Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Jithran, and Beera.
This verse sits in the closing genealogies of 1 Chronicles. It gives only names from the line of Asher — a father and his sons, with no story attached. Why does God's record slow down to spell out men Scripture never mentions again?
Chapter 7 sweeps up the tribes that the book does not dwell on. One writer explains why:
1 Chronicles 7 gives the remaining tribes with the chief men among them. The book gives the two things that matter to God, the throne and the temple, with care and detail. Judah was closely connected with the throne, and Levi with the temple. The other tribes were not, so the book passes over them very briefly.
So the shortness is not carelessness. Asher gets a few verses because Asher is not the tribe of the throne or of the temple.
Read as a family tree of separate men, these lists quickly puzzle a reader. The order of the names keeps shifting. One commentator names this very passage as a different kind of record:
Sometimes the genealogies of Chronicles contain very ancient names that we do not find anywhere else in the Old Testament. Many names are not those of people, but of clans or families. Others are genealogies we might call geographic. For lack of other source material, they include the names of tribes, of districts, of cities... We find this again in 1 Chron. 2:18-24, 25-33, 42-55; 1 Chron. 4:1-23, 28-33; 1 Chron. 5:11-17; 1 Chron. 7:37-40.
That is why a name here can carry weight beyond one man. One reference work lists Bezer as more than a son:
Son of Zophah, one of the princes of Asher.
Asher's short section is not a leftover. One writer sets Asher beside Naphtali, and the difference is simple — Asher's family records survived.
We cannot say often enough that the importance of the genealogies here depends on the care the families took to preserve them during the captivity. Naphtali is like the dried remnant of a plant that was once green and flourishing. Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher, on the other hand, keep intact the deposit that God had entrusted to them.
Israel's records came through the collapse of the nation, and they show it. Yet keeping such a list, when there seemed to be nothing left to keep it for, showed what a man believed.
These genealogies were imperfect. The state of Israel carried the mark of the ruin that had come on them. But it also carried the mark of the goodness of God, who had brought back a remnant. He had kept everything needed to place the people of that remnant in the record of His people... Happy is the man who kept his own record, and who valued the Lord's inheritance enough to treasure it! It was a proof of faith. For someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Another writer shows what these records protected the returning exiles from:
Well, when they returned, these genealogies would be extremely important. They were important for the Israelites so that they would not seize what was not theirs — so that they would not be unjust — so that they would be content with what God had given them — so that they would link themselves with all that was great and glorious in God's sight in the past.
One commentator admits what many readers feel about lists like this:
I have no doubt that most of us have read these genealogies and thought it was high time to skip over them. I have no doubt we have often wondered why they were written at all, and why they should be in the Bible... But I am quite sure that relatively few people have a clear, definite understanding of why God has attached so much importance to these genealogies.
And the written record now points to something later:
There is little to say here except that the Lord takes pleasure in recording even the names of His servants... He honours those who honour Him. He records their names in His word now, and He will glorify their persons in the great day that is coming soon.
- Brevity — Chronicles is built around the throne and the temple. Tribes further from those two subjects, like Asher, get only a few verses.
- Clans — many names in verses 37 to 40 stand for families, districts and cities, not single men. That explains the shifting order.
- Kept — Asher, with Issachar and Benjamin, kept intact what God had entrusted to it. Naphtali was left like a withered plant.
- Faith — keeping such a list in Babylon looked useless. That is why it proved faith: it valued an inheritance not yet in hand.
- Recorded — God takes pleasure in writing down the names of His servants. He will also glorify those persons in the day that is coming.
And the sons of Jether Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara.
The closing verses of 1 Chronicles 7 run through the family of Asher. Verse 38 simply names three sons of Jether, with no story attached to any of them. Why does Scripture preserve names like these, and what is a reader meant to do with them?
Chapter 7 gathers the tribes with the shortest entries. Asher's section, where our verse falls, records two things.
Verses 30-40 deal with Asher's genealogy, and they give us the number of his men of war, as they do for Issachar and Benjamin. Like those two tribes, Asher's men are "mighty of valour."
There is a reason the space given to the tribes is so uneven.
1 Chronicles 7 gives the remaining tribes with the chief men among them. The two things of divine importance, the throne and the temple, have been given with care and detail. Judah was tied to the throne and Levi to the temple; the other tribes were not so closely connected, so they get only a few lines.
One commentator points out that names in lists like this one are not always single men.
Sometimes the genealogies of Chronicles contain very old names, which we do not find anywhere else in the Old Testament. Many names are not those of people, but of clans or families. Others are genealogies we might call geographic. For lack of any other material, they list the names of tribes, districts and cities… We find this again in … 1 Chron. 7:37-40, and elsewhere.
