| << 1 Chron 22 | |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
I Chronicles 23-25
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Let's get an overview of the division of the Levites (I Chronicles 23)
1 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.
2 ¶ And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand.
4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the LORD, six thousand were officers and judges,
5 four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”
6 ¶ Also David separated them into divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 ¶ Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan.
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei.
11 Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father’s house.
12 ¶ The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all.
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever.
14 Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses were Gershon and Eliezer.
16 Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel was the first.
17 Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first.
19 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.
21 ¶ The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.
23 The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.
24 ¶ These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and above.
25 ¶ For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”;
26 and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.”
27 For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above;
28 because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God,
29 both with the showbread and the fine flour for the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes;
30 to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening;
31 and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the LORD;
32 and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the LORD.
Back in I Chronicles 22 (see notes) David assigns his son, Solomon, the task of building the temple. There is no mention in Chronicles made of the attempted hijacking of the throne by Adonijah that took place while David was on his death bed found in I Kings 1 (see notes).
Levites (descendants of Levi) were consecrated to God in place of Israel's firstborn and given tabernacle tasks back in Numbers 3 (see notes). While they had tabernacle/temple duties, all Levites were not priests; only descendants of Aaron fulfilled that role. For the newly-built temple in Jerusalem, the Levites are organized and placed in their positions of responsibility for the purpose of maintaining temple worship in Jerusalem for all of Israel.
In chapters 23-26 we see David's division of the Levites into specific duties - all 38,000 of the men.
These folks, all Levites, were assigned duties based upon their clans within the Tribe of Levi. There were no tryouts; all 38,000 Levites were assigned duties working for the government.
So, how old do you have to be to serve as a priest or assume the duties of a Levite? That age had been established at 30 back in Numbers 4 (see notes) by Moses...and you got to retire at age 50. Now 30 was the age minimum for moving the Tabernacle back then. The minimum age of 25 was established later in Numbers 8 (see notes) when the Tabernacle was being dedicated as the required age for Levite service. David decrees a change in this age requirement right here in I Chronicles 23:24, 27. It would appear from context that the difference between wilderness service and temple service made it feasible for younger men to serve. Since the age of manhood in Israel began at 20, these Levites were now able to serve at that age also in the new temple. Incidentally, this is the age of service observed by the Levites who returned from Babylonian exile in Ezra 3:8 (see notes) as well.
The origin of the rotating shift (I Chronicles 24)
1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
2 And Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests.
3 Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service.
4 ¶ There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar.
5 Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar.
6 And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites, one father’s house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.
7 ¶ Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
8 the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
9 the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
10 the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
11 the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah,
12 the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
13 the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
14 the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
15 the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
16 the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel,
17 the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
18 the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
19 ¶ This was the schedule of their service for coming into the house of the LORD according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.
20 ¶ And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.
21 Concerning Rehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah.
22 Of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath.
23 Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
24 Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir.
25 The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.
26 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno.
27 The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.
28 Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
29 Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerahmeel.
30 ¶ Also the sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.
31 ¶ These also cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their younger brethren.
Ever wonder where shift work came from? Maybe here. The temple Levites are divided up into 24 shifts in this chapter. Of the Levites, 24 courses of priests (direct descendants of Aaron) were chosen, 16 from the descendants of Aaron's son Eleazar and 8 from the the descendants of Aaron's son Ithamar. They are named in verses 1-19. The phrase "the rest of the sons of Levi" in verse 20 identifies the remaining Levites, who were not descended from Aaron himself and served as temple assistants. Verses 20-31 describe their allocation into divisions that corresponded to the priestly courses listed in verses 1-19. We're not sure how often these shifts rotated in the beginning, but they had specified periods of responsibilities in the temple itself. However, we do get a little bit of insight into how this worked during the time when John the Baptist and Jesus were born. We see in Luke 1 (see notes) that Zacharias was working shift work as a priest when he received the prophetic news of the birth of his son, John the Baptist.
Incidentally, verse 2 alludes to the death of Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu, back in Leviticus 10 (see notes). That information is given to explain why only descendants from Aaron's other two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, are named here.
And then the musicians (I Chronicles 25)
1 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was:
2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king.
3 Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD.
4 Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth.
5 All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
6 ¶ All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the authority of the king.
7 So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.
8 ¶ And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the student.
9 ¶ Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah, him with his brethren and sons, twelve;
10 the third for Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
11 the fourth for Jizri, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
12 the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
13 the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
14 the seventh for Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
15 the eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
16 the ninth for Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
17 the tenth for Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
18 the eleventh for Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
19 the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
20 the thirteenth for Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
21 the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
22 the fifteenth for Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
23 the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
24 the seventeenth for Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
25 the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
26 the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
27 the twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
28 the twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
29 the twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
30 the twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
31 the twenty-fourth for Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
These included the prophets. There were 3 categories here, the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun. Their names keep showing up in the introductions to the Psalms. The sons of Asaph prophesied under the direction of the king. The sons of Jeduthun "prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD." Heman's kids (including 3 daughters) provided the music. Keep in mind, 38,000 Levites altogether were actually government officials in Israel supported by Israel. The religious life of Israel was their job.