1 Chronicles 7
The Message
The Family of Issachar
7 1-5 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron—four sons. The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Samuel—the chiefs of their families. During David’s reign, the Tola family counted 22,600 warriors in their lineage. The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah; the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah—five sons and all of them chiefs. They counted 36,000 warriors in their lineage because they had more wives and sons than their brothers. The extended families of Issachar accounted for 87,000 warriors—all of them listed in the family tree.
The Family of Benjamin
6-12 Benjamin had three sons: Bela, Beker, and Jediael. Bela had five: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, all of them chiefs and warriors. They counted 22,034 names in their family tree. Beker’s sons were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. Through these chiefs their family tree listed 20,200 warriors. Jediael’s son was Bilhan and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Kenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar—all sons of Jediael and family chiefs; they counted 17,200 combat-ready warriors. Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir; Hushim were from the family of Aher.
The Family of Naphtali
13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum; they are listed under the maternal line of Bilhah, their grandfather’s concubine.
The Family of Manasseh
14-19 Manasseh’s sons, born of his Aramean concubine, were Asriel and Makir the father of Gilead. Makir got his wife from the Huppites and Shuppites. His sister’s name was Maacah. Another son, Zelophehad, had only daughters. Makir’s wife Maacah bore a son whom she named Peresh; his brother’s name was Sheresh and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. Ulam’s son was Bedan. This accounts for the sons of Gilead son of Makir, the son of Manasseh. His sister Hammoleketh gave birth to Ishdod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
The Family of Ephraim
20-24 The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, cattle-rustlers, killed on one of their raids by the natives of Gath. Their father Ephraim grieved a long time and his family gathered to give him comfort. Then he slept with his wife again. She conceived and produced a son. He named him Beriah (Unlucky), because of the bad luck that had come to his family. His daughter was Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah.
25-29 Rephah was Ephraim’s son and also Resheph; Telah was his son, Tahan his son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Nun his son, and Joshua his son. They occupied Bethel and the neighboring country from Naaran on the east to Gezer and its villages on the west, along with Shechem and its villages, and extending as far as Ayyah and its villages. Stretched along the borders of Manasseh were Beth Shan, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, together with their satellite villages. The families descended from Joseph son of Israel lived in all these places.
The Family of Asher
30-32 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; Serah was their sister. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel, who had Birzaith. Heber had Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and Shua their sister.
33-40 Japhlet had Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. His brother Shomer had Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram. His brother Helem had Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. Zophah had Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. Jether had Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. Ulla had Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. These were Asher’s sons, all of them responsible, excellent in character, and brave in battle—good leaders. They listed 26,000 combat-ready men in their family tree.
1 Chronicles 7
English Standard Version
Descendants of Issachar
7 The sons[a] of Issachar: Tola, (A)Puah, (B)Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2 The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number (C)in the days of David being 22,600. 3 The son[b] of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. 4 And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. 5 Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy.
Descendants of Benjamin
6 (D)The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. 8 The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, (E)Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9 And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. 10 The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. 12 And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of (F)Aher.
Descendants of Naphtali
13 (G)The sons of Naphtali: (H)Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and (I)Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah.
Descendants of Manasseh
14 (J)The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore (K)Machir the father of Gilead. 15 And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and (L)Zelophehad had daughters. 16 And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam: (M)Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
Descendants of Ephraim
20 The (N)sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.[c] 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper (O)Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25 Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, (P)Elishama his son, 27 Nun[d] his son, (Q)Joshua his son. 28 (R)Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west (S)Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; 29 (T)also in possession of the Manassites, (U)Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.
Descendants of Asher
30 (V)The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. 32 Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 7:1 Syriac (compare Vulgate); Hebrew And to the sons
- 1 Chronicles 7:3 Hebrew sons; also verses 10, 12, 17
- 1 Chronicles 7:23 Beriah sounds like the Hebrew for disaster
- 1 Chronicles 7:27 Hebrew Non
1 Chronicles 7
Contemporary English Version
The Descendants of Issachar
7 Issachar was the father of four sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.
2 Tola was the father of Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, who were all brave soldiers and family leaders in their clan. There were 22,600 people in Tola's family by the time David became king.
