10 The sons H1121 also of Jediael; H3043 Bilhan: H1092 and the sons H1121 of Bilhan; H1092 Jeush, H3274 and Benjamin, H1144 and Ehud, H164 and Chenaanah, H3668 and Zethan, H2133 and Tharshish, H8659 and Ahishahar. H300
But when the children H1121 of Israel H3478 cried H2199 unto the LORD, H3068 the LORD H3068 raised them up H6965 a deliverer, H3467 Ehud H164 the son H1121 of Gera, H1617 a Benjamite, H1145 a man H376 lefthanded: H334 H3225 and by him H3027 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 sent H7971 a present H4503 unto Eglon H5700 the king H4428 of Moab. H4124 But Ehud H164 made H6213 him a dagger H2719 which had two H8147 edges, H6366 of a cubit H1574 length; H753 and he did gird H2296 it under his raiment H4055 upon his right H3225 thigh. H3409 And he brought H7126 the present H4503 unto Eglon H5700 king H4428 of Moab: H4124 and Eglon H5700 was a very H3966 fat H1277 man. H376 And when he had made an end H3615 to offer H7126 the present, H4503 he sent away H7971 the people H5971 that bare H5375 the present. H4503 But he himself turned again H7725 from the quarries H6456 that were by Gilgal, H1537 and said, H559 I have a secret H5643 errand H1697 unto thee, O king: H4428 who said, H559 Keep silence. H2013 And all that stood H5975 by him went out H3318 from him. And Ehud H164 came H935 unto him; and he was sitting H3427 in a summer H4747 parlour, H5944 which he had for himself alone. And Ehud H164 said, H559 I have a message H1697 from God H430 unto thee. And he arose H6965 out of his seat. H3678 And Ehud H164 put forth H7971 his left H8040 hand, H3027 and took H3947 the dagger H2719 from his right H3225 thigh, H3409 and thrust H8628 it into his belly: H990 And the haft H5325 also went in H935 after H310 the blade; H3851 and the fat H2459 closed H5462 upon H1157 the blade, H3851 so that he could not draw H8025 the dagger H2719 out of his belly; H990 and the dirt H6574 came out. H3318 Then Ehud H164 went forth H3318 through the porch, H4528 and shut H5462 the doors H1817 of the parlour H5944 upon him, and locked H5274 them. When he was gone out, H3318 his servants H5650 came; H935 and when they saw H7200 that, behold, the doors H1817 of the parlour H5944 were locked, H5274 they said, H559 Surely he covereth H5526 his feet H7272 in his summer H4747 chamber. H2315 And they tarried H2342 till they were ashamed: H954 and, behold, he opened H6605 not the doors H1817 of the parlour; H5944 therefore they took H3947 a key, H4668 and opened H6605 them: and, behold, their lord H113 was fallen down H5307 dead H4191 on the earth. H776 And Ehud H164 escaped H4422 while they tarried, H4102 and passed beyond H5674 the quarries, H6456 and escaped H4422 unto Seirath. H8167 And it came to pass, when he was come, H935 that he blew H8628 a trumpet H7782 in the mountain H2022 of Ephraim, H669 and the children H1121 of Israel H3478 went down H3381 with him from the mount, H2022 and he before H6440 them. And he said H559 unto them, Follow H7291 after H310 me: for the LORD H3068 hath delivered H5414 your enemies H341 the Moabites H4124 into your hand. H3027 And they went down H3381 after H310 him, and took H3920 the fords H4569 of Jordan H3383 toward Moab, H4124 and suffered H5414 not a man H376 to pass over. H5674 And they slew H5221 of Moab H4124 at that time H6256 about ten H6235 thousand H505 men, H376 all lusty, H8082 and all men H376 of valour; H2428 and there escaped H4422 not a man. H376 So Moab H4124 was subdued H3665 that day H3117 under the hand H3027 of Israel. H3478 And the land H776 had rest H8252 fourscore H8084 years. H8141
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 7
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
1Ch 7:1-5. Sons of Issachar.
1. Jashub—or Job (Ge 46:13).
2. whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred—Although a census was taken in the reign of David by order of that monarch, it is not certain that the sacred historian had it in mind, since we find here the tribe of Benjamin enumerated [1Ch 7:6-12], which was not taken in David's time; and there are other points of dissimilarity.
3. five: all of them chief men—Four only are mentioned; so that as they are stated to be five, in this number the father, Izrahiah, must be considered as included; otherwise one of the names must have dropped out of the text. They were each at the head of a numerous and influential division of their tribe.
