Text -- 1 Chronicles 5:7-26 (NET)

5:7 His brothers by their clans, as listed in their genealogical records: The leader Jeiel, Zechariah, 5:8 and Bela son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel. They lived in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal Meon. 5:9 In the east they settled as far as the entrance to the desert that stretches to the Euphrates River, for their cattle had increased in numbers in the land of Gilead. 5:10 During the time of Saul they attacked the Hagrites and defeated them. They took over their territory in the entire eastern region of Gilead.

Gad’s Descendants

5:11 The descendants of Gad lived near them in the land of Bashan, as far as Salecah. 5:12 They included Joel the leader, Shapham the second in command, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 5:13 Their relatives, listed according to their families, included Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber– seven in all. 5:14 These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. 5:15 Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the leader of the family. 5:16 They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its surrounding settlements, and in the pasturelands of Sharon to their very borders. 5:17 All of them were listed in the genealogical records in the time of King Jotham of Judah and in the time of King Jeroboam of Israel. 5:18 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men in their combined armies, warriors who carried shields and swords, were equipped with bows, and were trained for war. 5:19 They attacked the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 5:20 They received divine help in fighting them, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them. They cried out to God during the battle; he responded to their prayers because they trusted in him. 5:21 They seized the Hagrites’ animals, including 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, and 2,000 donkeys. They also took captive 100,000 people. 5:22 Because God fought for them, they killed many of the enemy. They dispossessed the Hagrites and lived in their land until the exile.

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

5:23 The half-tribe of Manasseh settled in the land from Bashan as far as Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. They grew in number. 5:24 These were the leaders of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were skilled warriors, warriors, men of reputation, and leaders of their families. 5:25 But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and worshiped instead the gods of the native peoples whom God had destroyed before them. 5:26 So the God of Israel stirred up King Pul of Assyria (that is, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria), and he carried away the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh and took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this very day.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ch 5:9

From Jordan and the wilderness beyond it unto Euphrates. Or, of the wilderness, which lies towards or reacheth to the river Euphrates, namely, the great wilderness of Kedemoth, Deu 2:26, which was extended far and wide towards Euphrates: for that was the eastern border of Reuben's possession, and not Euphrates, to which their habitation never reached.

Wesley: 1Ch 5:9

Which forced them to enlarge their habitation as far as they could towards Euphrates.

Wesley: 1Ch 5:10

Thus God did for his people, as he promised them. He cast out the enemy from before them by little and little, and gave them their land as they had occasion for it.

Wesley: 1Ch 5:14

These seven last named.

Wesley: 1Ch 5:20

By God, 1Ch 5:22, who gave them extraordinary courage and success.

Wesley: 1Ch 5:22

Undertaken in his fear, and carried on in a dependence on him. Then we may expect to prosper in any enterprize, and then only, when we take God along with us.

JFB: 1Ch 5:9

The settlement was on the east of Jordan, and the history of this tribe, which never took any part in the public affairs or movements of the nation, is comprised in "the multiplication of their cattle in the land of Gilead," in their wars with the Bedouin sons of Hagar, and in the simple labors of pastoral life. They had the right of pasture over an extensive mountain range--the great wilderness of Kedemoth (Deu 2:26) and the Euphrates being a security against their enemies.

JFB: 1Ch 5:11-15

The genealogy of the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (1Ch 5:24) is given along with that of the Reubenites, as these three were associated in a separate colony.

JFB: 1Ch 5:16

The term "Sharon" was applied as descriptive of any place of extraordinary beauty and productiveness. There were three places in Palestine so called. This Sharon lay east of the Jordan.

JFB: 1Ch 5:16

That is, of Gilead and Bashan: Gilead proper, or at least the largest part, belonged to the Reubenites; and Bashan, the greatest portion of it, belonged to the Manassites. The Gadites occupied an intermediate settlement on the land which lay upon their borders.

JFB: 1Ch 5:17

His long reign and freedom from foreign wars as well as intestine troubles were favorable for taking a census of the people.

JFB: 1Ch 5:17

The second of that name.

JFB: 1Ch 5:18-22

Or, "Hagarenes," originally synonymous with "Ishmaelites," but afterwards applied to a particular tribe of the Arabs (compare Psa 83:6).

JFB: 1Ch 5:18-22

His descendants were called Itureans, and the country Auranitis, from Hauran, its chief city. These, who were skilled in archery, were invaded in the time of Joshua by a confederate army of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, who, probably incensed by the frequent raids of those marauding neighbors, took reprisals in men and cattle, dispossessed almost all of the original inhabitants, and colonized the district themselves. Divine Providence favoured, in a remarkable manner, the Hebrew army in this just war.

JFB: 1Ch 5:26

The Phalluka of the Ninevite monuments (see on 2Ki 15:19).

JFB: 1Ch 5:26

The son of the former. By them the trans-jordanic tribes, including the other half of Manasseh, settled in Galilee, were removed to Upper Media. This was the first captivity (2Ki 15:29).

Clarke: 1Ch 5:8

Who dwelt in Aroer - This town was situated on the river Arnon; and Nebo was both a city and a mountain in the same country. They both lay on the other side of Jordan.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:10

And they dwelt in their tents - The Hagarites were tribes of Nomade, or Scenite, Arabs; people who lived in tents, without any fixed dwellings, and whose property consisted in cattle. The descendants of Reuben extirpated these Hagarites, seized on their property and their tents, and dwelt in their place.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:12

Joel the chief - "Joel, prince of the Sanhedrin; and Shapham, master of the college; and Jaanai and Shaphat, judges in Mathnan."- T.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:13

And their brethren - This verse is wanting both in the Syriac and in the Arabic.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:16

The suburbs of Sharon - There were three places of this name: that mentioned here was a district in the country of Bashan beyond Jordan, (see Jos 12:18); there was another that lay between Caesarea of Palestine and Joppa; and there was a third between Mount Tabor and the Sea of Tiberias. See Calmet.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:19

They made war with the Hagarites - This is probably the same war that is mentioned 1Ch 5:10. Those called Hagarites in the text are everywhere denominated by the Targum הונגראיי Hongaraai , Hongarites.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:20

They put their trust in him - Or, as the Targum says, "Because they trusted במימריה bemeymriah , in his Word."

Clarke: 1Ch 5:21

They took away their cattle - This was a war of extermination as to the political state of the people, which nothing could justify but an especial direction of God; and this he could never give against any, unless the cup of their iniquity had been full. The Hagarites were full of idolatry: see 1Ch 5:25.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:22

For there fell down many slain - The hundred thousand men mentioned above were probably made slaves, and were not slain. The Targum says, one hundred thousand souls of men

Clarke: 1Ch 5:22

The war was of God - The Targum says, the war was מן מימרא דיי min meymera dayai , "from the Word of the Lord."

Clarke: 1Ch 5:25

The gods of the people of the land - We see the reason why God delivered the Hagarites into the hands of these tribes; they were abominable idolaters, and therefore God destroyed them.

Clarke: 1Ch 5:26

Tilgath-pilneser - Many MSS. have תגלת Tiglath instead of תלגת Tilgath . The Syriac, the Septuagint, and the Chaldee, have the same reading as in 2Ki 15:29, etc

Clarke: 1Ch 5:26

Brought them unto Halah - See the notes on 2Ki 17:6 (note), and 2Ki 18:11 (note), for many particulars of these wars, and consequent captivity. It is a pity that some method were not found out to harmonize the books of Kings with the books of Chronicles, that the variations might be seen at one view.

TSK: 1Ch 5:7

when the genealogy : 1Ch 5:17

TSK: 1Ch 5:8

Bela : Gen 14:2

Azaz : i.e. the strong one, [Strong’ s H5811], Shema. Jos 15:26, or, Shemaiah, 1Ch 5:4

Aroer : Num 32:34; Deu 2:36; Jos 13:15-21; Isa 17:2

Nebo : Num 32:3; The city of Nebo was doubtless situated on or near the celebrated mountain of the same name, east of Jordan. Num 32:38; Deu 32:49, Deu 34:1; Isa 15:2

Baalmeon : Num 32:38; Jos 13:17; Eze 25:9

TSK: 1Ch 5:9

unto the entering : That is, unto the borders of Arabia Deserta, which extends to the Euphrates.

Euphrates : 1Ch 18:3; Gen 2:14; 2Ki 24:7

because : Jos 22:8, Jos 22:9

Gilead : 1Ch 5:16; 1Ch 26:31; Gen 31:23; Jos 22:9; 1Ki 17:1

TSK: 1Ch 5:10

am 2944, bc 1060

the Hagarites : i.e. fugitives, 1Ch 5:19, 1Ch 5:20; Gen 21:9, Gen 25:12; 2Sa 24:6; Psa 83:6, Hagarenes, [Strong’ s H1905], 1Ch 5:10, 1Ch 5:19, 1Ch 5:20; Psa 83:6, Also, 1Ch 11:38, Haggeri, 1Ch 27:31

throughout : etc. Heb. upon all the face of the East

TSK: 1Ch 5:11

the children : The Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh are joined to the genealogy of Reuben, because they inhabited the same country, and formed a sort of separate colony east of Jordan.

Gad : Gen 30:11, in the land Bashan, Num 21:33, Num 32:34-36; Deu 3:10-17; Jos 12:4, Jos 13:11, Jos 13:24-28; Psa 22:12

Salcah : Jos 13:11

TSK: 1Ch 5:12

Joel : 1Sa 8:2

Shapham : i.e. bald, [Strong’ s H8223]

Jaanai : i.e. responsive, [Strong’ s H3285], Shaphat. 1Ch 3:22

Bashan : 1Ch 5:11; Num 21:33

TSK: 1Ch 5:13

This verse is wanting both in the Syriac and Arabic.

Michael : Dan 12:1

Meshullam : 1Ch 9:12

Sheba : 1Ki 10:1

Jorai : i.e. rainy, [Strong’ s H3140]

Jachan : i.e. afflicted, [Strong’ s H3275]

Zia : i.e. trembling; smelling, [Strong’ s H2127], Heber. Gen 46:17

TSK: 1Ch 5:14

Abihail : Num 3:35

Huri : i.e. nobleman, [Strong’ s H2359]

Jaroah : i.e. making a sweet odor, [Strong’ s H3386]. Gilead. Gen 31:23

Michael : Dan 12:1

Jeshishai : i.e. aged, [Strong’ s H3454]

Jahdo : i.e. together, [Strong’ s H3163]

Buz : Gen 22:21

TSK: 1Ch 5:15

Ahi : i.e. brotherly, [Strong’ s H277], 1Ch 5:15, 1Ch 7:34

	Personal Characteristics	References
1.	Son of Abdiel	1Ch 5:15
2.	Son of Shamer	1Ch 7:34

Abdiel : i.e. servant of God, [Strong’ s H5661], Guni. Gen 46:24

TSK: 1Ch 5:16

Gilead : Gen 31:23

Bashan : 1Ch 5:11

Sharon : 1Ch 27:29; Son 2:1; Isa 35:2

their borders : Heb. goings forth

TSK: 1Ch 5:17

reckoned by genealogies : 1Ch 5:7

Jotham : Jdg 9:5; 2Ki 15:5, 2Ki 15:32; 2Ch 27:1

Jeroboam : 1Ki 11:26; 2Ki 14:16, 2Ki 14:23, 2Ki 14:28

TSK: 1Ch 5:18

Reuben : 1Ch 12:37; Gen 29:32; 2Ki 10:33

Gadites : Deu 3:12

Manasseh : Gen 41:51

valiant men : Heb. sons of valour, 1Sa 18:17 *marg. 2Sa 2:7 *marg.

to shoot : 1Ch 8:40; 2Ch 14:8; Psa 7:13

four and forty : Jos 4:12, Jos 4:13

that went : Num 1:3

TSK: 1Ch 5:19

made war : 1Ch 5:10

the Hagarites : The Hagarites, and these other tribes, were descendants of Hagar, and dwelt, according to Strabo, in Arabia Deserta.

