The sons of Helem his brother: Verse 32 says that Heber’s sons were Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham. Then verse 33 lists the sons of Japhlet, followed by verse 34, which lists the sons of Shomer (or, Shemer). Since Helem here in verse 35 is called the brother of Shomer, it seems probable that the text should read “Hotham” (Good News Translation, New Century Version, Moffatt, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) rather than Helem as in the Masoretic Text (so also Revised Standard Version, New International Version, La Bible du Semeur, La Bible Pléiade, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Braun). La Bible Pléiade and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente have footnotes stating that Helem is probably the same person called Hotham in verse 32.

However, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament notes that while verse 33 ends with the words “these are the sons of Japhlet,” verses 34 and 35 do not end with the words “these are the sons of Shomer” and “these are the sons of Hotham.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament argues that this fact gives support to the spelling of the names in the Masoretic Text, and notes that perhaps Shemer (verse 34) and Helem (verse 35) should not be identified with Shomer and Hotham in verse 32.

The sons of Helem is literally “the son of Helem,” but the sense seems to be that each of the following four persons was a son of Helem (or, Hotham), so Revised Standard Version correctly says sons.

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 .