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

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.

Chapter 5

Reuben. [a]The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel. (He was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled the couch of his father his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, son of Israel, so that he is not listed in the family records according to his birthright.(A) Judah, in fact, became powerful among his brothers, so that the ruler came from him, though the birthright had been Joseph’s.)(B) The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.(C) His son was Joel, whose son was Shemaiah, whose son was Gog, whose son was Shimei, whose son was Micah, whose son was Reaiah, whose son was Baal, whose son was Beerah, whom Tilgath-pileser, the king of Assyria, took into exile; he was a prince of the Reubenites.(D) His brothers who belonged to his clans, when they were listed in the family records according to their descendants, were: Jeiel, the chief, and Zechariah, and Bela, son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel. The Reubenites lived in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon;(E) toward the east they dwelt as far as the wilderness which extends from the Euphrates River, for they had much livestock in the land of Gilead.(F) 10 In Saul’s time they waged war with the Hagrites, and when they had defeated them they dwelt in their tents throughout the region east of Gilead.(G)

Gad. 11 The Gadites lived alongside them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah.(H) 12 Joel was chief, Shapham was second in command, and Janai was judge in Bashan.(I) 13 Their brothers, according to their ancestral houses, were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber—seven. 14 These were the sons of Abihail, son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. 15 Ahi, son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the head of their ancestral houses. 16 They dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and in all the pasture lands of Sirion to the borders. 17 All were listed in the family records in the time of Jotham, king of Judah, and of Jeroboam, king of Israel.

18 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh were warriors, men who bore shield and sword and who drew the bow, trained in warfare—forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty men fit for military service. 19 When they waged war against the Hagrites and against Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab,(J) 20 they received help so that the Hagrites and all who were with them were delivered into their power. For during the battle they cried out to God, and he heard them because they had put their trust in him.(K) 21 Along with one hundred thousand persons they also captured their livestock: fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand donkeys. 22 Many were slain and fell; for “From God the victory.” They dwelt in their place until the time of the exile.(L)

The Half-tribe of Manasseh. 23 The half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land of Bashan as far as Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon; they were numerous. 24 The following were the heads of their ancestral houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel—men who were warriors, famous men, and heads over their ancestral houses.

25 However, they acted treacherously toward the God of their ancestors by prostituting themselves to follow the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.(M) 26 Therefore the God of Israel stirred up against them the anger of Pul,[b] king of Assyria, and the anger of Tilgath-pilneser [sic], king of Assyria, who deported the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and brought them to Halah, Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, where they have remained to this day.(N)

Levi.[c] 27 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.(O) 28 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.(P) 29 The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.(Q) 30 [d]Eleazar became the father of Phinehas. Phinehas became the father of Abishua. 31 Abishua became the father of Bukki. Bukki became the father of Uzzi. 32 Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth. 33 Meraioth became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 34 Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz. 35 Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah. Azariah became the father of Johanan. 36 Johanan became the father of Azariah, who served as priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. 37 Azariah became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 38 Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Shallum. 39 Shallum became the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah became the father of Azariah. 40 Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak. 41 Jehozadak was one of those who went into the exile which the Lord inflicted on Judah and Jerusalem through Nebuchadnezzar.

Footnotes

  1. 5:1–26 Genealogies of the Transjordanian tribes, Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
  2. 5:26 Pul: the Chronicler seems to speak of two different kings here, but Pul was the name which the Assyrian king Tilgath-pileser III (745–727 B.C.) adopted as king of Babylon.
  3. 5:27–6:66 The tribe of Levi. The Chronicler’s list gives special prominence to Levi’s son Kohath, from whom were descended both the Aaronite priests (vv. 28–41) and the leading group of Temple singers (6:18–23).
  4. 5:30–41 The line of preexilic high priests. The list seems to become confused in vv. 36–38, which repeat the same names, mostly in inverse order, that occur in vv. 34–36. A similar but shorter list occurs, with variations, in Ezr 7:1–5.

The Family of Reuben(A)

Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—(B)he was indeed the firstborn, but because he (C)defiled his father’s bed, (D)his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; yet (E)Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a (F)ruler, although [a]the birthright was Joseph’s— the sons of (G)Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, and Beerah his son, whom [b]Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria (H)carried into captivity. He was leader of the Reubenites. And his brethren by their families, (I)when the genealogy of their generations was registered: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in (J)Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon. Eastward they settled as far as the [c]entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had [d]multiplied (K)in the land of Gilead.

10 Now in the days of Saul they made war (L)with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the entire area east of Gilead.

The Family of Gad

11 And the (M)children of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of (N)Bashan as far as (O)Salcah: 12 Joel was the chief, Shapham the next, then Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan, 13 and their brethren of their father’s house: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Eber—seven in all. 14 These were the children of Abihail the 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 the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father’s house. 16 And the Gadites dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its villages, and in all the [e]common-lands of (P)Sharon within their borders. 17 All these were registered by genealogies in the days of (Q)Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of (R)Jeroboam king of Israel.

18 The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war. 19 They made war with the Hagrites, (S)Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 And (T)they were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them, for they (U)cried out to God in the battle. He [f]heeded their prayer, because they (V)put their trust in Him. 21 Then they took away their livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred and fifty thousand of their sheep, and two thousand of their donkeys—also one hundred thousand of their men; 22 for many fell dead, because the war (W)was God’s. And they dwelt in their place until (X)the captivity.

The Family of Manasseh (East)

23 So the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to (Y)Senir, or Mount Hermon. 24 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers’ houses.

25 And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and (Z)played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of (AA)Pul king of Assyria, that is, (AB)Tiglath-Pileser[g] king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to (AC)Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 5:2 the right of the firstborn
  2. 1 Chronicles 5:6 Heb. Tilgath-Pilneser
  3. 1 Chronicles 5:9 beginning
  4. 1 Chronicles 5:9 increased
  5. 1 Chronicles 5:16 open lands
  6. 1 Chronicles 5:20 Lit. was entreated for them
  7. 1 Chronicles 5:26 Heb. Tilgath-Pilneser