1 Chronicles 4:30 — Word Study
WLCוּבִבְתוּאֵ֥ל וּבְחָרְמָ֖ה וּבְצִֽיקְלָֽג׃
BSABethuelBᵉthûwʼêl [man of God, nephew of Abraham] HormahChormâh [a place of devotion] ZiklagTsiqlag [a town of refuge, given to David]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּבִבְתוּאֵ֥ל | and in Bethuel | Conjunction, preposition, noun proper |
| וּבְחָרְמָ֖ה | and in Hormah | Conjunction, preposition, noun proper |
| וּבְצִֽיקְלָֽג׃ | and in Ziklag | Conjunction, preposition, noun proper |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, |
| KJV | And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, |
| ASV | and at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, |
| YLT | and in Bethuel, and in Hormah, and in Ziklag, |
| WEB | at Bethuel, at Hormah, at Ziklag, |
| BBE | And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, |
The translations agree on the names of the towns listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a main clause followed by two prepositional phrases, listing the towns.
3 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
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 4:30
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 Genealogy of Simeongenerated
1 Chronicles 4:30 lists towns associated with the tribe of Simeon, which were significant locations during the time of the conquest and settlement of Canaan. These towns reflect the heritage and geographical distribution of Simeon's descendants, showing their presence in southern Judah.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua 19:4 | Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, |
| 2 | 1 Chronicles 12:1 | Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle; |
| 3 | Joshua 15:31 | Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, |
| 4 | Joshua 19:5 | Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, |
| 5 | 1 Samuel 27:6 | That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — בְּתוּאֵל, u.viv.tu.'Elgenerated
The name בְּתוּאֵל (Bethuel) refers to both a person and a place. As a person, he is the son of Nahor and Milcah, a nephew of Abraham, and the father of Rebekah. The name can mean 'man of God' or 'dweller in God'. Additionally, there is a location named Bethuel in Simeon.
The parsing indicates that it is a proper noun, functioning as a place name here. The connection to Abraham enriches its significance, linking the town to the patriarchal narratives.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations generally agree on the names of the towns listed: Bethuel, Hormah, and Ziklag.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse is straightforward, with a series of prepositional phrases following the conjunction. The main focus is on the three locations: בְּתוּאֵל, חָרְמָה, and צִקְלַג.
Each location is introduced by the conjunction and preposition, indicating the relationship of these towns to the tribe of Simeon.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates בְּתוּאֵל as βαθουηλ, חָרְמָה as ερμα, and צִקְלַג as σεκλαγ. This choice shows a direct correspondence to the Hebrew terms.
The Greek terms maintain the same geographical references, indicating the continuity of these names in both Hebrew and Greek traditions.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
1 Chronicles 4:30 lists three towns: בְּתוּאֵל (Bethuel), חָרְמָה (Hormah), and צִקְלַג (Ziklag). These towns are part of the heritage of the tribe of Simeon and were important locations during their settlement in Canaan.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Bethuel is significant as both a person, the father of Rebekah, and a place name associated with the tribe of Simeon.
Hormah means 'devotion' and was a town conquered by Joshua, reflecting the dedication of the Israelites to God.
Ziklag was given to David by King Achish of Gath, where he stayed with his men and learned of Saul's death.
These towns illustrate the geographical and familial connections of the tribe of Simeon during the settlement in Canaan.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn from the significance of place names in our own heritage?
- How do these towns reflect the faithfulness of God to His promises to Israel?
- In what ways can we honor our heritage as believers today?
- How does understanding the history of these towns enhance our reading of the biblical narrative?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on 1 Chronicles 4:30 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(30) Bethuel.—Called Chesil in Joshua 15:30; Joshua 19:4 has Bethûl, a contraction like Hamul for Hamuel (1 Chronicles 4:26; comp. 1 Chronicles 2:5). Hormah.—The ancient Zephath (Judges 1:17), now Sepata.Ziklag.—Now Kasluj, east of Sepata (Joshua 15:30-31; 1 Samuel 27:6).
Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Chronicles 4 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges30. Bethuel] The name is elsewhere (Genesis 22:22-23; Genesis 24:15) the name of a person. In Joshua 19:4 Bethul. Hormah] Numbers 14:45; Numbers 21:3. Ziklag] 1 Chronicles 12:1; 1 Chronicles 12:20; 1 Samuel 27:6; 1 Samuel 30:1.
