1 Chronicles 7:1-40
1 Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
2 And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred.
3 And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men.
4 And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons.
5 And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies 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 the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four.
8 And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher.
9 And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, was twenty thousand and two hundred.
10 The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar.
11 All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle.
12 Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir,a and 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; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:
15 And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters.
16 And Maachah 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 Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah.
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 Eladah 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 that 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 when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.
24 (And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether, and the upper, and Uzzensherah.)
25 And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son,
26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,
27 Nonb his son, Jehoshua his son.
28 And their possessions and habitations were, Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the townsc thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:
29 And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Bethshean and her towns,d Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.
30 The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister.
31 And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith.
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 Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.
35 And the sons of his brother Helem; 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 Pispah, and Ara.
39 And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia.
40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father's house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men.
CRITICAL NOTES.] 1 Chronicles 7:1.—Issachar. A tribe of more than average strength, since the entire return from all the tribes, except Judah, was no more than 800,000 men (2 Samuel 24:9) [Speak. Com.]. In days of David, 1 Chronicles 7:2, probably from census taken by Joab
(21).
1 Chronicles 7:6.—Benjamin. Ten, Genesis 46:21; five, 1 Chronicles 8:1; three here, most eminent mentioned, or other families extinct. 1 Chronicles 7:7. Bela, list different from ch. 1 Chronicles 8:3 and from Numbers 26:40. “Probably persons mentioned not literally ‘sons,’ but among later descendants of Bela, chief men of family in time of David’s census” [Speak. Com.]. 1 Chronicles 7:10. Jediael, sons may include grandsons. 1 Chronicles 7:12. Three other sons of Benjamin named (cf. Numbers 26:39; Genesis 46:21; and ch. 1 Chronicles 8:5).
1 Chronicles 7:13.—Naphtali (cf. Genesis 46:24; Numbers 26:48). His territory originally included in Judah (Joshua 19:40).
1 Chronicles 7:14.—Manasseh. An intricate and defective passage, appears to refer to western side of Jordan; other side in ch. 1 Chronicles 5:23. 1 Chronicles 7:15. Daughters (cf. account Joshua 17:3; Numbers 26:33). 1 Chronicles 7:16. None of these mentioned elsewhere, unless “Bedan” is the “judge” of 1 Samuel 12:11. 1 Chronicles 7:19 “This paragraph is of peculiar interest as illustrating the freedom and independence with which sons of Israel moved in period before the new king arose that knew not Joseph” [Murphy].
1 Chronicles 7:20.—Ephraim. Difficult to solve the question of chronology and genealogy of this passage. The line of Shuthelah is traced to seventh generation, viz., to another Shuthelah. “Ezer and Elead, perhaps two brothers of the first Shuthelah, i.e., own sons of Ephraim.” Men of Gath, settled inhabitants (contrasted with strangers, nomadic Hebrews, Amalekites, &c.), attacked shepherds of Ephraim, and the conflict produced the usual result. 1 Chronicles 7:23. Beriah, “in evil,” some render “a gift,” to the house by the birth of another son. 1 Chronicles 7:24. Beth-horon (Joshua 10:10; Joshua 16:3; Joshua 18:13). 1 Chronicles 7:25. Two other sons of Ephraim added, Rephah and Resheph, from latter sprang Joshua (Jehovah, Saviour). Elishama, son of Ammihud, prince of Ephraim in time of Exodus (Numbers 1:10; Numbers 2:18). Non, for Nun (Numbers 13:8). 1 Chronicles 7:28. Possessions and boundaries of the two tribes here given.
1 Chronicles 7:30.—Asher. Sons, daughters, and grandsons, given as in Genesis 46:17 and partly Numbers 26:44, if we allow for slight changes of spelling in names.
HOMILETICS
REGISTERED SOLDIERS.—1 Chronicles 7:1
In this chapter a genealogy of those tribes only who were “mighty men of valour.”
I. Issachar, the industrious tribe (1 Chronicles 7:1).
1. Patient in labour. He possessed a fruitful district, willingly submitted to toil and tribute (cf. Genesis 49:14; Joshua 19:17).
