Of the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
Parallel Translations
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Of the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
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Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
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And of the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to 1 Chronicles 7:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 46:13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
- Numbers 26:23-24 The sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites; of Puvah, the family of the Punites; of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites; of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Who also is called Job, Gen. 46:13.
Who also is called Job, Gen. 46:13.
Or, Punah.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ch 7:1 Now the sons of Issachar [were], Tola,…
1Ch 7:1 Now the sons of Issachar [were], Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
Ver. 1. Jashub.] Alias Job; {Gen 46:13} but not Job the patient, as some would have it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Jashub, called, by way of contraction, Job, Gen 46:13.
Jashub, called, by way of contraction, Job, Gen 46:13.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here a short view given us,
We have here a short view given us,
I. Of the tribe of Issachar, whom Jacob had compared to a strong ass, couching between two burdens (Gen 49:14), an industrious tribe, that minded their country business very closely and rejoiced in their tents, Deu 33:18. And here it appears, 1. That they were a numerous tribe; for they had many wives. So fruitful their country was that they saw no danger of over-stocking the pasture, and so ingenious the people were that they could find work for all hands. Let no people complain of their numbers, provided they suffer none to be idle. 2. That they were a valiant tribe, men of might (Ch1 7:2, Ch1 7:5), chief men, Ch1 7:3. Those that were inured to labour and business were of all men the fittest to serve their country when there was occasion, The number of the respective families, as taken in the days of David, is here set down, amounting in the whole to above 145,000 men fit for war. The account, some think, was taken when Joab numbered the people, 2 Sa. 24. But I rather think it refers to some other computation that was made, perhaps among themselves, because it is said (Ch1 27:24) that that account was not inserted in the chronicles of king David, it having offended God.
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II. Of the tribe of Benjamin. Some account is here given of this tribe, but much larger in the next chapter. The militia of this tribe scarcely reached to 60,000; but they are said to be mighty men of valour, Ch1 7:7, Ch1 7:9, Ch1 7:11. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf, Gen 49:27. It was the honour of this tribe that it produced Saul the first king, and more its honour that it adhered to the rightful kings of the house of David when the other tribes revolted. Here is mention (Ch1 7:12) of Hushim the sons of Aher. The sons of Dan are said to be Hushim (Gen 46:23), and therefore some read Aher appellatively, Hushim - the sons of another (that is, another of Jacob's sons) or the sons of a stranger, which Israelites should not be, but such the Danites were when they set up Micah's graven and molten image among them.
III. Of the tribe of Naphtali, Ch1 7:13. The first fathers only of that tribe are named, the very same that we shall find, Gen 46:24, only that Shillem there is Shallum here. None of their descendents are named, perhaps because their genealogies were lost.
IV. Of the tribe of Manasseh, that part of it which was seated within Jordan; for of the other part we had some account before, Ch1 5:23, etc. Of this tribe observe, 1. That one of them married an Aramitess, that is, a Syrian, Ch1 7:14. This was during their bondage in Egypt, so early did they begin to mingle with the nations. 2. That, though the father married a Syrian, Machir, the son of that marriage, perhaps seeing the inconvenience of it in his father's house, took to wife a daughter of Benjamin, Ch1 7:15. It is good for the children to take warning by their father's mistakes and not stumble at the same stone. 3. Here is mention of Bedan (Ch1 7:17), who perhaps is the same with that Bedan who is mentioned as one of Israel's deliverers, Sa1 12:11. Jair perhaps, who was of Manasseh (Jdg 10:3), was the man.
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John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Now the sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub,…
Now the sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. The same number is given, Gen 46:13 with a small variation of two of their names, there called Phuvah and Job, from whence so many families sprang, mentioned Num 26:23, where the names are the same as here.
, where the names are the same as here.
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1 Chronicles 7:2
ch1 7:2
ch1 7:2
ch1 7:2And the sons of Tola,.... The eldest son of Issachar, whose posterity are only reckoned by name:
Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola; the principal man of his family:
they were valiant men of might in their generations, famous for their courage and military exploits, though they sprang from Tola, whose name signifies "a worm"; and which name Bochart (k) conjectures was given him by his parents, because he was so weakly that they had no hopes of raising him; and yet from him sprung such mighty men, and from them such a numerous race, as follows:
whose number was, in the days of David, two and twenty thousand and six hundred; besides those of the posterity of Uzzi, after mentioned. This was at the time Joab took the number of Israel, by the order of David, Ch1 21:5.
(k) Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 21. col. 630.
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John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The prosperity of Issachar, ver. 1-5. Of Benjamin, ver.…
The prosperity of Issachar, ver. 1-5. Of Benjamin, ver. 6-12. Of Naphtali, ver. 13. Of Manasseh, ver. 14-19. Of Ephraim, ver. 20-29. Of Asher, ver. 30-40.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The genealogy of Issachar,1-5.
CHAPTER VII
The genealogy of Issachar,1-5.
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Of Benjamin, 6-12.
Of Naphtali, 13.
Of Manasseh, 14-19.
Of Ephraim, 20-29.
And of Asher, 30-40.
NOTES ON CHAP. VII
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Jasub, or Job. See Genesis xlvi. 13., and Numbers…
Jasub, or Job. See Genesis xlvi. 13., and Numbers xxvi. 23. (Calmet) --- Simeron, elsewhere Samron and Semran; (Menochius) which shews, either that the names have been differently pronounced, or that the transcribers have erred. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain e. The Families of the Remaining Tribes (except Dan…
e. The Families of the Remaining Tribes (except Dan and Zebulun), and in particular of the Benjamtte House Of Saul
1 Chronicles 7–8
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1. The Families of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, West Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher: 1 Chronicles 7
α. The Tribe of Issachar: 1Ch_7:1-5
1Ch_7:1.And the sons1 of Issachar: Tola and Puah, Jashub2 and Shimron, four. 2And the sons of Tola: Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Samuel, heads of their father-houses to Tola, valiant heroes in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty and two thousand and six hundred. 3And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah; and the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five heads in all. 4And with them, by their generations, by their father-houses, troops of the host of war, thirty and six thousand; for they had many wives and sons. 5And their brethren of all the families of Issachar, valiant heroes, eighty and seven thousand was their register for all.
β. The Tribe of Benjamin: 1Ch_7:6-11
6Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. 7And the sons of Bela : Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of father-houses, valiant heroes; and their register was twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. 8And the sons of Becher: Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth: 9all these were the sons of Becher. And their register by their generations, heads of their father-houses, valiant heroes, twenty thousand and two hundred. 10And the sons of Jediael: Bilhan; and the sons of Bilhan: Jeush,3 and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11All these were sons of Jediael, by the heads of the fathers, valiant heroes, seventeen thousand and two hundred going out in the host for war.
γ. Another Tribe, and the Tribe of Naphtali: 1Ch_7:12-13
12And Shuppim and Huppim, sons of Ir: Hushim, sons of another. 13The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, sons of Bilhah.
δ. Half-Tribe of Manasseh (west of Jordan): 1Ch_7:14-19
14The sons of Manasseh: Ashriel,4 whom his concubine, the Aramitess, bare; she bare Machir, the father of Gilead. 15And Machir took a wife for Huppim and Shuppim, and the name of his sister was Maachah, and the name of the 16second was Zelophehad ; and Zelophehad had daughters. And Maachah, 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 Rekem. 17And the sons of Ulam : Bedan: these are the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son ofManasseh. 18And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19And the sons of Shemidah: Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.
