The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034.
Five sons of Bela, heads of fathers' houses, with a fighting count of 22,034. Most readers skim a verse like this. Yet the writers treat these lists as deliberate. Why does God keep a register of names at all? And why is Benjamin marked out by valour?
Where the verse stands
Chapter 7 closes the genealogy of the tribes. Benjamin stands among the tribes that kept their records and counted their fighting men. One commentator names three tribes that share the description given to Bela's five sons:
H. L. Rossier1 Chronicles 7 closes the genealogy of the tribes. The sons of Issachar come first... A second good trait of this tribe is that they took care of their genealogies. We are told that all these men were registered by genealogy (v. 5). A third feature appears only with Issachar, Benjamin, and Asher: "valiant men of might," fit to go out to war.
Why the names are written down
Chronicles was put together after the exile. These registers are not record-keeping for its own sake. God keeps account of His own people.
J. N. DarbyThese books were written or drawn up after the captivity (see 1 Chron. 6:15). They preserve God's history of His people, recorded by the Holy Spirit, as He loved to remember it. They show only the faults we need to know if we are to understand the instructions of His grace. 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... Not all of Israel is there; and not everyone descended from Israel is truly Israel.
Another writer draws the same point from a similar list of returning exiles. A name kept on record is God's public notice of people who stayed loyal while everything around them fell apart:
Edward DennettHe has caused this list to be kept. It is proof that He looks with joy on the smallest fruits of His Spirit's work. It is proof that the very names of His people are known and announced. This encourages everyone to walk in His ways, to be identified with His interests, and to stay faithful in times of corruption and falling away.
Mighty warriors
The ESV calls Bela's sons "mighty warriors." Older translations read "mighty men of valour," and the phrase comes back again and again in this section. One writer takes it as the mark of the whole tribe, and as a picture pointing forward:
H. L. RossierThe tribe of Benjamin had the same features as Issachar: care for their genealogies, and mighty men of valour. But this second feature stood out in this little tribe, which was so closely united to the kingdom of Judah at Jerusalem. Three times they are called by this name (vv. 7, 9, 11). This reminds us of Christ's character as waging war and conquering. Benjamin is the prophetic picture of Him. Benjamin is tied so closely to the royal tribe of Judah that the two are never separated.
The name Benjamin has its own history. A dying mother gave one name; the father replaced it:
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe youngest son of Jacob by his beloved wife Rachel. She died at his birth and named him BEN-ONI, meaning "son of my sorrow," but his father named him BENJAMIN, "son of the right hand" (Gen. 35:18, 24). He is a picture of Christ in both names: exalted at God's right hand (Benjamin), and, as rejected, the reason for Israel's suffering in the last days (Ben-oni). Rachel is a picture of Israel.
Why Benjamin is listed twice
Benjamin is listed twice in these genealogies, and so is Judah. Why the repetition?
William KellyBenjamin and Judah are repeated because each was connected with royalty — Benjamin with Saul, Judah with David. Judah is mentioned first in relation to David, and next to the people. Benjamin is brought in first in relation to the people, and then in relation to Saul. This is why we have Benjamin again in the 8th chapter. There is another reason why Benjamin is brought in: he had a particular connection with Jerusalem.
The limit of natural strength
A count of 22,034 warriors sounds like security. The tribe's later history says otherwise:
H. L. RossierFrom Benjamin came mighty men of valour, able to draw the bow. Even so, that did not stop Saul from dying by the very weapon that was his tribe's strength, and that should have been his own strength against his enemies. The sinful nature, dressed in all its advantages, still perishes. It cannot resist God's judgment even for an instant.
Summary
- Recorded — Chronicles keeps God's story of His people "as He loved to remember it." Five little-known names are His memorial, not leftover paperwork.
- Registered — Benjamin took care of its genealogies, as Issachar did. Knowing where you belong counts as a good trait.
- Ready — the tribe's mark is valour. Chronicles calls Benjamin's men mighty three times here, a description shared only with Issachar and Asher.
- Royal — Benjamin is bound to Judah and to Jerusalem, and reappears in chapter 8 for Saul's sake; the tribe's warlike character points on to Christ conquering, "son of the right hand."
- Reality check — skilled archers could not save Saul from the weapon his tribe was famous for. Human strength, however well armed, cannot stand for a moment before God's judgment.