The muster of the remaining tribes, counted as armies: Issachar, 'mighty men of valor according to their generations'; Benjamin; Naphtali; Manasseh; Ephraim — where the list breaks open into grief: Ezer and Elead, 'whom the men of Gath who were born in the land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.' A son is born and named Beriah, 'because it went evil with his house' — and it is Ephraim’s daughter Sheerah 'who built Beth-horon the nether and the upper.' Asher closes the roll: 'choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes' — the tribes standing ready long before they assemble at Hebron to make a king.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
And of the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.
verse value 3052
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "Tola" (תּוֹלָ֧ע, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Shimron" (וְשִׁמְר֖וֹן, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 98: and·to·sons·of, and·Puah. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Puah" (וּפוּאָ֛ה), "Jashub" (יָשׁ֥וּב), "and·Shimron" (וְשִׁמְר֖וֹן). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·to·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "four" (root ארבע, 41x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root תולע ("Tola") in I Chronicles.
Rashi
And of the sons of Issachar: Tola, and Puah, and Jashub, and Shimron In the Pentateuch (Gen. 46:13) it is written: “and Job.” Job was his name [originally], but since they settled themselves (נִתְיַשְּׁבוּ) to learn Torah, as it is written (below 12:33): “And of the sons of Issachar, who possessed understanding of the times,” he merited and was called Jashub (יָשוּב).
Metzudat David
'And of the sons of Issachar' — this means: this is the genealogy of the sons of Issachar.
Malbim
'And of the sons of Issachar' — the prefixed 'of' here functions like the 'of' in the phrase, 'Of the sons of Simeon: their generations, by their families' [the standard census heading]. After tracing the lineage of Judah, and of Simeon (who dwelt beside him), and of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, [the text] traced the lineage of Levi in the middle of the tribes, and now returns to the lineage of the remaining tribes: Issachar, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin. As for Dan, Zebulun, and Naphtali — their genealogical record was lost through the exile.
And the sons of Tola: Uzzi and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor according to their generations, even of Tola; their number in the days of David was two and twenty thousand and six hundred.
verse value 7887
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 105 letters. The shortest word is "Uzzi" (עֻזִּ֡י, 3 letters) and the longest is "twenty·and·two" (עֶשְׂרִֽים־וּשְׁנַ֥יִם, 10 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Jeriel" (וִ֠ירִיאֵ֠ל), "and·Jahmai" (וְיַחְמַ֨י), "and·Ibsam" (וְיִבְשָׂ֜ם). The root תולע appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles); "to·house·of·their·fathers" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מספר ("their·number") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·their·generations', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 7 words.
Rashi
And the sons of Tola, etc. “Their number in David’s time was twenty-two thousand and six hundred.” All these were the sons of Tola, aside from the sons of Uzzi.
Ralbag
'Their number in the days of David was two and twenty thousand,' etc. — It appears that this is the count that Joab took at David's command, of which it records here only the numbers for the tribes of Issachar and Benjamin. So it states that the family of the sons of Tola numbered, in the days of David, twenty thousand six hundred; and only the men of the army who drew the sword were counted, just as they were counted through Joab — which is why they are called “bands of the army for war” or “mighty men of valor” in the various places in this count. And even though Uzzi was one of the sons of Tola, his [family's] number is counted separately and not included with the rest of the sons of Tola, to call attention to the fact that they multiplied more than all the other families, because they were diligent in being fruitful and multiplying, taking many wives and having many children.
Metzudat David
'heads' — they were heads of their fathers' houses. 'of Tola' — to the sons of Tola were born mighty men of valor throughout their generations, and their number came, in the days of David, etc., to twenty-two thousand six hundred.
Malbim
'Heads of their fathers' houses, even of Tola' — for the first of the sons of Tola, namely Uzzi, had a son, Izrahiah, who became prominent enough to be traced separately in his own right; but the rest of Uzzi's sons were reckoned together with their brothers, under Uzzi's own headship, back to Tola. Thus there were six heads tracing their lineage to Tola.
And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah; and the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Isshiah, five; all of them chief men.
verse value 2273
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "Uzzi" (עֻזִּ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Izrahiah" (יִֽזְרַֽחְיָ֑ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 240: Izrahiah, Izrahiah. The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "all·of·them" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles); "heads" (root ראש, 73x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ישיה ("Isshiah") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Izrahiah', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 9 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [and·sons·of] (68) + עֻזִּ֖י [Uzzi] (87) + יִֽזְרַֽחְיָ֑ה [Izrahiah] (240) + וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + יִֽזְרַֽחְיָ֗ה [Izrahiah] (240) + מִיכָאֵ֡ל [Michael] (101) + וְ֠עֹבַדְיָ֠ה [and·Obadiah] (97) + וְיוֹאֵ֧ל [and·Joel] (53) + יִשִּׁיָּ֛ה [Isshiah] (325) + חֲמִשָּׁ֖ה [five] (353) + רָאשִׁ֥ים [heads] (551) + כֻּלָּֽם [all·of·them] (90) = 2273.
Rashi
And the sons of Uzzi, etc. “thirty-six thousand for they had many wives and sons.” And all these were aside from those twenty-two thousand and six hundred of the sons of Tola.
Metzudat David
'five' — all five were chief men: the father and his four sons.
Malbim
'And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah' — for Uzzi had other sons as well, who are not named individually, since they did not branch off on their own but remained within Uzzi's own father's house; only Izrahiah broke off from his father's family. He, too, had several sons who are not named individually, because they were all counted as a single father's house under Izrahiah their father, who stood as head of that father's house for the rest of his sons. But his four sons who are counted here — Michael, and so on — became four separate father's houses in their own right, so that, together with Izrahiah, there were five heads.
And with them, by their generations, after their fathers’ houses, were bands of the host for war, six and thirty thousand; for they had many wives and sons.
verse value 4358
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "host·of" (צְבָ֣א, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·their·generations" (לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֜ם, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "bands·of" (גְּדוּדֵי֙), "for·they·multiplied" (כִּי־הִרְבּ֥וּ). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "to·house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "their·fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root גדוד ("bands·of") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'thousand', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַעֲלֵיהֶ֨ם [and·with·them] (161) + לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֜ם [to·their·generations] (910) + לְבֵ֣ית [to·house·of] (442) + אֲבוֹתָ֗ם [their·fathers] (449) + גְּדוּדֵי֙ [bands·of] (27) + צְבָ֣א [host·of] (93) + מִלְחָמָ֔ה [war] (123) + שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים [thirty] (680) + וְשִׁשָּׁ֖ה [and·six] (611) + אָ֑לֶף [thousand] (111) + כִּי־הִרְבּ֥וּ [for·they·multiplied] (243) + נָשִׁ֖ים [wives] (400) + וּבָנִֽים [and·sons] (108) = 4358.
Metzudat David
'And with them' — and with them, from their generations and their fathers' houses, the men of the troops fit to go out to war numbered thirty-six thousand; for they took many wives, and so had many sons.
Malbim
'And with them' — under these five heads were bands of the army for war, thirty-six thousand strong. The reason that [the house descending from] this one son of Uzzi grew larger in number than all the other sons of Tola combined is that they took many wives and had many sons.
