.
See ELTOLAD.
Tolad
Productive, a town of Simeon, in the south of Judah (1 Chr. 4:29).
one of the towns of Simeon, (1 Chronicles 4:29) elsewhere called El-tolad.
a generation