Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Chronicles 1:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence: “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah.” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Shem's branches reach Eber and Joktan.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 1:17–23
Read 1 Chronicles 1:20 with 1:17–23. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: Shem's descendants branch through Arphaxad and Eber, with Peleg and Joktan's sons named.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Shem's branches reach Eber and Joktan,” 1 Chronicles 1:20 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah.” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: This branch prepares the focused line from Shem to Abraham while retaining collateral peoples inside the genealogy. 1 Chronicles 1:5–16 has just established this prior movement: The list names peoples traced through Japheth and Ham, including brief notices about Nimrod and the Philistines. Together those details explain why “Shem's branches reach Eber and Joktan” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 1:17–23 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 1:17–23 forms the complete movement “Shem's branches reach Eber and Joktan”: Shem's descendants branch through Arphaxad and Eber, with Peleg and Joktan's sons named.
Verse 17. 17 The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.
Verse 18. 18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber.
Verse 19. 19 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother’s name was Joktan.
Verse 20. 20 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
Verse 21. 21 Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah,
Verse 22. 22 And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
Verse 23. 23 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
What Remains True
Communal memory must preserve real people, households, disruptions, and belonging without turning ancestry into superiority, spiritual rank, or entitlement. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Shem's descendants branch through Arphaxad and Eber, with Peleg and Joktan's sons named. In 1 Chronicles 1:20, the concrete line “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah.” When a community tells its story, document people accurately, notice women and outsiders as persons, state gaps honestly, and reject ancestry tests for dignity, faith, citizenship, land, or leadership. This response follows from the unit's own movement: Shem's descendants branch through Arphaxad and Eber, with Peleg and Joktan's sons named.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 1:17–23 — Shem's branches reach Eber and JoktanSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 1:17–23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 1:17–23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 1:17–23, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