1 Chronicles 23

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. he had no other son; but a great many grandsons, who are frequently called sons. But the sons of ltehabiah were very many. Which in the Hebrew is thus expressed, were highly multiplied. From whence the Targum took a conceit (as several Jewish doe^ tors have done) that they were multiplied to above six hundred thousand: merely, because the same phrase is used of the children of Israel in Exod. i. 7. that they multiplied exceedingly in Egypt; that is, to this number, Exod. xii. 17. Whereby they imagine God fulfilled his intentions to Moses, if he wduld not intercede for the Israelites, that he would make him a great nation. But these are idle speculations; wherein they abound, since they were abandoned by God." chap. 6.) though their doctors assert it to. explain that precept, Deut. xxviii. C.

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*JO when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. , Declared him his successor, but did not resign.his throne to him, nor make him his coadjutor. jlV O W these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons qf Aaron; Nadab and Abihu; Eleazar and Ithamar.] To avoid all confusion, now that they were much increased, David distributed the priests, as he had done. the Levites, into several courses: which, no. doubt, was bya Divine direction, as well as the other; or lather, there was, greater reason he shouldhave God’s order for It: they being higher ministers of his than.the Levites were.

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And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. It is likely he took this opportunity to declare before.them all, that Solomon should be king after his decease. But the principal end of this assembly was, that he might acquaint them with anew regulation of the priests and Levites in their ministration: which he intended to establish by a Divine direction, as we Tead xxviii. 12, 13. This was a work becoming his elder years, after he had long.observed and. weighed the inconveniences of their present method, and the necessity of putting things into a better order. For nothing is more useful or more beautiful than good order, as Strigelius observes out.of Xonophon’in his (Economics.. And therefore the church of God was highly obliged to David, for distinguishing the degrees and offices of the Levites: appointing some to.take care of the Divine rites and ceremonies (as his words are); others to govern the public judgments; others to watch and guard the temple; others to.celebrate the praises of God with singing and instruments of music. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar und Ithamar executed the priest’s. office.] From these two all the families of the priests descended, who were now to be disposed into a regular performance of their duty- » vP’ j

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Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward. So Moses appointed, Numb. iv. 3. for then they were come to their full strength, and fit for service: which lasted till they were fifty years old, and no longer. For thenthey generally began,to decay, and grew less able to bear burdens: which was their work then, to carry the tabernacle when it was to be removed, and all the utensils belonging to it. Which work being now at an end, they seem to have continued till their death. to discharge their business at the temple; which was more easy, after that was!built, and required less labour. And their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand:] The priests are not included in this number: which is so great, that it may very well incline us to think, that many of them served rather for state and ornament, than for necessity. Abarbinel here cries out, " Sec whether in all the countries there were, so many singers and musicians; and other officers employed in their temples, as there were in the house of the sanctuary. Who ever saw the like? Who over beheld such sanctity, such ornaments, and such praising of God V A COMxAlENTARY UPON [chap. xxnr* And David distributed them both, Zadok, of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, of the sons of Ithamar J] These two (Zadok and Ahimelech) were the chief persons, in David’s days, of the posterity of those sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar,… According to their offices in their service.] He determined, when they and those priests who depended on them should perform their office in the temple-service.

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Of which twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord. These were employed about the sacrifices and offerings, which they killed, and flayed, and washed: and served the priests in all other parts of their ministry about them. “Winch being very numerous, there were the greater number of Levites to attend tiiis work; viz. a thousand every week: for they took their courses, which being twenty and four, in so many weeks they came about again. (Seo their business, ver. And six thousand were officers and judges.] God appointed judges and officers to be settled in all their gates; (Dcut. xvi. 18.) but many think, there had been a long neglect in this matter: and that David himself could not restore their judicatures to their ancient order and dignity, till the latter end of his reign. For being hindered by perpetual wars, he was forced to be content with such judicatures as had been wont to be executed (which in many things was very defective), only reserving appeals to himself, in causes of great moment, (2 Sam. xv. 2.) But now he takes care of this so necessary a part of government, and having numbered the Levites, appointed them their certain business, which had been before unsettled and undetermined: employing them both in ecclesiastical and civil affairs, as Bertram discourses in his book de Republ. * Jud. p. 124. But a late writer makes a doubt, whether the Israelites observed that command of Moses at all, when they came into the land of Canaan; the heads of their tribes taking upon them, for a long time, to determine all controverted matters. But now the Levites were constituted, in the cities where they dwelt, to be both officers and judges. All agree, that shoterim commonly signify such officers as execute the sentence of the judges. (See my notes upon Deut. xvi. 18. and other places.) But’here, being placed before judges, we are not to take them for such inferior person^, but for men of greater authority; whom the Targum calls governors, such as our justices of the peace are, who saw good order kept according to the law: as the judges were such as decided causes in their several courts. (See Campegius Vitringa, in his book dc Synag. Veteri, lib. i. par. ii. cap. 8.) And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided.] Accordingly David divided them into certain classes and courses, as the TaTgum expounds it; * Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar, according to the house of their fathers.] He appointed therefore sixteen courses of the sons of Eleazar, under as many heads of their families: and half as many of the posterity of Ithamar. Which Kimchi, and other Hebrew doctors, explain in this manner; In the days of Moses there were but eight courses in the whole: four of Eleazar’s family, and four of Ithamar’s. But in Samuel’s days they were grown to sixteen: eight of the one, and as many of the other. But in the end of David’s reign they were enlarged to twenty-four courses; two-thirds of which were assigned to the sons of Eleazar, because they were more numerous than the other: and the sons 6f*Ithamar continued as. they were before; having eight courses. But the Holy Scriptures never mention any settled courses till this time, (as Dr, Lightfoot observes in his Temple Service,

