1 Chronicles 7:14-19 All Manasseh
We already looked at the half tribe of Manasseh who stayed on the eastern bank. Today we will get a look at the rest of the tribe.
The genealogy listed for the ½ tribe of Manasseh in 1 Chronicles 5:23-26 doesn’t go all the way back to Manasseh. It took us from clan leaders on through then went right into their sin. We see more lineage today. I’m curious though if the “Azriel” in verse 24 from chapter 5 is the same person as “Asriel” in verse 14 in today’s reading. This is the first son named of Man
asseh. If it is the same person then we only skipped Manasseh in the last look at his descendants.
Just like most of the other times I have tried to look at genealogy, I’m confused! Is Maacah Machir’s sister or wife? Could he be both? How about Zelophehad? Is she both sister and wife of Machir too? It sounds like the tribe of Manasseh had a lot more daughters than sons. It doesn’t surprise me because it was from the tribe of Manasseh that a group of daughters came to Moses asking for their father’s inheritance since he had no sons. Funny enough, the name of the father was Zelophehad. Are they the same person? If so I’m reading something wrong here!
Another thing that puzzles me is when we are told that “Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim” (verse 15a). Huppim and Shuppim were names of tribes in Benjamin. We can’t trace them back all the way to Benjamin but they are listed in his genealogy. Could our verse mean he took a wife “from” these two men or clans?
Want to be confounded by something else? I just ran into a problem with Gilead. We are told straight up that Machir was the father of Gilead in verse 14b. But when we come to listing the sons of Maacah and Machir he is not listed among them. Maacah named her son Peresh and he had a brother named Sheresh. We then see Sheresh’s sons Ulam and Rakem. We them move from Ulam to Bedan. Then in the next verse we are told that “These were the sons of Gilead son of Machir, son of Manasseh” (verse 17b). So did Machir call his son Sheresh, Gilead? If so, Gilead apparently used that name and abandoned the one his mother gave him. I don’t see any other explanation. Do you? I would welcome ANY insight into this area!
Before we leave Manasseh we come across another “sister” in verse 18. This “sister” is named Hammolecheth. Is she Machir’s “sister” too? Is she possibly Gilead’s “sister”? I don’t think she is Manasseh’s “sister” since we wouldn’t be following her in Manasseh’s line, unless she was a wife instead.
And no trip through genealogy would be complete without a stray branch being thrown in there. I have NO idea where Shemida fits in. He isn’t listed anywhere else in the rolls I’ve seen today. I recognize one of his son’s names; that of Shechem. We know this name from a city, which was probably named for him.
As I just said to my husband; I am SO looking forward to this genealogy being over! I feel further and further away from understanding the deeper we go. I KNOW God had a reason for including all this in His word but for the life of me I can’t follow it. Those who lived it probably could. It made sense to them. It was also important to them to preserve the integrity of their bloodlines. God gave them the ‘secret decoder ring’ that helped them be able to trace His Son’s birth back through the generations. I don’t need it as I’m a gentile. I trace my “genealogy” of faith through Abraham and Jesus. Those are the only two links I really need. Abraham, because he was the one who God called to be His own and promised that his descendants would be like stars in the sky. And Jesus, because He is the one who did ALL the work to bring me into His family. Hebrews tells us that we are children of faith through Abraham. Jesus is the ONLY begotten Son of God, heir to the Throne and calls me to be a joint heir with Him as God’s adopted child. I’m in the genealogy of God! I wonder if I have any spiritual sons or daughters that God lists under my name. I wish I could know for sure that my children’s names were recorded under mine.
Father God, thank You for making me Your child! Thank You that I KNOW without a doubt that I belong to You. I’m glad I don’t have to pass a genealogy tracing requirement before being allowed in AND WELCOMED!