3 Uzzi was the father of Izrahiah and the grandfather of Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, who were also family leaders. 4 Their families were so large that they had 36,000 soldiers in their clans. 5 In fact, according to family records, the tribe of Issachar had a total of 87,000 warriors.
The Descendants of Benjamin and Dan
6 Benjamin was the father of three sons: Bela, Becher, and Jediael.
7 Bela was the father of Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri. They were all brave soldiers and family leaders in their father's clan. The number of soldiers in their clan was 22,034.
8 Becher was the father of Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. 9 The official family records listed 20,200 soldiers in the families of this clan, as well as their family leaders.
10 Jediael was the father of Bilhan and the grandfather of Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 They were family leaders in their clan, which had 17,200 soldiers prepared to fight in battle. 12 Ir was the father of Shuppim and Huppim, who also belonged to this clan.
Dan[a] was the father of Hushim.
The Descendants of Naphtali
13 Naphtali's mother was Bilhah,[b] and he was the father of Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum.
The Descendants of Manasseh
14 Manasseh and his Syrian wife[c] were the parents of Asriel and Machir the father of Gilead. 15 Machir found a wife for Huppim and one for Shuppim. Machir had a sister named Maacah.
Zelophehad was also a descendant of Manasseh, and he had five daughters.[d]
16 Machir and his wife Maacah were the parents of Peresh and Sheresh. Peresh was the father of Ulam and Rekem. 17 Ulam was the father of Bedan. These were all descendants of Gilead, the son of Machir and the grandson of Manasseh.
18 Gilead's sister Hammolecheth was the mother of Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 Shemida, another descendant of Manasseh, was the father of Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
The Descendants of Ephraim
20 Ephraim was the father of Shuthelah and the ancestor of Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, 21 Zabad, and Shuthelah.
Ephraim had two other sons, Ezer and Elead. But they were killed when they tried to steal livestock from the people who lived in the territory of Gath. 22 Ephraim mourned for his sons a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. 23 Some time later his wife gave birth to another son, and Ephraim named him Beriah, because he was born during a time of misery.[e]
24 Ephraim's daughter was Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower Beth-Horon, Upper Beth-Horon, and Uzzen-Sheerah.
25 Ephraim also had a son named Rephah, and his descendants included Resheph, Telah, Tahan, 26 Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, 27 Nun, and Joshua.
28 The descendants of Ephraim took over the territory as far south as Bethel, as far east as Naaran, and as far west as Gezer. Their territory included all the villages around these towns, as well as Shechem, Ayyah, and the nearby villages.
29 The descendants of Manasseh settled in the territory that included Beth-Shan, Taanach, Megiddo, Dor, and the nearby villages.
The descendants of Joseph[f] lived in these towns and villages.
The Descendants of Asher
30 Asher had four sons, Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and one daughter, Serah.
31 Beriah was the father of Heber and Malchiel the father of Birzaith. 32 Heber was the father of three sons, Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham, and one daughter, Shua. 33 Japhlet was the father of Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. 34 Shomer was the father of Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram. 35 And Japhlet's brother Hotham[g] was the father of Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 Zophah was the father of Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 Jether was the father of Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara.
39 Ulla was the father of Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
40 These were the descendants of Asher, and they were all respected family leaders and brave soldiers. The tribe of Asher had a total of 26,000 soldiers.
Footnotes
- 7.12 Dan: The Hebrew text has “Aher,” which can mean “someone else” (see Genesis 46.23-25).
- 7.13 Bilhah: One of Jacob's wives and the mother of Dan and Naphtali (see Genesis 46.23-25).
- 7.14 wife: See the note at 2.46.
- 7.15 Zelophehad … daughters: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text (see also Numbers 26.28-33).
- 7.23 Beriah … misery: In Hebrew “Beriah” sounds like “in misery.”
- 7.29 Joseph: Hebrew “Joseph son of Israel.”
- 7.35 Hotham: The Hebrew text has “Helem,” another spelling of the name.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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