Shema was the father of Raham, the father of Jorke-am: Since the literal rendering of Revised Standard Version may be confusing or ambiguous, Good News Translation clarifies the relationship between Shema and Jorke-am by using the word “grandfather.” But according to most interpreters, Jorke-am may be the name of a village rather than a person. If so, then the father of Jorke-am may be translated “the founder of the village of Jorkeam” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The Masoretic Text reads Jorke-am as the name of a person (or possibly a settlement), but in Josh 15.56 the Masoretic Text has “Jokdeam” for the name of a city inherited by the tribe of Judah. Therefore some interpreters correct the Hebrew here to read also “Jokdeam.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text here and suggests that the Masoretic Text in Joshua should be corrected to read “Jorkeam.”

And Rekem was the father of Shammai: Good News Translation has added the words “Shema’s brother” to further describe Rekem. This information is based on the previous verse but is added here for the sake of clarity.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .