📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 5:21
What does 1 Chronicles 5:21 mean?
"They took away their livestock; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred fifty thousand, and of donkeys two thousand, and of men one hundred thousand."
— 1 Chronicles 5:21 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skillful in war, were forty-four thousand seven hundred sixty, that were able to go out to war.
They made war with the Hagrites, with Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab.
They were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into their hand, and all who were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he answered them, because they put their trust in him.
They took away their livestock; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred fifty thousand, and of donkeys two thousand, and of men one hundred thousand.
For many fell slain, because the war was of God. They lived in their place until the captivity.
The children of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land: they increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon.
These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: even Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, heads of their fathers’ houses.
Explanation
First Chronicles 5:21 records the spoils of war taken by the Israelite tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh after they defeated the Hagrites and their allies (the Jeturites and Naphishites) in battle east of the Jordan River. The verse simply lists what was captured: fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep, two thousand donkeys, and one hundred thousand people. These numbers convey the scale and completeness of the victory — this was not a minor skirmish but a decisive military triumph with massive material and human consequences.
The chapter as a whole is part of the genealogical record that opens 1 Chronicles, tracing the descendants of Israel's tribes. The Chronicler, writing after the Babylonian exile to a returning Jewish community, includes this account of the Transjordan tribes' military success to remind his audience of God's past faithfulness to their ancestors. Verse 20, just before this one, makes the theological point explicit: "They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were delivered into their hand; for they cried to God in the battle, and he answered them, because they put their trust in him." So the plunder described in ver
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.