Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
I.—THE REUBENITES (1 Chronicles 5:1-10).
(1) Reuben the firstborn of Israel.—See Genesis 49:3 : “Reuben, my firstborn thou! my strength, and firstfruits of my manhood;” also Genesis 29:32.
For he was the firstborn.—The parenthesis is an assertion of the legitimacy of the Davidic monarchy, as against the fact that both Reuben and Joseph had claims prior to those of Judah.
He defiled his father’s bed.—Genesis 49:4, Jacob’s curse: “Bubbling like the waters, excel thou not! For thou wentest up thy father’s couches. Then thou defiledst my bed” (See Genesis 35:22).
His birthright was given to the sons of Joseph.—The reading of some MSS., and the Syriac and Arabic, “to Joseph,” is probably original. This transfer of the rights of primogeniture is not elsewhere mentioned. It is, however, a fair inference from Jacob’s curse, and from the special blessing of Joseph (Genesis 49:22-26) and of his two sons (Genesis 48:15-20), considered in the light of historical fulfilment. Ephraim was always a leading tribe (Judges 2:9; Judges 4:5; Judges 5:14; Judges 8:1-2; Judges 12:1; Judges 12:15).
And the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.—Rather, though he was not to be registered as firstborn (literally, according to the primogeniture). The subject is Joseph or the sons of Joseph, who received the forfeited rights of Reuben, but not the first place in lists of the tribes. What those rights were is defined by Deuteronomy 21:15-17, which rules that the son of a hated wife—if he be firstborn (the case of Reuben, son of Leah), shall inherit a double portion, “for he is the firstfruits of his strength, the right of the firstborn is his;” words obviously referring to Genesis 49:4-5.
For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)
(2) For Judah prevailed above his brethren.—Literally, was mighty among his brethren. Comp. Jacob’s blessing (Genesis 49:8-10): “Judah, thou—thy brethren shall praise thee, Thy hand shall be on the neck of thy foes, Thy father’s sons shall bow before thee. Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor doom-staff from between his feet,” &c. (See also Judges 1:1-2, where Judah is divinely commissioned to lead the attack upon the Canaanites.) At the census of Moses, Judah greatly outnumbered any other single tribe (Numbers 1:27).
And of him came the chief ruler.—“And from him (one was to become) prince.” Literally, and for a prince—out of him. (Comp. Micah 5:1.) LXX., εἰς ἡγούμενον ἐξ αὐτοῦ. David is meant, as in 1 Samuel 13:14. We may also remember the word of the apostolic writer: “It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah” (Hebrews 7:4). The prophecy concerning the royal dignity of Judah is only thus exhausted of its meaning.
But the birthright was Joseph’s, who actually received the “double portion” in the two tribal domains of Ephraim and Manasseh.
The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hannoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
(3) Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.—So Genesis 46:9; Exodus 6:14; Numbers 26:5-7. Considering the prominence of Hezron and Carmi among the clans of Judah, it is remarkable to find their names recurring among the main branches of Reuben.
The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
(4) The LXX. read: “Sons of Joel Shemaiah, and Banaia (Benaiah) his son; and sons of Gog, son of Shemaiah, his son Micah,” &c.
Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,
(5) Baal.—Compare the names of Saul’s posterity Eshbaal and Meribbaal; and David’s son Beeliada (Heb., Baalyada).
Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.
And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
(7) And his brethren by their families.—“And his fellow-tribesmen, each after his clan (Numbers 2:34), in the registration after their pedigrees, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah.” Jeiel was the chief of the second Reubenite clan, as Beerah of the first. Zechariah and Bela were heads of the other chief houses. It appears that these four chieftains correspond to the four divisions of Reuben mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:3.Numbers 26:7; Numbers 26:7 says expressly that “the Hanochite, the Palluite, the Hezronite, and the Carmite” were “the clans of the Reubenite.”
