1 Chronicles 7

This chapter continues the family lists of Israel’s tribes, covering Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim and Asher. Again and again it counts the fighting men, showing how strong each tribe became. A few small stories break through the names, such as Ephraim’s grief over his sons and the line that leads to Joshua.

1 Chronicles 7:1

The list begins with Issachar, one of Jacob’s twelve sons. Four sons are named. The chronicler wants God’s people to remember where they came from, and that every tribe had a place in the nation’s story.

BSA: Issachar (“there is recompense”): The name means something like reward, a reminder that each tribe’s beginning was a gift of God.

See also: Genesis 30:18.

1 Chronicles 7:2

Tola’s six sons headed their families. In David’s day the tribe’s descendants counted 22,600 fighting men. These numbers show how a family grew into a strong people under God’s blessing.

BSA: mighty men (“strong, valiant warriors”): These were proven, capable soldiers, not just men of fighting age.

Hebrew: גִּבּוֹרֵי חַיִל (gibbôrê ḥayil, H1368) — “mighty men of strength or valor.” The phrase joins the word for a hero with the word for strength or substance. It describes men of ability and courage, and is used often in this book.

1 Chronicles 7:3

The line narrows to Uzzi’s son Izrahiah and his four sons. All five are called chiefs, so this was a family of leaders. The chronicler remembers faithful households, not only large ones.

BSA: chiefs (“leaders, heads, princes”): These men held real authority in the tribe, not just a family name.

1 Chronicles 7:4-5

Issachar’s army is counted at 36,000 in this line, and 87,000 across all its clans. The text says that many wives and children explain the numbers. A large family brought great strength to the tribe.

BSA: kinsmen (“relatives, brethren”): The wider clans of Issachar stood beside this family as one people.

Hebrew: גְּדוּדֵי (gedûdê, H1416) — “bands, troops.” This word often means a company of soldiers ready to move out. The picture is an organized force that was ready for service, not just a crowd of men.

1 Chronicles 7:6

The list turns to Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob, and names three sons. Benjamin’s tribe is listed again in other chapters. Here the focus is on its families and its soldiers.

See also: Genesis 46:21.

1 Chronicles 7:7

Bela’s five sons were heads of families, and together their line had 22,034 warriors on record. The careful exact number shows that the lists came from real registers kept by the tribe.

BSA: heads (“leaders, chiefs”): Each of these men led a household that was part of the wider clan.

1 Chronicles 7:8-9

Becher’s nine sons are named, and their families were recorded by their heads, with 20,200 warriors. Anathoth appears here as a personal name. Later it became the name of a Benjamite town, the home of the prophet Jeremiah.

BSA: Abijah (“my Father is Jehovah”): Names like this show that these families gave the Lord a place in their homes.

See also: Jeremiah 1:1.

1 Chronicles 7:10-11

Jediael’s line goes through Bilhan and his seven sons, who were family heads and warriors. The total is 17,200 men fit for battle. Another Benjamite name here is Ehud, which was also the name of an earlier deliverer in Israel.

BSA: Ahishahar (“brother of the dawn, one who brings light”): The name pictures a new day breaking, a hopeful name for a child.

See also: Judges 3:15.

1 Chronicles 7:12

This short verse names a few more clans linked to Benjamin. It is very brief, and we do not know how they connect to the earlier names. The chronicler preserved even small family records, because no family was forgotten in Israel.

1 Chronicles 7:13

Naphtali’s list is very short, only four sons. They descend from Bilhah, the servant woman of Rachel who bore children to Jacob. God’s promise reached the tribes of every mother, not only the favored wives.

BSA: Bilhah (“a concubine of Jacob, meaning troubled”): Her name hints at the hardship of her place in the family, yet her children became a tribe of Israel.

See also: Genesis 30:7-8.

1 Chronicles 7:14

The chronicler turns to Manasseh, Joseph’s elder son. The verse mentions an Aramean concubine and Machir, whose name later became tied to Gilead, the hill country east of the Jordan. The record is open about family complexities.

BSA: concubine (“a woman living with a man but not his wife”): She had a lower, secondary standing in the household, yet her children were still counted in the tribe.

Hebrew: פִּילַגְשׁוֹ (pilagshô, H6370) — “his concubine, secondary wife.” The word describes a recognized household relationship in the ancient world, not a stranger. Her sons were real heirs in the family record.

1 Chronicles 7:15

Machir married into the Huppite and Shuppite families, and his sister was Maacah. The verse also names Zelophehad, who had only daughters. Those daughters are remembered for asking Moses for a share in the land, and God said their request was right.

BSA: daughters (“female children, inheritors”): The gloss points to what made them famous, that they were allowed to inherit their father’s land.

See also: Numbers 27:1-8.

1 Chronicles 7:16-17

Maacah bore Peresh, and his sons are listed down to Bedan. The verse ends by tying these names back to Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh. A mother’s name is kept here, a sign that she was respected in the family record.

