Deeper Commentary
1Ch 7:1 Of the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron,
four-
Not all of the tribes have their genealogies given, and the detail is
far less than for Judah and Levi. The details also varies between the
tribes, with Dan getting no mention and Naphtali only one verse. This is
because the purpose of these genealogies was for the exiles of Judah at the
time of the restoration. But the call was for the ten tribes to return at
the same time, and there were some of the ten tribes who remained in the
land after the mass deportation to Assyria. These would have joined with the
people of Judah in going into captivity in Babylon. Perhaps just the
information relevant to them is recorded.
1Ch 7:2 The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam and Shemuel,
heads of their fathers’ houses, of Tola; mighty men of valour in their
generations. Their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six
hundred-
This may refer to the census taken by David which resulted in wrath
upon Israel (2 Sam. 24:1). That census was incomplete because not all Israel
wanted to pay the temple tax associated with a census. And so here we just
have the number of fighting men [which was what David had wanted to know] of
the clan of Tola.
1Ch 7:3 The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah,
Joel and Isshiah, five; all of them chief men-
These are all Godly names. Maybe that corroborates the suggestion on :2
that these were those numbered at the time of 2 Sam. 24:1 who paid the
temple tax associated with a census. Those who didn't pay it weren't
numbered. And it was the more Godly who would have paid it.
1Ch 7:4 With them, by their generations, after their fathers’ houses, were
bands of the army for war, thirty-six thousand; for they had many wives
and sons-
The mention of many wives continues the theme of these genealogies- the
moral weakness of the people, especially in terms of marital
relationships, is constantly noted.
1Ch 7:5 Their brothers among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of
valour, reckoned in all by genealogy, were eighty-seven thousand-
Ezra
2:62 records Judah being ‘reckoned by genealogies’, using the same Hebrew
word which is the hallmark of the Chronicles genealogies (1 Chron. 4:33;
5:1,7,17; 7:5,7,9,40; 9:1,22). And in this context, Is. 40:26 compares
God’s ‘bringing out’ of Judah from Babylon with His ‘bringing out’ the
stars by their individual names, all wonderfully known to Him. Ps. 87:6
had prophesied something similar about the restoration of Zion’s fortunes:
“The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was
born there”. The Kingdom of God was to be the restoration of Israel’s
Kingdom- but they had to actually get on and restore it rather than wait
for it to come.
1Ch 7:6 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher and Jediael, three-
Jediael (“Known to God”) is substituted for the pagan Ashbel (“Man of
Baal” in Gen. 46:21, following the principle that the name of Baal should
be removed from the mouths of God's people (Hos. 2:17).
1Ch 7:7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth and Iri, five;
heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valour. They were reckoned by
genealogy twenty-two thousand and thirty-four-
The apparent difference with the list in 1 Chron. 8:3-5 is that we are
here reading the numbers of fighting men taken at the time of the census
in 2 Sam. 24:1. At the time of a census, the temple tax had to be paid, or
else plague would come. Plague was chosen by God as the punishment for
Israel at this time, because many refused to be counted as they didn't
want to pay the temple tax. Hence David took false guilt in feeling
personally guilty for the plague. But it seems that some paid the tax for
others, and so "sons" are counted to them who may not have been their
literal sons. See on :11 for an example.
1Ch 7:8 The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri,
Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher-
Some of these are names of places (1 Chron. 6:60; Jer. 1:1), and it
seems in all the genealogies there is a confusion between people and
places. The settlements around a city are therefore often called the sons
or daughters of that city.
1Ch 7:9 They were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of
their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valour, twenty thousand two hundred-
The purpose of the census in David's time was to find out how many
soldiers there were. But it seems that whilst numbering them, there was
also in some cases a note made of their genealogies.
1Ch 7:10 The son of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin,
Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish and Ahishahar-
Jediael had only one son, but the sons of his son were counted to him.
I suggest this was because he paid the temple tax for them at the time of
the census when they were numbered; see on :11.
1Ch 7:11 All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their
fathers’ households, mighty men of valour, seventeen thousand and two
hundred, who were able to go forth in the army for war-
The particular detail given about the men of Jediael reflects how he
was willing to pay the temple tax at the time of the census (see on :2).
And I suggested on :6 that he had broken free of his weak spiritual
background and changed his name to a more Godly name.
1Ch 7:12 Shuppim also, and Huppim, the sons of Ir, Hushim, the sons of Aher-
The addition of others, as if connected with Jediael but not his direct
relatives ["Shuppim also..."] could be explained by the suggestion on
:2,6, and :11 that Jediael paid the temple tax for these people. Therefore
they were numbered under his name, but were not his relatives.