And their brethren among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valor, reckoned in all by genealogy, were fourscore and seven thousand.
verse value 3916
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "to·all" (לְכֹל֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·brothers" (וַאֲחֵיהֶ֗ם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 80: to·all, to·the·all. The root כל appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·brothers" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "to·all" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles); "thousand" (root אלף, 77x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שמנה ("eighty") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'valor', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַאֲחֵיהֶ֗ם [and·their·brothers] (70) + לְכֹל֙ [to·all] (80) + מִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת [families·of] (834) + יִשָּׂשכָ֔ר [Issachar] (830) + גִּבּוֹרֵ֖י [mighty·of] (221) + חֲיָלִ֑ים [valor] (98) + שְׁמוֹנִ֤ים [eighty] (446) + וְשִׁבְעָה֙ [and·seven] (383) + אֶ֔לֶף [thousand] (111) + הִתְיַחְשָׂ֖ם [their·registering] (763) + לַכֹּֽל [to·the·all] (80) = 3916.
Rashi
And their brethren of all the families both of the sons of Tola, both of the sons of Uzzi, both all David’s mighty warriors were eighty-seven thousand. all having genealogical records This means: according to all their genealogical records.
Ralbag
'And their brethren among all the families of Issachar' — these are the families of Puvah, Iob, and Shimron (Genesis 46:13). It says “reckoned in all by genealogy” to make clear that all the remaining families of Issachar are already included in this count; and the intent of “reckoned in all by genealogy” is that all the heads of their fathers' houses were reckoned.
Metzudat David
'among all the families' — that is, all the families. 'reckoned in all by genealogy' — all of them had their genealogical records.
Malbim
'And their brethren' — these are the rest of the sons of Issachar, 'Puah, Jashub, and Shimron' — who together comprise all the remaining families of Issachar, and numbered eighty-seven thousand, 'Reckoned in all by genealogy' — meaning, each of them traced his own lineage to his own father's house.
The sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three.
verse value 1248
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 23 letters. Verse gematria: 1248 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "Bela" (בֶּ֧לַע, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Jediael" (וִידִֽיעֲאֵ֖ל, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Becher" (וָבֶ֛כֶר). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "three" (root שלוש, 42x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ידיעאל ("and·Jediael") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: בִּנְיָמִ֗ן [Benjamin] (152) + בֶּ֧לַע [Bela] (102) + וָבֶ֛כֶר [and·Becher] (228) + וִידִֽיעֲאֵ֖ל [and·Jediael] (131) + שְׁלֹשָֽׁה [three] (635) = 1248.
Rashi
Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael This is the one called Ashbel in the “Book of the Just.” (Gen. 46:21).
Metzudat David
'The sons of Benjamin' — this is the genealogy of the sons of Benjamin.
Malbim
The sons of Benjamin — Most commentators hold that this is Benjamin the son of Jacob. But beyond the fact that it is strange — since Benjamin's genealogy is already recorded in the next chapter, why would these details be set down here separately? — consider: it says that Bela and Becher are the sons of Benjamin mentioned in the Torah, yet the sons of Bela listed further on (8:3) are called there by different names. And the family of Becher is not mentioned either in Parashat Pinchas or further on in chapter 8, for Becher died without sons — so how could sons of Becher be mentioned here? And who is this Jediael, who appears neither in the Torah nor further on? And as for Rashi's comment that he is the Ashbel mentioned in the Torah — further on Scripture calls him by the name Ashbel, so why would it call him Jediael here? Therefore the truth speaks for itself: that this Benjamin too was among the sons of Issachar, descended from Puah, Yashuv, and Shimron, and this verse refers back to the previous one, which said that all the families of Issachar (that is, aside from the sons of Benjamin, whom it is about to mention specifically) numbered eighty-seven thousand — this being their total genealogy, meaning their lineage apart from Benjamin's line; for among their descendants was a man named Benjamin, from whom many patriarchal houses branched off. Scripture now begins to trace their genealogy: that this Benjamin fathered three sons — Bela, Becher, and Jediael — and from each of them came the heads of patriarchal houses, as it goes on to list the sons of Bela (verse 7), the sons of Becher (verses 8-9), and the sons of Jediael (verses 10-11).
And the sons of Bela: Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor; and they were reckoned by genealogy twenty-two thousand and thirty-four.
verse value 6384
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 91 letters. The shortest word is "Bela" (בֶ֗לַע, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Jerimoth" (וִירִימ֨וֹת, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Ezbon" (אֶצְבּ֡וֹן), "and·Iri" (וְעִירִ֜י). 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ירימות ("and·Jerimoth") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'valor', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 6 words.
Metzudat David
'they were reckoned by genealogy twenty-two thousand' — their genealogical records reached this number.
And the sons of Becher: Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jeremoth, and Abijah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher.
verse value 4321
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 71 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "Becher" (בֶ֗כֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Elioenai" (וְאֶלְיוֹעֵינַ֤י, 9 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Becher" (בֶ֗כֶר), "Zemirah" (זְמִירָ֡ה), "and·Joash" (וְיוֹעָ֡שׁ). The root בכר appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "all·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אליעזר ("and·Eliezer") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root ירמות ("and·Jeremoth") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Alemeth', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 2 words. 9 of the verse's 13 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + בֶ֗כֶר [Becher] (222) + זְמִירָ֡ה [Zemirah] (262) + וְיוֹעָ֡שׁ [and·Joash] (392) + וֶֽ֠אֱלִיעֶ֠זֶר [and·Eliezer] (324) + וְאֶלְיוֹעֵינַ֤י [and·Elioenai] (193) + וְעׇמְרִי֙ [and·Omri] (326) + וִירֵמ֣וֹת [and·Jeremoth] (662) + וַאֲבִיָּ֔ה [and·Abijah] (24) + וַעֲנָת֖וֹת [and·Anathoth] (932) + וְעָלָ֑מֶת [and·Alemeth] (546) + כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה [all·these] (86) + בְּנֵי־בָֽכֶר [sons·of·Becher] (284) = 4321.
And they were reckoned by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand and two hundred.
verse value 4548
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "house·of" (בֵּ֣ית, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·registering" (וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֣ם, 7 letters). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "their·fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "thousand" (root אלף, 77x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'valor', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהִתְיַחְשָׂ֣ם [and·their·registering] (769) + לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֗ם [to·their·generations] (910) + רָאשֵׁי֙ [heads·of] (511) + בֵּ֣ית [house·of] (412) + אֲבוֹתָ֔ם [their·fathers] (449) + גִּבּוֹרֵ֖י [mighty·of] (221) + חָ֑יִל [valor] (48) + עֶשְׂרִ֥ים [twenty] (620) + אֶ֖לֶף [thousand] (111) + וּמָאתָֽיִם [and·two·hundred] (497) = 4548.
Metzudat David
'And they were reckoned by genealogy' — this means: the heads of the fathers' houses had their genealogical records by their generations, and with them were mighty men of valor numbering twenty thousand two hundred.
And the sons of Jediael: Bilhan; and the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar.
verse value 3814
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 65 letters. The shortest word is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֥י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Ahishahar" (וַאֲחִישָֽׁחַר, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 87: Bilhan, Bilhan. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Ehud" (וְאֵה֤וּד), "and·Chenaanah" (וּֽכְנַעֲנָה֙), "and·Zethan" (וְזֵיתָ֔ן). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Bilhan', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 10 words. 8 of the verse's 13 words begin with the letter ו.
All these were sons of Jediael, even heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, seventeen thousand and two hundred, who were able to go forth in the host for war.
verse value 3459
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֜לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֤י, 3 letters) and the longest is "seven·teen" (שִׁבְעָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 111: thousand, go·out. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "seven·teen" (שִׁבְעָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "all·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'valor', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: כׇּל־אֵ֜לֶּה [all·these] (86) + בְּנֵ֤י [sons·of] (62) + יְדִֽיעֲאֵל֙ [Jediael] (125) + לְרָאשֵׁ֣י [to·heads·of] (541) + הָאָב֔וֹת [the·fathers] (414) + גִּבּוֹרֵ֖י [mighty·of] (221) + חֲיָלִ֑ים [valor] (98) + שִׁבְעָֽה־עָשָׂ֥ר [seven·teen] (947) + אֶ֙לֶף֙ [thousand] (111) + וּמָאתַ֔יִם [and·two·hundred] (497) + יֹצְאֵ֥י [go·out] (111) + צָבָ֖א [host] (93) + לַמִּלְחָמָֽה [battle] (153) = 3459.
