1 Chronicles 5:11–22

Read the passage.

Gad’s descendants were the second tribe to settle east of the Jordan River, specifically in the land of Bashan. I don’t know of anything in particular about Gad himself to share, so this entry will probably be especially short. The names that are given here are sourced from genealogies that were collected by the time of Jotham king of Judah, and Jeroboam king of Israel. Since Jotham reigned fairly late in Judah’s history (he was the 11th king), this probably refers to the second Jeroboam to be Israel’s king (the 14th king), the son of Jehoash. The more famous Jeroboam was the son of Nebat, the first king of Israel when the northern tribes split off from Judah.

After the genealogy, we are given a story about the triumph of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh over the Hagrites. An army of 44,760 men from those tribes went out to war against the peoples across the Jordan River, and because they called upon the Lord to help them, He gave them victory. The Israelites were then able to capture the land, animals, and people of their enemies and lived there until their country was conquered in turn.

You are a great help in time of need, mighty to save.