Descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the Half-Tribe of Manasseh: Whereas the previous genealogy covered the area south of Judah, the Chronicler now moves to the Transjordanian tribes to the east of Judah. Two of Israel’s sons mentioned in 2:1–2 are particularly associated with these tribes, namely, Reuben (5:1–10) and Gad (5:11–17). However, from 5:18 the half-tribe of Manasseh is also mentioned together with these other tribes. The last subsection of this particular genealogy (5:23–26) deals explicitly with the descendants of Manasseh.

Our current knowledge of these tribes confirms that they, like the Simeonites, had probably disappeared as separately identifiable groups by the time of the Chronicler. Their inclusion again could be interpreted as part of the Chronicler’s strategy to help define…