Text -- 1 Chronicles 9:13-44 (NET)

9:13 Their relatives, who were leaders of their families, numbered 1,760. They were capable men who were assigned to carry out the various tasks of service in God’s temple. 9:14 From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah a descendant of Merari; 9:15 Bakbakkar; Heresh; Galal; Mattaniah son of Mika, son of Zikri, son of Asaph; 9:16 Obadiah son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived among the settlements of the Netophathites. 9:17 The gatekeepers were: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brothers. Shallum was the leader; 9:18 he serves to this day at the King’s Gate on the east. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the descendants of Levi. 9:19 Shallum son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, and his relatives from his family (the Korahites) were assigned to guard the entrance to the sanctuary. Their ancestors had guarded the entrance to the Lord’s dwelling place. 9:20 Phinehas son of Eleazar had been their leader in earlier times, and the Lord was with him. 9:21 Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the guard at the entrance to the meeting tent. 9:22 All those selected to be gatekeepers at the entrances numbered 212. Their names were recorded in the genealogical records of their settlements. David and Samuel the prophet had appointed them to their positions. 9:23 They and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the Lord’s sanctuary (that is, the tabernacle). 9:24 The gatekeepers were posted on all four sides– east, west, north, and south. 9:25 Their relatives, who lived in their settlements, came from time to time and served with them for seven-day periods. 9:26 The four head gatekeepers, who were Levites, were assigned to guard the storerooms and treasuries in God’s sanctuary. 9:27 They would spend the night in their posts all around God’s sanctuary, for they were assigned to guard it and would open it with the key every morning. 9:28 Some of them were in charge of the articles used by those who served; they counted them when they brought them in and when they brought them out. 9:29 Some of them were in charge of the equipment and articles of the sanctuary, as well as the flour, wine, olive oil, incense, and spices. 9:30 (But some of the priests mixed the spices.) 9:31 Mattithiah, a Levite, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was in charge of baking the bread for offerings. 9:32 Some of the Kohathites, their relatives, were in charge of preparing the bread that is displayed each Sabbath. 9:33 The musicians and Levite family leaders stayed in rooms at the sanctuary and were exempt from other duties, for day and night they had to carry out their assigned tasks. 9:34 These were the family leaders of the Levites, as listed in their genealogical records. They lived in Jerusalem.

Jeiel’s Descendants

9:35 Jeiel (the father of Gibeon) lived in Gibeon. His wife was Maacah. 9:36 His firstborn son was Abdon, followed by Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, 9:37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. 9:38 Mikloth was the father of Shimeam. They also lived near their relatives in Jerusalem. 9:39 Ner was the father of Kish, and Kish was the father of Saul. Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 9:40 The son of Jonathan: Meribbaal, who was the father of Micah. 9:41 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. 9:42 Ahaz was the father of Jarah, and Jarah was the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri was the father of Moza, 9:43 and Moza was the father of Binea. His son was Rephaiah, whose son was Eleasah, whose son was Azel. 9:44 Azel had six sons: Azrikam his firstborn, followed by Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 1Ch 9:13

Heb. mighty men of valour: which is here noted as an excellent qualification for their place; because the priests might meet with great opposition in the discharge of their office, in the execution of the censures upon all impure persons without exception, and in preserving sacred things from violation by the touch of forbidden hands.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:17

Whose office it was to keep all the gates of the temple, that no unclean person or thing might enter into it.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:18

In the east - gate of the temple, which was so called, because the kings of Judah used to go to the temple through that gate. Under this gate he comprehends all the rest, which also were guarded by these porters.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:18

Or, according to the courses. They kept the gates successively, according to that method into which the Levites were distributed, for the more convenient management of their several offices; among which this of the porters was one.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:19

Namely, in time past, when the tabernacle was standing, before the temple was built.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:19

The Kohathites.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:19

When the Israelites were in the wilderness, encamped in a military manner round about the tabernacle, with whom these were then placed.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:19

Of the veil by which they entered into the tabernacle; which he calls the entry because then there were no gates. The meaning is, that all things were now restored to their primitive order; and the several persons took those offices upon them, which their ancestors had before them.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:21

In the time of David, as the following verse sheweth.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:21

Chief porter.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:21

Of the door which led out of the priests court into the tabernacle, in which the ark was placed. Before the temple was built, they had a mean and moveable tent, which they made use of in the mean time. They that cannot yet have a temple, let them be thankful for a tabernacle, and make the best use of it. Never let God's work be left undone, for want of a place to do it in.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:22

Where their usual residence was, and whence they came to Jerusalem in their courses.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:22

In the times of the judges there was much disorder both in the Jewish state and church, and the Levites came to the tabernacle promiscuously, and as their inclinations or occasions brought them. But Samuel observing they were greatly increased, began to think of establishing order in their ministration. And these intentions of his probably were communicated to David, who after his own peaceable settlement in his throne, revived and perfected Samuel's design, and took care to put it in execution.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:23

Namely, in David's time.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:23

This is added to explain what he means by the house of the Lord, not that tabernacle which David had set up for the ark; but that more solemn tabernacle, which Moses had made by God's express command; which in David's time was at Gibeon; in which God was worshipped until the temple was built.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:23

By turns or courses.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:25

From their several villages to the place of worship.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:25

Every seventh day the courses were changed, and the new comers were to tarry 'till the next sabbath day.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:25

To be with them, with the chief porters, who alway's abode in the place of God's worship.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:26

These were constantly upon the place, in the execution of their office, that they might oversee the inferior porters in their work.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:26

In which the sacred utensils and other treasures belonging to the temple, were kept.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:30

This is added to shew, that though the Levites were intrusted with the keeping of this ointment, yet none but the priests could make it.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:31

Was to take care that fine flour might be provided, that when occasion required they might make cakes in pans.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:33

Others of the Levites; of whose several offices he had spoken before.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:33

Or rather, were; which is understood, all along in the foregoing and following verses.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:33

That they might be ready to come whensoever they were called to the service of God in the tabernacle.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:33

From all trouble and employment, that they might wholly attend upon the proper work.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:33

Either composing or ordering sacred songs; or actually singing; or teaching others to sing them.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:33

Continually, and particularly in the morning and evening, the two times appointed for solemn service. Thus was God continually praised, as it is fit he should be, who is continually doing us good.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:34

Upon their return from Babylon they were not suffered to chuse their habitations in the country, as others were, but were obliged to settle themselves at Jerusalem, that they might constantly attend upon God's service there.

Wesley: 1Ch 9:35

In this and the following verses, he repeats Saul's genealogy, that he might make way for the following history.

JFB: 1Ch 9:18

The king had a gate from his palace into the temple (2Ki 16:18), which doubtless was kept constantly closed except for the monarch's use; and although there was no king in Israel on the return from the captivity, yet the old ceremonial was kept up, probably in the hope that the scepter would, ere long, be restored to the house of David. It is an honor by which Eastern kings are distinguished, to have a gate exclusively devoted to their own special use, and which is kept constantly closed, except when he goes out or returns (Eze 44:2). There being no king then in Israel, this gate would be always shut.

Clarke: 1Ch 9:13

And their brethren - What a prodigious number of ecclesiastics to perform the Divine service of one temple! no less than one thousand seven hundred and eighty able-bodied men! and this number is reckoned independently of the two hundred and twelve porters who served at the gates of the house of the Lord, 1Ch 9:22.

Clarke: 1Ch 9:18

The king’ s gate - That by which the kings of Judah went to the temple; see on 2Ki 16:18 (note).

Clarke: 1Ch 9:19

Keepers of the entry - Whose business it was to suffer no person to come to the tabernacle but the priests, during the performance of the sacred service; see Jarchi.

Clarke: 1Ch 9:20

And Phinehas - The Targum says, "And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was ruler over them from ancient times, from the day in which the tabernacle was set up in the wilderness; and the Word of the Lord was his assistant."

Clarke: 1Ch 9:30

The sons of the priests made the ointment - Only the priests were permitted to make this ointment; all others were forbidden to do it on pain of death; see Exo 30:34-38 (note), and the notes there.

Clarke: 1Ch 9:35

Whose wife’ s name was Maachah - Here our translators have departed from the original, for the word is אחתו achotho , his Sister; but the Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Chaldee, have Wife; to which may be added 1Ch 8:29, the parallel place. Almost all the early editions, as well as the MS. editions, have the same reading. Of all the Polyglots the Complutensian alone has אשתו ishto , his Wife. His wife is the reading also of Vatablus’ s Polyglot, but in the margin he observes that other copies have his sister. There is most certainly a fault somewhere, for Maachah could not be both the sister and wife of Jehiel. Whether, therefore, 1Ch 8:29 has been altered from this, or this altered from that, who can tell? A single letter makes the whole difference: if the word be written with ח cheth , it is Sister; if with ש shin , it is Wife. The latter is most probably the true reading. It is so in three very ancient MSS. in my own possession.

Clarke: 1Ch 9:41

And Ahaz - This is added by our translators from 1Ch 8:35, but such liberties should only be taken in a note; for although the words are now sufficiently distinguished from the text by being printed in Italics, yet it is too much to expect that every editor of a Bible will attend to such distinctions, and in process of time the words will be found incorporated with the text

1Ch 9:35, and the following verses, are a repetition of what we find in 1Ch 8:29-38 (note), where see the notes.

TSK: 1Ch 9:13

very able men : Heb. mighty men of valour, 1Ch 26:6, 1Ch 26:30, 1Ch 26:32; Neh 11:14

TSK: 1Ch 9:14

Shemaiah : Neh 11:15

Hashabiah : Neh 10:11, Neh 12:24

of the sons : 1Ch 6:19, 1Ch 6:29, 1Ch 6:63; Num 26:57

TSK: 1Ch 9:15

Mattaniah : Neh 11:17, Neh 11:22, Micha, 1Ch 12:25

Zichri : 1Ch 25:2; Neh 10:12, Zaccur, 1Ch 11:17, Zabdi, 1Ch 12:35, Zaccur

TSK: 1Ch 9:16

Obadiah : Neh 11:17, Abda, Shammua, 1Ch 12:25, the sons of Jeduthun, 1Ch 25:1, 1Ch 25:3, 1Ch 25:6; 2Ch 35:15

Netophathites : 1Ch 2:54; Neh 7:26, Neh 12:28-30

TSK: 1Ch 9:17

the porters : 1Ch 23:5, 26:1-32; Neh 11:19

Shallum : 1Ch 9:19

TSK: 1Ch 9:18

Who hitherto waited : The original is wead hennah , which Houbigant and Dr. Geddes consider as a proper name, and render, ""And Adanah was over the eastern gate, called the king’ s;""i.e., the gate by which the kings of Judah went to the temple. The list is here nearly the same with those found in Ezra and Nehemiah, and contains those who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, but the list in Nehemiah is more ample, probably because it contains those who came afterwards; the object of the sacred writer here being to give the names of those who came first (1Ch 9:2). These consisted of men belonging not only to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but to many of the other tribes of Israel, who took advantage of the proclamation of Cyrus to return to Jerusalem. Properly speaking, the divisions mentioned here constituted the whole of the Israelitish people, who were divided into priests, Levites, common Israelites, and Nethinims.

the king’ s : 1Ki 10:5; 2Ki 11:19; Eze 44:2, Eze 44:3, Eze 46:1, Eze 46:2; Act 3:11

they : 1Ch 26:12-19

TSK: 1Ch 9:19

Ebiasaph : 1Ch 6:22, 1Ch 6:23

Korah : Num 26:9-11; Psa 42:1, Psa 44:1, Psa 49:1 *titles

gates : Heb. thresholds, Psa 84:10 *marg.

over the host : 2Ki 11:9, 2Ki 11:15; 2Ch 23:4-10

keepers of the entry : 1Ch 26:7, 1Ch 26:8, 1Ch 26:13-19

TSK: 1Ch 9:20

Phinehas : Num 3:32, Num 4:16, Num 4:28, Num 4:33, Num 31:6

the Lord : Num 25:11-13; 1Sa 16:18; Act 7:9, Act 7:10

TSK: 1Ch 9:21

Zechariah : 1Ch 26:14

TSK: 1Ch 9:22

in their : 1Ch 9:16, 1Ch 9:25; Neh 11:25-30, Neh 11:36, Neh 12:28, Neh 12:29, Neh 12:44

David : 1Chr. 23:1-32, 25:1-26:32, 1Ch 28:13, 1Ch 28:21

Samuel : 1Sa 9:9

did ordain : Heb. founded

set office : or, trust, 1Ch 9:26, 1Ch 9:31

TSK: 1Ch 9:23

the oversight : 1Ch 23:32; 2Ch 23:19; Neh 12:45; Eze 44:10, Eze 44:11, Eze 44:14

TSK: 1Ch 9:24

four : 1Ch 26:14-18

TSK: 1Ch 9:25

seven : 2Ki 11:5, 2Ki 11:7; 2Ch 23:8

TSK: 1Ch 9:26

set office : or, trust

chambers : or, storehouses, treasuries. 1Ch 26:20-27; 2Ch 31:5-12; Neh 10:38, Neh 10:39, Neh 13:5

TSK: 1Ch 9:27

the charge : 1Ch 23:32; Rom 12:7

the opening : 1Sa 3:15; Mal 1:10

TSK: 1Ch 9:28

the charge : 1Ch 26:22-26; Num 23:25-27; Ezr 8:25-30; Neh 12:44, Neh 13:4, Neh 13:5

bring them in and out : Heb. bring them in by tale, and carry them out

TSK: 1Ch 9:29

instruments : or, vessels

the oil : Exo 27:20

the frankincense : Exod. 30:23-38

TSK: 1Ch 9:30

of the sons : Exo 30:25, Exo 30:33, Exo 30:35-38, Exo 37:29

TSK: 1Ch 9:31

Shallum : 1Ch 9:17, 1Ch 9:19

set office : or, trust, 1Ch 9:22, 1Ch 9:26

in the pans : or, on flat plates, or slices, Lev 2:5, Lev 2:7, Lev 6:21

TSK: 1Ch 9:32

the sons : 1Chr. 6:33-48

showbread : Heb. bread of ordering

to : Exo 25:30; Lev 24:5-8

TSK: 1Ch 9:33

the singers : 1Ch 6:31-33, 1Ch 15:16-22, 1Ch 16:4-6, 25:1-31; Ezr 7:24

were free : Neh 11:17, Neh 11:22, Neh 11:23

they : etc. Heb. upon them

employed : A number of Levites were employed by rotation in singing the praises of Jehovah; and they seem to have continued the service day and night. See the references. Psa 134:1, Psa 134:2, Psa 135:1-3

TSK: 1Ch 9:34

chief fathers : 1Ch 9:13; Neh 11:1-15

Jerusalem : We have already seen the situation and extent of this ancient city (see note on 1Ch 8:28); but the Jerusalem of sacred history is no more. After having been successively destroyed by the Babylonians and Romans, and taken by the Saracens, Crusaders, and Turks, in the possession of the latter of whom it still continues, not a vestige remains of the capital of David and Solomon, not a monument of Jewish times is standing. The very course of the walls is changed, and the boundaries of the ancient city are become doubtful. The monks pretend to shew the sites of the sacred places; but they have not the slightest pretensions to even a probable identity with the real places. The Jerusalem that now is, however, called by the Arabs El Kouds , or ""the holy city,""is still a respectable, good-looking town, of an irregular shapecaps1 . icaps0 t is surrounded by high embattled walls, enclosing an area not exceeding two miles and a half, and occupying two small hills, having the valley of Jehoshaphat on the east, the valley of Siloam and Gehinnom on the south, and the valley of Rephaim on the west; and containing a population variously estimated at from 20,000 to 30,000 souls.

