5And the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. 2For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the [1]prince; but the birthright was Joseph's:) 3the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son; 5Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son; 6Beerah his son, whom [2]Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the
Ch. V. 1—10. The Genealogy of Reuben.
1. he defiled] Gen. xxxv. 22, xlix. 4.
his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph] Cp. Gen. xlviii. 5, "Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine," words of Jacob which might be interpreted to mean that the rights of the firstborn were to pass from Reuben and Simeon to Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph.
the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright] i.e. though the birthright of Reuben has been given to Joseph, yet the genealogy of Joseph is not to be given before that of Reuben. Ver. 2 intimates that, though Joseph possessed the birthright, Judah had a primacy as supplying the royal family. In this confusion of claims the natural order is followed and the genealogy of Reuben is given first.
2. Judah prevailed above his brethren] Cp. Gen. xlix. 8 (Jacob to Judah) "Thy father's children shall bow down before thee."
the prince] The Heb. word is nāgīd. The immediate reference is to David (Saul being virtually ignored by the Chronicler).
3. the sons of Reuben] The same four names (with one unimportant variation in spelling in A.V.) appear Gen. xlvi. 9; Ex. vi. 14.
Hanoch] the correct spelling of the familiar name Enoch; cp. i. 3.
Hezron, and Carmi] also given as sons of Judah: for Hezron, cp. ii. 5 (note); for Carmi ii. 7, iv. 1.
4. sons of Joel] the connection, if any, with the preceding verse is not known.
6. Beerah . . . captive] The deportation of Beerah is recorded only here, but there is no reason why the tradition should not be historical. The information is of very slight importance in itself, but since there is absolutely no motive to make the Chronicler invent the statement, this is precisely the kind of notice which implies that he had some sources oral or traditional at his command outside the canonical material (see Introd. § 5).
