Bible Commentaries
1 Chronicles 7

Introduction

First Chronicles Chapter 7

1 Chronicles 7:1 "Now the sons of Issachar [were], Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimrom, four."

These genealogies are dealing with one tribe at a time. Some of them have more to do with the direct genealogy that leads to Jesus than others, however. "Issachar" means hire, or he is hired. Issachar was Jacobs fifth son by Leah. Puah is called Phuvah elsewhere, and Jashub is sometimes called Job. The number of fighting men of Tola in David’s time were 22,600. This shows this was not an insignificant family. There is nothing more than what we read here known about Puah. The Jashubites were started by Jashub. The Shimronites were from Shimrom, here.

1 Chronicles 7:2 "And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house, [to wit], of Tola: [they were] valiant men of might in their generations; whose number [was] in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred."

Tola seemed to be the most prominent of Issachar’s children, as far as their involvement with the other tribes. In 2 Samuel 24:1-17, there is a little more information on the sons of Tola.

1 Chronicles 7:3 "And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men."

Izrahiah and his four children are all included in the five. This just means that Izrahiah was a chief man, as well as his sons. "Izrahiah" means Jehovah will bring forth.

1 Chronicles 7:4 "And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, [were] bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand [men]: for they had many wives and sons."

This 36,000 men were in addition to the men of Tola. These are from the family of Uzzi. The explanation of why they had more soldiers, is in the verse above itself. They had more wives and children than Tola did.

1 Chronicles 7:5 "And their brethren among all the families of Issachar [were] valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand."

All of the other sons, along with the sons of Tola and Uzzi, had 87,000 men. This is a little more than 1/10 of all the troops mentioned in 2 Samuel 24:8-9. For our spiritual study, here, it is not important just exactly how many they were. It is important to know that they grew, and became a strong tribe.

1 Chronicles 7:6 "[The sons] of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three."

Benjamin was the son of Jacob and Rachel. He was the younger brother of Joseph. Bela, the first son of Benjamin, was the father of the Beliates. Becher was one of the sons that came down to Egypt with his family. It is believed that he married an heiress of the Ephraimites, and actually began to be counted of Ephraim. "Jediael" means known of God.

1 Chronicles 7:7 "And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of [their] fathers, mighty men of valour; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four."

We find that the valour of the men, spoken of in all of these verses, seems to pertain to their ability to fight. Benjamin’s tribe is spoken of as siding in with Judah, instead of the other ten, when the ten tribes break away from the twelve. Some believe that these were not all actual sons, but leaders of the families. That is not an issue here. We will not belabor the point. We will just assume they are sons who are heads of the families, and go on.

1 Chronicles 7:8 "And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these [are] the sons of Becher."

1 Chronicles 7:9 "And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valour, [was] twenty thousand and two hundred."

It was not unusual for a man to have 9 sons in the day that this was speaking of. Sometimes they were by one wife, but in many cases, they were by many wives. Twenty thousand two hundred speaks of a large number of men of fighting age. This means the entire family would be three to four times that many.

1 Chronicles 7:10 "The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar."

1 Chronicles 7:11 "All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, [were] seventeen thousand and two hundred [soldiers], fit to go out for war [and] battle."

There is very little known of Bilhan, Jeush, or this Benjamin. He is, probably, the same person as Ahiram, and was father of the Ahiramites, a clan of Geba. There is little known of Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar. From time to time, they were almost wiped out for the sins they committed. Perhaps, some of this is why there is very little known of most of their descendents. There is really no way of knowing who lived and who died, unless the Scripture is specific about it.

1 Chronicles 7:12 "Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, [and] Hushim, the sons of Aher."

If Ir is the same person as Iri, the son of Bela, then Shuppim is the great-grandson of Benjamin. Aher is believed by many to be the same person as Ahiram. Little is known of him.

1 Chronicles 7:13 "The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah."

Naphtali was the son of Jacob and Bilhah, Rachel’s maid. At the Sinai census, there were 53,400 fighting men. They had dwindled down to 45,400 at the end of the wilderness wanderings. Jahziel was, also, spelled Jahzeel. They founded the Jahzeelites. Guni founded the Gunites. Jezer founded the Jezerites. Shallum was the same as Shillem, and he founded the Shillemites.

