1 Chronicles 7: 1 – 40
Mighty Men of Valor
7 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron—four in all. 2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred. 3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men. 4 And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers’ houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons. 5 Now their brethren among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, listed by their genealogies, eighty-seven thousand in all. 6 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael—three in all. 7 The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five in all. They were heads of their fathers’ houses, and they were listed by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor. 8 The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these are the sons of Becher. 9 And they were recorded by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor. 10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan, and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers’ houses; there were seventeen thousand two hundred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle. 12 Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, and Hushim was the son of Aher. 13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. 14 The descendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him Machir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel. 15 Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s grandson was Zelophehad, but Zelophehad begot only daughters. 16 (Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. 18 His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. 20 The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle. 22 Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. 23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house. 24 Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah; 25 and Rephah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun his son, and Joshua his son. 28 Now their possessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as Ayyah and its towns; 29 and by the borders of the children of Manasseh were 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. 30 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. 32 And Heber begot Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the children of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 And the sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Jithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla were Arah, Haniel, and Rizia. 40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.
The Bible records the expression "mighty men of valor" about 37 times. That description is mostly in the Old Testament in the narratives about men who responded to God's commands.
Most of them were ordinary men until they established a relationship with God. After they realized God's plan for their lives, they lived with a purpose and became brave men who were described as "mighty men of valor."
Valor simply means having great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle. David's men showed strength, courage, and boldness even when their lives were on the line.
Here are just some of the things mighty men of valor do.
A mighty man of valor puts God first.
A mighty man of valor is one who always takes care of his responsibilities.
A mighty man of valor never loses focus of his purpose.
A mighty man of valor takes risks.
A mighty man of valor doesn't just talk the talk. He also walks the walk.
A mighty man of valor doesn't limit his love. He obeys the scriptures to love all people, even his enemies.
A mighty man of valor turns problems into opportunities.
A mighty man of valor is one who relies on God while realizing he can't fulfill his mission alone.
A mighty man of valor goes through the eye of the storm with confidence. He knows there will be a rainbow after the storm is over.
A mighty man of valor is one with much compassion for those he sets out to help.
A mighty man of valor puts others ahead of himself. He knows that if he pushes other ahead, he will move ahead as well.
A mighty man of valor never puts people down. His purpose is to lift them up.
Titles don't make mighty men of valor. Wealth doesn't make them that way either. On the other hand, men without titles, popularity, wealth and prestige could very well be mighty men of valor.
Mighty Men of Valor have three distinct characteristics; strength, courage, and passion.
Joshua 1: 14, “12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.” 16 So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”
As you know the Israelites because of their forsaking Adoni Yahweh our Great God Who loved them and Blessed them they were banished from the land. As we look at the book of 1 Chronicles and see the genealogy of the various biblical men the author lists the mighty men of valor who lived in the past in order to encourage future heroes. There were many mighty men of valor in the Bible, such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Gideon, David, Jonathan, and others. However, they are not limited to just the Bible. There are mighty men of valor walking among us today.
There are men today whose characteristics fit the ones mentioned above. The most wonderful thing about mighty men of valor is that they might have started out as misfits but with proper training under an effective leader, they will turn into mighty men of valor.
The tribes to the north of Judah and Simeon west of Jordan are now dealt with together, having been separated off from them by the information concerning the sons of Levi. The information provided is brief, in some cases very brief, but the important lessons have already been emphasized. It will be noted that for the first time we have reference to the size of their contribution to the hosts of Israel, although it had been done briefly and more indirectly concerning Reuben, Gad and Manasseh (5.18). These tribes are mainly mentioned in order to establish that God’s purposes extend to ‘all twelve tribes. The first to be mentioned are the sons of Issachar.
7 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron—four in all.
The sons are Tola, Pu’ah, Jashub and Shimron. The emphasis will be on the firstborn.
2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father’s house. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty-two thousand six hundred.
The reference to the days of David suggests that we are to see these as descendants of Tola rather than as direct sons. They were ‘heads of their fathers’ houses’, that is, ‘of Tola’s’ house. The ‘house’ indicated the wider family, and it would seem probable that each in turn was head of the wider family, that is of the Tolaites. Each of them was a ‘mighty man of valor’, a great warrior, in his generation. And in the days of David they were able to provide to the host of Israel 22, Thus had they prospered under God’s hand.
3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah, and the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Ishiah. All five of them were chief men.
Uzzi’s son (or descendant) was Izrahiah, and he begat Michael, Obadiah, Joel and Isshiah and what was important was that they were all leaders of men and good commanders. Once more God had provided for His people.
4 And with them, by their generations, according to their fathers’ houses, were thirty-six thousand troops ready for war; for they had many wives and sons.
These good commanders were commanders over 36,000 men from their own households which were ready to support the host of Israel as warriors.
