1Ch 5-7 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Chr 5:1-24: 5:1-24 Chapter 5 records the genealogies for Reuben (5:1-10 ; cp. Gen 46:9 ), Gad (1 Chr 5:11-17 ), and Manasseh (5:23-24 ), the tribes of Israel that settled in Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan River). Summary for 1Chr 5:1-2: 5:1-2 Although Reuben was the oldest son of Israel, he did not receive his birthright because he had sexual relations with his father’s concubine (Gen 35:22 ). Jacob transferred this right to Joseph when he elevated Ephraim and Manasseh to full membership among the tribes (Gen 48:5 ). This gave Joseph the double portion that traditionally belonged to the firstborn (Deut 21:15-17 ). As Jacob foresaw, Judah surpassed his brothers and became the forefather of the ruling tribe (Gen 49:8-10 ). However, Reuben is still listed first (1 Chr 2:1 ).

Summary for 1Chr 5:1-24: 5:1-24 ^a Chapter 5 records the genealogies for Reuben (5:1-10 ^b; cp. Gen 46:9 ^c), Gad (1 Chr 5:11-17 ^d), and Manasseh (5:23-24 ^e), the tribes of Israel that settled in Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan River).
Summary for 1Chr 5:1-2: 5:1-2 ^f Although Reuben was the oldest son of Israel, he did not receive his birthright because he had sexual relations with his father’s concubine (Gen 35:22 ^g). Jacob transferred this right to Joseph when he elevated Ephraim and Manasseh to full membership among the tribes (Gen 48:5 ^h). This gave Joseph the double portion that traditionally belonged to the firstborn (Deut 21:15-17 ⁱ). As Jacob foresaw, Judah surpassed his brothers and became the forefather of the ruling tribe (Gen 49:8-10 ^j). However, Reuben is still listed first (1 Chr 2:1 ^k).
5:3 ^l The sons of Reuben are also listed in Gen 46:9 ^m; Exod 6:14 ⁿ; Num 26:5-6 ^o.
Summary for 1Chr 5:4-8: 5:4-8 ^p The exact relationship between the descendants of Joel and the rest of the tribe of Reuben is unknown.
5:6 ^q Tiglath-pileser was king of Assyria (744–727 BC); he attacked the tribes of Transjordan during King Pekah’s reign (752–732 BC), taking the people into captivity (see 5:25-26 ^r; 2 Kgs 15:29 ^s).
5:10 ^t The tribes of Transjordan, including the Reubenites, expanded their settlements to the north and east in conjunction with their war with the Hagrites in the days of Saul (see 5:18-22 ^u; Ps 83:6 ^v). Later, the Hagrites were among David’s men (see 1 Chr 11:38 ^w; 27:31 ^x).
Summary for 1Chr 5:18-22: 5:18-22 ^y The account of the war against the Hagrites develops the elements introduced in 5:10 ^z. It was a struggle among shepherds over grazing territory. All three tribes were participants; the Chronicler details their prowess, military qualifications, and numbers. With God ... fighting against the enemy, the victory resulted in enormous spoils and total possession of the territory.
Summary for 1Chr 5:25-26: 5:25-26 ^aa The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh went into permanent exile because of unfaithfulness.

