1 Chronicles 7:20-29

13. THE DESCENDANTS OF EPHRAIM (1 Chronicles 7:20-29)

TEXT

1 Chronicles 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

1 Chronicles 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. Ephraim's daughter's name was Sheerah. She built Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. 25, 26, 27. This is Ephraim's 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. Ephraim's 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 Ephraim's 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 Solomon's death.

[23] Schaff, Philip, Lange's Commentary, Chronicles, Charles Scribners Sons, New York, 1901, p. 79.