5. fourscore and seven thousand—exclusive of the 58,600 men which the Tola branch had produced (1Ch 7:24), so that in the days of David the tribe would have contained a population of 45,600. This large increase was owing to the practice of polygamy, as well as the fruitfulness of the women. A plurality of wives, though tolerated among the Hebrews, was confined chiefly to the great and wealthy; but it seems to have been generally esteemed a privilege by the tribe of Issachar, "for they had many wives and sons" [1Ch 7:4].
1Ch 7:6-12. Of Benjamin.
6. The sons of Benjamin—Ten are named in Ge 46:21, but only five later (1Ch 8:1; Nu 26:38). Perhaps five of them were distinguished as chiefs of illustrious families, but two having fallen in the bloody wars waged against Benjamin (Jud 20:46), there remained only three branches of this tribe, and these only are enumerated.
Jediael—Or Asbel (Genesis 46. 21).
7. the sons of Bela—Each of them was chief or leader of the family to which he belonged. In an earlier period seven great families of Benjamin are mentioned (Nu 26:38), five of them being headed by these five sons of Benjamin, and two descended from Bela. Here five families of Bela are specified, whence we are led to conclude that time or the ravages of war had greatly changed the condition of Benjamin, or that the five families of Bela were subordinate to the other great divisions that sprang directly from the five sons of the patriarch.
12. Shuppim also, and Huppim—They are called Muppim and Huppim (Ge 46:21) and Hupham and Shupham (Nu 26:39). They were the children of Ir, or Iri (1Ch 7:7).
and Hushim, the sons—"son."
of Aher—"Aher" signifies "another," and some eminent critics, taking "Aher" as a common noun, render the passage thus, "and Hushim, another son." Shuppim, Muppim, and Hushim are plural words, and therefore denote not individuals, but the heads of their respective families; and as they were not comprised in the above enumeration (1Ch 7:7, 9) they are inserted here in the form of an appendix. Some render the passage, "Hushim, the son of another," that is, tribe or family. The name occurs among the sons of Dan (Ge 46:23), and it is a presumption in favor of this being the true rendering, that after having recorded the genealogy of Naphtali (1Ch 7:13) the sacred historian adds, "the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid, who was the mother of Dan and Naphtali." We naturally expect, therefore, that these two will be noticed together, but Dan is not mentioned at all, if not in this passage.
1Ch 7:13. Of Naphtali.
13. Shallum—or Shillem (Ge 46:24).
sons of Bilhah—As Dan and Naphtali were her sons, Hushim, as well as these enumerated in 1Ch 7:13, were her grandsons.
1Ch 7:14-40. Of Manasseh.
14, 15. The sons of Manasseh—or descendants; for Ashriel was a grandson, and Zelophehad was a generation farther removed in descent (Nu 26:33). The text, as it stands, is so confused and complicated that it is exceedingly difficult to trace the genealogical thread, and a great variety of conjectures have been made with a view to clear away the obscurity. The passage [1Ch 7:14, 15] should probably be rendered thus: "The sons of Manasseh were Ashriel, whom his Syrian concubine bare to him, and Machir, the father of Gilead (whom his wife bare to him). Machir took for a wife Maachah, sister to Huppim and Shuppim."
21. whom the men of Gath … slew, &c.—This interesting little episode gives us a glimpse of the state of Hebrew society in Egypt; for the occurrence narrated seems to have taken place before the Israelites left that country. The patriarch Ephraim was then alive, though he must have arrived at a very advanced age; and the Hebrew people, at all events those of them who were his descendants, still retained their pastoral character. It was in perfect consistency with the ideas and habits of Oriental shepherds that they should have made a raid on the neighboring tribe of the Philistines for the purpose of plundering their flocks. For nothing is more common among them than hostile incursions on the inhabitants of towns, or on other nomad tribes with whom they have no league of amity. But a different view of the incident is brought out, if, instead of "because," we render the Hebrew particle "when" they came down to take their cattle, for the tenor of the context leads rather to the conclusion that "the men of Gath" were the aggressors, who, making a sudden foray on the Ephraimite flocks, killed the shepherds including several of the sons of Ephraim. The calamity spread a deep gloom around the tent of their aged father, and was the occasion of his receiving visits of condolence from his distant relatives, according to the custom of the East, which is remarkably exemplified in the history of Job (Job 2:11; compare Joh 11:19).