ε. The Tribe of Ephraim: 1Ch_7:20-29
20And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son. 21And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son; and Ezer and Elad ; and the men of Gath that were born in the land slew them, because they came down to take away their cattle. 22And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to 23comfort him. And he went in to his wife, and she conceived and bare a son, 24and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. And his daughter was Sherah, and she built Beth-horon, the nether and the upper, and 25Uzzen-sherah. And Rephah his son, and Resheph and Telah his son, and 26,27Tahan his son. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son. Non 28his son, Joshua his son. And their possession and their habitations were Bethel and her daughters, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer and her daughters, and Shechem and her daughters unto Ajjah5 and her daughters. 29And on the side of the sons of Manasseh, Bethshean and her daughters, Taanach and her daughters, Megiddo and her daughters, Dor and her daughters; in these dwelt the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.
ζ. The Tribe of Asher: 1Ch_7:30-40
30The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishuah, and Ishui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. 31And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel; he is the father of Birzavith.6 32And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 33And the sons of Japhlet Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath : these are the sons of Japhlet. 34And the sons of Shemer: Ahi, and 35Rohgah, and Hubbah7 and Aram. And the son of Helem his brother: Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. 36The sons of Zophah : Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, 37Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 38And the sons of Jether: Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. 39And the sons of Ulla: Arah, and Hanniel, and Riziah. 40All these were the sons of Asher, heads of father-houses, choice, valiant heroes, heads of the princes: and their register for the service in war was twenty and six thousand.
EXEGETICAL
1. The Tribe of Issachar: 1Ch_7:1-5.—And the sons of Issachar. That וְלִבְנֵי is an error of the pen for וּבְנֵי (comp. 1Ch_7:20; 1Ch_5:11, etc.), occasioned by the many לִבְנֵי in the previous section (1Ch_6:42; 1Ch_6:46-47, etc.), is probable in itself, and is confirmed by the Sept. cod. Alex. (see Crit. Note). To regard the לְ as introductory, “as for the sons of Issachar,” is impossible, because the names of the four sons immediately follow. On the constant Keri (יִשָּׁכָר, “obtained by hire”) referring to the name ישׂשׂכר, and on its probable pronunciation, comp. the expositors on Gen_30:16, and Dietrich’s Gesenius.—Tola and Puah, Jashub and Shimron. So run the names also in Num_26:23 ff., while in Gen_46:15 the second and third vary (פֻּוָּה for פּוּאָה, and יוֹב for יָשׁוּב).
1Ch_7:2. Uzzi and Rephaiah, etc. These sons of Tola occur nowhere else. They are here designated “heads of their father-houses to Tola” their parent; this addition לְתוֹלָע serves to define לְבֵית אֲבוֹתָם more exactly ; but it is somewhat strange, which raises the suspicion of corruption.—Valiant heroes in their generations, after their births, that is, as they are registered. Before לְתֹלְדוֹתָם a הִתְיַחְשָׂם appears to have fallen out; comp. 1Ch_7:9. Less probable is the connection of לְתֹלְדוֹתָם with the following מִסְפָּרָם against the accentuation, which Keil proposes, “after their births their number was,” etc. Moreover, the number 22,600 for the men of Issachar fit for service in David’s time should rest on the known census made by Joab under this king (1 Chronicles 21; 2 Samuel 24), and therefore, like the following numbers, 1Ch_7:4-5; 1Ch_7:7; 1Ch_7:11, etc., should be credible and accurate.
1Ch_7:3. Five heads in all, namely, Izrahiah the father with his four sons.
1Ch_7:4. And with them, namely, the five heads of families mentioned 1Ch_7:3 (עַל in וַֽעֲלֵיהֶם, “with, along with”). The number 36,000 for this family alone is at first sight surprising; but the following remark: “for they (those five heads) had many wives and sons,” is sufficient to explain and justify it, pointing to an unwonted fruit-fulness of this family, and making it conceivable that the grandson of Izrahiah should have nearly twice as many descendants (36,000) as the patriarch Tola (22,600).
1Ch_7:5. And their brethren … eighty and seven thousand was their register, literally, their register with respect to all (לְכֹל). In this sum total of all the tribes of Issachar in the time of David are included—1. The 22,600 descendants of Tola; 2. The 36,000 of Izrahiah; and 3. “Their brethren,” 28,400 of the other families of the tribe not mentioned by name. The credibility of these numbers is shown by the circumstance that in the two enumerations under Moses the men of Issachar fit for service were respectively 54,400 (Num_1:29) and 64,300 (Num_26:25). The comparatively slow increase (about 23,000) during the centuries from Moses to David is due to the desolating troubles in the time of the judges.
2. The Tribe of Benjamin: 1Ch_7:6-11.—Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. A בְּנֵי or וּבְנֵי appears to have fallen out before בִּנְיָמִין. If only three sons of Benjamin are here enumerated, this seems to contradict Gen_46:21, where ten sons of Benjamin are named; also Num_26:38, where at least five are named; and 1Ch_8:1 f., where at all events five are enumerated, though some of them are different from those in Numbers. The relation of these four different registers may be thus exhibited:—
Genesis 46Numbers 261 Chronicles 81 Chronicles 7Bela.Bela.Bela.Bela.Becher. Becher.Ashbel.Ashbel.Ashbel. Gera. Naaman. Ehi.Ahiram.Ahrah (אַחְרַח). Kosh. Muppim.Shephuphan. Huppim.Hupham. Ard. Nochah (נוֹחָה). Raphah (רָפָא). Jediael.From this comparison, it appears that—1. Jediael occurs only here, and may be corrupted from the Ashbel of the other three lists, or a synonymous by-form of it. If this conjecture of most old expositors (with which the derivation of אשבל from אֶשְׁבַּעַל [Wellhausen, Text d. B. Sam. p. 31] would not agree) were well grounded, our text would give three sons of Benjamin agreeing with Genesis, and pass over in silence the remaining seven. 2. Becher the second son of Benjamin, is, to our surprise, wanting in Num. and 1 Chronicles 8, although a family of nine sons, growing into 20,200 men, are given underneath (1Ch_7:8-9). His omission in those lists in Numbers 26. may arise from this, that he did not attain to great numbers in the time of Moses, but only in the days of David and Solomon, whose enumerations lie at the basis of the data here. 3. Some of the differences in the other names prove to be mere variations of pronunciation or structure; thus Ehi, Ahiram, and Ahrah are one and the same; also Muppim (מֻפִּים, probably written by mistake for שֻׁפִּים; see on 1Ch_7:12) and Shephupham, Huppim and Hupham. 4. Two of the ten names in Genesis 46, as the partly more correct genealogy in Num_26:38-40 shows, are not sons, but grandsons of Benjamin, Naaman and Ard, who were sons of Bela. 5. The two names in Genesis 46. that have no parallel, Gera and Rosh, appear to have died childless, or to have not been blessed with a numerous offspring, to whose existence the later genealogists were not led to make any further reference.
1Ch_7:7. And the sons of Bela … five, etc. Their names do not agree with the names of the sons of Bela given in 1Ch_8:3 and in Num_26:40; the difference will rest on this, that a part of these heads of father-houses of the family of Bela, or perhaps all of them, were later descendants of their ancestors, and therefore sons in a wider sense.—Valiant heroes.. גִּבּוֹרֵי חֲיָלִים here and in 1Ch_7:10 for the otherwise usual and more concrete גִּבּוֹרֵי חַיִל (1Ch_7:2; 1Ch_7:9, etc.).
