Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 5:26
And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, 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, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
26. stirred up the spirit ] Cp. 2Ch 21:16; 2Ch 36:22.
Pul and Tilgath-pilneser ] Both here and in 2Ki 15:19; 2Ki 15:29 ( Pul Tiglath-pileser) the two names are used as though two different persons were meant, but there is no doubt that Pul is the earlier and Tiglath-pileser the royal name of the same king. See note on 1Ch 5:6.
unto Halah, etc.] In 2Ki 15:29 it is said only, to Assyria; in 2Ki 17:6 it is said that the Western tribes (“Samaria”) were carried away and placed in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes.
Halah ] probably a district of Mesopotamia, but it has been proposed to identify it with Cilicia which was known to the Assyrians and was under their influence in the later days of their empire.
Habor ] a river flowing into the Euphrates from the E., known to the Greeks as or .
and Hara ] No place of this name is known; the reading may be corrupt for and in the cities of the Medes (2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 18:11).
the river Gozan ] R.V. the river of Gozan. Gozan was a province of Mesopotamia.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Habor here seems to be a city or a district, and not a river, as in marginal reference There is some reason to believe that districts among the Assyrians were occasionally named from streams.
Hara is probably the same as Haran Gen 11:31; 2Ki 19:12; Eze 27:23, being a softening down of the rugged original Kharan.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 26. Tilgath-pilneser] Many MSS. have Tiglath instead of Tilgath. The Syriac, the Septuagint, and the Chaldee, have the same reading as in 2Kg 15:29, &c.
Brought them unto Halah] See the notes on the parallel places marked in the margin [2Kg 17:6 (note), and 2Kg 18:11 (note)], for many particulars of these wars, and consequent captivity. It is a pity that some method were not found out to harmonize the books of Kings with the books of Chronicles, that the variations might be seen at one view.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Stirred up the spirit; he so governed his counsels and affections, that he should bring his forces against this people rather than others. Of Halah, Habor, &c., see 2Ki 17:6; 18:11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. the God of Israel stirred up thespirit of Pulthe Phalluka of the Ninevite monuments (see on2Ki 15:19).
and the spirit ofTilgath-pilneserthe son of the former. By them thetrans-jordanic tribes, including the other half of Manasseh, settledin Galilee, were removed to Upper Media. This was the firstcaptivity (2Ki 15:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the God of Israel,…. The Targum is,
“the word of the God of Israel:”
stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria: in the times of Menahem king of Israel:
and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser; in the times of Pekah king of Israel, to invade the land, and make war in it:
and he carried them away: not the former, but the latter:
even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh; these entirely together, with some other parts of the land, see
2Ki 15:29
and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan; to the very same places where afterwards Salmaneser carried the ten tribes, or what remained of them, see 2Ki 17:6
unto this day; the times of Ezra, the writer of this book, after the tribe of Judah returned from the captivity of Babylon; but the ten tribes remained where they were carried, and have not returned even to this day.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(26) Stirred up (or woke) the spirit.So 2Ch. 21:16, and Ezr. 1:1; Ezr. 1:5. For the thought, Isa. 44:28; Isa. 45:1-13.
Pul king of Assyria, and . . . Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria.No trace of Pl as distinct from Tiglath-pileser has been found in the Assyrian monuments, which, it must be remembered, are contemporary. In 2Ki. 15:19 we read that, Pul king of Assyria came against the land, in the reign of Menahem, who recognised the Assyrian monarch as his suzerain, and paid a tribute of 1,000 talents of silver. Now Tiglath-pileser II. actually claims to have received tribute of Menahem (Menahimmu). Pl appears to have been the original name of Tiglath-pileser, which, upon his accession to the throne of Assyria (745 B.C.), he discarded for that of the great king who had ruled the country four centuries before his time. The name Pl has been identified by Dr. Schrader with the Porus of Ptolemys Canon, Pr being the Persian pronunciation of Pl. The Syriac here omits Pl king of Assyria. The LXX. (Vat.) has , and the Arabic Blaq. Perhaps the chronicler meant to indicate the identity of Pl and Tiglath: The spirit of Pul and (= that is) the spirit of Tiglath, and he carried them away.
And he carried them away.Tiglath-pileser is meant. (See 2Ki. 15:29 : In the days of Pekah king of Israel, came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah . . . and Gilead, and Galilee . . . and carried them captive to Assyria.) From the Assyrian records we learn that (circ. 734732 B.C.) Tiglath-pileser received the homage of Ahaz (Yahu-hai, Jeho-ahaz), king of Judah, slew Rezin (Raunni) of Damascus, and reduced Pekah (Paqah), king of Samaria, to vassalage. This supplements the Biblical account. Gilead, in 2Ki. 15:29, represents the trans-Jordanic tribes. (See 1Ch. 5:10; 1Ch. 5:16 above.) The transportation of entire populations was a common practice with the Assyrian kings. Assurbanipal (Sardanapalus) removed the men of Karbit from the mountains east of Assyria, and settled them in Egypt.
Brought them unto Halah, and Habor . . .The same localities are mentioned (2Ki. 17:6) as those to which Shalmaneser IV., or rather his successor Sargon, transported the other tribes of the northern kingdom (circ. 721 B.C.). There is nothing unlikely in the statement of either text. Sargon might have thought fit to strengthen the Israelite settlements in Northern Assyria by sending thither the new bodies of compulsory colonists. It is arbitrary to suppose that two different events have been confounded by the sacred annalists.
Halah.See Note on 2Ki. 17:6.
