What Does 1 Chronicles 4:15 Mean?
And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh were Iru, Elah, and Naam, and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.THE KEY
The Hebrew word for “sons” is linked to “building,” so this genealogy pictures a family line taking shape through named lives.
THE MEANING
Belonging takes shape through specific relationships: Kenaz is named within Elah’s branch of Caleb’s line. You see continuity built through particular lives, with each name occupying a place in the whole.
THE ROOT
בְּנֵי
bənê
GROWS FROM
בנה
to build; to build up
The Hebrew word for “sons” is traditionally linked with בנה (bānāh), “to build.” The family line can be heard as something built through named generations, with Kenaz placed specifically within Elah’s branch.
ALSO GROWS
bānāh: To build or establish.
בָּנָה
This is the root linked with the word for “sons,” giving the genealogy a sense of a family taking shape.
ʾevneh: A form of בנה, used in Genesis 16:2.
אָבְנֶה
Where the KJV reads “obtain children,” the Hebrew phrase uses this build-language, making the family connection explicit.
נַעַם
Naʿam
GROWS FROM
נעם
to be pleasant; to delight
Naam’s name carries the sense of pleasantness or delight. The same root appears in words translated “beauty” and “pleasant,” so this name holds a quality within the family list.
ALSO GROWS
noʿam: Pleasantness or delight; rendered “beauty” in Psalm 27:4.
נֹעַם
The name Naam shares this root, linking it with the delight described in that verse.
naʿim: Pleasant or agreeable; used in Psalm 133:1.
נָעִים
This form makes the root’s quality explicit: the name Naam carries the sense of what is pleasing.
THE PATTERN
A lineage becomes visible through names that place each person in relation to the generations around them.
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and brought forth a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth.And the women who were her neighbors called out a name for him, saying, A son is born to Naomi, and they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.Abraham brought forth Isaac, and Isaac brought forth Jacob, and Jacob brought forth Judah and his brothers.THE THREAD
And Sarai said to Abram, Behold, the LORD has held me shut from bearing. Go in, I pray you, to my handmaid. Perhaps I may be built through her. And Abram heard and responded to the voice of Sarai.Genesis 16:2 uses אָבְנֶה (ʾevneh, “I may be built up”), a form of בנה (bānāh, “build”), where the KJV reads “obtain children.” The same root is traditionally linked with “sons” here, revealing descent as a family built across generations.
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