1Ch_7:8. And the sons of Becher, etc. Of the names of these nine sons of Becher, the last two, Anathoth and Alemeth, occur otherwise as cities of Benjamin; Alemeth (in the varied form עַלֶּמֶת), 1Ch_6:45, and Anathoth there and Isa_10:30, Jer_1:1, both as Levitical cities.
1Ch_7:9. Heads of their father-houses, valiant heroes.רָאשֵׁי בֵית אֲבוֹתָם is in explanatory apposition with לְתֹלְדוֹתָם, and גִּבּוֹרֵי חַיִלwith the former. The heads of houses are, at the same time, designated as heroes of war. See a similar construction in Ezr_3:12.
1Ch_7:10. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, etc. Of these grandsons of Jediael, the first is called in the Kethib “Jeish” (see Crit. Note); the second bears the name of the patriarch, his ancestor ; the third is a namesake of Ehud the judge (Jdg_3:15), who was of the family of Gera, and scarcely identical with the present one (Gen_46:21). Chenaanah, כְּוַֽעֲנָה, may incline us to think (with Berth.) of a Canaanitish family incorporated with the Benjamites. The names Tarshish, otherwise denoting a precious stone, and Ahishahar, brother of the morning blush, point to the glory and fame of their bearers, and may be surnames, which afterward became personal names.
1Ch_7:11. All these were sons, descendants, of Jediael, by the heads of the fathers registered. רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת stands briefly for רָאשֵׁי בֵית אָבוֹת. The לְ before רָאשֵׁי seems to be redundant; it is also wanting in the Sept., and is perhaps to be erased, though it may be dependent on a הִתְיַחְשָׂם (1Ch_7:9) to be supplied in thought, and in this case to be retained. The 17,200 men of Jediael’s family fit for war, with the 20,200 men of Becher’s and 22,034 of Bela’s, make up 59,434 warriors or heads of houses in Benjamin when David made his census, about 14,000 more than in the days of Moses, when all the families of Benjamin presented in the field 45,600 men (Num_26:41). In weighing the grounds for this not very rapid increase during a period of three or four centuries, it is proper to take into account the catastrophe of the first period of the judges, whereby the whole tribe of Benjamin was reduced to 600 men (Jdg_20:47). The number of 280,000 Benjamite warriors given, 2Ch_24:7, for the time of Asa is explained in this way, that there, not heads of houses, but individuals fit for military service, are included.
3. Another (unnamed) Tribe, and the Tribe of Naphtali: 1Ch_7:12-13.—And Shuppim and Huppim, sons of Ir. This first half of the verse contains pretty certainly a supplement to the genealogy of Benjamin; for the names Shuppim and Huppim coincide with those of two by the sons of Benjamin, as they are called Gen_46:21 (the word מֻפִּים there appears, as has been said, corrupted from שֻׁפִּים); and that these two Benjamites, whose more correct forms are preserved in Num_26:39, appear here as בְּנֵי עִיר, is easily reconciled with other statements, for עִיר is most probably identical with עִירִי the son of Bela, 1Ch_7:7; hence those who are called, Genesis 46 and Numbers 26, sons of Bela, appear here more correctly as his grandsons. Thus our verse contains so far nothing difficult or enigmatical.—Hushim, sons of another, or “sons of Aher” (אַחֵר). It is possible that these words also refer to a Benjamite family, for the name חֻשִׁם, in the varying form חוּשִׁים or חֻשִׁים, is found, 1Ch_8:8; 1Ch_8:11, among the Benjamites as the son of a Shaharaim, who might lie hid under the אַחֵר of our passage (so thinks Davidson, Introd. ii. 51, who proposes the middle form שַׁחַר as common ground for אַחֵר and שַֽׁחֲרַיִם). But it is more probable that חֻשִׁם denotes the only son of Dan mentioned Gen_46:23, who is himself, indicated by the mysterious אחר. For—1. Both in Genesis 46. and Numbers 26. Dan immediately follows Benjamin, and he stands in the first passage, as here, between Benjamin and Naphtali. 2. The name שׁוּחָם, which Num_26:42 gives for the only son of Dan, is different only in form from the חֻשִׁם of our passage and the חֻשִׁים of Genesis; we may suppose a חוּשָׁם or שְׁחוּחָם (comp. שְׁפוּפָם, Num_26:39) as common ground-form for both. 3. Decisive for the reference of 1Ch_7:12 b to the tribe of Dan is the בְּנֵי בִלְהָה at the close of 1Ch_7:13, a note referring obviously, Gen_46:25, to Dan and Naphtali, the two sons of Bilhah. The avoiding to name Dan, and concealing him under the indefinite אַחֵר (comp. Ezr_2:31), recall the former surprising omissions of this tribe in 1Ch_6:46-54, and appear to rest like these on a peculiar dislike of our author to record particulars concerning a tribe that had early separated itself from the theocratic community by the establishment of a foreign worship; comp. Judges 17, 18. That the name Dan occurs three times in our book (1Ch_2:2, 1Ch_12:35, 1Ch_27:22) certainly appears to stand against this hypothesis proposed by Bertheau, and approved by other moderns, as Kamph., Böhmer (Zur Lehre vom Antichrist, Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol. 1859, p. 449), and to favour either the view of Ewald, who supposes an accidental omission of the name of Dan and of some other words by a corruption of the text, or that of Keil, who, with the ancients, finds in the words “ Hushim, sons of Aher,” only a Benjamite family (named 1Ch_8:8; 1Ch_8:11). But that here again a corruption of the text accidentally affects the name of Dan, whom we expect to meet between Benjamin and Naphtali, is scarcely credible; and against the addition of the words in question to the foregoing series of Benjamites is the absence of the copula ו before חֻשִׁם. There is therefore considerable probability in the assumption of Berth., that the omission of Dan is as little accidental here as in the list of the twelve tribes in Rev_7:5-8, and that it has a theocratic, judicial import, as it points to the fall of Dan into idolatry. From the Rabbinical tradition concerning Jdg_18:30, where the name of Moses is supposed to be intentionally changed into Manasseh, that it might not occur in the history of the Danite sanctuary, nothing can be drawn in support of this assumption, as this is only an insipid conceit in explanation of the Keriמנשׁה (against Berth.). It is also to be borne in mind that another tribe, that of Zebulun, is wholly passed over in our series, the omission of which may well be called accidental (as, for example, that of the tribes Asher and Gad in the list of tribe-princes, 1Ch_27:16-24). Comp. the evangelical-ethical principles, No. 2.—The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jazer, and Shallum. The parallel lists, Gen_46:24, Num_26:48 f., give these names, only the first is there Jahzeel (יַחְצְאֵל) and the last Shillem (שִׁלֵּם). For the addition, “ sons of Bilhah,” see on 1Ch_7:12.