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Moreover, four thousand were porters. Who were to take care that no unclean person entered into the temple; or any thing brought into it which ought not to be there; or any thing carried out of it which belonged only to that place: and that nothing was done about the door of the court which might disturb the people at their prayers. And four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made (said David) to praise therewith.] Thus he hath given an account how the whole thirty-eight thousand (mentioned ver. 3.) were disposed of to their offices. And this last four thousand had some among them that were more eminent than the rest; being their instructors, both in singing and playing upon instruments: and perhaps some of them, being very skilful in music, contrived instruments, und commanded them to be made. Ver. G. And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.] They took their turns of waiting, some going off, and others coming on, to perform all the forementioned duties, which David, the man of God, ordered, (as he speaks, 2 Chron. viii. 14.) by the direction of Gad and of Nathan the prophets, who had a command for it from God, as we read in this book, xxix. 25. Thus were they divided by lot.’] That there Ynight be no occasion for complaint: when all was ordered by a Divine disposition, according to very ancient custom. For the choice of persons by lot, into sacred offices, was used from the beginning of the world, as Grotius observes, in his book Do Imper. Sum. Potest, circa Sacra, cap. 10. sect 5. One sort with another.] Both the sons of Eleazar and of Ithamar were thus chosen, who should wait together. For the governors of the sanctuary.] The words in the Hebrew arc, share kodesh: which signify the principal ministers about holy things. And governors of the house of God.] There is no word for house in the Hebrew; where we only read sJutreElohim: which seem to signify the chief judges. Were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.] These two families had obtained the chief functions both in the temple, andm the civil government: \vherein they could not be distributed so well any way as by lot; without danger of envy among themselves.

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And Shemaiah the son of Nethaiieel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and theprinces, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the. chief of the fathers of the priests arid Levites’.] In perpetual memory of the thing (as Conradus Pellicanus thinks), this Divine writer sets down the name of the public notary, by whom their names were written, and put into the urn, out of which the lots were to be drawn. * Which, that there might be no suspicion of fraud, were drawn before the king, the princes, bbth’the chief priests (the highpriest and the sagan), and before the chief persons of the several families of priests and Levites. Whence it is reasonable to conclude, that David did not make this regulation by his mere royal power, but by a Divine direction. Which he had in this, as in the order he gave about the temple; (chap, xxviii.) and he seems here not to have acted by an absolute authority, but to have advised with thehighpriest, arid other persons of great note, how to proceed. One principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.] These words are something obscure: but the meaning is, that one of the principal families of Eleazar was first taken, and then one of Ithamar’s;*and after that, one of Eleazar’s again, and so by turns till all was done: that is, till there were eight of each. After which, those of Eleazar alone were distributed under their several heads. r

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Of the Gershonites were Laadan and Shimei. Who were their immediate ancestors is not said, nor is it material to be known. Noiv the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah.] The first lot that was drawii out of the urn had the name of Jehoiarib upon it: so that his family had the precedence, and waited in the first place. This was esteemed a great honour; for Josephus reckons himself noble, not only because he was descended 1% hpiwv, from the priests, but Ik tJjc TrptoTrje l<ptfitpl$o$ twv UKoaiTtaaapcov, from the first course ofthefour-and-twenty. For this made a great difference: Mattathias also; the father of the Maccabees, descended from Jehoiarib, as we read 1 Mac. ii. 54.

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Tlie sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel,and Zetham, and Joel, three. It is likely they were not his sons, but some of his posterity: for so the word sons signifies in the verses following. The third to Ilarim, the fourth to Seorim.] I have nothing to observe concerning these, and the rest that follow to ver. 19. but only that Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, was of the eighth’ course of these priests; viz, that of Abijah, mentioned ver. 10. as we read in the first of St. CHAP. XXIV.] THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. Luke. For, as Josephus testifies, this order of the courses continued till his time; that is, till the destruction of the second temple., ■

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The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. Tliese were the chief of the fathers, of iMadan. This Shimei was descended from one of the three sons of Laadan.

