And Penuel the father of Gedor,.... The prince of that place, according to some, and the same with Hareph, 1 Chronicles 2:51,

and Ezer the father of Hushah: thought to be the same with Shuah, 1 Chronicles 4:11,

these are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah: Caleb's wife, 1 Chronicles 2:19 the Targum adds, the same with Miriam; and so other Jewish writers (x) say, Miriam had two names, and one was Ephratah; though Josephus makes (y) Hur to be her husband, and not her son, as here:

who was the father of Bethlehem; of the inhabitants of that city, at least part of them, or prince of that place, as his grandson Salma also was, 1 Chronicles 2:51.

(x) Shemot Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 90. 4. Yalkut in 1 Chron. 19. (y) Antiqu. l. 3. c. 2.

Penuel, in Genesis 32:31., Judges 8:8, name of a place in the East-Jordan land, as here, and in Judges 8:25 the name of a man. Gedor is, we may suppose, the town of that name in the mountains of Judah, which is still to be found in the ruin Jedur (see on Joshua 15:58). Penuel is here called father of Bedor, while in 1 Chronicles 4:18 one Jered is so called, whence we must conclude that the inhabitants of Gedor were descended from both. Ezer (Help) occurs in 1 Chronicles 7:21; 1 Chronicles 12:9; Nehemiah 3:19, of other men; father of Hushah, i.e., according to the analogy of Abi-Gedor, also the name of a place not elsewhere mentioned, where the hero Sibbecai had his birth, 1 Chronicles 11:29; 2 Samuel 23:27. Those thus named in 1 Chronicles 4:3 and 1 Chronicles 4:4 are sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah (1 Chronicles 2:19), the father of Bethlehem. The inhabitants of Bethlehem then, according to this, were descended from Hur through his son Salma, who is called in 1 Chronicles 2:51 father of Bethlehem. The circumstance, too, that in our 1 Chronicles 4:3, 1 Chronicles 4:4 other names of persons are enumerated as descendants of Hur than those given in 1 Chronicles 2:50-55 gives rise to no discrepancy, for there is no ground for the supposition that in 1 Chronicles 2:50-55 all the descendants of Hur have been mentioned.

And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the {b} firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem.

(b) The first born of his mother, and not the eldest of his father.

4:1-43 Genealogies. - In this chapter we have a further account of Judah, the most numerous and most famous of all the tribes; also an account of Simeon. The most remarkable person in this chapter is Jabez. We are not told upon what account Jabez was more honourable than his brethren; but we find that he was a praying man. The way to be truly great, is to seek to do God's will, and to pray earnestly. Here is the prayer he made. Jabez prayed to the living and true God, who alone can hear and answer prayer; and, in prayer he regarded him as a God in covenant with his people. He does not express his promise, but leaves it to be understood; he was afraid to promise in his own strength, and resolved to devote himself entirely to God. Lord, if thou wilt bless me and keep me, do what thou wilt with me; I will be at thy command and disposal for ever. As the text reads it, this was the language of a most ardent and affectionate desire, Oh that thou wouldest bless me! Four things Jabez prayed for. 1. That God would bless him indeed. Spiritual blessings are the best blessings: God's blessings are real things, and produce real effects. 2. That He would enlarge his coast. That God would enlarge our hearts, and so enlarge our portion in himself, and in the heavenly Canaan, ought to be our desire and prayer. 3. That God's hand might be with him. God's hand with us, to lead us, protect us, strengthen us, and to work all our works in us and for us, is a hand all-sufficient for us. 4. That he would keep him from evil, the evil of sin, the evil of trouble, all the evil designs of his enemies, that they might not hurt, nor make him a Jabez indeed, a man of sorrow. God granted that which he requested. God is ever ready to hear prayer: his ear is not now heavy.