And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon:
(8) Bela.—His descent is traced, like that of Beerah. but through fewer names. This does not necessarily imply that Bela and Beerah were not contemporaries. Intermediate names are often omitted in genealogies. (See Joshua 7:18 : “Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah,” and 1 Chronicles 5:24, “Achan son of Zerah,” and the different lengths of the pedigrees of Heman, Asaph, and Ethan in 1 Chronicles 6:33-47.) It is not likely that the Joel of 1 Chronicles 5:8 is the same as the Joel of 1 Chronicles 5:4, in spite of the further coincidence of Shema-Shemiah.
Who dwelt.—He was dwelling, that is, he and his clan.
Aroer.—Now Arâ’ir, on the north bank of the Arnon (Joshua 12:2).
Nebo, a place on the famous mount Nebo, in the region east of the Dead Sea (now Jebel Neba, Deuteronomy 34:1), over against Jericho (Numbers 32:38).
Baal-meon.—Or, Beth-bqal-meon, now Ma’in, about two miles south-east of Heshbon. Aroer gives the southern Nebo, and Baalmeon the northern, limits of the tribe. All three places are mentioned on the Stone of Mesha, kings of Moab (2 Kings 3:4-27).
And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
(9) And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness.—As their flocks and herds increased, the Reubenites gradually spread eastward, to the great desert lying between the Euphrates and Syria. This desert was a painful memory to the restored exiles. Ezra took four months to cross it (Ezra 7:9; Ezra 8:22). The form of the expression, “unto the entrance into the wilderness from the river Euphrates,” seems to indicate that this account was written originally in Babylonia.
Because their cattle were (had) multiplied in the land of Gilead.—Gilead, in Old Testament usage, means all Israelite territory east of the Jordan.
And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
(10) And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites.—The great extension of the tribe in an easterly direction took place in the reign of Saul, the first king of Israel. Bela and his clan victoriously fought with the Hagarites (Heb., Hagri’im) or Hagarenes (see Psalms 83:7, Hagrim), that is, the sons of Hagar, for possession of the pasture-grounds east of Gilead. This Arab nation is mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions. (The LXX. has τοὺς παροίκους, i.e., haggârîm, u sojourners,” “nomads.”)
They dwelt in their tents.—This phrase first occurs in Genesis 9:27. The Belaites occupied the territory of the Hagarites.
Throughout all the east land of Gilead.—Rather, on the whole eastern side or border of Gilead. This includes the new settlements of Bela beyond the border.
And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah:
Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven.
These are 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;
Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers.
And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.
All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.
For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.
(23) Baal-hermon.—Perhaps the same as Baal-gad (Joshua 12:7; Joshua 13:5), the modern town of Banias.
Senir.—The Amorite name of the range of Hermon (Deuteronomy 3:9). The principal summit is now called Jebel esh-Sheikh, “hill of the chief,” and Jebel eth-Thelj, “Snow Hill.”
And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.
(24) And these were the heads . . . (name lost) Epher, and Ishi . . .—Of these seven “valiant warriors, men of renown, heads for their clans” nothing further is recorded. The meagre memorial of their names has at least this value: it proves that abundant materials for the history of Israel once existed, of which our canonical books have preserved authentic fragments.
And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
(25) They transgressed against the God of their fathers.—Rather, were faithless or untrue to Him (Joshua 7:1, “committed a trespass”).
Went a whoring after the gods of the people (peoples).—Jehovah was the true Lord (Ba’al) and Husband (Ish) of Israel. Apostasy from Him is, in the prophetic language, whoredom. (See 1 Chronicles 1:2; 1 Chronicles 1:2, especially 2:16, and 1 Chronicles 3) According to Kings 50100 the fatal sin of Israel evinced itself: (1) in the worship of the high places; (2) in adoration of the heavenly bodies, and the productive powers of nature; (3) in the practice of magic and divination.
