1Ch 5:11-26 | JFB | STEP | 11-15. the children of Gad dwelt over against them-- The genealogy of the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh ( ) is given along with that of the Reubenites, as these three were associated in a separate colony.

‏ 1 Chronicles 5:11-26

11-15. the children of Gad dwelt over against them--The genealogy of the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (1Ch 5:24) is given along with that of the Reubenites, as these three were associated in a separate colony.

16. Sharon--The term "Sharon" was applied as descriptive of any place of extraordinary beauty and productiveness. There were three places in Palestine so called. This Sharon lay east of the Jordan.

upon their borders--that is, of Gilead and Bashan: Gilead proper, or at least the largest part, belonged to the Reubenites; and Bashan, the greatest portion of it, belonged to the Manassites. The Gadites occupied an intermediate settlement on the land which lay upon their borders.

17. All these were reckoned ... in the days of Jotham--His long reign and freedom from foreign wars as well as intestine troubles were favorable for taking a census of the people.

and in the days of Jeroboam--the second of that name.

18-22. Hagarites--or, "Hagarenes," originally synonymous with "Ishmaelites," but afterwards applied to a particular tribe of the Arabs (compare Psa 83:6).

Jetur--His descendants were called Itureans, and the country Auranitis, from Hauran, its chief city. These, who were skilled in archery, were invaded in the time of Joshua by a confederate army of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, who, probably incensed by the frequent raids of those marauding neighbors, took reprisals in men and cattle, dispossessed almost all of the original inhabitants, and colonized the district themselves. Divine Providence favoured, in a remarkable manner, the Hebrew army in this just war.

26. the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul--the Phalluka of the Ninevite monuments (see on 2Ki 15:19).

and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser--the son of the former. By them the trans-jordanic tribes, including the other half of Manasseh, settled in Galilee, were removed to Upper Media. This was the first captivity (2Ki 15:29).