XXVI. This chapter deals with (1) the classes of the porters, or warders (1 Chronicles 26:1); (2) the keepers of the treasures of the sanctuary (1 Chronicles 26:20); (3) the officials charged with external business, and chiefly scribes and judges (1 Chronicles 26:29).... [ Continue Reading ]
CONCERNING THE DIVISIONS OF THE PORTERS. — Literally, (_as_)_ to courses to porters._ (Comp. 1 Chronicles 23:6.) As many as 4,000 Levites were set apart for this function by the king’s orders. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 23:25.) OF THE KORHITES WAS MESHELEMIAH. — _To the Korhites_ (sons of Korah) belonged... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SONS OF MESHELEMIAH WERE. — Rather, _And Meshelemiah had sons, viz., Zechariah the firstborn._ (See 1 Chronicles 9:21, and 1 Chronicles 26:14 below.) The seven “sons” of Meshelemiah-Shallum represent seven guilds of porters.... [ Continue Reading ]
JEHOHANAN (_Jah bestowed_)_,_ the full form of Johanan, John. ELIOENAI. — Heb., Elyĕhô-çnai (_mine eyes are towards Jehovah._ Comp. Psalms 123), the full form of Elyô-çnai (1 Chronicles 3:24).... [ Continue Reading ]
MOREOVER THE SONS OF OBED-EDOM. — _And Obed-edom had sons._ Obed-edom (1 Chronicles 15:24) is called a son of Jeduthun in 1 Chronicles 16:38. This Jeduthun was not the Merarite chief musician, but a Korhite. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 26:1; 1 Chronicles 26:10; 1 Chronicles 26:19.)... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR GOD BLESSED HIM. — Comp. 1 Chronicles 13:14, where it is said, “God blessed the house of Obed-edom.” His sons’ names are all testimonies to his thankful recognition of the Divine favour. The firstborn is Shemaiah, _Jah hath heard_ (viz.) _the prayer for offspring;_ Jehozabad, _Jah hath bestowed,... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT RULED THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHER. — Rather, _The lords of their clan._ The word translated “that ruled,” is not a verb, but an abstract noun (_mimshâl_)_,_ like our expression “the authorities,” or “the government.” It only occurs besides in Daniel 11:3; Daniel 11:5. MIGHTY MEN OF VA... [ Continue Reading ]
AND OBED, ELZABAD. — This is probably corrupt, as the conjunction, which is used with the preceding names, is wanting between Obed and Elzabad. Probably Obed-Elzabad is a corruption of some single name, perhaps Obed-el: (comp. the Syriac and Arabic, _Ubdâêl_ and _Ufîdîlu_)_,_ or Abdiel (1 Chronicles... [ Continue Reading ]
ABLE MEN. — _Were men of power;_ in the original, a singular collective. FOR STRENGTH. — Literally, _In the strength, i.e.,_ ability. WERE THREESCORE AND TWO ... — A distinct sentence: _There were sixty and two_ (belonging) _to Obed-edom._ Perhaps the word _kol,_ “every,” has fallen out before _ish... [ Continue Reading ]
AND MESHELEMIAH. — This goes back to 1 Chronicles 26:2, and forms a kind of supplement to the statement there. The Korhite (_Kohathite_) porters make a total of 80 families; viz., 62 of Obed-edom, and 18 of Meshelemiah.... [ Continue Reading ]
ALSO HOSAH, OF THE CHILDREN OF MERARI. — Four chiefs of the sons of Hosah are named, and thirteen assigned as the total number of families belonging to this clan (1 Chronicles 26:10). Adding them to the 18 of Meshelemiah and the 62 of Obed-edom, we get a total of 93 principal porters, presiding over... [ Continue Reading ]
AMONG THESE WERE THE DIVISIONS OF THE PORTERS. — Rather, _To these, the courses_ (1 Chronicles 23:6) _of porters,_ that is, _to the heads of the men_ (1 Chronicles 24:4), were _watches_ or charges (1 Chronicles 25:8) _in common with their brethren_ (1 Chronicles 24:31), _to minister in the house of... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY CAST LOTS. — Compare 1 Chronicles 25:8. AS WELL THE SMALL AS THE GREAT... — Rather, _Small and great_ (senior and junior) _alike, according to their houses, for each gate._ The posts of the porters were assigned by lot, without distinction of rank between the various families. The Sanctuar... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LOT EASTWARD FELL TO SHELEMIAH. — The courses of the sons of Shelemiah (Meshelemiah 1 Chronicles 26:1; 1 Chronicles 26:9, and Shallum 9:19) received by lot the post of honour on the east side of the Sanctuary. THEN FOR ZECHARIAH HIS SON. — Heb., _And Zechariah his son, counselling with sagac... [ Continue Reading ]
TO OBED-EDOM (the lot fell) SOUTHWARD; AND TO HIS SONS (fell by lot) THE HOUSE OF ASUPPIM. — “Asuppim” occurs only in 1 Chronicles 26:15; 1 Chronicles 26:17 of this chapter, and in Nehemiah 12:25. It seems to mean _collections,_ stores of provisions and material for the use of the Temple and its min... [ Continue Reading ]
