1 Chronicles 5:9

9 Bela's people lived to the east -- as far as the edge of the desert, which is beside the Euphrates River -- because they had too many cattle for the land of Gilead.

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 Joel's brothers and all his family groups are listed just as they are written in their family histories: Jeiel was the first, then Zechariah,

8 and Bela. (Bela was the son of Azaz. Azaz was the son of Shema, and Shema was the son of Joel.) They lived in the area of Aroer all the way to Nebo and Baal Meon.

9 Bela's people lived to the east -- as far as the edge of the desert, which is beside the Euphrates River -- because they had too many cattle for the land of Gilead.

10 When Saul was king, Bela's people fought a war against the Hagrite people and defeated them. Then Bela's people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites in all the area east of Gilead.

11 The people from the tribe of Gad lived near the Reubenites. The Gadites lived in the area of Bashan all the way to Salecah.