Reuben’s Children

5 Reuben was Israel’s first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son, but he had sexual 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 Israel’s first son. 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 him 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 the son of Shema, and Shema was the son of Joel.) They lived in the area of Aroer all the way to Nebo and Baal Meon. ⁹ Bela’s people lived to the east—as far as the edge of the desert, which is beside the Euphrates River—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 defeated them. Then Bela’s people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites in all the area east of Gilead.

Gad’s Children

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

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, and Jahdo was the son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi was Abdiel’s son, and Abdiel was Guni’s son. Ahi was the leader of their family.

¹⁶ The Gadites lived in Gilead, Bashan and the small towns around it, and on all the pasturelands in the Plain of Sharon all the way to the borders.

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

Soldiers Skilled in War

¹⁸ There were forty-four thousand seven hundred sixty soldiers from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and East Manasseh who carried shields and swords and bows. 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 during the war, asking him to help them. So he helped them because they trusted him. He handed over to them the Hagrites and all those who were with them. ²¹ They took the animals that belonged to the Hagrites: fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand donkeys. They also captured one hundred thousand people. ²² Many Hagrites were killed because God helped the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. Then they lived there until Babylon captured them and took them away.

East Manasseh

²³ There were many people in East Manasseh, and 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 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 East Manasseh, and he took them away to Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River. They have lived there from that time until this day.