Chapter VII

=1‒40.=
GENEALOGIES OF SIX REMAINING TRIBES.

The treatment of the several tribes in this chapter is very unequal. In the case of Issachar (=1‒5=), Zebulun (=6‒12=, see note verse 6), and Asher (=30‒40=), genealogies are given and the number of fighting-men of each tribe is stated. To Naphtali is devoted a single verse (=13=), giving only the names of his sons. For Manasseh and Ephraim (=14‒29=) genealogies are given and their possessions are shortly enumerated. The mention of Dan is obliterated, owing to the state of the text of verse 12.

=1‒5.=
THE GENEALOGY OF ISSACHAR.

¹And of the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Puah¹, Jashub, and
Shimron, four.

¹ In Genesis xlvi. 13, _Puvah, and Iob_.

=1.= _the sons of Issachar_] Genesis xlvi. 13; Numbers xxvi. 23, 24. verses 2‒5 are from an unknown source, or from the Chronicler himself.

_Tola_] the name of one of the minor Judges (Judges x. 1). He is there described as “Tola the son of Puah, dwelling [Hebrew _josheb_] in Shamir.” No descendants are mentioned from Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, but only from Tola; and it has been suggested that these four sons of Issachar are imaginary, being simply deduced from the statement in Judges――Jashub = _josheb_, and Shimron = _Shamir_. This is very ingenious but by no means convincing.

_Puah_] In Genesis and Numbers _Puvah_ (Revised Version).

_Jashub_] So in Numbers, but in Genesis _Iob_.

²And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and
Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers’ houses,
_to wit_, of Tola; mighty men of valour in their generations:
their number in the days of David was two and twenty thousand
and six hundred.

=2.= _of their fathers’ houses_] i.e. clans or families; see note on v. 13.

_in their generations_] Render, =after= (or =according to=) =their generations=, the rendering given to the same phrase in Genesis x. 32, xxv. 13.

_their number_] i.e. of the divisions which claimed _Tola_ as ancestor.

_in the days of David_] xxi. 1 ff. (= 2 Samuel xxiv. 1 ff.).

³And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah;
Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Isshiah, five: all of them chief
men.

=3.= _five_] i.e. reckoning the four grandsons as sons.

⁴And with them, by their generations, after their fathers’
houses, were bands of the host for war, six and thirty thousand:
for they had many wives and sons.

=4.= _by their generations_] i.e. according to descent. Each head commanded men that were his kinsfolk.

⁵And their brethren among all the families of Issachar, mighty
men of valour, reckoned in all by genealogy, were fourscore and
seven thousand.

=5.= _fourscore and seven thousand_] In Numbers ii. 6 Issachar is reckoned at 54,400, and in Numbers xxvi. 25 at 64,300.

=6‒12.=
THE GENEALOGY OF ZEBULUN.

=6‒12.= According to the existing text these verses are a genealogy of Benjamin; but, as such, they present most serious difficulties. Notice (1) that the customary “sons of” is lacking in the Hebrew text before Benjamin: (2) that the sons of Benjamin here number _three_, whereas in Numbers xxvi. 38, 39, they are _five_ (_five_ also in 1 Chronicles viii. 2!), and in Genesis xlii. 21 _ten_; and further that one of the sons here mentioned, Jediael, is nowhere else referred to as a Benjamite: (3) that the sons of Bela (verse 7) are entirely different in viii. 3: and (4) that in general the names in the list (with only three certain exceptions and two of them place-names) are not elsewhere found in lists of Benjamite names――a startling fact. (5) Finally and most important of all, a genealogy of Benjamin is given in chapter viii., exactly where we might expect to find it according to the order in which the Chronicler describes the tribes.

