1 Chronicles Chapter 7

Scripture: 1 Chronicles Chapter 7

World English Bible

  1. Of the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
  2. The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Tola; mighty men of valor in their generations. Their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred.
  3. The son of Uzzi: Izrahiah. The sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, five; all of them chief men.
  4. With them, by their generations, after their fathers’ houses, were bands of the army for war, thirty-six thousand; for they had many wives and sons.
  5. Their brothers among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valor, listed in all by genealogy, were eighty-seven thousand.
  6. The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three.
  7. The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor; and they were listed by genealogy twenty-two thousand thirty-four.
  8. The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher.
  9. They were listed by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand two hundred.
  10. The son of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar.
  11. All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers’ households, mighty men of valor, seventeen thousand two hundred, who were able to go out in the army for war.
  12. So were Shuppim, Huppim, the sons of Ir, Hushim, and the sons of Aher.
  13. The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, Shallum, and the sons of Bilhah.
  14. The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bore. She bore Machir the father of Gilead.
  15. Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maacah. The name of the second was Zelophehad; and Zelophehad had daughters.
  16. Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she named him Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.
  17. The sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.
  18. His sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
  19. The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
  20. The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son,
  21. Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to take away their livestock.
  22. Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him.
  23. He went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah, because there was trouble with his house.
  24. His daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth Horon the lower and the upper, and Uzzen Sheerah.
  25. Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son,
  26. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son,
  27. Nun his son, and Joshua his son.
  28. Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer with its towns; Shechem also and its towns, to Azzah and its towns;
  29. and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth Shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, and Dor and its towns. The children of Joseph the son of Israel lived in these.
  30. The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Serah was their sister.
  31. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
  32. Heber became the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and Shua their sister.
  33. The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet.
  34. The sons of Shemer: Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.
  35. The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
  36. The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah,
  37. Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera.
  38. The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara.
  39. The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia.
  40. All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. The number of them listed by genealogy for service in war was twenty-six thousand men.

Day 7 — Names that Build, Tears that Teach (1 Chronicles 7)

Setting the scene We have been walking with the Chronicler through the long corridors of memory—names upon names, a people reassembled after exile. Yesterday we lingered with the Levites and the “service of song,” and earlier we met Jabez in his prayer that broke a painful label. Today we turn to 1 Chronicles 7, a chapter many skim. But if you pause, you will hear history whisper and hope take shape.

What’s here—and why now This chapter gathers several northern tribes: Issachar (7:1–5), Benjamin (7:6–12 in a brief, alternative line to chapter 8), Naphtali (7:13), Manasseh and Ephraim (7:14–29), and Asher (7:30–40). Judah and Levi were already treated (chs. 2–4; 6). Dan and Zebulun are notably absent here, which itself invites reflection.

The Chronicler writes after the Babylonian exile, when the kingdom had long been divided and the northern tribes scattered. To name these northern clans now is an act of pastoral hope—God’s promise is not limited to one tribe or region. The Chronicler quietly invites a fractured people to imagine being one again.

Key moments tucked into the list 1) Ephraim’s tearful line and unexpected consolation (7:20–23) In the middle of the register, the narrative pauses. Ephraim loses sons in a border raid—“men of Gath, born in the land” kill Ezer and Elead during a cattle foray. “Their father Ephraim mourned many days, and his relatives came to comfort him” (New International Version). Out of that sorrow, a new son is born: “He named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his family” (New International Version).

  1. Sheerah the builder (7:24) Then this unexpected gem: “His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah” (New International Version). In a sea of male names, Sheerah rises as a city-builder. Beth-horon (upper and lower) are the famous passes northwest of Jerusalem (modern Beit Ur al-Fauqa and Beit Ur al-Tahta), strategic in the conquest (Joshua 10:10–11) and later battles. Archaeology confirms continuous fortified occupation here across the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Uzzen-sheerah likely means “portion (or domain) of Sheerah.”
  1. Mighty ones and measured houses The chapter repeatedly names “mighty warriors” (Hebrew: gibborê chayil). The phrase blends courage (gibbor) and capable substance or virtue (chayil). It’s not mere muscle; it is tested strength put to faithful use. The Chronicler counts men “fit for battle” alongside “heads of fathers’ houses,” signaling a people prepared not only to worship (ch. 6) but also to work and to defend.

