This chapter relates the genealogy of the tribes that lived on the other side Jordan; of the Reubenites, 1 Chron. 5:1–10, of the Gadites, 1 Chron. 5:11–17 of the half tribe of Manasseh, 1 Chron. 5:23, 1 Chron.

Now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel Are as follow in where the account begins; for what comes between this and that is in a parenthesis: for he was the firstborn; of Jacob by his wife Leah; that must be owned, and Jacob allows it, and yet the genealogy in this book begins not with him,…

For Judah prevailed above his brethren That is, the tribe of Judah prevailed above the rest in number, in valour, and courage, and in dignity; wherefore the genealogy is not reckoned according to birthright, but dignity and dominion; hence this genealogical account began with Judah, because of him…

The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ] As in .

The sons of Joel Who was either the son of Carmi last mentioned, or rather of Hanoch, Reuben’s firstborn, since the descendants of him were the princes of the tribe: his posterity in succession were, Shemaiah, Cog, Shimei, Micah, Reaia, Baal, Beerah; of whom we know no more than their names, and by…

The sons of Joel Who was either the son of Carmi last mentioned, or rather of Hanoch, Reuben’s firstborn, since the descendants of him were the princes of the tribe: his posterity in succession were, Shemaiah, Cog, Shimei, Micah, Reaia, Baal, Beerah; of whom we know no more than their names, and by…

Beerah his son The last of Joel’s posterity, who, according to the Targum and other Jewish writers [[15]] was a prophet, and the father of Hosea, see but neither the name, title, time, nor tribe, agree: whom Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria carried away captive; the same with Tiglathpileser by a…

And his brethren by their families Either the brethren of Beerah, or the rest of the posterity of Reuben: (when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned;) either in the times of Jotham and Jeroboam, or at the time of their captivity, as in the preceding verse: were the chief, Jehiel, and…

And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, &c.] The pedigree of Bela, another principal man in the tribe of Reuben, is traced up to Joel the father of Shema; the same with Shemaiah, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, who dwelt in Aroer; which belonged to the tribe of Gad, and was…

And eastward he inhabited Either Bela, or the tribe of Reuben: unto the entering in of the wilderness; the wilderness of Kedemoth, which was near to Sihon king of Heshbon, whose land the Reubenites inhabited, from the river Euphrates; a learned man [[16]] thinks that this river Phrat was different…

And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, &c.] Not with the Hungarians, as the Targum, a people not then in being; but the Ishmaelites, so called because they descended from Hagar [[17]], Sarah’s maid; the same that are placed by Pliny [[18]] and Ptolemy [[19]] in Arabia, near the…

And the children of Gad dwelt over against them Or by them, the Reubenites; and one part of Gilead was given them between them, and the other to the half tribe of Manasseh: in the land of Bashan, unto Salcah; for though all Bashan is said to be given to the half tribe of Manasseh, yet that is to be…

Joel the chief In this and the following verse are reckoned up the principal men in the tribe of Gad, and the chief of all was Joel, another from him in the tribe of Reuben, and Shapham the next; the second chief man, from whom, Reland [[22]] conjectures, Shophan, a city in the tribe of Gad, had…

And their brethren of the house of their fathers Who were also men of eminence and note in them: were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Shebai, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven; so they are as here mentioned by name.

These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri That is, the seven before mentioned; they were the posterity of Abihail, whose pedigree is traced from his father Huri to Buz, the intermediate progenitors being Jaroah, Gilead, Michael, Jeshishai, Jahdo.

Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. ] Which Ahi was a principal man in the families the seven above men belonged to; besides them, or those three, were everyone of them heads of families.

And they dwelt in Gilead In that part of it which belonged to the tribe of Gad: in Bashan, and in her towns; (See Gill on 1 Chron. 5:11), and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders; there were two Sharons, one to the west of the land of Israel near the Mediterranean sea, which is…

All these were reckoned by genealogies All before mentioned: in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel; not that those two kings reigned at the same time, and one and the same reckoning is meant; but, as Dr.

The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh These all joined together, living together on the one side of Jordan: of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war; strong able bodied men; and not only able to bear and carry arms,…

And they made war with the Hagarites Before mentioned, with Jetur, and Nephish: with the posterity of these men, who were sons of Ishmael, and so was Nodab; perhaps the same with Kedemah, mentioned along with the other two there; so Hillerus [[24]] thinks. 25: Onomastic. Sacr. p. 554.

And they were helped against them The Israelites were helped against the Ishmaelites, to fight with them, and overcome them; either by their brethren of the house of Israel, as the Targum, those on this side Jordan; or rather by the Lord, to whom they cried, and who was entreated by them as…

And they took away their cattle Which they brought with them, and they found in their camp when they fled, or in their fields: of their camels fifty thousand; with which Arabia abounded, and were fit to travel with in those hot and desert countries, being strong to carry burdens, and able to bear…

For there fell down many slain Many were killed in the battle, besides the great number of prisoners made, so that the army the Ishmaelites brought into the field was very great: because the war was of God; or from the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; he stirred up the Israelites to it, directed,…

And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land Not in the land of the Hagarites, but in the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond Jordan, given them by Moses.

And these were the heads of the house of their fathers Some of the principal men of this half tribe: even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel; but of none of these we read elsewhere, excepting Hepher and Azriel, (Num. 26:31, Num.

And they transgressed against the God their fathers Against his law, will, word, and ordinances, not only the half tribe of Manasseh, hut the Reubenites and Gadites also: and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them; that is, committed idolatry, which…

And the God of Israel The Targum is, “the word of the God of Israel:” stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria: in the times of Menahem king of Israel: and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser; in the times of Pekah king of Israel, to invade the land, and make war in it: and he carried them away: not…