The first of these points could be (and has usually been) explained by the elision of some letters; for the words “the sons of” (Bᵉnê) in Hebrew writing most closely resemble “Ben” the first syllable of Benjamin. For a few other minor difficulties tentative suggestions have been put forward, but are very unsatisfying, whilst for most of the features noted above, and especially for the most important of them, no proper explanation can be given on the supposition that the list really is a genealogy of Benjamin. It is therefore most probable that the view urged by Curtis, _Chronicles_, p. 127, should be adopted. He finds in these verses the genealogy of _Zebulun_, the absence of which otherwise is a striking feature of the genealogies in these chapters. The letters which are now taken to be the first part of the word _Benjamin_ should be read _Bᵉnê_ (i.e. _the sons of_), and the following letters are a corruption of Zebulun, which was originally followed by the names of Zebulun’s three sons, Sered and Elon and Jahleel, as given in Genesis xlvi. 14. The changes involved by this suggestion may seem violent in English, but they are by no means so in the Hebrew, and moreover it must be understood that they all follow inevitably or at least most naturally upon the slight initial error whereby “the sons of Zebulun” was corrupted into “Benjamin.” The development and details of Curtis’ reasoning cannot be set forth except in connection with the Hebrew text, and it must therefore suffice here to indicate the one essential point, and to remark that the convincing feature of his hypothesis is that it furnishes a clear and natural explanation of all the difficulties noted above.

⁶_The sons of_ Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three.

=6.= _Bela, and Becher, and Jediael_] Contrast viii. 2. Read, following Genesis xlvi. 14, =Sered and Elon and Jahleel=.

⁷And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth,
and Iri, five; heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valour;
and they were reckoned by genealogy twenty and two thousand and
thirty and four.

=7.= _the sons of Bela_] Contrast viii. 3; and read instead the =sons of Sered=. These are differently stated in viii. 3‒5.

⁸And the sons of Becher; Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and
Elioenai, and Omri, and Jeremoth, and Abijah, and Anathoth,
and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. ⁹And they were
reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their
fathers’ houses, mighty men of valour, twenty thousand and two
hundred.

=8.= _Becher_] Read =Elon=.

_Anathoth, and Alemeth_] both names of places in Benjamin; vi. 60 (45, _Hebrew_, “Allemeth”); Jeremiah i. 1. These are the only place-names in the list, and they are admittedly Benjamite: as to the significance of this fact see note on _Ehud_, verse 10.

¹⁰And the sons of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush,
and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish,
and Ahishahar.

=10.= _Jediael_] or rather _Jahleel_.

_Benjamin, and Ehud_] The error in verse 6 by which this Zebulunite list becomes ostensibly Benjamite must have been very early. When once it had arisen, the tendency to introduce names which were to be expected in a Benjamite genealogy was inevitably strong. This is the ground on which the names _Anathoth_ and _Alemeth_ (verse 8) are to be explained, as also _Shuppim_ and _Huppim_ (verse 12). Most clearly, however, is the tendency illustrated by the present verse, where the reading _Benjamin and Ehud_ most probably has its origin in a marginal addition “and Ehud the Benjamite” (from Judges iii. 15) which was later inserted in the text as two separate names.

_Tarshish_] It is said of Zebulun in Genesis xlix. 13 that he shall be “a haven for ships,” and _Tarshish_, absolutely unknown as a Hebrew personal name, is regularly used in the Old Testament in connection with ships and commerce by sea. It would be astonishingly out of place in a genealogy of Benjamin, but is appropriate in one of Zebulun (compare Genesis xlix. 13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea”).

¹¹All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads
of their fathers’ _houses_, mighty men of valour, seventeen
thousand and two hundred, that were able to go forth in the host
for war.

=11.= _able to go forth_] the total number of warriors is here 59,434; compare 50,000 in xii. 33; and compare Numbers i. 37, xxvi. 41.

¹²Shuppim¹ also, and Huppim, the sons of Ir², Hushim, the sons
of Aher³.

¹ In Numbers xxvi. 39, _Shephupham_ and _Hupham_.

² In verse 7, _Iri_.

³ In Numbers xxvi. 38, _Ahiram_.

=12.= _Shuppim also, and Huppim_] for the spelling compare viii. 5, Numbers xxvi. 39, and Genesis xlvi. 21. These Benjamite names are an addition, and illustrate the tendency referred to above in the note on _Benjamin and Ehud_, verse 10.

=12b.=
THE GENEALOGY OF DAN.

_Ir_] compare verse 7, Iri. But see following note.

_Hushim, the sons of Aher_] In _Aher_ (literally “another”) some commentators find the word _Dan_. More probably _Ir_ is a corruption for Dan, and the word _Aher_ an error for “one” (the differences are small in Hebrew). Following the indication of Genesis xlvi. 23 and the LXX., read therefore =the sons of Dan, Hushim his son, one=.

=13.= (= Genesis xlvi. 24).
THE GENEALOGY OF NAPHTALI.

¹³The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel¹, and Guni, and Jezer, and
Shallum², the sons of Bilhah.

