6:1 (5:27) 1 The sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
6:2 The sons of Kohath:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
6:3 The children of Amram:
Aaron, Moses, and Miriam.
The sons of Aaron:
Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
6:4 Eleazar was the father of Phinehas, and Phinehas was the father of Abishua. 6:5 Abishua was the father of Bukki, and Bukki was the father of Uzzi. 6:6 Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah, and Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth. 6:7 Meraioth was the father of Amariah, and Amariah was the father of Ahitub. 6:8 Ahitub was the father of Zadok, and Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz. 6:9 Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah, and Azariah was the father of Johanan. 6:10 Johanan was the father of Azariah, who served as a priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. 2 6:11 Azariah was the father of Amariah, and Amariah was the father of Ahitub. 6:12 Ahitub was the father of Zadok, and Zadok was the father of Shallum. 6:13 Shallum was the father of Hilkiah, and Hilkiah was the father of Azariah. 6:14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak. 6:15 Jehozadak went into exile when the Lord sent the people of 3 Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
6:16 (6:1) 4 The sons of Levi:
Gershom, 5 Kohath, and Merari.
6:17 These are the names of the sons Gershom:
Libni and Shimei.
6:18 The sons of Kohath:
Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
6:19 The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites by their families. 6
6:20 To Gershom:
His son Libni, his son Jahath, his son Zimmah, 6:21 his son Joah, his son Iddo, his son Zerah, and his son Jeatherai.
6:22 The sons 7 of Kohath:
His son Amminadab, his son Korah, his son Assir, 6:23 his son Elkanah, his son Ebiasaph, his son Assir, 6:24 his son Tahath, his son Uriel, his son Uzziah, and his son Shaul.
6:25 The sons of Elkanah:
Amasai, Ahimoth, 8 6:26 his son Elkanah, 9 his son Zophai, his son Nahath, 6:27 his son Eliab, his son Jeroham, and his son Elkanah. 10
6:28 The sons of Samuel:
Joel the firstborn 11 and Abijah the second oldest.
6:29 The descendants of Merari:
Mahli, his son Libni, his son Shimei, his son Uzzah, 6:30 his son Shimea, his son Haggiah, and his son Asaiah.
6:31 These are the men David put in charge of music in the Lord’s sanctuary, 12 after the ark was placed there. 6:32 They performed music 13 before the sanctuary 14 of the meeting tent until Solomon built the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem. 15 They carried out their tasks according to regulations.
6:33 These are the ones who served along with their sons:
From the Kohathites:
Heman the musician, son of Joel, son of Samuel, 6:34 son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, 6:35 son of Zuph, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasai, 6:36 son of Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zephaniah, 6:37 son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, 6:38 son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel.
6:39 Serving beside him was his fellow Levite Asaph, 16 son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, 6:40 son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, 17 son of Malkijah, 6:41 son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, 6:42 son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, 6:43 son of Jahath, son of Gershom, son of Levi.
6:44 Serving beside them were their fellow Levites, the descendants of Merari, led by 18 Ethan, son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, 6:45 son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, 6:46 son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, 6:47 son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi.
6:48 The rest of their fellow Levites 19 were assigned to perform the remaining tasks at God’s sanctuary. 20 6:49 But Aaron and his descendants offered sacrifices on the altar for burnt offerings and on the altar for incense as they had been assigned to do in the most holy sanctuary. 21 They made atonement for Israel, just as God’s servant Moses had ordered. 22
6:50 These were the descendants of Aaron:
His son Eleazar, his son Phinehas, his son Abishua, 6:51 his son Bukki, his son Uzzi, his son Zerahiah, 6:52 his son Meraioth, his son Amariah, his son Ahitub, 6:53 his son Zadok, and his son Ahimaaz.
6:54 These were the areas where Aaron’s descendants lived: 23
The following belonged to the Kohathite clan, for they received the first allotment: 24
6:55 They were allotted Hebron in the territory of Judah, as well as its surrounding pasturelands. 6:56 (But the city’s land and nearby towns were allotted to Caleb son of Jephunneh.) 6:57 The descendants of Aaron were also allotted as cities 25 of refuge Hebron, Libnah and its pasturelands, Jattir, Eshtemoa and its pasturelands, 6:58 Hilez 26 and its pasturelands, Debir and its pasturelands, 6:59 Ashan 27 and its pasturelands, 28 and Beth Shemesh and its pasturelands.
1 sn Beginning with 6:1, the verse numbers through 6:81 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 6:1 ET = 5:27 HT, 6:2 ET = 5:28 HT, 6:16 ET = 6:1 HT, etc., through 6:81 ET = 6:66 HT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
2 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
3 tn The words “the people of” are added in the translation for clarification.
4 sn Chapter 6 of 1 Chr begins here in the Hebrew text; 6:16-81 ET = 6:1-66 HT. See the note at 6:1.
5 tn The name “Gershom” (also in vv. 17, 20, 43, 62, 71) appears as “Gershon” in 1 Chr 6:1.
6 tn Heb “by their fathers.”
7 tn Or perhaps, “descendants,” since the list differs from the one in v. 18.
8 tn Heb “and Achimoth.”
9 tc The consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib) has, “Elkanah, his son, Elkanah.” The marginal reading (Qere) is “Elkanah, the sons of Elkanah.” The text probably originally read simply, “Elkanah his son.”
10 tc After the last named individual (“Elkanah” in v. 27) some LXX
11 tc The Hebrew text lacks the name יוֹאֵל (yo’el, “Joel”), which has probably dropped out due to homoioteleuton (note the last three letters of the preceding name שְׁמוּאֵל (shÿmuel, “Samuel”).
12 tn Heb “house.”
13 tn Heb “they were serving…with music.”
14 tn Or traditionally “tabernacle.”
15 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
16 tn Heb “and his brother Asaph, the one who stood at his right hand.”
17 tc A few Hebrew
18 tn Heb “and the sons of Merari, their brothers, on the left.”
19 tn Heb “their brothers, the Levites.”
20 tn Heb “were assigned to all the work of the tabernacle of the house of God.”
21 tn Heb “for all the work of the holy of holies.”
22 tn Heb “making atonement for Israel according to all which Moses the servant of God commanded.”
23 tn Heb “and these were their dwelling places according to their encampments in their territory to the sons of Aaron.”
24 tn Heb “to the clan of the Kohathites for to them was the lot.”
25 tn The parallel account in Josh 21:13 has the singular “city,” which apparently refers only to Hebron.
26 tc The MT reads “Hilez” here; the place name appears as “Holon” in Josh 21:15.
27 tc The MT reads “Ashan” here; the place name appears as “Ain” in Josh 21:16.
28 tc The LXX and Syriac (following the parallel list in Josh 21:16) add “Juttah and its pasturelands” here. Cf. NAB “Jetta”; also NIV, NCV, NLT “Juttah.”