1 Chronicles 7

American Standard Version (1901) (ASV) · English

1 And of the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2 And the sons of Tola: Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers’ houses, to wit, of Tola; mighty men of valor in their generations: their number in the days of David was two and twenty thousand and six hundred. 3 And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Isshiah, five; all of them chief men. 4 And with them, by their generations, after their fathers’ houses, were bands of the host for war, six and thirty thousand; for they had many wives and sons. 5 And their brethren among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valor, reckoned in all by genealogy, were fourscore and seven thousand. 6 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 And the sons of Bela: Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor; and they were reckoned by genealogy twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. 8 And the sons of Becher: Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jeremoth, and Abijah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9 And they were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand and two hundred. 10 And the sons of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, seventeen thousand and two hundred, that were able to go forth in the host for war. 12 Shuppim also, and Huppim, the sons of Ir, Hushim, the sons of Aher. 13 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. 14 The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bare; she bare Machir the father of Gilead. 15 And Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maacah; and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. 16 And Maacah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishhod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. 20 And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son, 21 and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in the land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 23 And he went in to his wife, and she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. 24 And his daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth-horon the nether and the upper, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25 And Rephah was his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun his son, Joshua his son. 28 And their possessions and habitations were Beth-el and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Azzah and the towns thereof; 29 and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel. 30 The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. 31 And the sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. 32 And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 33 And the sons of Japhlet: Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. 34 And the sons of Shemer: Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 And the sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, 37 Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 38 And the sons of Jether: Jephunneh, and Pispa, and Ara. 39 And the sons of Ulla: Arah, and Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. And the number of them reckoned by genealogy for service in war was twenty and six thousand men.

Commentary — not Bible text

1 Chronicles 7:2

Verse 2

Whose number was in the days of David - Whether this was the number returned by Joab and his assistants, when they made that census of the people with which God was so much displeased, we know not. It is worthy of remark that we read here the sum of three tribes, Benjamin, Issachar, and Asher, under the reign of David, which is mentioned nowhere else; and yet we have no account here of the other tribes, probably because the author found no public registers in which such enumeration was recorded.

1 Chronicles 7:3-5

Verse 3

The sons of Izrahiah - five - There are, however, only four names in the text. Instead of five, the Syriac and Arabic read four. If five be the true reading, then Izrahiah must be reckoned with his four sons.

1 Chronicles 7:6-20

Verse 6

The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher and Jediael - In Gen 46:21, ten sons of Benjamin are reckoned; viz., Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Eri, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. In Num 26:38, etc., five sons only of Benjamin are mentioned, Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shupham, and Hupham: and Ard and Naaman are there said to be the sons of Bela; consequently grandsons of Benjamin. In the beginning of the following chapter, five sons of Benjamin are mentioned, viz., Bela, Ashbel, Aharah, Nohah, and Rapha; where also Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, a second Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram, are all represented as grandsons, not sons, of Benjamin: hence we see that in many cases grandsons are called sons, and both are often confounded in the genealogical tables. To attempt to reconcile such discrepancies would be a task as endless as it would be useless. The rabbins say that Ezra, who wrote this book, did not know whether some of these were sons or grandsons; and they intimate also that the tables from which he copied were often defective, and here we must leave all such matters.

1 Chronicles 7:21-23

Verse 21

Whom the men of Gath - slew - We know nothing of this circumstance but what is related here. The Targum paraphrases the whole thus: "These were the leaders of the house of Ephraim; and they computed their period [or boundary, כיצא kitsa] from the time in which the Word of the Lord of the universe spake with Abraham between the divisions, [i.e., the separated parts of the covenant sacrifice; see Gen 15:9-21], but they erred, for they should have counted from the time in which Isaac was born; they went out of Egypt therefore thirty years before the period: for, thirty years before the birth of Isaac the Word of the Lord of the universe spake with Abraham between the divisions. And when they went out of Egypt, there were with them two hundred thousand warriors of the tribe of Ephraim, whom the men of Gath, the natives of the land of the Philistines, slew, because they came down that they might carry away their cattle. 22. - And Ephraim their father mourned for them many days, and all his brethren came to comfort him. 23. - And he went in to his wife, and she conceived and bare a son, and called his name Beriah, (בריעה in evil), because he was born in the time in which this evil happened to his house.

1 Chronicles 7:24-31

Verse 24

His daughter was Sherah - That is, remnant; "called so," says the Targum, "because she was the remnant that escaped from the slaughter mentioned above."

1 Chronicles 7:32-39

Verse 32

And Shua their sister - It is very rarely that women are found in the Jewish genealogies, and they are never inserted but for especial reasons.

1 Chronicles 7:40

Verse 40

The children of Asher - The rabbins say that the daughters of Asher were very beautiful, and were all matched with kings or priests. Several things relative to the subjects in this chapter may be found explained in the parallel places marked in the margin.

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