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And the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. That is, the sons of that Shimei, brother of Laadan, mentioned ver. 7.

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And Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second. He is called Zina in the foregoing verse. But Jeush and Beriah had not many sons.] As their two elder brothers had. Tlierefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father’s house.] They were accounted but as one family, and not called by t the name of their, fathers, Jeush and Beriah, but by the name of Shimei their grandfather.

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The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel,four. See Exod. vi. 18.

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Tlie sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses. See Exod. vi. 18. And Aaron was. separated, that he should sanctify tlie most holy things, he and his sons for.ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.] The business. of Aaron and his sons was.very different from the rest of, the Levites: for they were set apart for the special services of the priesthood; to sanctify, that is, to, minister in a holy manner the most holy things. His sons burnt incense every day; and the high-priest went into the most holy place on the. great day of expiation, with the, blood of expiation: and when he came out, blessed the people, r as the priest who offered incense did every day,.at. tho conclusion of the sacrifice.

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Now, concerning Moses, the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. Though Moses was so great a man, the supreme governor of the people while he lived, and had such familiarity with the Divine Majesty, yet his sons were not advanced to any dignity, but he left them simple Levites, not so much as priests. Such was the wonderful humility and modesty of this holy man, that he did not aim at great things for his posterity. Which perhaps is here noted, that none might presume, because of their noble descent, to meddle with the priesthood, which was settled in the family of Aaron; as the civil government of the people was left to Joshua, a man.of another tribe, and Moses’s servant. I

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The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. See Exod. xviii. 3, 4. Ver. 1G. Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel teas the chief] Who is called Shohael, xxiv. 20.

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The sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons. The word for chief in the Hebrew is, the first: that is, the first-born, after whom

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Of the sons oflzhar; Shelomith the chief. Who is called Shelomoth, xxiv. 22.

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Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth: Tliese were the orderings of them in their service, to come into the house of the Lord, according to their man” tier, under Aaron their father.] Under the inspection of the high-priest, who, being the successor of Aaron, is called by his name. He took care that this order should be observed in such manner, as is here prescribed: none of them anticipating their course, nor thrusting in themselves to attend before their time, but waiting till their time came. And then every course served a week, coming in on the sabbath; and going out the next before the burning of the incense at the morning sacrifice, when the shew-bread was set on the table, as Sealiger observes out of the Jewish writers, in his notes upon tho Fragments at the end of his book De Emend. Temporum, p. 54. Upon the three great festivals, indeed, when all priests, as well as others, were bound to appear before God, they came out of their course, and, that they might not be idle, officiated in such things as properly belonged to those solemnities. • But the ordinary business, for the daily burnt-sacrifice, and the free-will-offerings, was managed by those only whose course it was to wait. And thus the Jews understand those words, Dcut. xviii. 6, 7. The Levite (i. e. the priests who were of that tribe) that shall come to the place which the Lord his God shall choose (that is, at the three solemn feasts), then he shall minister in the house of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites do (which is meant of the priests, for they only ministered before God, not the Levites); they shall have like portions to eat; that is, of the sacrifices which were then offered at those solemn times they were to have their share, with tho rest of the priests then in attendance, but the Levites did not eat of them: beside tliat which cometh by the sale of his patrimony; or, as it is in the Hebrew, by the sale of his fathers. That is, say they, except the portion of the daily sacrifices, and free-will-offerings, which by the ordinance of their fathers, Moses and Aaron, belonged only to those priests, who were. in their ordinary attendance in their week. As the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.’] By his servant David.

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Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the first, and Jesiah the second, And the rest of the sons of Levi were these: Of the sons of Amram; Shubael: of the sons of Shubael; JeJideiah. Now he speaks of the rest of the Levites, who were not priests, who are mentioned in the foregoing chap, xxiii. 16, 17, &c. and here named again to distinguish them from the priests, and to shew that they also had their places assigned them by lot, ver. 31. I have nothing to note concerning those that follow between this verse and that, but only this: that several are mentioned as descended from Merari, who are not mentioned in the foregoing chapters, nor any where else. For which, no question, the author of this book had good authority, though we cannot, without the help of such records as he perused, give an account of it. (See Buxtorfs Anticritica, p. 1014.)

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The sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar and Kish.

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And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters; and their brethren the sons of Kish took them. Their cousins married them, as the Targum expounds it.