1 Chronicles 7:14 "The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bare: ( [but] his concubine the Aramitess bare Machir the father of Gilead:"

We have already dealt momentarily with the half tribe of Manasseh that dwelt on the eastern side of the Jordan. Now, this is primarily speaking of those on the western side of Jordan. Somehow, the people are not well separated on which side they lived. They are basically spoken of as a whole tribe in their genealogy. Many times, when sons are spoken of, it means grandsons. Ashriel and Asriel are, probably, the same person. He would be a grandson of Manasseh instead of a son. It is believed that Manasseh only had one son by his concubine, and that son was Machir. This Machir founded the Macharites. His son, Gilead, was father of the Gileadites. Gilead was a man of war.

1 Chronicles 7:15 "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."

Huppim and Shuppim are descended from Benjamin. So this means that Maachah was of Benjamin, as well. "Zelophehad" means protection against fear. He was descended from Manasseh through Gilead. He had no sons, just daughters. In Numbers 27, we read of these daughters going to Moses and claiming their father’s inheritance. The LORD told Moses to give it to them.

1 Chronicles 7:16 "And Maachah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother [was] Sheresh; and his sons [were] Ulam and Rakem."

1 Chronicles 7:17 "And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These [were] the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh."

These sons and grandsons are very difficult to find anything about, except what the Scripture says here. There was a man named Bedan who acted as a judge on one occasion. I am not convinced this one is the same.

1 Chronicles 7:18 "And his sister Hammoleketh bare Ishod, and Abi-ezer, and Mahalah."

"Hammoleketh" means queen. It appears, that at one time she reigned over one portion of Gilead. Gideon descended from her, as well. Abi-ezer was the son that Gideon was descended from. He was known as Jeezer, and was the father of the Jeezerites. Mahalah could be a daughter, or a son, we are not told for sure. The oldest of the five daughters of Zelophehad had this name, as well.

1 Chronicles 7:19 "And the sons of Shemidah were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam."

Shemidah and Shemida are the same person. He was the father of the Shemidates. The only thing I know about Ahian, except what we read here, is that his name means brotherly. Shechem is mentioned in Joshua 17:2. He was father of the Shechemites. This Shechem is nephew to that one. Nothing in addition to what we see here, is known of Likhi, or Aniam.

1 Chronicles 7:20 "And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,"

1 Chronicles 7:21 "And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath [that were] born in [that] land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle."

Ephraim is the brother of Manasseh. His name means double fruit. He received the right hand blessing of the favored son. He was the father of the Ephraimites, sometimes called the Ephrathites. The statement given above is about all we know of Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eladah, Tahath, Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, and Elead. When they came down to Goshen to plunder the cattle, they were killed by the men of Goshen.

1 Chronicles 7:22 "And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him."

1 Chronicles 7:23 "And when he went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house."

It is terrible grief that a father feels at the loss of a son. In this case, it was all of his sons. In the battle mentioned in 1 Chronicles 7:21, the loss had been so great that the men of Ephraim appeared to be destroyed, and there would be no heir. This is saying that God allowed Ephraim to have another son. "Beriah" can mean in evil, or a gift. It is strange, but both things would fit this son.

1 Chronicles 7:24 "(And his daughter [was] Sherah, who built Beth-horon the nether, and the upper, and Uzzen-sherah.)"

"Sherah" means kinswoman. This, probably, means that she was a descendent of Ephraim, not a daughter in the truest sense. Beth-horon lay on the boundary of Ephraim and Benjamin. Uzzen-shera is in the same area. Since this was in an area of a pass, one city was on the rim and one was in the valley.