2. Great in number (1 Chronicles 7:5).
3. Valiant in war (1 Chronicles 7:5).
II. Benjamin, the warlike tribe (1 Chronicles 7:6). Quick, rapacious, and powerful (Genesis 49:27; cf. Judges 5:14; Judges 20:16). Ehud, Saul, Jonathan. Paul from this tribe.
III. Naphtali, the heroic tribe (1 Chronicles 7:13). Beautiful and active, comparable to the gazelle (2 Samuel 2:18). Remarkable also for culture. “He giveth goodly words,” rich in poetry and speech (Genesis 49:21).
IV. Manasseh, the divided tribe (1 Chronicles 7:14). One half of the tribe on the other side Jordan (ch. 1 Chronicles 5:23). Division, perhaps, according to the fitness of those who composed it at the time. More warlike adapted to coast of Jordan.
V. Ephraim, the exalted tribe (1 Chronicles 7:20). Manasseh the elder, but Jacob gave the preference to Ephraim (Genesis 48:10). Great things declared of this tribe in best days. Here notice—
1. Its bereavement (1 Chronicles 7:21).
2. Its possessions (1 Chronicles 7:28).
3. Its vicissitudes. Its predicted greatness (Genesis 48:19) nipped in the bud. Powerless to protect itself, thrown into grief, humbled, yet comforted and distinguished in its sons (1 Chronicles 7:27).
VI. Asher, the undistinguished tribe (1 Chronicles 7:30). A few “choice and mighty men of valour,” but inferior in numbers, no great record in sacred history furnished no hero or judge to the nation. “One name only shines out of the general obscurity. The aged widow, ‘Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser,’ who, in the very close of the history, departed not from the Temple, ‘but served God with fastings and prayers day and night’ ” [Stanley].
FAMILY SORROW.—1 Chronicles 7:21
I. The cause of the sorrow. Gathites robbed sons of E. of their cattle, and slew them when defending themselves (1 Chronicles 7:21) Life often exposed and lost by wealth; the sword devours; death takes away children. Families bereaved and thrown into grief “Ephraim mourned many days.”
II. The Sympathy in the sorrow. “His brethren came to comfort him.” The affliction of others should excite our own pity and grief. Relatives and intimate friends should ever be ready “to comfort” the bereaved. Hard to bear the burden alone. “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” Most available and tender is the help of one “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”
III. The remembrance of the sorrow. Afflictions may be overcome, but occasions of them never forgotten.
1. Perpetuated in joy. Another son born (1 Chronicles 7:23) in Beriah. Like Seth, another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew
2. Perpetuated in sorrow. “It went evil with his house.” Weeping yet rejoicing; humbled by the stroke, yet grateful for deliverance. God compensates for the loss in human sympathy, heavenly gifts, and perpetual joy. “The Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”
“Shrink not from suffering. Each dear blow
From which the smitten spirit bleeds
Is but a messenger to show
The renovation which it needs.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
1 Chronicles 7:2. Valiant men of might.
1. Times of conflict. Days of war in Israel many. Thank God for peace and advance of civilisation and humanity.
2. Men fitted by God to engage in conflict. “Apt to the war and to battle” (1 Chronicles 7:40). Physical strength, skill in command, statesmanship, and success. The gift of God needful, and should be consecrated to holy purposes.
1 Chronicles 7:17. Bedan (cf. mentioned in 1 Samuel 12:11). A great deliverer in Israel.
1 Chronicles 7:24. Loss replaced or a famous daughter. Sherah, a virtuous woman, who built cities at her own charge (one Uzzen-sherah, named after her), and became an honour to the family. “A gallant woman, famous in her generation for beautifying and fortifying of sundry cities. Thus also God made up Ephraim’s loss” [Trapp].
1 Chronicles 7:22. A great leader; Joshua, son of Nun. In name and work a type of Jesus; yet a contrast (Joshua 13:8). Human life a register and rapid genealogy, but we have a place and work.