1The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron; four. 2The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred. 3The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah; all these five were chiefs. 4And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons. 5Their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, reckoned by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand. 6The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael; three. 7The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri; five. They were heads of their fathers' houses, and they were reckoned by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor. 8The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth; all these, the sons of Becher. 9They were reckoned by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers' houses, twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor. 10The son of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers' houses; there were seventeen thousand two hundred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle. 12The sons of Ir: Shuppim and Huppim. The son of Aher: Hushim. 13The sons of Naphtali, the son of Bilhah: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum. 14The sons of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine had borne him Asriel and Machir the father of Gilead. 15Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose name was Maachah. The name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. 16Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17The son of Ulam was Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19The sons of Shemida: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. 20The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, 21Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle. 22And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 23And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah, because of the evil upon his house. 24His daughter was Sheerah, who built lower and upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah; 25Rephah his son, Resheph, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27Nun his son, and Joshua his son. 28Their possessions and dwelling places: Bethel and its daughter-villages, to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its daughter-villages, and Shechem and its daughter-villages, as far as Azzah and its daughter-villages; 29and by the borders of the children of Manasseh were Beth Shean and its daughter-villages, Taanach and its daughter-villages, Megiddo and its daughter-villages, Dor and its daughter-villages. In these dwelt the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel. 30The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel the father of Birzaith. 32Heber begot Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These, the sons of Japhlet. 34The sons of Shemer: Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35The sons of his brother Helem: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. 39The sons of Ulla: Arah, Haniel, and Rizia. 40All these were the sons of Asher, heads of their fathers' houses, choice, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were reckoned by genealogies among the army, fit for battle; twenty-six thousand men.
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary 1 We have here a short view given us,
I. Of the tribe of Issachar, whom Jacob had compared to a
strong ass, couching between two burdens (
Gen 49:14), an industrious tribe, that minded their country business very closely and
rejoiced in their tents, Deut 33:18. And here it appears, 1. That they were a numerous tribe; for they had many wives. So fruitful their country was that they saw no danger of over-stocking the pasture, and so ingenious the people were that they could find work for all hands. Let no people complain of their numbers, provided they suffer none to be idle. 2. That they were a valiant tribe,
men of might (
1Chr 7:2,
1Chr 7:5),
chief men, 1Chr 7:3. Those that were inured to labour and business were of all men the fittest to serve their country when there was occasion, The number of the respective families, as taken in the days of David, is here set down, amounting in the whole to above 145,000 men fit for war. The account, some think, was taken when Joab numbered the people, 2 Sa. 24. But I rather think it refers to some other computation that was made, perhaps among themselves, because it is said (
1Chr 27:24) that that account was not inserted in the chronicles of king David, it having offended God.
II. Of the tribe of Benjamin. Some account is here given of this tribe, but much larger in the next chapter. The militia of this tribe scarcely reached to 60,000; but they are said to be
mighty men of valour, 1Chr 7:7,
1Chr 7:9,
1Chr 7:11.
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf, Gen 49:27. It was the honour of this tribe that it produced Saul the first king, and more its honour that it adhered to the rightful kings of the house of David when the other tribes revolted. Here is mention (
1Chr 7:12) of Hushim the sons of Aher. The sons of Dan are said to be
Hushim (
Gen 46:23), and therefore some read Aher appellatively,
Hushim - the
sons of another (that is, another of Jacob's sons) or the sons of a stranger, which Israelites should not be, but such the Danites were when they set up Micah's graven and molten image among them.
III. Of the tribe of Naphtali,
1Chr 7:13. The first fathers only of that tribe are named, the very same that we shall find,
Gen 46:24, only that
Shillem there is
Shallum here. None of their descendents are named, perhaps because their genealogies were lost.
IV. Of the tribe of Manasseh, that part of it which was seated within Jordan; for of the other part we had some account before,
1Chr 5:23, etc. Of this tribe observe, 1. That one of them married an Aramitess, that is, a Syrian,
1Chr 7:14. This was during their bondage in Egypt, so early did they begin to mingle with the nations. 2. That, though the father married a Syrian, Machir, the son of that marriage, perhaps seeing the inconvenience of it in his father's house, took to wife a daughter of Benjamin,
1Chr 7:15. It is good for the children to take warning by their father's mistakes and not stumble at the same stone. 3. Here is mention of Bedan (
1Chr 7:17), who perhaps is the same with that Bedan who is mentioned as one of Israel's deliverers,
1Sam 12:11. Jair perhaps, who was of Manasseh (
Judg 10:3), was the man.