1 Chronicles 7:25 "And Rephah [was] his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son,"

1 Chronicles 7:26 "Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,"

1 Chronicles 7:27 "Non his son, Jehoshuah his son."

1 Chronicles 7:28 "And their possessions and habitations [were], Bethel and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Gaza and the towns thereof:"

These sons are the descendents of Ephraim. His lineage will continue on through them. The towns listed, here, are the cities of Israel. Beth-el will be one of the cities where the golden calf is erected in services. Naaran is a city between Beth-el and Jericho. Gezer is 18 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Shechem is mentioned 62 times in the Old Testament. It is, possibly, a city located on a mountain ridge. It was one of the first places Abraham came to in this land. The name "Shechem" means shoulder, or ridge.

1 Chronicles 7:29 "And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and her towns, Taanach and her towns, Megiddo and her towns, Dor and her towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel."

Taanach was apportioned to the western half of Manasseh. This city, along with Megiddo, were in the area where the great battle of Armageddon is supposed to take place. It is near the Mediterranean Sea. It is on the western side of the Jordan, where most of the promised land lay. "Dor" means dwelling. About all we know of it, is that it was an ancient city of the Canaanites. The children of Joseph, here, is speaking of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

1 Chronicles 7:30 "The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister."

The tribe of Asher has very little genealogy. Imnah is the same as Jimnah in Genesis 46:17. Isuah is the same as Ishuah, from the same Scripture. Ishuai is the same as Isui. Beriah is the same in both Scriptures. Their sister, Serah, is the same, also.

1 Chronicles 7:31 "And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who [is] the father of Birzavith."

Beriah’s descendents were called Berites in Numbers. Heber’s descendents were called Heberites in Numbers. Birzavith is, possibly, a place Malchiel fathered, not a person.

1 Chronicles 7:32 "And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister."

Hotham is, possibly, the same as Helem, who was father of two of David’s valiant men, Jehiel and Shama.

1 Chronicles 7:33 " And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These [are] the children of Japhlet."

There is very little known of these sons.

1 Chronicles 7:34 "And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram."

"Shamer" means preserved. The only thing that is known of these sons, is that they lived a little over 1,400 years before the birth of Christ.

1 Chronicles 7:35 "And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal."

1 Chronicles 7:36 "The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah,"

1 Chronicles 7:37 "Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera."

1 Chronicles 7:38 "And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara."

1 Chronicles 7:39 "And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia."

These sons and grandsons are a bit obscure. There is very little known of them from this point on.

1 Chronicles 7:40 "All these [were] the children of Asher, heads of [their] father’s house, choice [and] mighty men of valour, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war [and] to battle [was] twenty and six thousand men."

The tribe of Asher is not prominent throughout the Bible, but they are mentioned in the book of Revelation. The following is a prophecy that was spoken over Asher. Deuteronomy 33:24 "And of Asher he said, [Let] Asher [be] blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil." They are spoken of as the tribe of Aser in Revelation. At the time of verse 40 above, we see 26,000 men of war in their tribe.

