Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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,
20 27. The Line of Ephraim to Joshua
20. Shuthelah Bered Tahath Eladah ] These four names are taken from Num 26:35-36, where they appear to correspond with Shuthelah Becher Tahan Eran.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The sons of Ephraim – The genealogy is difficult. It is perhaps best to consider Ezer and Elead 1Ch 7:21 as not sons of Zabad and brothers of the second Shuthelah, but natural sons of Ephraim. The passage would then run thusly:
And the sons of Ephraim, Shuthelah (and Bered was his son, and Tahath his son and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son) and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath slew (i. e. the settled inhabitants, as contrasted with the nomadic Hebrews, Amalekites, etc.).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Bered his son; either,
1. The son of
Shuthelah; and so Tahath the son of Bered; and so the rest, which make up seven succeeding generations. Or,
2. The son of Ephraim; and so Tahath is the son not of Bered, but of Ephraim, and so forward. And thus all these were brethren, and sons or grandchildren of Ephraim, living together at one time with their father.
Object. This cannot be, because then Ephraim had two sons called Shuthelah, and two called Tahath.
Answ. That might easily happen, either because the first Shuthelah and Tahath were dead before the other two of those names were born; or because two of them were Ephraims sons, and two of them his grandchildren, called after their uncles names. For this is certain, the name of sons is promiscuously used concerning immediate children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the sons of Ephraim,…. A son of Joseph, and father of a tribe of this name, whose genealogy through five generations follows: Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eladah, Tahath; the second.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The families of Ephraim. – 1Ch 7:20. Among the Ephraimites, the descendants of Shuthelah, the founder of one of the chief families of this tribe, Num 26:35, are traced down through six generations to a later Shuthelah. The names which follow , “And his son Shuthelah,” after which is wanting, are not to be considered descendants of the second Shuthelah, but are heads of a family co-ordinate with that of Shuthelah, or of two fathers’-houses intimately connected with each other. These names are to be taken as a continuation of the list of the sons of Ephraim, which commenced with . The suffix in refers to both these names: “The men of Gath, that were born in the land, smote Ezer and Elead.” These “men born in the land” Ewald and Bertheau take to be the Avvites, the aboriginal inhabitants of that district of country, who had been extirpated by the Philistines emigrating from Caphtor (Deu 2:23). But there is no sufficient ground for this supposition; for no proof can be brought forward that the Avvaeans (Avvites) had ever spread so far as Gath; and the Philistines had taken possession of the south-west part of Canaan as early as the time of Abraham, and consequently long before Ephraim’s birth. “The men of Gath who were born in the land” are rather the Canaanite or Philistine inhabitants of Gath, as distinguished from the Israelites, who had settled in Canaan only under Joshua. “For they (Ezer and Elead) had come down to take away their cattle” (to plunder). The older commentators assign this event to the time that Israel dwelt in Egypt (Ewald, Gesch. i. S. 490), or even to the pre-Egyptian time. But Bertheau has, in opposition to this, justly remarked that the narratives of Genesis know nothing of a stay of the progenitors of the tribe of Ephraim in the land of Palestine before the migration of Israel into Egypt, for Ephraim was born in Egypt (Gen 46:20). It would be more feasible to refer it to the time of the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt, as it is not impossible that the Israelites may have undertaken predatory expeditions against Canaan from Goshen; but even this supposition is not at all probable. Certainly, if in 1Ch 7:23-27 it were said, as Ewald thinks, that Ephraim, after the mourning over the sons thus slain, became by his wife the father of three other sons, from the last named of whom Joshua was descended in the seventh generation, we should be compelled to refer the expedition to the pre-Egyptian period. But the opinion that Rephah and Resheph, 1Ch 7:25, were begotten only after that misfortune has no foundation. Moreover, the statement that Ephraim, after he was comforted for the loss of his slain sons, went in unto his wife and begat a son, to whom he gave the name Beriah, because he was born in misfortune in his house, does not at all presuppose that the patriarch Ephraim was still alive when Ezer and Elead were slain. Were that the case, the necessary result would of course be, that this event could only be referred to the time when the Israelites dwelt in Egypt. In opposition to this, Bertheau’s remark that the event in that case would be per se enigmatical, as we would rightly have great hesitation in accepting the supposition of a war, or rather a plundering expedition to seize upon cattle carried out by the Ephraimites whilst they dwelt in Egypt, against the inhabitants of the Philistine city of Gath, is certainly not all decisive, for we know far too little about those times to be able to judge of the possibility or probability of such an expedition.
