1 Chronicles 4:24–5:26
24 4:24The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul; 25 4:25Shallum was his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26 4:26The sons of Mishma: Hammuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimei his son. 27 4:27Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brothers did not have many children, nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah. 28 4:28They lived in Beersheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, 29 4:29Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, 30 4:30Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, 31 4:31Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Beth-biri, and Shaaraim. These were their cities until David reigned. 32 4:32And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan, five cities, 33 4:33along with all their villages that were around these cities as far as Baal. These were their settlements, and they kept a genealogical record.
34 4:34Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah the son of Amaziah, 35 4:35Joel, Jehu the son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, 36 4:36Elioenai, Jaakobah, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, 37 4:37Ziza the son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah— 38 4:38these mentioned by name were princes in their clans, and their fathers’ houses increased greatly. 39 4:39They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, 40 4:40where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. 41 4:41These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and destroyed their tents and the Meunites who were found there, and marked them for destruction to this day, and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks. 42 4:42And some of them, five hundred men of the Simeonites, went to Mount Seir, having as their leaders Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. 43 4:43And they defeated the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day.
5 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son; 2 5:2though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), 3 5:3the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 5:4The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5 5:5Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, 6 5:6Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-pileser 1 king of Assyria carried away into exile; he was a chief of the Reubenites. 7 5:7And his kinsmen by their clans, when the genealogy of their generations was recorded: the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 5:8and Bela the son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel, who lived in Aroer, as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. 9 5:9He also lived to the east as far as the entrance of the desert this side of the Euphrates, because their livestock had multiplied in the land of Gilead. 10 5:10And in the days of Saul they waged war against the Hagrites, who fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents throughout all the region east of Gilead.
11 5:11The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah: 12 5:12Joel the chief, Shapham the second, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan. 13 5:13And their kinsmen according to their fathers’ houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia and Eber, seven. 14 5:14These were the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. 15 5:15Ahi the son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was chief in their fathers’ houses, 16 5:16and they lived in Gilead, in Bashan and in its towns, and in all the pasturelands of Sharon to their limits. 17 5:17All of these were recorded in genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
18 5:18The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war. 19 5:19They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. 20 5:20And when they prevailed 2 over them, the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hands, for they cried out to God in the battle, and he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him. 21 5:21They carried off their livestock: 50,000 of their camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 men alive. 22 5:22For many fell, because the war was of God. And they lived in their place until the exile.
23 5:23The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous from Bashan to Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. 24 5:24These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: Epher, 3 Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty warriors, famous men, heads of their fathers’ houses. 25 5:25But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 5:26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day.
Section Overview
In the chiastic structure of chapters 1–9 of 1 Chronicles, the tribes mentioned in this section are balanced by the ones mentioned in 7:1–40.1 Together they show the extent of the inheritance of the Promised Land. In this section, the tribes are either south of Judah (Simeon) or east of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad, half-tribe of Manasseh); the tribes in chapter 7 are north of Judah and west of the Jordan.2
The record of each tribe in this section includes genealogical details, names of settlements, and information on leaders and conquests. For the Transjordanian tribes (Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh), added information contrasts God’s deliverance when they “trusted” (5:19–22), with his actions leading to their exile when they “broke faith” (5:25–26).
Section Outline
TABLE 3.2: Parallels between the Exiles of Israel and Judah
| 1 Chronicles 5:25–26 | 1 Chronicles 9:1 | 2 Chronicles 36:14, 17a, 20 |
|---|---|---|
| 25 But they broke faith with the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile . . . to this day. | 1 And Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith. | 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem. . . . 17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, . . . 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia. |
Response
Although the tribe of Simeon became absorbed into Judah, the name was remembered. It features frequently in the story of Christ’s birth, ministry, and death (Luke 2:25; Matt. 26:6; 27:32), including two of the Twelve, “Simon,8 who is called Peter” and “Simon the Zealot” (Matt. 10:2, 4). Names are a way to bring the past into the present, continuing aspects of a tradition. When a group becomes part of a greater body—through defeat, takeover, merger, joining as individuals, etc.—the history of the smaller group is often forgotten or minimized, and all are expected to be like the larger group. The Chronicler is an example of choosing to honor the past of a minority.
The contrasting histories of the Transjordanian tribes continue to encourage present faithfulness to God, warning against turning aside to “gods of the peoples of the land.” What might this mean in a diverse world today? Jesus contrasted serving God with serving “money” (Matt. 6:24). Writing in a context of ministry in New York, Tim Keller explores ways in which “money, sex and power . . . are vying to be counterfeit gods.”9 For Christians in Nazi Germany it was national socialism, whereby thousands who went under the name “German Christians” spoke of following “a heroic Aryan Jesus.”10 One’s nation, with its leaders, was to be given the highest allegiance. The Chronicler’s placing together of faithfulness and warning points to ways in which we are both to give thanks for past victories and to hear the call to be faithful “today” (Heb. 3:13–15). Paul did not lightly declare that believers must “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12–13).
2 Cf. map, ESV Study Bible, 416.
3 Verse 41 contains the first of three instances in Chronicles of the verb herem, “marked for destruction,” referring to the wider ancient Near Eastern practice (as in 2 Chron. 20:23; 32:14) whereby defeated nations were “devoted to the victor’s god(s),” involving destruction. The related noun, “devoted thing,” occurs in 1 Chronicles 2:7.
4 In Hebrew verses 1–3 are also closely tied together by sound, with the repetitive “firstborn” (bekor), “birthright,” and “oldest son” (both bekorah).
5 “Chief” (Hb. nagid) occurs elsewhere to describe David’s position (e.g., translated “prince” in 11:2; 17:7; cf. comment on 11:1–3). In 5:6–7 “chief” translates another two words (nasi’, “prince, leader,” and roʼsh, “head”).
6 This section provides the first instances in Chronicles of large and often apparently precise numbers (vv. 18, 21; next, 7:1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, etc.). Cf. Introduction: Interpretive Challenges.
7 “Pul” is another name for “Tiglath-pileser” III; in verse 26 the phrases with these two names refer to the same person.
8 “Simon” is an alternative Greek form.
9 Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters (New York: Dutton Adult, 2009); the quote is from an interview in Christianity Today 53/11 (November 2009): 71.
10 Mary Craig, Candles in the Dark: Seven Modern Martyrs (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1993), 31, in a chapter on Dietrich Bonhoeffer.