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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [First Chronicles, Chapter V].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T C H R O N I C L E S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. V.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter gives us some account of the two tribes and a half that
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were seated on the other side Jordan.
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I. Of Reuben,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:1-10">ver. 1-10</A>.
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II. Of Gad,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:11-17">ver. 11-17</A>.
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III. Of the half-tribe of Manasseh,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:23,24">ver. 23, 24</A>.
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IV. Concerning all three acting in conjunction we are told,
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1. How they conquered the Hagarites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:18-22">ver. 18-22</A>.
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2. How they were, at length, themselves conquered, and made captives,
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by the king of Assyria, because they had forsaken God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:25,26">ver. 25, 26</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Genealogies.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 715.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he <I>was</I>
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the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his
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birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel:
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and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
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2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him <I>came</I> the
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chief ruler; but the birthright <I>was</I> Joseph's:)
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3 The sons, <I>I say,</I> of Reuben the firstborn of Israel <I>were,</I>
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Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
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4 The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his
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son,
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5 Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,
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6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried
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away <I>captive:</I> he <I>was</I> prince of the Reubenites.
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7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of
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their generations was reckoned, <I>were</I> the chief, Jeiel, and
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Zechariah,
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8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel,
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who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon:
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9 And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the
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wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were
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multiplied in the land of Gilead.
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10 And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites,
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who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout
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all the east <I>land</I> of Gilead.
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11 And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land
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of Bashan unto Salchah:
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12 Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and
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Shaphat in Bashan.
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13 And their brethren of the house of their fathers <I>were,</I>
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Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and
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Zia, and Heber, seven.
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14 These <I>are</I> the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son
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of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of
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Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;
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15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house
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of their fathers.
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16 And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in
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all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.
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17 All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham
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king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an extract out of the genealogies,</P>
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<P>
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I. Of the tribe of Reuben, where we have,</P>
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<P>
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1. The reason why this tribe is thus postponed. It is confessed that
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Reuben was the first-born of Israel, and, upon that account, might
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challenge the precedency; but he forfeited his birthright by defiling
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his father's concubine, and was, for that, sentenced <I>not to
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excel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:4">Gen. xlix. 4</A>.
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Sin lessens men, thrusts them down from their excellency.
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Seventh-commandment sins especially leave an indelible stain upon men's
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names and families, a reproach which time will not wipe away. Reuben's
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seed, to the last, bear the disgrace of Reuben's sin. Yet, though that
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tribe was degraded, it was not discarded or disinherited. The sullying
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of the honour of an Israelite is not the losing of his happiness.
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Reuben loses his birthright, yet it does not devolve upon Simeon the
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next in order; for it was typical, and therefore must attend, not the
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course of nature, but the choice of grace. The advantages of the
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birthright were dominion and a double portion. Reuben having forfeited
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these, it was thought too much that both should be transferred to any
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one, and therefore they were divided.
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(1.) Joseph had the double portion; for two tribes descended from him,
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Ephraim and Manasseh, each of whom had a child's part (for so Jacob by
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faith blessed them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:21,Ge+48:15,22">Heb. xi. 21; Gen. xlviii. 15, 22</A>),
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and each of those tribes was as considerable, and made as good a
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figure, as any one of the twelve, except Judah. But,
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(2.) Judah had the dominion; on him the dying patriarch entailed the
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sceptre,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+49:10">Gen. xlix. 10</A>.</A>
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Of him came the chief ruler, David first, and, in the fulness of time,
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Messiah the Prince,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mic+5:2">Mic. v. 2</A>.
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This honour was secured to Judah, though the birthright was Joseph's;
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and, having this, he needed not envy Joseph the double portion.</P>
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<P>
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2. The genealogy of the princes of this tribe, the chief family of it
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(many, no doubt, being omitted), to Beerah, who was head of this clan
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when the king of Assyria carried them captive,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:4-6"><I>v.</I> 4-6</A>.
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Perhaps he is mentioned as prince of the Reubenites at that time
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because he did not do his part to prevent the captivity.</P>
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<P>
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3. The enlargement of the coasts of this tribe. They increasing, and
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their cattle being multiplied, they crowded out their neighbours the
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Hagarites, and extended their conquests, though not to the river
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Euphrates, yet to the wilderness which abutted upon that river,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>.
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Thus God did for his people as he promised them: he cast out the enemy
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from before them by little and little, and gave them their land as they
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had occasion for it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+23:30">Exod. xxiii. 30</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. Of the tribe of Gad. Some great families of that tribe are here
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named
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
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seven that were the children of Abihail, whose pedigree is carried
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upwards from the son to the father
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>),
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as that
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>,
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is brought downwards from father to son. These genealogies were
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perfected in the days of Jotham king of Judah, but were begun some
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years before, in the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel. What
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particular reason there was for taking these accounts then does not
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appear; but it was just before they were carried away captive by the
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Assyrians, as appears
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+15:29,31">2 Kings xv. 29, 31</A>.