Metzudat David
'heads of their fathers’ houses' — this means: they were heads of the fathers' houses, from among the mighty men of valor, numbering seventeen thousand, etc.
Shuppim also, and Huppim, the sons of Ir, Hushim, the son of another.
verse value 1521
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 23 letters. Verse gematria: 1521 = 39². The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Shuppim" (וְשֻׁפִּ֤ם, 4 letters). Words sharing gematria 62: sons·of, son·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Huppim" (וְחֻפִּם֙), "Hushim" (חֻשִׁ֖ם). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Ir" (root עיר, 39x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וְשֻׁפִּ֤ם [Shuppim] (426) + וְחֻפִּם֙ [Huppim] (134) + בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + עִ֔יר [Ir] (280) + חֻשִׁ֖ם [Hushim] (348) + בְּנֵ֥י [son·of] (62) + אַחֵֽר [another] (209) = 1521.
Rashi
And Shuppim and Huppim, the sons of Ir, Hushim, the sons of Aher Ezra, who wrote this book of genealogy, did not know whether they were of the sons of Benjamin or not. He therefore listed them alone. He was also in doubt because it is written: “And Machir took a wife of Huppim.”
Metzudat David
'the sons of Ir' — they were the sons of Ir, that is, Iri the son of Bela mentioned above. 'the son of another' — Acher is the name of a man, one of those already mentioned, who had two names.
Malbim
Shuppim also — Shuppim and Huppim were likewise sons of Iri the son of Bela mentioned in verse 7, and they too were heads of patriarchal houses. Hushim — (and his brothers, whom Ezra did not copy from the Book of Genealogy, since they are included under the patriarchal house of Hushim) — these were the sons of Aher, a man well known in those days, from the families mentioned. (And it wrote "sons of" in the plural, as stated in the Book of Genealogy, where additional sons of his are listed, as noted many times elsewhere.) Now, if you total up all the sons of Issachar whose numbers are recorded in detail, they come to two hundred and five thousand, and all this was as of the days of David (as stated in verse 2, that their number is given for the days of David). This will help you understand what is said further on (12:33): "and of the sons of Issachar, their chiefs were two hundred, and all their brothers were at their command" — for there were two hundred chiefs, each one in charge of a thousand, and they came to make David king in the name of all the sons of Issachar.
The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.
verse value 1648
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Jahziel" (יַחֲצִיאֵ֧ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 62: sons·of, sons·of. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jahziel" (יַחֲצִיאֵ֧ל), "Guni" (וְגוּנִ֛י), "Bilhah" (בִלְהָֽה). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + נַפְתָּלִ֗י [Naphtali] (570) + יַחֲצִיאֵ֧ל [Jahziel] (149) + וְגוּנִ֛י [Guni] (75) + וְיֵ֥צֶר [Jezer] (306) + וְשַׁלּ֖וּם [Shallum] (382) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + בִלְהָֽה [Bilhah] (42) = 1648.
Rashi
The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, etc. And why was no more of his genealogy traced? This is the reason, as explained at the end of Megillah Yerushalmi0 (see Com. Dig. 8:29): Ezra found three books, and each one of them contained part of the genealogy; that which he found he did not write, and of the sons of Naphtali he did not find any more. For this reason, the entire genealogy is traced with omissions, because he skipped from one book to another and combined them. And that which he could not write in this Book, he wrote in the Book of Ezra. You should know [that this is true] because it is written close by (9:1): “And all Israel traced their genealogy, and behold they are written in the book of the kings of Israel, and Judah was exiled to Babylon because of its treachery.” The meaning is that if you wish to know the genealogy of the Ten Tribes, go to Halah and Habor, the Gozan River, and the cities of Media, because their annals were exiled with them, but as for Judah I found their records in Babylon, and that which I found, I wrote.
Metzudat David
'the sons of Bilhah' — she was a wife of Jacob.
Malbim
The sons of Naphtali — Ezra did not find their genealogy and recorded only the barest opening words. And in saying "the sons of Bilhah," the verse includes Dan as well, whose genealogy Ezra likewise did not find. Some explain that "Hushim, the son of Aher" mentioned above refers to Hushim the son of Dan (and one might suggest that Scripture calls Dan "Aher" — "the other one" — because he would always march behind the camps, as it says (Joshua 6:9), "and the rear guard went behind the camps"; and this is also why it says (Genesis 49:17), "that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward" — for he would bite at the hind legs). Accordingly, Hushim is to be explained this way, and "the sons of Naphtali" are likewise sons of Bilhah.
The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his wife bore—his concubine the Aramitess bore Machir the father of Gilead;
verse value 3079
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "Asriel" (אַשְׂרִיאֵ֖ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 49: she·bore, she·bore. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Asriel" (אַשְׂרִיאֵ֖ל), "his·concubine" (פִּֽילַגְשׁוֹ֙), "the·Aramitess" (הָֽאֲרַמִּיָּ֔ה). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'she·bore', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה [Manasseh] (395) + אַשְׂרִיאֵ֖ל [Asriel] (542) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + יָלָ֑דָה [she·bore] (49) + פִּֽילַגְשׁוֹ֙ [his·concubine] (429) + הָֽאֲרַמִּיָּ֔ה [the·Aramitess] (261) + יָלְדָ֕ה [she·bore] (49) + אֶת־מָכִ֖יר [Machir] (671) + אֲבִ֥י [father·of] (13) + גִלְעָֽד [Gilead] (107) = 3079.
Rashi
The sons of Manasseh: Asriel whom she bore The meaning is: whom his wife bore to him. A similar case is (Num. 26:59): “... whom she bore to Levi in Egypt.” But his Aramean concubine bore Machir.
Ralbag
'The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his wife bore — his concubine the Aramitess bore Machir the father of Gilead,' etc. — It is known that Asriel was the son of Gilead, as stated in the portion of Pinchas (Numbers 26:28, 31); Gilead was the son of Machir, and Machir was the son of Manasseh. It appears that Manasseh's concubine, the Aramitess, bore Machir; therefore it says that she bore Asriel, because she bore his grandfather, namely Machir.
Metzudat David
'Asriel' — he was not literally his son; rather, he was the son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, as stated in the Torah. But grandsons, too, are called sons. 'whom his wife bore' — a proper wife, from the daughters of Israel. 'the Aramitess' — from the daughters of Aram.
