SUMMARY
The genealogyGenealogy involves the study and tracing of families through the generations - in short, family history. One genealogy in Genesis traces the nations descended from Noah. In the New Testament Matthew traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Abraham, while Jesus' genealogy in Luke goes... More of ReubenThe eldest son of Jacob and Leah, and forefather of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. More “the firstborn of Israel” (1 Chronicles 5:1)—that is, the patriarch Jacob—begins with a recollection of Reuben’s transgression against his father as the rationale for the “sons of Joseph” (5:1) becoming the heads of Israelite tribes, including the “half-tribe of Manasseh” (5:23). Ultimately, alongside the “Reubenites” and the “Gadites,” the members of Manasseh are carried away in exile when “King Tiglath-pilesar of Assyria” attacks the Northern KingdomThe Northern Kingdom consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel and lasted for 200 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 721 B.C.E. In the northern kingdom the kings were evil. Prophets like Elijah and Amos railed against them and their evildoing. More of Israel (5:26).
ANALYSIS
The Chronicler notes that Reuben “was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright” (5:1). The reference to Reuben defiling Jacob’s bed recalls Genesis 35:22: “Reuben went and lay with BilhahOne of the concunbines of Jacob. More his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.” Later, when JacobThe son of Isaac and Rebekah, renamed Israel, became the father of the twelve tribal families. More is on his deathbed, he tells Reuben, “you shall no longer excel because you went up onto your father’s bed; then you defiled it—you went up onto my couch!” (Genesis 49:4). As a result of Reuben’s sin, says the Chronicler, his birthright was given to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (see Genesis 48:1-20).
Following this recollection of Reuben, the Chronicler adds, “though JudahJudah was the name of Jacob's fourth son and one of the 12 tribes. More became prominent among his brothers and a ruler came from him” (1 Chronicles 5:2). This verse likely alludes to Genesis 49:10, which envisions a future leader emerging from the tribe of Judah: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him, and the obedience of the peoples is his” (NRSVUE). Ostensibly, the Judahite “ruler” to whom the Chronicler refers is DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms. More. In a commentary on Genesis found in the Dead Sea ScrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient scrolls discovered in the mid-20th century in caves near an archaeological site called Qumran More (4Q252)—written in the same Second TempleThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... More period as was Chronicles—the interpretation of Genesis 49:10 reads, “For the ruler’s staff is the covenantA covenant is a promise or agreement. In the Bible the promises made between God and God's people are known as covenants; they state or imply a relationship of commitment and obedience. More of kingship… until the MessiahThe Messiah was the one who, it was believed, would come to free the people of Israel from bondage and exile. In Jewish thought the Messiah is the anticipated one who will come, as prophesied by Isaiah. In Christian thought Jesus of Nazareth is identified... More of Righteousness comes, the Branch of David.” Thus, whereas the Chronicler identifies the cryptic “ruler” of Genesis 49:10 as David, later Jewish interpreters understood the ultimate ruler to be the promised descendant of David, the Messiah.