Nephish : 1Ch 1:31; Gen 25:15 * Naphish:

TSK: 1Ch 5:20

And they : 1Ch 5:22; Exo 17:11; Jos 10:14, Jos 10:42; 1Sa 7:12, 1Sa 19:15; Psa 46:1, Psa 146:5, Psa 146:6

for they cried : 1Ki 8:44, 1Ki 8:45; 2Ch 13:14, 2Ch 13:15, 2Ch 14:11-13, 2Ch 18:31, 2Ch 20:12, 2Ch 32:20, 2Ch 32:21

in the battle : 1Ki 22:32; 2Ch 13:13, 2Ch 13:14, 2Ch 14:10, 2Ch 14:11, 2Ch 18:31

because : Psa 9:10, Psa 20:7, Psa 20:8, Psa 22:4, Psa 22:5, Psa 84:11, Psa 84:12; Jer 17:7, Jer 17:8; Nah 1:7; Eph 1:12

TSK: 1Ch 5:21

took away : Heb. led captive

camels : The camel, in Hebrew gamal , retained with little variation in all languages, is, according to the Linnean system, a genus of quadrapeds of the order pecora ; comprehending the camel, properly so called, with two prominences; the dromedary, with a single one; the lama, or Peruvian camel, with the back even and the breast gibbose, and the pacos, or camel without any gibbosity. The camel, properly so called, is about 6+ feet in heightcaps1 . icaps0 ts head is small; ears short; neck long, slender, and bending; legs long and slender, having four callosities on the fore legs and two on the hinder, on which it rests; feet soft, parted, but not thoroughly divided; bottom of the foot tough and pliant; tail about two feet in length, terminating in a tuft; and hair fine, soft, of considerable length, and of a dusky reddish colour. Besides the same internal structure as other ruminating animals, it is furnished with an additional bag for containing a quantity of water till wanted.

men : Heb. souls of men, Num 31:35; Eze 27:13; Rev 18:13, souls, Heb. nephesh, Gen 12:5

TSK: 1Ch 5:22

the war was of God : Exo 14:14; Jos 23:10; Jdg 3:2; 2Ch 32:8; Neh 4:20; Psa 24:8; Pro 22:3; Zec 14:3; Luk 14:31, Luk 14:32, Luk 22:36; Rom 8:31

they dwelt : Num 32:33

steads : 1Ch 4:41

until the captivity : 1Ch 5:6, 1Ch 5:26; 2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 17:6

TSK: 1Ch 5:23

Baalhermon : Jos 13:29-31

Hermon : Jos 13:11; Psa 133:3; Son 4:8

TSK: 1Ch 5:24

famous men : Heb. men of names, 1Ch 4:38

TSK: 1Ch 5:25

and went : Jdg 2:17, Jdg 8:33; 2Ki 17:7-18; Hos 1:2, Hos 9:1; Rev 17:5

a whoring : Exo 34:15; Jdg 8:27; 2Ki 17:7; 2Ch 21:11, 2Ch 21:13

after the gods : Jdg 2:12; 2Ch 25:14, 2Ch 25:15; Psa 106:34-39

TSK: 1Ch 5:26

stirred up : 2Sa 24:1; 2Ch 33:11; Ezr 1:5; Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 13:2-5

Pul : 2Ki 15:19, Tiglath pileser

and brought them : 2Ki 17:6, 2Ki 18:11, 2Ki 19:12; Isa 37:12

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ch 5:9

He inhabited - i. e. Reuben. Eastward the Reubenites inhabited as far as the commencement of the great Syrian Desert, which extended all the way from the river Euphrates to their borders.

Barnes: 1Ch 5:10

The "Hagarites"or "Hagarenes"are generally regarded as descendants of Hagar, and a distinct branch of the Ishmaelites 1Ch 27:30-31; Psa 83:6. They appear to have been one of the most wealthy 1Ch 5:21 and widely-spread tribes of the Syrian Desert, being found on the side of the Euphrates in contact with the Assyrians, and also in the Hauran, in the neighborhood of Palestine, in contact with the Moabites and Israelites. If identical with the Agraei of the Classical writers, their name may be considered as still surviving in that of the district called Hejer or Hejera in northeastern Arabia, on the borders of the Persian Gulf. A full account of the war is given in 1Ch 5:18-22.

Barnes: 1Ch 5:11

From this passage and from the subsequent account of the Manassites 1Ch 5:23-24, the Gadites extended themselves to the north at the expense of their brethren, gradually occupying a considerable portion of the tract originally allotted to the "half tribe."

Barnes: 1Ch 5:17

The writer refers here to two registrations, one made under the authority of Jeroboam II when he was king and Israel flourishing, the other made under the authority of Jotham, king of Judah, during the troublous time which followed on the great invasion of Tiglath-pileser. There is nothing surprising in a king of Judah having exercised a species of lordship over the trans-Jordanic territory at this period.

Barnes: 1Ch 5:19

Jetur no doubt gave his name to the important tribe of the Ituraeans who inhabited the region southwest of the Damascene plain, between Gaulonitis (Jaulan) and the Ledjah. This tribe was noted for its thievish habits, and was regarded as savage and warlike.

Barnes: 1Ch 5:23

"Baal-Hermon,""Senir"Deu 3:9, and "Mount Hermon,"are here not so much three names of the one great snow-clad eminence in which the Anti-Lebanon terminates toward the south, as three parts of the mountain - perhaps the "three summits"in which it terminates.

Barnes: 1Ch 5:26

"Habor"here seems to be a city or a district, and not a river, as in marginal reference There is some reason to believe that districts among the Assyrians were occasionally named from streams.

Hara is probably the same as "Haran"Gen 11:31; 2Ki 19:12; Eze 27:23, being a softening down of the rugged original "Kharan."

Poole: 1Ch 5:7

His brethren i.e. the other sons of Reuben, and their posterity.

The chief Heb. the head ; each was the head of his family.

Poole: 1Ch 5:8

Who dwelt to wit, the Reubenites, all these here before mentioned, as appears both by the following verses, which relate to the whole tribe; and by the agreement of this description of their inheritance with that, Jos 13:15,16 .

Poole: 1Ch 5:9

He inhabited i.e. the tribe of Reuben.

From the river Euphrates from Jordan and the wilderness beyond it unto Euphrates. Or,

of the wilderness which lies towards or reacheth to the river Euphrates, namely, the great wilderness of Kedemoth, Deu 2:26 , which was extended far and wide towards Euphrates; for that was the eastern border of Reuben’ s possession, and not Euphrates, to which their habitation never reached.

Their cattle were multiplied which forced them to enlarge their habitation as far as they could eastward towards Euphrates.

Poole: 1Ch 5:10

They made war the Gadites and Manassites joining with them in the war, 1Ch 5:18,19 .

With the Hagarites the Ishmeelites, who dwelt in Arabia the Desert.

They dwelt in their tents the Israelites took possession of their lands, and tents or houses.

Throughout all the east land of Gilead which lay eastward from the land of Gilead.

Poole: 1Ch 5:12

The chief the prince of the tribe, or at least of his family, when they were numbered, to wit, in the days of Jotham, 1Ch 5:17 .

Shaphat in Bashan i.e. who dwelt in the city of Bashan. Others thus, Who abode in Bashan to defend the city and country, when their brethren went out to war against the Hagarites, 1Ch 5:18,19 .

Poole: 1Ch 5:14

These are the children these seven last named.

Poole: 1Ch 5:15

This Ahi was the head or chief of the houses or families, either,

1. Of those seven named 1Ch 5:13 ; or,

2. Of Abdiel and Guni last named, and of their fifties.

Poole: 1Ch 5:16

They dwelt i.e. the children or tribe of Gad.

In Gilead i.e. in part of Gilead; for the Reubenites and Manassites dwelt in other parts of it, Deu 3:12,13,16 .

In Bashan in the land of Bashan, as it is said, 1Ch 5:11 .

Quest. How come the Gadites to dwell in Bashan, when all Bashan is expressly said to be given to the half tribe of Manasseh, Deu 3:13 Jos 13:29,30 ?

Answ All Bashan is put for the greatest part of it by a synecdoche, very frequent in Scripture and all authors; and so the Gadites might possess a part of it. And thus both Bashan and Gilead are used for parts of them, Jos 17:1 , where it is said of Machir a Manassite, that he had Gilead and Bashan . And as it is unquestionably true that Gilead is taken sometimes more largely for all the land of the Israelites beyond Jordan, sometimes more strictly for that part of it which borders upon Mount Gilead; of which See Poole "Jos 17:1" ; the like may be presumed concerning Bashan; and so in its strictest sense it might be all given to the Manassites, and yet in its largest sense might comprehend a part of the land belonging to the Gadites.

In her towns i.e. in some of her cities and towns.

In all the suburbs i.e. in its fields and pasture grounds, 1Ch 27:29 . Of Sharon ; not that within Jordan, Isa 35:2 , but another without Jordan.

Upon their borders to wit, of Gilead and Bashan; for Gilead properly so called, or the greatest part of it, belonged to the Reubenites; and Bashan, or the greatest part of it, to the Manassites; and so the Gadites (whose habitation was between the Reubenites and Manassites) had those parts of both their countries which were towards their borders. Or,

unto their borders i.e. as far as the suburbs or fields of Sharon, which were last mentioned, were extended.

Poole: 1Ch 5:17

In the days of Jotham king of Judah who reigning long, partly in his father’ s days, and partly by himself, 2Ki 15 , and being at leisure as to wars or troubles, thought this a fit season to examine the state of his people.

In the days of Jeroboam either the second of that name, of whom see 2Ki 13:13 . Or rather the first Jeroboam; partly because he is called simply Jeroboam, without any addition; which shows that he speaks of the most famous of the two; and partly because this work of taking an account of the people doth far better agree to the times of Jeroboam the First, when the kingdom of Israel was first erected and established, and broken off from that of Judah, when it was necessary for Jeroboam to know his own strength, and the numbers of his people, than to the times of Jeroboam the Second, when the kingdom of Israel was broken, and near to its ruin.

Poole: 1Ch 5:19

i.e. With the posterity of Jetur, &c., who were Ishmeelites, as appears from Gen 25:15 .

Poole: 1Ch 5:20

They were helped against them to wit, by God, 1Ch 5:22 , who gave them extraordinary courage and success.

All that were with them their friends and allies in this war.

Poole: 1Ch 5:21

Of their camels fifty thousand for camels were very numerous in Arabia, being used in war, and for burdens, &c., and being very patient of thirst, and therefore most fit for those hot and dry countries.

Of men an hundred thousand whom they took prisoners, and either used as slaves, or sold them for such.

Poole: 1Ch 5:22

The war was of God God put them upon it, and mightily assisted them in it.

They dwelt i.e. that party of these tribes which went out to this war, being 44,760 men; or part of them by the consent of the rest.

Until the captivity of which 2Ki 15:29 17:6 .

Poole: 1Ch 5:23

Having discoursed of the Reubenites, 1Ch 5:3 , &c., and next of the Gadites, 1Ch 5:11 , &c., he now comes to the Manassites.

In the land i.e. in their land, to wit, in the northern part of the land beyond Jordan.

Poole: 1Ch 5:26

Stirred up the spirit he so governed his counsels and affections, that he should bring his forces against this people rather than others. Of Halah, Habor, &c., see 2Ki 17:6 18:11 .

Haydock: 1Ch 5:7

Families, when they were led captive into Assyria; (Menochius) or before, when the tribe was in a most flourishing condition. ---

Princes. Hebrew and Septuagint, "prince." ---

Jehiel. Septuagint, "Joel," ver. 4.

Haydock: 1Ch 5:8

And. So Hebrew, &c., as f he was one of the princes. But the Vulgate seems to begin a new sentence, Porro, "now Bala." The possessions of this man must have been very extensive, from the Euphrates till (Haydock) Baal-meon, within nine miles of Hesebon, (Eusebius) almost (Calmet) as far as the Jordan. (Tirinus) ---

Bala, or his descendants, extended their conquests as far as the Euphrates, which had been promised to Israel; and, under Saul, conquered the Agarites, who sprung from Agar. Syriac, &c., "the Arabs of Sacca," or the Scenites, "dwelling under tents, " and inhabiting the Desert Arabia. The details of this war are probably given, ver. 19., &c. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:9

Cattle, for which reason they desired to have this country, Numbers xxxii. 4. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:11

Selcha, not far from Jabok, Deuteronomy iii. 10. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:12

Chief, ( in capite. ) Septuagint, "first-born." (Haydock) ---

This list was made under Joathan, king of Juda, when Joel was at the head of the tribe of Gad. (Calmet) ---

Basan, the capital city, ver. 16. (Sa) (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:15

And, &c. Hebrew also, "Achi, son of Abdiel." ---

Chief, like the preceding, each in their respective families. (Calmet) ---

They were relations (Haydock) of the same tribe. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:16

Saron, in Basan; (Josue xii. 18.) different from those vallies near Joppe, (Calmet) and between Thabor and Tiberias. (Eusebius)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:17

Israel. Jeroboam II had been dead two years before Joathan was born: unless some of the numbers be incorrect; which seem very probable, 4 Kings xv. 5. Yet these registers might be made at different times, and one, perhaps, under Jeroboam I, as when any war seemed to threaten, the number of soldiers was to be known. (Calmet) ---

It does not appear why the king of Juda is mentioned, as the people were not under his dominion, unless (Haydock) he was contemporary with Jeroboam II, as some assert. (Menochius) ---

Yet the following expedition seems to have taken place while Israel was still faithful to God. (Haydock) By faith they overcame kingdoms, Hebrews xi. (Worthington)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:19

But, &c. Hebrew, "and Jetur, &c., ( 20 ) and they were helped by God against them." (Haydock) ---

Septuagint, "they prevailed over them, and the Agarites," &c. The ancient, or higher Iturea, lay between Hermon and Manasses; but the lower, which Josephus includes under this name, took in the deserted possessions of that half tribe. (Calmet) ---

The former (Haydock) extended from Jordan by Libanus, to the mountains of Tyre. (Menochius) ---

And Naphis, sons of Ismael, Genesis xxv. 13. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:22

Lord. Very dreadful, and in obedience to God's orders. ---

Captivity, ver. 6. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:23

Basan, which belonged to Gad. (Haydock) ---

In Josue (xvii. 5.) Basan and Galaad seem to be given to Manasses; but the former there denotes all the level country, from the Jabok to the Jordan, as Galaad is put for the mountains on the East. (Calmet) ---

Great. It would take thirty hours to travel from the torrent Jabok to Baal Hermon. (Adrichomius) (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ch 5:26

Assur. These princes were scourges in the hand of God, to punish the guilty. (Haydock) ---

The former forced Israel to pay tribute; the latter carried many into captivity, 4 Kings xv. 19, 29., and xvi. 7. (Calmet) ---

Lahela, or Hala and Haber, cities watered by the river Gozan. ---

Ara; perhaps Rages, Tobias i. 16, &c. (Du Hamel)

Gill: 1Ch 5:7

And his brethren by their families,.... Either the brethren of Beerah, or the rest of the posterity of Reuben:

(when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned;) either in the times of Jotham and Jeroboam, 1Ch 5:17 or at the time of their captivity, as in the preceding verse:

were the chief, Jehiel, and Zechariah; these were the principals or heads of their families.