It is apparent that at this stage we are talking about the strength provided to Israel by its mighty and numerous warriors. And the returnees from Exile were intended to recognize that what God had done once, He could do again.
It would appear from what follows that the remnant of Benjamin who escaped came from the sub-tribe of Bela-Becher (Genesis 46.21). These would have been supplemented by others who took advantage of the emptied land to make it their home. Many of them would have been adopted by the sub-tribe of Bela-Becher, but it appears that some formed a new sub-tribe, naming it Jediael, ‘God makes known’. Jediael was not a known son of Benjamin, but the sub-tribe was seemingly adopted by ‘Benjamin’ and thus became a part of Benjamin and ‘a son of Benjamin’. One of David’s warriors came from that sub-tribe (11.45). We have here then details of the two sub-tribes that arose from the massacre of the Benjamites.
6 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael—three in all.
Because of the destruction of most of the men of Benjamin we start with Bela and Becher, who together formed the sub-tribe that had minimally survived (there was no separate sub-tribe of Becherites in Numbers 26), and Jediael, another sub-tribe.’ He then goes on to deal with the descendants of those sub-tribes.
7 The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri—five in all. They were heads of their fathers’ houses, and they were listed by their genealogies, twenty-two thousand and thirty-four mighty men of valor.
The descendants of Bela (which would include those adopted by the sub-tribe) were headed by five men of military stature, Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth and Iri. They were ‘mighty warriors’ and heads of clans. And when a genealogy was made their men numbered 22,034 military specialists.
8 The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jerimoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these are the sons of Becher.
Next come further descendants of the sub-tribe of Bela-Becher who were related to Becher. These were named Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth.
9 And they were recorded by genealogy according to their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, twenty thousand two hundred mighty men of valor.
These men too were mighty warriors and heads of clans in Benjamin and had under their orders 20,200 warriors.
10 The son of Jediael was Bilhan, and the sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tharshish, and Ahishahar.
This may have been the Jediael who was one of David’s experienced warriors (11.45). Or it may have been the name of the sub-tribe from which he came (see above). Either way the well-known Bilhan was descended from him/it and had seven warrior descendants, Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar.’
11 All these sons of Jediael were heads of their fathers’ houses; there were seventeen thousand two hundred mighty men of valor fit to go out for war and battle.
All these too were mighty warriors and heads of clans, having under them 17, 200 mighty men of valor.
12 Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, and Hushim was the son of Aher.
Two further Benjamites are named, Ir and Aher.
13 The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.
All we know is that these were the sons of Naphtali and that Naphtali’s wife was Bilhah. They make up the number of the twelve tribes indicating that God is concerned for the descendants of all the tribes.
14 The descendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him Machir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel.
In this verse the emphasis is on Asriel, the third son of Gilead, the son of Machir, and on the fact that he was a true born descendant of Manasseh. The point is being made that by bearing Machir, Manasseh’s Aramite concubine had, as it were, ‘borne’ Asriel (because Asriel was Machir’s grandson). Israelites saw all descendants as ‘being in the loins of’ their ancestors.
This is a reminder to us that there are men who have done great things who have now been forgotten by everyone but God, and that what is important is that God raised them up in order to fulfil His purposes. We do not know what Asriel did, but we can rejoice in the fact that he did something great in God’s service.
15 Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s grandson was Zelophehad, but Zelophehad begot only daughters.
The daughters of Zelophehad were famous for having established a new principle of inheritance in Israel (Numbers 36.1-12), which is probably why they have deserved mention. Their forthright faith would have been a further encouragement to the returnees from Exile, especially the women.
16 (Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem.
Machir had two more sons, Peresh and Sheresh, both the sons of his wife Maacah. Ulam and Rekam were presumably the sons of Sheresh.
17 The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.
Ulam the descendant of Makir then had a son or descendant named Bedan, who, being named last must have been outstanding. He may well have been the Judge Bedan who helped to deliver Israel from her enemies (1 Samuel 12.11).
18 His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
Gilead’s sister Hammolecheth must have been mentioned because she was a remarkable woman. It is no coincidence that her name means ‘the queen’. That is why we are given the names of her ‘sons. They were probably great men who helped to establish the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
19 And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.
Shemida, like Asriel, was one of the sons of Gilead. He also produced leaders of men, one of whom was named Shechem.
We now have genealogies related to the sons of Ephraim.
20 The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eladah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead. The men of Gath who were born in that land killed them because they came down to take away their cattle.
Ephraim had three sons. Both Shuthelah and Tahath are mentioned twice in the genealogy, but repetition of names in a family seems to have been quite popular in those days, as indeed it is today.
22 Then Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.
Ephraim clearly loved his sons and was deeply grief-stricken at their loss. He mourned for them many days. And his brothers comforted him.
23 And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Beriah, because tragedy had come upon his house.
Ephraim’s wife would also no doubt have been grief-stricken at the loss of her sons. They had another son whom they named Beriah (br‘h), a name suggestive of calamity.
