1 Chronicles 5 · WEB
Genealogies of Reuben, Gad, and Half-Tribe of Manasseh
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The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn; but, because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
2For Judah prevailed above his brothers, and from him came the prince; but the birthright was Joseph's):
3the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
5Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
6Beerah his son, whom Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive. He was prince of the Reubenites.
7His brothers by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
8and Bela the son of Azaz the son of Shema the son of Joel, who lived in Aroer even to Nebo and Baal Meon,
9and eastward he lived even to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied in the land of Gilead.
10In the days of Saul, they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they lived in their tents throughout all the land east of Gilead.
11The sons of Gad lived over against them, in the land of Bashan to Salecah:
12Joel the chief, and Shapham the second, and Janai and Shaphat in Bashan.
13Their brothers of their fathers' houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber — seven.
14These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri the son of Jaroah the son of Gilead the son of Michael the son of Jeshishai the son of Jahdo the son of Buz;
15Ahi the son of Abdiel the son of Guni, chief of their fathers' houses.
16They lived in Gilead in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasture lands of Sharon to their borders.
17All of these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
18The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skillful in war, were forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty, that were able to go out to war.
19They made war with the Hagrites, with Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.
20They were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of them, because they put their trust in him.
21They took away their livestock: their camels fifty thousand, and two hundred fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand donkeys, and of men a hundred thousand.
22For many fell slain, because the war was of God. They lived in their place until the captivity.
23The children of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land: they increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon.
24These were the heads of their fathers' houses: even Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers' houses.
25They trespassed against the God of their fathers, and played the prostitute after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
26The God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
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Summary
The chapter covers the Transjordan tribes — Reuben, Gad, and the eastern half of Manasseh. Reuben lost his birthright due to his sin, yet his tribe is still recorded. The three tribes formed a formidable military coalition and defeated the Hagrites through trusting prayer. However, they eventually fell into idolatry, and God used Assyria to carry them into exile — a theological warning woven into genealogy.
Themes
- The consequences of sin on inheritance and standing
- Victory through trusting God in battle
- Exile as God's judgment on unfaithfulness
Key verses
- 1 Chr 5:1 — “...because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph...”
- 1 Chr 5:20 — “...they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of them, because they put their trust in him.”
- 1 Chr 5:25-26 — “They trespassed against the God of their fathers... and the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of... the king of Assyria, and he carried them away.”
Context & background
The Transjordan tribes — Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh — settled east of the Jordan River in what is today the modern Kingdom of Jordan and the Golan Heights region of Syria. The Hagrites were an Arab/Aramean people living in the Syrian-Arabian desert. The Assyrian Empire (modern northern Iraq) under Tiglath-Pileser III (called Pul) began deporting northern Israelite tribes around 734–732 BC, decades before the fall of Samaria in 722 BC. The exiles were settled in Halah, Habor (the Habur River in modern northeastern Syria), and the river of Gozan.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 15:29 — Tiglath-Pileser's deportation of the northern tribes
- Genesis 35:22 — Reuben's sin with Bilhah that cost him the birthright
- Numbers 32 — The Transjordan tribes request their inheritance east of the Jordan
- Psalm 78:56-64 — Israel's pattern of trusting God then relapsing into sin
- Romans 11:22 — "Consider the goodness and severity of God" — seen in this chapter