Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Chronicles 2:54 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 54. 54The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites.
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: “The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Calebite clans end with towns, crafts, and scribes.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 2:42–55
Read 1 Chronicles 2:54 with 2:42–55. 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: Calebite branches are associated with Hebron, Beth-zur, concubines, Achsah, Bethlehem, villages, and Kenite scribal families at Jabez.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Calebite clans end with towns, crafts, and scribes,” 1 Chronicles 2:54 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: Judah's genealogy closes by mapping households to settlements and specialized work before returning to David's dynasty. 1 Chronicles 2:25–41 has just established this prior movement: Jerahmeel's households include childless deaths and Sheshan's daughter marrying Jarha, an Egyptian servant, whose descendants continue for generations. Together those details explain why “Calebite clans end with towns, crafts, and scribes” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 2:42–55 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 2:42–55 forms the complete movement “Calebite clans end with towns, crafts, and scribes”: Calebite branches are associated with Hebron, Beth-zur, concubines, Achsah, Bethlehem, villages, and Kenite scribal families at Jabez.
Verse 42. 42 Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his firstborn, which was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.
Verse 43. 43 And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema.
Verse 44. 44 And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai.
Verse 45. 45 And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Beth-zur.
Verse 46. 46 And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez.
Verse 47. 47 And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph.
Verse 48. 48 Maachah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Sheber, and Tirhanah.
Verse 49. 49 She bare also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah.
Verse 50. 50 These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim,
Verse 51. 51 Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader.
Verse 52. 52 And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites.
Verse 53. 53 And the families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zareathites, and the Eshtaulites.
Verse 54. 54 The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites, the Zorites.
Verse 55. 55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.
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: Calebite branches are associated with Hebron, Beth-zur, concubines, Achsah, Bethlehem, villages, and Kenite scribal families at Jabez. In 1 Chronicles 2:54, the concrete line “The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Manahethites….” 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: Calebite branches are associated with Hebron, Beth-zur, concubines, Achsah, Bethlehem, villages, and Kenite scribal families at Jabez.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 2:42–55 — Calebite clans end with towns, crafts, and scribesSources 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 2:42–55, 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 2:42–55
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 2:42–55, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