Reuben
1The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, 2and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph) – 3the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel:
Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.
4The descendants of Joel:
Shemaiah his son, Gog his son,
Shimei his son, 5Micah his son,
Reaiah his son, Baal his son,
6and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser5:6 Hebrew Tilgath-Pilneser, a variant of Tiglath-Pileser; also in verse 26 king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.
7Their relatives by clans, listed according to their genealogical records:
Jeiel the chief, Zechariah, 8and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel.
They settled in the area from Aroer to Nebo and Baal Meon. 9To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the River Euphrates, because their livestock had increased in Gilead.
10During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.
Gad
11The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salekah:
12Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan.
13Their relatives, by families, were:
Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia and Eber – seven in all.
14These were the sons of Abihail son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz.
15Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.
16The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasture-lands of Sharon as far as they extended.
17All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.
18The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service – able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle. 19They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab. 20They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 21They seized the livestock of the Hagrites – fifty thousand camels, two hundred and fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive, 22and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.
The half-tribe of Manasseh
23The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon).
24These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. 25But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.
Rubens slægt
1Ruben var Jakobs ældste søn. (Men fordi han vanærede sin far ved at stå i forhold til en af faderens koner, blev hans førstefødselsret overdraget til hans halvbror Josef og dennes to sønner. Det er derfor Rubens slægt ikke bliver nævnt først i slægtsbøgerne. 2Og selv om Judas stamme blev den største, og kong David kom fra den stamme, så var det Josef, der fik den dobbelte arvelod, som den førstefødte ellers skulle have haft).
3Ruben fik følgende sønner: Hanok, Pallu, Hetzron og Karmi.
4Til Rubens slægt hørte også Joel, som blev far til Shemaja, som igen blev far til Gog. Gog blev far til Shimi, 5som blev far til Mika. Mika blev far til Reaja, som blev far til Ba’al. 6Ba’al blev far til Be’era, som blev ført i eksil af assyrerkongen Tiglat-Pileser, for han var på det tidspunkt leder for Rubens stamme.
7-8Slægtsbøgerne nævner følgende slægtsoverhoveder som værende i familie med Be’era: Jeiel, Zekarja og Bela, der var søn af Azaz, som var søn af Shema, som igen var søn af Joel.
Disse rubenitter boede i Aroer og i området nord for, helt op til Nebobjerget og Ba’al-Meon. 9De havde store kvægflokke i Gileads land, og deres territorium nåede ud til ørkenen, der strækker sig i retning af Eufratfloden. 10Under kong Saul besejrede de hagritterne og overtog deres områder i det østlige Gilead.
Gads slægt
11Gads stamme bosatte sig nord for rubenitternes område, og Gads stammeområde strakte sig langt ind i Bashan og østpå helt til Salka.
12Slægtsoverhovederne for Gads stamme var først og fremmest Joel, dernæst Shafam, Janaj og Shafat i Bashan. 13Desuden var de syv brødre Mikael, Meshullam, Sheba, Joraj, Jakan, Zia og Eber ledere for hver deres gren af slægten. 14De var sønner af Abihajil, som var søn af Huri, søn af Jaroa, søn af Gilead, søn af Mikael, søn af Jeshishaj, søn af Jahdo, søn af Buz. 15Ahi, der var søn af Abdiel, søn af Guni, var overhoved for deres slægter. 16Gads stamme boede i det nordlige Gilead, i Bashan med alle småbyerne og videre ud over Sarons græsmarker.
17Disse slægtsoplysninger stammer fra kong Jotam af Judas og kong Jeroboam af Israels tid.
De østlige stammers hærstyrker
18Rubens, Gads og Manasses halve stamme mønstrede 44.760 dygtige, veltrænede krigere—alle bevæbnet med bue, skjold og sværd— 19og de erklærede hagritterne, jeturitterne, nafishitterne og nodabitterne krig. 20-22De bad til Gud, og han hjalp dem, fordi de stolede på ham. Hagritterne og deres allierede led et knusende nederlag. Mange af dem blev dræbt, og 100.000 taget til fange. Blandt krigsbyttet var der 50.000 kameler, 250.000 får og 2000 æsler. De overtog derefter hagritternes land og blev boende der, indtil de blev ført i eksil.
23Manasses halve stamme blev til et stort folk, og de spredtes ud over Bashans land helt til Ba’al-Hermon, Senir og Hermonbjerget. 24Følgende mænd var deres slægtsoverhoveder: Efer, Jishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jirmeja, Hodavja og Jahdiel—alle sammen mænd, der var kendt for deres militære lederegenskaber.
25De viste imidlertid ikke troskab mod deres fædres Gud, men tilbad afguderne hos de folk, som Gud havde hjulpet dem med at besejre. 26Derfor sørgede Gud for, at kong Pul af Assyrien (han kaldes også Tiglat-Pileser), indtog hele det område, hvor Rubens, Gads og Manasses halve stamme boede, og deporterede dem til Halach, Habor, Hara og Gozanfloden, hvor de bor den dag i dag.
Ypperstepræsterne fra Arons slægt af Levis stamme
27Levi fik tre sønner: Gershon, Kehat og Merari.
28Kehats sønner hed Amram, Jitzhar, Hebron og Uzziel. 29Amrams børn hed Aron, Moses og Mirjam. Arons sønner hed Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar og Itamar. 30-40Rækken af ypperstepræster fra Arons søn Eleazar indtil bortførelsen til Babylonien er som følger: Eleazar, Pinehas, Abishua, Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahja, Merajot, Amarja, Ahitub, Zadok, Ahima’atz, Azarja, Johanan, Azarja (som var præst ved Salomons tempel i Jerusalem), Amarja, Ahitub, Zadok, Shallum, Hilkija, Azarja, Seraja og Jehotzadak. 41Herren lod kong Nebukadnezar føre den sidstnævnte i eksil sammen med Judas og Jerusalems befolkning.
