Discuss the Book -- Jabez: Conceived in Pain, Delivered in Victory

On 05/22/2009, a reader named Vicki Carpenter left the following comment on the book's page on podiobooks:

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I found this book easy to listen to but I regret that I could not find Jabez in the genealogy of David. The end of the book left the impression that he was David's greatgrand father. I went to Matthew to find the genealogy of David and there is no mention there of Jabez. If you can give me scripture to the contrary I would sure appreciate it. I understand that the author can use creative licence in writing a book. But I do not think the writer should change known facts. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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This is a great question. I answered Vicki's question, but unfortunately, the formatting on the podiobooks comment page doesn't understand paragraphs. Therefore, I am putting my answer below:

Vicki,

Thank you for your question. It gets to the heart of why I wrote the story.

The only thing in the Bible about Jabez is found in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. In the middle of the recitation of the tribe of Judah -- in the middle of whole passages of "B was the son of A, and had 3 sons ... C, D, and E", there is suddenly a small snippet of something completely different: a very short description of Jabez, who prayed a particular prayer.

The 2 verses about Jabez are remarkable because they are so out-of-context with the rest of the chapter. It is because these verses appear to be so out-of-context that I felt free to use the creative license that I did.

First, I believe the prayer that Jabez prayed is mentioned where it is because of its historical -- and not just its spiritual -- significance. Several translations of 1 Chronicles 4:9 refer to Jabez as "the man who prayed ...". This implies that the prayer that he prayed was known to the Chronicler's audience.

Second, Jabez's father is not mentioned within the same passage. I have interpreted this to mean that his father was omitted from the chronicles of the tribe of Judah on purpose, which I handled using the injury. Ordinarily, this would have meant that his line of descendants would not be mentioned. However, I believe Jabez is mentioned due to (A) who Jabez was and who he had influenced, (B) the historical significance of Jabez's prayer, and (C) the revelation in my story that Jabez's father was not as deformed as first thought.

Third, Jabez's descendants are not mentioned in 1 Chronicles. I have interpreted this to mean that he did not have any male children, or at least, none that survived childhood. Thus, in my story, Jabez does not have any male descendants that would have warranted mention in 1 Chronicles. Therefore, all interaction that Jabez has with his descendants has to take place in a line that comes from his daughter.

Fourth, there is no mention in the Bible of the name of David's mother, allowing for the possibility that Jabez was David's maternal great-grandfather. (You will note that I did not give her a name in the last chapters of the story.) Genealogies in most cultures follow the paternal line, rather than the maternal, and the genealogy of David as listed in Matthew is no different. So, even if we had definitive proof that Jabez was, in fact, David's maternal great-grandfather, he still would not be listed in Matthew.

Thus, I did not change known facts. I simply supplied a plausible explanation for why the Prayer of Jabez is in the Bible besides its spiritual application, and in so doing, showed the source of influence on David's life and the inspiration for many of David's actions.

So, what we get down to is a story that cannot be proven one way or another, which I believe is what good fiction should be. I did my best to stay true within the boundaries of known history, and have tried to give a voice to those areas of history that are silent.

bob

Bob,

I am a pastor preparing to preach on 1 Chronicles 4:9-10. In addition to researching the passage and reading through the commentaries, I am of course using Bruce Wilkinson's book on Jabez as a point of reference. In my investigation I came across your book on Jabez and have listened to sections via podcast. Your suppositions and suggestions to interpreting the biblical text are interesting, if not supportable. In looking over your webpage, I note that you are the son of missionary parents, but you make no mention of your own faith or your church involvement. Would you mind sharing a little of that, as well as stating your reason for approaching biblical stories in the manner that you do? Many thanks.

Hi, Megbec ... Thank you for your comment.

I am a born-again Christian who grew up in a Holiness-based denomination. I currently attend a church that is not in that same denomination, but for a host of reasons that are not really germane to this discussion. Suffice it to say that I am much more interested in having a true relationship with God, than in strictly following a religious dogma established by man.

I am involved in one of the "behind-the-scenes" ministry at this church. Specifically, I am on the rotation to run the computer for church services, and have also been one of those who has provided cultural insight and awareness to the Worship Team. In various churches over the past 25 years, I have sung in the choir, run sound systems, taught Sunday School, served as Missions Education chairman, youth leader, janitor, board member, and lawn-cutter. I have been called upon to preach a number of times.

When I wrote the Jabez book, there were a couple of things that were driving me.

First and foremost, I believe God gave me the story. I can tell you with certainty that I woke in the dead of the night with a clear and burning mission: Tell The Story of Jabez! I literally felt like I was being compelled to write it.

Secondly, I did not want the book to seem "fake". Too many Christian writers seem to write about people that don't seem real, or who discuss situations that are fairly mundane. It is almost as if real life doesn't happen in those worlds. I wanted to discuss a man's journey toward a relationship with God in the context of serious issues. It is easy to follow God when everything is going well; the real question is whether a person can follow God when everything is going downhill.

In that same vein, the people in the Bible were very real people, but too often, we tend to gloss over some of their characteristics. Take David, for instance ... a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). He was a man mightily favored by God in many ways, including being one of the main figures in the line of Jesus. Yet, David sinned with Bathsheba, had his best friend assassinated, caused the deaths of several thousand of his countrymen by treating the Ark of the Covenant with disrespect, alienated his family to the point his own son tried to kill him, and other acts. Yet, he was a man "after God's own heart", because he was willing to acknowledge his sin and to continue seeking after God for forgiveness.

So. The Bible has real people in it, and I thought it would be a refreshing change to have a Biblically-based book that could be read by Christians and non-Christians, alike.

I don't know if this is the type of stuff you are looking for, or not. It seems like you might be asking questions that may not be easily answered in a blog commenting arena. You can certainly send me an email, if you would like.

I am a little curious about your statement about my suppositions and interpretations not being supportable. Any in particular? We can discuss them in private. (If you send me an email to "bob at bobrench dot com", please put the word "Jabez" in the Subject line so I can track it. I get a huge amount of spam at that email address, so it is really easy to miss the good stuff.)

Thanks again for your comments. I look forward to hearing from you. I apologize it took me so long to get back to you, and will try to be more timely in my responses.

bobr