Gill: 1Ch 5:8

And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel,.... The pedigree of Bela, another principal man in the tribe of Reuben, is traced up to Joel the father of Shema; the same with Shemaiah, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, 1Ch 5:4

who dwelt in Aroer; which belonged to the tribe of Gad, and was rebuilt by them, Num 32:34 wherefore Kimchi observes, it may be interpreted, either from Aroer, or on the border of it, Bela dwelt:

even unto Nebo, and Baalmeon; of which See Gill on Num 32:38.

Gill: 1Ch 5:9

And eastward he inhabited,.... Either Bela, or the tribe of Reuben:

unto the entering in of the wilderness; the wilderness of Kedemoth, which was near to Sihon king of Heshbon, whose land the Reubenites inhabited, Deu 2:26.

from the river Euphrates; a learned man ^r thinks that this river Phrat was different from the Euphrates near Babylon, which was northward, since this was to the east or southeast:

because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead; therefore their habitation was extended further, even to the river Euphrates, as in the days of David and Solomon, 2Sa 8:3.

Gill: 1Ch 5:10

And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites,.... Not with the Hungarians, as the Targum, a people not then in being; but the Ishmaelites, so called because they descended from Hagar ^s, Sarah's maid; the same that are placed by Pliny ^t and Ptolemy ^u in Arabia, near the Batanaeans, or inhabitants of Bashan; with those the Reubenites made war, in conjunction with the Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh, 1Ch 5:18, perhaps this war might be much about the time Saul relieved Jabeshgilead, and beat the Ammonites, 1Sa 11:1 by which the tribes on that side Jordan might be encouraged to it:

who fell by their hand; were worsted and conquered by them:

and they dwelt in their tents; in which the Arabians used to dwell, because of their flocks; hence some of them were called Scenites:

throughout all the east land of Gilead; or rather throughout all the land of the Hagarites, which lay to the east of Gilead, as the Vulgate Latin version; or otherwise the land of Gilead itself was their original possession.

Gill: 1Ch 5:11

And the children of Gad dwelt over against them,.... Or by them, the Reubenites; and one part of Gilead was given them between them, and the other to the half tribe of Manasseh:

in the land of Bashan, unto Salcah; for though all Bashan is said to be given to the half tribe of Manasseh, Deu 3:13 yet that is to be understood of the greater part of it; all of that which belonged to Og, but what did not, the Gadites, either from the first, or in later times, inhabited even as far as Salcah, which was one of the cities of Og, Deu 3:10 and which Benjamin of Tudela ^w makes mention of, being called by the same name in his days.

Gill: 1Ch 5:12

Joel the chief,.... In this and the following verse are reckoned up the principal men in the tribe of Gad, and the chief of all was Joel, another from him in the tribe of Reuben, 1Ch 5:4.

and Shapham the next; the second chief man, from whom, Reland ^x conjectures, Shophan, a city in the tribe of Gad, had its name, Num 32:35.

and Jaanai; from whom Danjaan might be called, as Michaelis intimates, 2Sa 24:6.

and Shaphat in Bashan; not Shaphat the father of Elisha, according to a tradition of the Jews, mentioned by Kimchi; which is not at all probable.

Gill: 1Ch 5:13

And their brethren of the house of their fathers,.... Who were also men of eminence and note in them:

were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Shebai, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven; so they are as here mentioned by name.

Gill: 1Ch 5:14

These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri,.... That is, the seven before mentioned; they were the posterity of Abihail, whose pedigree is traced from his father Huri to Buz, the intermediate progenitors being Jaroah, Gilead, Michael, Jeshishai, Jahdo.

Gill: 1Ch 5:15

Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. Which Ahi was a principal man in the families the seven above men belonged to; besides them, or those three, were everyone of them heads of families.

Gill: 1Ch 5:16

And they dwelt in Gilead,.... In that part of it which belonged to the tribe of Gad:

in Bashan, and in her towns; See Gill on 1Ch 5:11,

and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders; there were two Sharons, one to the west of the land of Israel near the Mediterranean sea, which is mentioned in Act 9:35 as near Lydda and Joppa; and the other to the east or northeast, beyond Jordan, which is here meant.

Gill: 1Ch 5:17

All these were reckoned by genealogies,.... All before mentioned:

in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel; not that those two kings reigned at the same time, and one and the same reckoning is meant; but, as Dr. Lightfoot ^y observes, there were two reckonings; his words are,"in the days of Jotham there was an account taken of the families of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, 1Ch 5:17 and so had there been in the days of Jeroboam the second; then at their restoring by Jeroboam out of the hands of Hamath and Syria, and now at their arming against the Assyrian, under whom they fell in the time of Pekah, and are never again restored to Israel.''

Gill: 1Ch 5:18

The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh,.... These all joined together, living together on the one side of Jordan:

of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war; strong able bodied men; and not only able to bear and carry arms, sword in one hand, and shield in another; but were men of valour and courage, and had military skill, and knew how to handle their arms to advantage:

were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war: that used to go out when there was occasion, and did at this time.

Gill: 1Ch 5:19

And they made war with the Hagarites,.... Before mentioned, 1Ch 5:19.

with Jetur, and Nephish: with the posterity of these men, who were sons of Ishmael, Gen 25:15 and so was Nodab; perhaps the same with Kedemah, mentioned along with the other two there; so Hillerus ^z thinks.

Gill: 1Ch 5:20

And they were helped against them,.... The Israelites were helped against the Ishmaelites, to fight with them, and overcome them; either by their brethren of the house of Israel, as the Targum, those on this side Jordan; or rather by the Lord, to whom they cried, and who was entreated by them as follows:

and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them; they and their confederates and auxiliaries, the Ituraeans, &c.

for they cried to God in the battle; which at first seems to have gone against them; and they prayed to God, as the Targum, while they were fighting, that he would appear for them, and give them victory:

and he was entreated of them; he received their prayer, as the same paraphrase; he heard them, and answered them:

because they put their trust in him; in his power and providence, and not in their own strength, courage, and military skill; the Targum is,"because they trusted in his word.''

Gill: 1Ch 5:21

And they took away their cattle,.... Which they brought with them, and they found in their camp when they fled, or in their fields:

of their camels fifty thousand; with which Arabia abounded, and were fit to travel with in those hot and desert countries, being strong to carry burdens, and able to bear much thirst. The Arabians, as Diodorus Siculus ^a reports, brought up camels, for almost all the uses of life; as for the sake of their milk and flesh to feed upon, as well as for carrying burdens in common; and which in time of war they loaded with provisions for the army, and fought upon, one of them carrying two archers with their backs to each other, the one to meet the enemy in front, the other to annoy those that pursued them; and so the Parthians made use of camels both to fight on, and to carry provisions for their soldiers ^b:

and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand; which these Hagarites kept both for food and clothing, and some of them might be now taken with them to supply their army; the Spartans carried sheep with them in their expeditions, as sacrifices to their gods ^c; but it need not be supposed that these creatures, and those that follow, were in such large numbers with the Hagarites in the battle, but were afterwards found, partly in their camp, and partly in the places inhabited by them:

and of asses two thousand; used to ride on, and carry loads, and also to plough with; and in all these lay the wealth of men in those times and countries, see Job 1:1.

and of men one hundred thousand; so that they took captive above as many more as their army consisted of.

Gill: 1Ch 5:22

For there fell down many slain,.... Many were killed in the battle, besides the great number of prisoners made, so that the army the Ishmaelites brought into the field was very great:

because the war was of God; or from the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; he stirred up the Israelites to it, directed, assisted, and succeeded them, that vengeance might be taken on this wicked and idolatrous people:

and they dwelt in their stead until the captivity; the Targum adds, of Sennacherib king of Assyria; but this captivity of the tribes referred to was not by him, but by Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 1Ch 5:26 and they dwelt not in the country of the Arab-hagarites, or Ishmaelites in their stead there, but in Gilead, as in 1Ch 5:10 which belonged to the Gadites and Reubenites originally, but had been dispossessed of it, or however distressed in it by these Hagarites, which they now drove out, and dwelt in their stead; for as for the Scenite-arabs or Ishmaelites, they never were conquered and brought into subjection by any people, but always maintained their independency ^d; and lived upon the plunder of their neighbours, pitching their tents here and there for their convenience, which in these parts were at this time spoiled.

Gill: 1Ch 5:23

And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land,.... Not in the land of the Hagarites, but in the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond Jordan, given them by Moses. The writer, having reckoned the genealogies of some of the principal men of Reuben and Gad, proceeds to give a short account of some principal men in this half tribe:

they increased from Bashan; where they first settled, and extended their possessions:

unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto Mount Hermon; mountains which lay to the north of the land of Canaan, and are what geographers call Antilibanus.

Gill: 1Ch 5:24

And these were the heads of the house of their fathers,.... Some of the principal men of this half tribe:

even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel; but of none of these we read elsewhere, excepting Hepher and Azriel, Num 26:31.

mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers; men that obtained a name for their strength, courage, and valour, and military exploits, and were the chiefs of the families in this half tribe, and by whom they were denominated; so from Hepher were the family of the Hepherites, and from Azriel the family of the Azrielites, as in the place before quoted.

Gill: 1Ch 5:25

And they transgressed against the God their fathers,.... Against his law, will, word, and ordinances, not only the half tribe of Manasseh, hut the Reubenites and Gadites also:

and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them; that is, committed idolatry, which is spiritual fornication or whoredom; worshipped the idols either of the Amorites, who were destroyed by the Lord to make way for their first settlement; or of the Ishmaelites, whom they conquered, and whose land they dwelt in to the captivity.

Gill: 1Ch 5:26

And the God of Israel,.... The Targum is,"the word of the God of Israel:"

stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria: in the times of Menahem king of Israel:

and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser; in the times of Pekah king of Israel, to invade the land, and make war in it:

and he carried them away: not the former, but the latter:

even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh; these entirely together, with some other parts of the land, see 2Ki 15:29.

and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan; to the very same places where afterwards Salmaneser carried the ten tribes, or what remained of them, see 2Ki 17:6.

unto this day; the times of Ezra, the writer of this book, after the tribe of Judah returned from the captivity of Babylon; but the ten tribes remained where they were carried, and have not returned even to this day.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:10

¹ tn Heb “and in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites and they fell by their hand and they lived in their tents unto all the face of the east of Gilead.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:13

¹ tn Heb “and their brothers by the house of their fathers.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:15

¹ tn Heb “was the head of the house of their fathers.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:16

¹ tn Heb “unto their extremities.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:18

¹ tn Heb “the sons of Reuben and the Gadites and half of the tribe of Manasseh, from the sons of bravery, men carrying a shield and sword and treading a bow and trained for war, 44,760 going out for warfare.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:19

¹ tn Heb “made war with.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:20

¹ tn Heb “and they were helped against them and they were given over into their hand, the Hagrites and all who were with them, for to God they cried out in the battle and he was entreated [or “allowed himself to be entreated”] by them for they trusted in him.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:21

¹ tn Heb “their”; the referent (the Hagrites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:22

¹ tn Heb “from God [was] the battle.”

² tn Heb “many slain fell.”

³ tn Heb “and they lived in place of them until the exile.” The referent of “them” (the Hagrites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:24

¹ tn Heb “and these [were] the heads of the house of their fathers.”

² tn Heb “men of names.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:25

¹ tn Heb “fathers.”

² tn Heb “prostituted themselves after.”

³ tn Heb “the peoples of the land.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 5:26

¹ tn Heb “stirred up the spirit of.”

² tn Heb “and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria.” “Pul” and “Tilgath-pilneser” were names of the same Assyrian ruler, more commonly known as Tiglath-pileser (cf. 2 Kgs 15:29).

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:8

And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in ^{( d )} Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baalmeon:

^{( d )} These places were beyond Jordan toward the east in the land given to the Reubenites.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:10

And in the days of Saul they made war with the ^{( e )} Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east [land] of Gilead.

^{( e )} The Ishmaelites who came from Hagar Abraham's concubine.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:16

And they dwelt in Gilead in ^{( f )} Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.

^{( f )} Both the whole country and one particular city were called Bashan.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:19

And they made war with the Hagarites, with ^{( g )} Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.

^{( g )} These twelve were the sons of Ishmael, (Gen 25:15).

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:20

And they were ^{( h )} helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that [were] with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.

^{( h )} That is, by the Lord who gave them the victory.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:22

For there fell down many slain, because the war [was] of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the ^{( i )} captivity.

^{( i )} Meaning, the captivity of the ten tribes under Tiglath Pileser.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:23

And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto ^{( k )} Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.

^{( k )} Otherwise called Baal-gad.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 5:26

And the God of Israel ^{( l )} stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.

^{( l )} Thus God stirred up the wicked and used them as instruments to execute his just judgment against sinners, although they were led by malice and ambition.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ch 5:1-26

1 Judah and Joseph preferred before Reuben, who forfeited his birthright.

3 Ruben's descendants; some of whom vanquish the Hagarites.

11 The chief men of Gad, and their habitations.

18 Ruben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, obtain a victory over the Hagarites.

23 The habitations and chief men of that half of Manasseh.

25 The captivity of the two tribes and half, for their sins.

MHCC: 1Ch 5:1-26

This chapter gives some account of the two tribes and a half seated on the east side of Jordan. They were made captives by the king of Assyria, because they had forsaken the Lord. Only two things are here recorded concerning these tribes. 1. They all shared in a victory. Happy is that people who live in harmony together, who assist each other against the common enemies of their souls, trusting in the Lord, and calling upon him. 2. They shared in captivity. They would have the best land, not considering that it lay most exposed. The desire of earthly objects draws to a distance from God's ordinances, and prepares men for destruction.

