1 Chronicles 4:10

Context

Chapters 1–9 of 1 Chronicles consist of genealogies extending from Adam to the period after the Babylonian exile, and chapter 4 traces the descendants of Judah. In verses 9–10, the genealogy, which until that point has been a list of names, pauses briefly to introduce a man named Jabez. According to verse 9, "Jabez was more honourable than his brethren." His mother named him Jabez, "saying, Because I bare him with sorrow." The Hebrew name Jabez is commonly explained as sounding similar to a word meaning "pain." Verse 10 is a brief record of the prayer Jabez offered to the God of Israel and of God's granting of that prayer. The prevailing view is that Chronicles was written for the community that existed after the return from exile.

Interpretation

• A reading based on the contrast between name and prayer: Many commentators note that a man whose name is associated with "pain" prayed to be kept from grief. They read the verse as the story of a disadvantage of birth reversed through prayer to God.
• A reading within the theology of Chronicles: Chronicles repeatedly depicts those who cry out to God being answered (e.g., 1 Chronicles 5:20). Within this pattern, the prayer of Jabez is one example of the theme that God answers those who rely on Him. In this reading, the "coast" (the boundaries of the land) refers to the land of inheritance held by the tribe of Judah.
• A reading as a model for personal prayer: Bruce Wilkinson's The Prayer of Jabez (2000) presented the verse as a prayer to be offered daily. He broadened the meaning of "coast" (territory) to include the scope of one's influence and ministry. The book became a bestseller in the United States and was also translated into Korean and widely read.

Debates and Issues

• Translation issues: The Hebrew of the opening clause is an emphatic construction that repeats the same verb. The Korean Revised Version renders it "add blessing upon blessing," whereas the New Korean Revised Version renders it as a conditional, "if you would bless me," so the same verse carries a different nuance depending on the translation.
• Criticism of its application: Some evangelical theologians and pastors argue that the verse, when detached from its context, is used as a formula for obtaining blessing through the repetition of a fixed phrase. They regard such an application as resembling prosperity theology. In their view, the record of one individual in a genealogy is descriptive, not a promise given to every believer. Those who use the verse as a model for prayer respond that asking God for blessing is itself biblical and that the point lies in an attitude of dependence on God.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "enlarge my territory" is frequently used in representative prayers and sermons in Korean churches. The verse is reportedly a favorite sermon text for the first Sunday of the new year, New Year's Eve watch-night services, special early-morning prayer meetings, and sermons preached ahead of building a church or planting a new congregation.

Related Passages

• 1 Chronicles 4:9
• 2 Chronicles 7:13-22
• James 4:2-3
• 1 John 5:14-15