ⓘThis chapter provides the genealogies of the remaining...
This chapter provides the genealogies of the remaining tribes of Israel.
The sections on the tribes of Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher may come from a military census. These lists are almost the same length, use military terms, record the father's houses, and do not mention settlements.
The tribes of Zebulun and Dan are completely omitted, and Naphtali has only a short record.
1The sons of Issachar:
Tola, Puah,†Jashub, and Shimron—four in all.
2The sons of Tola:
Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their families. In the days of David, 22,600 descendants of Tola were numbered in their genealogies as mighty men of valor.
3The son†of Uzzi:
Izrahiah.
The sons of Izrahiah:
Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. All five of them were chiefs. 4In addition to them, according to their genealogy, they had 36,000 troops for battle, for they had many wives and children.
5Their kinsmen belonging to all the families of Issachar who were mighty men of valor totaled 87,000, as listed in their genealogies.
The Descendants of Benjamin
6The three sons of Benjamin:
Bela, Becher, and Jediael.
7The sons of Bela:
Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, heads of their families—five in all. There were 22,034 mighty men of valor listed in their genealogies.
8The sons of Becher:
Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth; all these were Becher’s sons. 9Their genealogies were recorded according to the heads of their families—20,200 mighty men of valor.
10The son of Jediael:
Bilhan.
The sons of Bilhan:
Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11All these sons of Jediael were heads of their families, mighty men of valor; there were 17,200 fit for battle. 12The Shuppitesand Huppites were descendants of Ir, and the Hushites were descendants of Aher.
The Descendants of Naphtali
13The sons of Naphtali:
Jahziel,†Guni, Jezer, and Shallum —†the descendants of Bilhah.
The Descendants of Manasseh
ⓘThese verses have several issues that suggest the...
These verses have several issues that suggest the Hebrew text might be damaged:
Huppim and Shuppim were earlier listed with Benjamin (1 Chronicles 7:12), not Manasseh.
Those considered Gileadites (1 Chronicles 7:16–17) are vaguely linked to Gilead, whose direct descendants are not listed (compare Numbers 26:30–33).
The sons of Shemida are not connected to the genealogy (1 Chronicles 7:19) Shemida was one of Gilead’s descendants (Numbers 26:32).
14The descendants of Manasseh:
Asrielthrough his Aramean concubine. She also gave birth to Machir the father of Gilead.
15Machir took a wife from among the Huppitesand Shuppites. The name of his sister was Maacah. Another descendant was named Zelophehad, who had only daughters.
16Machir’s wife Maacah gave birth to a son, and she named him Peresh. His brother was named Sheresh, and his sons were Ulamand Rekem.
17The son of Ulam:
Bedan.
These were the sons of Gilead son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18His sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19And these were the sons of Shemida:
Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
The Descendants of Ephraim
ⓘThe genealogy of Ephraim's descendants includes a story...
The genealogy of Ephraim's descendants includes a story about how the tribe settled in Canaan (1 Chronicles 7:21–24). The genealogy concludes with Joshua, son of Nun, who led Israel into the promised land.
20The descendants of Ephraim:
Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son. Ezerand Elead were killed by the natives of Gath, because they went down to steal their livestock.
22Their father Ephraim mourned for many days, and his relatives came to comfort him. 23And again he slept with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. So he named him Beriah,†because tragedy had come upon his house. 24His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lowerand Upper Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sheerah.
25Additionally, Rephah was his son, Resheph his son,†Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27Nun†his son, and Joshua his son.
28Their holdings and settlements included Bethel and its villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages as far as Ayyah†and its villages. 29And along the borders of Manassehwere Beth-shean,†Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, together with their villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.
The Descendants of Asher
30The children of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.
31The sons of Beriah:
Heber, as well as Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
32Heber was the father of Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham, and of their sister Shua.
33The sons of Japhlet:
Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s sons.
40All these were the descendants of Asher—heads of their families, choice and mighty men of valor, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men fit for battle, recorded in their genealogies, was 26,000.
Commentary
1 Chronicles 7:12
The Hebrew text of this verse seems disrupted, likely due to a loss during scribal copying, as there is no introduction for Ir or Hushim. The names Shuppim and Huppim appear in the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8:8, 11; Genesis 46:21; Numbers 26:39). If the Hebrew text is indeed damaged, Hushim might be a descendant of Dan (compare Genesis 46:23; Numbers 26:42).
Commentary
1 Chronicles 7:13
Unlike other genealogies, this list of Naphtali's sons shows only the first generation (see Genesis 46:24; Numbers 26:48–50). The Chronicles manuscript might have been damaged early in its copying, which could explain why Dan and Zebulun are missing. It is also possible that records for Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali were lost when Tiglath-pileser attacked and exiled these tribes during Pekah’s reign (2 Kings 15:29). In that case, the Chronicler had no records to include.
Commentary
1 Chronicles 7:22
Ephraim is recorded as the father of Ezer and Elead. However, Ephraim, the son of Joseph, could not have settled in Canaan after the Exodus. Traditionally, people imagined an early exodus for Ephraim's family. Other possibilities include that the name Ephraim is a scribal error or that Ephraim referred to the tribe, not Joseph's son.