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1 Chronicles 5

KJV · Chapter 5/29

1Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.

2For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)

3The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

4The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,

5Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,

6Beerah his son, whom Tilgath–pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.

7And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,

8And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal–meon:

9And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.

10And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.

11And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah:

12Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan.

13And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven.

14These are 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;

15Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers.

16And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.

17All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.

18The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.

19And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.

20And they were 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.

21And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.

22For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.

23And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal–hermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.

24And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.

25And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

26And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath–pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The genealogies of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh are listed — the tribes that settled east of the Jordan River. The chapter explains why Reuben, though Jacob's firstborn, lost the right of the firstborn, and tells how these tribes were carried into exile by Assyria.

Explanation

The chapter clarifies an important detail of Jacob's story: Reuben, though the eldest son, lost the right of the firstborn for having committed a grave sin against his father (recorded in Genesis 35), and that privilege was transferred to the descendants of Joseph, though the royal line went to Judah. The tribes east of the Jordan lived more exposed to attack, and the text acknowledges with spiritual honesty that their fall into Assyrian exile happened because 'they trespassed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land.' It is a reminder that spiritual choices, not just military strength, determined the fate of these communities.

Fun facts

  • The mention of Beerah, a Reubenite leader carried captive by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, is confirmed by Assyrian historical records that mention military campaigns against this region around 733 BC.
  • The tribes east of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) were historically the first to be carried into exile, decades before the fall of the rest of the Northern Kingdom, since they were geographically more exposed to Assyrian invasions coming from the east.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:1Reuben was Jacob’s first son, but he lost that place of honor for lying with one of his own father’s wives — the episode is in Genesis. Because of this, the birthright ends up split: the practical blessing goes to the sons of Joseph, and political leadership goes to Judah, from whom David comes; no single tribe got the whole package.
  2. 1 Chronicles 5:2This explains why Reuben’s birthright is split in two: political leadership goes to Judah, from whom David comes, but the formal title of firstborn — which carried the right to a double inheritance — stays with Joseph.
  3. 1 Chronicles 5:3The four direct sons of Reuben, the lost firstborn: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi — the starting point of this tribe’s genealogy before it narrows down to one specific family.
  4. 1 Chronicles 5:4A father-to-son chain begins from Joel — Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei — names that exist only here, setting the stage to reach a better-known leader of the tribe.
  5. 1 Chronicles 5:5The chain continues for three more generations — Micah, Reaia, Baal — until it reaches the next name, which carries an important historical note.
  6. 1 Chronicles 5:6Beerah, chief of the Reubenites, is carried captive by Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria — the first concrete mention in the chapter of what will become the fate of this entire tribe, centuries before the final fall of Judah.
  7. 1 Chronicles 5:7After following a single line down to the captivity, the text turns back and lists the relatives of this same branch, with Jeiel and Zechariah as heads of family.
  8. 1 Chronicles 5:8Bela is described as living in a strip of territory running from Aroer to Nebo and Baal-meon — names of cities on the east side of the Jordan, the land that fell to Reuben.
  9. 1 Chronicles 5:9The Reubenites spread eastward, almost as far as the Euphrates River, simply because their cattle had multiplied too much for the land of Gilead — a very practical reason for a territorial expansion.
  10. 1 Chronicles 5:10In the days of King Saul, the Reubenites make war on the Hagarites and win, occupying their tents throughout the eastern part of Gilead — one more quiet territorial conquest within the list.
  11. 1 Chronicles 5:11On the other side, in the land of Bashan as far as Salchah, live the sons of Gad — the list now shifts tribes, showing the two neighboring peoples side by side in the territory east of the Jordan.
  12. 1 Chronicles 5:12The leaders of Gad in this region: Joel as chief, Shapham as second, and Jaanai and Shaphat remaining in the part of Bashan — a leadership structure divided by area.
  13. 1 Chronicles 5:13Seven relatives of Gad, organized by family — one more group of names that serves to record who belonged to this specific line.
  14. 1 Chronicles 5:14A rare genealogical chain, climbing seven generations at once up to an ancestor named Buz — it shows the chronicler’s care in documenting the full root before speaking of the present.
  15. 1 Chronicles 5:15Ahi, grandson of Abdiel, is named as chief of the house of his fathers — one more specific name of leadership within the great clan of Gad.
  16. 1 Chronicles 5:16Gad’s territory spreads across Gilead, Bashan, and their surroundings, reaching all the way to the fields of Sharon — a surprisingly wide grazing area for a single tribe.
  17. 1 Chronicles 5:17The census of these families is dated by two kings at once, Jotham of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel — a way of pinning down the exact time using the rulers of the two kingdoms, already divided.
  18. 1 Chronicles 5:18Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh together muster almost forty-five thousand men of war, trained with shield, sword, and bow — the picture of a considerable military force in the lands east of the Jordan.
  19. 1 Chronicles 5:19These tribes go to war against the Hagarites and other neighboring Arab peoples, Jetur, Nephish, and Nodab — descendants of Ishmael, according to the genealogy in Genesis.
  20. 1 Chronicles 5:20The victory comes because, in the middle of the battle, they cry out to God and trust in Him — the text makes clear that divine help, not just military strength, is the real reason for the victory over the Hagarites.
  21. 1 Chronicles 5:21The text says they cried out to God in the middle of the battle against the Hagarites, and that is why they won — and right after come huge numbers of animals and prisoners taken as plunder. Such high numbers are common in this kind of war account in Chronicles, and scholars still debate today how to read certain Hebrew counting words in ancient texts like this one.
  22. 1 Chronicles 5:22Many enemies fall dead because, according to the text, “the war was of God” — and the tribes east of the Jordan go on living in these conquered lands until the day, centuries later, when they are carried into captivity.
  23. 1 Chronicles 5:23The half tribe of Manasseh occupies an even larger territory, from Bashan to Mount Hermon, and the text records that this part of the tribe grew considerably in this region.
  24. 1 Chronicles 5:24The heads of family of the half tribe of Manasseh — seven names described as valiant and famous men — close out the leadership picture of the eastern tribes before the chapter turns to the reason for their fall.
  25. 1 Chronicles 5:25Here comes the theological turning point of the chapter: these tribes abandon the God of their ancestors and take up worshiping the gods of the peoples God had destroyed to make room for them — the sin the next verse is already about to punish.
  26. 1 Chronicles 5:26The tribes on the east side of the Jordan — Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh — are the first of Israel to be carried away, by the Assyrians, decades before the fall of the southern kingdom. The text ties this directly to the religious unfaithfulness of these tribes, a pattern of cause and effect that Chronicles repeats several times throughout the book.

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