diff --git a/content/bible_journal/1chronicles_7:1-40.md b/content/bible_journal/1chronicles_7:1-40.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..06e4aea --- /dev/null +++ b/content/bible_journal/1chronicles_7:1-40.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ ++++ +title = "1 Chronicles 7:1–40" +date = "2023-10-24" ++++ + +### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/1Chronicles7.1-40) + +So far, the Chronicler has shown us the lineage of five-and-a-half tribes: Judah, Simeon, Reuben, Gad, half of Manasseh, and Levi. +The other five-and-a-half are shown in chapter seven: Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, Ephraim, Asher, and the other half of Manasseh.. +Unique among the genealogies, some of these tribes have an assessment of their military might, in terms of the number of fighting men they could field. +Issachar in particular had a large army, though it is hard to say if these numbers are a total over the whole time period covered by the source records or just from the height of power, or some other significance. + +Benjamin is given just an overview, but in chapter 8 we will see a more detailed genealogy through King Saul who was from that tribe. +This is similar to the general genealogy of Judah followed by the detailed descendants of King David we saw earlier. + +The tribe of Naphtali is recorded to only one generation here, without explanation or excuse. +They did not die out that early, because Numbers 26:50 lists 45,400 as the number of the tribe of Naphtali, which was neither the largest nor smallest at the time of the conquest of Canaan. +I can only suppose that the historical records were lost or unavailable to the Chronicler when he wrote these things down. + +Manasseh's genealogy includes more names of women than the others. +One reason might be that the daughters of Zelophehad inherited directly from their father because he had no sons. + +Ephraim's history tells how a number of his sons, or possibly descendants were killed by cattle raiders, but he had another son who was able to continue the line. +It is also interesting that Ephraim's granddaughter Sheerah is credited with building not just one settlement, but three of them. +We are also reminded that Joshua, son of Nun, who led the Israelites after Moses's death was also from the tribe of Ephraim. + +Finally, the descendants of Asher are listed. +The Reformation Study Bible has a note saying that the numbers of fighting men here and in chapter 12 seem too high for what we know of the time period. +One option is that "thousand" could be read as "chief", but that doesn't fit the round numbers very well. +Another option is that "thousand" is military jargon for a certain size of unit, like "platoon" or "legion". +Such a term can mean a group of soldiers of an expected, but inexact, size. +This could work, but it is also important to remember that archaeology, like all science, is never finished. +We may make new discoveries that lead us to believe that populations of that time and place were higher than we previously thought, and able to support larger armies. + +* * * + +Every word that You give us is true, even when we are fuzzy in our understanding of some of the details.