1 Chronicles 7:18-19

A sister named Hammolecheth bore three sons, and then the sons of Shemida are listed. Some of these names also belong to places, which shows how clan names became town names in the land. Each name is a small trace of a real family.

1 Chronicles 7:20-21

The line of Ephraim runs through several generations. Then comes a sad event: two of his descendants, Ezer and Elead, were killed by the men of Gath when they went down to steal their livestock. Their raid ended in death.

BSA: natives (“men born in the land”): The men of Gath were defending land that was their birthplace and home.

Hebrew: הֲרָגוּם (hărāgûm, H2026) — “killed them.” The verb means to kill violently. It is plain about the cost, and there is no softening of their raid’s end.

1 Chronicles 7:22

Ephraim mourned for many days, and his relatives came to comfort him. Grief takes time, and God gives people family to sit beside them in it. The verse shows that sorrow and comfort go together in the life of God’s people.

BSA: mourned (“to lament, cried out in sorrow”): His grief was open and loud, not hidden. comfort (“show pity, sympathize with”): His relatives came to share his sorrow, not just to give advice.

See also: Isaiah 40:1.

1 Chronicles 7:23

Ephraim had another son and named him Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house. The name keeps the memory of the loss. Yet a new son in the same house is a quiet sign that life and hope continued.

BSA: tragedy (“evil, adversity, affliction”): The word points to real calamity that struck the family. Beriah (“with a friend, in a time of trouble”): The name’s sound recalls the trouble in which he was born.

Hebrew: בְּרָעָה (bĕrāʿâ, H7451) — “in evil, in misfortune.” The name Beriah sounds like this phrase. Naming him this way tied the child to the pain of the family’s loss.

1 Chronicles 7:24

A woman, Sheerah, is remembered as a builder of towns: Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. It is unusual for a woman to be named as a founder in these records. Her work lasted long after her day.

BSA: built (“established, constructed”): She not only raised buildings but helped found settlements that lasted.

1 Chronicles 7:25-27

The line of Ephraim runs on through many sons until it reaches Elishama, then Nun, then Joshua. This is the Joshua who served Moses and led Israel into the land. The long list shows God preparing the man He would use.

BSA: Joshua (“Jehoshua, a leader who succeeded Moses”): The line of names leads to one of the great leaders of Israel.

See also: Numbers 13:8; Joshua 1:1-2.

1 Chronicles 7:28

These verses list places where the sons of Joseph settled, including Bethel, Gezer and Shechem, with their villages. These were old and important places in Israel’s history. The land was a gift handed down to families.

BSA: holdings (“possessions, inheritances”): The land was received as an inheritance from God, not just taken.

Hebrew: אֲחֻזָּתָם (ʾăḥuzzātām, H272) — “their possession.” The word means land held and kept in the family. It carries the thought of a lasting hold on what God gave.

1 Chronicles 7:29

Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo and Dor, with their villages, lay along the borders of Manasseh. The sons of Joseph, whom the text calls the sons of Israel’s son, lived in these towns. Megiddo and the others stood on main roads and were important places.

BSA: villages (“daughter-towns, surrounding cities”): Each main town had smaller towns around it, like children dependent on a mother.

See also: Joshua 17:11.

1 Chronicles 7:30

The list of Asher begins with four sons and a sister named Serah. A woman is again named in a tribal record. Asher was one of the sons of Jacob born to a servant woman, Zilpah.

See also: Genesis 46:17.

1 Chronicles 7:31-32

Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malchiel, and Heber’s family is named, including a sister, Shua. Names are kept in order, one generation after another. Each person here lived and was known to God.

1 Chronicles 7:33-35

More sons follow: the sons of Japhlet, of Shemer, and of his brother Helem. Most of these men are known only by name. The chronicler wants every branch of Asher’s family to be remembered.

BSA: brother (“close relative, male sibling”): The record keeps track of brothers, so each family line is clear.

1 Chronicles 7:36-39

The sons of Zophah, Jether and Ulla are listed. Zophah alone has eleven sons, so this branch grew large. Though we know little about them, their names are written down, and God is the one who knows every name.

BSA: Hanniel (“favored of God, having God’s nature”): The name speaks of God’s grace resting on a person.

1 Chronicles 7:40

The chapter closes on Asher’s families. They were family heads, choice men, brave warriors and chiefs, and 26,000 were fit for battle. The tribe was strong and well organized, a sign that God had kept His promise to multiply Jacob’s family.

BSA: choice (“select, noble”): These men were picked out for their quality, not merely counted.

Hebrew: בְּרוּרִים (bĕrûrîm, H1305) — “chosen, selected, pure.” The word means picked out after sorting, like grain with the chaff removed. It describes the best men of the tribe.

See also: Genesis 22:17.