1 Chronicles 7 Questions

1. What does "Issachar" mean?

2. Who were the mother and father of Issachar?

3. What is another name for Puah?

4. What is another name for Jashub?

5. How many fighting men did Tola have in the time of David?

6. Name the sons of Tola.

7. Where can you read more on Tola’s sons?

8. What does "Izrahiah" mean?

9. How many men of war did the tribe of Issachar have, together?

10. Who were the sons of Benjamin?

11. Who were the parents of Benjamin?

12. What was the valour, in 1 Chronicles 7:7, speaking of?

13. When the fighting men are numbered twenty two thousand, how do we know how many are in the entire tribe?

14. Aher is believed to be the same as ________.

15. Who were the parents of Naphtali?

16. How many were counted of Naphtali at the Sinai census?

17. Many times when they speak of someone as a son, he is actually a ____________.

18. Who was supposedly the only son of Manasseh?

19. Gilead was the father of the _____________.

20. The wife of Machir was sister to whom?

21. What is interesting about Zelophehad?

22. What do these daughters petition Moses for?

23. What does "Hammoleketh" mean?

24. Who was father of the Shechemites?

25. Who were the sons of Ephraim?

26. What happened to them?

27. After their death, what son did God give him?

28. What did Sherah build?

29. What does the name "Shechem" mean?

30. Who were the sons of Asher?

31. How many men of war were there of Asher, when this was written?

32. Quote Deuteronomy 33:24.

33. The tribe of Asher is called ________ in the book of Revelation.

Verses 1-5

1Ch 7:1-5

1 Chronicles 7:1-5

"And of the sons of Issachar: Tolah, and Puah, Jashib, and Shimron, four. And the sons of Tolah: Uzzi, and Raphaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers’ houses, to wit, of Tolah, mighty men of valor in their generations: their number in the days of David was two and twenty thousand and six hundred. And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Isshiah, five; all of them chief men. And with them, by their generations, after their fathers’ houses, were bands of the host for war, six and thirty thousand; for they had many wives and sons. And their brethren among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valor, reckoned in all by genealogy, were fourscore and seven thousand."

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:1-2. Generation means family history as the word is used here. The statement means the history of that family was one of valor. Their number had been taken by David, and it was 22,600.

1 Chronicles 7:3. Obadiah and Joel are mentioned in this verse, but it is a mere coincidence that their names are the same as those of two of the minor prophets.

1 Chronicles 7:4-5. In the family register of these men of Issachar were 36,000 military men. The simple explanation of the large number of that kind of men is that there were many wives and sons. The conclusion is that a general military training was given the sons of the rising generations.

Verses 6-12

1Ch 7:6-12

1 Chronicles 7:6-12

"The sons of Benjamin: Bel, and Becher, and Jediael, three. And the sons of Bala:, Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Itri, five; heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor; and they were reckoned by genealogy twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. And the sons of Becher: Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abijah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. And they were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand and two hundred. And the sons of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar. All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, seventeen thousand and two hundred, that were able to go forth in the host for war. Shuppim also, and Huppim, the sons of lr (Iri), Hushim, the sons of Aher."

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:6-7. Another tribe is introduced, that of Benjamin. Reckoned by their genealogies means they were not counted unless they had been born in line with the family record of births. These were men of valor which means strength or power.

1 Chronicles 7:8-9. The main reason for noting these verses is to show the close distinction between the words genealogy and generations. The first means the pedigree of the stock, and the second is the history of that pedigree. To illustrate, an animal might possess the pure blood of a certain strain, yet not get credit for it because no record had been kept of it. Therefore, a prospective purchaser would demand that the pedigree be "registered" to show the purity of the stock. Likewise in our case of the sons of Becher, the number of men counted for the military came from those not only of the pure stock (genealogy), but it was a matter of history or registration.

1 Chronicles 7:10. Benjamin is another familiar name, but its presence here is a coincidence.

1 Chronicles 7:11-12. Heads of their fathers. The last word is plural because the group being considered descended through the various posterity of Jediael. The number 17,200 was the military strength of this group.

Verse 13

1Ch 7:13

1 Chronicles 7:13

"The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Billah."

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:13. This short verse is all that is given to the tribe of Naphtali. If any landed interest was due the members of this tribe, it could be established through this brief but direct pedigree.

Verses 14-19

1Ch 7:14-19

1 Chronicles 7:14-19

"The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bare; she bare Machir the father of Gilead. And Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maacah; and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. And Maacah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishhod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah. And the sons of Shemidda were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam."

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:14-19. This paragraph includes all of the names that the present record gives of the tribe of Manasseh who was a son of Joseph. An interesting item of this account is concerning the status of Zelophe had, a near descendant of Manasseh. This man had no sons, and that fact brought an embarrassing situation to the daughters about their property rights. They made an appeal to Moses which resulted in an interpretation of the law in their favor. This account is in Numbers 27:1-11.

Verses 20-27

1Ch 7:20-27

1 Chronicles 7:20-27

"And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in the land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. And he went in to his wife, and she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. And his daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth-horon the nether and the upper, and Uzzen-sheerah. And Rephah was his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, Nun his son, and Joshua his son."

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:20-21. This book is a list of the families of Jacob’s sons. Not much attention is paid to consecutive chronology, nor to the relative dates of the events written about. The transactions of this paragraph and the following verses took place in the land of Canaan before they went down to Egypt. We know this is true, for none of the original heads of the tribes would be living after they came out of Egypt. These sons of Ephraim were killed by the natives of Gath on the ground that they were going to get their livestock.

