1 Chronicles 5

REUBEN’S DESCENDANTS

5These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. He was the firstborn,^g but his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph^h son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed.ⁱ He is not listed in the genealogy according to birthright. ²Although Judah became strong among his brothers^j and a ruler came from him,^k the birthright was given to Joseph.

³The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn:^l

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

⁴Joel’s sons: his son Shemaiah,

his son Gog, his son Shimei,

⁵his son Micah, his son Reaiah,

his son Baal, ⁶and his son Beerah.

Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites, and King Tiglath-pileser^A of Assyria took him into exile. ⁷His relatives by their families as they are recorded in their family records:^m

Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,

⁸and Bela son of Azaz,

son of Shema, son of Joel.

They settled in Aroerⁿ as far as Nebo and Baal-meon. ⁹They also settled in the east as far as the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their herds had increased in the land of Gilead.^{o 10}During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites,^p who were defeated by their power. And they lived in their tents throughout the region east of Gilead.

GAD’S DESCENDANTS

¹¹The sons^q of Gad lived next to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah:^r

¹²Joel the chief, Shapham the second in command, Janai, and Shaphat in Bashan.

¹³Their relatives according to their ancestral houses: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber—seven.

¹⁴These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri,

son of Jaroah, son of Gilead,

son of Michael, son of Jeshishai,

son of Jahdo, son of Buz.

¹⁵Ahi son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was head of their ancestral family. ¹⁶They lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its surrounding villages, and throughout the pasturelands of Sharon.^{a 17}All of them were registered in the genealogies during the reigns of Judah’s King Jotham^b and Israel’s King Jeroboam.^c

¹⁸The descendants of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 warriors who could serve^d in the army—men who carried shield and sword, drew the bow, and were trained for war. ¹⁹They waged war against the Hagrites,^e Jetur,^f Naphish, and Nodab. ²⁰They received help against these enemies because they cried out to God in battle, and the Hagrites and all their allies were handed over to them.^g He was receptive to their prayer because they trusted in him.^{h 21}They captured the Hagrites’ livestock—fifty thousand of their camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand donkeys—as well as one hundred thousand people. ²²Many of the Hagrites were killed because it was God’s battle.ⁱ And they lived there in the Hagrites’ place^j until the exile.^k

HALF THE TRIBE OF MANASSEH

²³The descendants of half the tribe of Manasseh settled in the land from Bashan to Baal-hermon (that is, Senir^l or Mount Hermon); they were numerous. ²⁴These were the heads of their ancestral families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were valiant warriors, famous men, and heads of their ancestral houses. ²⁵But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves^m with the gods of the nations^A God had destroyed before them.^{n 26}So the God of Israel roused the spirit of King Pul^o (that is, Tiglath-pileser^B) of Assyria, and he took the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and Gozan’s river, where they are until today.