1 Chronicles 24

1 CHRONICLES CHAPTER 24

Divisions of the Priests

• • • • On verses 1-19, ESV Study Bible explains, “David’s provision for the temple services included organizing the priests into 24 divisions selected by lot. A duty roster of 24 divisions provided for two weeks of service by each division, based on a lunar calendar of 48 weeks.”

• • • The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows:

• • • • Aaron’s sons were: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu died before their father and they didn’t have any sons, so Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests.

• • • • • Guzik reminds us, “God judged Nadab and Abihu because they dared to bring strange fire before the LORD, blaspheming God’s commandments for sacrifice (Leviticus 10:1-2).”

• • • • NLT Illustrated Study Bible adds, “All of Israel’s priests were descended from these two men.”

• • • • David, together with Zadok, who was a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelek, who was a descendant of Ithamar, separated them into divisions according to the assigned duties of their service. Since more leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, they were divided accordingly: Eleazar’s descendants had 16 heads of ancestral houses, and Ithamar’s descendants had 8 heads of ancestral houses.

• • • • • NLT Illustrated Study Bible writes, “Zadok and Ahimelech were the leaders of the two families of priests during David’s time (see 6:8; 18:16; 2 Sam 8:17).”

• • • • They divided them impartially by casting lots because there were officials of the Holy Place and officials of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants. The secretary, Shemaiah (who was Nethanel’s son) and a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king, the officials, Zadok the priest, Ahimelek (Abiathar’s son), and the leaders of the ancestral houses of the priests and of the Levites. One ancestral house was drawn from Eleazar, and the next from Ithamar.

• • • • • ESV Study Bible clarifies, “While David appointed the priestly divisions, duties were allocated impartially by the drawing of lots. The lots were drawn alternately between the families of Eleazar and of Ithamar for the first 16 lots; then the remaining eight assignments to duty fell automatically to the families of Eleazar.”

• • • • NLT Illustrated Study Bible notes, “The twenty-four divisions for the priests continued unchanged for many generations; the order of Abijah (24:10) is specifically mentioned in Luke 1:5, 8.”

• • • • • Guzik cites Payne, “With the passage of time, some of the Davidic courses died out or had to be consolidated with others, and new ones were formed to take their places. At the first return from exile in 527 b.c., only four courses were registered… By 520 twenty-two were again operative, (Nehemiah 12:1-7), but only half of them were the courses as originally organized by David.”

• • • • The first lot fell to Jehoiarib,

• • • • ESV Study Bible notes that, “Jehoiarib appears as the ancestor of Matthias in 1 Macc 2:1.”

• • • • the second to Jedaiah,

• • • • • the third to Harim,

• • • • • the fourth to Seorim,

• • • • • the fifth to Malkijah,

• • • • • the sixth to Mijamin,

• • • • • the seventh to Hakkoz,

• • • • ESV Study Bible notes, “See Ezra 2:61-63.

• • • • • the eighth to Abijah,

• • • • • ESV Study Bible notes, “An ancestor of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5).”

• • • • • the ninth to Jeshua,

• • • • • the tenth to Shekaniah,

• • • • • the eleventh to Eliashib,

• • • • • the twelfth to Jakim,

• • • • • the thirteenth to Huppah,

• • • • • the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,

• • • • • the fifteenth to Bilgah,

• • • • • the sixteenth to Immer,

• • • • • the seventeenth to Hezir,

• • • • • the eighteenth to Happizzez,

• • • • • the nineteenth to Pethahiah,

• • • • • the twentieth to Jehezkel,

• • • • • the twenty-first to Jakin,

• • • • • the twenty-second to Gamul,

• • • • • the twenty-third to Delaiah,

• • • • and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

• • • This was the order in which they carried out their assigned duties when they entered Yahweh’s house, in accordance with the procedure established for them by their ancestor Aaron, just as Yahweh the God of Israel had commanded him.

The Rest of the Levites

• • • • Pulpit Commentary explains, “The rest of the sons of Levi designated here are explained sufficiently clearly by ver. 30. They were those who were not of the sons of Aaron, not priests, but whose ‘office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord’ (1 Chronicles 23:28), for certain specified work, some of which was of the more menial character. These, of course, do not exhaust the whole of the non-priestly Levites; for we read distinctly in the following two chapters of other detachments of the non-priestly Levites, whose office was as singers, doorkeepers, and treasure-keepers. And this consideration may of itself possibly be a sufficient account of the absence of any of the family of Gershonites in the list of the present chapter, though they do appear to view for other work in 1 Chronicles 26:21, etc. Amram… Shubael. The latter of these two names marks the line of Moses, in his eider son, Gershon, whose son was Shebuel (1 Chronicles 23:15, 16), as the former is the name of the father of Moses, and eldest son of Kohath.”

• • • • • NLT Illustrated Study Bible remarks, “The other family leaders might refer to all those members of the tribe who were not priests yet who had already been documented (see 23:6-23), or it might refer to Levites not mentioned before. However, most of the families were already included in the previous list. Therefore, this list appears to be an independent, supplementary list that complements the previous register of Levites, perhaps bringing the earlier list up to date at a later time.”

• • • The rest of Levi’s descendants included:

• • • • • from Amram’s sons: Shubael.

• • • • • NET Bible notes, “This appears to be a variant of the name Shebuel (cf. 1 Chr 23:16 and 26:24).”

• • • • From Shubael’s sons: Jehdeiah.

• • • • • As for Rehabiah, from his sons: Ishiah was the first.

• • • • • From the Izharites: Shelomoth.

• • • • From Shelomoth’s sons: Jahath.

• • • • • Hebron’s sons: Jeriah was the first, Amariah was the second, Jahaziel was the third, and Jekameam was the fourth.

• • • • • NET Bible points out that the Masoretic doesn’t have “Hebron” here, “Most Hebrew mss omit ‘Hebron’ here, but see 1 Chr 23:19. The name is included in two Hebrew mss and some LXX mss.”

• • • • • Uzziel’s son: Micah.

• • • • • Again, Net Bible notes, “The Hebrew text has the plural ‘sons,’ but only one name appears after this.”

• • • • • From Micah’s sons: Shamir.

• • • • • From Micah’s brother: Ishiah.

• • • • • From Ishiah’s sons: Zechariah.

• • • • • Merari’s sons: Mahli and Mushi.

• • • • • Jaaziah’s son: Beno.

• • • • • NET Bible says, “Heb ‘the sons of Jaaziah, Beno.’ Apparently…(vno), which could be translated ‘his son,’ is a proper name here. The text, however, may be defective at this point; a list of Jaaziah’s sons may have been accidentally omitted. See v. 27.”

• • • • • Merari’s sons through Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zakkur, and Ibri.

• • • • • NET Bible reminds us of the alternative, “Or ‘from Jaaziah his son.’ See the note on ‘Beno’ in v. 26.”

• • • • From Mahli: Eleazar, who didn’t have any sons.

• • • • • From Kish: Jerahmeel.

• • • • • • NET Bible points out, “The Hebrew text has, ‘Belonging to [i.e., from] Kish, the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel.’ There appears to be a conflation of headings.”

• • • • Mushi’s sons: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

• • • • These were the descendants of Levi according to their ancestral houses. Like their relatives, Aaron’s descendants, they also cast lots in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelek, and the leaders of the ancestral houses of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest son cast lots along with those of the youngest.

• • • • NLT Illustrated Study Bible says, “The Levites were organized according to the same principle as the priests (24:5-6).”

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