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Also the sons of Reuben, the first begotten son of Israel; for he was the first begotten son of Israel, but when he had defouled the bed of his father, the dignity of his first begetting was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; and Reuben was not areckoned into the first begotten son (and so Reuben was not reckoned as the first-born son).

Forsooth (of) Judah, that was the strongest among his brethren, princes were gathered of his generation (But from Judah, who was the strongest among his brothers, came the leader for all the tribes); forsooth the right of first begetting was areckoned to Joseph.

Therefore the sons of Reuben, the first begotten son of Israel, were Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

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

his son, Micah; his son, Reaia; his son, Baal;

his son, Beerah; whom Tilgathpilneser, king of Assyrians, led (away) prisoner; and he was prince in the lineage of Reuben (and he was a leader of the tribe of Reuben).

Soothly his brethren, and all the kindred, when they were numbered by their families, had princes Jeiel, and Zechariah. (And his kinsmen, and all their kindred, when they were listed by their families, had Jeiel as their leader, and then Zechariah,)

Forsooth Bela, the son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel, he dwelled in Aroer till to Nebo and Baalmeon; (and Bela, the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, and they lived in Aroer unto Nebo and Baalmeon;)

and he dwelled against the east coast, till to the entering of (the) desert, and to the flood Euphrates. And he had in possession much number of beasts in the land of Gilead. (and they lived toward the east coast, unto the edge of the wilderness/unto the entrance to the desert, and the Euphrates River. And they had in possession a great number of beasts in the land of Gilead.)

10 Forsooth in the days of Saul the sons of Reuben fought against (the) Hagarites, and killed them; and dwelled for them in the tabernacles of them (and they lived in their tents, or their camps), in all the coast that beholdeth to the east of Gilead.

11 Soothly the sons of Gad even against them dwelled in the land of Bashan till to Salcah; (And the sons of Gad lived beside them in the land of Bashan unto Salcah;)

12 Joel was in the beginning, and Shapham was the second; also Jaanai and Shaphat were in Bashan. (Joel was the leader, and Shapham was the second; and Jaanai and Shaphat were in Bashan.)

13 Also their brethren by the houses of their kindreds, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven. (And their kinsmen in the houses of their kindreds, that is, the families of Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven in all.)

14 These were the sons of Abihail, the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz.

15 Also the brethren of the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was prince of the house in his families. (And Ahi, the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was the leader of the house of their family.)

16 And they dwelled in Gilead (And they lived in Gilead), and in Bashan, and in the towns thereof, (and) in all the suburbs of Sharon, till to the ends.

17 All these were numbered in the days of Jotham, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam (II), king of Israel.

18 The sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of half the lineage of Manasseh, were men warriors, bearing shields and swords, and bending bow, and taught in battles, four and forty thousand seven hundred and sixty, and they went forth to battle, (The sons of Reuben, and of Gad, and of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, were men of war, bearing shields and swords, and bending bow, and taught in battles, forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty, and they went forth to battle,)

19 and fought against Hagarites. Forsooth Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab,

20 gave help to them; and Hagarites, and all men that were with them, were betaken into the hands of Reuben, and Gad, and Manasseh; for they called inwardly the Lord, while they fought, and the Lord heard them, for they believed in to him. (gave them help; and the Hagarites, and all the men who were with them, were delivered into the hands of Reuben, and Gad, and eastern Manasseh; for they inwardly called on the Lord, while they fought, and the Lord heard them, for they believed in him.)

21 And they took (away) all things which (the) Hagarites had in possession, fifty thousand of camels, and two hundred and fifty thousand of sheep, two thousand of asses (two thousand donkeys), and an hundred thousand persons of men;

22 for many men were wounded and felled down; for it was the battle of the Lord. And they dwelled (there) for (the) Hagarites till to the conquest. (for many men were killed and fell down; for the battle was the Lord’s making. And they lived there in place of the Hagarites until the captivity.)

23 Also the sons of the half lineage of Manasseh had in possession the land, from the ends of Bashan till to Baalhermon, and Senir, and the hill of Hermon; for it was a great number. (And the sons of the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, had in possession the land from Bashan to Baalhermon, and Senir, and Mount Hermon; for they were great in number.)

24 And these were the princes of the house of their kindred; Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremy, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, full strong men and mighty, and named dukes in their families. (And these were the leaders of the house of their kindred; Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremy, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, very strong and mighty men, with famous names, yea, the leaders of their families.)

25 Forsooth they forsook the God of their fathers, and did fornication after the gods of [the] peoples of the land, which the Lord took away before them. (But they left the God of their fathers, and did idolatry, worshipping the gods of the peoples of the land, whom the Lord had destroyed before them.)

26 And the Lord God of Israel raised (up) the spirit[a] of Pul, king of Assyrians, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser, king of Assur; and he translated Reuben, and Gad, and the half lineage of Manasseh, and brought them into Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and into the river of Gozan, till to this day. (And the Lord God of Israel stirred up the will, or the desire, of Pul, the king of Assyria, who is also known as Tilgathpilneser, the king of Assyria, to fight against Israel; and he carried away Reuben, and Gad, and the eastern half of the tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and the Gozan River, where they live unto this day.)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:26 Yea, ‘the spirit’, that is, (the) will to fight against the children of Israel.

Reuben

The sons of Reuben(A) the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed,(B) his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph(C) son of Israel;(D) so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright,(E) and though Judah(F) was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler(G) came from him, the rights of the firstborn(H) belonged to Joseph)— the sons of Reuben(I) the firstborn of Israel:

Hanok, Pallu,(J) Hezron(K) and Karmi.

The descendants of Joel:

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[a](L) king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.

Their relatives by clans,(M) listed according to their genealogical records:

Jeiel the chief, Zechariah, and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in the area from Aroer(N) to Nebo(O) and Baal Meon.(P) To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates(Q) River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead.(R)

10 During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites(S), who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.

Gad

11 The Gadites(T) lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salekah:(U)

12 Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan.

13 Their relatives, by families, were:

Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia and Eber—seven in all.

14 These were the sons of Abihail 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.

15 Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.

16 The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as they extended.

17 All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham(V) king of Judah and Jeroboam(W) king of Israel.

18 The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service(X)—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. 19 They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur,(Y) Naphish and Nodab. 20 They were helped(Z) in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried(AA) out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted(AB) in him. 21 They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22 and many others fell slain, because the battle(AC) was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.(AD)

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh

23 The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh(AE) were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon).(AF)

24 These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. 25 But they were unfaithful(AG) to the God of their ancestors and prostituted(AH) themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit(AI) of Pul(AJ) king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser(AK) king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah,(AL) Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:6 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser; also in verse 26