1 CHRONICLES LESSON 10


     We will begin this lesson in I Chronicles 7:1 "Now the sons of
Issachar [were], Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four."

     These genealogies are dealing with one tribe at a time. Some of
them have more to do with the direct genealogy that leads to Jesus
than others, however. "Issachar" means hire, or he is hired. Issachar
was Jacobs fifth son by Leah. Puah is called Phuvah elsewhere, and
Jashub is sometimes called Job. The number of fighting men of Tola in
David's time were 22,600. This shows this was not an insignificant
family. There is nothing more than what we read here known about Puah.
The Jashubites were started by Jashub. The Shimronites were from
Shimrom, here.

     I Chronicles 7:2 "And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and
Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's
house, [to wit], of Tola: [they were] valiant men of might in their
generations; whose number [was] in the days of David two and twenty
thousand and six hundred."

     Tola seemed to be the most prominent of Issachar's children, as
far as their involvement with the other tribes. In 2 Samuel chapter 24
verses 1 through 17, there is a little more information on the sons of
Tola.

     I Chronicles 7:3 "And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of
Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them
chief men."

     Izrahiah and his four children are all included in the five. This
just means that Izrahiah was a chief man, as well as his sons.
"Izrahiah" means Jehovah will bring forth.

     I Chronicles 7:4 "And with them, by their generations, after the
house of their fathers, [were] bands of soldiers for war, six and
thirty thousand [men]: for they had many wives and sons."

     This 36,000 men were in addition to the men of Tola. These are
from the family of Uzzi. The explanation of why they had more
soldiers, is in the verse above itself. They had more wives and
children than Tola did.

     I Chronicles 7:5 "And their brethren among all the families of
Issachar [were] valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their
genealogies fourscore and seven thousand."

     All of the other sons, along with the sons of Tola and Uzzi, had
87,000 men. This is a little more than 1/10 of all the troops
mentioned in 2 Samuel chapter 24 verses 8 and 9. For our spiritual
study, here, it is not important just exactly how many they were. It
is important to know that they grew, and became a strong tribe.

     I Chronicles 7:6   "[The sons] of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and
Jediael, three."

     Benjamin was the son of Jacob and Rachel. He was the younger
brother of Joseph. Bela, the first son of Benjamin, was the father of
the Beliates. Becher was one of the sons that came down to Egypt with
his family. It is believed that he married an heiress of the
Ephraimites, and actually began to be counted of Ephraim. "Jediael"
means known of God.

     I Chronicles 7:7 "And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and
Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of [their]
fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies
twenty and two thousand and thirty and four."

     We find that the valour of the men, spoken of in all of these
verses, seems to pertain to their ability to fight. Benjamin's tribe
is spoken of as siding in with Judah, instead of the other ten, when
the ten tribes break away from the twelve. Some believe that these
were not all actual sons, but leaders of the families. That is not an
issue here. We will not belabor the point. We will just assume they
are sons who are heads of the families, and go on.

     I Chronicles 7:8 "And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and
Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and
Anathoth, and Alameth. All these [are] the sons of Becher."
1 Chronicles 7:9 "And the number of them, after their genealogy by
their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of
valour, [was] twenty thousand and two hundred."

     It was not unusual for a man to have 9 sons in the day that this
was speaking of. Sometimes they were by one wife, but in many cases,
they were by many wives. Twenty thousand two hundred speaks of a large
number of men of fighting age. This means the entire family would be
three to four times that many.

     I Chronicles 7:10 "The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons
of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan,
and Tharshish, and Ahishahar." I Chronicles 7:11 "All these the sons
of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour,
[were] seventeen thousand and two hundred [soldiers], fit to go out
for war [and] battle."

     There is very little known of Bilhan, Jeush, or this Benjamin. He
is, probably, the same person as Ahiram, and was father of the
Ahiramites, a clan of Geba. There is little known of Chenaanah,
Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar. From time to time, they were almost
wiped out for the sins they committed. Perhaps, some of this is why
there is very little known of most of their descendents. There is
really no way of knowing who lived and who died, unless the Scripture
is specific about it.

     I Chronicles 7:12 "Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir,
[and] Hushim, the sons of Aher."
     If Ir is the same person as Iri, the son of Bela, then Shuppim is
the great-grandson of Benjamin. Aher is believed by many to be the
same person as Ahiram. Little is known of him.

     I Chronicles 7:13  "The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and
Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah."