The decision to which we must come as to this obscure matter depends, in the first place, on how the words are to be understood; whether we are to translate “for they had gone,” or “when they had gone down to fetch their cattle,” i.e., to plunder. If we take the par partic. ration., for, because, we can only take the sons of Ephraim, Ezer and Elead, for the subject of , and we must understand the words to mean that they had gone down to carry off the cattle of the Gathites. In that case, the event would fall in the time when the Ephraimites dwelt in Canaan, and went down from Mount Ephraim into the low-lying Gath, for a march out of Egypt into Canaan is irreconcilable with the verb . If, on the contrary, we translate “when they had gone down,” we might then gather from the words that men of Gath went down to Goshen, there to drive away the cattle of the Ephraimites, in which case the Gathites may have slain the sons of Ephraim when they were feeding their cattle and defending them against the robbers. Many of the old commentators have so understood the words; but we cannot hold this to be the correct interpretation, for it deprives the words “those born in the land,” which stand in apposition to , of all meaning, since there can be absolutely no thought of men of Gath born in Egypt. We therefore take the words to mean, that the sons of Ephraim who are named in our verse attempted to drive away the cattle of the Gathites, and were by them slain in the attempt. But how can the statement that Ephraim after this unfortunate event begat another son, Beriah, be reconciled with such a supposition, since the patriarch Ephraim was dead long before the Israelites came forth out of Egypt. Bertheau understands the begetting figuratively, of the whole of the tribe of Ephraim, or of a small Ephraimite family, which at first was not numbered with the others, into the number of the famous families of this tribe. But this straining of the words by an allegorical interpretation is not worthy of serious refutation, since it is manifestly only a makeshift to get rid of the difficulty. The words, “And Ephraim went in unto his wife, and she conceived and bare a son,” are not to be interpreted allegorically, but must be taken in their proper sense; and the solution of the enigma will be found in the name Ephraim. If this be taken to denote the actual son of Joseph, then the event is incomprehensible; but just as a descendant of Shuthelah in the sixth generation was also called Shuthelah, so also might a descendant of the patriarch Ephraim, living at a much later time, have received the name of the progenitor of the tribe; and if we accept this supposition, the event, with all its issues, is easily explained. If Ezer and Elead went down from Mount Ephraim to Gath, they were not actual sons of Ephraim, but merely later descendants; and their father, who mourned for their death, was not Ephraim the son of Joseph, who was born in Egypt, but an Ephraimite who lived after the Israelites had taken possession of the land of Canaan, and who bore Ephraim’s name. He may have mourned for the death of his sons, and after he had been comforted for their loss, may have gone in unto his wife, and have begotten a son with her, to whom he gave the name Beriah, “because it was in misfortune in his house,” i.e., because this son was born when misfortune was in his house.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Genealogies. | B. C. 1630. |
20 And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, 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. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 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. 24 (And his daughter was Sherah, who built Beth-horon the nether, and the upper, and Uzzen-sherah.) 25 And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Non his son, Jehoshua his son. 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: 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. 30 The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishuai, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. 31 And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. 32 And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 33 And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. 34 And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, 37 Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 38 And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. 39 And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia. 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.
