1 Chronicles 5
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
5 Now [we come to] the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. For [Reuben] was the eldest, but because he polluted his father’s couch [with Bilhah his father’s concubine] his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph [favorite] son of Israel; so the genealogy is not to be reckoned according to the birthright.(A)
2 Judah prevailed above his brethren, and from him came the prince and leader [and eventually the Messiah]; yet the birthright was Joseph’s.(B)
3 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
5 Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive; he was a prince of the Reubenites.
7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned: the chief Jeiel, and Zechariah,
8 Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
9 Eastward [Bela] inhabited the land as far as the entrance into the desert this [west] side of the river Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead.
10 In the days of [King] Saul they made war with the Hagrites or Ishmaelites, who fell by their hands; they dwelt in their tents in all the land east of Gilead.
11 The children of Gad who dwelt opposite them in the land of Bashan, as far as Salecah:
12 Joel the chief, Shapham the next, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
13 Their kinsmen of the houses of their fathers: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, 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 chief in their fathers’ houses.
16 They dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the suburbs and pasturelands of Sharon to their limits.
17 All these were enrolled by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam [II] king of Israel.
18 The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—valiant men able to bear buckler and sword and to shoot with bow and skillful in war—were 44,760 able and ready to go forth to war.
19 And [these Israelites, on the east side of the Jordan River] made war with the Hagrites [a tribe of northern Arabia], Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.
20 They were given help against them, and the Hagrites or Ishmaelites were delivered into their hands, and all who were allied with them, for they cried to God in the battle; and He granted their entreaty, because they relied on, clung to, and trusted in Him.
21 And [these Israelites] took away their adversaries’ herds: of their camels 50,000, and of sheep 250,000, and of donkeys 2,000, and of the lives of men 100,000.
22 For a great number fell mortally wounded, because the battle was God’s. And [these Israelites] dwelt in their territory until the captivity [by Assyria more than five centuries later].(C)
23 And the people of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land; their settlements spread from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon.
24 And these were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of strength of mind and spirit [enabling them to encounter danger with firmness and personal bravery], famous men, and heads of the houses of their fathers.
25 They transgressed against the God of their fathers and played the harlot [by unfaithfulness to their own God and running] after the gods of the native peoples, whom God had destroyed before them.
26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, [that is,] the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day.
1 Chronicles 5
Contemporary English Version
The Descendants of Reuben
5 (A) Reuben was the oldest son of Jacob,[a] but he lost his rights as the first-born son[b] because he slept with one of his father's wives.[c] The honor of the first-born son was then given to Joseph, 2 (B) even though it was the Judah tribe that became the most powerful and produced a leader.
3 Reuben had four sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4-6 (C) The descendants of Joel included Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei, Micah, Reaiah, Baal, and Beerah, a leader of the Reuben tribe. Later, King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria took Beerah away as prisoner.
7-8 The family records also include Jeiel, who was a clan leader, Zechariah, and Bela son of Azaz and grandson of Shema of the Joel clan. They lived in the territory around the town of Aroer, as far north as Nebo and Baal-Meon, 9 and as far east as the desert just west of the Euphrates River. They needed this much land because they owned too many cattle to keep them all in Gilead.
10 When Saul was king, the Reuben tribe attacked and defeated the Hagrites, then took over their land east of Gilead.
The Descendants of Gad
11 The tribe of Gad lived in the region of Bashan, north of the Reuben tribe. Gad's territory extended all the way to the town of Salecah. 12 Some of the clan leaders were Joel, Shapham, Janai, and Shaphat. 13 Their relatives included Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber.
14 They were all descendants of Abihail, whose family line went back through Huri, Jaroah, Gilead, Michael, Jeshishai, Jahdo, and Buz. 15 Ahi, the son of Abdiel and the grandson of Guni, was the leader of their clan.
16 The people of Gad lived in the towns in the regions of Bashan and Gilead, as well as in the pastureland of Sharon. 17 Their family records were written when Jotham was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel.
18 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh had 44,760 soldiers trained to fight in battle with shields, swords, bows, and arrows. 19 They fought against the Hagrites and the tribes of Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 Whenever these soldiers went to war against their enemies, they prayed to God and trusted him to help. That's why the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh defeated the Hagrites and their allies. 21 These Israelite tribes captured 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 people. 22 Many of the Hagrites died in battle, because God was fighting this battle against them. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh lived in that territory until they were taken as prisoners to Assyria.[d]
The Tribe of East Manasseh
23 East Manasseh was a large tribe, so its people settled in the northern region of Bashan, as far north as Baal-Hermon,[e] Senir, and Mount Hermon. 24 Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel were their clan leaders; they were well-known leaders and brave soldiers.
The Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh Are Defeated
25 The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh were unfaithful to the God their ancestors had worshiped, and they started worshiping the gods of the nations that God had forced out of Canaan. 26 (D) So God sent King Tiglath Pileser[f] of Assyria to attack these Israelite tribes. The king led them away as prisoners to Assyria, and from then on, he forced them to live in Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River.
Footnotes
- 5.1 Jacob: See the note at 1.34.
- 5.1 rights as the first-born son: The first-born son inherited the largest amount of property, as well as the leadership of the family.
- 5.1 wives: See Genesis 35.22; 49.3,4.
- 5.22 they were taken as prisoners to Assyria: See 2 Kings 15.29; 17.5-23.
- 5.23 Baal-Hermon: The location of this place is unknown.
- 5.26 King Tiglath Pileser: The Hebrew text also includes “King Pul,” another name by which he was known.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
