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1 Crónicas 5

VBL · Chapter 5/29

1Los hijos de Rubén, el primogénito de Israel. (Aunque era el primogénito, su primogenitura fue entregada a los hijos de José hijo de Israel porque había profanado el lecho de su padre. Por eso Rubén no figura en la genealogía según la primogenitura,

2y aunque Judá llegó a ser el más fuerte de sus hermanos y de él salió un gobernante, la primogenitura le pertenecía a José).

3Los hijos de Rubén el primogénito de Israel: Hanoc, Falú, Hezrón y Carmi.

4Los hijos de Joel: Semaías su hijo, Gog su hijo, Simei su hijo,

5Miqueas su hijo, Reaías su hijo, Baal su hijo,

6y Beera su hijo, el que Tiglat-Pileser el rey de Asiria llevó al exilio. Él (Beera) era un líder de los rubenitas.

7Los parientes de Beera son, según sus registros genealógicos: por familia Jeiel (el jefe de familia), Zacarías,

8y Bela de Azaz, hijo de Sema, hijo de Joel. Ellos habitaban en la zona que iba desde Aroer hasta Nebo y Baal Meón.

9Por el lado oriental se extendieron por la tierra hasta el borde del desierto que continúa hasta el río Éufrates, porque sus rebaños habían crecido mucho en Galaad.

10En los tiempos de Saúl fueron a la guerra contra los agarenos, y los derrotaron. Se apoderaron de los lugares donde habían vivido los agarenos en todas las regiones al este de Galaad.

11Junto a ellos, los descendientes de Gad vivían en Basa, hasta Salca.

12Joel (el jefe de familia), Safam (el segundo), y Janai y Safat, en Basán.

13Sus parientes, según la familia, eran: Miguel, Mesulán, Sabá, Jorai, Jacán, Zía y Éber, siendo un total de siete.

14Estos fueron Los hijos de Abihail, hijo de Huri, hijo de Jaroa, hijo de Galaad, hijo de Miguel, hijo de Jesisai, hijo de Jahdo, hijo de Buz.

15Ahi hijo de Abdiel, hijo de Guni, era su jefe de familia.

16Vivían en Galaad, en Basán y sus ciudades, y en los pastizales de Sarón hasta sus fronteras.

17Todos ellos fueron registrados en la genealogía durante el tiempo de Jotam, rey de Judá, y de Jeroboam, rey de Israel.

18La tribu de Rubén, la tribu de Gad y la media tribu de Manasés tenían 44.760 guerreros fuertes y listos para la batalla, capaces de usar escudos, espadas y arcos.

19Fueron a la guerra contra los agarenos, los jetureos, los nafiseos y los nodabitas.

20Recibieron ayuda en la lucha contra estos enemigos porque invocaron a Dios durante las batallas. Así pudieron derrotar a los agarenos y a todos los que estaban con ellos. Dios respondió a sus oraciones porque confiaron en él.

21Capturaron el ganado de sus enemigos: cincuenta mil camellos, doscientas cincuenta mil ovejas y dos mil asnos. También capturaron a cien mil personas,

22y muchas otras murieron porque la batalla era de Dios. Se apoderaron de la tierra y vivieron allí hasta el exilio.

23La media tribu de Manasés había crecido mucho. Vivían en la tierra desde Basán hasta Baal Hermón, (también conocida como Senir y Monte Hermón).

24Estos eran los jefes de familia: Efer, Isi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremías, Hodavías y Jahdiel. Eran fuertes guerreros, hombres famosos, jefes de sus familias.

25Pero fueron infieles al Dios de sus antepasados. Se prostituyeron siguiendo a los dioses de los pueblos de la tierra, los que Dios había destruido antes que ellos.

26Así que el Dios de Israel animó a Pul, rey de Asiria, (también conocido como Tiglat-Pileser, rey de Asiria), para que invadiera la tierra. Llevó al exilio a los rubenitas, a los gaditas y a la media tribu de Manasés. Los llevó a Halah, a Habor, a Hara y al río de Gozán, donde permanecen hasta el día de hoy.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The genealogies of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh are listed — the tribes that settled east of the Jordan River. The chapter explains why Reuben, though Jacob's firstborn, lost the right of the firstborn, and tells how these tribes were carried into exile by Assyria.

Explanation

The chapter clarifies an important detail of Jacob's story: Reuben, though the eldest son, lost the right of the firstborn for having committed a grave sin against his father (recorded in Genesis 35), and that privilege was transferred to the descendants of Joseph, though the royal line went to Judah. The tribes east of the Jordan lived more exposed to attack, and the text acknowledges with spiritual honesty that their fall into Assyrian exile happened because 'they trespassed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land.' It is a reminder that spiritual choices, not just military strength, determined the fate of these communities.

