1 Chronicles 5 Study Notes

5:1-5 The tribes that settled on the eastern side of the Jordan River (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh) asked for this land when Moses and the Israelites first came to the promised land. They received this territory after their men had helped Joshua conquer the land on the river’s western side. The tribes are discussed in this chapter, going south to north. Reuben was located by the Dead Sea, a rough location that suited the status of Reuben. He lost his honor as the firstborn among the twelve sons of Jacob when he committed incest with Bilhah, one of Jacob’s concubines and the mother of two of Reuben’s brothers (Gn 35:25).

5:6 A quick and abbreviated genealogy of the tribe of Reuben leads us to Beerah, who had the bad fortune of being tribal leader when Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, carried the tribe into exile. The following Assyrian kings are important for the OT: Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC) is not mentioned in the Bible, but he fought against the northern kingdom of Israel and subjugated King Jehu. Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) deported the tribes east of the Jordan River and conquered much of the northern kingdom. King Ahaz of Judah paid him tribute (2Ch 28:1-27). Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC) began the destruction of Israel’s capital, Samaria (2Kg 17:6), which was completed by Sargon II (722-705 BC), who then deported the northern tribes. Sennacherib (704-681 BC) conquered Judah but was brought up short by God during the reign of Hezekiah when he attempted to vanquish Jerusalem (2Ch 32:1-23). Esar-haddon (681-669 BC) counted King Manasseh of Judah among his friends and supporters but then turned against him. Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC) was the last major king of Assyria. Maintaining his alliance with Judah, he was successful in subduing Egypt, but toward the end of his reign the balance of power shifted from Assyria to Babylon.

5:7-10 Reuben’s earlier successes had allowed this tribe to stretch all the way to the Euphrates River and to defeat the Hagrites. These were the Ishmaelites, the descendants of Hagar.

5:11-17 The tribe of Gad was located north of Reuben. The Chronicler’s frequent reference to other written documents such as genealogies and historical records indicates that biblical writers had at their disposal written sources, and their use of such sources of information underscores the nature of the Bible as both human writing and direct revelation, all under the control of the Holy Spirit (cp. 29:29-30; Nm 21:14; Lk 1:1-4).

5:18-22 The eastern tribes combined forces in a number of military victories, and they accumulated a large amount of plunder. A constant theme in Chronicles is that when people attempt to fight in their own strength, God will not bless them, but, when he fights the war, his people see miraculous victories beyond human expectation. Thus, when they cried out to God, he rewarded them.

5:23 There was no tribe of Joseph. Instead, Joseph’s sons became the ancestors of two separate tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh occupied territory on both sides of the Jordan River.

5:24-25 This is the first reference to idolatry in Chronicles. Even though this part of the tribe of Manasseh contained some outstanding people, they deviated from God and adopted the idolatry of the nations around them.

5:26 Tiglath-pileser was a cruel and vicious king of Assyria, but God used him to punish his people for their idolatry. Long before the other tribes were captured by Assyria, the three eastern tribes fell into the hands of the Assyrians and were carried off into exile. The Chronicler leaves no doubt that this happened because of their idolatry.