I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 5-6.

Today’s passage gives an example of why it is useful to read and re-read passages with which we think we are familiar. I do not believe that I have ever noticed before today what this passage says about the tribes of Reuben, Judah, and the two tribes of Joseph. Even though Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn son, the rulers of Israel did not come from his tribe, and his tribe did not have the largest territory. The writer here tells us that this was the case because Reuben had slept with his father’s concubine (something mentioned in Genesis 35:22). Now, in Jacob’s farewell address to his sons we read that Jacob had prophesied/declared that Reuben had lost his position as first because of his act and that a descendant of Judah would rule over the people of Israel. However, this is the first and only place to suggest that the reason Manasseh and Ephraim (Joseph’s two sons) were both counted as tribes was because Joseph received the double share of the inheritance which had been Reuben’s as firstborn son. I never really thought about the fact that Joseph got a double portion of inheritance from Jacob before today. Nor did I think about the fact that by the standards of the day that double portion should have gone to Reuben. I am unsure what significance there is in that it happened, but going forward it will influence my thinking as I read.

There are a couple of points out of the rest of this passage which I want to highlight. I do not currently know if these points have any significance, but think they are things to note as I read the rest of the Bible. The tribes who settled east of the Jordan River functioned as a third political division of the people of Israel. There was the Southern portion, which became the Kingdom of Judah. There was the Northern portion, which became the Kingdom of Israel after the Kingdom divided. Finally there was the portion east of the Jordan. This portion was where Abner set up Saul’s son Ishbosheth as king after Saul’s death. It was where King David fled from and based his resistance to Absalom’s revolt. Then here in today’s passage we get a hint that the Israelites east of the Jordan went into exile some time before the fall of Samaria. This is also mentioned in 2 Kings at one point. Another point of minor significance is that it says here that only descendants of Aaron served as priests, yet in the books previous to this there are numerous mentions of others who served as priests from time to time and place to place. There are two possible ways to reconcile this. The first is that only Aaron’s descendants were supposed to function as priests. The second is that only Aaron’s descendants served as priests at the official altar of God. Again, this will be something I will need to keep in mid as I read the rest of the Bible to see how it colors the meaning of other passages.