20 We have here an account,
I. Of the tribe of Ephraim. Great things we read of that tribe when it came to maturity. Here we have an account of the disasters of its infancy, while it was in Egypt as it should seem; for Ephraim himself was alive when those things were done, which yet is hard to imagine if it were, as is here computed, seven generations off. Therefore I am apt to think that either it was another Ephraim or that those who were slain were the immediate sons of that Ephraim that was the son of Joseph. In this passage, which is related here only, we have, 1. The great breach that was made upon the family of Ephraim. The men of Gath, Philistines, giants, slew many of the sons of that family,
because they came down to take away their cattle, 1Chr 7:21. It is uncertain who were the aggressors here. Some make the men of Gath the aggressors, men
born in the land of Egypt, but now resident in Gath, supposing that they came down into the land of Goshen, to drive away the Ephraimites' cattle, and slew the owners, because they stood up in the defence of them. Many a man's life has been exposed and betrayed by his wealth; so far is it from being a strong city. Others think that the Ephraimites made a descent upon the men of Gath to plunder them, presuming that the time had come when they should be put in possession of Canaan; but they paid dearly for their rashness and precipitation. Those that will not wait God's time cannot expect God's blessing. I rather think that the men of Gath came down upon the Ephraimites, because the Israelites in Egypt were shepherds, not soldiers, abounded in cattle of their own, and therefore were not likely to venture their lives for their neighbours' cattle: and the words may be read,
The men of Gath slew them, for they came down to take away their cattle. Zabad the son of Ephraim, and Shuthelah, and Ezer, and Elead (his grandchildren), were, as Dr. Lightfoot thinks, the men that were slain. Jacob had foretold that the seed of Ephraim should become a
multitude of nations (
Gen 48:19), and yet that plant is thus nipped in the bud. God's providences often seem to contradict his promises; but, when they do so, they really magnify the promise, and make the performance of it, notwithstanding, so much more illustrious. The Ephraimites were the posterity of Joseph, and yet his power could not protect them, though some think he was yet living. The sword devours one as well as another. 2. The great grief which oppressed the father of the family hereupon:
Ephraim mourned many days. Nothing brings the aged to the grave with more sorrow than their following the young that descend from them to the grave first, especially if in blood. It is often the burden of those that live to be old that they see those go before them of whom they said,
These same shall comfort us. It was a brotherly friendly office which his brethren did, when
they came to comfort him under this great affliction, to express their sympathy with him and concern for him, and to suggest that to him which would support and quiet him under this sad providence. Probably they reminded him of the promise of increase which Jacob had blessed him when he laid his right hand upon his head. Although his house was not so with God as he hoped, but a house of mourning, a shattered family, yet that promise was sure,
2Sam 23:5. 3. The repair of this breach, in some measure, by addition of another son to his family in his old age (
1Chr 7:23), like Seth,
another seed instead of that of Abel whom Cain slew, Gen 4:25. When God thus restores comfort to his mourners,
makes glad according to the days wherein he afflicted, setting the mercies over against the crosses, we ought therein to take notice of the kindness and tenderness of divine Providence; it is as if
it repented God concerning his servants, Pss 90:13,
Pss 90:15. Yet joy that a man was born into his family could not make him forget his grief; for he gives a melancholy name to his son,
Beriah -
in trouble, for he was born when the family was in mourning, when
it went evil with his house. It is good to have in remembrance the affliction and the misery, the wormwood and the gall, that our souls may be
humbled within us, Lam 3:19,
Lam 3:20. What name more proper for
man that is born of a woman than
Beriah, because born into a troublesome world? It is added, as a further honour to the house of Ephraim, (1.) That a daughter of that tribe,
Sherah by name, at the time of Israel's setting in Canaan, built some cities, either at her own charge or by her own care; one of them bore her name,
Uzzen-sherah, 1Chr 7:24. A virtuous woman may be as great an honour and blessing to a family as a mighty man. (2.) That a son of that tribe was employed in the conquest of Canaan,
Joshua the son of Nun, 1Chr 7:27. In this also the breach made on Ephraim's family was further repaired; and perhaps the resentment of this injury formerly done by the Canaanites to the Ephraimites might make him more vigorous in the war.
II. Of the tribe of Asher. Some men of note of that tribe are here named. Their militia was not numerous in comparison with some other tribes, only 26,000 men in all; but their princes were
choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes (
1Chr 7:40), and perhaps it was their wisdom that they coveted not to make their trained bands numerous, but rather to have a few, and those apt to the war and serviceable men.