TSK: 1Ch 9:35

am 2804, etc. bc 1200, etc

in Gibeon : 1Ch 8:29-40

the father : 1Ch 2:23, 1Ch 2:24, 1Ch 2:45, 1Ch 2:50-52

whose : Some editions read achatho , ""his sister;""but in the parallel place 1Ch 8:29, it is ishto , ""his wife,""which is also the reading of the LXX, Vulgate, Arabic, and Syriac here, and is undoubtedly the true reading. This repetition of part of Bemjamin’ s genealogy seems to have been intended merely as an introduction to the ensuing history.

TSK: 1Ch 9:36

Kish : 1Ch 9:39, 1Ch 8:33

TSK: 1Ch 9:37

Zechariah : Zacher is merely an abbreviation of Zechariah, by the omission of Jah or Yah , one of the names of God. 1Ch 8:31, Zacher

TSK: 1Ch 9:38

Shimeam : Shimeam seems to be a mistake for Shimeah; the only difference being ם , mem final, and ה , hay ; and the LXX in both places read Σαμαα , Samaa . 1Ch 8:32, Shimeah

TSK: 1Ch 9:39

Ner : 1Ch 8:33; 1Sa 14:50, 1Sa 14:51

and Saul : 1Ch 10:2; 1Sa 13:22, 1Sa 14:1, 1Sa 14:49, Ishui, 1Sa 31:2

Eshbaal : 1Ch 8:33

TSK: 1Ch 9:40

Meribbaal : 1Ch 8:34-36

TSK: 1Ch 9:41

Ahaz : 1Ch 8:35

TSK: 1Ch 9:42

begat Jarah : Jarah seems also to be a mistake for Jehoadah, as the LXX read uniformly Ιαδα , Iada . 1Ch 8:36, Jehoadah

TSK: 1Ch 9:43

Rephaiah : Rapha is merely a contracted form of Rephaiah. 1Ch 8:37, Rapha

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 1Ch 9:18

Who hitherto waited - Translate, "Who to this day waits. These were the porters in the stations of the sons of Levi."The words of the first clause refer to Shallum, and imply that, whereas Shallum (or his house) had originally the general superintendence of the temple gates, a change had been made when the author wrote, and Shallum’ s charge had become the east gate only. The second clause means; "these were the porters in those fixed stations at the outer gates of the Temple, which corresponded to the camp stations of the Levites who guarded the tabernacle in the early times."

Barnes: 1Ch 9:19

Shallum the son of Kore - A different person from the Shallum of 1Ch 9:17, and with a different office, namely, the guarding the inner doors of the temple. The original Shallum, Shelemaiah, or Meshelemaiah, was a Levite of the time of David 1Ch 26:14. His descendants were still called by his name, but had now a more important charge assigned to them.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:22

The porters, like the singers Neh 12:29, dwelt for the most part in the villages round Jerusalem. They were the descendants of those originally selected for the work by David. David’ s arrangements are here regarded as having had the sanction of Samuel - which would imply that he planned them in the lifetime of Saul, while he was still a fugitive and an outlaw.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:25

See the marginal references. If the number of warders was, as stated in Nehemiah (Neh 11:19) 172 (i. e. 168 besides the four chief warders), and the number employed at any one time was, as under David 1Ch 26:17-18, twenty-four, then the turn of the courses to keep ward came every seven weeks.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:26

Rather, "For the four chief porters, who were themselves Levites, were in trust, who also had the charge of the chambers, etc."A contrast seems intended between the four chief porters, whose charge was constant, and the remainder, who kept watch by turns.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:28

By tale - literally, "by number."The vessels for service taken out of the treasury were counted, that the same number should be returned to the treasury after the service was over,

Barnes: 1Ch 9:31

Mattithiah ... the first-born of Shallum the Korahite - This Shallum would seem to be the person mentioned in 1Ch 9:19, whose actual first-born was Zechariah 1Ch 26:2. Mattithiah may have been his eldest lineal descendant at the time here spoken of.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:33

The singers - No names follow, and it is thought that they have fallen out.

Were free - " Free,"i. e. from any special duties besides those of supervision, which was so arranged among the overseers that someone exercised it during every part of both day and night.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:34

Chief throughout their generations - The superintendents, that is, were the genealogical head of the different Levitical divisions, and bore special rule, each over those of his own blood and race. The hereditary principle prevailed, not only in the high priesthood, but also in the priestly offices of the second rank.

Barnes: 1Ch 9:35-44

An almost exact repetition of 1Ch 8:29-38; and probably intentionally made by the author. In order to connect the genealogical section of his work with the historical, he re-introduces the genealogy of the person with whose death his historical section opens.

Poole: 1Ch 9:13

Very able men Heb. mighty men of valour ; which is here noted as an excellent qualification for their place; because the priests might meet with great opposition and difficulty in the faithful discharge of their office, in the execution of the censures upon all impure persons without exception, and in preserving sacred things from violation by the touch of forbidden hands; of which see an eminent instance in Azariah, 2Ch 26:17 , &c.

Poole: 1Ch 9:16

The Netophathites were in Judah, 1Ch 2:54 . There they now dwelt, either because their proper cities were not yet built, or because they were not yet numerous enough to replenish them.

Poole: 1Ch 9:17

Porters whose office it was to keep all the gates of the temple, that no unclean person or thing might enter into it.

Poole: 1Ch 9:18

In the king’ s gate eastward ; in the east gate of the temple, which was so called, either because it was the chief and most magnificent of all the gates, or because the kings of Judah used to go to the temple through that gate, 2Ki 16:18 compare Eze 44:1,2 . Under this gate he comprehends all the rest, which also were guarded by these porters.

In the companies or, according to the companies, or orders, or courses, i.e. they kept the gates successively, according to that method into which themselves and the rest of their brethren the Levites were distributed, for the more convenient management of their several offices; among which this of the porters was one.

Poole: 1Ch 9:19

Keepers of the gates of the tabernacle or, who were, to wit, in time past , which is expressed in a like case, 1Ch 9:20 , when the tabernacle was standing, before the temple was built. Their fathers ; the Kohathites, of whom see on Num 4:4 . Over the host of the Lord, or, with (as this Hebrew particle is oft used) the host , &c., i.e. when the Israelites were in the wilderness, encamped in a military manner round about the tabernacle, with or among whom these were then placed.

Keepers of the entry i.e. of the veil by which they entered into the tabernacle; which he calls the entry distinctively, because then there were no gates. The meaning is, that all things were now restored to their primitive order and institution; and the several persons took those places and offices upon them, which their ancestors had before them.

Poole: 1Ch 9:20

Over them i.e. over all the porters, and other Levites and priests before mentioned.

The Lord was with him to direct, and assist, and bless him in the discharge of his place; which seems here related to encourage his successor, and consequently all the priests and Levites of this time, to go on courageously and resolutely in their work, not doubting but God will stand by them as he had done by their fathers.

Poole: 1Ch 9:21

To wit, in the, time of David, as the following verse showeth. See 1Ch 26:1,2 27:2 .

Porter i.e. chief porter.

Of the door of the tabernacle i.e. of the door which led out of the priests’ court into the tabernacle, in which the ark was placed, 2Sa 6:17 .

Poole: 1Ch 9:22

In their villages where their usual residence was, and whence they came to Jerusalem in their courses.

Did ordain: in the times of the judges there was much disorder and confusion, both in the Jewish state and church, and the Levites came to the tabernacle promiscuously, and as their inclinations or occasions brought them. But Samuel, the best of judges, having some prospect and good hopes of deliverance from their enemies, and of a happy settlement of the Israelitish church and nation, and observing that the Levites were greatly increased he began to think of establishing some order among the Levites in their ministration about the tabernacle. And these intentions of his probably were communicated by him to David, who after Samuel’ s death, and his own peaceable settlement in his throne, revived and perfected Samuel’ s design, and took care to put it in execution.

In their set office Heb. in their faith , or faithfulness , i.e. either,

1. In their office, which is called faithfulness , because this is required in that office. Or,

2. In the faithful discharge of their duty, and in obedience to the will of God, signified to them by revelation, or by the Spirit , as it is said of David, 1Ch 28:12 , which they received by faith, and accordingly designed, and David executed it. And so this is added to show that this was no human invention, as some might conceive, but a Divine appointment, to which all ought to submit.

Poole: 1Ch 9:23

To wit, in David’ s time.

The house of the tabernacle: this is added to explain what he means by the house of the Lord; not that tabernacle which David had set up for the ark, but that more solemn tabernacle, which Moses had made by God’ s express command and most particular direction; which in David’ s time was at Gibeon; in which God was and would be worshipped until the temple was built. See 1Ki 3:2 2Ch 1:3,5 , &c.

By wards i.e. by turns or courses, each of them at his gate, and in his appointed time.

Poole: 1Ch 9:24

The porters i.e. the chief porters, as this is explained, 1Ch 9:26 .

Poole: 1Ch 9:25

From their several villages to the place of worship.

After seven days: every sabbath or seventh day the courses were changed, and the new comers were to tarry till the next sabbath day. See 2Ki 11:5,7,9 .

With them i.e. to be with them, i.e. with the chief porters, who always abode in the place of God’ s worship, and to minister to them.

Poole: 1Ch 9:26

Were in their set office i. e. these were constantly upon the place, and in the execution of their office, that so they might oversee and direct the inferior porters in their work. Or, as others render the words, agreeably to the Hebrew text, For these (i.e. their brethren , 1Ch 9:25 ) were under the charge, or committed to the trust of the

four chief porters who also were Levites, as their brethren were; whereas the chief of all of them was a priest. Either way these words contain a reason of what was said, 1Ch 9:25 , why the rest were to come to these, and to be with them.

Treasuries in which the sacred utensils, and other treasures belonging to the temple, were kept.

Poole: 1Ch 9:27

They lodged round about the house of God therefore they were obliged to constant residence in the place; and were not permitted to dwell in the villages, as their brethren were.

Poole: 1Ch 9:30

This is added to prevent a mistake, and to show that although the Levites were intrusted with the keeping of this ointment, yet none but the priests could make it. See Exo 30:22 , etc.

Poole: 1Ch 9:31

i.e. Was to take care that fine flour might be provided and kept safely and well, that when occasion required they might make cakes in pans to be offered to the Lord; of which See Poole "Lev 2:5" .

Poole: 1Ch 9:32

Of which see Exo 35:13 .

Poole: 1Ch 9:33

These i.e. others of the Levites; of whose several offices he had spoken before.

Are the singers or rather, were , which is understood, and all along in the foregoing and following verses, and again in this very verse.

In the chambers where they waited, that they might be ready to come whensoever they were called to the service of God in the tabernacle.

Were free from all trouble and employment, that they might wholly attend upon the proper work.

Employed in that work either composing or ordering sacred songs; or actually singing; or teaching others to sing them.

Day and night i.e. continually, and particularly in the morning and evening, the two times appointed for solemn service and offerings.

Poole: 1Ch 9:34

Upon their return from Babylon they were not suffered to choose their habitations in the country, as others were, but were obliged to settle themselves at Jerusalem, that they might constantly attend upon God’ s service there, and be ready to instruct the younger Levites in their office, as they needed or desired it.

Poole: 1Ch 9:35

In this and the following verses to the end of this chapter he repeats what he said before, 1Ch 8:29 , &c., concerning Saul’ s genealogy, that he might make way for the following history; which is a figure called epanalepsis , which is frequent both in sacred and profane writers.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:14

Levites, established at Jerusalem.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:15

Carpenter. Hebrew Cheresh, is taken by some to be a surname. Septuagint, "And Ares." It is asserted that the priests and Levites could follow no mechanical profession, (Abulensis) and the Bacbacar only presided over the carpenters, who wrought in the temple. (Menochius) (Tirinus) ---

But why might not people of this order employ themselves in such arts and labours, which were never deemed degrading among the Hebrews, nor incompatible with the sacred ministry, during the leisure hours? (Calmet) ---

St. Paul did not disdain to make tents. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:16

Suburbs, or "courts," atriis. (Haydock) ---

Hebrew, "villages." (Menochius) ---

Netophati was a town of Juda. The ancient regulations could not be observed exactly. (Calmet) ---

The priests received the Levites into their cities. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:17

Sellum had the superintendency over all the porters. (Haydock) ---

He was also at the head of one of the four bands which guarded the doors, east, west, north, and south of the temple, with various apartments, ver. 26. (Calmet) ---

Brother. Hebrew, "brethren," or bands. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:18

Time. Hebrew, "and hitherto." This custom has been observed at the king's gate, who entered his tribune by the eastern gate of the temple, 4 Kings xvi. 18. So far the ancient records reach. Some would infer from this passage, that a guard was still kept at the king's gate, even though there was none sitting upon the throne after the captivity. (Calmet) ---

Protestants, ("who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward.) They were porters in the companies of the children of Levi." (Haydock) ---

These different bands attended by turns. (Menochius) ---

But the captains were on duty every day, ver. 25, and 26, and 34.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:19

Service, to keep watch. (Calmet) ---

Families. Hebrew, "fathers over the host, (Haydock) or camp of the Lord: keepers of the entry." The Corites, though not perhaps alone, performed what their fathers had done before the tabernacle, in the desert, and in the temple of Solomon; which were considered as the camp of the great king.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:20

Before. Hebrew, "the Lord with him," an usual form of blessing, (Calmet) or of wishing well (Haydock) to the deceased. (Calemt) ---

This Phinees lived after the captivity, (Menochius) and possessed the same power as Eleazar and Joiada, chap. xii. 27., and Numbers iii. 32. It is not necessary to refute the fables of the Rabbins, who pretend that the famous Phinees was an angel, who appeared at different times, and particularly at the return from Babylon. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew may refer to the ancient Phinees: "And Phinees....was ruler over them formerly, and the Lord was with him." (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:21

Gate, leading to the holy place, which corresponded with the tabernacle.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:22

Towns, where they resided, when they were not on duty. (Menochius) ---

Seer, or prophet. (Haydock) ---

We read not of his making any such regulation. But he probably made it after the misconduct of the sons of Heli, and when the ark was brought back. (Calmet) ---

He might also give private instructions to David for the same purpose; (Haydock) as Gad and Nathan did, 2 Paralipomenon xxix. 25. The same plans were still adopted, though the number of Levites was small. (Calmet) ---

Trust, while they were at the head of affairs, and acting by God's authority. Literally, "in their faith;" (Haydock) enlightened from above, and regulating matters according to the dispositions, which they discovered in the sacred ministers: or rather Hebrew, "in their established employment," which was to subsist in future ages. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:24

Quarters: literally, "by the four winds."

Haydock: 1Ch 9:25

Up on. Hebrew, "after seven days....with them," to take their place for a week.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:26

To these. Hebrew, "for these Levites, (Sellum, &c.; ver. 17) four chief porters were in their set office," for life, or as long as they were able to serve, and did not change every week like the rest. ---

Lord: the apartments of the priests, and the storehouses, (Haydock) where all precious ornaments, wine, &c., were kept. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:30

Priests. They alone were allowed to make the composition, which no mortal was permitted to use (Calmet) for his own pleasure. (Haydock) (Exodus xxx. 34.)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:31

Pan, to be offered on the altar of holocausts, (Leviticus ii. 4., and vii. 12.) or to be eaten by the priests, Ezechiel xlvi. 20. Mathathias was to take care that all this was done with decency, (Calmet) and to look after the utensils.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:32

Propositions. Hebrew, "of arrangement;" (Exodus xxxv. 13.) "of faces." These loaves were made by the Levites, but arranged upon the golden table every week (Calmet) before the ark. See chap. xxiii. 92.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:33

These; probably Sellum, &c., (ver. 17) though it is not certain that the chief porters presided over the singers, chap. xv., and xvi. Hebrew, "And these are the singers, chief of the families (Calmet; or fathers) of the Levites, in the chambers (of the temple) free" from all other avocations, (Haydock) that they may watch over the porters and musicians. Septuagint is clearer: (Calmet) "And these are the masters of music over the bands of Levites, observing their daily courses, because they are day and night over them in the works." (Haydock) ---

The sons of Caath seem to be chiefly specified, (ver. 32) though other families sung, chap. vi. 39. ---

Chambers, at a distance from their wives, to trim the lamps in the evening, and to see that none were extinguished, (Menochius) as also to teach music, &c. The Synagogues were used afterwards. (Du Hamel)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:34

Jerusalem, having no substitute; (chap. xxvi.; Haydock) or the chiefs of each family resided there. (Menochius)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:35

And in. These verses are repeated from the last chapter, in order to bring us to the death of Saul, (Menochius) and the reign of David. (Calmet) ---

"Tis difficult to account for the repetition, provided they were repeated originally; but if they have been repeated through the blunder of a transcriber, the existence of the same words" before them may be the reason. (Kennicott) ---

The father of Gabaon. This is the explanation of Abigabaon, chap. viii. 29. (Haydock) ---

Wife. So the former chapter, and all the ancient versions, with some Hebrew manuscripts, read, instead of the printed Hebrew, "sister," (Kennicott) which seems to be corrupted; (Calmet) and the Protestants venture to correct it. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:41

Tharaa. Hebrew, "Tachrea." (Kennicott) e, is substituted for a. (Haydock) ---

And Ahaz, is omitted in Hebrew, (Kennicott) and Septuagint.