TO SHUPPIM AND HOSAH. — No such name as Shuppim (1 Chronicles 7:12) occurs among those of the Levitical warders as given above in 1 Chronicles 26:1. It is almost certainly a mistaken repetition of the last two syllables of Asuppim, which immediately precedes it. (The mistake is as old as the Vulgate... [ Continue Reading ]
EASTWARD WERE SIX LEVITES. — Literally, _To the east the Levites were six; to the northward for the day four; to the southward for the day four; and to the Stores two two_ (_i.e., two apiece,_ or _two by two_). We must supply _for the day_ in the first clause, with the LXX. TOWARD ASUPPIM TWO AND T... [ Continue Reading ]
AT (the) PARBAR WESTWARD. — See 2 Kings 23:11, where a plural _Parwârîm_ occurs. The meaning of the word is unknown. According to Gesenius (_Thesaur._ p. 1123), “Parwâr” is the right spelling; and the term answers to a Persian word denoting “summer-house,” _i.e.,_ a building open to light and air. H... [ Continue Reading ]
THESE ARE THE DIVISIONS OF THE PORTERS. — _These are the courses of the porters, belonging to the sons of the Korhite, and to the sons of Merari._ This concluding remark proves that only the Kohathite and Merarite divisions of Levi had part in the duty of Temple-warders. The Gershonites were not rep... [ Continue Reading ]
II. — THE KEEPERS OF THE TEMPLE TREASURES (1 Chronicles 26:20). (20) AND OF THE LEVITES, AHIJAH WAS OVER THE TREASURES OF THE HOUSE OF GOD. — Literally, _And the Levites_ — _Ahijah over the treasures,_... a strange beginning, for hitherto none but Levites have been in question. We should have expec... [ Continue Reading ]
These two verses contain one statement, viz : — _The sons of Laadan, i.e., The sons of the Gershonite belonging to Laadan, the heads of the houses of Laadan the Gershonite, Jehieli,_ that is, _the sons of Kehieli, Zetham, and Joel his brother,_ were _over the treasures of the house of Jehovah._ In o... [ Continue Reading ]
OF THE AMRAMITES, AND THE IZHARITES. — Or, _As for the Amramites,_ &c. This enumeration of the four great clans of Kohath is a sort of heading to the rest of the chapter, which relates to Amramites (1 Chronicles 26:24), Izharites (1 Chronicles 26:29), and Hebronites (1 Chronicles 26:30). (Comp. 1 Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SHEBUEL. — Rather, _Now Shebuel_ The office of comptroller-in-chief of the treasures was hereditary in the house of this Amramite. Hence he is called “ruler,” or rather _prince,_ (nâgîd, 1 Chronicles 5:2; 1 Chronicles 12:27; 1 Chronicles 13:1); both departments mentioned in 1 Chronicles 26:20 be... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS BRETHREN BY ELIEZER. — _And his_ (Shebuel’s) _brethren_ (kinsmen) _belonging to_ (the house of) _Eliezer_ (Moses’ second son) _were Rehabiah his_ (Eliezer’s) _son, and Jeshaiah his_ (Rehabiah’s) _son,_ &c. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 23:17.) The object of the verse is to show the extraction of Shelo... [ Continue Reading ]
WHICH SHELOMITH AND HIS BRETHEN. — _He, viz., Shelomoth and his kinsmen._ CHIEF OF FATHERS. — _Heads of the clans._ THE CAPTAINS OVER THOUSANDS. — Heb., _to the captains;_ a scribe’s error. CAPTAINS OF THE HOST. — Two are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 26:28, viz., Abner and Joab (see 2 Samuel 8:16; 1... [ Continue Reading ]
OUT OF THE SPOILS WON IN BATTLES. — The verse is an explanatory parenthesis. Literally, _Out of the wars, and out of the spoils;_ a hendiadys, _i.e., out of the spoils of war._ TO MAINTAIN THE HOUSE. — In 2 Kings 12:8 the verb means _to repair_ or _restore._ (Comp. Nehemiah 3:4; Nehemiah 3:7.) Here... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ALL THAT SAMUEL THE SEER. — The enumeration of those who had dedicated spoil is resumed from 1 Chronicles 26:26. The seer (_rô’èh_)_,_ the ancient term for prophet (_nâbî’_). 1 Samuel 9:9. AND WHOSOEVER HAD DEDICATED ANY THING. — These words point to a general prevalence of the practice of dedic... [ Continue Reading ]
III. THE LEVITES CHARGED WITH BUSINESS EXTERNAL TO THE SANCTUARY (1 Chronicles 26:29). (29) OF THE IZHARITES, CHENANIAH AND HIS SONS. — _As to the Izharites, Chenaniah,_ &c. Izhar was the second, as Hebron (1 Chronicles 26:30) was the third of the Kohathite stocks (1 Chronicles 23:12). THE OUTWARD... [ Continue Reading ]
AND OF THE HEBRONITES, HASHABIAH. — Rather, _As to the Hebronites, Hashabiah, and his kinsmen, sons of valour_ (1 Chronicles 26:7), _a thousand and seven hundred, were charged with_ (Heb., over) _the supervision of Israel on yonder side of the Jordan, westward, for all the work of Iahweh and for the... [ Continue Reading ]
AMONG THE HEBRONITES WAS JERIJAH THE CHIEF. — Rather, _To the Hebronites there was the head Jeriah_ (_as to the Hebronites, according to their registers, according to families, in the fortieth year of the reign of David, they were sought out; and there were found among them valiant warriors in Jazer... [ Continue Reading ]