24 Now his daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon and Uzzen Sheerah;
In contrast with the bad news was the good news. It is a reminder that God so often brings us blessing during tragedy. In contrast with the death of the sons, Sheerah successfully completed the task of embellishing the cities which she had been given.
25 and Rephah was his son, as well as Resheph, and Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun his son, and Joshua his son.
Here we have the finalizing of Ephraim’s genealogy as far as Joshua. ‘And Resheph’ (without ‘his son’) seems to indicate that Resheph was a brother of Rephah. This would then mean that from Ephraim to Joshua was ten generations (Ephraim, Beriah, Rephah, Telah, Tahan, Ladan, Ammihud, Elishama, Non (Nun), Joshua).
At the end of the genealogy comes Joshua on whom these verses are focused. The returnees from Exile are being reminded of what God did for Israel once their sin had been purged by the deaths in the wilderness. They were to recognize that God could raise up such leaders again if only they looked faithfully to Him.
The following are said to be the dwelling places of ‘the children of Joseph the son of Israel’. They therefore include towns in both Ephraim and Manasseh.
28 Now their possessions and dwelling places were Bethel and its towns: to the east Naaran, to the west Gezer and its towns, and Shechem and its towns, as far as Ayyah and its towns;
The possessions and habitations of Ephraim were:
Bethel and its surrounding villages (‘daughters’). It was on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin (Joshua 16.2). It was allocated to Benjamin (Joshua 18.22) but being on the borders of Ephraim was probably shared. When the kingdoms of Israel and Judah split up under Rehoboam it became firmly a part of Ephraim.
To the east of Bethel, as far as Naaran (Naaratha - Joshua 16.7) and its surrounding villages. It was possibly about 5 miles NE of Jericho.
To the west of Bethel, Gezer with its surrounding villages. So moving westwards from Beth-el we come to Gezer, the south western boundary of Ephraim. Gezer was situated on the road from Jerusalem to Joppa, on the most northern ridge of the Shephelah (the lowlands) overlooking the Aijalon valley. It was 7 miles from the main road between Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Shechem and its surrounding villages. Judges 21.21 reveals that this was Ephraimite territory.
29 and by the borders of the children of Manasseh were 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.
According to Joshua 17.11 these four cities belonged to Manasseh. They formed its northern border. But none were immediately taken, being still possessed by the Canaanites (Judges 1.27). ‘There remained much land to be possessed’. However, all were in Israelite hands in the time of David. What mattered was that the returnees recognize that even these mighty cities had eventually had to submit to Israel as God worked His purposes out.
30 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.
Asher had four sons. It is then Beriah whose line is highlighted.
31 The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
These names of the sons of Beriah, Heber and Malchiel. Malchiel had a son named Birzaith.
32 And Heber begot Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua.
Beriah’s line continued through Heber, whose sons were named Japhlet, Shomer and Hotham. He also had a daughter named Shua.
33 The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These were the children of Japhlet.
The first of Heber’s sons, Japhlet, begat three sons, Pasach, Bimhal and Ashvath.
34 The sons of Shemer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.
The second son of Heber, whose name was originally given as Shomer (verse 32), is now called Shemer. The change in such proximity suggests that it was deliberate. The names of his four sons are given. It is possible that this Shemer relates to the Shemer who originally owned the hill on which Samaria (Shomeron) was built (1 Kings 16.24).
35 And the sons of his brother Helem were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal.
The name of the third son in verse 32 was Hotham. That Helem is the same person is confirmed by the fact that it is stressed that Helem is the brother of Shemer.
Helem’s son Zophah was even more prolific, begetting eleven sons, which is possibly why he was selected for mention.
36 The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Jithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispah, and Ara.
Jether is almost certainly Jithron with the ‘n’ dropped off, a shortening of the name.
Ulla was clearly a famous descendant of Asher’s, although his direct connection with the above is not explained. He also had three sons. We have previously come across names appearing ‘out of the blue’ like this, so this should come to us as no surprise. His sons may well have been renowned in warfare.
39 The sons of Ulla were Arah, Haniel, and Rizia. 40 All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.
We are now provided with an explanation of the importance of these men. They were heads of the clans, the finest of their mighty warriors, and chiefs of the princes.
Quite possibly this census was prepared in the days of Ulla and his sons, and at that time Asher could provide twenty-six thousand men ready for war. The comparatively small number may indicate the tribulations that Asher had been through. They had had to fight to survive.
This brings us to the end of the summing up of the ‘twelve tribes of Israel’, who are seen, as so often, as summing up the whole of Israel. It has depicted the growth of Israel under the hand of God and shown what God can do for those who trust in Him. It provided for the returnees from Exile a solid foundation on which to build, and with which to identify. They could feel that they knew who they were, and have a sense of solid worth, and find in these ancestors an incentive to maintain their identity and discover for themselves what God could do for them.
