1 Chronicles - Chapter 7

1 Chronicles 7.0 And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities. 1 Chronicles 7.1 And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities. 1 Chronicles 7.2 And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. 1 Chronicles 7.3 Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. 1 Chronicles 7.4 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs. 1 Chronicles 7.5 And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names. 1 Chronicles 7.6 And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim. 1 Chronicles 7.7 And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs, 1 Chronicles 7.8 And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs, 1 Chronicles 7.9 And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs: 1 Chronicles 7.10 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath. 1 Chronicles 7.11 Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs: 1 Chronicles 7.12 And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs, 1 Chronicles 7.13 And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs: 1 Chronicles 7.14 And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs, 1 Chronicles 7.15 And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs: 1 Chronicles 7.16 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs. 1 Chronicles 7.17 Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs: 1 Chronicles 7.18 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs, 1 Chronicles 7.19 Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs: 1 Chronicles 7.20 And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs, 1 Chronicles 7.21 And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs. 1 Chronicles 7.1 Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four. 1 Chronicles 7.2 And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred. 1 Chronicles 7.3 And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and JÅ“l, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. 1 Chronicles 7.4 And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. 1 Chronicles 7.5 And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand. 1 Chronicles 7.6 The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. 1 Chronicles 7.7 And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. 1 Chronicles 7.8 And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and EliÅ“nai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher. 1 Chronicles 7.9 And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, was twenty thousand and two hundred. 1 Chronicles 7.10 The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. 1 Chronicles 7.11 All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle. 1 Chronicles 7.12 Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. 1 Chronicles 7.13 The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. 1 Chronicles 7.14 The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: (but his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead: 1 Chronicles 7.15 And Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. 1 Chronicles 7.16 And Maachah 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. 1 Chronicles 7.17 And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 1 Chronicles 7.18 And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah. 1 Chronicles 7.19 And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. 1 Chronicles 7.20 And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, 1 Chronicles 7.21 And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. 1 Chronicles 7.22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 1 Chronicles 7.23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. 1 Chronicles 7.24 (And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether, and the upper, and Uzzensherah.) 1 Chronicles 7.25 And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son. 1 Chronicles 7.26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son. 1 Chronicles 7.27 Non his son, Jehoshuah his son. 1 Chronicles 7.28 And their possessions and habitations were, Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof: 1 Chronicles 7.29 And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Bethshean 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. 1 Chronicles 7.30 The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. 1 Chronicles 7.31 And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. 1 Chronicles 7.32 And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 1 Chronicles 7.33 And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. 1 Chronicles 7.34 And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 1 Chronicles 7.35 And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. 1 Chronicles 7.36 The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, 1 Chronicles 7.37 Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 1 Chronicles 7.38 And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. 1 Chronicles 7.39 And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia. 1 Chronicles 7.40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father’s house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men.

1 Chronicles : Chapter 7

The Genealogy of the Tribes of Israel in 1 Chronicles 7

Chapter 7 of the book of 1 Chronicles covers the genealogies of several tribes of Israel, offering valuable insight into the diversity and richness of this chosen people. Through the records of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher, this text highlights not only family ties, but also the military strength, territorial distribution, and tribal interconnections that shape Israel's identity.

We invite you to meditate on five biblical passages that highlight the importance of tribal identity in Israel's history.

1. Genesis 46:13

"The sons of Issachar: Tollah, Puah, Jashub, and Sinrom." This verse, taken from the genealogy of Jacob, is developed in 1 Chronicles 7:1-5, illustrating the continuity and development of the tribe of Issachar within the people of Israel.

2. Judges 12:8-9

"After him, Ibsan of Bethlehem ruled Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. [...] Ibsan ruled Israel for seven years." This passage mentions Ibshan, who is also listed in the genealogy of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles 7:10, establishing a link between the genealogy and the history of Israel.

3. Deuteronomy 33:24

"Concerning Asher, he said: 'Blessed is Asher among the sons; let him be favored by his brothers and let him bathe his feet in oil.'"This blessing of Moses on the tribe of Asher relates to Asher's genealogy in 1 Chronicles 7:30-40, testifying to the continuing importance of this tribe in God's plan.

4. Genesis 41:51-52

"Joseph named his first son Manasseh, saying, 'God has made me forget all my troubles and all my father's family.' He named his second son Ephraim, saying, 'God has made me prosper in the land where I have been troubled.'" These verses introduce Manasseh and Ephraim, whose genealogies are detailed in 1 Chronicles 7:14-29, highlighting their essential role in the history of Israel.

5. Joshua 17:1

"This was the portion of land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh as the firstborn of Joseph: Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, received Gilead and Bashan, because he was a mighty warrior." This verse connects to Manasseh's genealogy in 1 Chronicles 7:14-19, highlighting Machir's importance within the tribe.

Through these passages, we discover not only the heritage of the tribes of Israel but also the divine plan that unites them, inviting us to reflect on our own identity and place in God's great design.