CHAPTER 7 Sep. 24 
The Children of Issachar
Of the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron, four. 2The 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. 3The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel and Isshiah, five; all of them chief men. 4With 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. 5Their brothers among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valour, reckoned in all by genealogy, were eighty-seven thousand. 
The Children of Benjamin
6The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher and Jediael, three. 7The 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. 8The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9They were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valour, twenty thousand two hundred. 10The son of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish and Ahishahar. 11All 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. 12Shuppim also, and Huppim, the sons of Ir, Hushim, the sons of Aher. 
The Children of Naphtali
13The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. 
The Children of Manasseh
14The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bore. She bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15Machir 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. 16Maacah 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. 17The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18His sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19The sons of Shemida were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. 
The Children of Ephraim
20The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21Zabad 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. 22Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23He went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah, because it went evil with his house. 24His daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth Horon the lower and the upper, and Uzzen Sheerah. 25Rephah was his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 26Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27Nun his son, Joshua his son. 28Their 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; 29and 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. 
The Children of Asher
30The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. 31The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. 32Heber became the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham and Shua their sister. 33The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. 34The sons of Shemer: Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah and Aram. 35The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh and Amal. 36The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran and Beera. 38The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa and Ara. 39The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel and Rizia. 40All 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.

Commentary

7:14 His concubine the Aramitess- Here and so often in the genealogies we have evidence that from earliest times, the Jews weren’t ethnically pure. And intermarriage with Gentiles has continued to be a feature of the community throughout the millennia. Jewishness is therefore cultural more than genetic; which provides another perspective on Paul’s argument that fleshly descent from Abraham counts for nothing. There has been so much intermarriage over the generations that the Jews are in no way a purebred race. 
7:15 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. But Zelophehad wasn’t dragged down by this; God inspired him to maintain the higher level which he had chosen to live by. We too must seek to do what is ultimately right before God and not be influenced by the standards of our brethren who surround us in the body of believers.
7:24 One feature of these genealogies is that they mention the significance of women as mothers and wives by naming them; and the achievements of women like Sherah, who built Beth-Horon. This sharply contrasts with contemporary king lists of the time, which mention only the males and their exploits. This indicates that the Bible isn’t as it were anti-women, as has been ignorantly claimed, but rather God’s perception of the value and meaning of the human person is such that His word is very positive about women.