1 Chronicles 5:9

9 They had large herds in the land of Gilead, and so they occupied the land as far east as the desert that stretches all the way to the Euphrates River.

1 Chronicles 5:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 5:9

And eastward he inhabited
Either Bela, or the tribe of Reuben:

unto the entering in of the wilderness;
the wilderness of Kedemoth, which was near to Sihon king of Heshbon, whose land the Reubenites inhabited, ( Deuteronomy 2:26 )

from the river Euphrates;
a learned man ^F18 thinks that this river Phrat was different from the Euphrates near Babylon, which was northward, since this was to the east or southeast:

because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead;
therefore their habitation was extended further, even to the river Euphrates, as in the days of David and Solomon, ( 2 Samuel 8:3 ) ( 1 Kings 4:21 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Texelii Phoenix, l. 3. c. 7. p. 272.

1 Chronicles 5:9 In-Context

7 The family records list the following clan leaders in the tribe of Reuben: Jeiel, Zechariah,

8 and Bela, the son of Azaz and grandson of Shema, of the clan of Joel. This clan lived in Aroer and in the territory from there north to Nebo and Baal Meon.

9 They had large herds in the land of Gilead, and so they occupied the land as far east as the desert that stretches all the way to the Euphrates River.

10 In the time of King Saul the tribe of Reuben attacked the Hagrites, killed them in battle, and occupied their land in the eastern part of Gilead.

11 The tribe of Gad lived to the north of Reuben in the land of Bashan as far east as Salecah.