Malbim
The sons of Manasseh — Here even the mightiest are left with their bows shattered and their arrows broken: for it cannot be said that this Asriel is the one accounted for in the Torah, who was a son of Gilead the son of Machir the son of Manasseh. And likewise, what the commentators say — that the Zelophehad mentioned here is the Zelophehad son of Hepher mentioned in the Torah, who had daughters — is also untenable, for Hepher was among the sons of Gilead, whereas here Scripture is speaking of Machir. The verses do not sit well with any of the explanations that have been offered for them. In my opinion, the true meaning is as follows: Manasseh had a son by his concubine named Asriel, who is not mentioned in the Torah because no heads of families descended from him; and Machir was likewise born of this same concubine, after Manasseh had married her as a full wife. Thus it says, "The sons of Manasseh: Asriel" (he was the firstborn son) "whom his concubine the Aramitess bore" (the concubine's name was Aramiah — for I already explained above (2:8) that several names begin with a heh — or she may have been from the land of Aram) "— bore Machir the father of Gilead." That is to say, this same concubine also bore Machir; and the word "bore" is repeated because Machir's birth came after she had become Manasseh's wife.
and Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maacah—and the name of the second was Zelophehad; and Zelophehad had daughters.
verse value 4349
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "he·took" (לָקַ֤ח, 3 letters) and the longest is "Shuppim" (וּלְשֻׁפִּ֔ים, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 346: name, name. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Machir" (וּמָכִ֞יר), "Huppim" (לְחֻפִּ֣ים), "Shuppim" (וּלְשֻׁפִּ֔ים). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "name" (root שם, 67x in I Chronicles); "daughter" (root בת, 23x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Zelophehad', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּמָכִ֞יר [Machir] (276) + לָקַ֤ח [he·took] (138) + אִשָּׁה֙ [wife] (306) + לְחֻפִּ֣ים [Huppim] (168) + וּלְשֻׁפִּ֔ים [Shuppim] (466) + וְשֵׁ֤ם [name] (346) + אֲחֹתוֹ֙ [sister] (415) + מַֽעֲכָ֔ה [Maacah] (135) + וְשֵׁ֥ם [name] (346) + הַשֵּׁנִ֖י [second] (365) + צְלׇפְחָ֑ד [Zelophehad] (212) + וַתִּהְיֶ֥נָה [and·they·were] (476) + לִצְלׇפְחָ֖ד [Zelophehad] (242) + בָּנֽוֹת [daughter] (458) = 4349.
Ralbag
'And Machir took a wife,' etc. - It appears that Maacah was the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, the sons of Ir mentioned earlier, and that she was the wife of Machir; and one of the sons Machir had from her is now named. 'And the name of the second was Zelophehad' - Now his father, Hepher, ranked second to Asriel, since they were brothers; and Asriel and Hepher were both sons of Gilead, as is stated in the portion of Pinchas.
Metzudat David
'of Huppim and Shuppim' — this means: a sister of Huppim and Shuppim. 'whose sister’s name' — that is, the sister of each of the brothers [was named Maacah]. 'and the name of the second' — this refers back to Asriel mentioned in the previous verse, meaning that Zelophehad was second in the order of generations, for he was the son of Hepher, Asriel's brother; Scripture mentions only the important ones among them.
Malbim
And Machir — After recounting the sons of Manasseh, Scripture goes on to tell of the sons of Machir. And Machir took a wife of Huppim and Shuppim — Machir took two wives, who were sisters of Huppim and Shuppim the sons of Ir (mentioned in verse 12) — in that one of them was Huppim's sister on the mother's side, and the other was Shuppim's sister on the mother's side. The names of the two wives were Maacah and Zelophehad. It happened in this way: the mother of Maacah had first been married to another man and bore Maacah from him, and likewise the mother of Zelophehad bore her from another man; and both mothers then married Ir the son of Bela mentioned in verse 12, who fathered Mupim by Maacah's mother, and Huppim by Zelophehad's mother. And so it says, "And Machir took a wife" (who was a sister) "of Huppim" (and a wife who was a sister) "of Shuppim, and the name of his sister" (that is, Huppim's) "was Maacah, and the name of the second" (that is, Shuppim's sister) "was Zelophehad." (The word "his sister" in this verse carries forward and back — "a sister of Huppim and of Shuppim ... and the name of the second" — a construction that occurs elsewhere in Scripture, as is known.) And Zelophehad had daughters — meaning that the wife Zelophehad bore Machir no sons, only daughters.
And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rekem.
verse value 4899
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בֵּ֔ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "wife·of·Machir" (אֵֽשֶׁת־מָכִיר֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 346: his·name, name, Rekem. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "wife·of·Machir" (אֵֽשֶׁת־מָכִיר֙), "and·she·called" (וַתִּקְרָ֤א), "Peresh" (פֶּ֔רֶשׁ). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "brother" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root פרש ("Peresh") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אולם ("Ulam") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sheresh', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתֵּ֨לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + מַעֲכָ֤ה [Maacah] (135) + אֵֽשֶׁת־מָכִיר֙ [wife·of·Machir] (971) + בֵּ֔ן [son] (52) + וַתִּקְרָ֤א [and·she·called] (707) + שְׁמוֹ֙ [his·name] (346) + פֶּ֔רֶשׁ [Peresh] (580) + וְשֵׁ֥ם [name] (346) + אָחִ֖יו [brother] (25) + שָׁ֑רֶשׁ [Sheresh] (800) + וּבָנָ֖יו [son] (74) + אוּלָ֥ם [Ulam] (77) + וָרָֽקֶם [Rekem] (346) = 4899.
Ralbag
'And Maacah bore,' etc. - It appears that Machir gave one of these two sons the name Gilead, so that the words 'and his sons were Ulam and Rekem' refer back to the one called Gilead - since Machir's line was continued only through the sons of Gilead, as is explained in the portion of Pinchas; and that is also why Scripture phrases it this way.
Metzudat David
'and his sons' — this refers back to Peresh.
Malbim
And she bore — But Maacah, Machir's wife, did bear a son, whose name was Peresh, and another son named Sheresh; and the sons of Sheresh were Ulam and Rekem.
And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.
verse value 1175
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֚לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "Bedan" (בְּדָ֑ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Machir" (בֶּן־מָכִ֖יר, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Bedan" (בְּדָ֑ן), "son·of·Machir" (בֶּן־מָכִ֖יר), "son·of·Manasseh" (בֶּן־מְנַשֶּֽׁה). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Bedan', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [son] (68) + אוּלָ֖ם [Ulam] (77) + בְּדָ֑ן [Bedan] (56) + אֵ֚לֶּה [these] (36) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + גִלְעָ֔ד [Gilead] (107) + בֶּן־מָכִ֖יר [son·of·Machir] (322) + בֶּן־מְנַשֶּֽׁה [son·of·Manasseh] (447) = 1175.
Ralbag
'These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh' - For it counted only the sons of Gilead: Asriel was a son of Gilead, and Zelophehad was his grandson, and those named in this passage are likewise sons of Gilead, as we have explained.
Metzudat David
'These were the sons of Gilead' — this refers back to Asriel and Zelophehad, to say that they were not literally sons of Manasseh but of his offspring; they descended from Gilead — Asriel was his son, and Zelophehad his grandson.
Malbim
These were the sons of Gilead — After finishing his account of the sons of Machir, and having told us new details not known from the genealogy found in the Torah, Ezra returns to copying from the Book of Genealogy the lineage of the sons of Gilead. In the Book of Genealogy it was written, "These are the sons of Gilead..." etc. — Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher — along with the genealogy of the descendants of these sons. Ezra omitted them here because the names of the sons of Gilead are already known to us from the words of the Torah, and among the genealogy of these sons he found nothing noteworthy; so he set down only the opening words, as though he had written, "These are the sons of Gilead the son of Machir the son of Manasseh," etc. — as we have noted many times, that the word "etc." must be supplied. And in the Book of Genealogy there was written here the heads of the patriarchal houses of Gilead that are recorded above (5:24) — Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, etc. — who were the heads of the houses of the sons of Manasseh who dwelt in Gilead. Ezra did not copy them here again, since he had already written them above; he only added the present material here.
