The Family Line of Reuben

5 Reuben was the oldest son of Israel. But he slept with his father’s concubine. By doing that, he made his father’s bed “unclean.” That’s why his rights as the oldest son were given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel. So Reuben isn’t listed in the family history as the one who had the rights of the oldest son. ² Judah also did not have the rights of the oldest son. Judah didn’t have them even though he was the leader among his brothers. And a ruler came from his family line. But the rights of the oldest son belonged to Joseph. ³ Reuben was the oldest son of Israel. Reuben’s sons were

All of them made their homes in the area from Aroer to Nebo and Baal Meon. ⁹ To the east they made their homes in the land up to the edge of the desert. That desert reaches all the way to the Euphrates River. They made their homes there because their livestock had increased in Gilead.

¹⁰ While Saul was king, the people of Reuben went to war against the Hagrites. They won the battle over them. Then they lived in the houses of the Hagrites. The people of Reuben lived in the entire area east of Gilead.

The Family Line of Gad

¹¹ The people of Gad lived next to the people of Reuben in Bashan. They spread out all the way to Salekah.

¹⁶ The people of Gad lived in the land of Gilead. They lived in the villages of Bashan. They also lived on all the grasslands of Sharon as far as they reached.

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

¹⁸ The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men able to serve in the army. Each one was able to handle a shield and sword. Each was also able to use a bow. Each was trained for battle. ¹⁹ They went to war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. ²⁰ God helped his people fight against the Hagrites and all who were helping them. He handed over all those enemies to his people. That’s because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. ²¹ They captured the livestock of the Hagrites. They captured 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and 2,000 donkeys. They also took 100,000 people as prisoners. ²² Many others were killed, because God won the battle over them. His people lived in the land until they themselves were taken as prisoners to other countries.

The Family Line of Half of the Tribe of Manasseh

²³ The people in half of the tribe of Manasseh became a very large group. They made their homes in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon. Baal Hermon is also called Senir. Another name for it is Mount Hermon.

²⁴ Here are the leaders of their families. They included Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave fighting men. They were also famous and were leaders of their families. ²⁵ But they weren’t faithful to the God of their people. They joined themselves to the gods of the nations of the land and worshiped them. God had destroyed those nations to make room for his people. ²⁶ So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul. He was king of Assyria. He was also called Tiglath-Pileser. He took the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh to other countries as his prisoners. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan. And that’s where they still are to this day.