Matthew Henry: 1Ch 5:1-17

We have here an extract out of the genealogies,

I. Of the tribe of Reuben, where we have,

1. The reason why this tribe is thus postponed. It is confessed that Reuben was the first-born of Israel, and, upon that account, might challenge the precedency; but he forfeited his birthright by defiling his father's concubine, and was, for that, sentenced not to excel, Gen 49:4. Sin lessens men, thrusts them down from their excellency. Seventh-commandment sins especially leave an indelible stain upon men's names and families, a reproach which time will not wipe away. Reuben's seed, to the last, bear the disgrace of Reuben's sin. Yet, though that tribe was degraded, it was not discarded or disinherited. The sullying of the honour of an Israelite is not the losing of his happiness. Reuben loses his birthright, yet it does not devolve upon Simeon the next in order; for it was typical, and therefore must attend, not the course of nature, but the choice of grace. The advantages of the birthright were dominion and a double portion. Reuben having forfeited these, it was thought too much that both should be transferred to any one, and therefore they were divided. (1.) Joseph had the double portion; for two tribes descended from him, Ephraim and Manasseh, each of whom had a child's part (for so Jacob by faith blessed them, Heb 11:21; Gen 48:15, Gen 48:22), and each of those tribes was as considerable, and made as good a figure, as any one of the twelve, except Judah. But, (2.) Judah had the dominion; on him the dying patriarch entailed the sceptre, Gen 49:10 Of him came the chief ruler, David first, and, in the fulness of time, Messiah the Prince, Mic 5:2. This honour was secured to Judah, though the birthright was Joseph's; and, having this, he needed not envy Joseph the double portion.

2. The genealogy of the princes of this tribe, the chief family of it (many, no doubt, being omitted), to Beerah, who was head of this clan when the king of Assyria carried them captive, 1Ch 5:4-6. Perhaps he is mentioned as prince of the Reubenites at that time because he did not do his part to prevent the captivity.

3. The enlargement of the coasts of this tribe. They increasing, and their cattle being multiplied, they crowded out their neighbours the Hagarites, and extended their conquests, though not to the river Euphrates, yet to the wilderness which abutted upon that river, 1Ch 5:9, 1Ch 5:10. Thus God did for his people as he promised them: he cast out the enemy from before them by little and little, and gave them their land as they had occasion for it, Exo 23:30.

II. Of the tribe of Gad. Some great families of that tribe are here named (1Ch 5:12), seven that were the children of Abihail, whose pedigree is carried upwards from the son to the father (1Ch 5:14, 1Ch 5:15), as that 1Ch 5:4, 1Ch 5:5, is brought downwards from father to son. These genealogies were perfected in the days of Jotham king of Judah, but were begun some years before, in the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel. What particular reason there was for taking these accounts then does not appear; but it was just before they were carried away captive by the Assyrians, as appears 2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 15:31. When the judgments of God were ready to break out against them for their wretched degeneracy and apostasy then were they priding themselves in their genealogies, that they were the children of the covenant; as the Jews, in our Saviour's time, who, when they were ripe for ruin, boasted, We have Abraham to our father. Or there might be a special providence in it, and a favourable intimation that though they were, for the present, cast out, they were not cast off for ever. What we design to call for hereafter we keep an inventory of.

Matthew Henry: 1Ch 5:18-26

The heads of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that were seated on the other side Jordan, are named here, 1Ch 5:23, 1Ch 5:24. Their lot, at first, was Bashan only; but afterwards they increased so much in wealth and power that they spread far north, even unto Hermon. Two things only are here recorded concerning these tribes on the other side Jordan, in which they were all concerned. They all shared,

I. In a glorious victory over the Hagarites, so the Ishmaelites were now called, to remind them that they were the sons of the bond-woman, that was cast out. We are not told when this victory was obtained: whether it be the same with that of the Reubenites (which is said 1Ch 5:10 to be in the days of Saul ), or whether that success of one of these tribes animated and excited the other two to join with them in another expedition, is not certain. It seems, though in Saul's time the common interests of the kingdom were weak and low, some of the tribes that acted separately did well for themselves. We are here told,

1. What a brave army these frontier-tribes brought into the field against the Hagarites, 44,000 men and upwards, all strong, and brave, and skilful in war, so many effective men, that knew how to manage their weapons, 1Ch 5:18. How much more considerable might Israel have been than they were in the time of the judges if all the tribes had acted in conjunction!

2. What course they took to engage God for them: They cried to God, and put their trust in him, 1Ch 5:20. Now they acted as Israelites indeed. (1.) As the seed of believing Abraham, they put their trust in God. Though they had a powerful army, they relied not on that, but on the divine power. They depended on the commission they had from God to wage war with their neighbours for the enlarging of their coasts, if there was occasion, even with those that were very far off, besides the devoted nations. See Deu 20:15. They depended on God's providence to give them success. (2.) As the seed of praying Jacob, they cried unto God, especially in the battle, when perhaps, at first, they were in danger of being overpowered. See the like done, 2Ch 13:14. In distress, God expects we should cry to him; he distrains upon us for this tribute, this rent. In our spiritual conflicts, we must look up to heaven for strength; and it is the believing prayer that will be the prevailing prayer.

3. We are told what success they had: God was entreated of them, though need drove them to him; so ready is he to hear and answer prayer. They were helped against their enemies; for God never yet failed any that trusted in him. And then they routed the enemy's army, though far superior in number to theirs, slew many (1Ch 5:22), took 100,000 prisoners, enriched themselves greatly with the spoil, and settled themselves in their country (1Ch 5:21, 1Ch 5:22), and all this because the war was of God, undertaken in his fear and carried on in a dependence upon him. If the battle be the Lord's, there is reason to hope it will be successful. Then we may expect to prosper in any enterprise, and then only, when we take God along with us.

II. They shared, at length, in an inglorious captivity. Had they kept close to God and their duty, they would have continued to enjoy both their ancient lot and their new conquests; but they transgressed against the God of their fathers, 1Ch 5:25. They lay upon the borders, and conversed most with the neighbouring nations, by which means they learned their idolatrous usages and transmitted the infection to the other tribes; for this God had a controversy with them. He was a husband to them, and no marvel that his jealousy burnt like fire when they went a whoring after other gods. Justly is a bill of divorce given to the adulteress. God stirred up the spirit of the kings of Assyria, first one and then another, against them, served his own purposes by the designs of those ambitious monarchs, employed them to chastise these revolters first, and, when that humbled them not, then wholly to root them out, 1Ch 5:26. These tribes were first placed, and they were first displaced. They would have the best land, not considering that it lay most exposed. But those who are governed more by sense than by reason or faith in their choices may expect to fare accordingly.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 5:7-8

"And his brothers,"(each) according to his families in the registration, according to their descent (properly their generations; vide for תּולדות on Gen 2:4), are (were) the head (the first) Jeiel and Zechariah, and Bela, ... the son of Joel,"probably the Joel already mentioned in 1Ch 5:4. "His (i.e., Beerah's) brothers"are the families related to the family of Beerah, which were descended from the brothers of Joel. That they were not, however, properly "brothers,"is clear from the fact that Bela's descent is traced back to Joel as the third of the preceding members of his family; and the conclusion would be the same, even if this Joel be another than the one mentioned in 1Ch 5:4. The singular suffix with למשׁפּחתיו is to be taken distributively or אישׁ may be supplied before it in thought; cf. Num 2:34; Num 11:10. The word ראשׁ , "head,"for the first-born, stands here before the name, as in 1Ch 12:3; 1Ch 23:8; elsewhere it stands after the name, e.g., 1Ch 5:12 and 1Ch 9:17. The dwelling-places of Bela and his family are then given in 1Ch 5:8 , 1Ch 5:9. "He dwelt in Aroer,"on the banks of the brook Arnon (Jos 13:9; Jos 12:2), now the ruin Araayr on the northern bank of the Mojeb ( vide on Num 32:34). "Until Nebo and Baal-meon"westward. Nebo, a village on the hill of the same name in the mountains of Abarim, opposite Jericho (cf. on Num 32:38). Baal-meon is probably identical with the ruin Myun, three-quarters of an hour south-east from Heshbon.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 5:9

"Eastward to the coming to the desert (i.e., till towards the desert) from the river Euphrates,"i.e., to the great Arabico-Syrian desert, which stretches from the Euphrates to the eastern frontier of Perea, or from Gilead to the Euphrates. Bela's family had spread themselves so far abroad, "for their herds were numerous in the land of Gilead,"i.e., Perea, the whole trans-Jordanic domain of the Israelites.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 5:10

"In the days of Saul they made war upon the Hagarites, and they fill into their hands, and they dwelt in their tents over the whole east side of Gilead."The subject is not determined, so that the words may be referred either to the whole tribe of Reuben or to the family of Bela (1Ch 5:8). The circumstance that in 1Ch 5:8 and 1Ch 5:9 Bela is spoken of in the singular ( יושׁב הוּא and ישׁב ), while here the plural is used in reference to the war, is not sufficient to show that the words do not refer to Bela's family, for the narrative has already fallen into the plural in the last clause of 1Ch 5:9. We therefore think it better to refer 1Ch 5:10 to the family of Bela, seeing that the wide spread of this family, which is mentioned in 1Ch 5:9, as far as the desert to the east of the inhabited land, presupposes the driving out of the Hagarites dwelling on the eastern plain of Gilead. The notice of this war, moreover, is clearly inserted here for the purpose of explaining the wide spread of the Belaites even to the Euphrates desert, and there is nothing which can be adduced against that reference. The אחיו in 1Ch 5:7 does not, as Bertheau thinks probable, denote that Bela was a contemporary of Beerah, even if the circumstance that from Bela to Joel only three generations are enumerated, could be reconciled with this supposition. The spread of Bela's family over the whole of the Reubenite Gilead, which has just been narrated, proves decisively that they were not contemporaries. If Bela lived at the time of the invasion of Gilead by Tiglath-pileser, when the prince Beerah was carried away into exile, it is certainly possible that he might have escaped the Assyrians; but he could neither have had at that time a family "which inhabited all the east land,"nor could he himself have extended his domain from "Aroer and Nebo towards the wilderness,"as the words יושׁב הוּא , 1Ch 5:8, distinctly state. We therefore hold that Bela was much older than Beerah, for he is introduced as a great-grandson of Joel, so that his family might have been as widely distributed as 1Ch 5:8, 1Ch 5:9 state, and have undertaken and carried out the war of conquest against the Hagarites, referred to in 1Ch 5:10, as early as the time of Saul. Thus, too, we can most easily explain the fact that Bela and his brothers Jeiel and Zechariah are not mentioned. As to הגרעים , cf. on 1Ch 5:19.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 5:11-17

The families of the tribe of Gad, and their dwelling-places. - 1Ch 5:11. In connection with the preceding statement as to the dwelling-places of the Reubenites, the enumeration of the families of Gad begins with a statement as to their dwelling-places: "Over against them (the Reubenites) dwelt the Gadites in Bashan unto Salcah."Bashan is used here in its wider signification of the dominion of King Og, which embraced the northern half of Gilead, i.e., the part of that district which lay on the north side of the Jabbok, and the whole district of Bashan; cf. on Deu 3:10. Salcah formed the boundary towards the east, and is now Szalchad, about six hours eastward from Bosra (see on Deu 3:10).

1Ch 5:12-14

The sons of Gad (Gen 46:16) are not named here, because the enumeration of the families of Gad had been already introduced by 1Ch 5:11, and the genealogical connection of the families enumerated in 1Ch 5:12., with the sons of the tribal ancestor, had not been handed down. In 1Ch 5:12 four names are mentioned, which are clearly those of heads of families or fathers'-houses, with the addition "in Bashan,"i.e., dwelling, for ישׁבוּ is to be repeated or supplied from the preceding verse. - In 1Ch 5:13 seven other names occur, the bearers of which are introduced as brothers of those mentioned (1Ch 5:12), according to their fathers'-houses. They are therefore heads of fathers'-houses, but the district in which they dwelt is not given; whence Bertheau concludes, but wrongly, that the place where they dwelt is not given in the text. The statement which is here omitted follows in 1Ch 5:16 at a fitting place; for in 1Ch 5:14 and 1Ch 5:15 their genealogy, which rightly goes before the mention of their dwelling-place, is given. אלּה , 1Ch 5:14, is not to be referred, as Bertheau thinks, to the four Gadites mentioned in 1Ch 5:12 and 1Ch 5:13, but only to those mentioned in 1Ch 5:13. Nothing more was known of those four (1Ch 5:12) but that they dwelt in Bashan, while the genealogy of the seven is traced up through eight generations to a certain Buz, of whom nothing further is known, as the name בּוּז occurs nowhere else, except in Gen 22:21 as that of a son of Nahor. The names of his ancestors also are not found elsewhere among the Gadites.

1Ch 5:15

The head of their fathers'-houses (i.e., of those mentioned in 1Ch 5:13) as Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, who is conjectured to have lived in the time of King Jotham of Judah, or of Jeroboam II of Israel, when, according to 1Ch 5:17, genealogical registers of the Gadites were made up.