And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ish-hod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah.
verse value 2879
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "she·bore" (יָֽלְדָה֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Abiezer" (וְאֶת־אֲבִיעֶ֖זֶר, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "sister" (וַאֲחֹת֖וֹ), "Hammolecheth" (הַמֹּלֶ֑כֶת), "Ish-hod" (אֶת־אִ֣ישְׁה֔וֹד). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root אביעזר ("and·Abiezer") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hammolecheth', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַאֲחֹת֖וֹ [sister] (421) + הַמֹּלֶ֑כֶת [Hammolecheth] (495) + יָֽלְדָה֙ [she·bore] (49) + אֶת־אִ֣ישְׁה֔וֹד [Ish-hod] (727) + וְאֶת־אֲבִיעֶ֖זֶר [and·Abiezer] (697) + וְאֶת־מַחְלָֽה [and·Mahlah] (490) = 2879.
Ralbag
'And his sister Hammolecheth bore,' etc. - It appears, to my understanding, that the sister of Gilead was the wife of Hezron, as stated earlier (2:21) - that he took her when he was sixty years old, and she bore him these sons named here. There it says that they were the sons of Machir the father of Gilead, for it appears that Machir raised them, and that is why they are also listed in this place [as his own] - just as with the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, who are called her sons because she raised them. Now she was called Hammolecheth ('the ruling one') because Machir made her mistress over his household when she returned to his house. Or perhaps Gilead married his own sister, and she bore him these sons named here, and she was called Hammolecheth because she ruled over the other wife, who bore Ulam and Rekem and who was like a maidservant to her - though the first explanation is more correct.
Metzudat David
'And his sister' — the sister of Gilead, who ruled and governed part of the land that belonged to Gilead.
Malbim
His sister Hammolecheth – that is, the sister of Gilead, who ruled – bore Ish-hod, and it appears she was the wife of Jair son of Segub, mentioned above (2:21-23), where we explained that Segub was born to Hezron son of Perez from a daughter of Machir whom he had taken without a proper wedding canopy and betrothal, and therefore Segub was reckoned not to the tribe of Judah but only to Machir, his mother's father. Segub fathered Jair, and they gave him a wife from the tribe of Manasseh, and twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead fell to him as a dowry. Ezra explains here that the wife given to Jair was likewise a daughter of Machir, a sister of Gilead, so that she was Jair's great-aunt (his father's mother's sister) – for at that time the decree against marrying such a ‘second-degree’ relative had not yet been enacted. She received from her father Machir a dowry of twenty-three cities, over which she ruled, and therefore she is called ‘his sister who ruled’; and she bore Jair Ish-hod, Abiezer, and so on. It can also be suggested that this refers to the daughter of Machir whom Hezron took, and with whom he fathered Segub, and that she bore these three further sons to another man.
And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam.
verse value 1289
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Aniam" (וַאֲנִיעָֽם, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Shemida" (שְׁמִידָ֑ע), "Ahian" (אַחְיָ֣ן), "and·Likhi" (וְלִקְחִ֖י). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shemida', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּהְי֖וּ [and·they·were] (37) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + שְׁמִידָ֑ע [Shemida] (424) + אַחְיָ֣ן [Ahian] (69) + וָשֶׁ֔כֶם [and·Shechem] (366) + וְלִקְחִ֖י [and·Likhi] (154) + וַאֲנִיעָֽם [and·Aniam] (177) = 1289.
Ralbag
'Shemida' - He was the third son of Gilead, according to what is stated in the portion of Pinchas.
Malbim
The sons of Shemida (son of Gilead, mentioned in the Torah) were Ahian, and Shechem – they too were heads of families. And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son – Here too the commentators strained to reconcile these names with what the Torah states, that the sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah, Becher, and Tahan, saying that Bered is Becher and Tahath is Tahan, and that the rest were additional sons born to Ephraim. But besides the difficulty of equating the names Becher and Bered, note that the verse goes on to say that the men of Gath killed them, whereas the Torah counts them as heads of families – which shows they were not killed! Would you split the verse and say that ‘the men of Gath killed them’ refers only to the later sons, from Tahath onward? In my opinion, here too [the author] followed his practice everywhere of not repeating what is already explained in the Torah, but telling us only some new fact he has found. He tells us what happened to the sons of Shuthelah, the firstborn son of Ephraim (since Joshua son of Nun, whose lineage is being traced here, descended from him – while of Becher and Tahan nothing at all is said here). So it says, ‘And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah,’ etc. (as I have noted many times, one must supply the word ‘etc.’ on one's own); and when it says ‘Bered his son,’ that means the son of Shuthelah, and likewise ‘Tahath his son’ is the son of Shuthelah, and so with all of them – everyone listed was a son of Shuthelah. ‘And the men of Gath killed them’ means they killed all the sons of Shuthelah (but the sons of Becher and Tahan were not killed, since they are not mentioned here at all). As for the statement that the men of Gath killed them, some explain that the sons of Ephraim went down to Gath to take their livestock, and therefore the men of that land killed them; there is also another explanation. In any case, this event took place while they were still in Egypt, for it is clear that Ephraim himself was still alive – which accords with the view of our Sages that they left Egypt before the appointed time of the Exodus.
And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah—and Bered was his son, and Tahath his son, and Eleadah his son, and Tahath his son,
verse value 3331
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בְּנוֹ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Eleadah" (וְאֶלְעָדָ֥ה, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 814: and·Tahath, and·Tahath. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Shuthelah" (שׁוּתָ֑לַח), "and·Bered" (וּבֶ֤רֶד), "and·Eleadah" (וְאֶלְעָדָ֥ה). The root בן appears 5 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shuthelah', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 8 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֥י [son] (68) + אֶפְרַ֖יִם [Ephraim] (331) + שׁוּתָ֑לַח [Shuthelah] (744) + וּבֶ֤רֶד [and·Bered] (212) + בְּנוֹ֙ [son] (58) + וְתַ֣חַת [and·Tahath] (814) + בְּנ֔וֹ [son] (58) + וְאֶלְעָדָ֥ה [and·Eleadah] (116) + בְנ֖וֹ [son] (58) + וְתַ֥חַת [and·Tahath] (814) + בְּנֽוֹ [son] (58) = 3331.
Ralbag
'And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah,' etc. - These three were sons of Ephraim, and in the portion of Pinchas they are named Shuthelah, Becher, and Tahan. As for the other sons of Ephraim named in this place, they all died: the men of Gath, who were native to that land, killed them while they were still in Egypt, because the sons of Ephraim had gone down to take their cattle.
Metzudat David
'and Bered was his son' — this refers back to Ephraim, meaning that all of these were called his ‘sons,’ though not literally his sons but rather his descendants, except for Shuthelah, who was literally his son.
and Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son—and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle.
verse value 4175
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "because" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "their·cattle" (אֶת־מִקְנֵיהֶֽם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 58: son, son. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Shuthelah" (וְשׁוּתֶ֥לַח), "and·Elead" (וְאֶלְעָ֑ד), "and·they·killed·them" (וַהֲרָג֗וּם). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·born" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "because" (root כי, 69x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root הרג ("and·they·killed·them") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Elead', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 8 words. Full calculation: וְזָבָ֥ד [and·Zabad] (19) + בְּנ֛וֹ [son] (58) + וְשׁוּתֶ֥לַח [and·Shuthelah] (750) + בְּנ֖וֹ [son] (58) + וְעֵ֣זֶר [and·Ezer] (283) + וְאֶלְעָ֑ד [and·Elead] (111) + וַהֲרָג֗וּם [and·they·killed·them] (260) + אַנְשֵׁי־גַת֙ [men·of·Gath] (764) + הַנּוֹלָדִ֣ים [the·born] (145) + בָּאָ֔רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + כִּ֣י [because] (30) + יָֽרְד֔וּ [they·went·down] (220) + לָקַ֖חַת [to·take] (538) + אֶת־מִקְנֵיהֶֽם [their·cattle] (646) = 4175.
