1 Chronicles 4:28 Meaning and Explanation
“And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Where a people lives says a great deal about them. After several verses of fathers and sons, the record shifts to ground: three towns in the dry south, the first of which carries some of the oldest memories in Israel. The change of subject is worth noticing, because inheritance in the Old Testament is measured in land as much as in lineage.
Simeon's record turns from ancestry to address. The tribe's settlements are listed beginning with Beersheba, the well town at Israel's southern edge, along with Moladah and Hazarshual nearby.
The Context of 1 Chronicles 4:28
Verse 27 has just finished the genealogical section of Simeon's record with a comment on family size. Verse 28 opens the list of places, and it runs through verse 33, ending with the note that these were their habitations and their genealogy. Verse 31 adds an important time stamp, saying these were their cities unto the reign of David. The towns named here appear in almost the same order in Joshua 19, where Simeon received its inheritance within the territory already allotted to Judah.
What Does 1 Chronicles 4:28 Mean?
Three towns and one verb make up the line. They dwelt, and then the names arrive. Beersheba heads the list, a name that joins the Hebrew word for a well to a word that can mean seven or an oath, matching the account in Genesis where Abraham dug a well and swore a covenant with Abimelech at that spot. Moladah follows, then Hazarshual, whose first element marks an enclosure or settled village and whose second has long been connected with the fox or jackal. These are dry-country places, built where water could be found and flocks could be kept. The list reads like a survey of small towns strung across the southern desert.
Beersheba anchors more of Israel's memory than its size suggests. Isaac met the LORD there and built an altar and dug a well. Jacob stopped there on his way down to Egypt and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, and God spoke to him in the visions of the night. Later writers use the town to mark the southern limit of the whole land in the familiar phrase from Dan to Beersheba. So when the Chronicler says Simeon dwelt at Beersheba, he places a small and dwindling tribe on ground soaked in promise. Their address was itself a piece of testimony.
Scripture treats the placing of peoples as God's work. Paul told the men of Athens that God made every nation and appointed the times and the boundaries of their dwelling. A verse listing three small towns is one instance of that larger claim. The families of Simeon lived where they lived because the God of Abraham had given the land and assigned the portions. Later, when Israel was carried away, the loss of these addresses cut deep, and the promise of return spoke of dwelling again in safety. The hope Scripture finally holds out is a place prepared, a city with foundations, and a people at home with God.
1 Chronicles 4:28 in the Original Language
yashab (יָשַׁב), 'dwelt' -- a Hebrew verb for sitting down and staying, used of settling in a place and making a home there. It describes established residence rather than a temporary camp, which fits a list of towns held for generations.
Bible Verses Related to 1 Chronicles 4:28
“And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, and Sheba, and Moladah,”
- Joshua 19:2
“Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them.”
- Genesis 21:31
“And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac.”
- Genesis 46:1
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”
- Acts 17:26
Where 1 Chronicles 4:28 Echoes in Scripture
Genesis 21:31 explains that the place was called Beersheba because Abraham and Abimelech swore an oath there, and verse 33 adds that Abraham planted a grove and called on the name of the everlasting God. Centuries later the families of Simeon were living in that town, drawing water from the same country, standing where the covenant with Abraham had been publicly confirmed. The Chronicler's plain sentence sits on top of one of the oldest scenes in Israel's memory.
How to Apply 1 Chronicles 4:28 Today
Places shape faith. The house we live in, the street we walk, the room where we pray: these hold memories that steady us later. Simeon's people lived in towns their ancestors had received as a gift, and the names alone reminded them where they came from. We can treat our own addresses with that seriousness, marking the places where God has met us and telling our children about them. We can also hold them lightly. Verse 31 notes that these were their cities only unto the reign of David, a quiet reminder that even a given place is held for a season.
Reflection & Prayer
What place has God used to meet me, and how could I mark it so I remember? Lord of the wells and the wide country, thank you for giving people somewhere to live and something to remember. Settle me where you want me. Loosen my grip when it is time to move. Wherever I dwell, let it be a house where your name is spoken with love. Amen.