Chapter Seven

1–5. The generation of Issachar. 6–11. The generation of Benjamin. 14–19. The half-tribe of Manasseh. 20–29. The generation of Ephraim. 30–40. The generation of Asher.

1 Chronicles 7:1. The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. These same names of the sons of Issachar are encountered also in (Num 26:23), but in (Gen 46:13) the third son is called Job.

1 Chronicles 7:2. The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Samuel, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand and six hundred. 1 Chronicles 7:3. The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah; and the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah, five. All of them were heads. 1 Chronicles 7:4. They had, according to their families, according to their generations, ready for battle thirty-six thousand; for they had many wives and sons. 1 Chronicles 7:5. And their brothers, in all the generations of Issachar, mighty men of valor, were eighty-seven thousand, entered in the genealogical records. The names of six sons of Tola, of five his descendants from the son Uzzi; the number able to bear arms in the generation of Tola (22,600), of Uzzi (36,000), and in the whole tribe of Issachar are never mentioned elsewhere. But the numbering might have been compiled on the basis of a census of the people conducted in the time of David (2 Sam 24; 1 Chr 21) and generally appears plausible. And indeed, if in the time of Moses at the first numbering the tribe of Issachar is recorded as 54,400 (Num 1:29) and at the second – 64,300 (Num 26:25), then there is nothing strange that in the period from Moses to David the number of Issacharites increased from 64,300 to 87,000, that is, by only 23,000 men.

1 Chronicles 7:6. For Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. The enumeration of only three sons of Benjamin stands in direct contradiction with (Gen 46:21), where ten sons are listed, (Num 26:38) – five sons, with (1 Chr 8:1) – also five, but only with different names. The simplest explanation of these differences consists in the supposition that the writers of these three different works speak of different persons: Moses – of the immediate descendants of Benjamin, and the author of Chronicles – of the further ones, who were representatives of their clans at the time of the census of the people in the days of David. But besides such a manner of reconciling genealogies, there exist also others. Namely, they suppose that Jediael of this verse is either a corruption of Ashbel from the three other lists or else a synonymous name with it. With the acceptance of such a supposition the verse in question enumerates the three sons of Benjamin known from Genesis: Bela, Becher, and Ashbel. Becher is omitted in Numbers and (1 Chr 8:1) (in the latter it is mentioned in verses 8–9) because in the time of Moses he did not yet have considerable posterity; it appeared in the age of David-Solomon. Naaman and Ard are not listed in the three genealogies except Genesis, on the ground that, according to (Num 36:40), they were his grandsons – children of his son Bela. Gera and Rosh (Gen 46:21) are omitted in other genealogies on account of their childlessness. Ehi (Genesis), Ahiram (Numbers), and Ahray (1 Chr 8:1) are different pronunciations of one and the same person. Muppim (Genesis) – Shephupham (Numbers) and Huppim (Genesis) – Hupham (Numbers).

1 Chronicles 7:7. The sons of Bela: Etzbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor. In the genealogical records twenty-two thousand thirty-four are recorded of them. The names of the sons of Bela do not coincide with those listed in (Num 26:40) and (1 Chr 8:3) perhaps because in this verse are noted not the sons of Bela, but his further descendants.

1 Chronicles 7:8. The sons of Becher: Zemira, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth: all these were sons of Becher. The two latter names are usually employed as names of Levite cities: Alemeth – 1 Chr 6:60; Anathoth – Jer 1:1.

1 Chronicles 7:11. All these sons of Jediael were heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor; seventeen thousand and two hundred were those going out to war. The total number of Benjaminites able to bear arms is, probably, reckoned to the time of David as 59,434 men (22,034 from the descendants of Bela – (1 Chr 7:7); 20,200 from Becher – (1 Chr 7:8) and 17,200 – from Jediael, that is, 13,834 men more than in the time of Moses (45,600 – (Num 26:41)). So insignificant an increase in the number of Benjaminites (compare note to (1 Chr 7:2-5)) over 4 centuries is sufficiently explained by their civil war with the other tribes in the period of the Judges, as a result of which only 600 men were left (Judg 20:47).

1 Chronicles 7:12. And Shuppim and Huppim, sons of Ir; Hushim, son of Aher. The names Shuppim and Huppim are identical with the names of two sons of Benjamin (Gen 46:21), but since the father of the persons of this verse is Ir, probably a son of Bela (1 Chr 7:7), they turn out to be grandsons of Benjamin. Who such Aher is and to which generation he and his son Hushim belong, the text does not say. But certain considerations lead us to reckon him as the one sole son of Dan – Hushim (in (Num 26:42) he is called, through transposition of letters, Shuham), of whom (Gen 46:23) makes mention. Namely, both in Genesis (Gen 46:23) and in Numbers (Num 26:42) the tribe of Dan is enumerated immediately after the tribe of Benjamin, more precisely, as also in Chapter 7 of 1 Chronicles, between Benjamin and Naphtali. The remark standing at the end (1 Chr 7:13): “children of Bilhah,” indicates, according to (Gen 46:25), both her sons – Dan and Naphtali, and therefore here too, as in Genesis, the first should be mentioned. The silence regarding Dan, its concealment under the name “Aher” (“another”) is natural for the author in view of the twofold omission of his name in (1 Chr 6:61) and (1 Chr 6:69).