1Ch 5:16

The families descended from Buz "dwelt in Gilead,"in the part of that district lying to the south of the Jabbok, which Moses had given to the Gadites and Reubenites (Deu 3:12); "In Bashan and her daughters,"that is, in the villages belonging to the cities of Bashan and Gilead inhabited by them (for the suffix in בּבנותיה is to be referred distributively to both districts, or the cities in them). "And in all the pasture grounds ( מגרשׁ , cf. on Num 35:2) of Sharon unto their outgoings." שׁרון , Sharon, lay not in Perea, but is a great plain on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from Carmel to near Joppa, famed for its great fertility and its rich growth of flowers (Son 2:1; Isa 33:9; Isa 35:2; Isa 55:10). "A Caesarea Palaestinae usque ad oppidum Joppe omnis terra, quae cernitur, dicitur Saronas ." Jerome in Onom. ; cf. v. Raumer, Pal. S. 50, and Robins. Phys. Geog. S. 123. It is this plain which is here meant, and the supposition of the older commentators that there was a second Sharon in the east-Jordan land is without foundation, as Reland, Palestina illustr. p. 370f., has correctly remarked. For it is not said that the Gadites possessed cities in Sharon, but only pastures of Sharon are spoken of, which the Gadites may have sought out for their herds even on the coast of the Mediterranean; more especially as the domain of the cis-Jordanic half-tribe of Manasseh stretched into the plain of Sharon, and it is probable that at all times there was intercourse between the cis-and trans-Jordanic Manassites, in which the Gadites may also have taken part. תּוצאותם are the outgoings of the pastures to the sea, cf. Jos 17:9.

1Ch 5:17

"And these ( כּלּם , all the families of Gad, not merely those mentioned in 1Ch 5:13.) were registered in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel."These two kings did not reign contemporaneously, for Jotham ascended the throne in Judah twenty-five years after the death of Jeroboam of Israel. Here, therefore, two different registrations must be referred to, and that carried on under Jotham is mentioned first, because Judah had the legitimate kingship. That set on foot by Jeroboam was probably undertaken after that king had restored all the ancient boundaries of the kingdom of Israel, 2Ki 14:25. King Jotham of Judah could prepare a register of the Gadites only if a part of the trans-Jordanic tribes had come temporarily under his dominion. As to any such event, indeed, we have no accurate information, but the thing in itself is not unlikely. For as the death of Jeroboam II was followed by complete anarchy in the kingdom of the ten tribes, and one ruler overthrew the other, until at last Pekah succeeded in holding the crown for ten years, while in Judah until Pekah ascended the throne of Israel Uzziah reigned, and raised his kingdom to greater power and prosperity, the southern part of the trans-Jordanic land might very well have come for a time under the sway of Judah. At such a time Jotham may have carried out an assessment and registration of the Gadites, until his contemporary Pekah succeeded, with the help of the Syrian king Rezin, in taking from the king of Judah the dominion over Gilead, and in humbling the kingdom of Judah in the reign of Ahaz.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 5:18-22

War of the trans-Jordanic tribes of Israel with Arabic tribes. - As the half-tribe of Manasseh also took part in this war, we should have expected the account of it after 1Ch 5:24. Bertheau regards its position here as a result of striving after a symmetrical distribution of the historical information. "In the case of Reuben,"he says, "the historical information is in 1Ch 5:10; in the case of the half-tribe of Manasseh, in 1Ch 5:25, 1Ch 5:26; as to Gad, we have our record in 1Ch 5:18-22, which, together with the account in 1Ch 5:25, 1Ch 5:26, refers to all the trans-Jordanic Israelites."But it is much more likely that the reason of it will be found in the character of the authorities which the author of the Chronicle made use of, in which, probably, the notes regarding this war were contained in the genealogical register of the Gadites.

1Ch 5:18

חיל מן־בּני belongs to the predicate of the sentence, "They were the sons of Valour,"i.e., they belonged to the valiant warriors, "men bearing shield and sword (weapons of offence and defence), and those treading (or bending) the bow,"i.e., skilful bowmen. מלחמה למוּדי , people practised in war; cf. the portrayal of the warlike valour of Gad and Manasseh, 1Ch 12:8, 1Ch 12:21. "The number 44,760 must be founded upon an accurate reckoning"(Berth.); but in comparison with the number of men capable of bearing arms in those tribes in the time of Moses, it is somewhat inconsiderable: for at the first numbering under him Reuben alone had 46,500 and Gad 45,650, and at the second numbering Reuben had 43,730 and Gad 40,500 men; see on Num 1-4 (1:2, S. 192).

1Ch 5:19

"They made was with the Hagarites and Jethur, Nephish and Nodab."So early as the time of Saul the Reubenites had victoriously made war upon the Hagarites (see 1Ch 5:10); but the war here mentioned was certainly at a later time, and has no further connection with that in 1Ch 5:10 except that both arose from similar causes. The time of the second is not given, and all we know from 1Ch 5:22 is that it had broken out before the trans-Jordanic Israelites were led captive by the Assyrians. הגריאים , in Psa 83:7 contracted into הגרים , are the Ἀγραῖοι , whom Strabo, xvi. p. 767, introduces, on the authority of Eratosthenes, as leading a nomadic life in the great Arabico-Syrian desert, along with the Nabataeans and Chaulotaeans. Jetur, from whom the Itureans are descended, and Nephish, are Ishmaelites; cf. on Gen 25:15. Nodab, mentioned only here, is a Bedouin tribe of whom nothing more is known.

1Ch 5:20

The Israelites, with God's help, gained the victory. יעזרוּ , "it was helped to them,"i.e., by God "against them"- the Hagarites and their allies. שׁעמּהם contracted from עמּהם אשׁר . נעתּור is not an uncommon form of the perf. Niph., which would not be suitable in a continuous sentence, but the inf. absol. Niph. used instead of the third pers. perf. (cf. Gesen. Heb. Gramm. §131, 4): "and (God) was entreated of them, because they trusted in Him."From these words we may conclude that the war was a very serious one, in which the possession of the land was at stake. As the trans-Jordanic tribes lived mainly by cattle-breeding, and the Arabian tribes on the eastern frontier of their land were also a shepherd people, quarrels could easily arise as to the possession of the pasture grounds, which might lead to a war of extermination.

1Ch 5:21

The conquerors captured a great booty in herds, 50,000 camels, 250,000 head of small cattle (sheep and goats), 2000 asses, and 100,000 persons - all round numbers; cf. the rich booty obtained in the war against the Midianites, Num 31:11, Num 31:32.

1Ch 5:22

This rich booty should not surprise us, "for there fell many slain,"i.e., the enemy had suffered a very bloody defeat. "For the war was from God,"i.e., conducted to this result: cf. 2Ch 25:20; 1Sa 17:47. "And they dwelt in their stead,"i.e., they took possession of the pasture grounds, which up to that time had belonged to the Arabs, and held them until they were carried away captive by the Assyrians; see 1Ch 5:26.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 5:23-26

The families of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, and the leading away of the East-Jordan Israelites into the Assyrian exile. - 1Ch 5:23. The half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan was very numerous ( רבוּ המּה ), "and they dwelt in the land of Bashan (i.e., the Bashan inhabited by Gad, 1Ch 5:12) (northwards) to Baal Hermon,"- i.e., according to the more accurate designation of the place in Jos 12:7 and Jos 13:5, in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon, probably the present Bânjas, at the foot of Hermon (see on Num 34:8), - "and Senir and Mount Hermon." שׂניר , which according to Deu 3:9 was the name of Hermon or Antilibanus in use among the Amorites, is here and in Eze 27:5 the name of a part of those mountains ( vide on Deu 3:9), just as "mount Hermon"is the name of another part of this range.

1Ch 5:24

Seven heads of fathers'-houses of the half-tribe of Manasseh are enumerated, and characterized as valiant heroes and famous men. The enumeration of the names begins strangely with ו ( ואפר ); perhaps a name has fallen out before it. Nothing has been handed down as to any of these names.

1Ch 5:25-26

1Ch 5:25 and 1Ch 5:26 form the conclusion of the register of the two and a half trans-Jordanic tribes. The sons of Manasseh are not the subject to ויּמעלוּ , but the Reubenites and Manassites, as is clear from 1Ch 5:26. These fell away faithlessly from the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God had destroyed before them, i.e., the Amorites or Canaanites. "And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of the Assyrian kings Pul and Tiglath-pilneser, and he (this latter) led them away captives to Halah and Habor,"etc. את־רוּח ויּער , Lavater has rightly rendered, " in mentem illis dedit, movit eos, ut expeditionem facerent contra illos; "cf. 2Ch 21:16. Pul is mentioned as being the first Assyrian king who attacked the land of Israel, cf. 2Ki 15:19. The deportation began, however, only with Tiglath-pileser, who led the East-Jordan tribes into exile, 2Ki 15:29. To him ויּגלם sing. refers. The suffix is defined by the following acc., וגו לרעוּבני ; ל is, according to the later usage, nota acc. ; cf. Ew. §277, e. So also before the name חלח , "to Halah,"i.e., probably the district Καλαχήνη (in Strabo) on the east side of the Tigris near Adiabene, to the north of Nineveh, on the frontier of Armenia (cf. on 2Ki 17:6). In the second book of Kings (1Ch 15:29) the district to which the two and a half tribes were sent as exiles is not accurately determined, being only called in general Asshur (Assyria). The names in our verse are there (2Ki 17:6) the names of the districts to which Shalmaneser sent the remainder of the ten tribes after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel. It is therefore questionable whether the author of the Chronicle took his account from an authority used by him, or if he names these districts only according to general recollection, in which the times of Shalmaneser and of Tiglath-pileser are not very accurately distinguished (Berth.). We consider the first supposition the more probable, not merely because he inverts the order of the names, but mainly because he gives the name הרא instead of "the cities of Media,"as it is in Kings, and that name he could only have obtained from his authorities. חבור is not the river Chaboras in Mesopotamia, which falls into the Euphrates near Circesium, for that river is called in Ezekiel כּבר , but is a district in northern Assyria, where Jakut mentions that there is both a mountain Χαβώρας on the frontier of Assyria and Media (Ptolem. vi. 1), and a river Khabur Chasaniae, which still bears the old name Khâbur, rising in the neighbourhood of the upper Zab, near Amadijeh, and falling into the Tigris below Jezirah. This Khâbur is the river of Gozan ( vide on 2Ki 17:6). The word הרא appears to be the Aramaic form of the Hebrew הר , mountains, and the vernacular designation usual in the mouths of the people of the mountain land of Media, which is called also in Arabic el Jebâl (the mountains). This name can therefore only have been handed down from the exiles who dwelt there.

Constable: 1Ch 1:1--9:44

I. ISRAEL'S HISTORICAL ROOTS chs. 1--9

"The fact that the author of 1 and 2 Chronicles devoted nine chapters out of sixty-five to genealogies (1 Chr 1-9) makes clear that these were of great importance to him and bear significantly on his purpose in writing his work. This purpose needs to be understood by any commentator who would elucidate the nature of these volumes.

"We may define a genealogy as a written or oral expression of the descent of a person or persons from an ancestor or ancestors.'¹⁸ They may display breadth (These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,' 1 Chr 2:1) and depth (the sons of Solomon: Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son,' 1 Chr 3:10). This latter genealogy and others of its type that display depth alone are termed linear.' Biblical genealogies, like the extrabiblical ones, are normally quite limited in depth, rarely extending beyond ten or twelve generations but often from four to six. In 1 Chronicles 2-9 we have an exception. Perhaps the writer sometimes joined separate genealogies.

"If a genealogy displays breadth as well as depth, it is termed segmented,' or mixed.' In Chronicles multiple descendants of an ancestor are frequently named, but not all the lives are pursued to later generations. Genealogies may proceed from parent to child (descending, as in 1 Chr 9:39-44) or from child to parent (ascending, as in 1 Chr 9:14-16).

"The two types of genealogy, linear and segmented, serve different purposes. The linear genealogy seeks to legitimize an individual by relating him to an ancestor whose status is established. The segmented genealogy is designed to express relationships between the various branches of a family."¹⁹

"Their function, broadly speaking, is to show that the promises and purposes of God continue."²⁰

The aim of the genealogies "is to paint a portrait of the people of God in its ideal extent as a symbol of both the particularity of his election and the breadth of his grace."²¹

". . . it should be noted that a further theme of Chr., that of the Lord's willingness to start afresh with his errant people, is also tucked away almost unnoticed in the genealogies."²²

Constable: 1Ch 4:1--7:40

B. The House of Israel chs. 4-7

The writer's next concern was to trace the line of people to whom and through whom God promised to bring blessing and salvation. That nation was Israel, the descendants of Jacob. The writer viewed Israel as consisting of 12 tribes, not just the tribes represented by the returnees from Babylonian exile. The nation as a whole would have a future.

Constable: 1Ch 5:1-26

3. The families of Transjordan ch. 5

Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh settled east of the Jordan River. Reuben would have normally been the son through whom the greatest blessing would come since he was the first-born. However because of his sin (v. 1) God passed him over. God's blessing of Joseph with the double portion of the birthright and His blessing of Judah with leadership over the Israelites was contrary to natural order. It was pure grace for those tribes.

God was not only faithful to bless as He had promised, but He also judged sin as He had said He would (vv. 25-26). This is the reason the transjordanian tribes went into captivity.