Rashi
and the men of Gath, etc. slew them because they came down to take their cattle They were unfamiliar with the ways of the roads and the ways out of the land, and the men of Gath, the natives of the land, slew them because they were familiar with that land.
Metzudat David
'who were born in the land' — as if to say: because they, the men of Gath, were natives of that land and knew its ways, unlike the sons of Ephraim, who were born in a different land — the men of Gath therefore overpowered them, seized them, and killed them, because they [the sons of Ephraim] had come down to take away the cattle belonging to the men of Gath.
And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.
verse value 1374
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "days" (יָמִ֣ים, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·he·mourned" (וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֛ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 25: and·they·came, his·brothers. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·he·mourned" (וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֛ל). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "their·father" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "his·brothers" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 62x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'many', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֛ל [and·he·mourned] (449) + אֶפְרַ֥יִם [Ephraim] (331) + אֲבִיהֶ֖ם [their·father] (58) + יָמִ֣ים [days] (100) + רַבִּ֑ים [many] (252) + וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ [and·they·came] (25) + אֶחָ֖יו [his·brothers] (25) + לְנַחֲמֽוֹ [to·comfort·him] (134) = 1374.
Ralbag
'And his brethren came to comfort him' - It appears that Joseph had sons besides Manasseh and Ephraim, as it says (Genesis 48:6), 'and your issue, that you beget after them, shall be yours' - these being the brethren meant here. Or perhaps 'his brethren' refers to Manasseh, and [more broadly] to the sons of Jacob.
Metzudat David
'And Ephraim their father mourned' — this happened while Ephraim was still alive. 'his brethren' — his friends and acquaintances; meaning, although his brethren comforted him, he would not accept comfort from them, and he mourned many days.
Malbim
And Ephraim their father mourned – This comes to tell us that this happened while Ephraim was still alive. However, the words ‘and his brethren came to comfort him’ apparently refer to the brothers of Shuthelah, since it was with him that the matter began: all those counted were his sons and grandsons, and he was left with no offspring, for they were all killed (Ephraim himself had no brothers besides Manasseh). In any case, the phrase ‘and he went in to his wife’ in the next verse refers to Shuthelah.
And he went in to his wife, and she conceived, and bore a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house.
verse value 4358
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "a·son" (בֵּ֑ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·his·wife" (אֶל־אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 420: it·was, in·his·house. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·his·wife" (אֶל־אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ), "his·name" (אֶת־שְׁמוֹ֙), "in·evil" (בְרָעָ֖ה). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "a·son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "in·his·house" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root בריעה ("Beriah") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'a·son', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיָּבֹא֙ [and·he·went·in] (19) + אֶל־אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ [to·his·wife] (738) + וַתַּ֖הַר [and·she·conceived] (611) + וַתֵּ֣לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + בֵּ֑ן [a·son] (52) + וַיִּקְרָ֤א [and·he·called] (317) + אֶת־שְׁמוֹ֙ [his·name] (747) + בְּרִיעָ֔ה [Beriah] (287) + כִּ֥י [because] (30) + בְרָעָ֖ה [in·evil] (277) + הָיְתָ֥ה [it·was] (420) + בְּבֵיתֽוֹ [in·his·house] (420) = 4358.
Ralbag
'Because it went evil with his house' - It appears that it was when Ephraim took this wife that the sons named earlier were killed.
Metzudat David
'because it went evil' — this means: because he was born at a time of trouble in his household, while Ephraim was still mourning.
Malbim
And he went in – Then Shuthelah went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah. This explains what the Torah states (Numbers 26:36), ‘And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites’ – for it was not clear why it counted only this one son of Shuthelah [Eran] and not the sons of Becher and Tahan. [The answer is] that Eran is the same person as this Beriah: his name had meant ‘ra’ and ‘ra’ah’ (evil, harm), and this was reversed for the better by calling him ‘Er’ – the letters of ‘ra’ transposed – and, to distinguish him from [Judah's son] Er and from Onan, he was called Eiran. Since Shuthelah's earlier sons had perished amid calamity, the Torah made known that these – Eiran, son of Shuthelah – were his true line, not the earlier ones; and the word ‘these’ serves to exclude the earlier ones.
And his daughter was Sheerah, who built Beth-horon the nether and the upper, and Uzzen-sheerah.
verse value 4879
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "and" (וְאֵ֖ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "Beth-horon" (אֶת־בֵּית־חוֹר֛וֹן, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 506: Sheerah, sheerah. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·his·daughter" (וּבִתּ֣וֹ), "and·she·built" (וַתִּ֧בֶן), "Beth-horon" (אֶת־בֵּית־חוֹר֛וֹן). The root שאר appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Beth-horon" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "and·she·built" (root בנה, 26x in I Chronicles); "and·his·daughter" (root בת, 23x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שאר ("Sheerah") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אזן ("Uzzen-") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·upper', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבִתּ֣וֹ [and·his·daughter] (414) + שֶֽׁאֱרָ֔ה [Sheerah] (506) + וַתִּ֧בֶן [and·she·built] (458) + אֶת־בֵּית־חוֹר֛וֹן [Beth-horon] (1083) + הַתַּחְתּ֖וֹן [the·lower] (869) + וְאֶת־הָעֶלְי֑וֹן [and·the·upper] (578) + וְאֵ֖ת [and] (407) + אֻזֵּ֥ן [Uzzen-] (58) + שֶׁאֱרָֽה [sheerah] (506) = 4879.
Rashi
And his daughter was Sheerah, and she built... Beth Horon Sheerah built it. and Uzzen Sheerah She named the city after herself.
Ralbag
'And his daughter was Sheerah' - Meaning, the daughter of Ephraim, or the daughter of Beriah.
Metzudat David
'And his daughter was Sheerah' — this means: and the name of his daughter was Sheerah. 'Uzzen-sheerah' — perhaps there was another city named Uzzen, and it was therefore called Uzzen-sheerah after her name.
Malbim
And his daughter was Sheerah – the daughter of Beriah. Beth-horon – both the upper and the lower belonged to Ephraim, as stated in Joshua (16:5). Uzzen-sheerah – called Sheerah after her own name.
And Rephah was his son, and Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son;
verse value 1962
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 25 letters. Verse gematria: 1962 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "son" (בְּנ֗וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Rephah" (וְרֶ֣פַח, 4 letters). Words sharing gematria 58: son, son, son. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Rephah" (וְרֶ֣פַח), "and·Resheph" (וְרֶ֧שֶׁף), "and·Telah" (וְתֶ֛לַח). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וְרֶ֣פַח [and·Rephah] (294) + בְּנ֗וֹ [son] (58) + וְרֶ֧שֶׁף [and·Resheph] (586) + וְתֶ֛לַח [and·Telah] (444) + בְּנ֖וֹ [son] (58) + וְתַ֥חַן [and·Tahan] (464) + בְּנֽוֹ [son] (58) = 1962.
Rashi
And Rephah was his son [i.e., the son] of Beriah. and Resheph and Telah the sons of Rephah. This is the way he counts the generations.
Ralbag
'And Rephah was his son, and Resheph' - Meaning, Rephah was a son of one of the sons who remained to him, and Resheph as well. And Telah was the son of Rephah, and Tahan the son of Telah; and so it continues in this way until the line reaches Joshua the son of Nun.
Metzudat David
'And Rephah was his son' — this refers back to Beriah, to say that Rephah was his son. 'and Resheph, and Telah his son' — each of them was a son of Rephah. 'and Tahan his son' — this refers back to Telah, mentioned just before.