4. The half-Tribe of Manasseh (west of Jordan): 1Ch_7:14-19.—The sons of Manasseh: Ashriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bare. That here it is treated of the western half of Manasseh is understood of itself after the former communications concerning East Manasseh, 1Ch_5:23 f. Of the six families of West Manasseh named in Num_26:30; Num_26:34, and Jos_17:2, only two are mentioned here, Ashriel and Shemida (1Ch_7:19). But Ashriel, from the more exact accounts in Num_26:31, is not a son, but a grandson, of Manasseh, by his father Gilead. Now, as the following sentence referring to the Avamæan concubine of Manasseh, “she bare Machir the father of Gilead,” seems designed to explain how Ashriel could be called a son of Manasseh and his concubine, it seems necessary to assume that he sprang from her in the fourth degree as the son of Gilead and grandson of Machir. But this assumption is as doubtful as the Masoretic expedient, which separates the words אֲשֶׁר יָֽלְדָה by an Athnach under the latter from the following פִּילַגְשׁוֹ וגו׳, and requires the supplement of some unmentioned wife to the “whom she bare.” The sagacious hypothesis of Movers (assented to by Berth. and Kamph.) here commends itself, that the name Ashriel, as a gloss arising from writing twice the consonants immediately following אשִׁר יל, is to be erased, and so the sense is to be gained: “the sons of Manasseh, whom his Aramæan concubine bare: she bare Machir,” etc. Comp. the Sept. on Gen_46:26 : ἐγένοντο δὲ υἱοὶ Μανασσῆ, οὓς ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ ἡ παλλακὴ ἡ Σύρα.
1Ch_7:15. And Machir took a wife for Huppim and Shuppim, etc. The whole verse is so obscure, that the assumption either of interpolation or of the omission of some words seems unavoidable. Bertheau proceeds in the former way, rejects the words לְחֻפִּים וּלְשֻׁפִּים as a gloss from 1Ch_7:12, and by means of some other changes, especially the insertion of 1Ch_7:18 a, arrives at the sense: “and Machir took a wife, whose name was Maachah, and the name of his sister was Hammolecheth; and the name of his brother (the second) was Zelophehad.” Somewhat less violent is the emendation attempted by Movers (p. 89), which limits itself to the change of אֲחֹתוֹ before מעכה into הָאַחַת, and yields the sense: “ and Machir took a wife from Huppim and from Shuppim (לְ) standing for מִן, and pointing to a marriage of Machir with two wives out of the families of Huppim and Shuppim, 1Ch_7:12); the name of the first was Maachah, and the name of the second Zelophehad.” Keil conjectures an omission of some words, among these the name of Ashriel, the first son of Gilead, but at the same time the intrusion of senseless interpolations in 1Ch_7:15 a; while, on the contrary, he regards as critically impregnable the words of the second half verse: “and the name of the second is Zelophehad; and Zelophehad had daughters (only).” Several gaps are also supposed in the emendations of older writers, as in that of J. H. Michaelis, who endeavours to squeeze out the sense: “ and Machir took to wife (the sister of) Huppim and Shuppim, and the name of his sister (namely of Huppim) was Maachah, and the name of the second (here named son of Manasseh) was Zelophehad.” From the unsatisfactory character of all these attempts, it is plain that a correct interpretation of the verse must be given up. So much only is clear from the second gloss, whether it be preserved intact or in some way corrupted, that therein Zelophehad was called the brother or near relative of Machir, and was the same who, Num_27:1; Num_36:1 ff., Jos_17:3, was called the father of a great number of daughters.
1Ch_7:17. The sons of Maachah here mentioned, Peresh and Sheresh, as also the sons of the latter, Ulam and Rekem, occur only here.
1Ch_7:17. And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. The Masoretic text names a judge Bedan, 1Sa_12:11, where, however, perhaps בָּרָק is to be read.—These are the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir. Bertheau, perhaps rightly, proposes here the change (favoured by 1 Chronicles 7:41 and by 1Ch_2:21): “These are the sons of the father of Gilead, of Machir the son of Manasseh.”
1Ch_7:18. And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishod. The Vulg. explains this not elsewhere occurring name appellatively: Regina (as Kimchi, queen of a part of Gilead). Rightly ?—The first of her sons, Ishod, “man of fame, of glory,” is otherwise unknown; on the contrary, the second appears to be identical with the Abiezer named Jos_17:2, the chief of one of the families of Manasseh. If this were so, he would have to pass for the ancestor of Gideon, Jdg_6:11; Jdg_6:15. But Abiezer in Joshua, or Jezer (אִעֵזֶר) as it is in Num_26:30, appears as first son of Manasseh after Machir, not as the mere sister’s son of this Machir, as here ; for which reason the identity is doubtful. Whether the following name מַחְלָה denotes a brother of these two, or a sister (comp. Mahlah, the daughter of Zelophehad, Num_26:33; Num_27:1), is doubtful.
1Ch_7:19. And the sons of Shemidah. A son of Manasseh, Jos_16:2, or, more exactly, of Gilead, Num_26:32. The names of his four sons, except Shechem, שֶׁכֶם, who appears, Jos_17:2, as an immediate son of Manasseh, but, Num_26:32, as a son of Gilead, occur nowhere else; for Bertheau’s attempts to connect Likhi with Helek, Num_26:30, and Aniam (אֲנִיעָם) with נֹעָה, one of the daughters of Zelophehad, Num_26:33, Jos_17:3, are arbitrary.
5. The Tribe of Ephraim: 1Ch_7:20-29.—Shuthelah, and Bered his son, etc. Shuthelah appears also, Num_26:25, as founder of a chief family of Ephraim. This family is here traced through six generations to a second Shuthelah, 1Ch_7:21, to whom are then added Ezer and Elad, two brothers of the older Shuthelah, and therefore sons or near descendants of Ephraim.—And the men of Gath, that were born in the land, slew them, namely, Ezer and Elad. The Avim (Avites), driven by the Philistines from their seats between Hazerim and Gaza, Deu_2:23, are said to be born in the land, in contrast with the intruders. Hence Ew., Berth., Kamph. will have these Avim to be here meant, whereas Keil thinks rather of the Philistines, whose settlement in south-west Palestine, in the district of Gath, was attested even in the time of Abraham, or even of the Canaanites, but not the Avites, of whom there is no tradition that they had spread to Gath. At any rate, reference is here made to a very old event, as Ephraim, the son of Jacob, still lived and begat other children. This can scarely have taken place before the descent into Egypt, as Ephraim was born in Egypt, Gen_46:20 (against Ewald). We must suppose it to have occurred during the sojourn in Egypt, and to have been a warlike expedition from the land of Goshen, that may have fallen in the interval from Gen_1:13-23. The verb יָרַד is not absolutely against this assumption, which was advocated by older expositors (Rossi, Kimchi, L. Lavater, Grot., Calov., etc.), and accepted by more recent ones, as Fürst (Gesch. -d. bibl. Lit. i. 318). When the Ephraimite host marched from the wilderness of Shur or Paran, we may very well regard this as a descent upon the district of Gath (without directly identifying Ephraim with Paran, as Hitzig does, Gesch, Isr. p. 48).
1Ch_7:22. And Ephraim, their father, mourned many days. Bertheau will, without ground, take these words figuratively, and apply them to the whole tribe of Ephraim; the going in of Ephraim to his wife, mentioned 1Ch_7:23, can only be taken literally; and as there is no indication that a younger Ephraim is meant (as Keil), it is plainly recorded of the old patriarch Ephraim that he begat a son, Beriah, after those two sons were slain by the Gathites. Ewald perhaps goes too far, when he makes the sons Rephah and Resheph, 1Ch_7:25, be born to Ephraim in this latter period. Rather is the interwoven historical notice of the raid of Ezer and Elad against Gath and its results to be regarded as closed with 1Ch_7:23, and the following passage from 1Ch_7:24 to be taken as the continuation of the genealogy of Ephraim.—And he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house, “because there had been calamity (בְּרָעָה) in his house.” This etymology of the name בְּרִיעָה, reminding us of the well-known derivations of Genesis (especially Gen_5:9; Gen_5:29-30), speaks for the undoubted antiquity of the present account. For the relation of this Ephraimite to his namesake of Benjamin, see on 1Ch_8:13 f.
