1 Chronicles 7:14-19

12. THE DESCENDANTS OF MANASSEH (1 Chronicles 7:14-19)

TEXT

1 Chronicles 7:14. The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bare; she bare Machir the father of Gilead: 15. and Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name was Maacah; and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. 16. And Maacah the wife of Machir bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17. And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18. And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishhod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19. And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.

PARAPHRASE

1 Chronicles 7:14. The sons of Manasseh, born to his Aramaean concubine, were, Asri-el and Machir (who became the father of Gilead). 15. It was Machir who found wives for Huppim and Shuppim. Machir's sister was Maacah. Another descendant was Zelophehad, who had only daughters. 16. Machir's wife, also named Maacah, bore him a son whom she named Peresh; his brother's name was Sheresh, and he had sons named Ulam and Rakem. 17. Ulam's son was Bedan. So these were the sons of Gilead, the grandsons of Machir, and the great-grandsons of Manasseh. 18. Hammolecheth, Machir's sister, bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19. The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

COMMENTARY

We studied an earlier reference to the tribe of Manasseh in 1 Chronicles 5:23-26. Several names in the paragraph now under attention are of interest. Machir, Manasseh's son, is known as a frontiersman. Gilead, the son of Machir, left his name on a considerable part of the territory bordering the Jordan River on the east. Zelophehad was the great-grandson of Manasseh (Joshua 17:3). He had five daughters; but he had no sons. He died in his sins during the wilderness wanderings. His daughters came to Moses (Numbers 27:1) requesting their father's inheritance. This was granted. A ruling was also passed in Numbers 36 that heiress must marry within their own tribe. It is of interest to note that the name Gilead became more prominent than that of Machir. Abiezer (1 Chronicles 7:18) was the grandson of Machir and the ancestor of Gideon, who was an Abiezrite of the tribe of Manasseh and a judge in Israel.