Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 1 Chronicles · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
Verſ. 1. NOw the ſonnes of Iſſachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jaſhub, &c.] This Puah and Jaſhub we called Phuvah and Job, Gen. 46.13. Having before ſet down the genealogies of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Iſſachars is next here related, becauſe Iſſachar was Jacobs next ſonne by Leah.
Verſ. 2. Whoſe number was in the dayes of David two and twenty thouſand and ſix hundred.] To wit, when he appointed Joab to number the people, 2. Sam. 24.1.
Verſ. 3. And the ſonnes of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the ſonnes of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Iſhiah, five.] That is, there were five deſcended of Uzzi, to wit, Izrahiah, and his foure ſonnes.
Verſ. 4. And with them, by their generations, after the houſe of their fathers were bands of ſouldiers, &c.] Hereby it is evident that there were ſix and thirty thouſand men of the poſterity of Uzzi alone; ſo that the two and twenty thouſand ſix hundred, mentioned before verſ. 2. was the number of the poſterity of Tola by his other ſonnes, Uzzi being excepted, whoſe poſterity are here numbred by themſelves, as being more then all the reſt together.
Verſ. 5. And their brethren among all the families of Iſſachar, were men of might, &c.] That is, all the children of Iſſachar together, were foureſcore and ſeven thouſand men of might when Joab numbred them.
Verſ. 6. The ſonnes of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jodiael, three.] Jediael is called Aſhbel, Gen. 46.21. Zebulun was the ſixth ſonne of Leah, born next after Iſſachar; but neither Zebuluns nor Dans genealogie is at all here mentioned; perhaps becauſe at the return of the people out of Babylon, (when it is thought that Ezra wrote this book) their genealogies were not found. Benjamins genealogy is therefore next inſerted, who was the ſonne of Rachel; yet here are but onelyonly three of Benjamins ten ſonnes mentioned, perhaps becauſe the poſterity of theſe onelyonly were numbred, when Joab numbred the people, verſ. 2.
Verſ. 12. Shuppim alſo, and Huppim, &c.] That is, theſe alſo were of Benjamins poſterity.
Verſ. 13. The ſonnes of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the ſonnes of Bilhah.] That is, the grand-children; for Bilhah Rachels handmaid was the mother of Naphtali, whoſe ſonnes theſe were.
Verſ. 14. The ſonnes of Manaſſeh; Aſhriel whom ſhe bare, &c.] There was an Aſhriel that was the ſonne or one of the poſterity of Gilead, Numb. 26.30, 31. Theſe are the ſonnes of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: And of Aſriel, the family of the Aſrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: either therefore this was another Aſhriel, the immediate ſonne of Manaſſeh by his wife; whereas Machir was Manaſſehs ſonne by his concubine the Aramiteſſe: or elſe Aſhriel is here reckoned onelyonly as one of the poſterity of Manaſſeh; whom ſhe bare, that is, either the wife of Gilead, or the wife of Hepher, the mother of Zelophehad, and thence it follows, verſ. 15. that Zelophehad (who was the ſonne of Hepher, the ſonne of Gilead, Num. 27.1.) was the ſecond, that is, the ſecond ſonne of Hepher, the younger brother of Aſhriel. And if we thus take Aſhriel for one of the poſterity of Gilead the ſonne of Machir, then we muſt underſtand that the following words, But his concubine the Aramiteſſe bare Machir, &c. are onelyonly added, to ſhew that this Aſhriel, and the reſt afterward mentioned, were not the poſterity of Manaſſeh by his wife, but by his concubine the Aramiteſſe:
Verſ. 17. Theſe were the ſonnes of Gilead, &c.] To wit, Aſhriel and Zelophehad above mentioned; but not Pereſh, and Shereſh, and his poſteritie the laſt here mentioned: for they were the ſonnes of Machir by Maachah, and ſo the brethren of Gilead.
Verſ. 18. And his ſiſter Hammoleketh bare Iſhhad, &c.] That is, Gileads ſiſter.
Verſ. 19. And the ſonnes of Shemida were Ahian, &c.] And Shemida was alſo the ſonne (or of the ſtock) of Gilead: ſee Numb. 26.30, 32.