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
Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
at Bethuel, at Hormah, at Ziklag,
Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
Tyndale line
And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
and at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
and at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag;
And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
Strictly literal
and at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
and in Bethuel, and in Hormah, and in Ziklag,
and in Bethuel, and in Hormah, and in Ziklag,
And at Bethuel, and at Chormah, and at Ziklag.
Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
From the Latin
And in Bathuel, and in Horma, and in Siceleg,
Simplified
Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag,
And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
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 three names listed: בְּתוּאֵל, חָרְמָה, and צִקְלַג. The Septuagint's word order differs, but the names correspond directly.
וּבִבְתוּאֵ֥ל וּבְחָרְמָ֖ה וּבְצִֽיקְלָֽג׃
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 4:30
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.
בְּתוּאֵל (Bethuel) refers to both a person and a place. As a person, he is the son of Nahor and Milcah, a nephew of Abraham, and the father of Rebekah and Laban. The name can mean 'destroyed of God' or 'man of God.' Additionally, there is a location named Bethuel in Simeon. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement.
H1328a בְּתוּאֵל son of Nahor H1328b בְּתוּאֵל in Simeon
1328 Bthuw'el beth-oo-ale'
apparently from the same as 1326 and 410; destroyed of God;
Bethuel, the name of a nephew of Abraham, and of a place in
Palestine:--Bethuel. Compare 1329.
see HEBREW for 01326
see HEBREW for 0410
see HEBREW for 01329
בְּתוּאֵל (be.tu.el) — Bethuel.
A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.22.22;
son of: Nahor (H5152H) and Milcah (H4435);
brother of: Uz (H5780H), Buz (H0938), Kemuel (H7055), Chesed (H3777), Hazo (H2375), Pildash (H6394), Jidlaph (H3044) and Tebah (H2875);
half-brother of: Gaham (H1514), Tahash (H8477) and Maacah (H4601);
father of: Rebekah (H7259) and Laban (H3837A)
§ Bethuel = "God destroys" or "man of God" or "dweller in God"
nephew of Abraham, son of Nahor by Milcah, father of Rebekah
בְּתוּאֵל (be.tu.el) — Bethuel.
§ Bethuel = "God destroys" or "man of God" or "dweller in God"
a town of Simeon in the south
Conj | Prep | N-proper — Conjunction · preposition · noun properHC/R/Npl
Bethuel
Man of God, or virgin of God, or house of God. (1.) The son of Nahor by Milcah; nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah (Gen. 22:22, 23; 24:15, 24, 47). He appears in person only once (24:50).
(2.) A southern city of Judah (1 Chr. 4:30); called also Bethul (Josh. 19:4) and Bethel (12:16; 1 Sam. 30:27).
(dweller in God), the son of Nahor by Milcah; nephew of Abraham, and father of Rebekah, (Genesis 22:22,23; 24:15,24,47; 28:2) In (Genesis 25:20) and (Genesis 28:5) he is called "Bethuel the Syrian."
filiation of God
→ Son of Nahor, father of Rebekah Ge 22:22,23; 24:15,24; 25:20; 28:2,5
חָרְמָה (Chormah) refers to a town in ancient Canaan, associated with the tribe of Simeon. It is described as a royal city and is linked to the concept of devotion. The town was conquered by Joshua and is also identified with another name, Zephath. The word is derived from a root meaning 'devoted'.
חָרְמָה n.pr.loc. (asylum)—a royal city of Canaanites, in the South, in tribe of Simeon
base
H2767 חָרְמָה (asylum)—a royal city of Canaanites, in the South, in tribe of Simeon
2767 Chormah khor-maw'
from 2763; devoted; Chormah, a place in Palestine:--Hormah.
see HEBREW for 02763
חׇרְמָה (chor.mah) — Hormah.