     Naphtali was the son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel's maid.  At the
Sinai census, there were 53,400 fighting men. They had dwindled down
to 45,400 at the end of the wilderness wanderings. Jahziel was, also,
spelled Jahzeel. They founded the Jahzeelites. Guni founded the
Gunites. Jezer founded the Jezerites. Shallum was the same as Shillem,
and he founded the Shillemites.

     I Chronicles 7:14  "The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare:
( [but] his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:"

     We have already dealt momentarily with the half tribe of Manasseh
that dwelt on the eastern side of the Jordan. Now, this is primarily
speaking of those on the western side of Jordan. Somehow, the people
are not well separated on which side they lived. They are basically
spoken of as a whole tribe in their genealogy. Many times, when sons
are spoken of, it means grandsons. Ashriel and Asriel are, probably,
the same person. He would be a grandson of Manasseh instead of a son.
It is believed that Manasseh only had one son by his concubine, and
that son was Machir. This Machir founded the Macharites. His son,
Gilead, was father of the Gileadites. Gilead was a man of war.

     I Chronicles 7:15 "And Machir took to wife [the sister] of Huppim
and Shuppim, whose sister's name [was] Maachah;) and the name of the
second [was] Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters."

     Huppim and Shuppim are descended from Benjamin. So this means
that Maachah was of Benjamin, as well. "Zelophehad" means protection
against fear. He was descended from Manasseh through Gilead. He had no
sons, just daughters. In Numbers chapter 27, we read of these
daughters going to Moses and claiming their father's inheritance. The
LORD told Moses to give it to them.

     I Chronicles 7:16 "And Maachah the wife of Machir bare a son, and
she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother [was] Sheresh;
and his sons [were] Ulam and Rakem." I Chronicles 7:17 "And the sons
of Ulam; Bedan. These [were] the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir,
the son of Manasseh."

     These sons and grandsons are very difficult to find anything
about, except what the Scripture says here. There was a man named
Bedan who acted as a judge on one occasion. I am not convinced this
one is the same.

     I Chronicles 7:18 "And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and
Abi-ezer, and Mahalah."

     "Hammoleketh" means queen. It appears, that at one time she
reigned over one portion of Gilead. Gideon descended from her, as
well. Abi-ezer was the son that Gideon was descended from. He was
known as Jeezer, and was the father of the Jeezerites. Mahalah could
be a daughter, or a son, we are not told for sure. The oldest of the
five daughters of Zelophehad had this name, as well.

     I Chronicles 7:19 "And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and
Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam."

     Shemidah and Shemida are the same person. He was the father of
the Shemidates. The only thing I know about Ahian, except what we read
here, is that his name means brotherly. Shechem is mentioned in Joshua
chapter 17 verse 2. He was father of the Shechemites. This Shechem is
nephew to that one. Nothing in addition to what we see here, is known
of Likhi, or Aniam.

     I Chronicles 7:20  "And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered
his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,"
I Chronicles 7:21  "And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and
Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath [that were] born in [that] land
slew, because they came down to take away their cattle."

     Ephraim is the brother of Manasseh. His name means double fruit.
He received the right hand blessing of the favored son. He was the
father of the Ephraimites, sometimes called the Ephrathites. The
statement given above is about all we know of Shuthelah, Bered,
Tahath, Eladah, Tahath, Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. When they
came down to Goshen to plunder the cattle, they were killed by the men
of Goshen.

     I Chronicles 7:22 "And Ephraim their father mourned many days,
and his brethren came to comfort him." I Chronicles 7:23  "And when he
went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his
name Beriah, because it went evil with his house."

     It is terrible grief that a father feels at the loss of a son. In
this case, it was all of his sons. In the battle mentioned in verse
21, the loss had been so great that the men of Ephraim appeared to be
destroyed, and there would be no heir. This is saying that God allowed
Ephraim to have another son. "Beriah" can mean in evil, or a gift. It
is strange, but both things would fit this son.

     I Chronicles 7:24 "(And his daughter [was] Sherah, who built
Beth-horon the nether, and the upper, and Uzzen-sherah.)"

     "Sherah" means kinswoman. This, probably, means that she was a
descendent of Ephraim, not a daughter in the truest sense. Beth-horon
lay on the boundary of Ephraim and Benjamin. Uzzen-shera is in the
same area. Since this was in an area of a pass, one city was on the
rim and one was in the valley.