That range, 7:37-40, includes our verse.
One commentator admits how most of us read pages like this.
These genealogies had a far higher character than they seem to have at first sight. I have no doubt that most of us have read them thinking it was high time to skip over them. We have often wondered why they were ever written at all… But I am sure that very few people have a clear, settled judgment about why God has attached so much importance to these genealogies.
Another writer asked the same question about a different list of unknown names.
What importance can we attach to this genealogy of unknown names? Let us remind ourselves that we are in the kingdom of God, where wheel is fitted to wheel in His chariot of progress. How good it is to escape from meaningless chatter into a world like this, where everything has meaning!
The exiles came home to a land where family records settled who could claim what.
When they returned, these genealogies would be of the greatest importance to the Israelites. They would keep them from seizing what was not theirs. They would keep them from being unjust. They would keep them content with what God had given them. And they would link them with all that was great and glorious in God's sight in the past.
Keeping such a record through the years of captivity took faith, when the land itself was out of reach.
Happy the man who had kept his own record, and who valued the heritage of Jehovah enough to treasure it! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said, "What use are these genealogies in Babylon?"
These chapters do more than list names. They also record what God did for individuals.
Wherever there has been faith, God has blessed His people one by one. Jabez (1 Chron. 4:9-10), the son of affliction, asked for blessing in the presence of the God of Israel, and he did not fail to find it… So, although there was neither the power of the king nor the order of the kingdom, wherever there was faith, God blessed those of His people who trusted in Him.
A list like this one also points the reader to his own future.
It is deeply solemn to go over such a record of names that man forgot long ago. God has remembered every one of them, with every detail of their pathway through this world. Some day our names will also be lost to mankind, but God will not forget us or our ways.
- Remembered — Jether's three sons do nothing recorded, yet God keeps their names. What man forgets, He does not.
- Remembered as clans — names here may stand for families, districts or towns, not only single men. The record is wider than it looks.
- Remembered briefly — Asher gets few lines because the throne and the temple get the detail. A short entry is not a worthless one.
- Remembered by faith — keeping a genealogy in Babylon, with the land gone, was itself a proof of faith.
- Remembered for blessing — in these same chapters God blessed Jabez and others wherever there was faith. Being unknown is no barrier to His notice.
And the sons of Ulla Arah, and Hanniel, and Rizia.
Three names close a long family list in Asher's line. Why did God keep them? Commentators answer from two directions: what the list did for the people who first read it, and what it says about the God who wrote it down.
Chronicles does not give every tribe the same space. It measures each tribe by its nearness to the two subjects at the centre of the book.
1 Chronicles 7 gives the remaining tribes with the chief men among them. The two things of divine importance, the throne and the temple, have been given with care and detail. All the other tribes were not connected with them as closely as Judah and Levi were, so the book passes over them very briefly.
Not every name in such a list is one man. Whole households and districts can stand behind a single word, and this verse sits inside a stretch the writer names.
Sometimes the genealogies of Chronicles contain names of very ancient origin which we do not find anywhere else in the Old Testament. Many names are not those of individuals, but of clans or families. Others are genealogies we might call geographic. For lack of other source material, they include the names of tribes, districts and cities... We find it again in 1 Chron. 2:18-24 ... 1 Chron. 7:37-40, and so on.
Hanniel, the middle of the three names, was a man of rank:
Son of Ulla, and prince of the tribe of Asher.
Asher's care for his own line shows in what the chapter records.
Asher (vv. 30-40) is concerned about his genealogy, and the number of his men of war is given to us along with that of Issachar and Benjamin. Like them, they are "mighty of valour."
Israel's records came through the captivity incomplete. What was left still told the reader two things at once.
These genealogies were imperfect. The condition of Israel bore the mark of the ruin that had come upon them. But it also bore the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had preserved everything needed to place those who formed it in the record of His people. If a man lacked the proof needed to give him a title, he lost his proper privileges among the people, and priests lost their priestly position... These genealogies served as a means to recognise the people. Happy the man who had preserved his own record, and who so valued the heritage of Jehovah as to hold it precious! It was a proof of faith; for someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Behind every name lay a field and a house. In exile that looked worthless.
The Jews, disheartened by the destruction they would never believe in until it came, might have thought, "What is the use of a genealogy? What is the use of caring now about our lands or houses? Everything is ruined. All is gone." But the man who believed God knew that seventy years would see them return from their captivity. So care for God and confidence in His Word would make them guard their genealogies closely. Then, when they did return, they might enter upon the allotment of God. For this is what made every homestead in Israel so precious — that it was God who gave it. It was not merely something a man earned by his own labour or skill. It was the gift of God to them.
Above the human record-keeping stands God's own.