Habor.Probably a district of North Assyria, not far from Halah, named after the river Habr which rises near the upper Zab and falls into the Tigris.
Hara.Kings, l.c., cities of Media. Hara here is perhaps an Aramaic name for the Median high lands, but more probably the reading is a relic of the mountains of Media [hr Mdai); comp.the LXX. at 2Ki. 17:6. The Syriac here has cities of Media; the LXX. omits the word.
The river Gozan.Rather, the river of Gozan. Shalmaneser mentions the country Guzana in Mesopotamia, the Greek Gauzanitis. An Assyrian list connects it with Naibina (Nisibis). The river of Gozan is the Habur.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Pul See on 2Ki 15:19-20.
Carried away That is, the latter, Tilgath-pilneser, carried them away. According to the account in Kings, Pul was hired by Menahem to withdraw his forces and confirm him in the kingdom, but it is not impossible that on his return through the eastern deserts he also carried off a number of exiles from the exposed eastern tribes. On Halah Habor Gozan, see 2Ki 17:6, note. Hara is mentioned only here. Some think it is the same as Haran, mentioned in Genesis 2:31, and 2Ki 19:12. Others regard it as the Aramaic form for , mountain, and refer it to some mountainous tract near Gozan.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ch 5:26. Unto this day And there they were unto this day. Houbigant.
REFLECTIONS.The half tribe of Manasseh is here mentioned, who with Reuben and Gad living together, separate from their brethren, by the river Jordan, were particularly associated together both in their victories and their captivity.
1. With an army of 44,760 chosen men, they invaded the Hagarites, and, trusting more in the blessing of God than the sword and spear, they prayed as they fought, and God gave them a distinguished victory with immense spoils, and enlarged their borders with the extensive country of their vanquished enemies; for the war was of God, undertaken at his command, and prosecuted under his blessing. Note; (1.) When we cry to God, then shall our spiritual enemies be put to flight. (2.) Every success should be gratefully ascribed, not to the arm of flesh, but to the help of God.
2. By the king of Assyria they were led away captive together, as the just punishment of their revolt from God’s worship and service, and their ungrateful returns of the divine mercy. God first stirred up one king to chastise them; and, when they were incorrigible, another to destroy them; and from their captivity they never returned. Note; Incorrigible offenders, who are cut off in their sins, perish in them for ever. When death has seized the impenitent, there is no more hope.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER! do not hastily pass by the view which this chapter affords of distinguishing grace, in the removal of the honor of birthright from Reuben to transfer it to Joseph, and placing Judah above all his Father’s household. Evidently here was fulfilled the dying Patriarch’s blessing, when he said, Judah! thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, and thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. But oh! how sweet and precious is this view or Israel’s family, when beheld with an eye to Christ. Truly, thou blessed Jesus, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; for every knee shall bow before thee, and every tongue confess that thou art Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Reader! let you and I seek for grace, that we may not, like the Reubenites and the Gadites, set up our rest on this side Jordan. No! dearest Lord Jesus, it is thou that art the rest, wherewith thou wilt cause the weary to rest, and thou art our only refreshment. Be thou, Lord, my rest, my joy, and my portion forever.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ch 5:26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 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, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
Ver. 26. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul. ] “Howbeit he meant not so, neither was it in his heart to think so,” – viz., that God set him on, – “but it was in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.” Isa 10:7
King of Assyria.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
God of Israel. Note Elohim: not Jehovah, as dealing with Gentiles; but Israel, as not forgetting His covenant-relation though stirring up enemies.
spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
Pul . . . and . . . Tilgath-pilneser. Two names of one person: Pul, the original and official name in Babylon of this usurper; Tilgath, his official name in Assyria, which he assumed from an earlier king. Compare 2Ki 15:19.
Halah . . . Gozan. Whither the Israelites west of Jordan were deported by Sargon (2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 18:11).
unto this day. See note on 1Ch 4:43.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
stirred up: 2Sa 24:1, 2Ch 33:11, Ezr 1:5, Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 13:2-5
Pul: 2Ki 15:19, Tiglath pileser
and brought them: 2Ki 17:6, 2Ki 18:11, 2Ki 19:12, Isa 37:12
Reciprocal: Gen 49:19 – General Num 32:19 – we will 1Ki 11:14 – the Lord 2Ki 15:29 – Tiglathpileser 2Ki 16:7 – Tiglathpileser 2Ki 19:17 – the kings 1Ch 5:6 – Tilgathpilneser 1Ch 5:22 – until the captivity 2Ch 28:20 – Tilgathpilneser 2Ch 30:6 – escaped 2Ch 36:22 – the Lord stirred Isa 9:1 – afterward Isa 10:13 – I have removed Isa 37:18 – the kings Jer 51:11 – the Lord hath Eze 23:9 – General Hos 1:4 – will cause Hos 8:10 – for Oba 1:19 – Benjamin Hag 1:14 – stirred
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ch 5:26. The God of Israel Who had been a husband to Israel, and whose jealousy burned like fire, when Israel went a whoring after other gods. Stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, &c. That is, so governed his counsels and affections, that he brought his forces against this people rather than others. God served his own purposes by the designs of those ambitious monarchs, employed them first to chastise those revolters, and when that did not reduce them, wholly to root them out. These tribes were first placed, and they were first displaced. They would have the best land, not considering that it lay most exposed. They who are governed more by sense than by reason or faith in their inclinations and choices, may expect to fare accordingly.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:26 And the God of Israel {l} stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 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, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
(l) Thus God stirred up the wicked and used them as instruments to execute his just judgment against sinners, although they were led by malice and ambition.