Verſ. 21. Whom the men of Gath that were born in that land ſlew, &c.] Either this muſt be referred to all thoſe before named, verſ. 20. the ſonnes of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his ſonne, and Tahath his ſonne, &c. to wit, as taking them all to be the ſeverall ſonnes of Ephraim; namely that Shuthelah, verſ. 20. was the ſonne of Ephraim, and ſo alſo Bered (who ſeems to be mentioned as the ſonne of Shuthelah) was another ſonne of Ephraim, and Tahath another, and ſo on forward: who were all ſlain by the men of Gath, when the Iſraelites were in Egypt: or elſe (if this ſeems not ſo probable, becauſe then Ephraim ſhould have two ſonnes called Shuthelah, and two called Tahath) then though thoſe in the twentieth verſe be taken as ſeverall generations, to wit, that Shuthelah was the ſonne of Ephraim, and Bered his grandchild, and Tahath his grandchild, and ſo forward, yet Zabad the firſt mentioned verſ. 21. muſt be reckoned another ſonne of Ephraim, and Shuthelah, and Ezer, and Elead his grandchildren, whom the men of Gath ſlew: or thirdly, if all thoſe before mentioned be reckoned as ſeverall ſucceeding generations, to wit, that Shuthelah the ſonne of Ephraim begat Bered, and Bered Tahath, and Tahath Eladah, and Eladah Tahath, and Tahath Zabad, and Zabad Shuthelah, and Ezer, and Elead, then the words (whom the men of Gath ſlew, &c.) muſt be referred onelyonly to ſome of the former of theſe here mentioned: or fourthly, that which follows, verſ. 22. And Ephraim their father mourned many dayes, and his brethren came to comfort him, muſt be meant of Zabad, who was called alſo Ephraim, perhaps onelyonly becauſe he was the head of that tribe; for it is not poſſible, that Ephraim ſhould live to ſee theſe laſt here mentioned, if they be all taken as ſeverall ſucceeding generations, to wit, ſeven generations. However, though this which is ſaid concerning the cauſe why the men of Gath ſlew them; to wit, becauſe they came down to take away their cattell, may be meant of the Philiſtines of Gath, that coming upon the Iſraelites dwelling then in Egypt, to take away their cattell, they ſlew theſe ſonnes of Ephraim, that armed themſelves to reſiſt them; yet rather I think it is meant of the ſonnes of Ephraim, to wit, that there being uſually warre betwixt Egypt and the Philiſtines their neighbours (to which thoſe places may have reference, Exod. 1.10. Come on, let us deal wiſely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to paſſe, that when there fall out any warre, they joyn alſo unto our enemies, and fight againſt us, and ſo get them up out of the land, and 13.17. And it came to paſſe when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near: for God ſaid, Leſt peradventure the people repent when they ſee warre, and they returne to Egypt.) the ſonnes of Ephraim at a certain time armed themſelves to make an inrode upon the land of the Philiſtines, and were ſlain by the men of Gath; for why is it ſaid, the men of Gath that were born in that land, but to intimate, that they inhabited the land that was invaded by the ſonnes of Ephraim? and of this ſlaughter of the Ephraimites, ſome underſtand that place, Pſal. 78.9. The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bowes, turned back in the day of battel.
Verſ. 24. And his daughter was Sherah, who built Beth-horon the nether, and the upper, &c.] That is, Sherah famous in her time for building, that is, rebuilding, beautifying, and fortifying theſe cities, (for the upper and nether Beth-horon were cities in Canaan before the Iſraelites poſſeſſed them, Joſh. 16.6.) ſhe was alſo of the ſtock of Beriah: for had ſhe been the immediate daughter of Beriah, the ſonne of Ephraim, ſhe could not have lived to enter the land of Canaan.
Verſ. 26. Ammihud his ſonne, Eliſhama his ſonne.] Who was prince of the children of Ephraim at their going down out of Egypt. Numb. 7.48. On the ſeventh day, Eliſhama the ſonne of Ammiud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered.
Verſ. 35. And the ſonne of his brother, Helem.] That is, Helem was the ſonne of Shomers brother, called before verſ. 32. Hotham.
Verſ. 38. And the ſonnes of Jether, &c.] This Jether is called Ithran in the former verſe, as moſt conceive.
Verſ. 39. And the ſonnes of Ulla, &c.] Who was happely another ſonne of Jether, or elſe his grandchild the ſonne of Ara before mentioned.
Verſ. 40. And the number throughout the genealogie of them that were apt to the warre and to battel, was twenty and ſix thouſand men.] To wit, happely when they were numbred in the dayes of David, as above verſ. 2.