1 Chronicles 5:2
in 1 Chronicles 5And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the prince; but the birthright was Joseph’s),
KJV
For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 5
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd of him came the chief ruler - This is, by both the Syriac and Arabic, understood of Christ: “From Judah the King Messiah shall proceed.” The Chaldee paraphrases the verse thus: “Seeing Judah prevailed over his brethren, so the kingdom was taken from Reuben and given to Judah; and because he was strong, so was his kingdom. Levi also was godly, and did not transgress in the matter of the golden calf; therefore the high priesthood was taken away from the children of Reuben, and on their account from all the first-born, and given to Aaron and his sons.
This site's exposition
he defiled his father’s bed
on 1 Chronicles 5:1-2
Reuben was Israel's firstborn, but Genesis 49:4 already marked him unstable as water for defiling his father's bed, and Chronicles states the consequence in genealogical terms: his birthright passed to Joseph's sons while Judah took the standing of chief ruler. Clarke notes that the Syriac, the Arabic and the Chaldee paraphrase all read the chief ruler as pointing toward the Messiah out of Judah, though the Chronicler himself draws only the immediate line to David's house. The tribal order of the whole book, Judah named first in chapter 2 though not the firstborn, rests on these two verses.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For Judah prevailed above his brethren,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel 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.
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
8 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוּדָה֙ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| גָּבַ֣ר | gavar | he was strong | H1396 → | |
| בְּאֶחָ֔יו | beechav | among brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וּלְנָגִ֖יד | ulenagid | and to a leader | H5057 → | 45 times |
| מִמֶּ֑נּוּ | mimenu | [was] from him | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וְהַבְּכֹרָ֖ה | vehabekhorah | and the birthright | H1062 → | 10 times |
| לְיוֹסֵֽף׃ ס | leyosef | [belonged] to Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוּדָה֙Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
גָּבַ֣רhe was strong
gavarH1396 →
בְּאֶחָ֔יוamong brothers his
beechavH251 →630 times
וּלְנָגִ֖ידand to a leader
ulenagidH5057 →45 times
מִמֶּ֑נּוּ[was] from him
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
וְהַבְּכֹרָ֖הand the birthright
vehabekhorahH1062 →10 times
לְיוֹסֵֽף׃ ס[belonged] to Joseph
leyosefH3130 →213 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 2:6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…
it leads to
- Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 34:23–25
I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- Isaiah 9:6–7
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 49:10
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Micah 5:2
Through
Micah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…
it leads to
- John 7:42
Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 2:6
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…
- Luke 1:31–33
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
- Psalms 90:2
Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
- John 7:42
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Chronicles.