1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)
3 The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
5 Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,
6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.
7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baalmeon:
9 And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
10 And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
11 And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salcah:
12 Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
13 And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven.
14 These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz;
15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers.
16 And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.
17 All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
18 The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
19 And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men an hundred thousand.
22 For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity.
23 And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baalhermon and Senir, and unto mount Hermon.
24 And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers.
25 And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.
26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
<html><b>And the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel</b> Now if you ask: since he was the firstborn, why did the kingship not emanate from him? He was indeed the firstborn, but when he desecrated his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph. Now if you ask, if so, why did the sons of Joseph not reign? He therefore says, “but not to be reckoned in the genealogy as the first born,” [i.e., the sons of Joseph were not meant] to take the share of the kingship, but only the birthright, because Judah was the most fit to reign even if Reuben had not defiled the birthright and it had not been taken from him.</html>
<html><b>Because Judah prevailed over his brothers</b> as it says (Gen. 49:9): “Judah is a lion’s cub.” <b>and the one appointed as prince was to be from him</b> the kingship emanated from him, and for this reason the king was called נָגִיד, since he is the one who leads [the people] out and brings them in [the Aramaic root נגד means to pull or lead.] And the birthright and the throne were taken from Reuben, and the throne was given to Judah, as it is written: “Because Judah prevailed over his brothers”; but the share of the birthright was given to Joseph, to his two sons.</html>
<html><b>The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel</b> He now commences as before.</html>
<html><b>The sons of Joel</b> He enumerates various generations.</html>
<html><b>whom Tillegath Pilneser exiled</b> He preceded Sannecherib, and this was their sequence: Pul was [king] when Menahem the son of Gadi was crowned (II Kings 15:19f.), and (ibid. verse 29): “…in the days of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Tiglath Pileser the king of Assyria came,” and in the days of Hoshea the son of Elah, Shalmaneser the king of Assyria came (ibid. 17:3), and in the days of Hezekiah was Sannecherib (ibid. 18:13), but our Rabbis explained (Sanh. 94a) that Pul and all the rest of them are identical with Sannecherib. <b>he was the prince of the Reubenites</b> at the time that Tiglath Pileser exiled him.</html>
<html><b>tracing their genealogy to their generations; the heads were Jeiel and Zechariah</b> The meaning is: I traced only part of the genealogy of Reuben, but the main part of his genealogy is in the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Jeiel and Zechariah were the heads, through whom their genealogy was completed.</html>
<html><b>and until Nebo and Baal Meon</b> For in the ancient days, before they came into Israel’s hands, they were called Nebo and Baal Meon after their pagan deities, (lit. their abominations), for it was the custom of the heathens to call their pagan deities after their cities until that day. But when they came into Israel’s hands, they changed their names, as it is written (Num. 32:38): “Nebo and Baal Meon their names being changed,” i.e., Israel changed their names, but Sibmah, since it was not named for their pagan deities, they did not change its name. In <i>Megillah</i> (unknown) it is explained that Nebo and Baal Meon are names of pagan deities.</html>
<html><b>with the Hagarites</b> with the Ishmaelites, and by their mother’s name he calls them Hagarites, because they were the sons of Hagar. <b>and they dwelt in their tents</b> for it is the custom of the Arabs to dwell in tents.</html>
<html><b>And the sons of Gad dwelt opposite them</b> alongside them, like (Gen. 33:12): “…and I will go alongside you (לְנֶגְדֶּךָ).”</html>
<html><b>And their brothers to the house of their fathers</b> in the place of their genealogy. <b>Michael and Meshullam</b> These were the heads of their fathers of that genealogy, for they all traced their genealogy in the days of Jotham the king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the king of Israel.</html>
<html><b>The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of men of valor, etc.</b> That is to say: they all gathered and made war with the Hagarites.</html>
<html><b>and Jetur and Naphish</b> They were sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:14).</html>
<html><b>And they were assisted against them</b> for the Lord helped them. <b>and the Hagarites and all who were with them</b> other nations [that came] to their aid. <b>and He accepted their prayers</b> וְנַעְתּוֹר, similar to if וַיֵּעָתֵר לוֹ accepted his prayer (Gen. 25:21).</html>
<html><b>and they strayed after the gods of the peoples of the land whom God had destroyed from before them</b> The meaning is, they went astray after the gods of the peoples of the land. And which people? [Those] whom God had destroyed from before them [Israel], whose god could not help them [the pagans]. And they [Israel] did not ponder the matter, [reasoning] that since He destroyed them [the pagans] from before them [Israel], and it [their god] could not help them, it would certainly not be able to help us.</html>
<html><b>he is the one who served in the Temple that Solomon built</b> Some explain that Azariah was the first Azariah, and from Azariah to Seraiah, who lived at the time of the destruction of the Temple, were eight priests. Accordingly, they emended in <i>Yoma</i> in the first chapter (9a), and in <i>Leviticus Rabbah</i> (21:9), and in <i>Siphre</i>, <i>parashath Phineas</i> (Num. 25:12), that eight high priests served in the First Temple. Some say that there were eighteen. But neither one is a viable theory because Zadok was the first who ministered in the time of Solomon. Moreover, which Amariah was in the days of Jehoshaphat, about whom it is written (II Chron 19:11): “… and behold, Amariah the head priest”? Now he was Amariah the son of Azariah, who lived in the days of Uzziah and in the days of Hezekiah, who was after Jehoshaphat. If you say [that it was] Azariah the father of Seraiah, then where was Hilkiah the High Priest who lived in the days of Josiah? Rather we must count from Zadok, and there were twelve priests from Zadok until Seraiah, and so we find in an exact version of <i>Leviticus Rabbah</i>. Now that which the Scripture writes: “… he was the one who served in the Temple,” is explained in <i>Sefer Yerushalmi</i> (source unknown. Perhaps <i>Sifre Zuta, Korah</i> 18:7 is meant) as follows: Did he alone serve, and did he serve in the days of Solomon? Did not other priests serve as well? But because he risked his life for the sanctity of the Temple by not allowing Uzziah to burn incense, it is said: “he was the one who served in the Temple that Solomon built,” and he was the Azariah who lived in the days of Uzziah (ibid. 26: 17, 20) and in the days of Hezekiah, and Azariah the son of Ahimaaz was Amariah the priest who served in the days of Jehoshaphat, just as Uzziah is called Azariah, as is written (II Ki. 15:1): “In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam etc, Azariah… became king.” And Azariah the son of Ahimaaz was called Zechariah, as it is written (II Chron. 26:5): “And he was wont to seek God in the days of Zechariah who understood the fear of God, etc.”</html>
<html><b>And Jehozadak went when the Lord exiled Judah and Jerusalem</b> And the verse in the Book of Haggai (1:1): “Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the [High] Priest,” does not [mean] that Jehozadak ever served in the high priesthood, for he was exiled to Babylon in the days of Jeconiah, as it is written: “And Jehozadak went when… exiled etc.,” but Joshua his son was the High Priest when they ascended from Babylon during the time of the Second Temple. Now why was Azariah the son of Seraiah the scholar not the High Priest, but [instead] his nephew Joshua the son of Jehozadak? This is the reason: because Joshua ascended with Zerubbabel many days and years before Ezra ascended.</html>