1 Chronicles 5:26

26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria) to take the families of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He deported them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan. They've been there ever since.

1 Chronicles 5:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 5:26

And the God of Israel
The Targum is,

``the word of the God of Israel:''

stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria:
in the times of Menahem king of Israel:

and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser;
in the times of Pekah king of Israel, to invade the land, and make war in it:

and he carried them away:
not the former, but the latter:

even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh;
these entirely together, with some other parts of the land, see ( 2 Kings 15:29 )

and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river
Gozan;
to the very same places where afterwards Salmaneser carried the ten tribes, or what remained of them, see ( 2 Kings 17:6 )

unto this day;
the times of Ezra, the writer of this book, after the tribe of Judah returned from the captivity of Babylon; but the ten tribes remained where they were carried, and have not returned even to this day.

1 Chronicles 5:26 In-Context

24 The heads of their families were Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel - brave warriors, famous, and heads of their families.
25 But they were not faithful to the God of their ancestors. They took up with the ungodly gods of the peoples of the land whom God had gotten rid of before they arrived.
26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria) to take the families of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He deported them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan. They've been there ever since.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.