Haydock: 1Ch 9:42

Jara. Hebrew Yahra instead of Jeuade, or Johada, (Calmet) chap. viii. 36, twice. Septuagint, Jada here, and Joiada above. (Haydock)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:43

Raphaia, called Rapha before. (Calmet)

Haydock: 1Ch 9:44

These. All is omitted, though it is found [in] chap. viii. 38, and in manuscript ii. (Kennicott) ---

These remarks, which may appear to some minute, shew that all Hebrew manuscripts are not absolutely alike, as some once pretended; and that the Hebrew Bible is not printed from the best copies. (Haydock) ---

"The sacred volume in Hebrew has, therefore, been published with such carelessness, as no other printed copy with which I am acquainted." (Houbigant, prol. p. 2.) ---

Yet this is the copy, which alone Protestants hold up as the standard of perfection, and the Rule of Faith! (Haydock)

Gill: 1Ch 9:13

And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, one thousand and seven hundred and threescore. These, with other priests, made up this number, which was greater than those of Judah and Benjamin, that dwelt in Jerusalem, put together:

very able men for the work of the service of the house of God: men that had not only strength of body, which some part of the work of the priests required; but had courage and fortitude of mind to set about the service of God with cheerfulness, and to preserve it from corruption.

Gill: 1Ch 9:14

And of the Levites,.... Having given an account of the two first classes of the people, the Israelites and priests, the author of the book now proceeds to the Levites, the third class; and the first mentioned is Shemaiah, whose ancestors, Hashub, Azrikam, and Hashabiah:

were of the sons of Merari; the third son of Levi.

Gill: 1Ch 9:15

And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah,.... Four more of the chief of the Levites, the pedigree of the last of which is traced up by Micah and Zichri to Asaph, the singer in the times of David, a descendant of Gershon, the first son of Levi; the first of these is thought by Hillerus ^t to be the same with Bakbukiah, Neh 11:17.

Gill: 1Ch 9:16

And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah,.... Called Abda the son of Shammua, Neh 11:17.

the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; who was Ethan, another of the singers in the time of David:

and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites; the villages about Netophah, which was in the tribe of Judah, 1Ch 2:54, Neh 7:26 which may be understood either of Elkanah, the ancestor of Berechiah, whose dwelling was there; or of Berechiah, and must be rendered:

who had dwelt there; for now he dwelt at Jerusalem.

Gill: 1Ch 9:17

And the porters,.... Or keepers of the gates of the tabernacle:

were Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren; Shallum was the chief; of these four porters, and their brethren.

Gill: 1Ch 9:18

Who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward,.... At the gate through which the king went into the temple, and was at the east of it; and here these porters were placed in the same order after the captivity, and their return from it, as before:

they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi; or in the camp of Levi, which was placed around the tabernacle, as in the wilderness: the Septuagint version is, "these are the gates of the camp of the children of Levi"; at which these porters were placed.

Gill: 1Ch 9:19

And Shallum the son of Kore,.... The same as in 1Ch 9:17 whose pedigree is traced up to Ebiasaph the son of Korah, see Exo 6:24.

and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites; so called, because they descended from Korah:

were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle; until the temple was built:

and their fathers being over the host of the Lord; the Levites, who were the Lord's army, and whose service is represented as a warfare, Num 4:5.

were keepers of the entry; into the tabernacle, that none might enter that were impure; or into the court of the priests, excepting priests; or into the holiest of all, as Kimchi suggests.

Gill: 1Ch 9:20

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past,.... Over the host, over the Levites, and the chief of them; which is to be understood of Phinehas the son of Eleazar, in the time of Moses, who succeeded his father in that post, see Num 3:32 though some think, as Kimchi observes, that this was not Phinehas the priest, but a certain Levite of this name in this post; but since he is said to be in time past, it may very well be understood of him: and it also is observed:

and the Lord was with him; inspiring him with zeal for his honour and glory, assisting and strengthening him to do his will and work, as particularly in the affair of Zimri, Num 25:7, the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord was for his help;''

this may be said for the encouragement of him that was in the same office now.

Gill: 1Ch 9:21

And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah,.... Some think this refers to one that was in the times of David; but it seems rather to respect one that was after the Babylonish captivity, see 1Ch 26:1 though he and his brethren were in an office established in the times of David, and the order of which was now, as then, observed:

was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: who was the chief porter, and kept the door; either that led into the outer court, and kept out all unclean persons from entering there; or that which led into the court of the priests, that none but priests might enter there.

Gill: 1Ch 9:22

All those that were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve,.... As fixed in the days of David, and might not be fewer:

these were reckoned by their genealogies in their villages; where they dwelt:

whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office; the scheme was first drawn by Samuel the prophet, and communicated to David, who put it into execution, to be constantly and perpetually observed.

Gill: 1Ch 9:23

So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the Lord,.... They that were appointed in David's time to watch the gates of the temple, their posterity succeeded them in that office; for it was hereditary:

namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards; that which was at Gibeon in David's time, and now one was erected until the temple was built.

Gill: 1Ch 9:24

In four quarters were the porters,.... For, according to the Targum on 1Ch 9:22 there were twenty four wards:

towards the east, west, north, and south; and, as the same paraphrase has it, six wards to the east, six to the west, six to the north, and six to the south.

Gill: 1Ch 9:25

And their brethren, which were in their villages,.... Assigned them to dwell in:

were to come after seven days from time to time with them; there was a new course of them every week; the old ones went off of duty, and another course succeeded, which came out of the villages where they dwelt, and the old course retired to theirs.

Gill: 1Ch 9:26

For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office,.... The four chief porters who were over all the two hundred and twelve, and had one over them, 1Ch 9:17, these were never changed, nor went into the country villages; but were always upon the spot, and in their office, superintending the rest:

and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God; see 1Ch 26:20.

Gill: 1Ch 9:27

And they lodged round about the house of God,.... In chambers on the outward wall about it, that they might be near to do their office:

because the charge was upon them; to guard the house:

and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them; that is, the opening of the doors of the mountain of the house, and the court of women; for as for others, that appertained to the priests, as Dr. Lightfoot ^u observes; under the second temple, it is said ^w, Ben Geber was over the shutting of the gates in the evening, and so of opening in the morning.

Gill: 1Ch 9:28

And certain of them had the charge of the ministering vessels, that they should bring them in and out by tale. Which the priests used in sacrificing, and which the Levites brought to them, and returned again to their proper places.

Gill: 1Ch 9:29

Some of them also were appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary,.... They were committed to their care; they delivered them out on occasion, and their business was to see that they were returned when they had done their use and service:

and the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices; which were used in meat offerings, drink offerings, &c. see 1Ch 26:20 under the second temple, Ahiah was over the libations or drink offerings ^x.

Gill: 1Ch 9:30

And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. For though the Levites had the care of the spices, they might not make the ointment with them, only the priests, see Exo 30:23.

Gill: 1Ch 9:31

And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite,.... Of whom see 1Ch 9:19,

had the set office over the things that were made in the pans; the meat offerings that were made in pans; and so had the care of the fine flour, oil, and frankincense used in them, which he delivered to the priests when necessary, see Lev 2:5, the Septuagint version is,"over the works of the sacrifice of the pan of the high priest;''as if it respected peculiarly his meat offering, Lev 6:20, we read in the Misnah ^y of the offerings of the high priest, as expressed by this word, which it signifies, and not pans, but what was fried in them ^z; and Ben Melech on the place says, this man was an high priest who offered every day the tenth part of an ephah in a pan, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening, according to Lev 6:20, but that cannot be, for certain it is he was a Levite, as the text expresses it.

Gill: 1Ch 9:32

And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath,.... Twelve loaves of which were set every week before the ark upon the shewbread table, and the old ones taken away: now the work of these Levites was to make this shewbread, and get it ready every week to be set upon the table, and which was done not by them, but by priests; under the second temple, the family of Garmu was set over this work ^a.

Gill: 1Ch 9:33

And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites,.... Others of them were employed in singing, and were masters of the song, and presided in that service, see 1Ch 6:31 who remaining

in the chambers were free; from all other work and service; and there they abode, even in the chambers of the temple, that they might be near to perform their work, and not be defiled, and made unfit for it:

for they were employed in that work day and night; some or other of them, either in composing or singing psalms and hymns, or teaching others how to sing them.

Gill: 1Ch 9:34

These chief fathers of the Levites were chief throughout their generations,.... Even all before made mention of in this chapter:

these dwelt at Jerusalem; always resided there, and did not in turns go into the country villages, as the inferior Levites did; their office requiring them to be constantly there, being chief of the porters, singers, &c. who had the superintendency and direction of the rest.

Gill: 1Ch 9:35-44

And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon,.... Whose name is here mentioned, which is not in 1Ch 8:29. Jehiel:

whose wife's name was Maachah; as there, but here called his sister, as a wife sometimes is, Gen 20:2. From hence to the end of the chapter is a repetition of the ancestors and posterity of Saul king of Israel; which is made to lead on to and connect the following history of the kings of Judah, begun in this book, and carried on in the next unto the Babylonish captivity, see 1Ch 8:29, and the notes there.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:13

¹ tn Heb “capable [for] the work of the task of the house of God.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:19

¹ tn Heb “and his brothers belonging to the house of his father, the Korachites, to the work of the task, guardians of the threshold of the tent.”

² tn Heb “and their fathers to the camp of the Lord, guardians of the entrance.” Here “fathers” is used in a more general sense of “forefathers” or “ancestors” and is not limited specifically to their fathers only.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:22

¹ tn The Hebrew term is רֹאֶה (ro’eh, “seer”), an older word for נָבִיא (navi’, “prophet”).

² tn Heb “they – David appointed, and Samuel the seer, in their position.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:23

¹ tn Heb “and they and their sons to the gates of the house of the Lord, of the house of the tent, [were assigned] as guards.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:26

¹ tn Heb “in the house of God.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:27

¹ tn Heb “in the house of God.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:28

¹ tn Heb “and from them over the articles of the task, for by number they would bring them in, and by number they would bring them out.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:29

¹ tn Heb “holy place.”

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:31

¹ tn The word “son” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:33

¹ tn Heb “were in rooms.” The words “at the sanctuary” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:38

¹ tn Heb “and also they, opposite their brothers, lived in Jerusalem with their brothers.” This redundancy has been removed in the translation.

map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:39

¹ sn Eshbaal is called “Ishbosheth” in 2 Sam 2:8.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:40

¹ sn Meribbaal is called “Mephibosheth” in 2 Sam 4:4.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:41

¹ tc The name “Ahaz” is included in the Vulgate and Syriac, but omitted in the MT. It probably was accidentally omitted by haplography. Note that the name appears at the beginning of the next verse. Cf. also 8:35.

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:42

¹ tc So MT; some Hebrew mss and the LXX read “Jadah” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT) while in 8:36 the name “Jehoaddah’ appears (cf. NAB).

NET Notes: 1Ch 9:44

¹ tc The Hebrew text has בֹּכְרוּ (bokhÿru), which some understand as a name: “Bocheru” (so, e.g., NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But the form should probably be revocalized בְֹּכרוֹ (bÿkhoro, “his firstborn”). A name has accidentally dropped from the list, and a scribe apparently read בֹּכְרוּ as one of the names. Cf. also 1 Chr 8:38.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:13

And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the ^{( d )} work of the service of the house of God.

^{( d )} To serve in the temple, every one according to his office.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:18

Who hitherto [waited] in the ^{( e )} king's gate eastward: they [were] porters in the companies of the children of Levi.

^{( e )} So called because the king came into the temple by it, and not the common people.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:19

And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, [were] over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the ^{( f )} tabernacle: and their fathers, [being] over the host of the LORD, [were] keepers of the entry.

^{( f )} Their charge was that no one should enter those places, which were only appointed for the priests to minister in.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:25

And their brethren, [which were] in their villages, [were] to come after ^{( g )} seven days from time to time with them.

^{( g )} They served weekly, as in (Exo 29:30).

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:29

[Some] of them also [were] appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary, and the fine ^{( h )} flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.

^{( h )} Of which the meat offering was made, (Lev 2:8).

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:33

And these [are] the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, [who remaining] in the chambers ^{( i )} [were] free: for they were employed in [that] work day and night.

^{( i )} But were continually occupied in singing praises to God.

Geneva Bible: 1Ch 9:42

And Ahaz begat ^{( k )} Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza;

^{( k )} Who was also called Jehoiada, (1Ch 8:36).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 1Ch 9:1-44

1 The original of Israel and Judah's genealogies.

2 The Israelites;

10 the priests;

14 and the Levites, with Nethinims, which dwelt in Jerusalem.

27 The charge of certain Levites.

35 The stock of Saul and Jonathan.

MHCC: 1Ch 9:1-44

This chapter expresses that one end of recording all these genealogies was, to direct the Jews, when they returned out of captivity, with whom to unite, and where to reside. Here is an account of the good state into which the affairs of religion were put, on the return from Babylon. Every one knew his charge. Work is likely to be done well when every one knows the duty of his place, and makes a business of it. God is the God of order. Thus was the temple a figure of the heavenly one, where they rest not day nor night from praising God, Rev 4:8. Blessed be His name, believers there shall, not in turn, but all together, without interruption, praise him night and day: may the Lord make each of us fit for the inheritance of the saints in light.

Matthew Henry: 1Ch 9:1-13

The first verse looks back upon the foregoing genealogies, and tells us they were gathered out of the books of the kings of Israel and Judah, not that which we have in the canon of scripture, but another civil record, which was authentic, as the king's books with us. Mentioning Israel and Judah, the historian takes notice of their being carried away to Babylon for their transgression. Let that judgment never be forgotten, but ever be remembered, for warning to posterity to take heed of those sins that brought it upon them. Whenever we speak of any calamity that has befallen us, it is good to add this, "it was for my transgression,"that God may be justified and clear when he judges. Then follows an account of the first inhabitants, after their return from captivity, that dwelt in their cities, especially in Jerusalem. 1. The Israelites. That general name is used (1Ch 9:2) because with those of Judah and Benjamin there were many of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the other ten tribes (1Ch 9:3), such as had escaped to Judah when the body of the ten tribes were carried captive or returned to Judah upon the revolutions in Assyria, and so went into captivity with them, or met them when they were in Babylon, associated with them, and so shared in the benefit of their enlargement. It was foretold that the children of Judah and of Israel should be gathered together and come up out of the land (Hos 1:11), and that they should be one nation again, Eze 37:22. Trouble drives those together that have been at variance; and the pieces of metal that had been separated will run together again when melted in the same crucible. Many both of Judah and Israel staid behind in captivity; but some of both, whose spirit God stirred up, enquired the way to Zion again. Divers are here named, and many more numbered, who were chief of the fathers (1Ch 9:9), who ought to be remembered with honour, as Israelites indeed. 2. The priests, 1Ch 9:10. It was their praise that they came with the first. Who should lead in a good work if the priests, the Lord's ministers, do not? It was the people's praise that they would not come without them; for who but the priests should keep knowledge? Who but the priests should bless them in the name of the Lord? (1.) It is said of one of them that he was the ruler of the house of God (1Ch 9:11) not the chief ruler, for Joshua was then the high priest, but the sagan, and the next under him, his deputy, who perhaps applied more diligently to the business than the high priest himself. In the house of God it is requisite that there be rulers, not to make new laws, but to take care that the laws of God be duly observed by priests as well as people. (2.) It is said of many of them that they were very able men for the service of the house of God, v. 13. In the house of God there is service to be done, constant service; and it is well for the church when those are employed in that service who are qualified for it, able ministers of the New Testament, 2Co 3:6. The service of the temple was such as required at all times, especially in this critical juncture, when they had newly come out of Babylon, great courage and vigour of mind, as well as strength of body; and therefore they are praised as mighty men of valour.

