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7:1-40 Other Northern Tribes. This chapter contains briefer details of those tribes, including part of Benjamin, that belonged to the old northern kingdom of Israel. They are enclosed within the genealogies as part of the Chronicler's ideal conception of "all Israel" as a unity that existed in David's time (v. 2), even though their lands were no longer under Israelite control at the time of the Chronicler's writing.
7:1-5 The list of the descendants of Issachar is composed from Gen. 46:13, Num. 26:23-25, and a military census from David's reign (1 Chron. 7:2-5; see ch. 21).
7:6-12 These details of Benjamin differ from other lists (Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38-39; 1 Chron. 8:1-3) and originate mainly in military registers (7:7, 9, 11), probably the same as for Issachar. A second Benjaminite genealogy is given in ch. 8, though for a different purpose.
7:13 Drawn from Gen. 46:24 and Num. 26:48-49. The extreme brevity may reflect the limitations in the Chronicler's sources. Details for Dan and Zebulun are also missing, probably because of the fragmentary nature of records from the early monarchy.
7:14-19 This section concerns the half of Manasseh that lived west of the Jordan. Details are drawn from Num. 26:29-33 and Josh. 17:1-3. This genealogy is of a different character from the preceding ones, with a particular emphasis on women (Maacah, Zelophehad, Hammolecheth), suggesting an origin in the domestic social world. Maacah is called the sister of Machir in 1 Chron. 7:15, then his wife in v. 16; but "sister/brother" often has the sense of "relative" in the OT.
7:15 and Zelophehad had daughters. See Num. 26:33; 27:1-11.
7:20-29 The vertical genealogy of Joshua, the most famous Ephraimite, is given in vv. 20-27 (from Num. 26:35). Into this list a historical note (1 Chron. 7:21b-24) has been inserted that probably refers to the postconquest period: the building of Lower and Upper Beth-horon fits better with the time of tribal settlement. In this case, Ephraim (v. 22) would refer not to the patriarch but to a later descendant of the same name. Gath may be Gittaim, on the Ephraimite border. Verses 28-29 draw on Joshua 16-17 for details of the settlements of Ephraim and Manasseh, since both tribes descended from Joseph.
7:30-40 Genesis 46:17, Num. 26:44-46, and details from a military register (1 Chron. 7:40) provide the information for Asher. The total of fighting men for Asher (26,000, v. 40) is significantly less than that in Moses' day (Num. 26:47).