Guzik: 1Ch 5:1-26

1 Chronicles 4 through 8 - The Tribes of Israel and their Descendents

B. The tribes of Israel settling east of the Jordan River.

1. (5:1-10) The descendents of Reuben.

Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph's; the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria carried into captivity. He was leader of the Reubenites. And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was registered: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon. Eastward they settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead. Now in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the entire area east of Gilead.

a. Reuben the firstborn of Israel; he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given: This answers the question, "If Reuben was the first-born son, why is he not listed first?" It was because of the sin described in this verse, which disqualified Reuben from being first among the sons of Israel.

b. Now in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites: "The Hagarites were tribes of Nomade, or Scenite, Arabs; people who lived in tents, without any fixed dwellings, and whose property consisted in cattle. The descendants of Reuben extirpated these Hagarites, seized on their property and their tents, and dwelt in their place." (Clarke)

2. (5:11-22) The descendents of Gad.

And the children of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salcah: Joel was the chief, Shapham the next, then Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan, and their brethren of their father's house: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Eber; seven in all. These were the children 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; Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father's house. And the Gadites dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its villages, and in all the common-lands of Sharon within their borders. All these were registered by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war. They made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. Then they took away their livestock; fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys; also one hundred thousand of their men; for many fell dead, because the war was God's. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity.

a. For they cried out to God in the battle: As these men of Gad did what God called them to do, they trusted in Him in the midst of the battle. Because they put their trust in Him, God delivered them in the battle.

i. Trapp on for they cried to God in the battle: "So did Jabez (chapter 4); Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20); the thundering legion; the late king of Sweden, whose prayer before the great battle of Lutzen - where he fell, - was, 'Jesus vouchsafe this day to be my strong helper; and give me courage to fight for the honour of thy name.' Prayer alone he held the surest piece of his whole armour."

b. Also one hundred thousand of their men; for many fell dead, because the war was God's: This describes the unique wars of judgment God called Israel to bring against the Canaanites when they came into the Promised Land.

i. "This was a war of extermination as to the political state of the people, which nothing could justify but a special direction of God; and this he could never give against any, unless the cup of their iniquity had been full. The Hagrites were full of idolatry: see 1 Chronicles 5:25." (Clarke)

3. (5:23-26) The descendents of the eastern tribe of Manasseh.

So the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir, or Mount Hermon. These were the heads of their fathers' houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers' houses. And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

a. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers' houses: These original settlers of the eastern tribe of Manasseh were godly and bold men. Their desire to settle east of the Jordan River did not reflect an ungodly desire on their part.

b. And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land: Despite the good start for the eastern tribe of Manasseh, this is how they ended up. Their distance from the people of Israel in general and the spiritual life of the nation in particular seemed to weaken their devotion to God and strengthen their attraction to the gods of the peoples of the land.

i. "The remaining verses of chapter 5 describe an early, joint military campaign (vv. 18-22, elaborating v. 10) - in which God rewarded their faith and their prayers with a great victory over the Ishmaelites - and their later deportation to Assyria (vv. 25-26), as the result of collective apostasy." (Payne)

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: 1Ch 5:22

1 CHRONICLES 5:22—How could the God of peace conduct war?

PROBLEM: In 1 Chronicles 5:18-22 , the war of the sons of Reuben, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, against the Hagrites is described. Verse 20 states that the children of Israel cried out to the Lord in the midst of the battle, and God helped them in their fight against the Hagrites. In fact, verse 22 states, “for many fell dead, because the war was God’s.” However, if God is good ( Ps. 100:5 ) and if God is the God of peace ( Rom. 15:33 ), how can He make war?

SOLUTION: Waging war and being a God of goodness and peace are not necessarily incompatible. First, it is wrong to suppose that waging war is inconsistent with goodness. A surgeon takes drastic action against a cancer to bring about the ultimate good of the patient. Yet, spiritual evil is much more serious than physical evil. When God waged war in the OT, it was against the forces of spiritual evil. God took drastic action to rid the land of the evil influence of the inhabitants.

Second, it is wrong to suppose that waging war is inconsistent with peace. There would be no peace in the world if God did not oppose evil. Indeed, the peace of God is now available to all who believe, because God waged war against the forces of evil—a warfare that culminated at the Cross where the blood of God’s only Son was shed. Ultimately, the enemy will be cast into the lake of fire as a defeated foe. Sometimes war is necessary to bring about lasting peace.

Because God is good, He never wages war in an unrighteous manner. Because God is the God of peace, He only wages war against the enemies of peace. God is the God of war because He has defeated the forces of evil who would bring upon all people spiritual destruction forever.   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF CHRONICLES were also considered as one by the ancient Jews, who called them "words of days," that is, diaries or journals, being probably compiled from those registers that were kept by the king's historiographers of passing occurrences. In the Septuagint the title given them is Paraleipomenon, "of things omitted," that is, the books are supplementary because many things unnoticed in the former books are here recorded; and not only the omissions are supplied, but some narratives extended while others are added. The authorship is commonly ascribed to Ezra, whose leading object seems to have been to show the division of families, possessions, &c., before the captivity, with a view to the exact restoration of the same order after the return from Babylon. Although many things are restated and others are exact repetitions of what is contained in Kings, there is so much new and important information that, as JEROME has well said, the Chronicles furnish the means of comprehending parts of the New Testament, which must have been unintelligible without them. They are frequently referred to by Christ and the Apostles as forming part of "the Word of God" (see the genealogies in Mat. 1:1-16; Luk. 3:23-38; compare 2Ch 19:7 with 1Pe 1:17; 2Ch 24:19-21 with Mat 23:32-35).

JFB: 1 Chronicles (Outline)

• ADAM'S LINE TO NOAH. (1Ch. 1:1-23)
• SHEM'S LINE TO ABRAHAM. (1Ch 1:24-28)
• SONS OF ISHMAEL. (1Ch 1:29-31)
• SONS OF KETURAH. (1Ch 1:32-33)
• POSTERITY OF ABRAHAM BY ESAU. (1Ch 1:34-42)
• POSTERITY OF JUDAH. (1Ch 2:3-12)
• CHILDREN OF JESSE. (1Ch 2:13-17)
• POSTERITY OF CALEB. (1Ch. 2:18-55)
• SONS OF DAVID. (1Ch 3:1-9)
• HIS LINE TO ZEDEKIAH. (1Ch 3:10-16)
• SUCCESSORS OF JECONIAH. (1Ch 3:17-24)
• POSTERITY OF JUDAH BY CALEB THE SON OF HUR. (1Ch 4:1-8)
• OF JABEZ, AND HIS PRAYER. (1Ch 4:9-20)
• POSTERITY OF SHELAH. (1Ch 4:21-23)
• OF SIMEON. (1Ch. 4:24-43)
• THE LINE OF REUBEN. (1Ch 5:1-10)
• THE LINE OF GAD. (1Ch. 5:11-26)
• LINE OF THE PRIESTS. (1Ch. 6:1-48)
• OFFICE OF AARON AND HIS SONS. (1Ch. 6:49-81)
• SONS OF ISSACHAR. (1Ch 7:1-5)
• OF BENJAMIN. (1Ch 7:6-12)
• OF NAPHTALI. (1Ch 7:13)
• OF MANASSEH. (1Ch. 7:14-40)
• SONS AND CHIEF MEN OF BENJAMIN. (1Ch. 8:1-32)
• STOCK OF SAUL AND JONATHAN. (1Ch 8:33-40)
• ORIGINAL REGISTERS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH'S GENEALOGIES. (1Ch. 9:1-26)
• SAUL'S OVERTHROW AND DEATH. (1Ch 10:1-7)
• THE PHILISTINES TRIUMPH OVER HIM. (1Ch 10:8-14)
• DAVID MADE KING. (1Ch 11:1-3)
• HE WINS THE CASTLE OF ZION FROM THE JEBUSITES BY JOAB'S VALOR. (1Ch 11:4-9)
• A CATALOGUE OF HIS WORTHIES. (1Ch. 11:10-47)
• THE COMPANIES THAT CAME TO DAVID AT ZIKLAG. (1Ch. 12:1-22)
• THE ARMIES THAT CAME TO HIM AT HEBRON. (1Ch. 12:23-40)
• DAVID FETCHES THE ARK FROM KIRJATH-JEARIM. (1Ch 13:1-8)
• HIRAM'S KINDNESS TO DAVID; DAVID'S FELICITY. (1Ch 14:1-2)
• HIS WIVES. (1Ch 14:3-7)
• HIS VICTORIES OVER THE PHILISTINES. (1Ch 14:8-17)
• DAVID BRINGS THE ARK FROM OBEDEDOM. (1Ch. 15:1-24)
• DAVID'S FESTIVAL SACRIFICE AND LIBERALITY TO THE PEOPLE. (1Ch 16:1-6)
• HIS PSALM OF THANKSGIVING. (1Ch. 16:7-43)
• DAVID FORBIDDEN TO BUILD GOD A HOUSE. (1Ch 17:1-10)
• DAVID SUBDUES THE PHILISTINES AND MOABITES. (1Ch 18:1-2)
• DAVID SMITES HADADEZER AND THE SYRIANS. (1Ch 18:3-17)
• DAVID'S MESSENGERS, SENT TO COMFORT HANUN, ARE DISGRACEFULLY TREATED. (1Ch 19:1-5)
• JOAB AND ABISHAI OVERCOME THE AMMONITES. (1Ch 19:6-15)
• SHOPHACH SLAIN BY DAVID. (1Ch 19:16-19)
• RABBAH BESIEGED BY JOAB, SPOILED BY DAVID, AND THE PEOPLE TORTURED. (1Ch 20:1-3)
• THREE OVERTHROWS OF THE PHILISTINES AND THREE GIANTS SLAIN. (1Ch 20:4-8)
• DAVID SINS IN NUMBERING THE PEOPLE. (1Ch 21:1-13)
• HE BUILDS AN ALTAR. (1Ch 21:18-30)
• DAVID PREPARES FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (1Ch 22:1-5)
• HE INSTRUCTS SOLOMON. (1Ch 22:6-19)
• DAVID MAKES SOLOMON KING. (1Ch 23:1)
• NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITES. (1Ch 23:2-6)
• SONS OF GERSHON. (1Ch 23:7-11)
• OF KOHATH. (1Ch 23:12-20)
• OF MERARI. (1Ch 23:21-23)
• OFFICE OF THE LEVITES. (1Ch 23:24-32)
• DIVISION OF THE SONS OF AARON INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 24:1-19)
• NUMBER AND OFFICE OF THE SINGERS. (1Ch 25:1-7)
• THEIR DIVISION BY LOT INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 25:8-31)
• DIVISIONS OF THE PORTERS. (1Ch 26:1-12)
• THE GATES ASSIGNED BY LOT. (1Ch 26:13-19)
• LEVITES THAT HAD CHARGE OF THE TREASURES. (1Ch 26:20-28)
• OFFICERS AND JUDGES. (1Ch 26:29-32)
• TWELVE CAPTAINS FOR EVERY MONTH. (1Ch 27:1-15)
• PRINCES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. (1Ch 27:16-24)
• DAVID EXHORTS THE PEOPLE TO FEAR GOD. (1Ch 28:1-8)
• HE ENCOURAGES SOLOMON TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ch 28:9-20)
• DAVID CAUSES THE PRINCES AND PEOPLE TO OFFER FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. (1Ch 29:1-9)
• HIS REIGN AND DEATH. (1Ch 29:26-30)

TSK: 1 Chronicles 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ch 5:1, Judah and Joseph preferred before Reuben, who forfeited his birthright; 1Ch 5:3, Ruben’s descendants; some of whom vanquish the Hagarites; 1Ch 5:11, The chief men of Gad, and their habitations; 1Ch 5:18, Ruben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, obtain a victory over the Hagarites; 1Ch 5:23, The habitations and chief men of that half of Manasseh; 1Ch 5:25, The captivity of the two tribes and half, for their sins.

Poole: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES

THE ARGUMENT

THESE Books of the CHRONICLES are not the same which are so called, 1Ki 14:19 , and elsewhere, (because some passages said to be there mentioned are not found here,) but other books, and written by other persons, and for other ends. Yet this same writer took out of those books such historical passages as were most useful or necessary. They were written after the Babylonish captivity, as appears from 2Ch 36:20 , &c., by Ezra; as may be gathered not only from the same words used in the place now quoted, and in the beginning of that book which goeth under the name of Ezra, but also from some other passages, which we may observe hereafter, and from the exactness and diligence here used in making catalogues of persons and families, which also is used in the Book of Ezra. If one or two passages seem to be of a later date, those were added by some other prophets; there being some few such additional passages in the Books of Moses. The chief design of these books is, to complete the history of the kings of Judah, and to gather up the fragments of sacred history which were omitted in the Books of Samuel and Kings, and to explain some passages there mentioned, and to give an exact account of the genealogies; which (though ignorant or inconsiderate persons may think trivial and useless) was a work of great necessity, to preserve the distinction of the tribes and families, that so it might appear that Christ came of that nation, and tribe, and family, of which he was to be born. And this account having been hitherto neglected, is most seasonably mentioned in these books, because this was to be in a manner the last part of the sacred and canonical history of the Old Testament, and therefore the fittest place to record those genealogies, upon which the truth and authority of the New Testament ill some sort depends. And whereas many things in these genealogies to us are obscure and doubtful, they were not so to the Hebrews; and all the persons here named were known to them by those very particular and exact genealogies, which they kept in their several families and in public registers; from whence this sacred penman, by the direction of God’ s Spirit, took those things which were of most importance.

