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1 Chronicles 27:16

in 1 Chronicles 27

These officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel: Over the Reubenites was Eliezer son of Zichri; over the Simeonites was Shephatiah son of Maacah;

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah:

KJV

Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah:

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This verse in 1 Chronicles 27

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Over the tribes of Israel - In this enumeration there is no mention of the tribes of Asher and Gad. Probably the account of these has been lost from this register. These rulers appear to have been all honorary men, without pay, like the lords lieutenants of our counties.

This site's exposition

the ruler of the Reubenites

on 1 Chronicles 27:16-22

A second list follows the military one: princes over the tribes, named by descent rather than army rank, and given priority over the twenty-four captains because their standing was older. Adam Clarke notes that Asher and Gad are missing from the record, a gap the text itself does not explain. Benjamin's prince is Jaasiel the son of Abner, the general who opposed David's rise and died by Joab's hand; Matthew Henry reads David's willingness to honor that son as returning good for the father's old enmity.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

The ruler - These were the princes of the tribes, the constant rulers of the tribes; who seem to have had a superior power to these twenty four captains, and therefore are named before them, being probably the king's chief counsellors and assistants in the great affairs of his kingdom.
Furthermore, over the cities of Israel,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

over the tribes of Israel: the ruler--This is a list of the hereditary chiefs or rulers of tribes at the time of David's numbering the people. Gad and Asher are not included; for what reason is unknown.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Gad and Asher are omitted from this list of the tribes. Similarly, Dan and Zebulon are omitted from the genealogical survey of the tribes 1 Chr. 4–8. We can only suppose that the lists, as they came down to the writer of Chronicles, were incomplete. The “rulers” or “princes” of the tribes appear to have been the oldest lineal descendants of the patriarchs according to the law of primogeniture.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And over the tribes of Israel We already stated the chiefs of David’s divisions, and now he tells who the leaders of the tribes of Israel were, the leader of each tribe.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 27:16:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel. [This means]: from the family of Othniel son of Kenaz.
Radak: Provence, 1160–1235 · Radak on I Chronicles 27:15:1, via Sefaria, The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְעַל֙and over

    vealH5921 →5755 times

  • שִׁבְטֵ֣י[the] tribes of

    shivteiH7626 →190 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לָרֽאוּבֵנִ֣יfor the Reubenite[s]

    loruveniH7206 →18 times

  • נָגִ֔יד[was] chief

    nagidH5057 →45 times

  • אֱלִיעֶ֖זֶרEliezer

    ʾeliezerH461 →14 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • זִכְרִ֑י סZikri

    zikhriH2147 →12 times

  • לַשִּׁ֨מְעוֹנִ֔יfor the Simeonite[s]

    lashimoniH8099 →

  • שְׁפַטְיָ֖הוּShephatiah

    shefatyahuH8203 →13 times

  • בֶּֽן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • מַעֲכָֽה׃ סMaacah

    maakhahH4601 →23 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

About 1 Chronicles

Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 1 Chronicles 27 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Chronicles 27 →