1 Chronicles 7:13. The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem, children of Bilhah. From the tribe of Naphtali only his sons are designated. This phenomenon is explained, it is thought, by the fact that the author could not find genealogical records of this tribe and gave as many names as he had (Gen 46:24; Num 26:48).

1 Chronicles 7:14. The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine, the Aramean woman, bore; she also bore Makir, father of Gilead. 1 Chronicles 7:15. Makir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, – the name of their sister was Maacah; the name of the second was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had only daughters. 1 Chronicles 7:16. Maacah, wife of Makir, bore a son and called his name Peresh, and the name of his brother was Sheresh. His sons were Ulam and Rekem. 1 Chronicles 7:17. The son of Ulam: Bedan. These are the sons of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh. 1 Chronicles 7:18. His sister Moleketh bore Ishod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 1 Chronicles 7:19. The sons of Shemida were: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Genealogy of the half-tribe of Manasseh that dwelt on the west side of the Jordan; concerning the half-tribe that inhabited the east side, the matter was discussed in (1 Chr 5:23-26). From the six generations of Manasseh noted in (Num 26:29) and (Josh 17:2), the author mentions only two – Asriel and Shemida.

1 Chronicles 7:14. The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine, the Aramean woman, bore; she also bore Makir, father of Gilead. According to (Num 26:29-31), Asriel is not a son of Manasseh, but his great-grandson, – the son of his grandson Gilead. As a further descendant of Manasseh, but not a son, he is presented in this verse through the remark that his mother, an Aramean woman, bore to Manasseh Makir.

1 Chronicles 7:15. Makir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, – the name of their sister was Maacah; the name of the second was Zelophehad. Zelophehad had only daughters. Verse 15 in the Hebrew text is so obscure and incomprehensible that its corruption, in the common opinion of exegetes, is beyond all doubt. The literal translation of the Hebrew reading we have in Jerome and in the Slavonic Bible: “And Makir took a wife of Ophir and Saphir, and the name of his sister was Mocha.” Mocha (Maacah), called in the present case the sister of Makir, according to (1 Chr 7:16) turns out to be his wife, from which it is concluded that the pronoun “his” is wrongly placed in the singular instead of the plural “their,” that is, of Ophir and Saphir (Huppim and Shuppim). Further, the particle “le,” standing before the latter names, is understood with the verb “took” not in the sense of a dative particle, but of an accusative, and depending on this they read: “Makir took a wife from Huppim and Shuppim (two Benjaminites – 1 Chr 7:12); the name of their sister was Maacah.” “And the name of another – Zelophehad.” After the word “another” something is evidently omitted. Michaels reads this place thus: “and the name of the second son of Manasseh was Zelophehad” (cf. Num 26:33; Josh 17:3).

1 Chronicles 7:16. Maacah, wife of Makir, bore a son and called his name Peresh, and the name of his brother was Sheresh. His sons were Ulam and Rekem. The names of the sons of Maacah are encountered nowhere else.

1 Chronicles 7:18. His sister Moleketh bore Ishod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. The name of Makir’s sister, “Moleketh,” and the name of her first son are not encountered elsewhere in the Old Testament, but the name of the second, “Abiezer,” is identical with the one mentioned in (Josh 17:3), the name of the head of that generation of Manasseh from which Gideon was descended (Judg 6:11). The identification is hindered only by the circumstance that in this place in Joshua “Abiezer” is a son of Manasseh himself, but not of his sister, as here.

1 Chronicles 7:19. The sons of Shemida were: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Shemda is a son of Manasseh (Josh 17:2), more precisely of Gilead (Num 26:30). The names of his sons, except Shechem, son of Gilead (Num 26:31) are not encountered anywhere else.

1 Chronicles 7:20. The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son, 1 Chronicles 7:21. and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. And the men of Gath, native to that land, killed them, because they came down to take away their cattle. 1 Chronicles 7:22. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 1 Chronicles 7:23. Then he went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Beriah, because calamity had come upon his house. 1 Chronicles 7:24. And he had a daughter Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. 1 Chronicles 7:25. And Rephah his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 1 Chronicles 7:26. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 1 Chronicles 7:27. Non his son, Joshua his son. 1 Chronicles 7:28. Their possessions and their settlements were: Bethel and its dependent cities; to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its dependent cities; Shechem and its dependent cities as far as Gaza and its dependent cities. 1 Chronicles 7:29. And on the side of the sons of Manasseh: Beth-shean and its dependent cities, Taanach and its dependent cities, Megiddo and its dependent cities, Dor and its dependent cities. In them dwelt the sons of Joseph, son of Israel. The generation of Ephraim from his son Shuthelah, representative of the chief, according to (Num 26:35-36), clan of the Ephraimites, is traced through six generations, ending in Shuthelah (verse 21), to which are added also his brothers Ezer and Elead.