Matthew Henry: 1Ch 9:14-34

We have here a further account of the good posture which the affairs of religion were put into immediately upon the return of the people out of Babylon. They had smarted for their former neglect of ordinances and under the late want of ordinances. Both these considerations made them very zealous and forward in setting up the worship of God among them; so they began their worship of God at the right end. Instances hereof we have here.

I. Before the house of the Lord was built they had the house of the tabernacle, a plain and movable tent, which they made use of in the mean time. Those that cannot yet reach to have a temple must not be without a tabernacle, but be thankful for that and make the best of it. Never let God's work be left undone for want of a place to do it in.

II. In allotting to the priests and Levites their respective employments, they had an eye to the model that was drawn up by David, and Samuel the seer, 1Ch 9:22. Samuel, in his time, had drawn the scheme of it, and laid the foundation, though the ark was then in obscurity, and David afterwards finished it, and both acted by immediate direction from God. Or David, as soon as he was anointed had this matter in his mind and consulted Samuel about it, though he was then in his troubles, and the plan was formed in concert between them. This perhaps had been little regarded for many ages; but now, after a long interruption, it was revived. In dividing the work, they observed these ancient land-marks.

III. The most of them dwelt at Jerusalem (1Ch 9:34), yet there were some that dwelt in the villages (1Ch 9:16, 1Ch 9:22), because, it may be, there was not yet room for them in Jerusalem. However they were employed in the service of the tabernacle (1Ch 9:25): They were to come after seven days from time to time. They had their week's attendance in their turns.

IV. Many of the Levites were employed as porters at the gates of the house of God, four chief porters (1Ch 9:26), and, under them, others, to the number of 212, 1Ch 9:22. They had the oversight of the gates (1Ch 9:23), were keepers of the thresholds, as in the margin (1Ch 9:19), and keepers of the entry. This seemed a mean office; and yet David would rather have it than dwell in the tents of wickedness, Psa 84:10. Their office was, 1. To open the doors of God's house every morning (1Ch 9:27) and shut them at night. 2. To keep off the unclean, and hinder those from thrusting in that were forbidden by the law. 3. To direct and introduce into the courts of the Lord those that came thither to worship, and to show them where to go and what to do, that they might not incur punishment. This required care, and diligence, and constant attendance. Ministers have work to do of this kind.

V. Here is one Phinehas, a son of Eleazar, that is said to be a ruler over them in time past (1Ch 9:20), not the famous high priest of that name, but (as is supposed) an eminent Levite, of whom it is here said that the Lord was with him, or (as the Chaldee reads it) the Word of the Lord was his helper - the eternal Word, who is Jehovah, the mighty one on whom help is laid.

VI. It is said of some of them that, because the charge was upon them, they lodged round about the house of God, 1Ch 9:27. It is good for ministers to be near their work, that they may give themselves wholly to it. The Levites pitched about the tabernacle when they marched through the wilderness. Then they were porters in one sense, bearing the burdens of the sanctuary, now porters in another sense, attending the gates and the doors - in both instances keeping the charge of the sanctuary.

VII. Every one knew his charge. Some were entrusted with the plate, the ministering vessels, to bring them in and out by tale, 1Ch 9:28. Others were appointed to prepare the fine flour, wine, oil, etc., 1Ch 9:29. Others, that were priests, made up the holy anointing oil, 1Ch 9:30. Others took care of the meat-offerings, 1Ch 9:31. Others of the show-bread, 1Ch 9:32. As in other great houses, so in God's house, the work is likely to be done well when every one knows the duty of his place and makes a business of it. God is the God of order: but that which is every body's work will be nobody's work.

VIII. The singers were employed in that work day and night, 1Ch 9:33. They were the chief fathers of the Levites that made a business of it, not mean singing-men, that made a trade of it. They remained in the chambers of the temple, that they might closely and constantly attend it, and were therefore excused from all other services. It should seem, some companies were continually singing, at least at stated hours, both day and night. Thus was God continually praised, as it is fit he should be who is continually doing good. Thus devout people might, at any hour, have assistance in their devotion. Thus was the temple a figure of the heavenly one, where they rest not day nor night from praising God, Rev 4:8. Blessed are those that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising thee.

Matthew Henry: 1Ch 9:35-44

These verses are the very same with 1Ch 8:29-38, giving an account of the ancestors of Saul and the posterity of Jonathan. There it is the conclusion of the genealogy of Benjamin; here it is an introduction to the story of Saul. We take the repetition as we find it; but if we admit that there are in the originals, especially in these books, some errors of the transcribers, I should be tempted to think this repetition arose from a blunder. Some one, in copying out these genealogies, having written those words, 1Ch 9:34 ( These dwelt in Jerusalem ), cast his eye on the same words, 1Ch 8:28 ( These dwelt in Jerusalem ), and so went on with what followed there, instead of going on with what followed here; and, when he perceived his mistake, was loth to make a blot in his book, and so let it stand. We have a rule in our law, Redundans non nocet - Redundancies do no harm.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 9:10-13

The priests. - The three names Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin (1Ch 9:10) denote three classes of priests (cf. 1Ch 24:7, 1Ch 24:17), who accordingly dwelt in Jerusalem. There also dwelt there (1Ch 9:11) Azariah the son of Hilkiah, etc., the prince of the house of God; cf. 2Ch 31:13. This is the Azariah mentioned in 1Ch 6:13, the son of Hilkiah, etc., the grandfather of the Jehozadak who was led captive into Babylon. then in 1Ch 9:12 we have two other heads of the priestly fathers'-houses, with an enumeration of their ancestors, through whom they are traced back to the classes of priests to which they belonged respectively, viz., Adaiah to the class Malchijah ( 1Ch 24:9), and Maasiai to the class Immer (1Ch 24:14). According to this, therefore, there dwelt at Jerusalem, of the priesthood, the three classes Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin, Azariah the prince of the temple, and of the classes Malchijah and Immer, the fathers'-houses Adaiah and Maasiai. In 1Ch 9:13 the whole number is estimated at 1760. A difficulty is raised by the first words of this verse, "And their brethren, heads of their fathers'-houses, 1760,"which can hardly be taken in any other sense than as denoting that the number of the heads of the fathers'-houses amounted to 1760. This, however, is not conceivable, as "fathers'-houses"are not single households, but larger groups of related families. Moreover, אחיהם , which is co-ordinate with the heads of the fathers'-houses, can only denote, as in 1Ch 9:6, 1Ch 9:9, the heads of the families which belonged to or constituted the fathers'-houses. To arrive at this meaning, however, we must transpose the words ואחיהם and לבית־אבותם ראשׁים , connecting לבית־אבותם ר with 1Ch 9:12, and אחיהם with the number, thus: heads of fathers'-houses, etc., were those mentioned in 1Ch 9:12, and their brethren 1760 (men), valiant heroes in the work of the service of the house of God. Before מלאכת one would expect the word עשׁי , as in 1Ch 23:24 and Neh 11:12, but its presence is not so absolutely necessary as to warrant us in supposing that it has been dropped out, and in inserting it. מלאכת may be also taken as an accusative of relation, "valiant heroes in reference to the work;"or at most a ל a tso may be supplied before מלאכת , as it might easily have been omitted by a clerical error after the immediately preceding חיל . On comparing our passage with Neh 11:10-14, we find there, if בּן־יויריב in 1Ch 9:10 be altered into יהויריב , the same three classes of priests; but instead of Azariah, Seraiah is prince of the house of God, 1Ch 9:11 : thereafter we have 822 brethren, performing the work of the house (of God). Then follows Adaiah of the class Malchijah (as in the Chronicles), but with the addition, "his brethren 242;"and then Amashai of the class Immer, but with other ancestors than those of the Maasiai of the Chronicles, and with the addition, "and their brethren, valiant heroes, 128;"and finally, Zabdiel Ben Hagdolim as overseer (president over them).

The sum of the three numbers is 1192, as contrasted with the 1760 of the Chronicle.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 9:14-16

The Levites. - Of these there dwelt in Jerusalem, Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of, etc., a Merarite; and (1Ch 9:15) Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal; and Mattaniah the son of Micah, a descendant of Asaph, and consequently a Gershonite (1Ch 9:16); and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, as descendant of Jeduthun, consequently also a Merarite; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathite, i.e., of the lord or possessor of Netopha, a locality in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem; cf. Neh 7:26. This remark does not refer to Shemaiah, who cannot have dwelt at the same time in Jerusalem and in the village of the Netophathite, but to his grandfather or ancestor Elkanah, who is thereby to be distinguished from the other men who bore this name, which often occurs in the family of Kohath. All these men are, according to the analogy of the other names in our register, and according to the express statement of the superscription, 1Ch 9:34, to be regarded as heads of Levitic fathers'-houses, and were probably leaders of the music, since those mentioned in 1Ch 9:15, 1Ch 9:16 were descendants of Asaph and Jeduthun, and may therefore with certainty be assumed to have belonged to the Levitic musicians. A confirmation of this supposition is found in the superscription, 1Ch 9:33, inasmuch as the mention of the singers in the first line goes to show that the enumeration of the Levites began with the singers. If we compare Neh 11:15-18 with our passage, we find that these two, Shemaiah and Mattaniah, are mentioned, and on the whole their forefathers have the same names, 1Ch 9:15 and 1Ch 9:17; but between the two we find Shabbethai and Jozabad of the chief of the Levites set over the external service of the house of God. After Mattaniah, who is chief of the Asaphites there also, mention is made of Bakbukiah as the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, a descendant of Jeduthun (1Ch 9:17); according to which, even if we identify Bakbakkar with Bakbukiah, and Abda with Obadiah, the Heresh, Galal, and Berechiah of the Chronicles are wanting in Nehemiah, and instead of these three, only Jozabad is mentioned.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 9:17

"The doorkeepers, Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren: Shallum the chief."The service was so divided among the four just named, that each along with his brethren performed the duty of watching by one of the four sides and chief entrances of the temple (cf. 1Ch 9:24 and 1Ch 9:26), and these four were consequently heads of those divisions of the Levites to whom was committed the duty of the watch. In Neh 11:20, on the contrary, the doorkeepers mentioned are Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, 172 (men); but the other two chiefs named in the Chronicle are there omitted, while in the Chronicle no number is given. Here the agreement between the two registers ceases. In the Chronicle there follows first of all, in 1Ch 9:18-26 , some remarks on the service of the doorkeepers; and then in 1Ch 9:26-32 the duties of the Levites in general are spoken of; and finally, in 1Ch 9:32 and 1Ch 9:34 we have subscriptions. In Nehemiah, on the other hand, we find in 1Ch 9:20 the statement that the remaining Israelites, priests, and Levites dwelt in their cities; and after some statements as to the service of the Levites, the enumeration of these cities is introduced.

In glancing back over the two catalogues, it is seen that the differences are at least as great as the coincidences. But what conclusions are we to deduce from that fact? Bertheau thinks "from this it is certain that both catalogues cannot have been drawn up independently of each other,"and "that both have been derived from one and the same source, which must have been much more complete, and much richer in names, than our present catalogues; cf. Movers, S. 234."We, however, judge otherwise. The discrepancies are much too great to allow us to refer them to free handling by epitomizers of some hypothetical more detailed catalogue, or to the negligence of copyists. The coincidence, in so far as it actually exists, does not justify us in accepting such far-fetched suppositions, but may be satisfactorily explained in another way. It consists indeed only in this, that in both registers, (1) sons of Judah and Benjamin, priests and Levites, are enumerated; (2) that in each of these four classes of the inhabitants of Jerusalem some names are identical. The first of these coincidences clearly does not in the least prove that the two catalogues are derived from the same source, and treat of the same time; for the four classes enumerated constituted, both before and after the exile, the population of Jerusalem. But neither does the identity of some of the names prove in the slightest degree the identity of the two catalogues, because the names denote, partly classes of inhabitants, and partly heads of fathers'-houses, i.e., of groups of related households, which did not change with each generation, but sometimes continued to exist for centuries; and because, à priori , we should expect that those who returned from exile would, as far as it was possible, seek out again the dwelling-places of their pre-exilic ancestors; and that consequently after the exile, on the whole, the same families who had dwelt at Jerusalem before it would again take up their abode there. In this way the identity of the names Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin in the two catalogues may be accounted for, as these names do not denote persons, but classes of priests, which existed both before and after the exile. A similar explanation would also apply to the names of the doorkeepers Akkub and Talmon (1Ch 9:17; Neh 11:19), as not merely the priests, but also the other Levites, were divided for the service according to their fathers'-houses into classes which had permanent names (cf. 1 Chron 25 and 26). Of the other names in our register only the following are identical: of the Benjamites, Sallu the son of Meshullam (1Ch 9:7; Neh 11:7); of the priests, Adaiah (1Ch 9:12; Neh 11:12), with almost the same ancestors; and of the Levites, Shemaiah and Mattaniah (1Ch 9:10.; Neh 11:15, Neh 11:17). All the other names are different; and even if among the priests Maasiai (1Ch 9:12) should be identical with Amashai (Neh 11:13), and among the Levites Bakbakkar and Obadiah (1Ch 9:16 and 1Ch 9:15) with Bakbukiah and Abda (Neh 11:17), we cannot identify the sons of Judah, Uthai and Azaiah (1Ch 9:4.), with Athaiah and Maaseiah (Neh 11:4.), for their ancestors are quite different. The similarity or even the identity of names, were it in two or three generations, cannot of itself prove the identity of the persons, as we have already seen, in the genealogy of the line of Aaron 1Ch 6:3.), that, e.g., the series Amariah, Ahitub, and Zadok recurs at various times; cf. 1Ch 6:11. and 1Ch 6:12. Everywhere in the genealogical lines the same names very often recur, as it was the custom to give the children the names of their ancestors; cf. Tob. 1:9, Luk 1:59. Win. bibl. R. W . ii. S. 133; Hävern. Einl . ii. 1, S. 179f. But if, on the one hand, the identity of these names in the two catalogues is not at all a valid proof of the identity of the catalogues, and by no means justifies us in identifying similarly-sounding names by supposing errors of transcription, on the other hand we must hold that the register refers to the pre-exilic population of Jerusalem, both because of the wide discrepancies in all points, and in accordance with the introductory statements in 1Ch 9:2. This interpretation is also demanded by the succeeding remarks in reference to the service of the Levites, since they throughout refer to the pre-exilic time.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 9:18-34

The duties of the Levites. - 1Ch 9:18. The first half of this verse, "And until now (is he) in the king's gate eastward,"must be referred to Shallum (Berth.). To imagine a reference to all the doorkeepers, "until now are they,"does not suit 1Ch 9:24-26, according to which the doorkeepers kept guard upon all the four sides. The eastern gate of the temple was called the king's gate, because by this gate the king went in and out to the temple; cf. Eze 46:1-2; Eze 41:3. The remark, "until now is Shallum watcher,"etc., presupposes the existence of the temple at the time of the preparation of this register, and points to the pre-exilic time. Against this Bertheau has raised the objection that the name king's gate may have been retained even in the post-exilic times for the eastern gate. This must of course be in general admitted, but could only be accepted if it were proved that Shallum lived after the exile. This proof Bertheau obtains by taking the words, "until now is Shallum in the king's gate,"to mean, "that, according to the ancient arrangement, Shallum, the chief of all the doorkeepers, had still to guard the eastern entrance; according to which Shallum would be the collective designation of the whole series of the chiefs of the doorkeepers who lived from David's time till after the exile;"but the words cannot be thus interpreted. Such an interpretation cannot be made plausible by identifying the name Shallum with Meshelemiah or Shelemiah, to whose lot it fell in the time of David to be doorkeeper to the eastward (1Ch 26:1, 1Ch 26:14); for in doing so, we would overlook the fact that in 1Ch 9:21 of our chapter also he bears the name Meshelemiah. The circumstance that both Shallum and Meshelemiah are called Ben-Kore, of the sons of Abiasaph, by no means justifies the identification of these two quite different names; for it is neither necessary nor probable that בּן should here be taken in its narrower sense, and Kore regarded as the immediate father of both. The name קרא is repeated in the family of the east doorkeepers, as we learn from 2Ch 31:14, where it is stated that this office was held by a Kore ben Jimna. "These (who are named in 1Ch 9:17) are the doorkeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi"(of the Levites), - an antiquated expression, bringing to remembrance the time of Moses, when the Levites, on the journey through the wilderness, were encamped about the tabernacle (Num 3:21.).