‏ 1 Chronicles 6

Summary for 1Chr 6:1-81: 6:1-81 ^ab By its substantial scope and placement in the center of the genealogical lists, this section gives special significance to the priestly tribe of Levi.
Summary for 1Chr 6:1-48: 6:1-48 ^ac This section provides the genealogies of the three most significant groups of the tribe of Levi: the high priests (6:1-15 ^ad), the three clans of Levites (6:16-30 ^ae), and the singers (6:31-47 ^af). Each genealogy begins with an introduction, followed by the list of names. 6:1 ^ag The three sons of Levi are introduced, but their actual genealogies are postponed to follow the list of high priests.
Summary for 1Chr 6:2-15: 6:2-15 ^ah After the Exile, the community of Judea, for whom Chronicles was written, needed to establish unequivocally the legitimate ancestry of the priests. This genealogy of Kohath established continuity between the ancestors known from the Pentateuch and the later high priests down to the exile of Judah in 586 BC; other records connected the priests following the Exile with this line (see Ezra 3:2 ^ai; 7:1-6 ^aj; Hag 1:1 ^ak). Not all who served as high priest were included in this listing.
6:10 ^al Most Old Testament scholars agree that the phrase the high priest at the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem belongs in 6:9 ^am (connected to the first Azariah) but that the order was transposed through a scribal error. Making this correction yields 12 generations between Aaron and the building of the Temple, which conforms to the date in 1 Kgs 6:1 ^an (480 years is the equivalent of 12 generations of 40 years each in numerical typology). The correction also results in 12 generations between the building of the Temple under Azariah to the rebuilding of the Temple under Jeshua (Ezra 3:2 ^ao).
Summary for 1Chr 6:16-30: 6:16-30 ^ap The second introduction of the Levites (6:16-19a ^aq) introduces the heads of all the Levitical families (6:19b-30 ^ar). The list contains the genealogies of Gershon (6:20-21 ^as), Kohath (6:22-24 ^at), and Merari (6:29-30 ^au).
6:27 ^av When he served under Eli, Samuel assumed a Levitical function (1 Sam 3:1 ^aw).
Summary for 1Chr 6:31-47: 6:31-47 ^ax This genealogy names the lead singers from Kohath (6:33 ^ay), Gershon (6:39 ^az), and Merari (6:44 ^ba), the chief Levitical families.
6:33 ^bb Heman held the lead position among David’s singers (see Ps 88:title ^bc).
6:39 ^bd Asaph wrote several psalms (Pss 50 ^be; 73–83 ^bf).
6:49 ^bg This explanation of the priests’ prerogatives introduces the list that follows.
Summary for 1Chr 6:50-53: 6:50-53 ^bh The list of priests from Aaron to Ahimaaz provides an introduction to the territorial list (6:54-81 ^bi). The list runs down to David’s time, when Ahimaaz served (2 Sam 15:36 ^bj; 17:17-29 ^bk; 18:19-29 ^bl).
Summary for 1Chr 6:54-81: 6:54-81 ^bm The list of Levitical cities is derived from Josh 21 ^bn, following a geographical logic, with families grouped in defined geographical districts. To show the unity and completeness of Israel, the territorial list presents the Levites as settled in the land to the same extent as the other tribes.

‏ 1 Chronicles 7

Summary for 1Chr 7:1-40: 7:1-40 ^bo In this chapter, the genealogies of the remaining tribes of Israel are given.

• The sections on the tribes of Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher might have been derived from a military census; the lists are of nearly equal length, emphasize military terminology, record the father’s houses, and provide no information on settlements.

• The tribes of Zebulun and Dan are omitted entirely, and Naphtali has a very brief record.
7:12 ^bp The Hebrew text of this verse appears to have been disrupted (something was apparently lost during scribal copying) because no introduction is given for either Ir or Hushim. The names Shuppim and Huppim have parallels in the tribe of Benjamin (8:8 ^bq, 11 ^br; Gen 46:21 ^bs; Num 26:39 ^bt). If the Hebrew text was in fact damaged, Hushim might be a descendant of Dan (cp. Gen 46:23 ^bu; Num 26:42 ^bv).
7:13 ^bw In contrast with other genealogies, this abrupt listing of the sons of Naphtali includes only the first generation (cp. Gen 46:24 ^bx; Num 26:48-50 ^by). The manuscript of Chronicles might have suffered damage at an early stage of scribal copying, which could also account for the omission of Dan and Zebulun. It is also possible that the records for Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali were lost when Tiglath-pileser attacked and exiled these tribes during Pekah’s reign (2 Kgs 15:29 ^bz); in that case, the Chronicler had no records available to include.
Summary for 1Chr 7:14-19: 7:14-19 ^ca Several difficulties in these verses might indicate that the Hebrew text was damaged: (1) Maacah is listed as the sister of Makir as well as his wife (7:15-16 ^cb). (2) Huppim and Shuppim were listed earlier with Benjamin (7:12 ^cc), not Manasseh. (3) Those considered Gileadites (7:16-17 ^cd) are rather ambiguously linked to Gilead, whose direct descendants are not listed (cp. Num 26:30-33 ^ce). (4) The sons of Shemida are not connected to the genealogy (1 Chr 7:19 ^cf); Shemida was one of Gilead’s descendants (Num 26:32 ^cg).
Summary for 1Chr 7:20-27: 7:20-27 ^ch The genealogy of the descendants of Ephraim includes a story illustrating the circumstances of the tribe’s settlement in Canaan (7:21-24 ^ci). The genealogy ends with Joshua son of Nun, who led Israel into the Promised Land.
7:22 ^cj The father of Ezer and Elead is recorded as Ephraim, but Ephraim the son of Joseph could not have settled in Canaan after the Exodus. The traditional solution was to imagine an early exodus for the family of Ephraim. Other possibilities are that the name Ephraim is a scribal mistake or that Ephraim referred to the tribe rather than the son of Joseph who bore the name.