God’s Word Translation
1 Chronicles 5:2
2Even though Judah was more prominent than his brothers and the prince was to come from him, Joseph received the rights as firstborn.)
1 Chronicles 5:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
- New International Version (NIV)and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)—
- English Standard Version (ESV)though Judah became strong among his brothers and a chief came from him, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),
- New King James Version (NKJV)yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came a ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s—
Context of 1 Chronicles 5:2
1These are the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn. (Although he was the firstborn, his rights as firstborn were given to his nephews, Joseph’s sons, because he dishonored his father’s bed. However, Joseph couldn’t be listed in the genealogy as the firstborn son. Even though Judah was more prominent than his brothers and the prince was to come from him, Joseph received the rights as firstborn.) 3The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4Joel’s son was Shemaiah. Shemaiah’s son was Gog. Gog’s son was Shimei.
Read all of 1 Chronicles 51 Chronicles 5:2 word by word
כִּ֤י יְהוּדָה֙ גָּבַ֣ר בְּאֶחָ֔יו וּלְנָגִ֖יד מִמֶּ֑נּוּ וְהַבְּכֹרָ֖ה לְיוֹסֵֽף׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Chronicles 5:2
- Genesis 35:23The sons of Leah were Jacob’s firstborn Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
- Genesis 49:8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
- Numbers 2:3“On the east side, facing the rising sun, the armies led by Judah will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Judah is Nahshon, son of Amminadab.
- Numbers 7:12The one who brought his gifts on the first day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.
- Joshua 14:6Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb, son of Jephunneh and grandson of Kenaz, said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea about you and me.
- Judges 1:2The Lord answered, “Judah’s troops will go first. I am about to hand the Canaanites over to you.”
- Psalms 60:7Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is the helmet on my head. Judah is my scepter.
- Psalms 108:8Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is the helmet on my head. Judah is my scepter.
- Micah 5:2You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are too small to be included among Judah’s cities. Yet, from you Israel’s future ruler will come for me. His origins go back to the distant past, to days long ago.
- Matthew 2:6Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. A leader will come from you. He will shepherd my people Israel.”
- Hebrews 7:14Everyone knows that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. Moses never said anything about priests coming from that tribe.
- Revelation 5:5Then one of the leaders said to me, “Stop crying! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory. He can open the scroll and the seven seals on it.”
- Genesis 49:10A scepter will never depart from Judah nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes and the people obey him.
- 1 Samuel 16:1The Lord asked Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul now that I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill a flask with olive oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem because I’ve selected one of his sons to be king.”
- 2 Samuel 8:15So David ruled all Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people.
- Psalms 78:68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
Commentaries on 1 Chronicles 5:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2And of him came the chief ruler - This is, by both the Syriac and Arabic, understood of Christ: "From Judah the King Messiah shall proceed." The Chaldee paraphrases the verse thus: "Seeing Judah prevailed over his brethren, so the kingdom was taken from Reuben and given to Judah; and because he was strong, so was his kingdom. Levi also was godly, and did not transgress in the matter of the golden calf; therefore the high priesthood was taken away from the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2Reuben was Israel's oldest son, but he lost his birthright because he had sexual relations with his father's concubine (Genesis 35:22). Jacob gave this right to Joseph by making Ephraim and Manasseh full members of the tribes (Genesis 48:5). This act gave Joseph the double portion usually meant for the firstborn (Deuteronomy 21:15–17). As Jacob predicted, Judah became more prominent than his brothers and was the ancestor of the ruling tribe (Genesis…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-101Ch 5:1-10. The Line of Reuben. 1. Now the sons of Reuben--In proceeding to give this genealogy, the sacred historian states, in a parenthesis (1Ch 5:1, 2), the reason why it was not placed first, as Reuben was the oldest son of Jacob. The birthright, which by a foul crime he had forfeited, implied not only dominion, but a double portion (De 21:17); and both of these were transferred to Joseph, whose two sons having been adopted as the children of Jacob…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Chronicles 5:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Chronicles 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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