1Ch 9:19

1Ch 9:19 gives more exact information as to Shallum's person and his official position. He, the descendant of Kore, the son (descendant) of Abiasaph, a Korahite, and his brethren according to his father's-house (i.e., called brethren because they, like him, belonged to the father's-house of Korah), were over the work of the service, viz., keepers of the thresholds of the tent, i.e., of the house of God, of the temple, which, according to the ancient custom, was called tent, because God's house was formerly a tent-the tabernacle. "And his fathers (the ancestors of Shallum) were by the encampment of Jahve, guardians of the entrance."With these words the author of this register goes back into the ancient time; and we learn that Shallum's ancestors, of the father's-house of the Korahite Abiasaph, had held the office of guardian of the entrance to the house of God from the time of the conquest of Canaan and the setting up of the tabernacle in Shiloh. The remark in 1Ch 9:20, that Phinehas the son of Eleazar was prince over them in time past, points to the same period. In the book of Joshua and the older books there is no record of the matter; but since the Korahites were descended through Ishhar from Kohath, and the Kohathites held, according to Num 4:4., the first place among the servants of the holy place, and were responsible for the holiest vessels, we cannot doubt that the statement here rests upon accurate historical tradition. The "encampment of Jahve"is the holy place of the tabernacle, the dwelling of Jahve in the midst of His people. This designation also is derived from the circumstances of the Israelites in their wandering in the Arabian desert, and is likewise employed in 2Ch 31:2 in reference to Solomon's temple; but in our verse the tabernacle is intended. It had only one entrance, מבוא , the guarding of which was entrusted to the above-mentioned Korahites.

1Ch 9:20

Phinehas was prince over them, not as high priest, but during the high-priesthood of his father Eleazar, i.e., in the time of Joshua, just as Eleazar, under the high-priesthood of Aaron in the time of Moses, had the oversight of the keepers of the holy place, as prince of the princes of Levi (Num 3:32). The words עמּו יהוה do not contain a historical remark, "Jahve was with him,"for then the conjunction w would stand before it, as in 1Ch 11:9; they are a blessing - "Jahve be with him"- in reference, probably, to the covenant of peace entered into with him and his descendants by Jahve (Num 25:11-13).

1Ch 9:21

1Ch 9:21 is quite unconnected with the preceding context, the conjunction w being omitted, and its contents also present considerable difficulties. Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, can only be the Zechariah who is mentioned in 1Ch 26:2 as the first-born of Meshelemiah, and who lived in the time of David; for at the time when David divided the porters into classes, there fell to him the lot towards midnight, i.e., the duty of waiting at the door on the north side of the holy place (1Ch 26:14). With this, indeed, the general statement of our verse, "he was porter of the door (or the entrance) of the tent of the covenant,"is not inconsistent. But what purpose does this general statement serve? With what design is Zechariah, and he alone, mentioned? We have no means of giving a definite answer to this question; but he may perhaps be named as being the person who, before David's division of the Levites into classes was carried out, had charge of the porters' service in the tabernacle. But even if this conjecture be accepted as well grounded, the abrupt way in which it is mentioned still remains enigmatical.

1Ch 9:22

With 1Ch 9:22 the narrative seems to return to the enumeration begun in 1Ch 9:17-19, so that the reflections on the earlier times, 1Ch 9:19-21, are to be regarded as a parenthesis. 1Ch 9:22 runs: "They all who were chosen for doorkeepers for the thresholds, 212 (men): they, in their villages were they registered; they were ordained by David and Samuel the seer on their fidelity."The infinitive התיחשׂ is used substantively, "in reference to them, in their villages as their genealogical registration accomplished."If 1Ch 9:22 be the continuation of 1Ch 9:17-21 , then the number given (212) will refer to the doorkeepers in active service at the time of the preparation of the register. With this hypothesis, however, the last clause of the verse, which states that David and Samuel had appointed them, does not seem to harmonize. But if we consider that the four men mentioned in 1Ch 9:17 are heads of fathers'-houses, and that their fathers'-houses were not extinguished at the death of their temporary heads, and performed the same service from generation to generation, it might well be said of the generation performing the service at the time of the preparation of our register, that David had appointed them to their office. The case would of course be similar, if, as we have above supposed, the four names in 1Ch 9:17 are designations of the classes of doorkeepers, for these classes also performed the same service continually. The statements of our 22nd verse cannot be referred to the time of David, for in 1Ch 26:8-10 the number of the doorkeepers appointed by David amounted only to eighty, viz., sixty-two of the sons of Obed-Edom, and eighteen of the sons of Meshelemiah, which, with the addition of thirteen Merarites (1Ch 26:10-11), gives a total of ninety-three, while in our verse the number is 212. According to Ezr 2:42, the number of doorkeepers who returned with Zerubbabel was 139 men; and in the register, Neh 11:19, the number is stated to be 172. From the remark that they were registered in their villages ( חצריהם , as in 1Ch 6:41; Jos 13:23, and elsewhere), we learn that the doorkeepers dwelt in villages near Jerusalem, whence they came to the city so often as their service required, as the singers also did in the post-exilic time, Neh 12:29. יסּד , to found, set, ordain, and so appoint to an office. "David and Samuel the seer:" הראה , the ancient designation of the prophets, for which at a later time נביא was the more usual word; cf. 1Sa 9:9. Nowhere else do we find any record of Samuel's having taken any part in David's arrangement of the service of the Levites in the holy place. Samuel, moreover, was no longer living when David began to arrange the worship at the time when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, for he died before Saul, and consequently before the beginning of David's reign; cf. 1Sa 25:1 with 1Sa 28:3. Bertheau is consequently of opinion that this statement of our historian rests merely upon the general recollection, according to which the worship was organized afresh, and established in its newer form, in the time of David and Samuel. This is of course possible, but there is no cogent reason against accepting the much less remote supposition that the chronicler took this remark from his authority. The mention of Samuel after David has not a chronological signification, but David is named first on account of his connection with the matter in hand; for the thorough re-organization of the worship, and the classification of the persons engaged in carrying it on, originated with David. For these arrangements of David, however, Samuel had prepared the way in his struggle for the restoration of the theocracy, and of the worship which had fallen into desuetude under Eli and his profligate sons. To do this in any measure, he must have, without doubt, ordained trustworthy men to the individual offices, and thus have prepared the way for King David. בּאמוּנתם is found in 1Ch 9:26, 1Ch 9:31 without the suffix, with the meaning "in good faith"(cf. 2Ki 12:16; 2Ki 22:7; 2Ch 31:12), and accordingly is here upon their fidelity, i.e., because they had been recognised to be faithful.

1Ch 9:23-24

They (those ordained by David) and their sons (descendants) were at the doors of the house of Jahve-of the tent-house ( האהל בּית is added to בּית־יהוה , in order that the latter might not be confined to Solomon's temple); for the watch ( משׁמרות of persons, as in Neh 12:9; Neh 4:3, Neh 4:16), according to the four winds (quarters) were they, i.e., the doorkeepers stood so, in accordance with the arrangement made by David; cf. 1Ch 26:14.

1Ch 9:25-26

"And their brethren in their villages (cf. 1Ch 9:22) were bound to come the seventh day, from time to time, with these."The infinitive בּוא with ל expresses duty, as in 1Ch 5:1. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the week, on which each class in order had to take charge of the services. אלּה עם are the chiefs mentioned in 1Ch 9:17 who dwelt in Jerusalem, and of whom it is said in 1Ch 9:26, "for they are on their fidelity, the four mighty of the doorkeepers."In explanation of the גּבּרי , Bertheau very fittingly compares σταρτηγοῖ τοῦ Ἱεροῦ , Luk 22:52. The words הלויּם הם , which may be translated, "they are the Levites,"or "they (viz., the Levites),"are somewhat surprising. The Masoretic punctuation demands the latter translation, when the words would be an emphatic elucidation of the preceding המּה . Were they a subscription, we should expect אלּה instead of הם ; while, on the other hand, the circumstance noticed by Bertheau, that in the following verses the duties not merely of the doorkeepers, but of the Levites in general, are enumerated, would seem to favour that sense. Even in the second half of the 1Ch 9:22 it is not the doorkeepers who are spoken of, but the Levites in general. May we not suppose that the text originally stood היוּ הלויּם וּמן (cf. 1Ch 9:14) instead of והיוּ הויּם והם , and that the reading of our present text, having originated in a transcriber's error, found acceptance from the circumstance that 1Ch 9:27 apparently still treats of, or returns to, the service of the doorkeepers? So much is certain, that from 1Ch 9:26 onward the duties of the Levites in general, no longer those of the doorkeepers, are spoken of, and that consequently we must regard the Levites ( הלויּם ), and not the before-mentioned four doorkeepers, as the subject of והיוּ : "and the Levites were over the cells of the storehouses of the house of God."The cells in the outbuildings of the temple served as treasure-chambers and storehouses for the temple furniture. האוצרות with the article in the stat. constr. (Ew. §290, d.), because of the looser connection, since the genitive בּית־הא also belongs to הלּשׁכוה .

1Ch 9:27

1Ch 9:27 refers again to the doorkeepers. They passed the night around the house of God, because the care of or watch over it was committed to them, and "they were over the key, and that every morning,"i.e., they had to open the door every morning. מפתּח occurs again in Jdg 3:25 and Isa 22:22, in the signification key, which is suitable here also.

1Ch 9:28

And of them (the Levites), some were over the vessels of the service, by which we are probably to understand the costly vessels, e.g., the golden cups for the libations, etc., which were brought from the treasure-chamber only for a short time for use in the service. They were brought, according to the number, into the place where the service took place, and after being again numbered, were again carried forth; and according to 1Ch 9:29, other Levites were set over הכּלים and over הקּדשׁ כּלי .

1Ch 9:29

And of them, others were set over the vessels (in general), and over all the holy vessels which were used for the daily sacrificial service, and over the fine flour ( סלת , vide on Lev 2:1), wine, oil, and incense which was required therein for the meat and drink offerings, and the בּשׂמים , spicery, for the holy perfumes (frankincense, cf. Exo 25:6).

1Ch 9:30

And of the priests' sons were preparers of the ointments for the spices. It is the preparation from various spices of the holy anointing oil, Exo 30:23-25, which is meant, and which consequently was part of the priest's duty.

1Ch 9:31

Mattithiah, the first-born of the Korahite Shallum ( vide 1Ch 9:19), was on good faith over the panbakings (pastry) for the meat-offerings, over the preparation of which he was to watch. To the name Mattithiah מן־הלויּם is added, in contrast to the הכּהנים מן־בּני in 1Ch 9:30. The word החבתּים (pastry, panbaking) occurs here only; cf. מחבת , pan of sheet iron, Exo 4:3.

1Ch 9:32

Finally, to some of the Kohathites was committed the preparation of the shew-bread, which required to be laid on the table fresh every Sabbath; cf. Lev 24:5-8. The suffix אחיהם refers back to the Levites of the father's-house of Korah in 1Ch 9:32.

1Ch 9:33-34

1Ch 9:33, 1Ch 9:34 contain subscriptions to the section vv. 14-32. Since the enumeration of the Levites dwelling in Jerusalem in 1Ch 9:14-16 began with the Levitic singer families, so here we find that the singers are mentioned in the first subscription, "these are the singers, heads of fathers'-houses of the Levites,"with an additional remark as to their service: "In the cells free, for day and night it is incumbent upon them to be in service,"which is somewhat obscure. פּטוּרים , from פּטר , in later Hebrew, let loose, set free. Rashi and Kimchi have already translated it, immunes ab aliis nempe ministeriis , or ab omni alio officio . Adopting this linguistically assured translation, we must supply with בּלּשׁכת , dwelling or waiting in the cells of the courts of the temple, freed from every other business in order that they may apply themselves wholly to their service, for they are wholly busied therewith day and night. Day and night is not to be pressed, but signifies perpetually, continually. Bertheau translates בּמּלאכה עליהם , "they were over them in the service,"i.e., had to take the oversight of the singers subordinate to them. but this can hardly be correct; and the passage quoted to justify this translation, 2Ch 34:12, proves nothing, because there מפקד is used along with it. We therefore prefer to take עליהם in the signification "it is incumbent upon them,"although we should then expect המּלאכה instead of בּמּלאכה ; cf. 1Ch 9:27. Yet בּמּלאכה can in this connection quite well be used elliptically or concisely for "to be in service,"i.e., to carry on their musical duties. The second subscription (1Ch 9:34) refers to all the Levites, and is similar in contents and form to that in 1Ch 8:28.

Keil-Delitzsch: 1Ch 9:35-44

The family of King Saul . - This register has already occurred in 1Ch 8:29-38, along with those of other families of the tribe of Benjamin, and is repeated here only to connect the following history of the kingship with the preceding genealogical lists. It forms here the introduction to the narrative of Saul's death in 1Ch 10:1-14, which in turn forms the transition to the kingship of David. The deviations of this register from that in 1Ch 8:29-38, show that it has been derived from another document in more complete preservation than that in 1 Chron 8, which had been handed down in connection with other genealogies of the Benjamite families, and had suffered considerably in its text. See the commentary on 1Ch 8:29-38.

Constable: 1Ch 1:1--9:44

I. ISRAEL'S HISTORICAL ROOTS chs. 1--9

"The fact that the author of 1 and 2 Chronicles devoted nine chapters out of sixty-five to genealogies (1 Chr 1-9) makes clear that these were of great importance to him and bear significantly on his purpose in writing his work. This purpose needs to be understood by any commentator who would elucidate the nature of these volumes.

"We may define a genealogy as a written or oral expression of the descent of a person or persons from an ancestor or ancestors.'¹⁸ They may display breadth (These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,' 1 Chr 2:1) and depth (the sons of Solomon: Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son,' 1 Chr 3:10). This latter genealogy and others of its type that display depth alone are termed linear.' Biblical genealogies, like the extrabiblical ones, are normally quite limited in depth, rarely extending beyond ten or twelve generations but often from four to six. In 1 Chronicles 2-9 we have an exception. Perhaps the writer sometimes joined separate genealogies.