1Ch_7:24. And his daughter was Sherah, namely, Ephraim’s daughter (1Ch_7:20), not Beriah’s, who is only mentioned by the way. The places Nether and Upper Beth-horon built, that is, fortified, by this Sherah, probably a powerful heiress, correspond (Robinson, iii. 273ff.) to the present Beit Ur et-Tachta and Beit Ur el-Foka, on the road from Jerusalem to Joppa. They lay at the south border of the tribe of Ephraim, on a strip of land stretching out between the tribes of Benjamin and Dan. Uzzen-Sherah must be sought in their immediate neighbourhood. The name (אזֶֹן=אֻזֵּן, ear) points to a like projection or skirt as its site.
1Ch_7:25-27. Joshua’s forefathers.—And Rephah his son, and Resheph. These two can scarcely pass for actual sons of Ephraim; comp. Num_26:35 f. It is uncertain to which of the families of Ephraim there mentioned they belonged.—And Telah his son, that is, Rephah’s son, who is the chief person, while Resheph is only mentioned by the way. The Tahan named as the son of this Telah appears different from the Tahan named Num_26:25 as son of Ephraim, but might belong to his posterity.
1Ch_7:26. Ladan his son, etc. The name לעדן occurs, 1Ch_28:7 f., 1Ch_26:21, also as the name of a Levitical family, but only here as an Ephraimite. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, meets us, Num_7:48; Num_10:22, as prince of the tribe of Ephraim. in the time of Moses. His grandson was Joshua the son of Non, or Nun, as it is constantly spelled in the Pentateuch and Joshua. [This episode corresponds in antiquarian interest with the notices concerning Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2. The simplest exposition of the passage is obtained by making a pause after “Shuthelah his son,” and another after “Rephah his son.” Ezer and Elad are then the second and third sons of Ephraim. This younger but greater son of Joseph became heir to the portion of ground which Jacob had taken from the Amorite in the region of Shechem, Gen_48:22. Hence, in the early period of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, we find Ephraim in this quarter asserting his claim and taking possession of this domain. The presence, or perhaps the aggression, of his family provoked the Philistines, and in a warlike encounter these two sons of Ephraim were slain by the men of Gath. After this another son was born to Ephraim, of whom Sherah, the builder or fortifier of towns, and Rephah were most probably the daughter and son, though they are generally regarded as the immediate children of Ephraim. Then we have a fifth son of Ephraim, Resheph, through whom Joshua is the eighth in descent from Ephraim. After the exploits of Sherah, it is probable that the tribe lost its hold on this region, and the bondage in Egypt commenced. We learn from this curious passage that there were nine generations in the line of Joshua during the sojourn in Egypt.—J. G. M. ]
1Ch_7:28-29 attach as a geographical notice of the dwelling-places of the Ephraimites, 1Ch_7:28, and West Manassites, 1Ch_7:29, to their genealogies, as the account of the Levitical cities, 1Ch_6:39 ff., to the preceding genealogy of Levi, or as the like geographical notice of the dwelling-places of the Simeonites, 1Ch_4:28 ff., to the preceding genealogy.—Bethel and her daughters, that is, the surrounding hamlets belonging to Bethel. Bethel, now Beitin, on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim (Jos_16:2; Jos_18:15), was originally assigned to the former tribe (Jos_18:22), but afterwards belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, and therefore to Ephraim. Our genealogist regards only this later relation.—Naaran bears in Jos_16:7 the name נַֽעֲרָתָה, lengthened by ה local, and seems to be identical with Neara, north of Jericho (comp. Joseph. Antiq. xvii. 13. 1).—Gezer (Jos_16:3) lay between Bethhoron and the sea, in the south-west corner of Ephraim, while the next named, Shechem and Ajjah, lay on the north-west. For the uncertainty of the reading עַזָּה see Crit. Note. The only here occurring עַיָּה lay not far from Shechem (Neapolis, Nablous), perhaps in the region of Michmethah (Jos_16:6; Jos_17:7).
1Ch_7:29. And on the side of the sons of Manasseh, on their border, and in their possession. עַל יְדֵי, as in 1Ch_6:16. The four cities now named, Bethshean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, lie properly (like Ibleam joined with them, Jos_17:11) outside the territory of Manasseh, in that of the tribes of Issachar and Asher bordering it on the north. They were, however, to be assigned to Manasseh as remote dwelling-places towards the north, and serve here to mark the north border of the whole territory of “the sons of Joseph,” as the Ephraimite cities named, 1Ch_7:28, determined their south border.
6. The Tribe of Asher: 1Ch_7:30-40.—The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishuah, and Ishui, and Beriah. So Gen_46:17, whereas, Num_26:44 ff., Ishui is omitted. Beriah’s sons Heber and Malchiel occur also in Genesis 46 and Numbers 26, but the last, Birzajith, only here (perhaps a woman’s name, see Crit. Note; but perhaps also = בְּאֵר זַיִת, “well of the olive,” and so a local name).
1Ch_7:32-34, Heber’s descendants for three generations. The name Shomer (שׁוֹמֵר), 1Ch_7:32, recurs, 1Ch_7:34, in the form שָׁמֶר (in pausaשָׁמֶר), without warranting a difference between the two. For the name Ahi (אֲחִי) in 1Ch_7:34 (which is not to be taken appellatively, “brother,” as the following ו shows), comp. 1Ch_5:15, where a Gadite is so called.
1Ch_7:35-38. Descendants of Helem, as it appears, the son of Heber, and brother of Shemer, who was called Hotham in the third place after Japhlet and Shomer, 1Ch_7:32. One of the two names, either חוֹתָם or חֵלֶם, seems to have arisen from a slip of the pen, but which is uncertain. So it is with Ithran, the last but one of the eleven sons of Zophah, 1Ch_7:37, who reappears in the following verse under the name of Jether, and perhaps also with Ulla, 1Ch_7:39, which may be = Beera, the last son of Zophah, on the supposition of a very gross error of the pen.
1Ch_7:40. All these were the sons of Asher, etc. This collective notice is like that in 1Ch_7:11; the plur. חֲיָלִים, as in 1Ch_7:5.—Heads of the princes (Vulg. duces ducum), that is, captains of the greater divisions of the army, at the head of which stood the נְשִׂיאִים, elati, magnates, optimates.—And their register for the service in war, that is, not that of the whole tribe of Asher, but only that of the family of Heber, as the most powerful and flourishing. The limitation to this one family explains how the present list of warriors (it is expressly designated as such, in contrast with registers including the whole inhabitants of the country; comp. 1Ch_9:22) yields only 26,000 men of war, whereas for the whole tribe of Asher, the numbers 41,500 and 53,400 are given in Num_1:41; Num_26:47.
Footnotes:
[1]For וְלִבְנֵי read וּבְנֵי, as the Sept. cod. Alex. reads καὶ οὗτοι υἱοὶ ’Ισσάχαρ (cod. Vat. has καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς ’Ισσ).
