1 Chronicles 5:11

THE LINE OF GAD. (1Ch. 5:11-26)

the children of Gad dwelt over against them--The genealogy of the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Ch1 5:24) is given along with that of the Reubenites, as these three were associated in a separate colony.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Ch 5:11 And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah:

Ver. 11. In the land of Bashan.] Bashan was the name both of the whole country and the chief city; like as Muscovia is at this day.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(11-17) THE SONS OF GAD, THEIR CLANS, TERRITORY, AND REGISTRATION.

(11) And the children of Gad dwelt over against them.—That is, adjoining them on the east of Jordan.

In the land of Bashan unto Salcah.—(Jos_13:11.) Bashan, the ancient dominion of the giant Og (Num_21:33-35; Deu_3:1-12). Salcah now Sulkhad, on the south-east slope of Jebel Hauran in the extreme east of Gilead.

(12) Joel the chief (or, first; literally, head), and Shaphan the next (or second.)—Gen_46:15 enumerates seven sons of Gad, a number corresponding with the clans of 1Ch_5:13; but none of the names are the same.

In Bashan.—This expression goes to prove that clans, not individuals, are intended.

Joel is also the head Reubenite house (1Ch_5:4).

(13) And their brethren of the house of their fathers.—And their kinsmen (fellow-tribesmen), according to their father-houses (clans). The verse names seven inferior clans of the Gadites, whose seats are assigned in 1Ch_5:16.

These, viz., the clans of 1Ch_5:13, were sons of Abihail, whose line is retraced through seven generations to Buz, of whom nothing further is known. The name has occurred Gen_22:21 as that of a son of Nahor; and Job_32:2, as that of the clan of Elihu the Buzite.

(15) Ahi the son of Abdial, the son of Guni (was) head of their clans. Perhaps Ahi was chieftain or prince of the sons of Abihail at the time when this register was drawn up (1Ch_5:17).

(16) And they dwelt in Gilead.—The seats of the Gadites of 1Ch_5:13 were in the country east of Jordan.

In Bashan, defines the locality more precisely. It was the northern region of Gilead.

And in her towns.—Heb., her daughters.

And in all the suburbs of Sharon.—Rather, pasture-grounds or sheep-walks.

Sharon.—The well-known plain of this name lay west of Jordan, between Carmel and Joppa, along the coast of the Great Sea. The old conjecture that Shirion, i.e., mount Hermon (Deu_3:9; Psa_29:6) should be read, is probably right.

Upon their borders.—That is, their extremities (Num_34:4-5). The Gadites fed their flocks in the glens opening out at the foot of the mountains, here called their exits or outlets.

(17) All these.—That is, the Gadite clans.

Were reckoned by genealogies (or registered) in the days of Jotham king of Judah, i.e., after 757 B.C., according to Biblical chronology.

And in the days of Jeroboam (the second), king of Israel, who reigned from 825-784, according to the data of Kings. Clearly, therefore, more than one registration is the basis of the above statistics. That of Jeroboam was the earlier in point of time; but the chronicler names the king of Judah first honoris causa. Jeroboam II., a vigorous king, who “restored the border of Israel from the entry of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah” (2Ki_14:25), may have taken this census of the tribes east of Jordan, with a view to fiscal purposes. Jotham or his father, the great Uzziah, appears to have recovered Gad for Judah during the anarchy that succeeded the fall of Jehu’s dynasty in the northern kingdom.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11–17. The Genealogy and Settlements of Gad

11. Bashan] the wide district extending from the Jabbok on the S. to Hermon in the N. and from the Sea of Galilee on the W. to the mountains of Hauran on the E. Cp. 1Ch_5:23.

Salchah] R.V. Salecah, is probably represented at the present day by the ruins of Salkhad due S. of the Jebel Hauran and almost due E. of Bostra.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joel the chief,.... In this and the following verse are reckoned up the principal men in the tribe of Gad, and the chief of all was Joel, another from him in the tribe of Reuben, Ch1 5:4.

and Shapham the next; the second chief man, from whom, Reland (x) conjectures, Shophan, a city in the tribe of Gad, had its name, Num 32:35.

and Jaanai; from whom Danjaan might be called, as Michaelis intimates, Sa2 24:6.

and Shaphat in Bashan; not Shaphat the father of Elisha, according to a tradition of the Jews, mentioned by Kimchi; which is not at all probable.

(x) Palestin. Illustrat. par. 2. p. 602.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