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Hie sons ofMushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

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Tliese are the sons of Levi, after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they tvere counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upwards.] They were numbered twice, as they were in*the time of Moses: the first time all from thirty, the second time from twenty. And these here mentioned were of the last sort; who were fit to minister in some things belonging to the service of the Levites, at twenty years old: though they were not employed in the rest till thirty/ See upon Numb. viii. 24. where they are ordered to begin at five-and-twenty; though they did not completely minister till thirty.

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For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever. That is, constantly attend upon the service of God there settled. Which was the reason for this new order, that the Levites should begin their ministry at twenty years of age: because Israel having rest was very much multiplied, and there being greater resort to Jerusalem, the Levites had more work to do at the temple. But it must here be noted, that those words, for ever, suppose their obedience to God, (as in chap, xxviii. 4.) in which if they failed, they were not to continue in Jerusalem, but be expelled.out of it. Ver. 2G. And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof] It should rather be translated, As concerning the Levites: they were no longer to have that burdensome work of carrying the tabernacle and its vessels when they were removed: but had a much easier service; which they might begin sooner than formerly: it requiring not so much strength of body, as readiness of mind.

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For, by the last words of David, the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above. This was his Digitized I last will about this matter; after he had well considered what they had to do, and what number was necessary to perform every part of this duty. For some of which they were able enough at twenty years of age: when they might be called probationers till they were thirty. And there would not have been a sufficient number for all the work, unless they had come to it at the age of twenty.

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Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron. Which the Levites were able to do at the age of twenty years. To attend, for instance, at the tabernacle; but not to carry the ark or the tabernacle. For the service of the house of the Lord.] This is a general expression of what they were to do; the particulars of which follow: to assist in the courts, and in the chambers, in, making clean the holy vessels, and cleansing the courts, and taking care nothing was wanting for the service of the sanctuary.

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Both for the shew-bread, and for the fine flour, for the meat-offering, and the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pari, and for that which is fried. They were to prepare the shew-bread, to be set on the table every week by the priests; and to see that there was a just quantity of fine flour for the meat-offering morning and evening; and that the unleavened cakes* were rightly made: with every thing that was to be baked or fried. Of which in the second chapter of Leviticus. And for all manner of measure and size.] They were to see also that the just measure for things liquid, and the just size for things dry, were exaetly’kept, and not altered. For all measures and weights (by which all that were used in the country were to be made) were kept in the sanctuary, in the custody of the Levites. Hence it is, that we read often of the shekel of the sanctuary: not that there were two sorts of shekels, one sacred, and another civil; but because weights and measures were reckoned inter sacra, among holy things: the examples, as I said, of them all being kept in the sanctuary. And so they were in the temples of the pagans, and afterward in Christian churches: as appears by Justinian’s Novels, exxviii. cap. 15. So Villalpandus and our bishop Walton have observed. Unto which may be added, that Constantine the Great had gone before him in this: for he commanded the cubit whereby the Egyptians measured the increase of Nilus, and was kept in the’ temple of Serapis, to be translated into one of the Christian churches, that there it might be preserved the safer by true religion; as both Socrates and Sozomen testify in their Ecclesiastical History, lib. i. cap. 18. lib. v. cap. 3. Julian, indeed, caused it to be restored to Serapis: but that temple being burnt, Ruffinus tells us the church had it again in its possession. All which shews; that this ancient piece of religion, to preserve weights and measures as sacred things, continued after the time of David; and perhaps was be-.fore it.

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And to stand every morning to thank and praise - the Lord, and likewise at even. At the time when the priests offered the morning and even sacrifice.

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And to offer all burnt-sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number. It was no part of their business to offer burnt-sacrifices, which belonged to the priests alone. Therefore the meaning is, to praise and give thanks to God at the offering of sacrifices at those solemnities, as well as every morning A COMMENTARY UPON [chap. XXIV, and even; and to sec there were a just number of sacrifices then offered as the law prescribed. According to the order. commanded unto them, continually before the Lord.] That is, in their courses, wherein they were commanded to wait continually when their turn came* Tliese likewise cast lots over against their brethren the sons of Aaron, in the presence of David the king, and Zadok and Ahimelech, and the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites.’] There was the like solemnity used in their distribution, as there was in that of the priests, by casting lots.: whereby they knew what Levites should wait, in every course with the sons of Aaron. Even the principal fathers over against their younger brethren^] This is expressed very obscurely; but the meaning is, that the elder and younger had their places by lots, not by seniority of houses. They that were of greater dignity drew lots against those that were of less: and they were to take their courses, as they fell; either to the elder or the younger family.

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And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of tlie congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of tlie house of the Lord;’] These words belong to those that went just beforo; signifying, that in their order, when their course came to attend, they served either about the tabernacle, or preparing the shew-bread in the holy place, or in any other things, wherein the priests had occasion to employ them:, andtho rest oftheir* time they spent at home, in their several citios;. where they studied,: and taught the law, -. CHAP. XXTC