"If a genealogy displays breadth as well as depth, it is termed segmented,' or mixed.' In Chronicles multiple descendants of an ancestor are frequently named, but not all the lives are pursued to later generations. Genealogies may proceed from parent to child (descending, as in 1 Chr 9:39-44) or from child to parent (ascending, as in 1 Chr 9:14-16).

"The two types of genealogy, linear and segmented, serve different purposes. The linear genealogy seeks to legitimize an individual by relating him to an ancestor whose status is established. The segmented genealogy is designed to express relationships between the various branches of a family."¹⁹

"Their function, broadly speaking, is to show that the promises and purposes of God continue."²⁰

The aim of the genealogies "is to paint a portrait of the people of God in its ideal extent as a symbol of both the particularity of his election and the breadth of his grace."²¹

". . . it should be noted that a further theme of Chr., that of the Lord's willingness to start afresh with his errant people, is also tucked away almost unnoticed in the genealogies."²²

Constable: 1Ch 8:1--9:44

C. The Lineage of Saul chs. 8-9

This list obviously parallels to some extent David's genealogy (chs. 1-3). Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin, not from the tribe of Judah that God had promised leadership of the nation. One reason the writer had an interest in the tribe of Benjamin (ch. 8) was that it was the only tribe other than Judah to remain loyal to the Davidic line. The tribe of Benjamin "ranked second only to Judah in postexilic society."³³ Furthermore Jerusalem stood in Benjamin territory.

In both chapters 8 and 9 the writer drew a distinction between those people who lived in Jerusalem (8:28; 9:34) and those who lived in Gibeon (8:29; 9:35). There were Benjamites who lived in Jerusalem and others who lived in Gibeon. Both these towns were important religious centers. Gibeon was where the central sanctuary stood during most of Saul's reign and from then on until Solomon built the temple. Nonetheless it was not God's chosen place of worship. The ark was never in the sanctuary at Gibeon. Rather the Gibeon site was the people's choice even as Saul was. God's choice was Jerusalem (2 Chron. 6:6). God did not choose Saul or Gibeon, but He had chosen David and Jerusalem. David and Jerusalem are the two major pieces in God's plan of salvation and blessing in Chronicles.

Chapter 9 brings the genealogical roots of Israel down to real life postexilic Jerusalem. The emphasis in this chapter is again on the temple: the priests (vv. 10-13), the Levites (vv. 14-19), and the temple servants (vv. 17-34).

"The Chronicler established Israel's place in the world through the lengthy genealogies of chaps. 1-9 so that his audience might understand anew their role among the nations."³⁴

These nine chapters of genealogy prepare for the narrative section of the book that follows and the very next section, the record of Saul's death (10:1-14). God permitted leadership by Saul and worship at Gibeon, but His plan called for leadership by David and worship at Jerusalem. Thus the Chronicler reminded his readers that their forefathers' premature insistence that God give them a king similar to all the other nations was a serious mistake. They should learn from their history and not seize the initiative from God again but simply follow Him faithfully.

"With his first nine chapters the Chronicler has introduced his ambitious re-presentation of Israel's history as a sermon. Drawing on ancient material, much of which is familiar to us from the earlier books of the Bible, he has already indicated his major concerns. He will be focusing on the kingship and the priesthood--that is, as it will turn out, on the throne of David and the temple of Solomon--and he will be selecting and simplifying, as he preaches on the story of these things, so as to bring out unchanging principles and ultimate truths."³⁵

Guzik: 1Ch 9:1-44

1 Chronicles 9 - Leaders in Jerusalem

A. Leaders in Jerusalem at the return from exile.

1. (1-2) Summary of the genealogies.

So all Israel was recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. And the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and the Nethinim.

a. So all Israel was recorded: The first eight chapters of 1 Chronicles list these genealogical records. These records were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel, but these are not the same books we know today as 1 or 2 Kings.

i. "Not in that sacred and canonical book so called, but (as hath been oft observed before) in the public records, wherein there was an account of that kingdom, and of several families in it, according to their genealogies." (Poole)

b. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness: In one sentence, the Chronicler reminds is that it was the clash of empires or the intrigues of the geopolitical scene that doomed the Kingdom of Judah. It was their unfaithfulness to God. If they had remained faithful, God would have protected them amid the rise and fall of a hundred powerful empires.

c. And the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites: The Chronicler completely skips over the 70 years of captivity between verses 1 and 2. His interest is not only in the past (demonstrated by 8 previous chapters of genealogies), but also in the present and in the future. The Israelites were back in the land.

i. "All this means that Chronicles has taken the history of Israel a stage further than 1 and 2 Kings. Although 2 Kings end on a note of genuine hope (2 Kings 25:27-30), it is restrained and Israel is still in exile. But now winter is over, and these lists are a definite sign that spring has begun to arrive." (Selman)

ii. No longer was there a kingdom of Judah and another kingdom of Israel; now they were all Israelites. "Called here by the general name of Israelites, which was given to them before that unhappy division of the two kingdoms, and now is restored to them when the Israelites are united with the Jews in one and the same commonwealth, so that all the names and signs of their former division might be blotted out." (Poole)

d. Who dwelt in their possessions: The idea is that the people of the tribes of Israel came back to their ancestral lands, promised to them by God and first possessed in the days of Moses and Joshua.

i. In their possessions: "'Their ancestral land' (NEB; their own property, NIV) is a term rarely found in Chronicles (only 1 Chronicles 7:28; 2 Chronicles 11:14; 31:1. Its occurrence here evokes its frequent use in the time of Moses and Joshua." (Selman)

ii. God kept the land empty for them during the exile. "A wonderful providence of God it was, that as the land kept her Sabbaths for those seventy years, so the country should be all that while kept empty, till the return of the natives." (Trapp)

d. Priests, Levites, and the Nethinim: These were three categories of workers at the temple, who had the work of restoring the temple and its worship in the days of Ezra.

· Priests were the descendents of Aaron who had the right to offer sacrifice and take care of the Holy Place in the temple.

· Levites were the much broader class of religious workers, who served in many ways: practical, artistic, and spiritual.

· The Nethinim were special servants given to the temple.

i. "The 'temple servants' were literally 'given ones.' They might consist of captives who had been spared but enslaved to temple service. Early Hebrew examples include the certain Midianite women (Numbers 31:35, 47) or the people of Gibeon (Joshua 9:22-23), but their organization as a class is credited to David (Ezra 8:20)." (Payne)

2. (3-9) Leading post-exilic citizens of Jerusalem.

Now in Jerusalem the children of Judah dwelt, and some of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh: Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the descendants of Perez, the son of Judah. Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons. Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brethren; six hundred and ninety. Of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah; Ibneiah the son of Jeroham; Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri; Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; and their brethren, according to their generations; nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of a father's house in their fathers' houses.

a. Now in Jerusalem the children of Judah dwelt: This begins a list (1 Chronicles 9:2-17) that is in some ways similar to a list in Nehemiah 11 and in some ways different. Biblical researchers debate if the lists are more similar or more different, and the exact points of connection and difference can be difficult to assess.

B. Other post-exilic leaders in Jerusalem.

1. (10-13) Leaders among the priests.

Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin; Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the officer over the house of God; Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah; Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; and their brethren, heads of their fathers' houses; one thousand seven hundred and sixty. They were very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.

a. They were very able men: This same phrase is translated mighty men of valor in many other Old Testament passages (Joshua 1:14, Judges 6:12, 1 Samuel 16:18, and many others). It shows that when it came to doing the work of the service of the house of God, it takes a man of strength and courage, the same qualities that are needed in a warrior.

i. "The phrase 'very able men' means 'might men of valour' and is so rendered in this historic connection in Nehemiah (11:14). The description is usually employed with reference to military men, and that makes its use here the more arresting." (Morgan)

2. (14-16) Leaders among the Levites.

Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph; Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.

3. (17-34) Levite gatekeepers and temple workers.

And the gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren. Shallum was the chief. Until then they had been gatekeepers for the camps of the children of Levi at the King's Gate on the east. Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, from his father's house, the Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the LORD. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the LORD was with him. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting. All those chosen as gatekeepers were two hundred and twelve. They were recorded by their genealogy, in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their trusted office. So they and their children were in charge of the gates of the house of the LORD, the house of the tabernacle, by assignment. The gatekeepers were assigned to the four directions: the east, west, north, and south. And their brethren in their villages had to come with them from time to time for seven days. For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. And they lodged all around the house of God because they had the responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning. Now some of them were in charge of the serving vessels, for they brought them in and took them out by count. Some of them were appointed over the furnishings and over all the implements of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the incense and the spices. And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. Mattithiah of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the trusted office over the things that were baked in the pans. And some of their brethren of the sons of the Kohathites were in charge of preparing the showbread for every Sabbath. These are the singers, heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers, and were free from other duties; for they were employed in that work day and night. These heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites were heads throughout their generations. They dwelt at Jerusalem.

a. And the gatekeepers were: This describes the re-institution of the organization of the temple work and workers in the early days of the second temple. They were anxious to organize things in the same manner as King David did originally.

i. It also denotes that there was definite organization and division of labor among the Levites. "When the morning broke, it called to duty first the porters who opened the House of God; and then, after due ablution, each band of white-robed Levites began its special service. There was no running to and fro in disorder, no intrusion on one another's office, no clashing in duty, no jealousy of each other's ministry. It was enough to know that each had been appointed to his task, and was asked to be faithful to it. The right ordering of the whole depended on the punctuality, fidelity, and conscientiousness of each." (Meyer)

ii. "Since both Meshelemiah and Zechariah served under David (1 Chronicles 26:8-11), this 'Tent of Meeting' would seem to refer to the curtained form of God's house erected prior to Solomon's permanent temple." (Payne)

b. Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the LORD was with him: The Chronicler remembered the faithful work of Phinehas in the days of Moses (Numbers 25:7-13), and linked his faithfulness to the work of the gatekeepers in the days of Ezra.

i. "The fact that the LORD was with him [Phinehas] indicates that the Lord was also with those gatekeepers of the Chronicler's day who followed in the same living tradition of divine service." (Selman)

4. (35-44) The ancestors and descendents of King Saul.

Jeiel the father of Gibeon, whose wife's name was Maacah, dwelt at Gibeon. His firstborn son was Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. And Mikloth begot Shimeam. They also dwelt alongside their relatives in Jerusalem, with their brethren. Ner begot Kish, Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-Baal. The son of Jonathan was Merib-Baal, and Merib-Baal begot Micah. The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. And Ahaz begot Jarah; Jarah begot Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza; Moza begot Binea, Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, and Azel his son. And Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.

a. Kish begot Saul, and Saul begot Jonathan: For emphasis, some of the genealogy of the line of Saul (both before him and after him) is listed. This was to emphasize the fact that God did not wipe out the line of Saul, and that his descendants lived to the days of Ezra and the return from exile.

i. "Since the genealogy continues for twelve generations after Saul, the fact that his dynasty crashed and his kingship was transferred to David did not remove his family's place in Israelite history. They too had lived in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 9:38), and though we do not know whether this continued after the exile, even for them there were signs of hope." (Selman)

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF CHRONICLES were also considered as one by the ancient Jews, who called them "words of days," that is, diaries or journals, being probably compiled from those registers that were kept by the king's historiographers of passing occurrences. In the Septuagint the title given them is Paraleipomenon, "of things omitted," that is, the books are supplementary because many things unnoticed in the former books are here recorded; and not only the omissions are supplied, but some narratives extended while others are added. The authorship is commonly ascribed to Ezra, whose leading object seems to have been to show the division of families, possessions, &c., before the captivity, with a view to the exact restoration of the same order after the return from Babylon. Although many things are restated and others are exact repetitions of what is contained in Kings, there is so much new and important information that, as JEROME has well said, the Chronicles furnish the means of comprehending parts of the New Testament, which must have been unintelligible without them. They are frequently referred to by Christ and the Apostles as forming part of "the Word of God" (see the genealogies in Mat. 1:1-16; Luk. 3:23-38; compare 2Ch 19:7 with 1Pe 1:17; 2Ch 24:19-21 with Mat 23:32-35).

JFB: 1 Chronicles (Outline)

• ADAM'S LINE TO NOAH. (1Ch. 1:1-23)
• SHEM'S LINE TO ABRAHAM. (1Ch 1:24-28)
• SONS OF ISHMAEL. (1Ch 1:29-31)
• SONS OF KETURAH. (1Ch 1:32-33)
• POSTERITY OF ABRAHAM BY ESAU. (1Ch 1:34-42)
• POSTERITY OF JUDAH. (1Ch 2:3-12)
• CHILDREN OF JESSE. (1Ch 2:13-17)
• POSTERITY OF CALEB. (1Ch. 2:18-55)
• SONS OF DAVID. (1Ch 3:1-9)
• HIS LINE TO ZEDEKIAH. (1Ch 3:10-16)
• SUCCESSORS OF JECONIAH. (1Ch 3:17-24)
• POSTERITY OF JUDAH BY CALEB THE SON OF HUR. (1Ch 4:1-8)
• OF JABEZ, AND HIS PRAYER. (1Ch 4:9-20)
• POSTERITY OF SHELAH. (1Ch 4:21-23)
• OF SIMEON. (1Ch. 4:24-43)
• THE LINE OF REUBEN. (1Ch 5:1-10)
• THE LINE OF GAD. (1Ch. 5:11-26)
• LINE OF THE PRIESTS. (1Ch. 6:1-48)
• OFFICE OF AARON AND HIS SONS. (1Ch. 6:49-81)
• SONS OF ISSACHAR. (1Ch 7:1-5)
• OF BENJAMIN. (1Ch 7:6-12)
• OF NAPHTALI. (1Ch 7:13)
• OF MANASSEH. (1Ch. 7:14-40)
• SONS AND CHIEF MEN OF BENJAMIN. (1Ch. 8:1-32)
• STOCK OF SAUL AND JONATHAN. (1Ch 8:33-40)
• ORIGINAL REGISTERS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH'S GENEALOGIES. (1Ch. 9:1-26)
• SAUL'S OVERTHROW AND DEATH. (1Ch 10:1-7)
• THE PHILISTINES TRIUMPH OVER HIM. (1Ch 10:8-14)
• DAVID MADE KING. (1Ch 11:1-3)
• HE WINS THE CASTLE OF ZION FROM THE JEBUSITES BY JOAB'S VALOR. (1Ch 11:4-9)
• A CATALOGUE OF HIS WORTHIES. (1Ch. 11:10-47)
• THE COMPANIES THAT CAME TO DAVID AT ZIKLAG. (1Ch. 12:1-22)
• THE ARMIES THAT CAME TO HIM AT HEBRON. (1Ch. 12:23-40)
• DAVID FETCHES THE ARK FROM KIRJATH-JEARIM. (1Ch 13:1-8)
• HIRAM'S KINDNESS TO DAVID; DAVID'S FELICITY. (1Ch 14:1-2)
• HIS WIVES. (1Ch 14:3-7)
• HIS VICTORIES OVER THE PHILISTINES. (1Ch 14:8-17)
• DAVID BRINGS THE ARK FROM OBEDEDOM. (1Ch. 15:1-24)
• DAVID'S FESTIVAL SACRIFICE AND LIBERALITY TO THE PEOPLE. (1Ch 16:1-6)
• HIS PSALM OF THANKSGIVING. (1Ch. 16:7-43)
• DAVID FORBIDDEN TO BUILD GOD A HOUSE. (1Ch 17:1-10)
• DAVID SUBDUES THE PHILISTINES AND MOABITES. (1Ch 18:1-2)
• DAVID SMITES HADADEZER AND THE SYRIANS. (1Ch 18:3-17)
• DAVID'S MESSENGERS, SENT TO COMFORT HANUN, ARE DISGRACEFULLY TREATED. (1Ch 19:1-5)
• JOAB AND ABISHAI OVERCOME THE AMMONITES. (1Ch 19:6-15)
• SHOPHACH SLAIN BY DAVID. (1Ch 19:16-19)
• RABBAH BESIEGED BY JOAB, SPOILED BY DAVID, AND THE PEOPLE TORTURED. (1Ch 20:1-3)
• THREE OVERTHROWS OF THE PHILISTINES AND THREE GIANTS SLAIN. (1Ch 20:4-8)
• DAVID SINS IN NUMBERING THE PEOPLE. (1Ch 21:1-13)
• HE BUILDS AN ALTAR. (1Ch 21:18-30)
• DAVID PREPARES FOR BUILDING THE TEMPLE. (1Ch 22:1-5)
• HE INSTRUCTS SOLOMON. (1Ch 22:6-19)
• DAVID MAKES SOLOMON KING. (1Ch 23:1)
• NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITES. (1Ch 23:2-6)
• SONS OF GERSHON. (1Ch 23:7-11)
• OF KOHATH. (1Ch 23:12-20)
• OF MERARI. (1Ch 23:21-23)
• OFFICE OF THE LEVITES. (1Ch 23:24-32)
• DIVISION OF THE SONS OF AARON INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 24:1-19)
• NUMBER AND OFFICE OF THE SINGERS. (1Ch 25:1-7)
• THEIR DIVISION BY LOT INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 25:8-31)
• DIVISIONS OF THE PORTERS. (1Ch 26:1-12)
• THE GATES ASSIGNED BY LOT. (1Ch 26:13-19)
• LEVITES THAT HAD CHARGE OF THE TREASURES. (1Ch 26:20-28)
• OFFICERS AND JUDGES. (1Ch 26:29-32)
• TWELVE CAPTAINS FOR EVERY MONTH. (1Ch 27:1-15)
• PRINCES OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. (1Ch 27:16-24)
• DAVID EXHORTS THE PEOPLE TO FEAR GOD. (1Ch 28:1-8)
• HE ENCOURAGES SOLOMON TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (1Ch 28:9-20)
• DAVID CAUSES THE PRINCES AND PEOPLE TO OFFER FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD. (1Ch 29:1-9)
• HIS REIGN AND DEATH. (1Ch 29:26-30)