From this passage and from the subsequent account of the Manassites 1Ch 5:23-24, the Gadites extended themselves to the north at the expense of their brethren, gradually occupying a considerable portion of the tract originally allotted to the “half tribe.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Selcha, not far from Jabok, Deuteronomy iii. 10. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Vers. 11-17. The tribe of Gad is taken next, and occupies but few lines. Gad was born seventh in order of all the sons of Jacob, (Gen_30:9-12) and first of the children of Leah"s maid Zilpah. The compiler seems to pass easily on to Gad, from the mere circumstance of the name of the tribe being so constantly linked with that preceding, in the matter of local settlement on the east of Jordan, after the journeyings of the wilderness. (Jos_13:7, Jos_13:8) The geography in vers. 11 and 16 offers very little difficulty. Compared with the time of the first settling of the Gadites (Deu_3:10-13; Jos_13:25, Jos_13:30) it is evident that they had pushed their borders further to the north, trenching somewhat upon the lot of the half-tribe Manasseh, as they also in turn extended their limits northward to Hermon (ver. 23). This reconciles Jos_13:30 with thepresent passage. Salcah, or (Authorized Version) Salchah (Deu_3:10; Jos_13:11) is probably to be identified as the modern Sulkhad, at the extreme eastern point of the plain Hauran, which is bordered by the desert. "In Gilead in Bashan" may be read, with some, as two coordinate places, separating them by a stop; or may point to a time when Bashan included the upper half of Gilead. Sharon, which Keil, quoting Reland, "Pal. Ill.," 370, would make the well-known Sharon of Carmel and the Mediterranean, is, though unmentioned elsewhere, probably distinguished sufficiently from it by the absence of the article, which is invariably prefixed to the other. Stanley"s suggestion ("Sinai and Palestine," edit. 1866, pp. 484, 485, 260) would seem exceedingly apt, that it is one in fact, as one in derivation and meaning, with the Mishor (i.e. "level]ands," "table-land") of Gilead and Bashan. With this explanation, however, the term "suburbs" does not so well agree. Upon the other side, distant as the well-known Sharon is, a link of connection might be found with it, in that the other Manasseh half-tribe stretched into its plains; and in that case the last word of the verse, might mean (Jos_17:9) "the outgoings" of the land or regions in question to the "sea"-coast.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joel the chief,.... In this and the following verse are reckoned up the principal men in the tribe of Gad, and the chief of all was Joel, another from him in the tribe of Reuben, Ch1 5:4.

and Shapham the next; the second chief man, from whom, Reland (x) conjectures, Shophan, a city in the tribe of Gad, had its name, Num 32:35.

and Jaanai; from whom Danjaan might be called, as Michaelis intimates, Sa2 24:6.

and Shaphat in Bashan; not Shaphat the father of Elisha, according to a tradition of the Jews, mentioned by Kimchi; which is not at all probable.

(x) Palestin. Illustrat. par. 2. p. 602.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The Posterity of Gad and of Half-Manasseh.

v. 11. And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, just north of them, in the land of Bashan unto Salcah, in Central Gilead, southeast of the Sea of Galilee:

v. 12. Joel, the chief, and Shapham, the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan, all of these continuing the line of Gad after the settlement in the Land of Promise.

v. 13. And their brethren of the house of their fathers, by the families at whose head they stood, and which were named after them, were Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven. The pedigree of these brothers is now given through eight generations.

v. 14. These are the children of Abihail, the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz:

v. 15. Ahi, the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers.

v. 16. And they dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan, in the middle and northern part of the district so called, including the country immediately east of the Sea of Galilee, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs, that is, the pastures, of Sharon, east of Jordan, upon their borders, literally, "their goings out," to the very end of the districts included in these geographical designations.

v. 17. All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham, king of Judah, about 758-742, and in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel, about 824-783 B. C. These were the two registrations of the tribe noted in history, at which time the genealogical tables were revised.

v. 18. The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, the tribes which occupied the country east of Jordan, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, the ordinary equipment of a foot-soldier in those days, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war, this being their standing army.

v. 19. And they made war with the Hagarites, descendants of Hagar, at first identified with the Edomites, but later applied to a special tribe of Arabian Bedouins, with Jetur, and Nephesh, and Nodab, the name of the first tribe being preserved in Iturea, west of Lebanon.

v. 20. And they were helped against them, the Lord Himself taking their part, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them, probably in return for raids which had been made by the desert nomads; for they cried to God in the battle, and He was intreated of them, because they put their trust in Him, for these events took place while the tribes of the country east of Jordan were still faithful to the Lord.

v. 21. And they took away their cattle, as a bit of welcome plunder; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand, of captive and of slain. The great numbers give an idea of the wealth in the possession of these desert tribes.

v. 22. For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God, He it was that gave them success. And they dwelt in their steads, colonizing the district themselves, until the captivity.

v. 23. And the children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land; they increased from Bashan, the greater part of which they occupied, unto Baal-hermon and Senir, east of Lebanon, and unto Mount Hermon, the high mountain in the southern part of the Anti-Lebanon range.

v. 24. And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, whose names were mentioned with respect everywhere, and heads of the house of their fathers, of the smaller division of the tribe known as the father-house.

v. 25. And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, all the Israelites living east of Jordan were unfaithful to Jehovah, and went a-whoring after the gods of the people of the land, in a form of spiritual adultery, whom God destroyed before them.

v. 26. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, who began the oppression of Israel, 2Ki 15:19, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, his son and successor, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, or the mountain, and to the river Gozan, in Upper Media, toward the Caspian Sea, unto this day. As in this case, so in others, the just punishment of the Lord always struck the malefactors.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Salekah

This is the name of a city. (See: How to Translate Names)

Joel ... Shapham ... Janai ... Shaphat ... Michael ... Meshullam ... Sheba ... Jorai ... Jakan ... Zia ... Eber

These are the names of men.

translationWords

Gad

Bashan

head

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And the sons of Gad dwelt opposite them alongside them, like (Gen. 33:12): “...and I will go alongside you (לְנֶגְדֶּךָ).”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.