Reuben was Israel's first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son. But he had sexual relations with his father's wife. So those privileges were given to Joseph's sons. In the family history, Reuben's name is not listed as the first son. Judah became stronger than his brothers, so the leaders came from his family. But Joseph's family got the other privileges that belong to the oldest son. Reuben's sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
Beerah was Baal's son. King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria forced Beerah to leave his home. So Beerah became the king's prisoner. Beerah was a leader of the tribe of Reuben.
Bela's people lived to the east as far as the edge of the desert, near the Euphrates River. They lived there because they had many cattle in the land of Gilead.
When Saul was king, Bela's people fought a war against the Hagrites. They defeated the Hagrites. Bela's people lived in the tents that had belonged to the Hagrites. They lived in those tents and traveled throughout the area east of Gilead.
They were the descendants of Abihail. Abihail was Huri's son. Huri was Jaroah's son. Jaroah was Gilead's son. Gilead was Michael's son. Michael was Jeshishai's son. Jeshishai was Jahdo's son. Jahdo was Buz's son.
The people in the tribe of Gad lived in the area of Gilead. They lived in the area of Bashan, in the small towns around Bashan, and in all the pastures in the area of Sharon all the way to the borders.
During the time of Jotham and Jeroboam, all these people's names were written in the family history of Gad. Jotham was the king of Judah and Jeroboam was the king of Israel.
From half the tribe of Manasseh and from the tribes of Reuben and Gad there were 44,760 brave men ready for war. They were skilled in war. They carried shields and swords. And they were also good with bows and arrows.
The men from the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad prayed to God during the war. They asked God to help them because they trusted him, so God helped them. He allowed them to defeat the Hagrites and those who were with the Hagrites.
Many Hagrites were killed because God helped the people of Reuben win the war. Then the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad settled in the land of the Hagrites. They lived there until the time when the Israelites were taken into captivity.
These were the family leaders from half the tribe of Manasseh: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel. They were all strong, brave, and famous men, and they were leaders in their families.
But they sinned against the God who their ancestors worshiped. They began worshiping the false gods of the people living there—and those were the people God destroyed.
The God of Israel made King Pul of Assyria want to go to war. He was also called Tiglath Pileser. He fought against the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad. He forced them to leave their homes and made them prisoners. Pul took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and near the Gozan River. Those tribes from Israel have lived in those places since that time until today.