1Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, for the genealogy to not be reckoned according to the birthright; 2yet Judah has prevailed over his brothers, and from him is the chief ruler, although the birthright was Joseph's); 3the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria carried into captivity. He was chief of the Reubenites. 7And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8and Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal Meon. 9Eastward they settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead. 10Now in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents before the east of Gilead. 11And the children of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salcah: 12Joel was the chief, Shapham the next, then Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan, 13and their brethren of their father's house: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jachan, Zia, and Eber; seven. 14These were the sons 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: 15Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father's house. 16And they dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its daughter-villages, and in all the common lands of Sharon within their borders. 17All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. 18The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, shooting with the bow, and trained in war, going out to war. 19They made war with the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20And they were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were delivered into their hand, for they cried out unto God in the battle; and He was entreated for them, because they had trusted in Him. 21And they took away their livestock; fifty thousand camels, two hundred and fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand donkeys; and one hundred thousand souls of men; 22for many fell down slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their place until the captivity. 23Thus the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. They multiplied from Bashan to Baal Hermon, Senir and Mount Hermon. 24These were the heads of their fathers' houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel; mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of their fathers' houses. 25And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and went whoring after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria; and he carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the River Gozan to this day.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 We have here an extract out of the genealogies,
I. Of the tribe of Reuben, where we have,
1. The reason why this tribe is thus postponed. It is confessed that Reuben was the first-born of Israel, and, upon that account, might challenge the precedency; but he forfeited his birthright by defiling his father's concubine, and was, for that, sentenced
not to excel, Gen 49:4. Sin lessens men, thrusts them down from their excellency. Seventh-commandment sins especially leave an indelible stain upon men's names and families, a reproach which time will not wipe away. Reuben's seed, to the last, bear the disgrace of Reuben's sin. Yet, though that tribe was degraded, it was not discarded or disinherited. The sullying of the honour of an Israelite is not the losing of his happiness. Reuben loses his birthright, yet it does not devolve upon Simeon the next in order; for it was typical, and therefore must attend, not the course of nature, but the choice of grace. The advantages of the birthright were dominion and a double portion. Reuben having forfeited these, it was thought too much that both should be transferred to any one, and therefore they were divided. (1.) Joseph had the double portion; for two tribes descended from him, Ephraim and Manasseh, each of whom had a child's part (for so Jacob by faith blessed them,
Hebre 11:21;
Gen 48:15,
Gen 48:22), and each of those tribes was as considerable, and made as good a figure, as any one of the twelve, except Judah. But, (2.) Judah had the dominion; on him the dying patriarch entailed the sceptre,
Gen 49:10 Of him came the chief ruler, David first, and, in the fulness of time, Messiah the Prince,
Mic 5:2. This honour was secured to Judah, though the birthright was Joseph's; and, having this, he needed not envy Joseph the double portion.
2. The genealogy of the princes of this tribe, the chief family of it (many, no doubt, being omitted), to Beerah, who was head of this clan when the king of Assyria carried them captive, (1Chr:5:4-6). Perhaps he is mentioned as prince of the Reubenites at that time because he did not do his part to prevent the captivity.
3. The enlargement of the coasts of this tribe. They increasing, and their cattle being multiplied, they crowded out their neighbours the Hagarites, and extended their conquests, though not to the river Euphrates, yet to the wilderness which abutted upon that river,
1Chr 5:9,
1Chr 5:10. Thus God did for his people as he promised them: he cast out the enemy from before them by little and little, and gave them their land as they had occasion for it,
Exod 23:30.