1Ch 7:13 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the sons of
Bilhah-
Naphtali gets only one verse. I suggested on :1 some reasons for this.
There would have been few from the far north of Israel, where Naphtali
was, amongst the exiles from Judah.
1Ch 7:14 The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess
bore. She bore Machir the father of Gilead-
These records seem to stress the weakness and occasional strength of
these children of God. This is one of the major lessons from Chronicles.
Every now and then, the list of names is interrupted by a piece of
information which indicates God's awareness of their spirituality. For
example, the fact some men had more than one wife or a wife from a nation
other than Israel is often recorded (1 Chron. 1:32; 2:3,26,35,48; 4:18;
5:1; 7:14; 8:8). The way these interruptions occur in the lists of names
stands out. This is surely to indicate two things: that many faithful men
(e.g. Abraham and Caleb, 1 Chron. 1:32; 2:46) made mistakes in this area
of life, and secondly that all down the centuries God has not forgotten
that they married out of the faith, or that they allowed the pressures of
their surrounding world to influence them to break away from the ideal one
man: one woman standard of Eden. These two facts provide us with both
warning and comfort, in that although God is sensitive to failure, He is
still able to justify men, to count them as if they are righteous for the
sake of their covenant relationship with Him, even though (e.g.) their
married life was not completely in order.
1Ch 7:15 Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was
Maacah; and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had
daughters-
The fact God allows His children to live His truth on different levels
needs to be grasped firmly by us, lest we become discouraged that others
live on an apparently lower level than we do in some aspects of life. Being
surrounded by ‘lower levels’ ought to inspire us to the higher levels.
Zelophehad had only daughters; usually, in his context, a man would have
taken concubines in order to produce sons. The record of his only having
daughters is presented in the context of genealogies which show that many
Israelite men had more than one wife (1 Chron. 7:15). But Zelophehad wasn’t
dragged down by this; God inspired him to maintain the higher level which he
had chosen to live by. He didn't use the principle of Jephthah's vow.
1Ch 7:16 Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she named him Peresh;
and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem-
"Peresh" means 'dung' (s.w. Ex. 29:14; Lev. 4:11). Here we have an
example of how some names were birth names; and others, like this, were
names which reflected life experience and character, and were what others
called the person. Which is why people had multiple names.
1Ch 7:17 The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of
Machir, the son of Manasseh-
This Bedan is perhaps the judge mentioned in 1 Sam. 12:11 about whom we
do not read in the book of Judges.
1Ch 7:18 His sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah-
We note the prominence given to this woman. Her name means 'Queen of
Molech', the god to whom children were sacrificed. Her infamy is therefore
noted, continuing the theme of the genealogies noting the widespread
spiritual weakness of the people. But from her came Abiezer, from whom
Gideon was descended. So we are again taught that a man can overcome bad
background by response to God's word and His love.
1Ch 7:19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam-
Shemida appears out of context here, but Josh. 17:2 says he was also
one of the male descendants of Manasseh. Seeing no other pedigree is
given, perhaps Shemida was adopted into the tribe, maybe having been a
Gentile.
1Ch 7:20 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son,
Eleadah his son, Tahath his son-
Called Shuthelah, Becher, Tahan and Eran in Num. 26:35,36.
1Ch 7:21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the
men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to
take away their livestock-
The men of Gath are recorded as slaying some of the men of Ephraim the
largest tribe (1 Chron. 7:21), whereas the men of Benjamin, the smallest
tribe, slew the men of Gath (1 Chron. 8:13). It is God's way of showing
how He works through the small and confounds the things which appear
mighty.
1Ch 7:22 Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to
comfort him-
It is unclear when this skirmish with the men of Gath occurred (:21).
It could have been whilst Israel were living in Goshen. For their father
Ephraim, the patriarch, was still alive, and his brothers. This means that
the Israelites in Goshen were still not converted by their experience of
Joseph's grace, and the great beneficence of Pharaoh towards them. They
still hankered for more cattle, and raided southern Palestine in order to
steal.
1Ch 7:23 He went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he
named him Beriah, because it went evil with his house-
Ephraim would have been very old by this point. Having a child in old
age after the death of adult children... is absolutely psychologically
credible. The inspired record is indeed credible at every point.
1Ch 7:24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth Horon the lower and the
upper, and Uzzen Sheerah-
The context of :23 suggests Sheerah was either the daughter or
granddaughter of Ephraim the patriarch. This would confirm the suggestion
on :22 that Israel in Egypt had more contact with Canaan than we might
imagine. She apparently build settlements there.
