6 Of Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three.
And Benjamin begat Bela his first-born, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. And there are sons to Bela: Addar, and Gera, and Abihud, and Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah, and Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram. And these `are' sons of Ehud: they are heads of fathers to the inhabitants of Geba, and they remove them unto Manahath; and Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzza and Ahihud. And Shaharaim begat in the field of Moab, after his sending them away; Hushim and Baara `are' his wives. And he begetteth of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham, and Jeuz, and Shachiah, and Mirmah. These `are' his sons, heads of fathers. And of Hushim he begat Ahitub and Elpaal. And sons of Elpaal: Eber, and Misheam, and Shamer, (he built Ono and Lod and its small towns), and Beriah and Shema, (they `are' the heads of fathers to the inhabitants of Aijalon -- they caused to flee the inhabitants of Gath), and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth, and Zebadiah, and Arad, and Ader, and Michael, and Ispah, and Joha, sons of Beriah, and Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hezeki, and Heber, and Ishmerai, and Jezliah, and Jobab, sons of Elpaal; And Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi, and Elienai, and Zillethai, and Eliel, and Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, sons of Shimei; And Ishpan, and Heber, and Eliel, and Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan, and Hananiah, and Elam, and Antothijah, and Iphedeiah, and Penuel, sons of Shashak; And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah, and Jaareshiah, and Eliah, and Zichri, sons of Jeroham. These `are' heads of fathers, by their generations, heads; these dwelt in Jerusalem. And in Gibeon hath the father of Gibeon dwelt, and the name of his wife `is' Maachah; and his son, the first-born, `is' Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab, and Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher; and Mikloth begat Shimeah. And they also over-against their brethren dwelt in Jerusalem with their brethren. And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-Shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. And a son of Jonathan `is' Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begat Micah; and sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz: and Ahaz begat Jehoadah, and Jehoadah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza, and Moza begat Binea, Raphah `is' his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. And to Azel `are' six sons, and these `are' their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these `are' sons of Azel. And sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his first-born, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third. And the sons of Ulam are men mighty in valour, treading bow, and multiplying sons and son's sons, a hundred and fifty. All these `are' of the sons of Benjamin.
Sons of Benjamin by their families: of Bela `is' the family of the Belaite; of Ashbel the family of the Ashbelite; of Ahiram the family of the Ahiramite; of Shupham the family of the Shuphamite; of Hupham the family of the Huphamite. And sons of Bela are Ard and Naaman: `of Ard is' the family of the Ardite: of Naaman the family of the Naamite. These `are' sons of Benjamin by their families, and their numbered ones `are' five and forty thousand and six hundred.
And sons of Jediael: Bilhan; and sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar. All these `are' sons of Jediael, even heads of the fathers, mighty in valour, seventeen thousand and two hundred going out to the host for battle.
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Commentary on 1 Chronicles 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
1Ch 7:1-5. Sons of Issachar.
1. Jashub—or Job (Ge 46:13).
2. whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred—Although a census was taken in the reign of David by order of that monarch, it is not certain that the sacred historian had it in mind, since we find here the tribe of Benjamin enumerated [1Ch 7:6-12], which was not taken in David's time; and there are other points of dissimilarity.
3. five: all of them chief men—Four only are mentioned; so that as they are stated to be five, in this number the father, Izrahiah, must be considered as included; otherwise one of the names must have dropped out of the text. They were each at the head of a numerous and influential division of their tribe.
5. fourscore and seven thousand—exclusive of the 58,600 men which the Tola branch had produced (1Ch 7:24), so that in the days of David the tribe would have contained a population of 45,600. This large increase was owing to the practice of polygamy, as well as the fruitfulness of the women. A plurality of wives, though tolerated among the Hebrews, was confined chiefly to the great and wealthy; but it seems to have been generally esteemed a privilege by the tribe of Issachar, "for they had many wives and sons" [1Ch 7:4].