II. Of the tribe of Gad. Some great families of that tribe are here named (
1Chr 5:12), seven that were the children of Abihail, whose pedigree is carried upwards from the son to the father (
1Chr 5:14,
1Chr 5:15), as that
1Chr 5:4,
1Chr 5:5, is brought downwards from father to son. These genealogies were perfected in the days of Jotham king of Judah, but were begun some years before, in the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel. What particular reason there was for taking these accounts then does not appear; but it was just before they were carried away captive by the Assyrians, as appears
2Kgs 15:29,
2Kgs 15:31. When the judgments of God were ready to break out against them for their wretched degeneracy and apostasy then were they priding themselves in their genealogies, that they were the children of the covenant; as the Jews, in our Saviour's time, who, when they were ripe for ruin, boasted,
We have Abraham to our father. Or there might be a special providence in it, and a favourable intimation that though they were, for the present, cast out, they were not cast off for ever. What we design to call for hereafter we keep an inventory of.
18 The heads of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that were seated on the other side Jordan, are named here,
1Chr 5:23,
1Chr 5:24. Their lot, at first, was Bashan only; but afterwards they increased so much in wealth and power that they spread far north, even unto Hermon. Two things only are here recorded concerning these tribes on the other side Jordan, in which they were all concerned. They all shared,
I. In a glorious victory over the Hagarites, so the Ishmaelites were now called, to remind them that they were
the sons of the bond-woman, that was
cast out. We are not told when this victory was obtained: whether it be the same with that of the Reubenites (which is said
1Chr 5:10 to be
in the days of Saul ), or whether that success of one of these tribes animated and excited the other two to join with them in another expedition, is not certain. It seems, though in Saul's time the common interests of the kingdom were weak and low, some of the tribes that acted separately did well for themselves. We are here told,
1. What a brave army these frontier-tribes brought into the field against the Hagarites, 44,000 men and upwards, all strong, and brave, and skilful in war, so many effective men, that knew how to manage their weapons,
1Chr 5:18. How much more considerable might Israel have been than they were in the time of the judges if all the tribes had acted in conjunction!
2. What course they took to engage God for them: They
cried to God, and
put their trust in him, 1Chr 5:20. Now they acted as Israelites indeed. (1.) As the seed of believing Abraham, they
put their trust in God. Though they had a powerful army, they relied not on that, but on the divine power. They depended on the commission they had from God to wage war with their neighbours for the enlarging of their coasts, if there was occasion, even with those that were very far off, besides the devoted nations. See
Deut 20:15. They depended on God's providence to give them success. (2.) As the seed of praying Jacob,
they cried unto God, especially
in the battle, when perhaps, at first, they were in danger of being overpowered. See the like done,
2Chr 13:14. In distress, God expects we should cry to him; he distrains upon us for this tribute, this rent. In our spiritual conflicts, we must look up to heaven for strength; and it is the believing prayer that will be the prevailing prayer.
3. We are told what success they had:
God was entreated of them, though need drove them to him; so ready is he to hear and answer prayer. They were helped against their enemies; for God never yet failed any that trusted in him. And then they routed the enemy's army, though far superior in number to theirs, slew many (
1Chr 5:22), took 100,000 prisoners, enriched themselves greatly with the spoil, and settled themselves in their country (
1Chr 5:21,
1Chr 5:22), and all this
because the war was of God, undertaken in his fear and carried on in a dependence upon him. If the battle be the Lord's, there is reason to hope it will be successful. Then we may expect to prosper in any enterprise, and then only, when we take God along with us.
II. They shared, at length, in an inglorious captivity. Had they kept close to God and their duty, they would have continued to enjoy both their ancient lot and their new conquests; but they
transgressed against the God of their fathers, 1Chr 5:25. They lay upon the borders, and conversed most with the neighbouring nations, by which means they learned their idolatrous usages and transmitted the infection to the other tribes; for this God had a controversy with them. He was
a husband to them, and no marvel that his jealousy burnt like fire when they
went a whoring after other gods. Justly is a bill of divorce given to the adulteress.
God stirred up the spirit of the kings of Assyria, first one and then another, against them, served his own purposes by the designs of those ambitious monarchs, employed them to chastise these revolters first, and, when that humbled them not, then wholly to
root them out, 1Chr 5:26. These tribes were first placed, and they were first displaced. They would have the best land, not considering that it lay most exposed. But those who are governed more by sense than by reason or faith in their choices may expect to fare accordingly.