1Ch 7:25 Rephah was his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his
son-
The "he" is either Ephraim himself or Beriah (:23). Rephah and
Resheph are names with pagan god associations. But from this background
was to come faithful Joshua (:27).
1Ch 7:26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son-
Unusually for the genealogies, we have here probably a complete
genealogy from Ephraim who entered Egypt with Jacob, to Joshua who came
out of Egypt.
1Ch 7:27 Nun his son, Joshua his son-
"Nun" means "to sprout", so Joshua is presented as the shoot; which
is a Messianic term in Zechariah. Joshua, with the same meaning as
'Jesus', could potentially have been a Messiah figure, but he failed to
live up to the full potential.
1Ch 7:28 Their possessions and habitations were Bethel and its towns, and
eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with its towns; Shechem also and its
towns, to Azzah and its towns-
Gezer is not the more well known Gaza, which was in Judah not
Ephraim.
1Ch 7:29 and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth Shean and its
towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In
these lived the children of Joseph the son of Israel-
But Beth Shean was in Issachar (Josh. 17:11-13; 1 Kings 4:11,12). Dor
was in Asher (Josh. 11:1,2; 12:23; 17:11; Jud. 1:27,28). Taanach was
within either Issachar or Asher (Josh. 17:11,12,25; Jud. 5:19). But these
towns were also given to Ephraim (1 Chron. 7:29). As each Israelite was
promised some personal inheritance in the land, rather than some blanket
reward which the while nation received, so we too have a personal reward
prepared. But the precise nature of that reward is as it were negotiable
by us now, according to our spiritual ambition. Just as Caleb chose Hebron
and secured it for himself.
1Ch 7:30 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their
sister-
The mention of women in this list is unusual. The names are of those
who became heads of family clans within the tribes. So the mention of
Serah would mean that she became a head of family; although rare or
unknown in the world around them, this was not totally unheard of in the
Jacob family and we see in this the respect of women amongst them.
1Ch 7:31 The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of
Birzaith-
"Birzaith" is female, and may refer to a place name ["well of
olives"]. "Father of" is used about founding cities in 1 Chron. 2:51,52;
4:4,5.
1Ch 7:32 Heber became the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham and Shua their
sister-
Shomer and Hotham of :32 are Shamer and Helem of :34,35.
1Ch 7:33 The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal and Ashvath. These are the
children of Japhlet-
The apparently needless repetition of Japhlet as the father may be
because as noted on :2,7,11, these names were produced at the time of
David's census of 2 Sam. 24:1, and that meant that those numbered had to
pay the temple tax or else plague would come. Japhlet perhaps paid the tax
for the three sons, and this is stressed. Plague was chosen by God as the
punishment for Israel at this time, because many refused to be counted as
they didn't want to pay the temple tax. Hence David took false guilt in
feeling personally guilty for the plague. But it seems that some paid the
tax for others, and so "sons" are counted to them who may not have been
their literal sons. See on :11 for an example.
1Ch 7:34 The sons of Shemer: Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah and Aram-
Jehubbah ['hidden place'] and Aram ['upland'] appear more appropriate
as place names than personal names.
1Ch 7:35 The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh and Amal-
Shomer and Hotham of :32 are Shamer and Helem of :34,35.
1Ch 7:36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah-
This list of 11 sons of Zophah may also include his grandchildren.
1Ch 7:37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran and Beera-
Several of the names of the 11 "sons of Zophah" (:36) are known place
names, or sound as if they are; e.g. "Bezer" means 'inaccessible place',
more appropriate to a place than a person.
1Ch 7:38 The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa and Ara-
Here and in :39 we appear to have the mention of people (Jether and
Ulla) of whom we have no background information. Perhaps they are also
"sons of Zophah" of :36.
1Ch 7:39 The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel and Rizia-
Ulla is a female name. Yet she was a household head and mighty
soldier (:40). The genealogies are noted for their mention of significant
women.
1Ch 7:40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses,
choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. The number of them
reckoned by genealogy for service in war was twenty-six thousand men-
In 1 Chron. 12:36 Asher's troops were 40,000, and even more in Num. 1:41;
26:47. The smaller number here is because as explained on :33, this list
was compiled at the time of the census of 2 Sam. 24:1. Those numbered had
to pay the temple tax or else plague would come. Plague was chosen by God
as the punishment for Israel at this time, because many refused to be
counted as they didn't want to pay the temple tax.
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