📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 7:8
What does 1 Chronicles 7:8 mean?
"The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher."
— 1 Chronicles 7:8 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Their brothers among all the families of Issachar, mighty men of valor, listed in all by genealogy, were eighty-seven thousand.
The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three.
The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor; and they were listed by genealogy twenty-two thousand thirty-four.
The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher.
They were listed by genealogy, after their generations, heads of their fathers’ houses, mighty men of valor, twenty thousand two hundred.
The son of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar.
All these were sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers’ households, mighty men of valor, seventeen thousand two hundred, who were able to go out in the army for war.
Explanation
1 Chronicles 7:8 is a simple genealogical entry that lists the sons of a man named Becher, who was one of the sons of Benjamin, one of the twelve tribal patriarchs of Israel. The verse names nine descendants — Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth — and then confirms that this full list constitutes "the sons of Becher." On its surface it is simply a record-keeping statement, part of a much longer genealogical chart tracing the family lines of the tribe of Benjamin.
The book of 1 Chronicles was likely compiled after the Babylonian exile, traditionally attributed to Ezra or a scribe working in that same tradition, for a Jewish community that had returned to the land and was trying to reestablish its identity, worship, and social order. The opening nine chapters of 1 Chronicles consist almost entirely of genealogies stretching from Adam through the tribes of Israel. These lists were not idle trivia to the original audience; they served a very practical purpose. After exile, families needed to prove tribal identity in order to reclaim ancestral land, to establish who could serve as priests or Levites, and to maintain the covenant community's continuity with the promises given to Israel's patriarchs. Chapter 7 specifically works through the descendants of several trib
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