Verse Lens · Context pointer
1 Chronicles 5:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence: “And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Reuben's firstborn status, settlements, and Hagarite war.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 5:1–10
Read 1 Chronicles 5:8 with 5:1–10. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: The narrator explains Reuben's lost birthright, distinguishes Joseph's birthright and Judah's ruler, traces Reubenites to Assyrian exile, and recalls eastward settlement and war.
Why It Needs Context
1 Chronicles 5:8 depends on 5:1–10; isolating “And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer…” would detach a supporting name, action, quotation, number, object, or transition from “Reuben's firstborn status, settlements, and Hagarite war.”
Read 1 Chronicles 5:1–10 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 5:1–10 forms the complete movement “Reuben's firstborn status, settlements, and Hagarite war”: The narrator explains Reuben's lost birthright, distinguishes Joseph's birthright and Judah's ruler, traces Reubenites to Assyrian exile, and recalls eastward settlement and war.
Verse 1. 1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
Verse 2. 2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s:)
Verse 3. 3 The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Verse 4. 4 The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,
Verse 5. 5 Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son,
Verse 6. 6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites.
Verse 7. 7 And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah,
Verse 8. 8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon:
Verse 9. 9 And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
Verse 10. 10 And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 5:1–10 — Reuben's firstborn status, settlements, and Hagarite warSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 5:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 5:1–10
Open source ↗