1 Chronicles 5:10

10 And in the days of Saul they have made war with the Hagarites, who fall by their hand, and they dwell in their tents over all the face of the east of Gilead.

1 Chronicles 5:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 5:10

And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites,
&c.] Not with the Hungarians, as the Targum, a people not then in being; but the Ishmaelites, so called because they descended from Hagar ^F19, Sarah's maid; the same that are placed by Pliny ^F20 and Ptolemy ^F21 in Arabia, near the Batanaeans, or inhabitants of Bashan; with those the Reubenites made war, in conjunction with the Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh, ( 1 Chronicles 5:18 1 Chronicles 5:19 ) , perhaps this war might be much about the time Saul relieved Jabeshgilead, and beat the Ammonites, ( 1 Samuel 11:1-14 ) by which the tribes on that side Jordan might be encouraged to it:

who fell by their hand;
were worsted and conquered by them:

and they dwelt in their tents;
in which the Arabians used to dwell, because of their flocks; hence some of them were called Scenites:

throughout all the east [land] of Gilead;
or rather throughout all the land of the Hagarites, which lay to the east of Gilead, as the Vulgate Latin version; or otherwise the land of Gilead itself was their original possession.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 So David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 45. 4.
F20 Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28.
F21 Geograph. l. 5. c. 19.

1 Chronicles 5:10 In-Context

8 and Bela son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel -- he is dwelling in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-Meon;

9 and at the east he dwelt even unto the entering in of the wilderness, even from the river Phrat, for their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.

10 And in the days of Saul they have made war with the Hagarites, who fall by their hand, and they dwell in their tents over all the face of the east of Gilead.

11 And the sons of Gad, over-against them have dwelt in the land of Bashan unto Salcah,

12 Joel the head, and Shapham the second, and Jaanai and Shaphat in Bashan;