This verse highlights Jabez as a man whose life started with sorrow but was marked by honor.
Jabez appears in the midst of a lengthy genealogy, yet the scripture halts its rapid naming of tribal lines to pause on this man’s story. In the pages of 1 Chronicles—compiled after the Jewish exile and intended to remind Israel of their identity (1 Chronicles 9:1)—we read that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’” (v.9). This verse underscores that Jabez stood out in character, even though his very name pointed to sorrow. His mother gave him the name tied to her physical or emotional struggle, revealing the reality of hardship but also hinting at the potential for hope amidst suffering.
The fact that scripture calls him “more honorable” demonstrates that, regardless of his painful beginnings, Jabez evidently lived in a way that merited respect. Placed in the broad genealogical list of Judah, the brief mention of Jabez disrupts the routine pattern of names, favoring a brief story that implies transformation: what might begin in disappointment can give way to blessing if the individual walks in a manner pleasing to God. Although not much else is said about Jabez’s life in this passage, this simple statement about his birth and his inherent honor speaks volumes about how a life can transcend its circumstances.
The Chronicler, in compiling Israel’s ancestral record, highlighted Jabez to remind exiles and future generations that God can work in and through human pain. Whether it be the physical trials of childbirth or the spiritual wounding of an entire nation carried into Babylon, the Lord can bring honor from hardship and grace from grief.
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1 Chronicles 4:9 meaning
Jabez appears in the midst of a lengthy genealogy, yet the scripture halts its rapid naming of tribal lines to pause on this man’s story. In the pages of 1 Chronicles—compiled after the Jewish exile and intended to remind Israel of their identity (1 Chronicles 9:1)—we read that “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain.’” (v.9). This verse underscores that Jabez stood out in character, even though his very name pointed to sorrow. His mother gave him the name tied to her physical or emotional struggle, revealing the reality of hardship but also hinting at the potential for hope amidst suffering.
The fact that scripture calls him “more honorable” demonstrates that, regardless of his painful beginnings, Jabez evidently lived in a way that merited respect. Placed in the broad genealogical list of Judah, the brief mention of Jabez disrupts the routine pattern of names, favoring a brief story that implies transformation: what might begin in disappointment can give way to blessing if the individual walks in a manner pleasing to God. Although not much else is said about Jabez’s life in this passage, this simple statement about his birth and his inherent honor speaks volumes about how a life can transcend its circumstances.
The Chronicler, in compiling Israel’s ancestral record, highlighted Jabez to remind exiles and future generations that God can work in and through human pain. Whether it be the physical trials of childbirth or the spiritual wounding of an entire nation carried into Babylon, the Lord can bring honor from hardship and grace from grief.