1 Chronicles 5:16

And they dwelt in Gilead,.... In that part of it which belonged to the tribe of Gad: in Bashan, and in her towns; [See comments on 1 Chronicles 5:11], and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their

And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders. Sharon. The term Sharon was applied as descriptive of any place of extraordinary beauty and productiveness.

They dwelt, i.e. the children or tribe of Gad. In Gilead, i.e. in part of Gilead; for the Reubenites and Manassites dwelt in other parts of it, ,13,16. In Bashan; in the land of Bashan, as it is said, . Quest. How come the Gadites to dwell in Bashan, when all Bashan is expressly said to be given to the half tribe of Manasseh, ,30? Answ. All Bashan is put for the greatest part of it by a synecdoche, very frequent in Scripture and all authors; and so the Gadites might possess a part of it. And thus both Bashan and Gilead are used for parts of them, , where it is said of Machir a Manassite, that he had Gilead and Bashan. And as it is unquestionably true that Gilead is taken sometimes more largely for all the land of the Israelites beyond Jordan, sometimes more strictly for that part of it which borders upon Mount Gilead; of which See Poole ""; the like may be presumed concerning Bashan; and so in its strictest sense it might be all given to the Manassites, and yet in its largest sense might comprehend a part of the land belonging to the Gadites. In her towns, i.e. in some of her cities and towns. In all the suburbs, i.e. in its fields and pasture grounds, . Of Sharon; not that within Jordan, , but another without Jordan. Upon their borders, to wit, of Gilead and Bashan; for Gilead properly so called, or the greatest part of it, belonged to the Reubenites; and Bashan, or the greatest part of it, to the Manassites; and so the Gadites (whose habitation was between the Reubenites and Manassites) had those parts of both their countries which were towards their borders. Or, unto their borders, i.e. as far as the suburbs or fields of Sharon, which were last mentioned, were extended.

1 Chronicles 5:16 And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders.Ver. 16. Suburbs of Sharon.] Which was ager pascuosissimus, a place of fat feeding, situate under the hill of Lebanon; coupled with Carmel for "excellency"; not more a field than "a fold for flocks." Upon their borders.] Heb., Their outgoings.

(11-17) THE SONS OF GAD, THEIR CLANS, , AND .(11) And the children of Gad dwelt over against them.—That is, adjoining them on the east of Jordan.In the land of Bashan unto Salcah.—(Joshua 13:11.) Bashan, the ancient dominion of the giant Og (Numbers 21:33-35; Deuteronomy 3:1-12). Salcah now Sulkhad, on the south-east slope of Jebel Hauran in the extreme east of Gilead. (12) Joel the chief (or, first; literally, head), and Shaphan the next (or second.)—Genesis 46:15 enumerates seven sons of Gad, a number corresponding with the clans of 1 Chronicles 5:13; but none of the names are the same. In Bashan.—This expression goes to prove that clans, not individuals, are intended. Joel is also the head Reubenite house (1 Chronicles 5:4). (13) And their brethren of the house of their fathers.—And their kinsmen (fellow-tribesmen), according to their father-houses (clans). The verse names seven inferior clans of the Gadites, whose seats are assigned in 1 Chronicles 5:16. These, viz., the clans of 1 Chronicles 5:13, were sons of Abihail, whose line is retraced through seven generations to Buz, of whom nothing further is known. The name has occurred Genesis 22:21 as that of a son of Nahor; and Job 32:2, as that of the clan of Elihu the Buzite. (15) Ahi the son of Abdial, the son of Guni (was) head of their clans. Perhaps Ahi was chieftain or prince of the sons of Abihail at the time when this register was drawn up (1 Chronicles 5:17). (16) And they dwelt in Gilead.—The seats of the Gadites of 1 Chronicles 5:13 were in the country east of Jordan.In Bashan, defines the locality more precisely. It was the northern region of Gilead. And in her towns.—Heb., her daughters.And in all the suburbs of Sharon.—Rather, pasture-grounds or sheep-walks.Sharon.—The well-known plain of this name lay west of Jordan, between Carmel and Joppa, along the coast of the Great Sea. The old conjecture that Shirion, i.e., mount Hermon (Deuteronomy 3:9; Psalms 29:6) should be read, is probably right. Upon their borders.—That is, their extremities (Numbers 34:4-5). The Gadites fed their flocks in the glens opening out at the foot of the mountains, here called their exits or outlets.(17) All these.—That is, the Gadite clans.Were reckoned by genealogies (or registered) in the days of Jotham king of Judah, i.e., after 757 B.C., according to Biblical chronology. And in the days of Jeroboam (the second), king of Israel, who reigned from 825-784, according to the data of Kings. Clearly, therefore, more than one registration is the basis of the above statistics. That of Jeroboam was the earlier in point of time; but the chronicler names the king of Judah first honoris causa. Jeroboam II., a vigorous king, who “restored the border of Israel from the entry of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah” (2 Kings 14:25), may have taken this census of the tribes east of Jordan, with a view to fiscal purposes.

Verse 16. The suburbs of Sharon] There were three places of this name: that mentioned here was a district in the country of Bashan beyond Jordan, (see Joshua 12:18;) there was another that lay between Caesarea of Palestine and Joppa; and there was a third between Mount Tabor and the Sea of Tiberias. See Calmet.

16. in Gilead in Bashan] Read, in Gilead, in Jabesh; cp. 1 Chronicles 10:11-12. The phrase in Gilead in Bashan yields no good sense, for Gilead means the southern, and Bashan the northern part of the territory of Israel east of Jordan. suburbs] R.V. mg., pasture lands (as in 1 Chronicles 13:2). Sharon] The well-known Sharon is to be identified with the maritime plain between Joppa and Caesarea. As however the text speaks here of the country E. of Jordan, some other Sharon at present unidentified, must be meant. upon their borders] R.V. as far as their borders.