Commentary - 1 Chronicles 7:1-5

Bird's-eye view

In this brief section of the Chronicler's great genealogical project, we are given a snapshot of the tribe of Issachar. Like much of 1 Chronicles, these verses can appear to the modern reader as little more than a dry list of unpronounceable names and inaccessible numbers. But we must resist the temptation to skim. These genealogies are not filler; they are the skeletal structure of redemptive history. God is a covenant-keeping God, and that means He keeps track of His people, by name. This passage, focusing on Issachar, highlights the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham to make his descendants numerous. The repeated emphasis on "mighty men of valor" and the impressive census numbers, particularly in the time of David, are not just historical footnotes. They are tangible evidence of God's faithfulness and blessing upon a people who were, in their best moments, faithful to Him. The mention of their large families, a direct result of having "many wives and sons," is presented matter-of-factly as a source of their strength. This is God building His nation, family by family, demonstrating that fruitfulness is a key component of covenantal blessing.

The Chronicler is writing to a post-exilic community, reminding them of their identity. He is showing them that they are not a random collection of survivors, but are the direct descendants of a people whom God had blessed with might and multitude. This accounting of Issachar's strength serves as an encouragement: the God who made their ancestors mighty men of valor is the same God who is with them now. He is the God of history, the God of families, and the God who keeps His promises across the generations.

Outline

Context In 1 Chronicles

First Chronicles begins with a massive genealogy stretching from Adam all the way to the generation returning from exile. The author's purpose is to establish continuity and identity for the people of God after the catastrophic disruption of the Babylonian captivity. By tracing their lineage, he is reminding them that their story did not begin in exile. They are the heirs of God's covenant promises to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and David. Chapters 2 through 9 form a detailed survey of the tribes of Israel. This section on Issachar (7:1-5) is nestled within this broader survey, following the genealogies of Judah and Simeon and preceding those of Benjamin, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher. The particular emphasis on military numbers during the reign of David is a recurring theme. The Chronicler presents David's kingdom as a high point of covenantal blessing and unity, a golden age to which the returned exiles should aspire. This list is therefore not just about who their ancestors were, but about what God intended for them to be: a numerous, strong, and unified people under a godly king.

Key Issues

God Counts His People

It is a profound mistake to treat the genealogies of Scripture as though they were the fine print in a divine contract. They are not. They are the story. God is telling a story that unfolds over many generations, and He is a God who knows His people by name. From the promise to Eve that her seed would crush the serpent's head, God's people have been watching the family lines. The entire Old Testament is narrowing the focus, from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Judah, to David. And here, the Chronicler pans out to show us that God was not just concerned with the royal line, but with all the families of His people.

These lists are a tangible demonstration of God's covenant promise to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation" (Gen 12:2). How does God make a great nation? One family at a time. One birth at a time. He counts them because they count. Each name here was a man whom God loved, who lived a life, had children, ate meals, and faced troubles. And God wrote his name down in His book forever to say that his life mattered in the grand project of redemption. This is not a phone book; it is a muster roll for the army of the living God, a record of His faithfulness.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now the sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four.

The Chronicler begins simply, establishing the foundational heads of the tribe. These are the four sons of Issachar, the ninth son of Jacob. This is ground-level history. Just as the book of Genesis lists the sons of Jacob, so the Chronicler anchors his account in that foundational reality. Every subsequent man of valor, every chief man, every soldier in the army, traces his lineage back to these four. This is how covenant works; it flows downstream through the generations. God's promises are not made to abstract individuals, but to men and their seed after them.

2 The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam and Samuel, heads of their fathers’ households. The sons of Tola were mighty men of valor in their generations; their number in the days of David was 22,600.

We immediately zoom in on the line of Tola, the firstborn. His descendants are identified in two crucial ways. First, they were heads of their fathers' households. This signifies leadership, stability, and patriarchal authority. God builds His people through well-ordered families. Second, they were mighty men of valor. This is not just about being a good fighter. The Hebrew phrase, gibborim chayil, carries the idea of strength, ability, substance, and character. These were capable, competent, and courageous men. And then the Chronicler provides the evidence: a census number from the time of David. Under God's chosen king, this one clan of Tola could field an army of 22,600 men. This is a picture of God's blessing made visible. Strength and numbers are a gift from God, a sign of His favor upon a faithful king and his people.

3 The son of Uzzi was Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, Isshiah; all five of them were chief men.

The lineage continues, drilling down another generation. The five sons of Izrahiah are all identified as chief men. This reinforces the theme of leadership. The strength of Issachar was not just in the quantity of its men, but in the quality of its leadership. God raises up heads of households and chief men to govern and lead His people. A healthy tribe, like a healthy church, is not a flat democracy; it is a body with structure, with recognized leaders who bear responsibility. These names, Michael ("Who is like God?"), Obadiah ("Servant of Yahweh"), and Joel ("Yahweh is God"), testify to the piety of the people who gave them.

4 With them by their generations according to their fathers’ households were 36,000 troops of the army for war, for they had many wives and sons.

Now we get a number for this specific sub-clan: 36,000 soldiers. This is a formidable force. And the Chronicler gives the reason for this great number plainly: for they had many wives and sons. In our modern, anti-natalist culture, this statement lands with a thud. But in the biblical worldview, it is a straightforward declaration of blessing. God commanded mankind to be fruitful and multiply, and these men obeyed. While the New Testament sets monogamy as the standard, particularly for church leaders, the Old Testament regulated polygamy as a reality. Here, it is not presented as a problem to be solved, but as the direct cause of their numerical strength. More wives meant more sons, and more sons meant a stronger army to defend the people of God. Fruitfulness in the home led to strength for the nation. This is a basic building block of a godly society.

5 Their relatives among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, recorded by genealogy, in all 87,000.

Finally, the Chronicler gives the grand total for the entire tribe. When all the clans of Issachar were counted, they amounted to 87,000 mighty men of valor. The point is to impress upon the reader the sheer scale of God's blessing. This is what God does. He takes four men (v. 1) and, over the course of generations, multiplies them into a vast and powerful army. The fact that they were recorded by genealogy is crucial. This was not a rough estimate. This was a careful accounting, because God is a God of order. He knows His people, He counts them, and He records their names. This vast number is a testimony to the covenant-keeping God who fulfills His promises in history, on the ground, with real families.

Application

Though we are not members of the tribe of Issachar, this passage is filled with application for the new covenant church. First, we must see that history and lineage matter. We are not spiritual orphans. We have been grafted into the olive tree of Israel and are heirs to the same covenant promises. The genealogies of the Old Testament are our family history, culminating in the ultimate Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second, we must recover a biblical appreciation for fruitfulness. Our culture sees children as a burden and a lifestyle choice. The Bible sees them as a blessing from the Lord and a reward from Him. The strength of Issachar was in its families. The strength of the church for the next generation is in our families today. We are in a long-term war, and we must raise up sons and daughters who will be mighty in valor for the truth of the gospel.

Third, we see the importance of godly leadership. Issachar was strong because it had "heads of households" and "chief men." The church is to be led by qualified elders, and homes are to be led by faithful husbands and fathers. When men take up their God-given responsibility, the whole body flourishes. Finally, we are reminded that God blesses His people with strength. We are not called to be a weak and anemic people. We are called to be mighty in valor, strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Our strength is not in swords and spears, but in the truth of the gospel, the power of the Spirit, and the courage to stand for Christ in a hostile world. The God who multiplied Issachar is the God who is building His church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.