[2]So the Keri: the Kethib has יָשִׁיב.
[3] יְעִישׁ in the Kethib.
[4] אַשְׁרִיאֵל appears to be a gloss introduced into the text by the double writing of the following consonants, אשׁר יל׳
[5]So (עַיָּה) all the best mss. and prints. The עַזָּה of some other mss. and editions is an error of the pen or the press introduced into the text by the influence of the Sept, Vulg., and Targ.; comp. de Rossi, Var. lect. ad h. l.
[6]So the Keri: it is doubtful how the Kethib ברזות is to be pronounced (בִּרְזוֹת ? with Gesen., who supposes it to be a woman’s name).
[7]For יְחֻבָּה is to be read, with the Keri, וְחֻבָּה.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 1–5. The Genealogy of Issachar
1–5. The Genealogy of Issachar
1. the sons of Issachar] Gen_46:13; Num_26:23-24.
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Puah] In Gen. and Num. Puvah (R.V.), but in Jdg_10:1 Puah as here. A descendant of Puah named Tola was one of the Judges.
Jashub] So in Num., but in Gen. Iob (not Iyob as in Job_1:1, R.V. mg).
The treatment of different tribes is unequal in this chapter. In the case of Issachar (1Ch_7:1-5), Benjamin (1Ch_7:6-12), and Asher (1Ch_7:30-40), genealogies are given and the number of fighting-men of each tribe is stated. To Naphtali is devoted a single verse, giving only the names of his sons. For Manasseh and Ephraim genealogies are given and their possessions are shortly enumerated. The mention of Dan is obliterated, owing to the state of the text of 1Ch_7:12.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Gen_46:21—
(1) Gen_46:21—
Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard.
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VII.
THE GREAT CLANS OF ISSACHAR, BENJAMIN, NAPTHALI, WEST MANASSEH, EPHRAIM, AND ASHER.
(1–5) The tribe of Issachar, its clans and their military strength.
(1) Now the sons of Issachar.—Heb., and to the sons—i.e., “and as for the sons of Issachar, Tola, Puah, &c., four were they.” The Vatic, LXX., has the dative; the Alex, the nominative, which is perhaps a correction. The four names are given Gen_46:13, where the second is Puwwah, the third lôb; and Num_26:23, where also the second name is Puwwah, but the third Iâshûb (he returns). The Heb. text here is Iâshîb (he makes return); the Hebrew margin, adopted by the Authorised Version, is the same as the text of Numbers 26
(2-6) These verses supply names and facts not found elsewhere. We have here some of the results of the census of David (2 Samuel 24, and below, 1 Chronicles 21).
(2) Heads of their father’s house—Rather, chiefs of their father-houses (septs or clans).
Of Tola.—Belonging to Tola, that is, to the great clan or sub-tribe so called.
In their generations.—According to their registers or birth-rolls.
Whose number.—The number of the warriors of all the six groups of the Tolaite branch of Issachar.
In the days of David.—See the census (1chron xxi,).
(3) Izrahiah . . .—All these names contain a divine element. Izrahiah means “Iah riseth (like the sun)” (comp. Mal_4:2); Michael, “who like God?” (Comp. Isa_40:18; Isa_40:25.) Before Ishiah and has fallen out.
Five: all of them chief men.—Heb., five chiefs (heads) altogether (all of them). But perhaps the punctuation should be as in the Authorised Version. 1Ch_7:7.)
(4) By their generations.—Heb., after or according to their birth-rolls or registers. The census of the Uzzite warriors was taken “according to their birth-rolls and their father-houses” (septs or clans).
Bands of soldiers.—Heb., troops of the host of war or of the battle-host.
For they had many wives and sons.—They are the clans represented by the hereditary chiefs Izrahiah, Michael, and the rest.
(5) And their brethren.—Fellow-tribesmen.
Families.—Clans (mishpehôth). The verse states
the number of warriors for the whole tribe of Issachar in David’s census at 87,000. Render: “And their kinsmen, of all the clans of Issachar, valiant warriors. Eighty-seven thousand was their census for the whole (tribe).”
Reckoned in all by their genealogies.—Heb., hithyahsâm, a difficult word peculiar to the chronicler in the Old Testament, but reappearing in the Rabbinic Hebrew. The present form is a verbal noun with suffix pronoun, and means “their enrolling” or “enrolment,” their census; cp. ἀπογράφεσθαι, (Luk_2:1). As the Tolaites were 22,600, and the sons of Izrahiah 36,000, the other son of Issachar must have amounted to 28,400, to make up the total of 87,000 for the tribe. At the first census of Moses (Num. i 29), the warriors of Issachar were 54,400; at the second (Num_26:25) they were 64,300. (Comp. Jdg_5:15; Jdg_10:1 for the ancient prowess of Issachar.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The great tribes of Judah and Levi being now…
The great tribes of Judah and Levi being now passed, as well as the minor ones of Simeon, Reuben, and Gad, we reach the sons of Issachar. Issachar was Jacob"s fifth son by Leah. (Gen_35:23) In the list of Gen_46:13 our Puah (jaWp) appears differently spelt as
Phuvah (jWpu), and Jashub is found as Job, which is corrected by the Samaritan Codex to Jashub, and this reading the Septuagint follows. In the other parallel passage (Num_26:23) the Phuvah form obtains, but the other names are the same as here. Tola. We read (Jud_1:10:1, 2) of another person of this name, who judged Israel twenty-three years, at Shamir, in Mount Ephraim, and who is called "the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar." This is a good instance of how the use of the same names, though in different order, clung to a tribe or family through long periods.
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HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-19.
The old order changeth.
It is a significant fact that, in this enumeration of names and these references to ancient times, the only complimentary epithets used relate to military affairs. "Their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might" (ver. 5); "The sons of Be a mighty men of valour" (ver. 7); "The sons of Becher mighty men of valour" (vers. 8, 9; see ver. 11). We have here an illustration of the fact
I THAT MILITARY VALOUR FORMED A LARGE PART OF ANCIENT VIRTUE. The history of the ancient peoples, Egyptians, Assyrians, Greek, Romans, etc., proves this statement with only too monotonous a repetition. The history of the Jews, the ancient people of God, adds one more note of confirmation. We might have supposed it would be otherwise; we might have judged that they would constitute the one exception to the rule. But, so doing, we should have erred. War involves certain most painful incidents, but it is not absolutely and intrinsically wrong. The simple fact that God sanctioned it in many instances, that he commanded his people to engage in it, and that he desired to be inquired of and supplicated in regard to it, distinctly settles that point.
1. It has to be remembered that war does call out the heroic virtues of
1. patient endurance,
2. implicit trust in a faithful leader,
3. courageous daring of utmost danger, and consequent
4. readiness to resign that which is most precious at the call of duty, on behalf of country or in obedience to what seems to be the will of God.
