^2:13Jesse was the father of Eliab, his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third, ^2:14Nethanel fourth, Raddai fifth, ^2:15Ozem sixth, David seventh. ^2:16Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah’s three sons were Abshai,¹² Joab, and Asahel. ^2:17Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.

Caleb’s Descendants

^2:18Caleb son of Hezron fathered sons by his wife Azubah (also known as Jerioth).¹³ Her sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ^2:19When Azubah died, Caleb married¹⁴ Ephrath, who bore him Hur. ^2:20Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri was the father of Bezalel.

^2:21Later¹⁵ Hezron had sexual relations with¹⁶ the daughter of Makir, the father of Gilead. (He had married¹⁷ her when he was sixty years old.) She bore him Segub. ^2:22Segub was the father of Jair, who owned twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. ^2:23(Geshur and Aram captured the towns of Jair,¹⁸ along with Kenath and its sixty surrounding towns.) All these were descendants of Makir, the father of Gilead.

^2:24After Hezron’s death, Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s widow, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.¹⁹

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Footnotes

12 In 2 Sam 2:18 this name appears as “Abishai,” a spelling followed by many English versions here.
13 Heb “and Caleb son of Hezron fathered [children] with Azubah, a wife, and with Jerioth.” Jerioth could be viewed as a second wife (so ; cf. also , , ), but the following context mentions only “her [presumably Azubah’s] sons.” Another option, the one chosen in the translation, is that Jerioth is another name for Azubah.
14 Heb “took for himself.”
15 This means “later” in relation to the births of the three sons (Jerahmeel, Ram and Caleb) mentioned in v. 9.
16 Heb “Hezron went to.”
17 Heb “he took,” referring to taking in marriage.
18 Or “Havvoth Jair” (, ). Some translations do not translate the phrase (“havvoth” = “the towns of”), but treat it as part of the place name.
19 Heb “And after the death of Hezron in Caleb Ephrathah, and the wife of Hezron, Abijah, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa.” Perhaps one could translate: “After Hezron died in Caleb Ephrathah, Abijah, Hezron’s wife, bore to him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa” (cf. , , ). In this case the text suggests that Abijah was born after his father’s death. Because of the awkward syntax and the odd appearance of “Caleb Ephrathah” as a place name, some prefer to emend the text. Some alter בְּכָלֵב אֶפְרָתָה (békhalev ’efratah, “in Caleb Ephrathah”) to בָּא כָלֵב אֶפְרָתָה (bo’ khalev ’efratah, “Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath”) and then change אֲבִיָּה (’aviyyah, “Abijah”) to אָבִיהוּ (’avihu, “his father”). This results in the following translation: “And after Hezron’s death, Caleb had sexual relations with Ephrath, his father Hezron’s wife, and she bore to him Ashhur the father of Tekoa” (cf. ). This would mean that Caleb’s second wife Ephrath had actually been his late father’s wife (probably Caleb’s stepmother). Perhaps the text was subsequently altered because Caleb’s actions appeared improper in light of the injunctions in Lev 18:8; 20:11; Deut 22:30; 27:20 (which probably refer, however, to a son having sexual relations with his stepmother while his father is still alive).