He records at the same time the names of those who had gone through the trials mentioned in this history without being blotted out of the book. Here it is only the outward picture of this blessed memorial of the people of His grace. But this is in fact what we find here. Not all Israel is there; and not all who come from Israel are Israel.
- Brevity — Chronicles spends its detail on the throne and the temple. Other tribes, Asher among them, get only their chief men.
- Clans — A name here can stand for a family, a district or a town, not only for one man.
- Rank — Hanniel, the middle of the three, was a prince of Asher, a tribe that cared about its own line.
- Faith — Keeping a family register in Babylon, with land and house gone, was a proof of faith. Without it, a man lost his place among the people.
- Kept — Every name held a portion God Himself had given. Behind the written roll stands a God who records the names of His own and does not blot them out.
All these were the sons of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, choice men, mighty of valour, chiefs of the princes. And their number according to their genealogy, registered as fit for service for war, was twenty-six thousand men.
This verse closes Asher's family list with a headcount of its leaders and fighting men. Two questions follow. Why does Scripture keep such a register at all? And why is a tribe we hear little about praised in such strong terms?
These lists were written down after the nation had lost everything. For people in exile, a record of families and fighting men was not history for its own sake. It was the title deed of a people who expected God to bring them back.
The genealogies became so important because the books of Chronicles were written after the captivity, when everything was thrown into disorder. The Jews were disheartened by a destruction they refused to believe in until it came. They might have thought, "What is the use of a genealogy? What is the use of caring now about our lands or houses? Everything is ruined. All is gone." But the man who believed God knew that seventy years would see them return from their captivity. So care for God and confidence in His Word made them guard their genealogies closely, so that when they did return they could enter the portion God had allotted them. This is what made every homestead in Israel so precious — God gave it. It was not something a man earned by his own labour or skill. It was God's gift to them.
Asher's record is full, while Naphtali barely appears. The difference comes down to what each family cared about.
We cannot say too often that the importance of the genealogies here depends on the care each family took to preserve them during the captivity. Naphtali is like the dried remnant of a plant that was once green and flourishing. Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher keep intact the deposit God had entrusted to them.
The verse singles out household heads and leaders. In other nations a long pedigree flatters a family; in Israel it pointed away from the family altogether.
If an Israelite was closely tied to his family, this was not vanity or pride, as it so often is with us. In Israel it was tied to the purpose of God. It was not a question of some rogue doing something that might win his family favour, as often happens among the Gentiles. In Israel God ordered it all. It was God's appointment, and the honoured men there were men whom God counted worthy — men whose deeds of faith had won a place for Israel according to the will of God.
Asher's name means "happy," yet the tribe's story carries a shadow. They never took all of the land given to them in the far north.
The meaning of the name is "happy."… Its portion in the land was in the far north. Their west border was surely meant to be the Great Sea. But they did not drive out the people of Accho, Zidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik and Rehob. Instead the Asherites lived among the Canaanites. This left a stretch of land on the sea coast unoccupied by Asher.
Moses' final blessing ties Asher's happiness to his walk and to strength that keeps pace with each day. (The quote below uses older wording. The ESV reads: "let him dip his foot in oil… and as your days, so shall your strength be.")
"Let him dip his foot in oil," that is, walking in the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Shoes iron" — what belongs to his walk shall be in strength; "and brass," able to bear judgment. "As his days, so shall his strength be." We would often prefer this promise the other way round: as your strength is little, so shall your days be easy, with the difficulties smoothed out and fitted to our weakness.
Long after these 26,000 men were dust and the nation had collapsed, one woman from this tribe appears in the temple when Christ arrives. (The quote below keeps an older wording.)
The blessing of Asher in Deuteronomy 33:24-25 ends with these lovely words: "As your days, so shall your strength be" — and all went to ruin, as the history of Israel unfolds. Yet at the first coming of Christ we find one of that same tribe. The godly remnant of the people were then "waiting for the consolation of Israel." Among them was "Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." She was living in the enjoyment and power of that blessing of Moses: "so shall your strength be." And the Lord Christ Himself became identified with that obscure remnant, of which she was one.
- Kept — Asher's entry is full because Asher's families guarded the record through captivity. Naphtali's entry is a withered stub. What a family treasures decides what survives.
- Claimed — A preserved genealogy let the returning exile step back into the exact portion God had given, not land he had earned.
- Counted — Being a "chief" here was not social rank. These were men whom God counted worthy. Their deeds of faith won a place for Israel.
- Unfinished — The same tribe that fielded 26,000 fit men left part of its coast in Canaanite hands. Strength on the register is not the same as ground taken.
- Carried — Centuries later Anna, of this tribe, was still living on Asher's promise of strength matched to the day. The Lord identified Himself with the small company she belonged to.