5. It has to be remembered that men have engaged in it without any conscious departure from the obligations they were under to their kind; therefore without any sense of its evil, and therefore without any injury to their conscience and character. The idea that all warfare is positively wrong is a modern sentiment. With quite as clear a conscience armies have gone out to battle as merchants have left home to traffic, or travellers to explore, or even missionaries to evangelize. Other thoughts are in our minds, other feelings in our hearts, because we have learnt
II THAT HUMAN LIFE IS NOW TO BE REGARDED AS A VERY SACRED THING. At the feet of Christ we have learnt that one human soul is a thing of inestimable worth. Hence we have come to prize, as most precious, one human life; and hence we have learnt to shrink from voluntarily taking it away. That which God only can give or renew, from which he requires so much, and on which such great and lasting issues hang,-this is something to be reverently treated. And we have been led to regard with aversion, with deep repugnance, that ruthless system, war, which mows down human bodies without remorse, and which counts amongst its triumphs the number of the slain. We gratefully recognize the fact that, under the beneficent reign of the Prince of peace, we are arriving at the conclusion
III THAT THE WORTHIEST TRIUMPHS WE CAN WIN ARE THOSE WE GAIN IN PEACEFUL CONTESTS.
1. In the struggle we maintain against the enemies within us: the privation we inflict on ourselves in foregoing things which are evil and injurious, the perseverance with which we contend against recurring passions that will not be soon silenced and slain.
2. In the war which we wage against the adversaries of God and man: the hardship we suffer, (2Ti_2:3) the risk we run (danger sometimes ending in death itself, as many a missionary chronicle will tell), the loyalty we show to our great Captain, the faith we exercise in the overruling mind and the conquering arm of our redeeming God. C.
HOMILIES BY F. WHITFIELD Ch. 7., 8.
Genealogies: Issachar, Naphtali, Ephraim, Asher, Benjamin.
Two conspicuous features are presented in these chapters genealogy and warfare. Only those are numbered who were found in the registers, and these are all soldiers and "mighty men of valour." They are described in the seventh chapter (vers. 11-40) as "fit to go out for war" and "apt to the war." Thus it is with all God"s people. They are of the genealogy. They are "born again," "not of flesh, nor of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God." Their names are in the register, too, not in the earthly book the baptismal register only, of which these earthly registers of Israel may be considered as figures but in the "Lamb"s book of life." They know their genealogy, they can trace their pedigree. They are "sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty." Christ is their elder Brother. And they are all soldiers. " They were redeemed for this end, that they should be good soldiers of Jesus Christ," and "war a good warfare." But how are they to become "valiant," "apt," "fit"? By the discipline of the Holy Spirit, by the afflictions and trials and sufferings of the way, which often make the heart to bleed and the eye to weep. We are told that Solomon bad "eighteen thousand stone-squarers" in preparing the stones in Lebanon for the temple on Zion. God has many more than these in preparing his "living stones" in this Lebanon-world for the glorious temple on Mount Zion. We have an instance of this spiritual discipline in this chapter (1Ch_7:21-23) It seems to have been an episode in Egypt before Israel had left it. The patriarch Ephraim was then alive, and at a very advanced age. The men of Gath came suddenly down upon the family of Ephraim (for they, not Ephraim, were the aggressors, if we substitute the word "when" in ver. 21 for "because," the correct rendering) for the purpose of plundering their flocks. Ephraim"s sons were slain. The aged father was deeply afflicted. In accordance with Eastern custom (see Job_2:11; Joh_11:19) distant relatives came to offer their condolences. So deeply did the bereavement weigh upon the aged father that he perpetuated the memory of his sorrow by calling his next son "Beriah, because it went evil with his house." So suddenly do calamities overtake us here l We know not what a day may bring forth. The postman"s knock may dash the fairest schemes to pieces and drape our landscape in gloom. Oh, what is there sure here? N othing but Christ. And, like the mother of Jabez and Ephraim here, our sorrows come, and we, in our unbelief and short-sightedness, look at our sorrows and see nothing else. We see not the bow of mercy spanning the cloud the love that is behind and so we hang our heads in sorrow, and we write "Jabez" on this and "Beriah" on that. Oh that we could trust that love more in darkness as well as in light! W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Now the Sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah,…
1Ch_7:1-11
Now the Sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jaahub, and Shimrom, four.
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Statistics
1. Statistics play an important part in Chronicles and in the Old Testament generally.
(1) Genealogies and other lists of names.
(2) Specifications of subscription lists for the Tabernacle and for Solomons temple.
(3) Census returns and statements as to the number of armies and of the divisions of which they were composed.
2. Biblical statistics are examples in accuracy and thoroughness of information, and recognitions of the more obscure and prosaic manifestations of the higher life. In these and other ways the Bible gives an anticipatory sanction to the exact sciences.
3. Statistics are the only form in which many acts of service can be recognised and recorded. The missionary report can only tell the story of a few striking conversions; it may give the history of the exceptional self-denial in one or two of its subscriptions; for the rest we must be content with tables and subscription-lists.
4. Our chroniclers interest in statistics lays healthy emphasis on the practical character of religion. There is a danger of identifying spiritual force with literary and rhetorical gifts; to recognise the religious value of statistics is the most forcible protest against such identification. The supreme service of the Church in any age is its influence on its own generation, by which it moulds the generation immediately following. That influence can only be estimated by a careful study of all possible information and especially of statistics.
5. The lists in Chronicles are few and meagre compared to the records of Greenwich Observatory or the volumes which contain the data of biology and sociology; but the chronicler becomes, in a certain sense, the forerunner of Darwin, Spencer, and Galton. (W. H. Bennett, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain CRITICAL NOTES.] 1Ch_7:1-5.—Issachar. A tribe of more than average…
CRITICAL NOTES.] 1Ch_7:1-5.—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 (2Sa_24:9) [Speak. Com.]. In days of David, 1Ch_7:2, probably from census taken by Joab
(21).
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1Ch_7:6-12.—Benjamin. Ten, Gen_46:21; five, 1Ch_8:1; three here, most eminent mentioned, or other families extinct. 1Ch_7:7. Bela, list different from ch. 1Ch_8:3-5 and from Num_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.]. 1Ch_7:10. Jediael, sons may include grandsons. 1Ch_7:12. Three other sons of Benjamin named (cf. Num_26:39; Gen_46:21; and ch. 1Ch_8:5).
1Ch_7:13.—Naphtali (cf. Gen_46:24; Num_26:48). His territory originally included in Judah (Jos_19:40).
1Ch_7:14-19.—Manasseh. An intricate and defective passage, appears to refer to western side of Jordan; other side in ch. 1Ch_5:23-26. 1Ch_7:15. Daughters (cf. account Jos_17:3-6; Num_26:33). 1Ch_7:16-17. None of these mentioned elsewhere, unless “Bedan” is the “judge” of 1Sa_12:11. 1Ch_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].
1Ch_7:20-29.—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. 1Ch_7:23. Beriah, “in evil,” some render “a gift,” to the house by the birth of another son. 1Ch_7:24. Beth-horon (Jos_10:10; Jos_16:3-5; Jos_18:13-14). 1Ch_7:25-27. 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 (Num_1:10; Num_2:18). Non, for Nun (Num_13:8-16). 1Ch_7:28-29. Possessions and boundaries of the two tribes here given.
1Ch_7:30-40.—Asher. Sons, daughters, and grandsons, given as in Gen_46:17 and partly Num_26:44, if we allow for slight changes of spelling in names.
HOMILETICS
REGISTERED SOLDIERS.—1Ch_7:1-40
In this chapter a genealogy of those tribes only who were “mighty men of valour.”
I. Issachar, the industrious tribe (1Ch_7:1-5).
1. Patient in labour. He possessed a fruitful district, willingly submitted to toil and tribute (cf. Gen_49:14-15; Jos_19:17-22).
