1 Chronicles 7

Verse-by-verse explanation

1. 1 Chronicles 7:1The tribe changes: now it’s Issachar, with only four sons listed — Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron — the start of a genealogy that will soon turn into a military census.
2. 1 Chronicles 7:2Tola’s six sons already appear counted as heads of families and mighty men of valor, with an exact number of soldiers in David’s time — showing that these lists also served to organize the army.
3. 1 Chronicles 7:3Uzzi’s descendants amount to five heads of families — one more layer within Issachar’s family tree before the next verse adds it all up into a single number.
4. 1 Chronicles 7:4The text explains the reason for such high numbers: these families had many wives and many sons, which naturally produced larger bands of soldiers for war.
5. 1 Chronicles 7:5The warrior counts for each family of Issachar — twenty-two thousand six hundred in the house of Tola alone, eighty-seven thousand in all — are part of a common way this book records the size and strength of each tribe. As with other lists of this kind, scholars still debate the best way to understand such high quantities in ancient Hebrew.
6. 1 Chronicles 7:6Now it’s Benjamin’s turn, with only three sons named here — a leaner list than the one in Genesis, focused only on the families that produced warriors counted in the census.
7. 1 Chronicles 7:7Bela’s five sons already come with a soldier count: just over twenty-two thousand mighty men of valor — Benjamin will prove to be a small tribe, but full of warriors.
8. 1 Chronicles 7:8Becher’s nine sons close out another branch of Benjamin — a list of names only, with no story attached beyond the genealogy.
9. 1 Chronicles 7:9The military summary for this part of the family: twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor counted by their genealogies — the same family-by-family census pattern repeated throughout the chapter.
10. 1 Chronicles 7:10The sons of Jediael, another branch of Benjamin, include Benjamin — the same name as the tribe itself, used here as a personal name, a coincidence common in these ancient lists.
11. 1 Chronicles 7:11One more soldier count closes out this part: seventeen thousand two hundred men fit to go out for war, from this single family alone within the tribe of Benjamin.
12. 1 Chronicles 7:12A short verse that’s confusing even in the original Hebrew — it looks like a leftover piece of Dan’s genealogy cut in half, with a few loose names that scholars still debate how to fit in.
13. 1 Chronicles 7:13Quickly, the tribe of Naphtali appears with only four sons, all descendants of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant — the same lean pattern used before for other smaller tribes.
14. 1 Chronicles 7:14The complicated genealogy of Manasseh begins: Ashriel is born of an Aramean concubine, and another son, Machir, becomes the “father” of Gilead — the territory east of the Jordan the tribe will occupy.
15. 1 Chronicles 7:15Machir marries the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, and the text mentions in passing Zelophehad, a man who had only daughters — a detail that points to the famous law about inheritance for women without brothers, created because of him in Numbers 27.
16. 1 Chronicles 7:16Machir’s wife, Maachah, has a son named Peresh and another named Sheresh — and the grandsons, Ulam and Rakem, continue the line that will flow into Gilead.
17. 1 Chronicles 7:17Bedan, son of Ulam, closes out this part of Gilead’s genealogy — a quick summary before the text returns to another daughter of Machir mentioned earlier.
18. 1 Chronicles 7:18Gilead’s sister, Hammoleketh, has three sons, among them Abiezer — the same clan from which, centuries later, the judge Gideon will be born, called precisely “the Abiezrite” in Judges.
19. 1 Chronicles 7:19Shemida’s four sons close out this part of Manasseh’s family tree — more names that also give their names to places, a common pattern in these lists for a tribe with its own territory.
20. 1 Chronicles 7:20Back to Ephraim, Joseph’s other son: a direct chain from father to son — Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eladah, another Tahath — leading up to a tragic episode told right after.
21. 1 Chronicles 7:21In the middle of a list of names only, this is one of the rare moments when the genealogy turns into an actual scene: sons of Ephraim killed while trying to steal cattle from the men of Gath, their father mourning for many days, and a new son born afterward with a name that recalls the sorrow of that household. It’s a reminder that behind every name in a list like this stood a family with a real story.
22. 1 Chronicles 7:22Ephraim mourns his dead sons for many days, and his brethren come to comfort him — a rare moment of pure emotion in the middle of a list of names, showing the grief behind the genealogy.
23. 1 Chronicles 7:23In the middle of his mourning, Ephraim has another son with his wife, and names him Beriah, recalling the phrase “it went evil with his house” — the same custom of naming a child with the weight of the moment’s sorrow, as with Jabez before.
24. 1 Chronicles 7:24A rare detail: Ephraim’s daughter, Sherah, is the one who builds two cities, the nether and the upper Beth-horon, along with Uzzen-sherah — a woman appearing as the founder of a city, something unusual in a list made up almost entirely of men.
25. 1 Chronicles 7:25Beriah’s line continues for more generations — Rephah, Resheph, Telah, Tahan — each name bringing the list closer to a surprising ending.
26. 1 Chronicles 7:26Three more links — Laadan, Ammihud, Elishama — the chain of Ephraim, begun in the tragedy of the slain sons, keeps moving forward without pause.
27. 1 Chronicles 7:27The big reveal: this line reaches Nun and then Joshua — the same Joshua who succeeds Moses and leads the conquest of the promised land, born precisely from this family of Ephraim marked by loss and mourning.
28. 1 Chronicles 7:28Ephraim’s territory stretches from Bethel to Gezer and Shechem, reaching as far as Gaza — the list now trades personal names for city names, showing where this tribe actually lived.
29. 1 Chronicles 7:29On Manasseh’s side, cities like Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor complete the territory of the “children of Joseph” — Ephraim and Manasseh together, since the two tribes come from the same father.
30. 1 Chronicles 7:30The tribe of Asher begins, with five sons listed, including a sister, Serah — once again a woman appears named within an otherwise mostly male list.
31. 1 Chronicles 7:31The sons of Beriah, Heber and Malchiel, along with the note that Malchiel is the “father” of Birzavith — again the custom of blending a person’s name with the name of a place they founded.
32. 1 Chronicles 7:32Heber has three sons and a daughter, Shua — Asher’s family tree keeps growing into increasingly specific branches.
33. 1 Chronicles 7:33Japhlet’s three sons close out another small branch of Asher’s family tree, with no story beyond the names themselves.
34. 1 Chronicles 7:34Shemer’s four sons continue Asher’s extensive genealogy, one of the most detailed in the chapter in terms of the number of names.
35. 1 Chronicles 7:35The four sons of Shemer’s brother, Helem, show how the tribe of Asher was divided into many small, well-documented clans.
36. 1 Chronicles 7:36Zophah’s five sons open yet another branch within Asher’s already extensive family tree — this tribe has one of the longest name lists in the entire chapter.
37. 1 Chronicles 7:37Six more sons of Zophah close out this part of the list — a total of eleven names in this single family alone, showing the size of the clan.
38. 1 Chronicles 7:38Jether’s three sons continue Asher’s extensive genealogy, each name existing only within this list, with no other mention in the Bible.
39. 1 Chronicles 7:39Ulla’s three sons close out another branch — Asher’s family tree is among the most branched in all of Chronicles.
40. 1 Chronicles 7:40A final summary closes the chapter: all these men of Asher were heads of families, mighty men of valor, chief among the princes — twenty-six thousand counted and fit for war.