We have here an account,
I. Of the tribe of Ephraim. Great things we read of that tribe when it came to maturity. Here we have an account of the disasters of its infancy, while it was in Egypt as it should seem; for Ephraim himself was alive when those things were done, which yet is hard to imagine if it were, as is here computed, seven generations off. Therefore I am apt to think that either it was another Ephraim or that those who were slain were the immediate sons of that Ephraim that was the son of Joseph. In this passage, which is related here only, we have, 1. The great breach that was made upon the family of Ephraim. The men of Gath, Philistines, giants, slew many of the sons of that family, because they came down to take away their cattle, v. 21. It is uncertain who were the aggressors here. Some make the men of Gath the aggressors, men born in the land of Egypt, but now resident in Gath, supposing that they came down into the land of Goshen, to drive away the Ephraimites’ cattle, and slew the owners, because they stood up in the defence of them. Many a man’s life has been exposed and betrayed by his wealth; so far is it from being a strong city. Others think that the Ephraimites made a descent upon the men of Gath to plunder them, presuming that the time had come when they should be put in possession of Canaan; but they paid dearly for their rashness and precipitation. Those that will not wait God’s time cannot expect God’s blessing. I rather think that the men of Gath came down upon the Ephraimites, because the Israelites in Egypt were shepherds, not soldiers, abounded in cattle of their own, and therefore were not likely to venture their lives for their neighbours’ cattle: and the words may be read, The men of Gath slew them, for they came down to take away their cattle. Zabad the son of Ephraim, and Shuthelah, and Ezer, and Elead (his grandchildren), were, as Dr. Lightfoot thinks, the men that were slain. Jacob had foretold that the seed of Ephraim should become a multitude of nations (Gen. xlviii. 19), and yet that plant is thus nipped in the bud. God’s providences often seem to contradict his promises; but, when they do so, they really magnify the promise, and make the performance of it, notwithstanding, so much more illustrious. The Ephraimites were the posterity of Joseph, and yet his power could not protect them, though some think he was yet living. The sword devours one as well as another. 2. The great grief which oppressed the father of the family hereupon: Ephraim mourned many days. Nothing brings the aged to the grave with more sorrow than their following the young that descend from them to the grave first, especially if in blood. It is often the burden of those that live to be old that they see those go before them of whom they said, These same shall comfort us. It was a brotherly friendly office which his brethren did, when they came to comfort him under this great affliction, to express their sympathy with him and concern for him, and to suggest that to him which would support and quiet him under this sad providence. Probably they reminded him of the promise of increase which Jacob had blessed him when he laid his right hand upon his head. Although his house was not so with God as he hoped, but a house of mourning, a shattered family, yet that promise was sure, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 3. The repair of this breach, in some measure, by addition of another son to his family in his old age (v. 23), like Seth, another seed instead of that of Abel whom Cain slew, Gen. iv. 25. When God thus restores comfort to his mourners, makes glad according to the days wherein he afflicted, setting the mercies over against the crosses, we ought therein to take notice of the kindness and tenderness of divine Providence; it is as if it repented God concerning his servants,Psa 90:13; Psa 90:15. Yet joy that a man was born into his family could not make him forget his grief; for he gives a melancholy name to his son, Beriah–in trouble, for he was born when the family was in mourning, when it went evil with his house. It is good to have in remembrance the affliction and the misery, the wormwood and the gall, that our souls may be humbled within us,Lam 3:19; Lam 3:20. What name more proper for man that is born of a woman than Beriah, because born into a troublesome world? It is added, as a further honour to the house of Ephraim, (1.) That a daughter of that tribe, Sherah by name, at the time of Israel’s setting in Canaan, built some cities, either at her own charge or by her own care; one of them bore her name, Uzzen-sherah, v. 24. A virtuous woman may be as great an honour and blessing to a family as a mighty man. (2.) That a son of that tribe was employed in the conquest of Canaan, Joshua the son of Nun, v. 27. In this also the breach made on Ephraim’s family was further repaired; and perhaps the resentment of this injury formerly done by the Canaanites to the Ephraimites might make him more vigorous in the war.
