Reuben’s Children

5 Reuben was Israel’s first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son. But he had physical relations with his father’s slave woman. So those special privileges were given to Joseph’s sons. (Joseph was a son of Israel.) In the family history Reuben’s name is not listed as the first son. ² Judah became stronger than his brothers. And a leader came from his family. But Joseph’s family received the privileges that belonged to the oldest son. ³ Reuben was the first son born to Israel. Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.

⁴ These were the children of Joel: Shemaiah was Joel’s son. Gog was Shemaiah’s son. Shimei was Gog’s son. ⁵ Micah was Shimei’s son. Reaiah was Micah’s son. Baal was Reaiah’s son. ⁶ Beerah was Baal’s son. Beerah was a leader of the tribe of Reuben. Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria captured Beerah and took him away.

⁷ Joel’s brothers and all his family groups are listed just as they are written in their family histories: Jeiel was the first, then Zechariah ⁸ and Bela. (Bela was the son of Azaz. Azaz was Shema’s son. Shema was Joel’s son.) They lived in the area of Aroer all the way to Nebo and Baal Meon. ⁹ Bela’s people lived to the east. Their land went as far as the edge of the desert, which is beside the Euphrates River. They lived there because they had too many cattle for the land of Gilead.

¹⁰ When Saul was king, Bela’s people fought a war against the Hagrite people. And they defeated the Hagrites. Then Bela’s people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites. They lived in all the area east of Gilead.

Gad’s Children

¹¹ The people from the tribe of Gad lived near the Reubenite people. The Gadites lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Salecah. ¹² Joel was the main leader in Bashan. Shapham was the second leader. Then Janai and Shaphat were leaders.

¹³ The seven relatives in their families were Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber. ¹⁴ They were the descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri’s son. Huri was Jaroah’s son. Jaroah was Gilead’s son. Gilead was Michael’s son. Michael was Jeshishai’s son. Jeshishai was Jahdo’s son. Jahdo was the son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi was Abdiel’s son. Abdiel was Guni’s son. Ahi was the leader of their family.

¹⁶ The Gadite people lived in Gilead, Bashan and in the small towns around Bashan. They also lived on all the pasturelands in the Plain of Sharon all the way to the borders.

¹⁷ All these people’s names were written in the family history of Gad. This was done during the time Jotham was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel.

Soldiers Skilled in War

¹⁸ There were 44,760 fighters from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. They were brave men who could use shields and swords. They could use their bows well. They were skilled in war. ¹⁹ They started a war against the Hagrites and the people of Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. ²⁰ The men from the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad prayed to God in the war. They asked God to help them. So he helped them because they trusted him. He allowed them to defeat the Hagrites. And they also defeated all those who were with the Hagrites. ²¹ They took the animals that belonged to the Hagrites. They took 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and 2,000 donkeys. They also captured 100,000 people. ²² Many Hagrites were killed. This is because God helped the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. Then they lived there until Babylon captured them and took them away.

The Eastern Half-Tribe of Manasseh

²³ There were many people in the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. They lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Baal Hermon, Senir and Mount Hermon.

²⁴ These were the family leaders: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were all strong, brave and famous men. And they were leaders in their families. ²⁵ But they sinned against the God that their ancestors had worshiped. They began worshiping the gods of the people in that land. And those were the people God was destroying. ²⁶ So the God of Israel made Pul king of Assyria want to go to war. Pul was also called Tiglath-Pileser. He captured the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. And he took them away to Halah, Habor, Hara and near the Gozan River. And they have lived there from that time until this day.