Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast. This is Episode #123 and today we’ll read 1 Chronicles chapters 7-8 together. Way back in Genesis 15:5, God promised Abram that he would have as many descendants as stars in the sky. We’ll read the names of many of them in today’s chapters.
Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2! I'm your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me - from the beginning - simply reading God's word together. We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament. But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New. So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work. I’m really glad you’re here!
1 Chronicles Chapter 7:
Issachar’s Descendants
Issachar’s sons: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron — four.
Tola’s sons: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their ancestral families. During David’s reign, 22,600 descendants of Tola were recorded as valiant warriors in their family records.
Uzzi’s son: Izrahiah.
Izrahiah’s sons: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, Isshiah. All five of them were chiefs. Along with them, they had 36,000 troops for battle according to the family records of their ancestral families, for they had many wives and children. Their tribesmen who were valiant warriors belonging to all the families of Issachar totaled 87,000 in their genealogies.
Benjamin’s Descendants
Three of Benjamin’s sons: Bela, Becher, and Jediael.
Bela’s sons: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri — five. They were valiant warriors and heads of their ancestral families; 22,034 were listed in their genealogies.
Becher’s sons: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth; all these were Becher’s sons. Their family records were recorded according to the heads of their ancestral families — 20,200 valiant warriors.
Jediael’s son: Bilhan.
Bilhan’s sons: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. All these sons of Jediael listed by family heads were valiant warriors; there were 17,200 who could serve in the army. Shuppim and Huppim were sons of Ir, and the Hushim were the sons of Aher.
Naphtali’s Descendants
Naphtali’s sons: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum — Bilhah’s sons.
Manasseh’s Descendants
Manasseh’s sons through his Aramean concubine: Asriel and Machir the father of Gilead. Machir took wives from Huppim and Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. Another descendant was named Zelophehad, but he had only daughters.
Machir’s wife Maacah gave birth to a son, and she named him Peresh. His brother was named Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rekem.
Ulam’s son: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead son of Machir, son of Manasseh. His sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
Shemida’s sons: Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
Ephraim’s Descendants
Ephraim’s sons: Shuthelah, and his son Bered,
his son Tahath, his son Eleadah,
his son Tahath, his son Zabad,
his son Shuthelah, also Ezer, and Elead.
The men of Gath, born in the land, killed them because they went down to raid their cattle. Their father Ephraim mourned a long time, and his relatives came to comfort him. He slept with his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. So he named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his home. His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah,
his son Rephah, his son Resheph,
his son Telah, his son Tahan,
his son Ladan, his son Ammihud,
his son Elishama, his son Nun,
and his son Joshua.
Their holdings and settlements were Bethel and its surrounding villages; Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages as far as Ayyah and its villages, and along the borders of the descendants of Manasseh, Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor with their surrounding villages. The sons of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.
Asher’s Descendants
Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, with their sister Serah.
Beriah’s sons: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith.
Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, and Hotham, with their sister Shua.
Japhlet’s sons: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were Japhlet’s sons.
Shemer’s sons: Ahi, Rohgah, Hubbah, and Aram.
His brother Helem’s sons: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
Zophah’s sons: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera.
Jether’s sons: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara.
Ulla’s sons: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
All these were Asher’s descendants. They were the heads of their ancestral families, chosen men, valiant warriors, and chiefs among the leaders. The number of men listed in their genealogies for military service was 26,000.
1 Chronicles Chapter 8:
Benjamin’s Descendants
Benjamin fathered Bela, his firstborn; Ashbel was born second, Aharah third, Nohah fourth, and Rapha fifth.
Bela’s sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram.
These were Ehud’s sons, who were the heads of the families living in Geba and who were deported to Manahath: Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. Gera deported them and was the father of Uzza and Ahihud.
Shaharaim had sons in the territory of Moab after he had divorced his wives Hushim and Baara. His sons by his wife Hodesh: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, family heads. He also had sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal.
Elpaal’s sons: Eber, Misham, and Shemed who built Ono and Lod and its surrounding villages, Beriah and Shema, who were the family heads of Aijalon’s residents and who drove out the residents of Gath, Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth.
Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were Beriah’s sons.
Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were Elpaal’s sons.
Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were Shimei’s sons.
Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, Iphdeiah, and Penuel were Shashak’s sons.
Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were Jeroham’s sons.
These were family heads, chiefs according to their family records; they lived in Jerusalem.
Jeiel fathered Gibeon and lived in Gibeon. His wife’s name was Maacah. Abdon was his firstborn son, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, and Mikloth who fathered Shimeah. These also lived opposite their relatives in Jerusalem, with their other relatives.
Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.
Jonathan’s son was Merib-baal, and Merib-baal fathered Micah.
Micah’s sons: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz.
Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri, and Zimri fathered Moza.
Moza fathered Binea. His son was Raphah, his son Elasah, and his son Azel.
Azel had six sons, and these were their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were Azel’s sons.
His brother Eshek’s sons: Ulam was his firstborn, Jeush second, and Eliphelet third.
Ulam’s sons were valiant warriors and archers. They had many sons and grandsons — 150 of them.
All these were among Benjamin’s sons.
Close
Okay, don’t think I’m weird, but the first time I read the entire Old Testament, I got kind of a charge out of reading first Chronicles. I know, I know…it’s pretty dry. But the fun part was how many names I recognized from the stories about them in the books I had just read. You know those long novels where you get to know the characters so well? You hate when the book ends but you know you’ll read it again. I read these genealogies and I remember the stories and it’s like I know these people – these men and women. And every time I read the Bible, that familiarity grows. I like that. Do you? Share your thoughts with me at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Thank you for joining me here today. I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed. Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions. And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there. If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you tomorrow!
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.