Poole: 1 Chronicles 5 (Chapter Introduction)

CHRONICLES CHAPTER 5

The line of Reuben unto the captivity: their war against the Hagarites, 1Ch 5:1-10 . The chief men and habitation of Gad, 1Ch 5:11-17 . The number of the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, that marched against the Hagarites, and overcame them, 1Ch 5:18-24 . They are all carried captive into Assyria, 1Ch 5:25,26 .

MHCC: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

The books of Chronicles are, in a great measure, repetitions of what is in the books of Samuel and of the Kings, yet there are some excellent useful things in them which we find not elsewhere. The FIRST BOOK traces the rise of the Jewish people from Adam, and afterward gives an account of the reign of David. In the SECOND BOOK the narrative is continued, and relates the progress and end of the kingdom of Judah; also it notices the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Jerome says, that whoever supposes himself to have knowledge of the Scriptures without being acquainted with the books of Chronicles, deceives himself. Historical facts passed over elsewhere, names, and the connexion of passages are to be found here, and many questions concerning the gospel are explained.

MHCC: 1 Chronicles 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Genealogies.

Matthew Henry: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Chronicles

In common things repetition is thought needless and nauseous; but, in sacred things, precept must be upon precept and line upon line. To me, says the apostle, to write the same things is not grievous, but for you it is safe, Phi 3:1. These books of Chronicles are in a great measure repetition; so are much of the second and third of the four evangelists: and yet there are no tautologies either here or there no vain repetitions. We may be ready to think that of all the books of holy scripture we could best spare these two books of Chronicles. Perhaps we might, and yet we could ill spare them: for there are many most excellent useful things in them, which we find not elsewhere. And as for what we find here which we have already met with, 1. It might be of great use to those who lived when these books were first published, before the canon of the Old Testament was completed and the particles of it put together; for it would remind them of what was more fully related in the other books. Abstracts, abridgments, and references, are of use in divinity as well as law. That, perhaps, may not be said in vain which yet has been said before. 2. It is still of use, that out of the mouth of two witnesses every word may be established, and, being inculcated, may be remembered. The penman of these books is supposed to be Ezra, that ready scribe in the law of the Lord, Ezr 7:6. It is a groundless story of that apocryphal writer (2 Esdr. 14:21, etc.) that, all the law being burnt, Ezra was divinely inspired to write it all over again, which yet might take rise from the books of Chronicles, where we find, though not all the same story repeated, yet the names of all those who were the subjects of that story. These books are called in the Hebrew words of days - journals or annals, because, by divine direction, collected out of some public and authentic records. The collection was made after the captivity, and yet the language of the originals, written before, it sometimes retained, as 2Ch 5:9, there it is unto this day, which must have been written before the destruction of the temple. The Septuagint calls it a book Paraleipomenōn - of things left, or overlooked, by the preceding historians; and several such things there are in it. It is the rereward, the gathering host, of this sacred camp, which gathers up what remained, that nothing might be lost. In this first book we have, I. A collection of sacred genealogies, from Adam to David: and they are none of those which the apostle calls endless genealogies, but have their use and end in Christ, ch. 1-9. Divers little passages of history are here inserted which we had not before. II. A repetition of the history of the translation of the kingdom from Saul to David, and of the triumph of David's reign, with large additions, ch. 10-21. III. An original account of the settlement David made of the ecclesiastical affairs, and the preparation he made for the building of the temple, ch. 22-29. These are words of days, of the oldest days, of the best days, of the Old Testament church. The reigns of kings and dates of kingdoms, as well as the lives of common persons, are reckoned by days; for a little time often gives a great turn, and yet all time is nothing to eternity.

Matthew Henry: 1 Chronicles 5 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter gives us some account of the two tribes and a half that were seated on the other side Jordan. I. Of Reuben (1Ch 5:1-10). II. Of Gad (1Ch 5:11-17). III. Of the half-tribe of Manasseh (1Ch 5:23, 1Ch 5:24). IV. Concerning all three acting in conjunction we are told, 1. How they conquered the Hagarites (1Ch 5:18-22). 2. How they were, at length, themselves conquered, and made captives, by the king of Assyria, because they had forsaken God (1Ch 5:25, 1Ch 5:26).

Constable: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The earliest Hebrew title for the Books of Chronicles translates as, "The Things Left Behind." This name describes Chronicles as containing remnants of the monarchy history not recorded in the preceding Old Testament historical books. A later title that appears in most copies of the Hebrew Bible is, "The Accounts of the Days," or "Daily Matters." This title emphasizes the nature of Chronicles as official annals (cf. Esth. 2:23; 1 Kings 14:19). Chronicles contains the official records of the kings of Israel, especially those of the Southern Kingdom after the kingdom split. The English title "Chronicles" comes down to us from this later Hebrew one.

As was true of Samuel and Kings, the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew Old Testament was responsible for dividing the single Book of Chronicles into 1 and 2 Chronicles. Scribes divided these long books to make them easier for copyists, publishers, and readers to handle. We could translate the Septuagint title as, "Things Omitted." This title implies that Chronicles contains material left out of other inspired histories of Israel. This is true. Of course, it also contains much material that the former historical books included.

Writer and Date

Early Jewish tradition recorded in the Talmud ascribed the authorship of Chronicles to Ezra. Recent studies of the linguistic differences that exist between the Books of Ezra and Chronicles have led some modern scholars to reject this ancient view.¹ Internal evidence suggests that if the writer was not Ezra he was probably a contemporary of Ezra.

There is quite a bit of difference of opinion even among conservative evangelical scholars regarding the date of composition. Most of these people place it within Ezra's lifetime (ca. 450-400 B.C.).² This date would make Chronicles one of the last if not the last historical book of the Old Testament. The date of composition of Ezra was probably about 446 B.C. The Book of Nehemiah probably came into existence between 420 and 400 B.C. The date of writing of Esther was probably shortly after 473 B.C.

"It is now clear from comparison of Chronicles with the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek translations of the Pentateuch that the text Chronicles used was more like these texts than the MT [Masoretic Text]."³

Scholars vary greatly in their ideas concerning the date of composition. Some of them hold a date as early as the middle of the fifth century B.C. (450 B.C.) while others date Chronicles as late as 200 B.C.⁴

Scope and Purpose

Chronicles covers a broader period of history than any other Old Testament book. It begins with Adam and ends with Anani who lived eight generations after King Jehoiachin (1 Chron. 3:24). If we allow 25 years for each generation, the birth of Anani would have been between 425 and 400 B.C.

"In Near Eastern antiquity, the generation (that is the years between a man's birth and his begetting his first-born son) is ordinarily 25 years or less."⁵

Since the writer had great interest in David's family it is unlikely that any of David's descendants after Anani were alive when he wrote the book. If they had been, the writer probably would have included their names.

Other Old Testament books, especially Genesis, Samuel, and Kings, cover over half the material that Chronicles contains. There are two main reasons for this repetition. First, the writer wanted to give his readers another version of those events. In this respect Chronicles and the other historical books are similar to the Gospels in the New Testament. Each gives a unique interpretation and emphasis. Each writer selected the historical materials that would present what he wanted to emphasize. Chronicles is more similar to John's Gospel than the other Gospels. Both books are very sermonic, and each has a purpose that is easy to identify (John 20:30-31; 2 Chron. 7:14). Chronicles is also similar to Deuteronomy, the last book of the Pentateuch, which also preaches by recalling history.

Second, the writer of Chronicles explained and expounded the meaning of many events in Israel's history much as the writers of modern commentaries do. This was especially important since the original readers of Chronicles needed to remember their history and the spiritual issues that had molded and would mold their destiny. These observations would guide them as they sought to reestablish Israel in the Promised Land after the Babylonian captivity.

"The purpose of these two volumes [1 and 2 Chronicles] is to review the history of Israel from the dawn of the human race to the Babylonian captivity and Cyrus' edict of restoration. This review is composed with a very definite purpose in mind, to give to the Jews of the Second Commonwealth the true spiritual foundations of their theocracy as the covenant people of Jehovah. This historian's purpose is to show that the true glory of the Hebrew nation was found in its covenant relationship to God, as safeguarded by the prescribed forms of worship in the temple and administered by the divinely ordained priesthood under the protection of the divinely authorized dynasty of David. Always the emphasis is upon that which is sound and valid in Israel's past as furnishing a reliable basis for the task of reconstruction which lay ahead. Great stress is placed upon the rich heritage of Israel and its unbroken connection with the patriarchal beginnings (hence the prominence accorded to genealogical lists)."⁶

". . . the Chronicler' is no mere chronicler! He is a theologian, sharing with all the biblical writers the burden of interpreting God's ways to human beings."⁷

The writer saw principles operating in history. He selected unmistakable instances of them and applied them to his own times.

"If Kings, composed after the final collapse of the kingdom in 586 B.C., concentrates on how sin leads to defeat (2 Kings 17:15, 18), then Chronicles, coming after the two returns from exile in 537 and 458 B.C., recounts, from the same record, how faith is the victory' (2 Chron. 20:20, 22)."⁸

". . . the Chronicler goes even further than the Deuteronomic historian [i.e., the writer of 1 and 2 Kings] in attempting to correlate blessing with faithfulness and judgment with disobedience within each separate generation."⁹

Another statement of the purpose of Chronicles is as follows:

". . . to rally the returned remnant to hopeful temple worship . . . by demonstrating their link with the enduring Davidic promises."¹⁰

"The past is explained so that its institutions and religious principles become relevant to the present, and the ways of the present are legitimized anew by being connected to the prime source of authority--the formative period in the people's past."¹¹

Three major features of Chronicles appear when we isolate the material the writer included that is not in Samuel or Kings. First, the genealogies reflect the writer's goal of encouraging Israel's racial and religious purity. Second, the emphases on the temple, ark, and worship show his desire that the returned exiles reestablish worship according to the Mosaic Law.¹² Third, the record of David's glories and the victories God gave his successors were his way of encouraging his original readers as they sought to reestablish their nation in the Promised Land.¹³

Conservative students of Chronicles differ in their opinion concerning the amount of Messianic expectation the Chronicler held out to his readers. My belief is that he did present some hope of a coming Messiah who would fulfill the promises given to David in the Davidic Covenant. I will point this out at the appropriate places in the notes that follow.¹⁴

Passages Unique to Chronicles (In probable chronological order)15
Genealogies	The genealogical tables	1 Chron. 1-9
David	The list of the men who came to David at Ziklag	1 Chron. 12:1-7
	The list of the men who joined David on his way to Ziklag	1 Chron. 12:19-22
	Data concerning the number of warriors who made David king	1 Chron. 12:23-40
	The Gadites who "separated themselves unto David"	1 Chron. 12:8-15
	David's hymn of praise when he moved the ark	1 Chron. 16:4-36
	David's final preparations for the building of the temple	1 Chron. 22:1-19
	The national convention	1 Chron. 23:1-9:22
Solomon	The making of the altar of brass	2 Chron. 4:1
	The close of Solomon's dedicatory prayer	2 Chron. 6:40-42
Rehoboam	The adherence of the Levites in all Israel to Rehoboam	2 Chron. 11:13-14
	The immigration of other pious Israelites to Judah	2 Chron. 11:16-17
	Rehoboam's fortifications	2 Chron. 11:5-12
	Rehoboam's family	2 Chron. 11:18-23
Abijah	Abijah's family	2 Chron. 13:21
Asa	The ten years of peace under Asa	2 Chron. 14:1
	Asa's defense policy	2 Chron. 14:6-8
	Asa's victory over Zerah the Ethiopian	2 Chron. 14:9-15
	The warning of the prophet Azariah	2 Chron. 15:1-7
	The four years of peace under Asa	2 Chron. 15:19
	The renewal of the covenant	2 Chron. 15:9-15
	The warning of the prophet Hanani	2 Chron. 16:7-9
	Asa's transgression	2 Chron. 16:10
Jehoshaphat	Jehoshaphat's strengthening of his kingdom	2 Chron. 17:1-7
	The mission of the princes, Levites and priests	2 Chron. 17:7-9
	Jehoshaphat's increasing power	2 Chron. 17:10-8:1
	The prophet Jehu's judgment on Jehoshaphat	2 Chron. 19:1-3
	Jehoshaphat's further reforms in worship and law	2 Chron. 19:4-11
	The deliverance from Moab and Ammon on Mt. Seir	2 Chron. 20:1-30
Jehoram	The posthumous message of Elijah to Jehoram	2 Chron. 21:12-15
	The invasion of the Philistines and Arabians	2 Chron. 21:16-17
	Jehoram's illness	2 Chron. 21:18
Joash	Joash's matrimonial affairs	2 Chron. 24:3
	The temple worship	2 Chron. 24:14
	The death of Jehoiada	2 Chron. 24:15-16
	The sins of Joash	2 Chron. 24:17-19
	The stoning of Zechariah	2 Chron. 24:20-22
	The reverses of Judah due to Hazael's operations	2 Chron. 24:23-24
Amaziah	Amaziah's planned expedition against Edom	2 Chron. 25:5
	Amaziah's hiring of 1000 mercenaries out of Israel and dismissing them	2 Chron. 25:6-10
	The pillage of the cities of Judah by the dismissed mercenaries	2 Chron. 25:13
	Amaziah's further wickedness	2 Chron. 25:14-16
Uzziah	Uzziah's success in war	2 Chron. 26:6-8
	Uzziah's building and farming	2 Chron. 26:9-10, 15
	Uzziah's army	2 Chron. 26:11-14
	Uzziah's fame	2 Chron. 26:8, 15
Jotham	Jotham's subjugation of the Ammonites	2 Chron. 27:5-6
Ahaz	Obed the prophet's obtaining the release of the Jewish captives during Ahaz's war with Rezin and Pekah	2 Chron. 28:9-15
	The Edomite and Philistine invasions under Ahaz	2 Chron. 28:17-19
Hezekiah	The cleansing of the temple by Hezekiah	2 Chron. 29:3-19
	The consecration of the temple	2 Chron. 29:20-36
	Preparations for the Passover	2 Chron. 30:1-12
	The keeping of the Passover	2 Chron. 30:13-22
	The keeping of "other seven days"	2 Chron. 30:23-27
	Hezekiah's further religious reforms	2 Chron. 31:2-21
	Hezekiah's wealth and building	2 Chron. 32:27-30
	Sennacherib's second entry into Judah for invasion	2 Chron. 32:1
	Hezekiah's precautions in view of Sennacherib's second entry into Judah for invasion	2 Chron. 32:2-8
	Hezekiah's renewed prosperity	2 Chron. 32:23
Manasseh	Manasseh's captivity	2 Chron. 33:11
	Manasseh's repentance and restoration	2 Chron. 33:12-13
	The acts of Manasseh after his restoration	2 Chron. 33:14-16
	The spiritual condition of the people	2 Chron. 33:17
Josiah	Josiah's early reformations	2 Chron. 34:3-7
Captivity	The length of the captivity	2 Chron. 36:20-21
	Cyrus' proclamation permitting return from the captivity	2 Chron. 36:22-23

