Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 5:8
and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records a genealogical and territorial inventory for the tribe of Reuben, documenting ancestral lines and their eastern settlements during the post-conquest tribal allocations.
The words — The Hebrew word בֶּן (ben) literally means “son of,” structuring the descent from Joel through Shema and Azaz to Bela. The pronoun הוּא (hu) translates as “he,” anchoring the preceding name as the subject of the subsequent territorial statement.
The thread — The settlements of Aroer, Nebo, and Baal-meon recur in Numbers 32:34 and Numbers 32:38 as part of the eastern tribal land grants. The genealogical sequence also parallels 1 Chronicles 5:4, which lists Shemaiah, Gog, and Shimei as subsequent descendants of Joel.
Why it lands — The text requires tracking how ancestral lines map onto geographic boundaries, demonstrating how population growth dictated territorial expansion. It demands recognition that land inheritance follows documented lineage and divine provision rather than arbitrary claim.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal–meon:
Cross-references
- Numbers 32:38 as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. And they renamed the cities they rebuilt.
- Numbers 32:34 And the Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,
- 1 Chronicles 5:4 The descendants of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
- Deuteronomy 32:49 “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their own possession.
- Deuteronomy 34:1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead as far as Dan,
- Joshua 13:17 to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,
- Isaiah 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Isaiah 17:2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be left to the flocks, which will lie down with no one to fear.
- Ezekiel 25:9 therefore I will indeed expose the flank of Moab beginning with its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim—the glory of the land.