Malbim
And Rephah was his son – It may be explained that the four names in this verse – Rephah, Resheph, Telah, and Tahan – are all sons of Beriah, and that is why each is introduced with the connecting ‘and’ (vav); [continuing beyond this verse,] Ladan was the son of Tahan, and Ammihud the son of Ladan. In any case, we now know the lineage of Joshua son of Nun: Nun was the son of Elishama son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, and Ammihud descended from Beriah son of Shuthelah. All this does not agree with the view of the Book of Yashar, that the sons of Ephraim went out of Egypt thirty years before the appointed time; rather, it accords with Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 48, whose view is that it happened before the servitude began – and on this basis, everything I have explained holds true.
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בְּנ֛וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Ammihud" (עַמִּיה֥וּד, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 58: son, son, son. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Ammihud" (עַמִּיה֥וּד), "Elishama" (אֱלִישָׁמָ֥ע). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root לעדן ("Ladan") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: לַעְדָּ֥ן [Ladan] (154) + בְּנ֛וֹ [son] (58) + עַמִּיה֥וּד [Ammihud] (135) + בְּנ֖וֹ [son] (58) + אֱלִישָׁמָ֥ע [Elishama] (451) + בְּנֽוֹ [son] (58) = 914.
Verse structure: 4 words, 14 letters. Verse gematria: 613 is divisible by 613, the number of the commandments (mitzvot). The shortest word is "Nun" (נ֥וֹן, 3 letters) and the longest is "Joshua" (יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 58: son, son. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Nun" (נ֥וֹן), "Joshua" (יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: נ֥וֹן [Nun] (106) + בְּנ֖וֹ [son] (58) + יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ [Joshua] (391) + בְּנֽוֹ [son] (58) = 613.
Metzudat David
'Joshua his son' — this is the well-known Joshua son of Nun.
And their possessions and habitations were Beth-el and its towns, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer, with its towns; Shechem also and its towns, to Aiah and its towns;
verse value 5335
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "Gezer" (גֶּ֤זֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·their·habitations" (וּמֹ֣שְׁבוֹתָ֔ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 473: and·its·towns, and·its·towns, and·its·towns, and·its·towns. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·their·possession" (וַֽאֲחֻזָּתָם֙), "and·their·habitations" (וּמֹ֣שְׁבוֹתָ֔ם), "Beth-el" (בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל). The root בת appears 4 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Beth-el" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "and·its·towns" (root בת, 23x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מערב ("and·to·the·west") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·its·towns', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. 9 of the verse's 13 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַֽאֲחֻזָּתָם֙ [and·their·possession] (462) + וּמֹ֣שְׁבוֹתָ֔ם [and·their·habitations] (794) + בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל [Beth-el] (443) + וּבְנֹתֶ֑יהָ [and·its·towns] (473) + וְלַמִּזְרָ֣ח [and·to·the·east] (291) + נַעֲרָ֔ן [Naaran] (370) + וְלַֽמַּעֲרָ֗ב [and·to·the·west] (348) + גֶּ֤זֶר [Gezer] (210) + וּבְנֹתֶ֙יהָ֙ [and·its·towns] (473) + וּשְׁכֶ֣ם [and·Shechem] (366) + וּבְנֹתֶ֔יהָ [and·its·towns] (473) + עַד־עַיָּ֖ה [to·Aiah] (159) + וּבְנֹתֶֽיהָ [and·its·towns] (473) = 5335.
Metzudat David
'And their possessions and habitations' — these mean the same thing; it is a doubling with synonymous terms, like ‘the dust of the earth’ (Daniel 12). 'and eastward Naaran, and westward' — on the eastern side was Naaran, and on the western side, Gezer, etc.
Malbim
And their possessions and habitations were Beth-el – it lay on the southern border of the children of Joseph (Joshua 16:1). Naaran – this is Naarath, which lay to the east (ibid. v. 7); Gezer lay to the west (ibid. v. 3: ‘and went down westward to Gezer’); and Shechem lay to the north (ibid. 17:7).
and by the borders of the children of Manasseh, 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.
verse value 5224
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 78 letters. The shortest word is "Dor" (דּ֣וֹר, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Manasseh" (בְנֵֽי־מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 479: and·its·towns, and·its·towns. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·by·hand·of" (וְעַל־יְדֵ֣י), "sons·of·Manasseh" (בְנֵֽי־מְנַשֶּׁ֗ה), "Beth-shean" (בֵּית־שְׁאָ֤ן). The root בת appears 4 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Beth-shean" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "in·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·its·towns', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
And alongside the sons of Manasseh were: Beth Shean Heb. וְעַל יְדֵי, lit., on the hands of or on the place of. The meaning is: alongside the sons of Manasseh, like (Num. 2:17): “every one in his position עַל יָדוֹ according to their standards.”
Metzudat David
'and by the borders' — they also dwelt adjacent to the territory of Manasseh's inheritance, namely Beth-shean, etc., which were part of the inheritance of Manasseh, as stated in the book of Joshua. 'In these' — the sons of Ephraim dwelt in Beth-el, etc., and the sons of Manasseh in Beth-shean, etc.
Malbim
And by the borders of the children of Manasseh – the children of Ephraim also dwelt adjacent to the cities of Manasseh.
The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister.
verse value 2589
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Beriah" (וּבְרִיעָ֖ה, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Imnah" (יִמְנָ֧ה), "and·Ishvah" (וְיִשְׁוָ֛ה), "and·Ishvi" (וְיִשְׁוִ֥י). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Asher" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: בְּנֵ֣י [sons·of] (62) + אָשֵׁ֗ר [Asher] (501) + יִמְנָ֧ה [Imnah] (105) + וְיִשְׁוָ֛ה [and·Ishvah] (327) + וְיִשְׁוִ֥י [and·Ishvi] (332) + וּבְרִיעָ֖ה [and·Beriah] (293) + וְשֶׂ֥רַח [and·Serah] (514) + אֲחוֹתָֽם [their·sister] (455) = 2589.
And the sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith.
verse value 1961
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. Notable word values: "father·of" (אֲבִ֥י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "Heber" (חֶ֖בֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Malchiel" (וּמַלְכִּיאֵ֑ל, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Heber" (חֶ֖בֶר), "and·Malchiel" (וּמַלְכִּיאֵ֑ל), "Birzaith" (בִרְזָֽיִת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "father·of" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "he" (root הוא, 50x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Malchiel', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words.
Rashi
the father of Birzaith the governor of that city. But in Genesis Rabbah (71:9)[it says]: “Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Simon [gave different interpretations of Birzaith]. Rabbi Levi says: It means that his daughters were beautiful and were married to [high] priests who were anointed with olive oil. Rabbi Simon says: [It means] that his daughters were beautiful and married to kings who were anointed with the anointment oil, and since they had plenty of oil, they [the daughters] would anoint themselves with it. Therefore, they were beautiful, for concerning Asher it is written (Deut. 33:24): ‘and dip his foot in oil,’ and Rabbi Hanina said: “The warm water and the oil with which my mother anointed me restored me to my youth.”
Malbim
The father of Birzaith – the people of the town of Birzaith were descendants of Malchiel.
And Heber begot Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister.
verse value 3854
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "and" (וְאֵ֖ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Shomer" (וְאֶת־שׁוֹמֵ֖ר, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Japhlet" (אֶת־יַפְלֵ֔ט), "and·Shomer" (וְאֶת־שׁוֹמֵ֖ר), "and·Hotham" (וְאֶת־חוֹתָ֑ם). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "he·begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root יפלט ("Japhlet") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Hotham', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְחֶ֙בֶר֙ [and·Heber] (216) + הוֹלִ֣יד [he·begot] (55) + אֶת־יַפְלֵ֔ט [Japhlet] (530) + וְאֶת־שׁוֹמֵ֖ר [and·Shomer] (953) + וְאֶת־חוֹתָ֑ם [and·Hotham] (861) + וְאֵ֖ת [and] (407) + שׁוּעָ֥א [Shua] (377) + אֲחוֹתָֽם [their·sister] (455) = 3854.