What a Western reader might miss - A pastoral note on numbers: Ancient Hebrew numerals are notoriously difficult to copy. The Chronicler’s headcounts likely combine historical memory and theological messaging—God still has a people, organized for mission. The point is identity and readiness, more than a modern census accuracy. - The cattle raid is not incidental. In the ancient Near East, herds were mobile wealth. Borderlands between Ephraim and Philistine Gath (likely Tel es-Safi) were tense. “Men of Gath, born in the land” (Hebrew: yelidê ha’aretz) suggests locally born warriors—settled, rooted adversaries. The Chronicler knows that life of faith includes both lament and vigilance. - An intriguing line in 7:12 mentions “Hushim the sons of Aher.” Aher can mean “the other.” Some Jewish and Christian interpreters have wondered if this veils Dan (whose tribal story tilts tragically toward idolatry in Judges 18), or if it preserves a branch of Benjamin under a variant name. We cannot be sure. Theologically, silence can speak: some legacies are dimmed by unfaithfulness, and some names the Spirit chooses not to spotlight. - Names preach. Jediael (“God knows”), Eliel (“my God is God”), Michael (“Who is like God?”), and others whisper identity: a people remembered and re-named by the Lord.

Theological threads - Grief that builds: Ephraim’s house moves from tears (Beriah) to cities (Sheerah). In Christ, our wounds do not vanish; they become places where grace erects new structures. Compare Jabez’s cry (ch. 4) and our reflection earlier this month: faithful prayer and perseverance can break cycles and plant futures. - The whole family of God: The Chronicler includes northern tribes to say, “They are still ours.” This anticipates the prophets’ hope of a reunited people (Ezekiel 37:15–28) and in the New Testament, the ingathering of all nations into one new humanity in Christ (Ephesians 2:11–22). Even in Luke’s Gospel, Anna the prophet is “of the tribe of Asher” (Luke 2:36)—a quiet nod that the old northern lines still bear fruit in the story of Jesus. - Remembered for readiness: The Chronicler’s “mighty men” recall that covenant life is not passive. We are to be fitted for worship, work, and warfare (Ephesians 6:10–18). God counts readiness as part of faithfulness. - Sacred memory in ordinary records: As we have noted in earlier days, genealogies are sacraments of memory. Calvin saw in these lists the careful providence of God preserving a people for his promises. Augustine, pondering the long arc from patriarchs to Christ, insisted that history is the womb of hope: God creates a people by weaving time, tears, and faith into a single tapestry—the City of God on pilgrimage.

A few linguistic notes - Gibbor chayil (גִּבּוֹר חַיִל): “mighty, valorous, capable.” A character word, not only a combat term. - Beriah (בְּרִיעָה): likely “in misfortune.” Pain acknowledged, lineage continued. - Sheerah (שְׁאֵרָה?): possibly linked to she’er (“flesh/kin”) or a name of uncertain root; her eponymous town Uzzen-sheerah suggests “portion/domain of Sheerah.” - Yelidê ha’aretz (יְלִידֵי הָאָרֶץ): “native-born of the land.” Not immigrants—locals, entrenched. - Aher (אַחֵר): “another/other.” Perhaps a personal name, perhaps a delicate sidestep; either way a reminder that Scripture sometimes leaves puzzles that keep us humble and searching.

Cross-references for deeper reading - Genesis 46; Numbers 26: early tribal lists for comparison - Deuteronomy 33: blessings on the tribes (note Issachar, Joseph/Ephraim-Manasseh, Asher) - Joshua 10:10–11; 16–17: Beth-horon’s strategic pass; Ephraim and Manasseh’s allotments - Judges 4–5: Issachar and Naphtali under Deborah; Asher’s mixed record - Judges 18: Dan’s idolatry and the shadow it casts - Ezekiel 37:15–28: reunified Israel as one stick - Luke 2:36: Anna of Asher—a northern ember glowing in the dawn of Christ

For the church today - Carry your Beriah honestly. Name the pain, but keep walking. Ask the Spirit to turn your lament into a workshop where something sturdy is built. - Bless the Sheerahs among you. Some of God’s most strategic builders are women whose work becomes the very road the rest of us travel. - Practice whole-church imagination. Pray and labor for a unity that honors different histories and gifts. The Chronicler remembered the north; whom have we forgotten? - Be ready. Spiritual formation includes both song (ch. 6) and strength (ch. 7). Train your heart in worship and your hands for good works.

A hymn to sing “By Faith” (Keith and Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend). It traces the people of God walking into promises they could not yet see—fitting for a chapter where memory becomes a map and sorrow becomes a city.

A brief meditation from the text “Sheerah… built Lower and Upper Beth Horon” (New International Version). The Chronicler dares to say that after funerals, we can still lay foundations. This is not denial; it is resurrection hope rehearsed in stone and street.

Prayer Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, You remember what we forget and gather who we scatter. Teach us to carry our Beriahs without bitterness, to build like Sheerah with steady hands, and to stand as gibborê chayil—strong in Your grace. Stitch our fractured memories into one hope, and make our churches places where tears become blueprints for mercy. Through Jesus Christ, who binds the tribes and the nations into one new family. Amen.

Narrated version of this devotional on 1 Chronicles Chapter 7