TSK: 1 Chronicles 9 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

1Ch 9:1, The original of Israel and Judah’s genealogies; 1Ch 9:2, The Israelites; 1Ch 9:10, the priests; 1Ch 9:14, and the Levites, with Nethinims, which dwelt in Jerusalem; 1Ch 9:27, The charge of certain Levites; 1Ch 9:35, The stock of Saul and Jonathan.

Poole: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES

THE ARGUMENT

THESE Books of the CHRONICLES are not the same which are so called, 1Ki 14:19 , and elsewhere, (because some passages said to be there mentioned are not found here,) but other books, and written by other persons, and for other ends. Yet this same writer took out of those books such historical passages as were most useful or necessary. They were written after the Babylonish captivity, as appears from 2Ch 36:20 , &c., by Ezra; as may be gathered not only from the same words used in the place now quoted, and in the beginning of that book which goeth under the name of Ezra, but also from some other passages, which we may observe hereafter, and from the exactness and diligence here used in making catalogues of persons and families, which also is used in the Book of Ezra. If one or two passages seem to be of a later date, those were added by some other prophets; there being some few such additional passages in the Books of Moses. The chief design of these books is, to complete the history of the kings of Judah, and to gather up the fragments of sacred history which were omitted in the Books of Samuel and Kings, and to explain some passages there mentioned, and to give an exact account of the genealogies; which (though ignorant or inconsiderate persons may think trivial and useless) was a work of great necessity, to preserve the distinction of the tribes and families, that so it might appear that Christ came of that nation, and tribe, and family, of which he was to be born. And this account having been hitherto neglected, is most seasonably mentioned in these books, because this was to be in a manner the last part of the sacred and canonical history of the Old Testament, and therefore the fittest place to record those genealogies, upon which the truth and authority of the New Testament ill some sort depends. And whereas many things in these genealogies to us are obscure and doubtful, they were not so to the Hebrews; and all the persons here named were known to them by those very particular and exact genealogies, which they kept in their several families and in public registers; from whence this sacred penman, by the direction of God’ s Spirit, took those things which were of most importance.

Poole: 1 Chronicles 9 (Chapter Introduction)

CHRONICLES CHAPTER 9

The chief of the tribe of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, who returned from captivity, and dwelt at Jerusalem, 1Ch 9:1-9 . Also the priests and Levites, and how they executed their office in the temple at Jerusalem, 1Ch 9:10-34 . The family of Saul, 1Ch 9:35-44 .

MHCC: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

The books of Chronicles are, in a great measure, repetitions of what is in the books of Samuel and of the Kings, yet there are some excellent useful things in them which we find not elsewhere. The FIRST BOOK traces the rise of the Jewish people from Adam, and afterward gives an account of the reign of David. In the SECOND BOOK the narrative is continued, and relates the progress and end of the kingdom of Judah; also it notices the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Jerome says, that whoever supposes himself to have knowledge of the Scriptures without being acquainted with the books of Chronicles, deceives himself. Historical facts passed over elsewhere, names, and the connexion of passages are to be found here, and many questions concerning the gospel are explained.

MHCC: 1 Chronicles 9 (Chapter Introduction)

Genealogies.

Matthew Henry: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The First Book of Chronicles

In common things repetition is thought needless and nauseous; but, in sacred things, precept must be upon precept and line upon line. To me, says the apostle, to write the same things is not grievous, but for you it is safe, Phi 3:1. These books of Chronicles are in a great measure repetition; so are much of the second and third of the four evangelists: and yet there are no tautologies either here or there no vain repetitions. We may be ready to think that of all the books of holy scripture we could best spare these two books of Chronicles. Perhaps we might, and yet we could ill spare them: for there are many most excellent useful things in them, which we find not elsewhere. And as for what we find here which we have already met with, 1. It might be of great use to those who lived when these books were first published, before the canon of the Old Testament was completed and the particles of it put together; for it would remind them of what was more fully related in the other books. Abstracts, abridgments, and references, are of use in divinity as well as law. That, perhaps, may not be said in vain which yet has been said before. 2. It is still of use, that out of the mouth of two witnesses every word may be established, and, being inculcated, may be remembered. The penman of these books is supposed to be Ezra, that ready scribe in the law of the Lord, Ezr 7:6. It is a groundless story of that apocryphal writer (2 Esdr. 14:21, etc.) that, all the law being burnt, Ezra was divinely inspired to write it all over again, which yet might take rise from the books of Chronicles, where we find, though not all the same story repeated, yet the names of all those who were the subjects of that story. These books are called in the Hebrew words of days - journals or annals, because, by divine direction, collected out of some public and authentic records. The collection was made after the captivity, and yet the language of the originals, written before, it sometimes retained, as 2Ch 5:9, there it is unto this day, which must have been written before the destruction of the temple. The Septuagint calls it a book Paraleipomenōn - of things left, or overlooked, by the preceding historians; and several such things there are in it. It is the rereward, the gathering host, of this sacred camp, which gathers up what remained, that nothing might be lost. In this first book we have, I. A collection of sacred genealogies, from Adam to David: and they are none of those which the apostle calls endless genealogies, but have their use and end in Christ, ch. 1-9. Divers little passages of history are here inserted which we had not before. II. A repetition of the history of the translation of the kingdom from Saul to David, and of the triumph of David's reign, with large additions, ch. 10-21. III. An original account of the settlement David made of the ecclesiastical affairs, and the preparation he made for the building of the temple, ch. 22-29. These are words of days, of the oldest days, of the best days, of the Old Testament church. The reigns of kings and dates of kingdoms, as well as the lives of common persons, are reckoned by days; for a little time often gives a great turn, and yet all time is nothing to eternity.

Matthew Henry: 1 Chronicles 9 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter intimates to us that one end of recording all these genealogies was to direct the Jews, now that they had returned out of captivity, with whom to incorporate and where to reside; for here we have an account of those who first took possession of Jerusalem after their return from Babylon, and began the rebuilding of it upon the old foundation. I. The Israelites (1Ch 9:2-9). II. The priests (1Ch 9:10-13). III. The Levites and other Nethinim (1Ch 9:14-26). IV. Here is the particular charge of some of the priests and Levites (1Ch 9:27-34). V. A repetition of the genealogy of king Saul (1Ch 9:35-44).

Constable: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The earliest Hebrew title for the Books of Chronicles translates as, "The Things Left Behind." This name describes Chronicles as containing remnants of the monarchy history not recorded in the preceding Old Testament historical books. A later title that appears in most copies of the Hebrew Bible is, "The Accounts of the Days," or "Daily Matters." This title emphasizes the nature of Chronicles as official annals (cf. Esth. 2:23; 1 Kings 14:19). Chronicles contains the official records of the kings of Israel, especially those of the Southern Kingdom after the kingdom split. The English title "Chronicles" comes down to us from this later Hebrew one.

As was true of Samuel and Kings, the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Hebrew Old Testament was responsible for dividing the single Book of Chronicles into 1 and 2 Chronicles. Scribes divided these long books to make them easier for copyists, publishers, and readers to handle. We could translate the Septuagint title as, "Things Omitted." This title implies that Chronicles contains material left out of other inspired histories of Israel. This is true. Of course, it also contains much material that the former historical books included.

Writer and Date

Early Jewish tradition recorded in the Talmud ascribed the authorship of Chronicles to Ezra. Recent studies of the linguistic differences that exist between the Books of Ezra and Chronicles have led some modern scholars to reject this ancient view.¹ Internal evidence suggests that if the writer was not Ezra he was probably a contemporary of Ezra.

There is quite a bit of difference of opinion even among conservative evangelical scholars regarding the date of composition. Most of these people place it within Ezra's lifetime (ca. 450-400 B.C.).² This date would make Chronicles one of the last if not the last historical book of the Old Testament. The date of composition of Ezra was probably about 446 B.C. The Book of Nehemiah probably came into existence between 420 and 400 B.C. The date of writing of Esther was probably shortly after 473 B.C.

"It is now clear from comparison of Chronicles with the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Greek translations of the Pentateuch that the text Chronicles used was more like these texts than the MT [Masoretic Text]."³

Scholars vary greatly in their ideas concerning the date of composition. Some of them hold a date as early as the middle of the fifth century B.C. (450 B.C.) while others date Chronicles as late as 200 B.C.⁴

Scope and Purpose

Chronicles covers a broader period of history than any other Old Testament book. It begins with Adam and ends with Anani who lived eight generations after King Jehoiachin (1 Chron. 3:24). If we allow 25 years for each generation, the birth of Anani would have been between 425 and 400 B.C.

"In Near Eastern antiquity, the generation (that is the years between a man's birth and his begetting his first-born son) is ordinarily 25 years or less."⁵

Since the writer had great interest in David's family it is unlikely that any of David's descendants after Anani were alive when he wrote the book. If they had been, the writer probably would have included their names.

Other Old Testament books, especially Genesis, Samuel, and Kings, cover over half the material that Chronicles contains. There are two main reasons for this repetition. First, the writer wanted to give his readers another version of those events. In this respect Chronicles and the other historical books are similar to the Gospels in the New Testament. Each gives a unique interpretation and emphasis. Each writer selected the historical materials that would present what he wanted to emphasize. Chronicles is more similar to John's Gospel than the other Gospels. Both books are very sermonic, and each has a purpose that is easy to identify (John 20:30-31; 2 Chron. 7:14). Chronicles is also similar to Deuteronomy, the last book of the Pentateuch, which also preaches by recalling history.

Second, the writer of Chronicles explained and expounded the meaning of many events in Israel's history much as the writers of modern commentaries do. This was especially important since the original readers of Chronicles needed to remember their history and the spiritual issues that had molded and would mold their destiny. These observations would guide them as they sought to reestablish Israel in the Promised Land after the Babylonian captivity.

"The purpose of these two volumes [1 and 2 Chronicles] is to review the history of Israel from the dawn of the human race to the Babylonian captivity and Cyrus' edict of restoration. This review is composed with a very definite purpose in mind, to give to the Jews of the Second Commonwealth the true spiritual foundations of their theocracy as the covenant people of Jehovah. This historian's purpose is to show that the true glory of the Hebrew nation was found in its covenant relationship to God, as safeguarded by the prescribed forms of worship in the temple and administered by the divinely ordained priesthood under the protection of the divinely authorized dynasty of David. Always the emphasis is upon that which is sound and valid in Israel's past as furnishing a reliable basis for the task of reconstruction which lay ahead. Great stress is placed upon the rich heritage of Israel and its unbroken connection with the patriarchal beginnings (hence the prominence accorded to genealogical lists)."⁶

". . . the Chronicler' is no mere chronicler! He is a theologian, sharing with all the biblical writers the burden of interpreting God's ways to human beings."⁷

The writer saw principles operating in history. He selected unmistakable instances of them and applied them to his own times.

"If Kings, composed after the final collapse of the kingdom in 586 B.C., concentrates on how sin leads to defeat (2 Kings 17:15, 18), then Chronicles, coming after the two returns from exile in 537 and 458 B.C., recounts, from the same record, how faith is the victory' (2 Chron. 20:20, 22)."⁸

". . . the Chronicler goes even further than the Deuteronomic historian [i.e., the writer of 1 and 2 Kings] in attempting to correlate blessing with faithfulness and judgment with disobedience within each separate generation."⁹

Another statement of the purpose of Chronicles is as follows:

". . . to rally the returned remnant to hopeful temple worship . . . by demonstrating their link with the enduring Davidic promises."¹⁰

"The past is explained so that its institutions and religious principles become relevant to the present, and the ways of the present are legitimized anew by being connected to the prime source of authority--the formative period in the people's past."¹¹

Three major features of Chronicles appear when we isolate the material the writer included that is not in Samuel or Kings. First, the genealogies reflect the writer's goal of encouraging Israel's racial and religious purity. Second, the emphases on the temple, ark, and worship show his desire that the returned exiles reestablish worship according to the Mosaic Law.¹² Third, the record of David's glories and the victories God gave his successors were his way of encouraging his original readers as they sought to reestablish their nation in the Promised Land.¹³

Conservative students of Chronicles differ in their opinion concerning the amount of Messianic expectation the Chronicler held out to his readers. My belief is that he did present some hope of a coming Messiah who would fulfill the promises given to David in the Davidic Covenant. I will point this out at the appropriate places in the notes that follow.¹⁴

