Position can be an indication of status or importance. In many ceremonies, it matters who sits where, or who enters first. Jesus once told a parable along these lines (Luke 14:7–11). The allocation of a particular place in a seating plan or an organisational structure to someone can tell us how that person is viewed.

The Chronicler has covered Judah, Simeon, Reuben, Gad, Transjordanian Manasseh, and Levi. 1 Chronicles 7 deals with six more tribes of Israel—Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, the other half of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher. Chapter 8 is devoted to the tribe of Benjamin. Apart from Benjamin, all the tribes in chapters 7 and 8 belonged to the Northern Kingdom (Israel).

Note how the Chronicler again seems to have one eye on David even when he is not listing Judah’s descendants: the fighting men descended from Tola are specifically said to have been numbered in the reign of David (7:2). The references to Jerusalem at 8:28 and 32 are a further reminder of David, who made Jerusalem his royal city (11:4–9).

The genealogy of Ephraim includes a narrative of loss followed by new life and rebuilding (7:21–24). Perhaps the Chronicler meant to suggest that the tragedies of the Babylonian exile might also be the prelude to new life in the land.

But the main point today is the Chronicler’s inclusive vision of Israel. Having worked through chapters 2–8, we can now make sense of its structure. At either end of this section stand Judah (2:3–4:23) and Benjamin (8:1–40); in the middle stands Levi (6:1–81). These three tribes are treated at greater length than the others. They form the framework of chapters 2–8, into which the other tribes are fitted (4:24–5:26; 7:1–40).

Judah, Levi, and Benjamin were the three tribes of the former Southern Kingdom; they also formed the core of the Israelite community after the exile (9:2–34). That is why they stand in key positions—beginning, middle, and end—in chapters 2–8.

But the other tribes, which had belonged to the breakaway Northern Kingdom (2 Chronicles 10:16–19), are not ignored: rather, they are fitted in between Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. This structure conveyed a clear message to the post-exilic community: do not imagine that God has totally rejected the tribes of the former Northern Kingdom. Rather, if Israelites from any tribe show a clear commitment to God and ask to join in the work of rebuilding, you should welcome them; they are entitled to a place among you. This was a bold message to preach in the post-exilic period but, as later chapters will make clear, it was a message the Chronicler wanted his hearers to take on board. Israel was always meant to consist of twelve, not three, tribes.