2. Great in number (1Ch_7:5).
3. Valiant in war (1Ch_7:5).
II. Benjamin, the warlike tribe (1Ch_7:6-12). Quick, rapacious, and powerful (Gen_49:27; cf. Jdg_5:14; Jdg_20:16). Ehud, Saul, Jonathan. Paul from this tribe.
III. Naphtali, the heroic tribe (1Ch_7:13). Beautiful and active, comparable to the gazelle (2Sa_2:18). Remarkable also for culture. “He giveth goodly words,” rich in poetry and speech (Gen_49:21).
IV. Manasseh, the divided tribe (1Ch_7:14-19). One half of the tribe on the other side Jordan (ch. 1Ch_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 (1Ch_7:20-29). Manasseh the elder, but Jacob gave the preference to Ephraim (Gen_48:10-12). Great things declared of this tribe in best days. Here notice—
1. Its bereavement (1Ch_7:21).
2. Its possessions (1Ch_7:28).
3. Its vicissitudes. Its predicted greatness (Gen_48:19) nipped in the bud. Powerless to protect itself, thrown into grief, humbled, yet comforted and distinguished in its sons (1Ch_7:27).
VI. Asher, the undistinguished tribe (1Ch_7:30-40). 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.—1Ch_7:21-23
I. The cause of the sorrow. Gathites robbed sons of E. of their cattle, and slew them when defending themselves (1Ch_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 (1Ch_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
1Ch_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” (1Ch_7:40). Physical strength, skill in command, statesmanship, and success. The gift of God needful, and should be consecrated to holy purposes.
1Ch_7:17. Bedan (cf. mentioned in 1Sa_12:11). A great deliverer in Israel.
1Ch_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].
1Ch_7:22. A great leader; Joshua, son of Nun. In name and work a type of Jesus; yet a contrast (Jos_13:8-16). Human life a register and rapid genealogy, but we have a place and work.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Genealogies (continued)
Genealogies (continued)
This chapter traces the descendants of Issachar, Benjamin (Dan), Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher.
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2. Of Tola] The numbers given in this v. are those of Tola's descendants by his younger sons as contrasted with his descendants through his firstborn Uzzi: 1Ch_7:3, 1Ch_7:4.
11. By the heads of their fathers] RV 'according to the heads of their fathers' houses': and so elsewhere. They were divided into a number of patriarchal clans.
12. Sons of Aher] better, 'the sons of another,' the other' being Dan, from whom Hushim was descended: Gen_46:23.
14. Whom she bare] The name of Asriel's mother is lost. The Aramitess] i.e. a Syrian woman.
15. The second] i.e. the second son of Manasseh, Machir being the first.
21. Whom the men of Gath.. slew] The occurrence alluded to probably took place after Israel was settled in Canaan, the Ephraimites having descended from the hill-country to make a raid upon the Philistines in the maritime plain. In 1Ch_7:22 Ephraim is a collective, not a personal, name.
23. Beriah.. evil] Heb. Beriah.. beraah. 27. Non.. Jehoshuah] i.e. Nun and Joshua.
28. Gaza] not the Philistine Gaza, which, though it is assigned to Judah in Jos_15:47, can never have belonged to Ephraim.
40. The children of Asher] These close the historian's enumeration, the descendants of Zebulun being entirely omitted.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 5. Issachar, Naphtali, half Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher
5. Issachar, Naphtali, half Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher
CHAPTER 7
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1. Issachar (1Ch 7:1-5)
2. Of Benjamin (1Ch 7:6-12)
3. Naphtali (1Ch 7:13)
4. Half Manasseh (1Ch 7:14-19)
5. Ephraim (1Ch 7:20-29)
6. Asher (1Ch 7:30-40)
The other tribes are given except Dan and Zebulun, which are missing. Issachar’s had the territory between the highlands and the Jordan valley. Their warriors numbered 87,000 taken most likely from David’s census. Only three sons of Benjamin are mentioned in verse 6; five are given in chapter 8:1. What became of the other five? In Gen 46:21 we find ten names. The others had most likely become extinct in the awful slaughter recorded in Judges (Judges 20). All these tables are more or less imperfect. This does not in any way affect the question of inspiration. No doubt there are deeper lessons connected with many of these names and arrangement of them, which we do not know.
“These genealogies were imperfect. The condition of Israel bore the impress of the ruin which had befallen them; but also that of the goodness of God who had brought back a remnant, and who had preserved all that was needful to place those who formed it in the record of His people. If the needful proof to give them a title to this were wanting, such as were of the people ceased to enjoy their proper privileges, and the priests their sacerdotal position, until a priest stood up with Urim and with Thummim. For these genealogies served as a means to recognize the people. Happy he who had preserved his own, and who had so appreciated the heritage of Jehovah as to attach value to it! It was a proof of faith; for it might have been said, Of what use are these genealogies in Babylon?” (Synopsis of the Bible)
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Line of Issachar, Benjamin, and Naphtali
The Line of Issachar, Benjamin, and Naphtali
v. 1. Now, the sons, and descendants, of Issachar were Tola, and Puah (or Phuvah), Jashub (or Job), and Shimrom, four. Cf Num 16:23 if.
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v. 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, chiefs of these subdivisions of the tribe, the father-houses; they were valiant men of might in their generations, as they were registered in the mustering-lists; whose number was in the days of David, perhaps at the time of his unfortunate census, two and twenty thousand and six hundred.
v. 3. And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah; and the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five; all of them chief men, both the father and each of his four sons at the head of a numerous and influential division of their tribe.
v. 4. And with them, by their generations, as they were enrolled in the mustering-lists, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men; for they had many wives and sons, this note being included to explain the extraordinary increase in numbers.
v. 5. And their brethren among all the families of Issachar, all the other members of the tribe, were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand.
v. 6. The sons of Benjamin, this being a preliminary list, a more detailed one following in the next chapter: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael (or Ashbel), three, these being apparently the chiefs of the most illustrious families.
v. 7. And the sons of Bela, some of those mentioned being sons in the wider sense, that is, descendants: Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, chiefs of these divisions in the tribe, the father-houses, mighty men of valor; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four.
v. 8. And the sons of Becher: Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth, the last two names also being found as applied to cities in the tribe of Benjamin. All these are the sons of Becher.
v. 9. And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, as the mustering-lists showed, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor, was twenty thousand and two hundred.
v. 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.
v. 11. All these the sons, the descendants, of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, as registered, mighty men of valor, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle.
v. 12. Shuppim also and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. The reference seems to be to the descendants of the only son of Dan, Gen 46:23, who is otherwise not mentioned in this list. V. 13. The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah, Naphtali and Dan being the sons of this handmaid, and the descendants here named continued the tribe. The growth and the power of all these tribes agreed exactly with the promises of God.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
All of the names here are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)
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heads of their fathers' houses
The words "father's houses" refers to extended families, people related to each other who usually lived in different houses, what the UDB calls "clans."
They numbered 22,600
"They numbered twenty-two thousand six hundred" or "There were 22,600 men" (See: Numbers)
in the days of David
"during David's life" or "while David was alive"
translationWords
Issachar
David
Obadiah
Joel
clan
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:1-40 In this chapter, the genealogies of the remaining…
7:1-40 In this chapter, the genealogies of the remaining tribes of Israel are given. • The sections on the tribes of Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher might have been derived from a military census; the lists are of nearly equal length, emphasize military terminology, record the father’s houses, and provide no information on settlements. • The tribes of Zebulun and Dan are omitted entirely, and Naphtali has a very brief record.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.