1 Chronicles 7 is the seventh chapter of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Chronicles in the Old Testament of the ChristianBible.[1][2] The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person or group, designated by modern scholars as "the Chronicler", and had the final shape established in late fifth or fourth century BCE.[3] This chapter contains the genealogies of tribes settled north of Judah: Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim and Asher.[4] It belongs to the section focusing on the list of genealogies from Adam to the lists of the people returning from exile in Babylon (1 Chronicles 1:1 to 9:34).[1]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[6][a]
The whole chapter belongs to an arrangement comprising 1 Chronicles 2:3–8:40 with the king-producing tribes of Judah (David;
2:3–4:43) and Benjamin (Saul; 8:1–40) bracketing the series of lists as the priestly tribe of Levi (6:1–81) anchors the center, in the following order:[11]
"Jashub": from Hebrew: יָשׁ֥וּבyā-shūḇ (as the reading (qere); in writing: ישיבyā-shîḇ)[14] is written as "Job" in Genesis 46:13. Rashi notes that Job was the original name, but when the brothers settled themselves (נִתְיַשְּׁבוּ) to learn Torah (cf. 1 Chronicles 12: 33), “of the sons of Issachar, who possessed understanding of the times,” he merited, so was named Jashub.[15]
"Puah" (Hebrew: פוּאָ֛ה): written as Puvvah (פֻוָּ֖ה) in Genesis 46:13, and Puvah (פֻוָ֕ה) in Numbers 26:23.[16]
And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand.[17]
"Reckoned": used only in Book of Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles, indicating the period when this list is compiled.[18]
This is one of varying Benjamin's genealogies in Chronicles and other Old Testament documents, with one uniting element: Bela is Benjamin's firstborn son (cf. Genesis 46:21; Numbers 26:38; 1 Chronicles 8:1).[18] A longer genealogy is listed in 1 Chronicles 8:1–28.[19]
The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three.[20]
"Becher": from Hebrew: בכר;[21] with different vowels would mean "firstborn", so the original reading in Genesis 46:21 and here ("Bela and Becher and"; Hebrew: בלעובכרו) may have been Bela bechoro (Hebrew: בלעבכרו), "Bela his firstborn,"[22] as in 1 Chronicles 8:1.[23]
The list is difficult to understand because of possible transmission corruption in some places since it differs from older source (Numbers 26:29–34).[18] It also parallels Joshua 17:1–6.[27]
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.[28]
"Zelophehad had daughters": Five daughters are named and play a significant role in Numbers 27:1–11 and 36:1–12 for the reinterpretation of laws of heredity which traditionally was only restricted to sons.[27]
The first part of Asher's genealogy parallels Genesis 46:17 and Numbers 26:44-7, but the rest has no other parallel and contains far more non-Hebrew names than other biblical documents.[18]
Ackroyd, Peter R (1993). "Chronicles, Books of". In Metzger, Bruce M; Coogan, Michael D (eds.). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press. pp. 113–116. ISBN978-0195046458.
Gilbert, Henry L (1897). "The Forms of the Names in 1 Chronicles 1-7 Compared with Those in Parallel Passages of the Old Testament". The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures. 13 (4). Liturgical Press: 279–298. JSTOR527992.
Mabie, Frederick (2017). "I. The Chronicler's Genealogical Survey of All Israel". In Longman III, Tremper; Garland, David E (eds.). 1 and 2 Chronicles. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Zondervan. pp. 267–308. ISBN978-0310531814. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Codex Sinaiticus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