1 Chronicles 7:22-27. It was natural for Ephraim to mourn over the violent death of his sons, regardless of what they may have done to provoke the attack. The lexicon definition of Beriah is, "in trouble." There are many instances recorded in the Bible where children were given names with a significant meaning. Hence there is nothing unusual in the present case. Aside from explaining why this son was so named, there is no significance in the mention of Ephraim’s loss in close connection with the fact of his relations with his wife. That particular fact was the introduction to the list of his descendants connecting the line down to a familiar name. It has a different form from what we have known; Non is the same as Nun, and Jehoshua is the same as Joshua.

Verses 28-29

1Ch 7:28-29

1 Chronicles 7:28-29

"And their possessions and habitations were Bethel and the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Azzah and the towns thereof; and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel."

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:28. We think of Bethel and the other places named in this verse as cities or towns, yet the text gives, them and also their taunts. The word is from a Hebrew wide range of meaning. Its primary definition is "daughter," but it has figurative applications also, and when so used it means something closely related, such as a daughter who would be related to an older person. Moffatt’s translation gives it "Bethel and its townships," etc.

1 Chronicles 7:29. Ephraim and Manasseh were full brothers and it seems appropriate to write of the two in this way of close association. We were told that the descendants of Ephraim had certain places "with their towns" (townships), now it is fitting to say something of the kind about the descendants of Manasseh.

Verses 30-40

1Ch 7:30-40

1 Chronicles 7:30-40

"The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishva, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. And the sons of Japhlet: Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. And the sons of Shemer (Shomer): Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. And the sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, and Imra, and Shelesh, and Amal. The sons of Zophah: Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. And the sons of Jether: Jephunneh, and Pispa, and Ara. And the sons of Ulla: Arah, and Hanniel, and Rizia. All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. And the number of them reckoned by genealogy for service in war was twenty and six thousand men."

There are many discrepancies when these lists are compared with the lists cited in the marginal references to other scriptures; but it is no part of our purpose to attempt any explanation of them. The word son is used no less than nine different ways in the Bible. Also, there was a mixing of the tribes, for examples, as when, "Becher’s heiress married an Ephraimite which transferred his reckoning from the tribe of Benjamin to that of Ephraim." We also have place-names such as Anathoth also used as the names of persons (1 Chronicles 7:8). Cundall noted that we even have two different genealogies; "Nor is it possible to explain why two should have been given." As Keil noted, "Verse 12 is unintelligible to us."

Such problems as these do not concern us. The great purpose of the sacred author here was to forge a strong link between the pre-exilic and post-exilic Israels; and these remarkable genealogies certainly accomplished that very thing. No doubt they were understood far more perfectly by the descendants of the twelve tribes than any one may understand them thousands of years later.

Also, as we have repeatedly stressed, these genealogies are incontrovertible proof that the O.T. deals, not with myth or legend, but with history. The power of this argument is indeed tremendous. Once, when this writer was minister of Manhattan Church of Christ, a group of several New York University students called upon him; and one of them asked if it was not a fact that Jesus Christ was merely a myth. This writer then quoted in its entirety the genealogy of Jesus Christ through his mother Mary as found in Luke 3:23 ff, and concluded by asking, "Now, will some of you recite for me the genealogy of Paul Bunyan, Beowolf, Santa Claus, or any other myth"? One of these later obeyed the gospel.

These names stimulate our curiosity and our imagination. Many of these are described as mighty men of valor, heads of their fathers’ houses, chief among the princes of Israel, etc. What wonderful deeds of faith and trust in God must have been done! What marvelous stories of heroism, tragedy, glory, defeat and victory were woven around the names written here. We shall never know the slightest thing about most of them; but as we gaze upon their names we are haunted by thoughts of those whose exploits lie buried under the silence of millenniums.

E.M. Zerr:

1 Chronicles 7:30-40. This paragraph recounts the prominent descendants of Asher, another of the tribes of Israel. Most of the comments made in the preceding paragraph will apply here. The familiar name, Jephunneh, is another coincidence only.