Passages Unique to Chronicles (In probable chronological order)15
Genealogies	The genealogical tables	1 Chron. 1-9
David	The list of the men who came to David at Ziklag	1 Chron. 12:1-7
	The list of the men who joined David on his way to Ziklag	1 Chron. 12:19-22
	Data concerning the number of warriors who made David king	1 Chron. 12:23-40
	The Gadites who "separated themselves unto David"	1 Chron. 12:8-15
	David's hymn of praise when he moved the ark	1 Chron. 16:4-36
	David's final preparations for the building of the temple	1 Chron. 22:1-19
	The national convention	1 Chron. 23:1-9:22
Solomon	The making of the altar of brass	2 Chron. 4:1
	The close of Solomon's dedicatory prayer	2 Chron. 6:40-42
Rehoboam	The adherence of the Levites in all Israel to Rehoboam	2 Chron. 11:13-14
	The immigration of other pious Israelites to Judah	2 Chron. 11:16-17
	Rehoboam's fortifications	2 Chron. 11:5-12
	Rehoboam's family	2 Chron. 11:18-23
Abijah	Abijah's family	2 Chron. 13:21
Asa	The ten years of peace under Asa	2 Chron. 14:1
	Asa's defense policy	2 Chron. 14:6-8
	Asa's victory over Zerah the Ethiopian	2 Chron. 14:9-15
	The warning of the prophet Azariah	2 Chron. 15:1-7
	The four years of peace under Asa	2 Chron. 15:19
	The renewal of the covenant	2 Chron. 15:9-15
	The warning of the prophet Hanani	2 Chron. 16:7-9
	Asa's transgression	2 Chron. 16:10
Jehoshaphat	Jehoshaphat's strengthening of his kingdom	2 Chron. 17:1-7
	The mission of the princes, Levites and priests	2 Chron. 17:7-9
	Jehoshaphat's increasing power	2 Chron. 17:10-8:1
	The prophet Jehu's judgment on Jehoshaphat	2 Chron. 19:1-3
	Jehoshaphat's further reforms in worship and law	2 Chron. 19:4-11
	The deliverance from Moab and Ammon on Mt. Seir	2 Chron. 20:1-30
Jehoram	The posthumous message of Elijah to Jehoram	2 Chron. 21:12-15
	The invasion of the Philistines and Arabians	2 Chron. 21:16-17
	Jehoram's illness	2 Chron. 21:18
Joash	Joash's matrimonial affairs	2 Chron. 24:3
	The temple worship	2 Chron. 24:14
	The death of Jehoiada	2 Chron. 24:15-16
	The sins of Joash	2 Chron. 24:17-19
	The stoning of Zechariah	2 Chron. 24:20-22
	The reverses of Judah due to Hazael's operations	2 Chron. 24:23-24
Amaziah	Amaziah's planned expedition against Edom	2 Chron. 25:5
	Amaziah's hiring of 1000 mercenaries out of Israel and dismissing them	2 Chron. 25:6-10
	The pillage of the cities of Judah by the dismissed mercenaries	2 Chron. 25:13
	Amaziah's further wickedness	2 Chron. 25:14-16
Uzziah	Uzziah's success in war	2 Chron. 26:6-8
	Uzziah's building and farming	2 Chron. 26:9-10, 15
	Uzziah's army	2 Chron. 26:11-14
	Uzziah's fame	2 Chron. 26:8, 15
Jotham	Jotham's subjugation of the Ammonites	2 Chron. 27:5-6
Ahaz	Obed the prophet's obtaining the release of the Jewish captives during Ahaz's war with Rezin and Pekah	2 Chron. 28:9-15
	The Edomite and Philistine invasions under Ahaz	2 Chron. 28:17-19
Hezekiah	The cleansing of the temple by Hezekiah	2 Chron. 29:3-19
	The consecration of the temple	2 Chron. 29:20-36
	Preparations for the Passover	2 Chron. 30:1-12
	The keeping of the Passover	2 Chron. 30:13-22
	The keeping of "other seven days"	2 Chron. 30:23-27
	Hezekiah's further religious reforms	2 Chron. 31:2-21
	Hezekiah's wealth and building	2 Chron. 32:27-30
	Sennacherib's second entry into Judah for invasion	2 Chron. 32:1
	Hezekiah's precautions in view of Sennacherib's second entry into Judah for invasion	2 Chron. 32:2-8
	Hezekiah's renewed prosperity	2 Chron. 32:23
Manasseh	Manasseh's captivity	2 Chron. 33:11
	Manasseh's repentance and restoration	2 Chron. 33:12-13
	The acts of Manasseh after his restoration	2 Chron. 33:14-16
	The spiritual condition of the people	2 Chron. 33:17
Josiah	Josiah's early reformations	2 Chron. 34:3-7
Captivity	The length of the captivity	2 Chron. 36:20-21
	Cyrus' proclamation permitting return from the captivity	2 Chron. 36:22-23

Message¹⁶

The central subject of 1 and 2 Chronicles is the temple of God. Someone evidently wrote these books at the end of the Babylonian exile to encourage the Israelites to reestablish Israel's national life in the Promised Land. In view of this purpose the northern kingdom of Israel was of little interest to the writer. Judah is the kingdom in view, and David is the king in view. The central passion in David's life is in view, namely the building of the temple. Furthermore the reason for David's passion for the temple is in view. He saw that the recognition of God is of supreme importance in national life.

This is the message of the book. The recognition of God is of supreme importance in national life formally as well as really. The writer demonstrated this fact in the genealogies, and he illustrated it in David's life in the rest of 1 Chronicles.

The genealogies demonstrate the supreme importance of recognizing God in national life.

What was the writer emphasizing by his selective genealogy? This genealogy (chs. 1-9) shows that God has chosen to bless some individuals and not others. This was His plan from Adam to Nehemiah. God also chose to bring blessing to those who obeyed Him regardless of their other personal abilities or disabilities. Obedience is key to success. We can see a heart for God in obedience to God's will. There are two reasons God blesses people: His sovereign choice to bless, and our obedience to Him. Character grows out of obedience. Likewise God chose to bring cursing on those who were disobedient to Him regardless of their other personal rights and privileges.

The reason God chose to bless some individuals was to accomplish one ultimate goal. This goal was the fulfillment of His plans for His own glorification including the fulfillment of His promises to humanity. All the details of His choices of individuals contributed to His ultimate goal.

The genealogies teach us this lesson. The way to achieve permanence and success in individual life, and the way to achieve stability and success in national life, is to recognize God in life. Throughout history people and nations have succeeded or failed as they recognized God. This is a major point the writer was demonstrating in the genealogies. God has been selecting, changing, interrupting, and moving through history inexorably toward His ultimate goal.

The life of David, as narrated here, illustrates the supreme importance of recognizing God in national life (chs. 10-29).

The writer presented David as a strong model king. He selected four pictures from David's life. The first of these was his crowning that shows God's choice of him. The second was his capture of Jerusalem that was the victory that led to the temple. The third picture was his mighty men. It shows his influence on personal character and his true power. The fourth was the gathering of multitudes behind his leadership that shows his influence on the masses. All of these pictures are in a sense background for what follows concerning David.

What made David the great king he was? The writer showed that it was his attitude toward God that expressed itself in his attitude toward the temple. David's care for the ark (a symbol of God's grace) and his desire to build the temple (a symbol of worship that responds to God's grace) reveal his deepest passion in life. His master passion was that Israel should never forget the God who had chosen her for special blessing in the world. We can see that his great desire was not simply to build the temple. When God told him through Nathan not to build it, David accepted this. He was content to gather materials and to make plans because he saw the temple as a way of helping Israel remember her God.

The writer of 1 Chronicles wanted to show the importance of what the temple symbolized, namely Israel's national recognition of God. David's great desire was that Israel recognize God and express that recognition publicly.

As king, David ruled under the authority of God. As warrior, he executed the will of God. As poet, he constantly extolled the reign of God. He glorified God in every aspect of his life. He also appreciated the importance of recognizing God nationally.

The message of this book is still a timeless one for us today. The recognition of God is still extremely important in life nationally and individually. Just as God governs all individuals, He also governs all nations, not just Israel. Amos made the point that God governs all nations, not just Israel. All nations are accountable to Him (cf. Deut. 32). Even today one of the Jews' favorite names for God is "king of the universe."

It is important that we recognize God because of His selective activity that the genealogies highlight. Throughout all of history God has been choosing, selecting, lifting up, and casting down. He selects new people in every generation. If they fail, He selects others and keeps moving ahead. If the person we would normally expect God to use is not ready or is unqualified, God will choose another (cf. Saul and David). If the person with privilege does not respond to his opportunity, God will pass him by, find some other perhaps obscure person, and move on. How foolish it is for nations and individuals not to recognize Him in view of God's sovereign progress.

It is also important that we recognize God because of the effect recognizing Him has on life. Take God out of the life of nations and individuals and what happens? There is no moral standard. An English politician once said, "If there is no Bible, where is your textbook of morals? There is the supreme difficulty. We must teach morals, and there is no textbook or standard in the world if we take the Bible away."¹⁷

When we lose our moral standard we lose individual character. When we lose individual character we lose the basis for civilized society. These things build on each other. Awareness of the throne of God and the government of God is foundational for any social order.

It is extremely important for every nation to build the temple of God, to recognize God in its life. This creates an opportunity for people to deal with God. Movements that advocate removing recognition of God from national life are pernicious. The person who points people to God is the true patriot. David wrote, "Zeal for your house has eaten me up." What is God's temple today? It is the church (Matt. 16:18). As the church we must point people to God. This was the "point" of church steeples in the past, to point people to God.

Constable: 1 Chronicles (Outline)

Outline

I. Israel's historical roots chs. 1-9

A. The lineage of David chs. 1-3

B. The house of Israel chs. 4-7

1. The family of Judah 4:1-23

2. The family of Simeon 4:24-43

3. The families of Transjordan ch. 5

4. The family of Levi ch. 6

5. The remaining families of Israel ch. 7

C. The lineage of Saul chs. 8-9

II. The reign of David chs. 10-29

A. The death of Saul ch. 10

B. David's coronation and capital 11:1-9

C. David's mighty men 11:10-12:40

D. David and the ark chs. 13-16

1. The removal of the ark from Kiriath-jearim ch. 13

2. Restoring fellowship with Yahweh ch. 14

3. The importance of the priests and Levites 15:1-15

4. The joy produced by God's presence 15:16-16:6

5. David's concern for the universal worship of Yahweh 16:7-43

E. God's covenant promises to David chs. 17-29

1. The first account of God's promises to David chs. 17-21

2. The second account of God's promises to David chs. 22-27

3. The third account of God's promises to David chs. 28-29

(Continued in notes on 2 Chronicles)

Constable: 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles

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Hodges, Zane C. "Conflicts in the Biblical Account of the Ammonite-Syrian War." Bibliotheca Sacra 119:475 (July-September 1962):238-43.

Howard, David M., Jr. An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books. Chicago: Moody Press, 1993.

Japhat, Sara. I & II Chronicles. Old Testament Library series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1993.

_____. "The Historical Reliability of Chronicles." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33 (October 1985):83-107.

_____. The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought. New York: Peter Lang, 1989.

_____. "The Supposed Common Authorship of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah Investigated Anew." Vetus Testamentum 18 (1968):330-71.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

THE FIRST BOOK OF PARALIPOMENON.

INTRODUCTION.

These Books are called by the Greek Interpreters, Paralipomenon; ( Greek: Paraleipomenon, ) that is, of things left out, or omitted; because they are a kind of supplement of such things as were passed over in the Books of Kings. The Hebrews call them, Dibre Hajamim; that is, The words of the days, or The Chronicles. Not that they are the books which are so often quoted in the Kings, under the title of, The Words of the days of the kings of Israel, and of the kings of Juda; for the Books of Paralipomenon were written after the Books of Kings; but because, in all probability, they have been abridged from those ancient words of the days, by Esdras, or some other sacred author. (Challoner) --- The author of this compilation refers to the same works, 2 Paralipomenon xvi. 11., &c. These journals were principally composed by prophets, though there were other people appointed to write the most important occurrences, 2 Kings viii. 16., and 4 Kings xviii. 18. The genealogies of families, particularly of the Levites, and the interests of piety and religion, are kept most in view. (Calmet) --- The variations which appear between this work and the other parts of Scripture, are owing to the faults of transcribers; and, though they could not be satisfactorily explained, it would be rashness to condemn the author of inaccuracy, at this distance of time, when we know so little of those transactions. (Haydock) --- Who calls in question the history of Alexander, though the different authors of it scarcely agree in one calculation of the number of troops, nations conquered, &c.?" Yet the work before us is of far higher authority, as it was dictated by the Holy Ghost. (Calmet) --- "Without it, a person would in vain pretend to understand the Scriptures." It is "an epitome of the Old Testament," and "explains many difficulties of the gospels." (St. Jerome) --- The author does not, however, seem to have designed to draw up an exact epitome, or to supply the deficiencies of the other works. (Calmet) --- The first nine chapters contain various genealogical histories. In the 10th, we have the election and death of Saul; and in the remainder of the first book, the transactions of David, (Worthington) till the year [of the world] 2990, where the second book commences with the reign of Solomon, and brings us to the end of the captivity. (The year of the world 3468.; Calmet)

Gill: 1 Chronicles (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES

This and the following book were reckoned by the Jews as one book, as appears by the Masoretic note at the end of the second book, and as is affirmed by Origen ^a and Jerom ^b; and they were by the ancients ^c called Chronicles, as they are by us; but they are different from the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah, so often mentioned in the preceding books, seeing several things there referred to, as in them, are not to be found here; though no doubt many things here recorded were taken from thence under a divine direction. In the Greek version, and so in the Vulgate Latin version after that, they are called "Paralipomena", that is, things passed over or omitted, because they contain several anecdotes which are not to be found in the books of Samuel and Kings. The Hebrew title of them is, "Dibre Hayamim", words of days, day books or diaries, and what the Greeks call "Ephemerides"; though, as "yamim" sometimes signifies years, they may be named "annals"; and so the Arabic inscription is,

"the Books of Annals;''

and because they chiefly respect the kings of Judah, the Syriac inscription is,

"the Book of the Things that were done in the Times of the Kings of Judah.''

The Targum is,

"the Book of Genealogies, the Words of Days, which were from the Days of the World;''

because the first ten chapters consist of genealogies beginning from Adam. The inspired penman of these books must live after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, since he carries down the genealogy of the kings and princes of Judah beyond that time, 1Ch 3:17. It is generally thought by the Jews and Christians that Ezra was the writer of them, with which agrees the age in which he lived; and as it may seem, from the last of these books ending with the same words with which that under his name begins: so the Talmudists ^d say, that Ezra wrote his own book, and the genealogy of the chronicles unto his own, or unto Velo, "and he had brethren", 2Ch 21:2 and Jarchi affirms that he wrote them by the hand or means of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, inspired prophets; though some Jewish writers ^e suppose they were written partly by him, and partly by Nehemiah; that all to 2Ch 21:2 were written by Ezra, and the rest by Nehemiah. Kimchi thinks that Ezra was not the first author and writer of these books, but that the books of Chronicles and Annals of the kings of Judah, and of the kings of Israel, were separately written before him; but that he only revised them, and with the men of the great synagogue added the genealogies, and put them into the canon of the Scriptures ^f. Spinosa ^g fancies they were written after Judas Maccabaeus had restored the temple, since the historian tells what families dwelt in Jerusalem in the times of Ezra, 1Ch 9:1 and speaks of the porters, 1Ch 9:17 two of which are mentioned, Neh 11:19 as if Ezra could not describe the families that lived when he did, or name the porters of the temple, since it was finished and dedicated in his time, Ezr 6:15, but however there is no doubt to be made of the authenticity of these books, since not only they have always been acknowledged by the Jews as a part of the canonical Scripture, and by ancient Christians, as appears by the catalogues of Melito ^h and Origen ⁱ; but there are plain references to them in the New Testament. The genealogy of Christ, by the evangelists, is formed out of them; the doxology in Rev 5:12 as some have observed, comes very near to what is used by David, 1Ch 29:11 and the passages in Act 7:48 contain the sense of what is expressed in 2Ch 2:5. The use and design of these books are chiefly to give a larger account of the kingdom of Judah, especially after the division of it from the ten tribes, and of the kings thereof, than what is given in the preceding books, as in the last of these books; and particularly they ascertain the genealogy of Christ, that it might be clear and plain of what tribe and family the Messiah came, that he descended from the tribe of Judah, and from the kings of the house of David, as in this first book. They both contain an history from Adam, to the deliverance of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. The first of these books reaches, according to Hottinger ^k, to A. M. 2985, and the latter is an history of four hundred and seventy two years. According to Bishop Usher ^l the former contains a course of 2990 years, and the latter of four hundred and seventy eight.

Gill: 1 Chronicles 9 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 9

The genealogies of the several tribes being given, according as they were written in the books of the kings of Israel, 1Ch 9:1, an account follows of those who first settled in Jerusalem after their return from the Babylonish captivity; of the Israelites, 1Ch 9:2, of the priests, 1Ch 9:10 of the Levites, and of the charge and offices of several of the priests and Levites, 1Ch 9:14, and the chapter is concluded with a repetition of the genealogy of the ancestors and posterity of Saul king of Israel, 1Ch 9:35.