¹ In Genesis xlvi. 24, _Jahzeel_.

² In Genesis xlvi. 24, _Shillem_.

=13.= _Jahziel ... Shallum_] In Genesis _Jahzeel ... Shillem_.

=14‒19.=
THE GENEALOGY OF MANASSEH.

A difficult section. The text is much disturbed in verses 14, 15; and there is hardly any material available for the illustration of verses 16, 17.

¹⁴The sons of Manasseh; Asriel, whom¹ _his wife_ bare: (his
concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:

¹ Or, according to the Septuagint, _whom his concubine the
Aramitess bare; she bare &c._

=14.= _Asriel, whom_ his wife _bare_: (_his concubine the Aramitess bare_] Compare Numbers xxvi. 31. Probably, however, the name is due to an error of dittography. Read simply as margin, following LXX., =whom his concubine the Aramitess bare=; =she bare=, etc.

_his concubine the Aramitess_] The inhabitants of Gilead were thus in part Arameans (Syrians) by descent. A different tradition is preserved in Genesis 1. 23.

¹⁵and Machir took a wife of¹ Huppim and Shuppim, whose² sister’s
name was Maacah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and
Zelophehad had daughters.

¹ Or, _for_.

² Or, _and his_.

=15.= _took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim_] i.e. allied himself by marriage to these two families.

_whose sister’s name_] Render, =and his= (Machir’s) =sister’s name=. The statement regarding Maacah is ethnographical, and means that the people of Maacah (a district at the foot of Hermon) were related by blood to Machir (the Eastern Manassites).

_Zelophehad had daughters_] Numbers xxvii. 1‒11.

¹⁶And Maacah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his
name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his
sons were Ulam and Rakem.

=16.= _wife of_] But in verse 15, Maacah is sister of Machir. The text of verses 15, 16 has probably suffered some disturbance.

¹⁷And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the
son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.

=17.= _the sons of Ulam_] Sons of Ulam are mentioned (viii. 40) among the descendants of Benjamin: a variation in the tradition of their descent.

¹⁸And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishhod, and Abiezer¹, and
Mahlah.

¹ In Numbers xxvi. 30, _Iezer_.

=18.= _Abiezer_] Gideon’s family; Judges vi. 11; compare Joshua xvii. 2.

¹⁹And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi,
and Aniam.

=19.= _Shechem_] This name represents the Israelite portion of the inhabitants of Shechem: the rest of the inhabitants were Hivites or Canaanites. See Judges ix.

=20‒27.=
THE LINE OF EPHRAIM TO JOSHUA.

=20‒27.= The section presents several difficulties, arising either from the attempt to combine various threads of traditions or possibly from textual corruption. Note that Ezer and Elead, who in verse 21 are removed by several generations from Ephraim, are in verse 22 f. treated as his immediate sons.

²⁰And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and
Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son,

=20.= _Shuthelah ... Bered ... Tahath ... Eleadah_] These four names appear to correspond with _Shuthelah ... Becher ... Tahan ... Eran_ in Numbers xxvi. 35, 36.

²¹and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead,
whom the men of Gath that were born in the land slew, because
they came down to take away their cattle.

=21.= _the men of Gath that were born in the land_] i.e. the Philistine population.

_they came down_] This phrase suits a descent from the hills of Ephraim into the Philistine lowlands. The raid presumably took place after the period of the Exodus and the settlement of Israel in Canaan. Yet it is also possible that the story should be classed with certain traditions which ignore the narrative of the Egyptian sojourn and the Exodus――see Cook, _Encyclopedia Britannica_¹¹, s.v. _Genesis_, p. 584, col. 2.

²²And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren
came to comfort him.

=22.= _And Ephraim their father_] i.e. the tribe, or district, to which the clans, _Ezer_ and _Elead_, belonged.

²³And he went in to his wife, and she conceived, and bare a son,
and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his
house.

=23.= _Beriah, because it went evil_] Hebrew =Beri‘ah because it went berā‘ah=, a play on the sound of the name. This is a feature characteristic of the patriarchal narratives in Genesis, compare Genesis xxx. 11, etc. It is interesting to find it in the tradition upon which the Chronicler here depends. Compare also iv. 9 (note).

²⁴And his daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth-horon the nether
and the upper, and Uzzen-sheerah. ²⁵And Rephah was his son, and
Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son; ²⁶Ladan his son,
Ammihud his son, Elishama his son; ²⁷Nun¹ his son, Joshua his
son.

