More recap, genealogies from David through the sons of Elioenai. We haven’t heard about that guy so far, the book says that he came after the exile so I guess we haven’t gotten there yet. The narrative kind of jumps around here.
Jabez is mentioned in this section for the first, and I believe only time in the Bible. The prayer of Jabez is a popular thing, spawning a multitude of books on its own. All of this hype is based on a throw-away line in 1 Chronicles chapter 4 about how Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, which, lets not forget, does not mean he was honorable, but merely more honorable than his brothers. He was from one of the other clans of Judah, the ones that weren’t directly related to David. Jabez prayed for his lands to increase and for nothing bad to happen to him.
Revolutionary, I know.
I’m certainly not saying that some parts of the Bible are not important. The prayer of Jabez is a part of the history of God’s interaction with humanity. I feel like this section is well-known for the wrong reasons though. I worry also that it is famous at the expense of other passages that may have a more profound day-to-day influence on our faith. This is getting kind of frustrating honestly. Methuselah, Onan, Jabez. If these guys didn’t have catchy stories attached to them, there is no way they would be better known in our culture than the people of real importance to the narrative of the Bible.
Don't forget about the song! (the prayer of Jabez song)
ReplyDeleteI like how this is filed under "crackpot interpretations", also.