1 Chronicles 5:22 Kommentar

This chapter gives us some account of the two tribes and a half that were seated on the other side Jordan. I. Of Reuben (Ch1 5:1-10). II. Of Gad (Ch1 5:11-17). III. Of the half-tribe of Manasseh (Ch1 5:23, Ch1 5:24). IV. Concerning all three acting in conjunction we are told, 1. How they conquered the Hagarites (Ch1 5:18-22). 2. How they were, at length, themselves conquered, and made captives, by the king of Assyria, because they had forsaken God (Ch1 5:25, Ch1 5:26).

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 5 This chapter relates the genealogy of the tribes that lived on the other side Jordan; of the Reubenites, Ch1 5:1, of the Gadites, Ch1 5:11 of the half tribe of Manasseh, Ch1 5:23 and of their war with the Hagarites, in conjunction with each other, and their conquest of them, Ch1 5:18 and who for their sins were all carried captive by the king of Assyria, Ch1 5:25.

And these were the heads of the house of their fathers,.... Some of the principal men of this half tribe: even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel; but of none of these we read elsewhere, excepting Hepher and Azriel, Num 26:31. mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers; men that obtained a name for their strength, courage, and valour, and military exploits, and were the chiefs of the families in this half tribe, and by whom they were denominated; so from Hepher were the family of the Hepherites, and from Azriel the family of the Azrielites, as in the place before quoted.

The genealogies of Reuben, Ch1 5:1-10. Of Gad, Ch1 5:11-17. The exploits of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Ch1 5:18-22. The genealogy of the half tribe of Manasseh, Ch1 5:23, Ch1 5:24. The idolatry of these tribes and their captivity by the Assyrians, Ch1 5:25, Ch1 5:26.

For there fell down many slain - The hundred thousand men mentioned above were probably made slaves, and were not slain. The Targum says, one hundred thousand souls of men. The war was of God - The Targum says, the war was מן מימרא דיי min meymera dayai, "from the Word of the Lord."

THE LINE OF REUBEN. (Ch1 5:1-10) Now the sons of Reuben--In proceeding to give this genealogy, the sacred historian states, in a parenthesis (Ch1 5:1-2), the reason why it was not placed first, as Reuben was the oldest son of Jacob. The birthright, which by a foul crime he had forfeited, implied not only dominion, but a double portion (Deu 21:17); and both of these were transferred to Joseph, whose two sons having been adopted as the children of Jacob (Gen 48:5), received each an allotted portion, as forming two distinct tribes in Israel. Joseph then was entitled to the precedency; and yet, as his posterity was not mentioned first, the sacred historian judged it necessary to explain that "the genealogy was not to be reckoned after the birthright," but with a reference to a superior honor and privilege that had been conferred on Judah--not the man, but the tribe, whereby it was invested with the pre-eminence over all the other tribes, and out of it was to spring David with his royal lineage, and especially the great Messiah (Heb 7:14). These were the two reasons why, in the order of enumeration, the genealogy of Judah is introduced before that of Reuben.

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 5 This chapter relates the genealogy of the tribes that lived on the other side Jordan; of the Reubenites, Ch1 5:1, of the Gadites, Ch1 5:11 of the half tribe of Manasseh, Ch1 5:23 and of their war with the Hagarites, in conjunction with each other, and their conquest of them, Ch1 5:18 and who for their sins were all carried captive by the king of Assyria, Ch1 5:25.

And these were the heads of the house of their fathers,.... Some of the principal men of this half tribe: even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel; but of none of these we read elsewhere, excepting Hepher and Azriel, Num 26:31. mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers; men that obtained a name for their strength, courage, and valour, and military exploits, and were the chiefs of the families in this half tribe, and by whom they were denominated; so from Hepher were the family of the Hepherites, and from Azriel the family of the Azrielites, as in the place before quoted.