II. Of the tribe of Asher. Some men of note of that tribe are here named. Their militia was not numerous in comparison with some other tribes, only 26,000 men in all; but their princes were choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes (v. 40), and perhaps it was their wisdom that they coveted not to make their trained bands numerous, but rather to have a few, and those apt to the war and serviceable men.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Tribe of Ephraim, Verses 20-29
Included with the genealogy of Ephraim is an incident of ancient cattle rustling and the tragic result. It appears to have occurred seven generations after the father, Ephraim. However, verse 22 speaks of the great grief of the father Ephraim over the loss of his sons. This incident is not found elsewhere in the Scriptures, nor are the murdered sons included in the listing of Num 26:35-37. The probable explanation seems to be (as based on the Numbers account), these are not generations, but actual sons of Ephraim. Ezer and Elead, the rustlers, had gone into the area of Gath to steal cattle, and the inhabitants had killed them. Ephraim mourned greatly for them. Later another son was born to him, who was named Beriah, meaning “tragedy.”
The descendants of Ephraim’s daughter, Sherah, were the inhabitants and builders of upper and nether Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sherah. From verse 25 the lineage descends to Joshua, the leader of Israel.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13. THE DESCENDANTS OF EPHRAIM (1Ch. 7:20-29)
TEXT
1Ch. 7:20. And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son, 21. 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. 22. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 23. 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. 24. And his daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth-horon the nether and the upper, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25. And Rephah was his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, 26. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27. Nun his son, Joshua his son. 28. And their possessions and habitations were Beth-el and the towns thereof, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with the towns thereof; Shechem also and the towns thereof, unto Azzah and the towns thereof; 29. and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel.
PARAPHRASE
1Ch. 7:20-21 : The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered, Tahath, Eleadah, Tahath, Zabad, Shuthelah, Ezer, Ele-ad. Ele-ad and Ezer attempted to rustle cattle at Gath, but they were killed by the local farmers. 22. Their father Ephraim mourned for them a long time, and his brothers tried to comfort him. 23. Afterwards, his wife conceived and bore a son whom he called Beriah (meaning a tragedy) because of what had happened. 24. Ephraims daughters name was Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. 25, 26, 27. This is Ephraims line of descent: Rephah, the father of Resheph, the father of Telah, the father of Tahan, the father of Ladan, the father of Ammihud, the father of Elishama, the father of Nun, the father of Joshua. 28. They lived in an area bounded on one side by Bethel and its surrounding towns, on the east by Naaran, on the west by Gezer and its villages, and finally by Shechem and its surrounding villages as far as Ayyah and its towns. 29. The tribe of Manasseh, descendants of Joseph the son of Israel, controlled the following cities and their surrounding areas: Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor.
COMMENTARY
The sons of Ephraim do not figure prominently in the Bible record. Ephraims sons most likely were born in Egypt. Their conflict with the men of Gath, or the Philistines, would have taken place early in the conquest of Canaan. Because of the reverses suffered by Ephraims sons, when another son was born, he was called Beriah, ill-favored. There may be some ground for suggesting that men of Gath made an excursion into the Goshen country in Egypt while Ephraim and his sons were yet in that country,[23] Joshua, son of Nun, is the best known of all Ephraimites in his association with Moses and in the conquest of Canaan. The expression children of Joseph can refer to both of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The principal villages in Ephraim were Bethel, Gezer, Shiloh, and Shechem. Bethshean, Taanach, and Megiddo were located in Manasseh west of the Jordan river. The tribe of Ephraim became the most important tribe in the north after the division of the kingdom at Solomons death.
[23] Schaff, Philip, Langes Commentary, Chronicles, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, 1901, p. 79.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
1Ch 7:20 And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son,
Ver. 20. And the sons of Ephraim, ] The Ephraimites were famous for their wealth, power, and prowess; but withal they are noted for insolent, proud, and quarrelsome. See Jdg 8:1 ; Jdg 12:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ch 7:20-27
1Ch 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:
1Ch 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.
1Ch 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.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Num 26:35, Num 26:36
Reciprocal: Psa 78:9 – The children