1 Chronicles 27:25-31

22. THE STEWARDS OF THE TREASURIES (1 Chronicles 27:25-31)

TEXT

1 Chronicles 27:25. And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah: 26. and over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub: 27. and over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: and over the increase of the vineyards for the winecellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite: 28. and over the olive-trees and the sycamore-trees that were in the lowland was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash: 29. and over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: 30. and over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. 31. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David'S.

PARAPHRASE

1 Chronicles 27:25. Azmaveth (son of Adi-el) was the chief financial officer in charge of the palace treasuries, and Jonathan (son of Uzziah) was chief of the regional treasuries throughout the cities, villages, and fortresses of Israel. 26. Ezri (son of Chelub) was manager of the laborers on the king's estates. 27. And Shime-i from Ramath had the oversight of the king's vineyards; and Zabdi from Shiphma was responsible for his wine production and storage. 28. Baal-hanan from Gedera was responsible for the king's olive yards and sycamore trees in the lowlands bordering Philistine territory, while Joash had charge of the supplies of olive oil. 29. Shitrai from Sharon was in charge of the cattle on the Plains of Sharon, and Shaphat (son of Adlai) had charge of those in the valleys. 30. Obil, from the territory of Ishmael, had charge of the camels, and Jehdeiah from Meronoth had charge of the donkeys. 31. The sheep were under the care of Jaziz the Hagrite. These men were King David's overseers.

COMMENTARY

The stewardship of the treasures of the king, himself, was assigned to Azmaveth. Jonathan was chargeable for the grain, fruit, produce of the agricultural operation. Ezri had charge of the field laborers and the actual preparation and care of the soil. Shimei was assigned to manage the production of grapes. Zabdi was a specialist in the storage of the vintage. Baal-hanan was the chief officer responsible for olive groves and sycamore trees which produced a kind of edible fig. The prophet, Amos, dressed sycamore trees (Amos 7:14). The storage of olive oil was Joash's field of service. Sharon was a beautiful plain and provided good pasture between Mt. Carmel and Joppa. Shitrai specialized in animal husbandry in that district. Other valley regions and the oversight of flocks and grazing fell to the direction of Shaphat. Obil was the camel man. The name Obil means camel. Jehdeiah had charge of the asses. This assignment was very important because the mule was the royal carriage. Jaziz was David's steward responsible for the king's sheep and goats. There were many departments in David's government. He was careful to see that someone was responsible for every area of concern.