¹ Hebrew _Non_.

=24.= _Beth-horon_] See vi. 68, note.

=28, 29.=
SETTLEMENTS OF THE SONS OF JOSEPH.

The writer of these verses does not intend to give a full list of the seats of Ephraim (verse 28) and Manasseh (verse 29); but apparently to indicate the area and position of their territory by the mention of towns on the borders.

²⁸And their possessions and habitations were Beth-el and the
towns¹ thereof, and eastward Naaran², and westward Gezer, with
the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto
Azzah³ and the towns thereof:

¹ Hebrew _daughters_.

² In Joshua xvi. 7, _Naarah_.

³ Many MSS. read, _Ayyah_.

=28.= _Beth-el_] the southern boundary. Beth-el is the modern _Beitîn_, ten miles north of Jerusalem (Bädeker, _Palestine_⁵, p. 217). The city was on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin and in Joshua xviii. 22 is assigned to Benjamin, but it was originally conquered by Ephraim (Judges i. 22), and during the division of the kingdom it belonged to the North: compare 1 Kings xii. 29, 32; 2 Chronicles xiii. 19, note.

_Naaran_] the eastern boundary. In Joshua xvi. 7, _Naarath_ (Revised Version _Naarah_).

_Gezer ... Shechem_] On Gezer the western, and Shechem the northern boundary――see the note on vi. 67.

_Azzah_] or _Ayyah_, has not yet been identified. Probably, like Shechem, it serves to define the northern border between Ephraim and Manasseh.

²⁹and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and
her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and
her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of
Israel.

=29.= For Manasseh four important towns are enumerated: Beth-shean on the east in the valley of the Jordan, Taanach and Megiddo in the plain of Esdraelon or Megiddo, and Dor on the Mediterranean coast, south of Mt Carmel.

_Beth-shean_] In 1 Samuel xxxi. 10, 12 spelt Beth-shan. It is the Greek _Scythopolis_, the modern _Beisan_.

_Taanach_] See vi. 70, note on _Aner_.

_Megiddo_] Judges v. 19; 2 Kings xxiii. 29; Zechariah xii. 11.

_Dor_] modern _Tantura_. Compare Joshua xvii. 11.

=30‒40.=
THE GENEALOGY OF ASHER.

³⁰The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah,
and Serah their sister.

=30.= _The sons of Asher_] The names in verses 30, 31 are derived from Genesis xlvi. 17 (compare Numbers xxvi. 44‒46). There is no variation in the Hebrew spelling of the names, but _Ishvah_ is missing in Numbers Either Ishvah or Ishvi must be regarded as an error of dittography.

_Beriah_] _Beriah_ is mentioned above, verse 23, as a clan of Ephraim, and appears also as a family of Benjamin, viii. 13, 16.

³¹And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who was the
father of Birzaith. ³²And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer¹, and
Hotham, and Shua their sister. ³³And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach,
and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet.

¹ In verse 34, _Shemer_.

=31.= _Heber, and Malchiel_] The antiquity of these two names seems to be attested by the mention of “Habiri and Malchiel” in the Amarna tablets (_circa_ 1400 B.C.).

_Birzaith_] probably the name of a place, “The well of the olive-tree.”

³⁴And the sons of Shemer¹; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.
³⁵And the sons² of Helem his brother; Zophah, and Imna, and
Shelesh, and Amal. ³⁶The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher,
and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah; ³⁷Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma,
and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. ³⁸And the sons of Jether;
Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. ³⁹And the sons of Ulla; Arah,
and Hanniel, and Rizia.

¹ In verse 32, _Shomer_.

² Hebrew _son_.

=34, 35.= _Shemer ... Helem_] Read perhaps =Shomer ... Hotham=, to agree with verse 32.

⁴⁰All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’
houses, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes.
And the number of them reckoned by genealogy for service in war
was twenty and six thousand men.

=40.= _twenty and six thousand_] In xii. 36 the men of war of Asher are reckoned at forty thousand (compare Numbers i. 41, xxvi. 47, where still higher reckonings are given). The numbers here and in verses 5, 7, 9, 11 (as well as in verse 2, which see) are perhaps supposed to refer to the time of David. The numbers may be based on family traditions, but no important conclusions ought to be drawn from them.