1 Chronicles 7:21. and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. And the men of Gath, native to that land, killed them, because they came down to take away their cattle. The remark of verse 22, that those killed in Gath were mourned by their father Ephraim, makes it clear that the raid of the Ephraimites on Gath took place during the lifetime of the Hebrews in Egypt (see commentary to (Exod 1:9-10)), but not earlier, since according to (Gen 46:20) Ephraim himself was born in Egypt. On the other hand, in view of the fact that, according to verse 23, Ephraim is the name of a person, not a collective name for the whole tribe, one cannot refer this event to a later period, as does, for example, Bertheau, understanding by Ephraim the whole tribe, not a person.

1 Chronicles 7:24. And he had a daughter Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. Sheerah is a daughter or granddaughter of Ephraim, but not of the accidentally mentioned Beriah in (1 Chr 7:23). Upper and Lower Beth-horon lay on the southern border of the tribe of Ephraim, on the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa.

1 Chronicles 7:25. And Rephah his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 1 Chronicles 7:26. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 1 Chronicles 7:27. Non his son, Joshua his son. Ancestors of Joshua son of Nun. Judging from (Num 26:35) and others, Rephah and Resheph can hardly be considered sons of Ephraim. In (Num 26:35) the name Tahan is attributed to a son of Ephraim, but Tahan of the present verse is evidently his further descendant.

1 Chronicles 7:26. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, The name Ladan as an Ephraimite is encountered only here. In (1 Chr 23:7) and (1 Chr 26:21) it is the name of one of the Levites. The son of Ammihud, Elishama, was in the time of Moses the leader of the tribe of Ephraim (Num 7:48), and his grandson, the son of Nun, or, according to the reading of the Pentateuch, Nun, is the renowned Joshua.

1 Chronicles 7:28. Their possessions and their settlements were: Bethel and its dependent cities; to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its dependent cities; Shechem and its dependent cities as far as Gaza and its dependent cities. 1 Chronicles 7:29. And on the side of the sons of Manasseh: Beth-shean and its dependent cities, Taanach and its dependent cities, Megiddo and its dependent cities, Dor and its dependent cities. In them dwelt the sons of Joseph, son of Israel. An indication of the territory occupied by the Ephraimites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, similar to the same kind of indication encountered after the exposition of the genealogy of the tribe of Simeon (1 Chr 4:28), of Levi (1 Chr 6:54) and others. Bethel, which lay on the border of the tribes of Benjamin and Ephraim (Josh 16:2), originally fell to the former (Josh 18:22); Naaran, perhaps identical with the small place called Neara found north of Jericho (Josephus. Antiquities 17:13, 1). Gezer lay, according to Joshua (Josh 16:3), between Bethhoron and the sea, on the south-western border, while the Shechem named below – on the north-western.

1 Chronicles 7:29. And on the side of the sons of Manasseh: Beth-shean and its dependent cities, Taanach and its dependent cities, Megiddo and its dependent cities, Dor and its dependent cities. In them dwelt the sons of Joseph, son of Israel. According to (Josh 17:11), the cities enumerated in this verse lay in the lot of Issachar and Asher, but belonged to the tribe of Manasseh.

1 Chronicles 7:30. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. 1 Chronicles 7:31. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzaith. An enumeration of the sons and grandsons of Asher identical with the present is found in (Gen 46:17) and (Num 26:44). In the latter place only Ishvi is not mentioned; likewise only in 1 Chronicles is the name Birzaith encountered.

1 Chronicles 7:32. Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 1 Chronicles 7:33. The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. 1 Chronicles 7:34. The sons of Shomer: Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram. Descendants of Heber, consisting of three generations.

1 Chronicles 7:35. The sons of Helem, his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. The descendants of Helem, who is identified by some exegetes with Hotham, son of Heber (1 Chr 7:32); the names of the members of both generations, that is, of Heber and Helem, are encountered only here.

1 Chronicles 7:40. All these sons of Asher, heads of fathers’ houses, select men, mighty men of valor, chief of the leaders. They were enrolled by genealogy for war, a total of twenty-six thousand men. The number of descendants of Asher noted is more than half less than the number according to (Num 26:47) (53,400). But this disagreement does not constitute a contradiction, since both enumerations belong to different times, and in the present case is indicated, as may be supposed, only the number of the clans of Heber, while in Numbers is given the number of all descendants of Asher in the time of Moses.