And the sons of Japhlet: Pasach, and Bimhal, and Asvath. These are the children of Japhlet.
verse value 1449
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 31 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֖לֶּה) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "Pasach" (פָּסַ֥ךְ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Bimhal" (וּבִמְהָ֖ל, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 129: Japhlet, Japhlet. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Pasach" (פָּסַ֥ךְ), "and·Bimhal" (וּבִמְהָ֖ל), "and·Asvath" (וְעַשְׁוָ֑ת). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Asvath', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֣י [and·sons·of] (68) + יַפְלֵ֔ט [Japhlet] (129) + פָּסַ֥ךְ [Pasach] (160) + וּבִמְהָ֖ל [and·Bimhal] (83) + וְעַשְׁוָ֑ת [and·Asvath] (782) + אֵ֖לֶּה [these] (36) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + יַפְלֵֽט [Japhlet] (129) = 1449.
And the sons of Shemer: Ahi, and Rohgah, and Hubbah, and Aram.
verse value 1364
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "Shemer" (שָׁ֑מֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Rohgah" (וְרׇהְגָּ֖ה, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Shemer" (שָׁ֑מֶר), "and·Rohgah" (וְרׇהְגָּ֖ה), "and·Hubbah" (וְחֻבָּ֥ה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שמר ("Shemer") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shemer', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. 5 of the verse's 8 words begin with the letter ו.
And the sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal.
verse value 1300
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. Verse gematria: 1300 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "his·brother" (אָחִ֑יו, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·son·of·Helem" (וּבֶן־הֵ֖לֶם, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·son·of·Helem" (וּבֶן־הֵ֖לֶם), "and·Imna" (וְיִמְנָ֖ע), "and·Shelesh" (וְשֵׁ֥לֶשׁ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·son·of·Helem" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "his·brother" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·brother', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבֶן־הֵ֖לֶם [and·son·of·Helem] (133) + אָחִ֑יו [his·brother] (25) + צוֹפַ֥ח [Zophah] (184) + וְיִמְנָ֖ע [and·Imna] (176) + וְשֵׁ֥לֶשׁ [and·Shelesh] (636) + וְעָמָֽל [and·Amal] (146) = 1300.
Metzudat David
'the son of Helem' — [that is,] as though it had been written ‘and the sons of Helem’; the singular form is used to denote the plural. 'his brother' — this Helem was the brother of each of those named in the previous verse.
Malbim
And Ben-helem – this was the brother of Aram, meaning he was born as a twin together with him, and his name was Ben-helem; he too was among the sons of Shemer.
The sons of Zophah: Suah, and Harnepher, and Shaul, and Beri, and Imrah;
verse value 1755
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. Verse gematria: 1755 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "sons·of" (בְּנֵ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Harnepher" (וְחַרְנֶ֛פֶר, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Suah" (ס֧וּחַ), "and·Harnepher" (וְחַרְנֶ֛פֶר), "and·Shaul" (וְשׁוּעָ֖ל). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Zophah', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 5 words. Full calculation: בְּנֵ֖י [sons·of] (62) + צוֹפָ֑ח [Zophah] (184) + ס֧וּחַ [Suah] (74) + וְחַרְנֶ֛פֶר [and·Harnepher] (544) + וְשׁוּעָ֖ל [and·Shaul] (412) + וּבֵרִ֥י [and·Beri] (218) + וְיִמְרָֽה [and·Imrah] (261) = 1755.
Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilsha, and Ithran, and Beera.
verse value 2177
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 26 letters. The shortest word is "Bezer" (בֶּ֣צֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Shilsha" (וְשִׁלְשָׁ֛ה, 5 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Bezer" (בֶּ֣צֶר), "and·Hod" (וָה֗וֹד), "and·Shamma" (וְשַׁמָּ֧א). 6 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root הוד ("and·Hod") in I Chronicles. 5 of the verse's 6 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: בֶּ֣צֶר [Bezer] (292) + וָה֗וֹד [and·Hod] (21) + וְשַׁמָּ֧א [and·Shamma] (347) + וְשִׁלְשָׁ֛ה [and·Shilsha] (641) + וְיִתְרָ֖ן [and·Ithran] (666) + וּבְאֵרָֽא [and·Beera] (210) = 2177.
And the sons of Jether: Jephunneh, and Pispa, and Ara.
verse value 1262
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 20 letters. The shortest word is "Jether" (יֶ֑תֶר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Pispa" (וּפִסְפָּ֖ה, 5 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jephunneh" (יְפֻנֶּ֥ה), "and·Pispa" (וּפִסְפָּ֖ה), "and·Ara" (וַאְרָֽא). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jether', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + יֶ֑תֶר [Jether] (610) + יְפֻנֶּ֥ה [Jephunneh] (145) + וּפִסְפָּ֖ה [and·Pispa] (231) + וַאְרָֽא [and·Ara] (208) = 1262.
Metzudat David
'And the sons of Jether' — he is the same as Ithran mentioned earlier.
Malbim
And the sons of Jether – he is the same as Jethran.
And the sons of Ulla: Arah, and Hanniel, and Rizia.
verse value 790
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 21 letters. The shortest word is "Ulla" (עֻלָּ֑א, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Hanniel" (וְחַנִּיאֵ֖ל, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Ulla" (עֻלָּ֑א), "Arah" (אָרַ֥ח), "and·Hanniel" (וְחַנִּיאֵ֖ל). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Ulla', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + עֻלָּ֑א [Ulla] (101) + אָרַ֥ח [Arah] (209) + וְחַנִּיאֵ֖ל [and·Hanniel] (105) + וְרִצְיָֽא [and·Rizia] (307) = 790.
Metzudat David
'And the sons of Ulla' — perhaps he is one of those already mentioned, called by two names.
Malbim
And the sons of Ulla – meaning that the sons of Ulla, too, were among the sons of Jether – that is, Ulla and his sons Arah and Hanniel, just as was stated in a similar case above. Ulla himself is not counted separately, since he was not the head of a father's house in his own right; only his sons were heads of fathers' houses.
All these were the children of Asher, heads of the fathers’ houses, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. And the number of them reckoned by genealogy for service in war was twenty-six thousand men.
verse value 6842
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 89 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֣לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "thousand" (אָֽלֶף, 3 letters) and the longest is "house·of·the·fathers" (בֵית־הָאָב֤וֹת, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 511: heads·of, heads·of. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "sons·of·Asher" (בְנֵֽי־אָ֠שֵׁ֠ר), "house·of·the·fathers" (בֵית־הָאָב֤וֹת), "choice" (בְּרוּרִים֙). The root ראש appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "house·of·the·fathers" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "all·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles); "sons·of·Asher" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ברר ("choice") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·princes', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Ralbag
'Choice and mighty men of valor' - Meaning, chosen to go out to war, whom the heads of the princes had already selected; and the sense of the phrase 'choice and mighty men of valor' is: the fighting men of the heads of the princes.
Metzudat David
'choice' — selected from among all the members of the tribe. 'chief of the princes' — they were chiefs over the princes of the tribe. 'And the number of them reckoned by genealogy' — those known by their genealogy among the sons of Asher who went out to war numbered twenty-six thousand important men.
Malbim
Heads – meaning that some of them were heads of fathers' houses, some were choice men selected for their distinction, some were mighty men of valor, and some were chiefs among the princes.
Rashi
Metzudat David
Malbim