     I Chronicles 7:25 "And Rephah [was] his son, also Resheph, and
Telah his son, and Tahan his son," I Chronicles 7:26 "Laadan his son,
Ammihud his son, Elishama his son," I Chronicles 7:27 "Non his son,
Jehoshuah his son." I Chronicles 7:28  "And their possessions and
habitations [were], Beth-el and the towns thereof, and eastward
Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and
the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:"

     These sons are the descendents of Ephraim. His lineage will
continue on through them. The towns listed, here, are the cities of
Israel. Beth-el will be one of the cities where the golden calf is
erected in services. Naaran is a city between Beth-el and Jericho.
Gezer is 18 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Shechem is mentioned 62
times in the Old Testament. It is, possibly, a city located on a
mountain ridge. It was one of the first places Abraham came to in this
land. The name "Shechem" means shoulder, or ridge.

     I Chronicles 7:29 "And by the borders of the children of
Manasseh, Beth-shean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and
her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph
the son of Israel."

     Taanach was apportioned to the western half of Manasseh. This
city, along with Megiddo, were in the area where the great battle of
Armageddon is supposed to take place. It is near the Mediterranean
Sea. It is on the western side of the Jordan, where most of the
promised land lay. "Dor" means dwelling. About all we know of it, is
that it was an ancient city of the Canaanites. The children of Joseph,
here, is speaking of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

     I Chronicles 7:30  "The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and
Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister."

     The tribe of Asher has very little genealogy. Imnah is the same
as Jimnah in Genesis chapter 46 verse 17. Isuah is the same as Ishuah,
from the same Scripture. Ishuai is the same as Isui. Beriah is the
same in both Scriptures. Their sister, Serah, is the same, also.

     I Chronicles 7:31 "And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel,
who [is] the father of Birzavith."

     Beriah's descendents were called Berites in Numbers. Heber's
descendents were called Heberites in Numbers. Birzavith is, possibly,
a place Malchiel fathered, not a person.

     I Chronicles 7:32 "And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and
Hotham, and Shua their sister."

     Hotham is, possibly, the same as Helem, who was father of two of
David's valiant men, Jehiel and Shama.

     I Chronicles 7:33 " And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal,
and Ashvath. These [are] the children of Japhlet."

     There is very little known of these sons.

     I Chronicles 7:34 "And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah,
Jehubbah, and Aram."

     "Shamer" means preserved. The only thing that is known of these
sons, is that they lived a little over 1,400 years before the birth of
Christ.

     I Chronicles 7:35 "And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and
Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal." I Chronicles 7:36 "The sons of Zophah;
Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah," I Chronicles
7:37 "Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and
Beera." I Chronicles 7:38 "And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and
Pispah, and Ara." I Chronicles 7:39 "And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and
Haniel, and Rezia."

     These sons and grandsons are a bit obscure. There is very little
known of them from this point on.

     I Chronicles 7:40 "All these [were] the children of Asher, heads
of [their] father's house, choice [and] mighty men of valour, chief of
the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were
apt to the war [and] to battle [was] twenty and six thousand men."

     The tribe of Asher is not prominent throughout the Bible, but
they are mentioned in the book of Revelation. The following is a
prophecy that was spoken over Asher. Deuteronomy 33:24  "And of Asher
he said, [Let] Asher [be] blessed with children; let him be acceptable
to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil."  They are spoken of
as the tribe of Aser in Revelation. At the time of the verse 40 above,
we see 26,000 men of war in their tribe.

























                      1 Chronicles 10 Questions


1.  What does "Issachar" mean?
2.  Who were the mother and father of Issachar?
3.  What is another name for Puah?
4.  What is another name for Jashub?
5.  How many fighting men did Tola have in the time of David?
6.  Name the sons of Tola.
7.  Where can you read more on Tola's sons?
8.  What does "Izrahiah" mean?
9.  How many men of war did the tribe of Issachar have, together?
10. Who were the sons of Benjamin?
11. Who were the parents of Benjamin?
12. What was the valour, in verse 7, speaking of?
13. When the fighting men are numbered twenty two thousand, how do we
    know how many are in the entire tribe?
14. Aher is believed to be the same as ________.
15. Who were the parents of Naphtali?
16. How many were counted of Naphtali at the Sinai census?
17. Many times when they speak of someone as a son, he is actually a
    ____________.
18. Who was supposedly the only son of Manasseh?
19. Gilead was the father of the _____________.
20. The wife of Machir was sister to whom?
21. What is interesting about Zelophehad?
22. What do these daughters petition Moses for?
23. What does "Hammoleketh" mean?
24. Who was father of the Shechemites?
25. Who were the sons of Ephraim?
26. What happened to them?
27. After their death, what son did God give him?
28. What did Sherah build?
29. What does the name "Shechem" mean?
30. Who were the sons of Asher?
31. How many men of war were there of Asher, when this was written?
32. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 24.
33. The tribe of Asher is called ________ in the book of Revelation.