(7) Tilgath - pilneser.--The Assyrian monarch known as Tiglath Pileser II. See 2 Kings 15:29, for his deportation of the people of the northern and trans-Jordanic districts of Israel, in the reign of Pekah. Some MSS., with LXX. and Syriac, read Tiglath, which is more correct than Tilgath. Vat., LXX., ?????????????, Syr., Teglath-Palsar. The Assyrian name, of which these forms are transcripts, is Tu-kulti-pal-Esarra, "the servant of the son of Esarra." (The "Son of Esarra" is a title of the god Ninip.) Tilgath-Pilneser (Vulg., Thelgath-Phalnasar) is the invariable spelling of Chronicles.
He was prince of the Reubenites.--Beerah was tribal prince of Reuben, and not merely chief of a Reubenite clan, as some will have it. The Hebrew construction is parallel to that of Numbers 7:24; Numbers 7:30seq., with which comp. Numbers 7:18.
(7) And his brethren by their families.--"And his fellow-tribesmen, each after his clan (Numbers 2:34), in the registration after their pedigrees, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah." Jeiel was the chief of the second Reubenite clan, as Beerah of the first. Zechariah and Bela were heads of the other chief houses. It appears that these four chieftains correspond to the four divisions of Reuben mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:3. Numbers 26:7 says expressly that "the Hanochite, the Palluite, the Hezronite, and the Carmite" were "the clans of the Reubenite."
Verses 7, 8. - Of Jeiel, Zechariah, Bela, and Asaz nothing further is known. Shema and Joel may be those of ver. 4, as above. The expression, his brethren, i.e. the brethren of Beerah, must be read generally. The intimation, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, is probably explained by the contents of ver. 17 (of which hereafter). Aroer (עֲרֹעֵר or עְרועֵר); a place east of the Jordan, overhanging the torrent of Arnon, which was a boundary between Moab and the Amorites, and afterwards between Moab and Reuben. There is little doubt that Burckhardt has identified the ruins of Aroer (see Numbers 32:38; Deuteronomy 2:24, 36; Deuteronomy 3:8, 12, 16; Joshua 12:1, 2; Joshua 13:9, 16; Judges 11:13, 26, where note transposition of letters in the Hebrews 1; 2 Kings 10:33). Moab seems to have regained it later (Jeremiah 48:1-47; see interesting arts. "Amen" and "Areer," Smith's' Bible Dictionary'). Nebo and Baal-meon are also mentioned together in Numbers 32:38; and Baal-meon with Moab in Ezekiel 25:9. This Nebo, the town, is distinct from Mount Nebo. It is remarkable that it is not mentioned, unless under one of the "changed" names (Numbers 32:38), in the list of the towns of Reuben (Joshua 13:15-23). Nebo was the name of a heathen deity, known among the Chaldeans (Isaiah 46:1), Babylonians, and Assyrians; and this constituted one reason, if not the reason, for changing its name when it had been affixed to the Moabite city.
5:1-26 Genealogies. - This chapter gives some account of the two tribes and a half seated on the east side of Jordan. They were made captives by the king of Assyria, because they had forsaken the Lord. Only two things are here recorded concerning these tribes. 1. They all shared in a victory. Happy is that people who live in harmony together, who assist each other against the common enemies of their souls, trusting in the Lord, and calling upon him. 2. They shared in captivity. They would have the best land, not considering that it lay most exposed. The desire of earthly objects draws to a distance from God's ordinances, and prepares men for destruction.
And his brethren by their families,.... Either the brethren of Beerah, or the rest of the posterity of Reuben:
(when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned;) either in the times of Jotham and Jeroboam, 1 Chronicles 5:17 or at the time of their captivity, as in the preceding verse:
were the chief, Jehiel, and Zechariah; these were the principals or heads of their families.
He was prince of the Reubenites.--Beerah was tribal prince of Reuben, and not merely chief of a Reubenite clan, as some will have it. The Hebrew construction is parallel to that of Numbers 7:24; Numbers 7:30 seq., with which comp. Numbers 7:18.
(7) And his brethren by their families.--"And his fellow-tribesmen, each after his clan (Numbers 2:34), in the registration after their pedigrees, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah." Jeiel was the chief of the second Reubenite clan, as Beerah of the first. Zechariah and Bela were heads of the other chief houses. It appears that these four chieftains correspond to the four divisions of Reuben mentioned in 1 Chronicles 5:3. Numbers 26:7 says expressly that "the Hanochite, the Palluite, the Hezronite, and the Carmite" were "the clans of the Reubenite."
(when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned;) either in the times of Jotham and Jeroboam, 1 Chronicles 5:17 or at the time of their captivity, as in the preceding verse:
were the chief, Jehiel, and Zechariah; these were the principals or heads of their families.