1 Chronicles 7:1–40

7:6–11 The first block for “Benjamin” is again information from a military census, very different in character and content from the comprehensive second block, chapter 8. Benjamin is a key tribe strategically located between Judah and Ephraim (the dominant northern tribe). The first king, Saul, was a Benjaminite (8:33), and so, at the time of David’s counting of those who came to him at Hebron, several Benjaminites “kept their allegiance to the house of Saul” (12:29), as did many from the north; others, however, were quick to join David (12:2).

A military census is not a full genealogical record but a record of “fathers’ houses” made at a given time. If the list is related to David’s counting at Hebron, the inclusion here recognizes those families who gave him allegiance and may explain the absence of any names that are in chapter 8, or in Genesis 46:21 and Numbers 26:38–40, other than the first son, “Bela.”² Saul is not mentioned here, but his genealogy is a major part of chapter 8.

7:12 Mention has been made above of Dan’s absence from the genealogies. Noting that (a) this verse stands as an appendage to the end of Benjamin (cf. vv. 5, 11, 40), (b) “Hushim” in Genesis 46:23 is the name of a son of Dan, and (c) “Bilhah” (1 Chron. 7:13) was the mother of both Dan and Naphtali, some commentators propose emending “sons of Ir” to “sons of Dan.” It is possible, however, to see the whole verse as a way to acknowledge other clans in Benjamin (“Ir,” otherwise unknown, may be a variant of “Iri” in v. 7).

7:13 Information on Naphtali’s descendants is no greater than in Genesis 46:24 or Numbers 26:48–49 (“Shillem” and “Shallum” are variant spellings). Both Dan and Naphtali are absent from the tribes who responded at the time of Hezekiah’s reform (2 Chron. 30:11, 18).

7:14–19 The genealogy of Manasseh west of the Jordan, like Ephraim’s (vv. 20–29), is more discursive. The Transjordanian half-tribe’s details (5:23–26) had been limited to names of seven “heads of their fathers’ houses” (5:24), their geographical extent, and their subsequent exile. In contrast, here we find many names and relationships, although the tribe’s land is not detailed until the end of Ephraim, linking together the “sons of Joseph” (7:29).

As elsewhere in Chronicles (cf. Introduction: Theology of 1–2 Chronicles, “All Israel”), specific women, including foreigners, are mentioned as part of the people: “his Aramean concubine” (v. 14); “Maacah” and Zelophehad’s daughters (v. 15; cf. Num. 27:1–11); and “Hammolecheth” (1 Chron. 7:18; sister of Gilead?). The relationships, however, are often unclear and tangled. For example, “Asriel” is a son of “Manasseh” (v. 14), but in Numbers 26:29–31 he is a son of “Gilead,” son of Manasseh; “Huppim” and “Shuppim” (1 Chron. 7:15) have been part of Benjamin (v. 12); and “Maacah” is described as Machir’s “sister”³ (v. 15) and his “wife” (v. 16). The specific mention of “Aramean” (v. 14), and possible Aramean associations of the name “Maacah” (3:2; 19:7), continue the Chronicler’s inclusion of foreigners who identify themselves with Israel. Such intermingling results readily from the northeastern location of Manasseh, bordering Aramean territory.

7:20–27 Ephraim’s genealogy, leading to “Joshua,” is in two parts (vv. 20–21a, 25–27), separated by a historical record. The account of the killing of “Ezer and Elead” and its aftermath (vv. 21b–23) may be compared to the story of Jabez (4:9–10) in that again a child given a negative name and speaking of a painful past (“Beriah” sounds like beraʻah, “with disaster”) marks a new beginning: he has a daughter who “built” cities, a sign of God’s blessing (cf. 2 Chron. 26:5–7), and his line leads to “Joshua” (“the Lord saves”). This, the only mention of Joshua in Chronicles, is a reminder of the conquest and possession of the land described in the following verses, another note of hope for the community still recovering from the “disaster” of exile.

Some relationships and chronology, however, are uncertain. For example, the first three “sons” may be brothers (cf. 1 Chron. 3:21).⁴ Details in verses 21b–24 point to either (a) the patriarchal period, since Ephraim is still alive, implying that before the exodus some of the family moved from Egypt, Ephraim’s birthplace (Ephraim’s “brothers” would then refer to kinsfolk, since he shared parents only with Manasseh); or (b) the time after the conquest, fitting the settlement of the “Beth-horon(s),” on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin (cf. Josh. 8:13–14), in this case implying another, later “Ephraim.” Another instance of the Chronicler’s including women is the naming of “Sheerah, who built” three settlements.

7:28–29 Land details for Manasseh and Ephraim are given together. The closing note, “the sons of Joseph the son of Israel,” is a reminder that they are not only brothers but also part of the larger “Israel.” The combining of land details is also reflected in the selection of places (cf. Joshua 16–17): “Bethel” in the south, then to “east” and “west,” followed by “Shechem” in the center of the combined region (also associated with Manasseh, 1 Chron. 7:19; “Ayyah” is unknown), then moving to northern Manasseh towns, and thus covering the boundaries.

7:30–40 The opening names for the tribe of Asher (“The sons of Asher . . . Malchiel”) follow the listing in Genesis 46:17. Subsequent descent is limited to the family of Heber (1 Chron. 7:32–39)⁵ and related to a military census of “heads of fathers’ houses,” “genealogies, for service in war” (v. 40).