Message¹⁶

The central subject of 1 and 2 Chronicles is the temple of God. Someone evidently wrote these books at the end of the Babylonian exile to encourage the Israelites to reestablish Israel's national life in the Promised Land. In view of this purpose the northern kingdom of Israel was of little interest to the writer. Judah is the kingdom in view, and David is the king in view. The central passion in David's life is in view, namely the building of the temple. Furthermore the reason for David's passion for the temple is in view. He saw that the recognition of God is of supreme importance in national life.

This is the message of the book. The recognition of God is of supreme importance in national life formally as well as really. The writer demonstrated this fact in the genealogies, and he illustrated it in David's life in the rest of 1 Chronicles.

The genealogies demonstrate the supreme importance of recognizing God in national life.

What was the writer emphasizing by his selective genealogy? This genealogy (chs. 1-9) shows that God has chosen to bless some individuals and not others. This was His plan from Adam to Nehemiah. God also chose to bring blessing to those who obeyed Him regardless of their other personal abilities or disabilities. Obedience is key to success. We can see a heart for God in obedience to God's will. There are two reasons God blesses people: His sovereign choice to bless, and our obedience to Him. Character grows out of obedience. Likewise God chose to bring cursing on those who were disobedient to Him regardless of their other personal rights and privileges.

The reason God chose to bless some individuals was to accomplish one ultimate goal. This goal was the fulfillment of His plans for His own glorification including the fulfillment of His promises to humanity. All the details of His choices of individuals contributed to His ultimate goal.

The genealogies teach us this lesson. The way to achieve permanence and success in individual life, and the way to achieve stability and success in national life, is to recognize God in life. Throughout history people and nations have succeeded or failed as they recognized God. This is a major point the writer was demonstrating in the genealogies. God has been selecting, changing, interrupting, and moving through history inexorably toward His ultimate goal.

The life of David, as narrated here, illustrates the supreme importance of recognizing God in national life (chs. 10-29).

The writer presented David as a strong model king. He selected four pictures from David's life. The first of these was his crowning that shows God's choice of him. The second was his capture of Jerusalem that was the victory that led to the temple. The third picture was his mighty men. It shows his influence on personal character and his true power. The fourth was the gathering of multitudes behind his leadership that shows his influence on the masses. All of these pictures are in a sense background for what follows concerning David.

What made David the great king he was? The writer showed that it was his attitude toward God that expressed itself in his attitude toward the temple. David's care for the ark (a symbol of God's grace) and his desire to build the temple (a symbol of worship that responds to God's grace) reveal his deepest passion in life. His master passion was that Israel should never forget the God who had chosen her for special blessing in the world. We can see that his great desire was not simply to build the temple. When God told him through Nathan not to build it, David accepted this. He was content to gather materials and to make plans because he saw the temple as a way of helping Israel remember her God.

The writer of 1 Chronicles wanted to show the importance of what the temple symbolized, namely Israel's national recognition of God. David's great desire was that Israel recognize God and express that recognition publicly.

As king, David ruled under the authority of God. As warrior, he executed the will of God. As poet, he constantly extolled the reign of God. He glorified God in every aspect of his life. He also appreciated the importance of recognizing God nationally.

The message of this book is still a timeless one for us today. The recognition of God is still extremely important in life nationally and individually. Just as God governs all individuals, He also governs all nations, not just Israel. Amos made the point that God governs all nations, not just Israel. All nations are accountable to Him (cf. Deut. 32). Even today one of the Jews' favorite names for God is "king of the universe."

It is important that we recognize God because of His selective activity that the genealogies highlight. Throughout all of history God has been choosing, selecting, lifting up, and casting down. He selects new people in every generation. If they fail, He selects others and keeps moving ahead. If the person we would normally expect God to use is not ready or is unqualified, God will choose another (cf. Saul and David). If the person with privilege does not respond to his opportunity, God will pass him by, find some other perhaps obscure person, and move on. How foolish it is for nations and individuals not to recognize Him in view of God's sovereign progress.

It is also important that we recognize God because of the effect recognizing Him has on life. Take God out of the life of nations and individuals and what happens? There is no moral standard. An English politician once said, "If there is no Bible, where is your textbook of morals? There is the supreme difficulty. We must teach morals, and there is no textbook or standard in the world if we take the Bible away."¹⁷

When we lose our moral standard we lose individual character. When we lose individual character we lose the basis for civilized society. These things build on each other. Awareness of the throne of God and the government of God is foundational for any social order.

It is extremely important for every nation to build the temple of God, to recognize God in its life. This creates an opportunity for people to deal with God. Movements that advocate removing recognition of God from national life are pernicious. The person who points people to God is the true patriot. David wrote, "Zeal for your house has eaten me up." What is God's temple today? It is the church (Matt. 16:18). As the church we must point people to God. This was the "point" of church steeples in the past, to point people to God.

Constable: 1 Chronicles (Outline)

Outline

I. Israel's historical roots chs. 1-9

A. The lineage of David chs. 1-3

B. The house of Israel chs. 4-7

1. The family of Judah 4:1-23

2. The family of Simeon 4:24-43

3. The families of Transjordan ch. 5

4. The family of Levi ch. 6

5. The remaining families of Israel ch. 7

C. The lineage of Saul chs. 8-9

II. The reign of David chs. 10-29

A. The death of Saul ch. 10

B. David's coronation and capital 11:1-9

C. David's mighty men 11:10-12:40

D. David and the ark chs. 13-16

1. The removal of the ark from Kiriath-jearim ch. 13

2. Restoring fellowship with Yahweh ch. 14

3. The importance of the priests and Levites 15:1-15

4. The joy produced by God's presence 15:16-16:6

5. David's concern for the universal worship of Yahweh 16:7-43

E. God's covenant promises to David chs. 17-29

1. The first account of God's promises to David chs. 17-21

2. The second account of God's promises to David chs. 22-27

3. The third account of God's promises to David chs. 28-29

(Continued in notes on 2 Chronicles)

Constable: 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON.

INTRODUCTION.

These Books are called by the Greek Interpreters, Paralipomenon; ( Greek: Paraleipomenon, ) that is, of things left out, or omitted; because they are a kind of supplement of such things as were passed over in the Books of Kings. The Hebrews call them, Dibre Hajamim; that is, The words of the days, or The Chronicles. Not that they are the books which are so often quoted in the Kings, under the title of, The Words of the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda; for the Books of Paralipomenon were written after the Books of Kings; but because, in all probability, they have been abridged from those ancient words of the days, by Esdras, or some other sacred author. (Challoner) --- The author of this compilation refers to the same works, 2 Paralipomenon xvi. 11., &c. These journals were principally composed by prophets, though there were other people appointed to write the most important occurrences, 2 Kings viii. 16., and 4 Kings xviii. 18. The genealogies of families, particularly of the Levites, and the interests of piety and religion, are kept most in view. (Calmet) --- The variations which appear between this work and the other parts of Scripture, are owing to the faults of transcribers; and, though they could not be satisfactorily explained, it would be rashness to condemn the author of inaccuracy, at this distance of time, when we know so little of those transactions. (Haydock) --- Who calls in question the history of Alexander, though the different authors of it scarcely agree in one calculation of the number of troops, nations conquered, &c.?" Yet the work before us is of far higher authority, as it was dictated by the Holy Ghost. (Calmet) --- "Without it, a person would in vain pretend to understand the Scriptures." It is "an epitome of the Old Testament," and "explains many difficulties of the gospels." (St. Jerome) --- The author does not, however, seem to have designed to draw up an exact epitome, or to supply the deficiencies of the other works. (Calmet) --- The first nine chapters contain various genealogical histories. In the 10th, we have the election and death of Saul; and in the remainder of the first book, the transactions of David, (Worthington) till the year [of the world] 2990, where the second book commences with the reign of Solomon, and brings us to the end of the captivity. (The year of the world 3468.; Calmet)

Gill: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES

This and the following book were reckoned by the Jews as one book, as appears by the Masoretic note at the end of the second book, and as is affirmed by Origen ^a and Jerom ^b; and they were by the ancients ^c called Chronicles, as they are by us; but they are different from the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah, so often mentioned in the preceding books, seeing several things there referred to, as in them, are not to be found here; though no doubt many things here recorded were taken from thence under a divine direction. In the Greek version, and so in the Vulgate Latin version after that, they are called "Paralipomena", that is, things passed over or omitted, because they contain several anecdotes which are not to be found in the books of Samuel and Kings. The Hebrew title of them is, "Dibre Hayamim", words of days, day books or diaries, and what the Greeks call "Ephemerides"; though, as "yamim" sometimes signifies years, they may be named "annals"; and so the Arabic inscription is,

"the Books of Annals;''

and because they chiefly respect the kings of Judah, the Syriac inscription is,

"the Book of the Things that were done in the Times of the Kings of Judah.''

The Targum is,

"the Book of Genealogies, the Words of Days, which were from the Days of the World;''

because the first ten chapters consist of genealogies beginning from Adam. The inspired penman of these books must live after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, since he carries down the genealogy of the kings and princes of Judah beyond that time, 1Ch 3:17. It is generally thought by the Jews and Christians that Ezra was the writer of them, with which agrees the age in which he lived; and as it may seem, from the last of these books ending with the same words with which that under his name begins: so the Talmudists ^d say, that Ezra wrote his own book, and the genealogy of the chronicles unto his own, or unto Velo, "and he had brethren", 2Ch 21:2 and Jarchi affirms that he wrote them by the hand or means of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, inspired prophets; though some Jewish writers ^e suppose they were written partly by him, and partly by Nehemiah; that all to 2Ch 21:2 were written by Ezra, and the rest by Nehemiah. Kimchi thinks that Ezra was not the first author and writer of these books, but that the books of Chronicles and Annals of the kings of Judah, and of the kings of Israel, were separately written before him; but that he only revised them, and with the men of the great synagogue added the genealogies, and put them into the canon of the Scriptures ^f. Spinosa ^g fancies they were written after Judas Maccabaeus had restored the temple, since the historian tells what families dwelt in Jerusalem in the times of Ezra, 1Ch 9:1 and speaks of the porters, 1Ch 9:17 two of which are mentioned, Neh 11:19 as if Ezra could not describe the families that lived when he did, or name the porters of the temple, since it was finished and dedicated in his time, Ezr 6:15, but however there is no doubt to be made of the authenticity of these books, since not only they have always been acknowledged by the Jews as a part of the canonical Scripture, and by ancient Christians, as appears by the catalogues of Melito ^h and Origen ⁱ; but there are plain references to them in the New Testament. The genealogy of Christ, by the evangelists, is formed out of them; the doxology in Rev 5:12 as some have observed, comes very near to what is used by David, 1Ch 29:11 and the passages in Act 7:48 contain the sense of what is expressed in 2Ch 2:5. The use and design of these books are chiefly to give a larger account of the kingdom of Judah, especially after the division of it from the ten tribes, and of the kings thereof, than what is given in the preceding books, as in the last of these books; and particularly they ascertain the genealogy of Christ, that it might be clear and plain of what tribe and family the Messiah came, that he descended from the tribe of Judah, and from the kings of the house of David, as in this first book. They both contain an history from Adam, to the deliverance of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. The first of these books reaches, according to Hottinger ^k, to A. M. 2985, and the latter is an history of four hundred and seventy two years. According to Bishop Usher ^l the former contains a course of 2990 years, and the latter of four hundred and seventy eight.

Gill: 1 Chronicles 5 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 5

This chapter relates the genealogy of the tribes that lived on the other side Jordan; of the Reubenites, 1Ch 5:1, of the Gadites, 1Ch 5:11 of the half tribe of Manasseh, 1Ch 5:23 and of their war with the Hagarites, in conjunction with each other, and their conquest of them, 1Ch 5:18 and who for their sins were all carried captive by the king of Assyria, 1Ch 5:25.