Hormah = "devotion"
a town of the Canaanites, conquered by Joshua, allotted to Judah, and located in the south of Judah
Another name of tse.phat (צְפַ֑ת "Zephath" H6857)
Conj | Prep | N-proper — Conjunction · preposition · noun properHC/R/Npl
hor'-ma (chormah): A city first mentioned in connection with the defeat of the Israelites by the Amalekites and the Canaanites, when, after the ten spies who brought an evil report of the land had died of plague, the people persisted, against the will of Moses, in going "up unto the place which Yahweh hath promised" (Nu 14:45; De 1:44). after the injury done them by the king of Arad, Israel took the city, utterly destroyed it, and called it Hormah, i,e. "accursed" (Nu 21:3). To this event probably the reference is in Jud 1:17; where Judah and Simeon are credited with the work. In Jos 12:14 it is named between Geder and…
Hormah
Banning; i.e., placing under a “ban,” or devoting to utter destruction. After the manifestation of God’s anger against the Israelites, on account of their rebellion and their murmurings when the spies returned to the camp at Kadesh, in the wilderness of Paran, with an evil report of the land, they quickly repented of their conduct, and presumed to go up “to the head of the mountain,” seeking to enter the Promised Land, but without the presence of the Lord, without the ark of the convenant, and without Moses. The Amalekites and the Canaanites came down and “smote and discomfited them even unto Hormah” (Num. 14:45). This place, or perhaps the watch-tower commanding it, was originally called Zephath (Judg. 1:17), the modern Sebaiteh. Afterwards (
(a place laid waste), or ZEPHATH, (Judges 1:17) was the chief town of a king of a Canaanitish tribe on the south of Palestine, which was reduced by Joshua, and became a city of the territory of Judah, (Joshua 15:30; 1 Samuel 30:30) but apparently belonged to Simeon. (1 Chronicles 4:30)
Destruction, Nu 21:1-3; also called Zephath; a city in the extreme south of Canaan, near which the rebellious Hebrews were defeated, in the second year after leaving Egypt, Nu 14:45; it was afterwards laid waste, Jud 1:16,17. The Simeonites repeopled it, Jos 19:4, and David sent them some of his spoils taken from the Amalekites, 1Sa 30:30.
צִקְלַג (tsiq.lag) refers to Ziklag, a town in southern Judah, later assigned to Simeon. It is noted in the context of David's life, particularly as a city given to him by King Achish of Gath, where he resided with his warriors. The name is thought to mean "winding."
צִקְלַג and (צִיק׳) n.pr.loc. assigned to Judah, to Simeon; Philistine city given to David
base
H6860 צִקְלַג
6860 Tsiqlag tsik-lag'
or Tsiyqlag (1 Chronicles 12:1,20) {tsee-kel-ag'}; of
uncertain derivation: Tsiklag or Tsikelag, a place in
Palestine:--Ziklag.
see HEBREW for 020
צִקְלַג (tsiq.lag) — Ziklag.
§ Ziklag = "winding"
a town in the south of Judah, later allotted to Simeon; noted for its having been the city of David given to him by king Achish of Gath and his residence when he was joined by many of his mighty warriors and when he received word of the death of Saul
Conj | Prep | N-proper — Conjunction · preposition · noun properHC/R/Npl
zik'-lag (tsiqelagh, tsiqelagh (2Sa 1:1), tsiqelagh (1Ch 12:1,20); usually in the Septuagint Sekelak, or Sikelag): A town assigned (Jos 19:5; 1Ch 4:30) to Simeon, but in Jos 15:31 named, between Hornah and Madmannah, as one of the cities of the Negeb of Judah, "toward the border of Edom." It is said (1Sa 27:6) to have remained a royal city. In Ne 11:28 it is in the list of towns reinhabited by the returning children of Judah. Its chief associations are with David. Achish the Philistine king of Gath gave it to David…
Ziklag
A town in the Negeb, or south country of Judah (Josh. 15:31), in the possession of the Philistines when David fled to Gath from Ziph with all his followers. Achish, the king, assigned him Ziklag as his place of residence. There he dwelt for over a year and four months. From this time it pertained to the kings of Judah (1 Sam. 27:6). During his absence with his army to join the Philistine expedition against the Israelites (29:11), it was destroyed by the Amalekites (30:1, 2), whom David, however, pursued and utterly routed, returning all the captives (1 Sam. 30:26-31). Two days after his return from this expedition, David received tidings of the disastrous battle of Gilboa and of the death of Saul (
(winding), a place which possesses a special interest from its having been the residence and the private property of David. It is first mentioned in the catalogue of the towns of Judah in (Joshua 15:31) and occurs, in the same connection among the places which were allotted out of the territory of Judah to Simeon. (Joshua 19:5) We next encounter it in the possession of the Philistines (1 Samuel 27:6) when it was, at David’s request, bestowed upon him by Achish king of Gath. He resided there for a year and four months. (1 Samuel 27:6,7; 30:14,26; 1 Chronicles 12:1,20) It was there he received the news of Saul’s death. (
A city of Judah and Simeon, on the borders of the Philistines, Jos 15:31; 19:5, who held it until the time of Saul, when Achish king of Gath gave it to David. Hither many other refugees from Judah resorted, and David was thus enabled to aid Achish, and to chastise the Amalekites who had sacked Ziklag during his absence, 1Sa 27:1- 6; 30:1-31; Ne 11:28.