1Ch 7:6-12. Of Benjamin.
6. The sons of Benjamin—Ten are named in Ge 46:21, but only five later (1Ch 8:1; Nu 26:38). Perhaps five of them were distinguished as chiefs of illustrious families, but two having fallen in the bloody wars waged against Benjamin (Jud 20:46), there remained only three branches of this tribe, and these only are enumerated.
Jediael—Or Asbel (Genesis 46. 21).
7. the sons of Bela—Each of them was chief or leader of the family to which he belonged. In an earlier period seven great families of Benjamin are mentioned (Nu 26:38), five of them being headed by these five sons of Benjamin, and two descended from Bela. Here five families of Bela are specified, whence we are led to conclude that time or the ravages of war had greatly changed the condition of Benjamin, or that the five families of Bela were subordinate to the other great divisions that sprang directly from the five sons of the patriarch.
12. Shuppim also, and Huppim—They are called Muppim and Huppim (Ge 46:21) and Hupham and Shupham (Nu 26:39). They were the children of Ir, or Iri (1Ch 7:7).
and Hushim, the sons—"son."
of Aher—"Aher" signifies "another," and some eminent critics, taking "Aher" as a common noun, render the passage thus, "and Hushim, another son." Shuppim, Muppim, and Hushim are plural words, and therefore denote not individuals, but the heads of their respective families; and as they were not comprised in the above enumeration (1Ch 7:7, 9) they are inserted here in the form of an appendix. Some render the passage, "Hushim, the son of another," that is, tribe or family. The name occurs among the sons of Dan (Ge 46:23), and it is a presumption in favor of this being the true rendering, that after having recorded the genealogy of Naphtali (1Ch 7:13) the sacred historian adds, "the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid, who was the mother of Dan and Naphtali." We naturally expect, therefore, that these two will be noticed together, but Dan is not mentioned at all, if not in this passage.
1Ch 7:13. Of Naphtali.
13. Shallum—or Shillem (Ge 46:24).
sons of Bilhah—As Dan and Naphtali were her sons, Hushim, as well as these enumerated in 1Ch 7:13, were her grandsons.
1Ch 7:14-40. Of Manasseh.
14, 15. The sons of Manasseh—or descendants; for Ashriel was a grandson, and Zelophehad was a generation farther removed in descent (Nu 26:33). The text, as it stands, is so confused and complicated that it is exceedingly difficult to trace the genealogical thread, and a great variety of conjectures have been made with a view to clear away the obscurity. The passage [1Ch 7:14, 15] should probably be rendered thus: "The sons of Manasseh were Ashriel, whom his Syrian concubine bare to him, and Machir, the father of Gilead (whom his wife bare to him). Machir took for a wife Maachah, sister to Huppim and Shuppim."
21. whom the men of Gath … slew, &c.—This interesting little episode gives us a glimpse of the state of Hebrew society in Egypt; for the occurrence narrated seems to have taken place before the Israelites left that country. The patriarch Ephraim was then alive, though he must have arrived at a very advanced age; and the Hebrew people, at all events those of them who were his descendants, still retained their pastoral character. It was in perfect consistency with the ideas and habits of Oriental shepherds that they should have made a raid on the neighboring tribe of the Philistines for the purpose of plundering their flocks. For nothing is more common among them than hostile incursions on the inhabitants of towns, or on other nomad tribes with whom they have no league of amity. But a different view of the incident is brought out, if, instead of "because," we render the Hebrew particle "when" they came down to take their cattle, for the tenor of the context leads rather to the conclusion that "the men of Gath" were the aggressors, who, making a sudden foray on the Ephraimite flocks, killed the shepherds including several of the sons of Ephraim. The calamity spread a deep gloom around the tent of their aged father, and was the occasion of his receiving visits of condolence from his distant relatives, according to the custom of the East, which is remarkably exemplified in the history of Job (Job 2:11; compare Joh 11:19).