The people of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.—Comp. Numbers 21:21-35, and Joshua 12:6; Psalms 135:10-12. The reduction of the Canaanites was, to the mind of the chronicler, a Divine work. He is not thinking only of such extraordinary events as were told of the battle of Beth-boron (Joshua 10:11-14). All the incidents of the conquest were the Lord’s doing, whether He acted through the agency of sun and moon, or storm and tempest, or the good swords of Joshua and his warriors. From the same standpoint, he ascribes the Assyrian invasions to a direct impulse from the God of Israel (1 Chronicles 5:26). The Assyrian kings themselves were wont to regard their campaigns as a fulfilment of the bidding of their Divine protectors, Istar, Bel, and other imaginary beings. It was not given to them to attain to the higher vision of the Hebrew prophets and priests, who saw but one guiding and controlling power at the summit of the world. (Comp. Isaiah 10:5-15.)
And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
(26) Stirred up (or woke) the spirit.—So 2 Chronicles 21:16, and Ezra 1:1; Ezra 1:5. For the thought, Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1-13.
Pul king of Assyria, and . . . Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria.—No trace of Pûl as distinct from Tiglath-pileser has been found in the Assyrian monuments, which, it must be remembered, are contemporary. In 2 Kings 15:19 we read that, “Pul king of Assyria came against the land,” in the reign of Menahem, who recognised the Assyrian monarch as his suzerain, and paid a tribute of 1,000 talents of silver. Now Tiglath-pileser II. actually claims to have received tribute of Menahem (Menahimmu). Pûl appears to have been the original name of Tiglath-pileser, which, upon his accession to the throne of Assyria (745 B.C.), he discarded for that of the great king who had ruled the country four centuries before his time. The name Pûl has been identified by Dr. Schrader with the Porus of Ptolemy’s Canon, Pôr being the Persian pronunciation of Pûl. The Syriac here omits “Pûl king of Assyria.” The LXX. (Vat.) has Χαλαχ, and the Arabic Bãlaq. Perhaps the chronicler meant to indicate the identity of Pûl and Tiglath: “The spirit of Pul and (= that is) the spirit of Tiglath, and he carried them away.”
And he carried them away.—Tiglath-pileser is meant. (See 2 Kings 15:29 : “In the days of Pekah king of Israel, came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah . . . and Gilead, and Galilee . . . and carried them captive to Assyria.”) From the Assyrian records we learn that (circ. 734–732 B.C.) Tiglath-pileser received the homage of Ahaz (Yahu-haçi, Jeho-ahaz), king of Judah, slew Rezin (Raçunni) of Damascus, and reduced Pekah (Paqahú), king of Samaria, to vassalage. This supplements the Biblical account. Gilead, in 2 Kings 15:29, represents the trans-Jordanic tribes. (See 1 Chronicles 5:10; 1 Chronicles 5:16 above.) The transportation of entire populations was a common practice with the Assyrian kings. Assurbanipal (Sardanapalus) removed the men of Karbit from the mountains east of Assyria, and settled them in Egypt.
Brought them unto Halah, and Habor . . .—The same localities are mentioned (2 Kings 17:6) as those to which Shalmaneser IV., or rather his successor Sargon, transported the other tribes of the northern kingdom (circ. 721 B.C.). There is nothing unlikely in the statement of either text. Sargon might have thought fit to strengthen the Israelite settlements in Northern Assyria by sending thither the new bodies of compulsory colonists. It is arbitrary to suppose that two different events have been confounded by the sacred annalists.
Halah.—See Note on 2 Kings 17:6.
Habor.—Probably a district of North Assyria, not far from Halah, named after the river Habûr which rises near the upper Zab and falls into the Tigris.
Hara.—Kings, l.c., “cities of Media.” Hara here is perhaps an Aramaic name for the Median high lands, but more probably the reading is a relic of “the mountains of Media” [hârê Mâdai); comp.the LXX. at 2 Kings 17:6. The Syriac here has “cities of Media;” the LXX. omits the word.
The river Gozan.—Rather, the river of Gozan. Shalmaneser mentions the country Guzana in Mesopotamia, the Greek Gauzanitis. An Assyrian list connects it with Naçibina (Nisibis). The “river of Gozan” is the Habur.
