Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Chronicles 4:31 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 31. 31And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David.
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 at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Simeon's line and settlements stand beside Judah.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 4:24–33
Read 1 Chronicles 4:31 with 4:24–33. 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: Simeon's descendants, family size, cities, villages, and genealogy are recorded through the reign of David.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Simeon's line and settlements stand beside Judah,” 1 Chronicles 4:31 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The shift from Judah to Simeon preserves another tribe whose settlements overlap the southern landscape. 1 Chronicles 4:11–23 has just established this prior movement: The list links Kenazites, craftsmen, Caleb's sons, Bithiah daughter of Pharaoh, fine-linen workers, potters, and royal workers to families and places. Together those details explain why “Simeon's line and settlements stand beside Judah” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 4:24–33 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 4:24–33 forms the complete movement “Simeon's line and settlements stand beside Judah”: Simeon's descendants, family size, cities, villages, and genealogy are recorded through the reign of David.
Verse 24. 24 The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:
Verse 25. 25 Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.
Verse 26. 26 And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son.
Verse 27. 27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.
Verse 28. 28 And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual,
Verse 29. 29 And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,
Verse 30. 30 And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,
Verse 31. 31 And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David.
Verse 32. 32 And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:
Verse 33. 33 And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.
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: Simeon's descendants, family size, cities, villages, and genealogy are recorded through the reign of David. In 1 Chronicles 4:31, the concrete line “And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign….” 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: Simeon's descendants, family size, cities, villages, and genealogy are recorded through the reign of David.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 4:24–33 — Simeon's line and settlements stand beside JudahSources 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 4:24–33, 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 4:24–33
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 4:24–33, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