1 Chronicles 7 explained: Family Lines of the Northern Tribes

Issachar's large clans (vv. 1-5)

Issachar's family branches are listed with the number of men fit for battle, counted in King David's time. The remark that they had many wives and children explains why this tribe grew so large.

Benjamin and a puzzle (vv. 6-12)

Benjamin's three main family lines are counted for war, and a fuller list follows in the next chapter. Verse 12 is unclear: Aher can mean "another," and since Hushim is called a son of Dan in Genesis, some think the otherwise missing tribe of Dan is hinted at here, though no one is certain.

Naphtali and Manasseh (vv. 13-19)

Naphtali gets only its first generation, perhaps because later records were lost. The Manasseh list is so tangled in the Hebrew that scholars still struggle to trace it, but it recalls Zelophehad, whose daughters won the right to inherit land when there were no sons.

Ephraim's loss and new son (vv. 20-24)

Some of Ephraim's sons were killed in a cattle raid involving men of Gath, and it is unclear who raided whom or exactly when it happened. Ephraim mourned, then named a new son Beriah, which sounds like the Hebrew for "in misfortune," and his daughter Sheerah is remembered for building towns.

Down to Joshua (vv. 25-29)

Ephraim's line leads to Joshua, who led Israel into the land after Moses died. The towns listed were held by Ephraim and Manasseh, the two tribes descended from Joseph.

Asher's leaders (vv. 30-40)

Asher's families are praised as picked warriors and leading men, 26,000 ready for battle. This closes the chapter's survey of these tribes.

Key verse: 1 Chronicles 7:23

Something to think about

Ephraim gave his new son a name that carried the memory of loss; what do you think is gained, or lost, when a new beginning is named after grief?