1:32 The sons to whom Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, 1 gave birth:
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah.
The sons of Jokshan:
Sheba and Dedan.
4:9 Jabez was more respected than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, for she said, “I experienced pain when I gave birth to him.” 2
4:17 The sons of Ezrah:
Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon.
Mered’s wife Bithiah 3 gave birth to Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa.
7:14 The sons of Manasseh:
Asriel, who was born to Manasseh’s Aramean concubine. 4 She also gave birth to Makir the father of Gilead.
7:16 Maacah, Makir’s wife, gave birth to a son, whom she named Peresh. His brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rekem.
1 sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).
2 tn In Hebrew the name יַעְבֵּץ (ya’bets, “Jabez”) sounds like the noun עֹצֶב (’otsev) which means “pain.”
3 tn The Hebrew text has simply, “and she gave birth to,” without identifying the subject. The words “Mered’s wife Bithiah” are added in the translation for clarification. See v. 18b, which mentions “Bethiah, whom Mered married.”
4 sn See the note on the word “concubine” in 1:32.
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ephraim) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “because in tragedy there had come to his house.” The preposition prefixed to רָעָה (ra’ah) should probably be omitted. The Hebrew noun רָעָה (“tragedy”) should be understood as the subject of the feminine verb form that follows.