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When the judgments of God were ready to break out against them for
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their wretched degeneracy and apostasy then were they priding
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themselves in their genealogies, that they were the children of the
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covenant; as the Jews, in our Saviour's time, who, when they were ripe
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for ruin, boasted, <I>We have Abraham to our father.</I> Or there might
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be a special providence in it, and a favourable intimation that though
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they were, for the present, cast out, they were not cast off for ever.
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What we design to call for hereafter we keep an inventory of.</P>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Ch5_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Defeat of the Hagarites.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 750.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>18 The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of
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Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and
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to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, <I>were</I> four and forty
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thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
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19 And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and
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Nephish, and Nodab.
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20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were
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delivered into their hand, and all that <I>were</I> with them: for
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they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them;
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because they put their trust in him.
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21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty
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thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of
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asses two thousand, and of men a hundred thousand.
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22 For there fell down many slain, because the war <I>was</I> of
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God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
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23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the
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land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir, and
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unto mount Hermon.
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24 And these <I>were</I> the heads of the house of their fathers,
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even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and
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Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, <I>and</I>
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heads of the house of their fathers.
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25 And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and
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went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God
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destroyed before them.
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26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of
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Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and
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he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and
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the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and
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Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The heads of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that were seated on the other
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side Jordan, are named here,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:23,24"><I>v.</I> 23, 24</A>.
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Their lot, at first, was Bashan only; but afterwards they increased so
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much in wealth and power that they spread far north, even unto Hermon.
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Two things only are here recorded concerning these tribes on the other
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side Jordan, in which they were all concerned. They all shared,</P>
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<P>
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I. In a glorious victory over the Hagarites, so the Ishmaelites were
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now called, to remind them that they were <I>the sons of the
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bond-woman,</I> that was <I>cast out.</I> We are not told when this
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victory was obtained: whether it be the same with that of the
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Reubenites (which is said
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>
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to be <I>in the days of Saul</I>), or whether that success of one of
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these tribes animated and excited the other two to join with them in
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another expedition, is not certain. It seems, though in Saul's time the
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common interests of the kingdom were weak and low, some of the tribes
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that acted separately did well for themselves. We are here told,</P>
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<P>
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1. What a brave army these frontier-tribes brought into the field
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against the Hagarites, 44,000 men and upwards, all strong, and brave,
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and skilful in war, so many effective men, that knew how to manage
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their weapons,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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How much more considerable might Israel have been than they were in the
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time of the judges if all the tribes had acted in conjunction!</P>
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<P>
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2. What course they took to engage God for them: They <I>cried to
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God,</I> and <I>put their trust in him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
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Now they acted as Israelites indeed.
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(1.) As the seed of believing Abraham, they <I>put their trust in
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God.</I> Though they had a powerful army, they relied not on that, but
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on the divine power. They depended on the commission they had from God
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to wage war with their neighbours for the enlarging of their coasts, if
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there was occasion, even with those that were very far off, besides the
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devoted nations. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+20:15">Deut. xx. 15</A>.
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They depended on God's providence to give them success.
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(2.) As the seed of praying Jacob, <I>they cried unto God,</I>
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especially <I>in the battle,</I> when perhaps, at first, they were in
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danger of being overpowered. See the like done,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+13:14">2 Chron. xiii. 14</A>.
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In distress, God expects we should cry to him; he distrains upon us for
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this tribute, this rent. In our spiritual conflicts, we must look up to
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heaven for strength; and it is the believing prayer that will be the
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prevailing prayer.</P>
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<P>
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3. We are told what success they had: <I>God was entreated of them,</I>
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though need drove them to him; so ready is he to hear and answer
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prayer. They were helped against their enemies; for God never yet
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failed any that trusted in him. And then they routed the enemy's army,
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though far superior in number to theirs, slew many
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
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took 100,000 prisoners, enriched themselves greatly with the spoil, and
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settled themselves in their country
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>),
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and all this <I>because the war was of God,</I> undertaken in his fear
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and carried on in a dependence upon him. If the battle be the Lord's,
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there is reason to hope it will be successful. Then we may expect to
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prosper in any enterprise, and then only, when we take God along with
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us.</P>
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<P>
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II. They shared, at length, in an inglorious captivity. Had they kept
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close to God and their duty, they would have continued to enjoy both
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their ancient lot and their new conquests; but they <I>transgressed
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against the God of their fathers,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
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They lay upon the borders, and conversed most with the neighbouring
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nations, by which means they learned their idolatrous usages and
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transmitted the infection to the other tribes; for this God had a
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controversy with them. He was <I>a husband to them,</I> and no marvel
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that his jealousy burnt like fire when they <I>went a whoring after
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other gods.</I> Justly is a bill of divorce given to the adulteress.
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<I>God stirred up the spirit of the kings of Assyria,</I> first one and
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then another, against them, served his own purposes by the designs of
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those ambitious monarchs, employed them to chastise these revolters
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first, and, when that humbled them not, then wholly to <I>root them
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out,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ch+5:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
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These tribes were first placed, and they were first displaced. They
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would have the best land, not considering that it lay most exposed. But
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those who are governed more by sense than by reason or faith in their
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choices may expect to fare accordingly.</P>
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