1 Chronicles 24:1-31

16. THE CLASSES OF PRIESTS AND LEVITES
(Chapter 24)

TEXT

1 Chronicles 24:1. And the courses of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office. 3. And David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service. 4. And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar then of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers-' houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers-' houses, eight. 5. Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for there were princes of the sanctuary, and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. 6. And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, and the princes and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers-' houses of the priests and of the Levites; one fathers-' house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.

7. Now the first lot came forth 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 Jehezkel, 17. the one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul, 18. the three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah. 19. This was the ordering of them in their service, to come into the house of Jehovah according to the ordinance given unto them by Aaron their father, as Jehovah, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
20. And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. 21. Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief. 22. of the Izharites, Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23. And the sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. 24. The sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. 25. The brother of Micah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. 26. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Jaaziah: Beno. 27. The sons of Merari: of Jaaziah, Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri. 28. Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. 29. Of Kish; the sons of Kish: Jerahmeel. 30. And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after their fathers-' houses. 31. These likewise cast lots even as their brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers-' houses of the priests and of the Levites; the fathers-' house of the chief even as those of his younger brother.

PARAPHRASE

1 Chronicles 24:1. The priests (the descendants of Aaron) were placed into two divisions named after Aaron's sons, Eleazar and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were also the sons of Aaron, but they died before their father did and had not children; so only Eleazar and Ithamar were left to carry on. 3. David consulted with Zadok, who represented the Eleazar clan, and with Ahimelech, who represented the Ithamar clan; then he divided Aaron's descendants into many groups to serve at various times. 4. Eleazar's descendants were divided into sixteen groups and Ithamar's into eight (for there was more leadership ability among the descendants of Eleazar). 5. All tasks were assigned to the various groups by coin-toss so that there would be no preference, for there were many famous men and high officials of the Temple in each division. 6. Shemaiah, a Levite and the son of Nethanel, acted as recording secretary and wrote down the names and assignments in the presence of the king and of these leaders; Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the priests and Levites. Two groups from the division of Eleazar and one from the division of Ithamar were assigned to each task.

7-18. The work was assigned (by coin-toss) in this order: First, the group led by Jehoiarib; Second, the group led by Jedaiah; Third, the group led by Harim; Fourth, the group led by Se-orim; Fifth, the group led by Malchijah; Sixth, the group led by Mijamin; Seventh, the group led by Hakkoz; Eighth, the group led by Ahijah; Ninth, the group led by Jeshua; Tenth, the group led by Shecaniah; Eleventh, the group led by Eliashib; Twelfth, the group led by Jakim; Thirteenth, the group led by Huppah; Fourteenth, the group led by Jeshebe-ab; Fifteenth, the group led by Bilgah; Sixteenth, the group led by Immer; Seventeenth, the group led by Hezir; Eighteenth, the group led by Happizzez; Nineteenth, the group led by Pethahiah; Twentieth, the group led by Jehezkel; Twenty-first, the group led by Jachin; Twenty-second, the group led by Gamul; Twenty-third, the group led by Delaiah; Twenty-fourth, the group led by Maaziah. 19. Each group carried out the Temple duties as originally assigned by God through their ancestor Aaron. 20. These were the other descendants of Levi: Amram; his descendant Shuba-el; and Shubael's descendant Jehdeiah; 21. the Rehabiah group, led by his oldest son Isshiah; 22. the Izhar group consisting of Shelamoth and his descendant Jahath. 23. The Hebron group: Jeriah, Hebron's oldest son; Amariah, his second son; Jahaziel, his third son; Jekameam, his fourth son. 24, 25. The Uzziel group was led by his son Micah and his grandsons Shamir and Isshiah, and by Isshiah's son Zechariah. 26, 27. The Merari group was led by his sons: Mahli and Mushi. (Ja-aziah's group, led by his son Beno, included his brothers Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.) 28. Mahli's descendants were Eleazar, who had no sons, 29. and Kish, among whose sons was Jerahmeel. 30. The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the descendants of Levi in their various clans. 31. Like the descendants of Aaron, they were assigned to their duties by coin-toss without distinction as to age or rank. It was done in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the leaders of the priests and the Levites.

COMMENTARY

David requested the advice and assistance of Zadok and Ahimelech in setting up the courses of the Levites for Temple service. Four sons were born to Aaron. Nadab and Abihu had been stricken down by Jehovah and they had left no sons. Eleazar and Ithamar remained and Jehovah gave them sons. In David's day Zadok represented the line of Eleazar and Abiathar (Ahimelech's son) represented Ithamar's descendants. In organizing the courses of priests in the high priestly line sixteen courses were from the line of Eleazar and eight courses were lineal descendants from Ithamar. The distinction between princes of the sanctuary and princes of God is difficult. The suggestion has been made that the princes of God refer only to the regular high priests. Sacred lots were cast in determining the divisions and Shemaiah served by keeping the written record listing the personnel of each course.

The names of the persons who were the chief leaders of the twenty four courses are listed in 1 Chronicles 24:7-19. Some of the descendants of Jehoiarib (Joiarib) were among those returning from the Babylonian exile about 536 B.C. (Nehemiah 11:10). Jedaiah is also mentioned later in the same connection (Ezra 2:36). Sons of Harim in Ezra 2:39 and Nehemiah 7:35 would relate to this present reference. Malchijah is named in Nehemiah 11:12 and Jeremiah 21:1. Abijah, who headed the eighth course is named in Nehemiah 10:7 and Luke 1:5. The father of John the Baptist served in this course. References in the lists of those who returned from Babylonian captivity include the people of Jeshua. Descendants of some of the other heads of these Levitical courses are named in the lists in Ezra and Nehemiah. The sacred lot by which these divisions were determined may have involved the Urim and the Thummim or a similar instrument. In the using of the lot, the leaders did not simply trust mere chance. This was David's way of emphasizing the fact that Jehovah made the decision as to which persons should be in each course of priests.

Assignments for the rest of the sons of Levi are detailed in 1 Chronicles 24:20-31. These are the Levites who were not of the high priestly order. They could not officiate at the altar and do that kind of priestly work. These Levites had obligations as musicians, doorkeepers, and Temple guards. Jehdeiah and Isshiah were the chieftains over the rest of the sons of Levi. These leaders were descended from Amram. David, along with Zadok and Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, cast lots to determine how and when these men should serve.