Fun facts

  • The mention of Beerah, a Reubenite leader carried captive by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, is confirmed by Assyrian historical records that mention military campaigns against this region around 733 BC.
  • The tribes east of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) were historically the first to be carried into exile, decades before the fall of the rest of the Northern Kingdom, since they were geographically more exposed to Assyrian invasions coming from the east.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Crónicas 5:1Reuben was Jacob’s first son, but he lost that place of honor for lying with one of his own father’s wives — the episode is in Genesis. Because of this, the birthright ends up split: the practical blessing goes to the sons of Joseph, and political leadership goes to Judah, from whom David comes; no single tribe got the whole package.
  2. 1 Crónicas 5:2This explains why Reuben’s birthright is split in two: political leadership goes to Judah, from whom David comes, but the formal title of firstborn — which carried the right to a double inheritance — stays with Joseph.
  3. 1 Crónicas 5:3The four direct sons of Reuben, the lost firstborn: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi — the starting point of this tribe’s genealogy before it narrows down to one specific family.
  4. 1 Crónicas 5:4A father-to-son chain begins from Joel — Shemaiah, Gog, Shimei — names that exist only here, setting the stage to reach a better-known leader of the tribe.
  5. 1 Crónicas 5:5The chain continues for three more generations — Micah, Reaia, Baal — until it reaches the next name, which carries an important historical note.
  6. 1 Crónicas 5:6Beerah, chief of the Reubenites, is carried captive by Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria — the first concrete mention in the chapter of what will become the fate of this entire tribe, centuries before the final fall of Judah.
  7. 1 Crónicas 5:7After following a single line down to the captivity, the text turns back and lists the relatives of this same branch, with Jeiel and Zechariah as heads of family.
  8. 1 Crónicas 5:8Bela is described as living in a strip of territory running from Aroer to Nebo and Baal-meon — names of cities on the east side of the Jordan, the land that fell to Reuben.
  9. 1 Crónicas 5:9The Reubenites spread eastward, almost as far as the Euphrates River, simply because their cattle had multiplied too much for the land of Gilead — a very practical reason for a territorial expansion.
  10. 1 Crónicas 5:10In the days of King Saul, the Reubenites make war on the Hagarites and win, occupying their tents throughout the eastern part of Gilead — one more quiet territorial conquest within the list.
  11. 1 Crónicas 5:11On the other side, in the land of Bashan as far as Salchah, live the sons of Gad — the list now shifts tribes, showing the two neighboring peoples side by side in the territory east of the Jordan.
  12. 1 Crónicas 5:12The leaders of Gad in this region: Joel as chief, Shapham as second, and Jaanai and Shaphat remaining in the part of Bashan — a leadership structure divided by area.
  13. 1 Crónicas 5:13Seven relatives of Gad, organized by family — one more group of names that serves to record who belonged to this specific line.
  14. 1 Crónicas 5:14A rare genealogical chain, climbing seven generations at once up to an ancestor named Buz — it shows the chronicler’s care in documenting the full root before speaking of the present.
  15. 1 Crónicas 5:15Ahi, grandson of Abdiel, is named as chief of the house of his fathers — one more specific name of leadership within the great clan of Gad.
  16. 1 Crónicas 5:16Gad’s territory spreads across Gilead, Bashan, and their surroundings, reaching all the way to the fields of Sharon — a surprisingly wide grazing area for a single tribe.
  17. 1 Crónicas 5:17The census of these families is dated by two kings at once, Jotham of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel — a way of pinning down the exact time using the rulers of the two kingdoms, already divided.
  18. 1 Crónicas 5:18Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh together muster almost forty-five thousand men of war, trained with shield, sword, and bow — the picture of a considerable military force in the lands east of the Jordan.
  19. 1 Crónicas 5:19These tribes go to war against the Hagarites and other neighboring Arab peoples, Jetur, Nephish, and Nodab — descendants of Ishmael, according to the genealogy in Genesis.
  20. 1 Crónicas 5:20The victory comes because, in the middle of the battle, they cry out to God and trust in Him — the text makes clear that divine help, not just military strength, is the real reason for the victory over the Hagarites.
  21. 1 Crónicas 5:21The text says they cried out to God in the middle of the battle against the Hagarites, and that is why they won — and right after come huge numbers of animals and prisoners taken as plunder. Such high numbers are common in this kind of war account in Chronicles, and scholars still debate today how to read certain Hebrew counting words in ancient texts like this one.
  22. 1 Crónicas 5:22Many enemies fall dead because, according to the text, “the war was of God” — and the tribes east of the Jordan go on living in these conquered lands until the day, centuries later, when they are carried into captivity.
  23. 1 Crónicas 5:23The half tribe of Manasseh occupies an even larger territory, from Bashan to Mount Hermon, and the text records that this part of the tribe grew considerably in this region.
  24. 1 Crónicas 5:24The heads of family of the half tribe of Manasseh — seven names described as valiant and famous men — close out the leadership picture of the eastern tribes before the chapter turns to the reason for their fall.
  25. 1 Crónicas 5:25Here comes the theological turning point of the chapter: these tribes abandon the God of their ancestors and take up worshiping the gods of the peoples God had destroyed to make room for them — the sin the next verse is already about to punish.
  26. 1 Crónicas 5:26The tribes on the east side of the Jordan — Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh — are the first of Israel to be carried away, by the Assyrians, decades before the fall of the southern kingdom. The text ties this directly to the religious unfaithfulness of these tribes, a pattern of cause and effect that Chronicles repeats several times throughout the book.

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