Chapter Twenty-Four

1–19. Division into shifts of the priests, descendants of Aaron. 20–31. Their nearest assistants, the Levites.

1 Chronicles 24:1. Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron: The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 1 Chronicles 24:2. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no children, so Eleazar and Ithamar became the priests. 1 Chronicles 24:3. And David distributed them—Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, alternately for their service. 1 Chronicles 24:4. Since there were more chief men found among the sons of Eleazar than among the sons of Ithamar, he divided them so: of the sons of Eleazar sixteen heads of families, and of the sons of Ithamar eight. By the time of David, two priestly lines had been preserved, tracing their origin to the two younger sons of Aaron—Eleazar and Ithamar, since his two older sons, Nadab and Abihu, died childless (Lev 10:1). The representative of the first line was Zadok, of the second—Ahimelech. And since the family of Eleazar numbered sixteen houses, and the family of Ithamar—eight, accordingly all the priestly classes numbered 24 (cf. Neh 12:1-7).

1 Chronicles 24:5. And he divided them by lot, for there were chiefs of the sanctuary and chiefs before God among both the sons of Eleazar and the sons of Ithamar. 1 Chronicles 24:6. And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, a scribe from the Levites, wrote them down before the king and the officials 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 house from Eleazar was assigned by lot, and then one was assigned to Ithamar. Among the 24 priestly classes or groups, the service at the temple was distributed for the whole year, and the order of each class was determined by the drawing of lots, drawn alternately by representatives of each line. Such an arrangement was the best means of avoiding all sorts of misunderstandings, inevitable if the times of service had been appointed according to the discretion of David and the high priests. In particular, such misunderstandings would have arisen because some weeks (those with festivals) were more profitable, others less profitable. Priests obliged by the authorities to serve during less profitable times would have been dissatisfied; and conversely, discontent could not have arisen with the lot. The equality achieved by it was further strengthened by alternating drawing. If at first only the 16 chief families of Eleazar had been admitted to the lot, it is very possible that a greater part of the best weeks would have fallen to their share, and the families of Ithamar would certainly have been offended. But by drawing the lot alternately, both groups could receive both bad and good times. The order of the service of the priestly groups, determined by the lot, was written down by the scribe Shemaiah, apparently so that it would be permanently recorded and thus prevent the possibility of any misunderstandings arising later.

1 Chronicles 24:7. And the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, 1 Chronicles 24:8. the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 1 Chronicles 24:9. the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, 1 Chronicles 24:10. the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, 1 Chronicles 24:11. the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, 1 Chronicles 24:12. the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, 1 Chronicles 24:13. the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 1 Chronicles 24:14. the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, 1 Chronicles 24:15. the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, 1 Chronicles 24:16. the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel, 1 Chronicles 24:17. the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, 1 Chronicles 24:18. the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. From the names of the persons enumerated in these verses, the heads of the priestly families, the priestly shifts took their names. Such is the shift of Jehoiarib (verse 7), to which belonged the priest Mattathias with his sons, known as the Maccabees (1 Macc 2:1); the Abijah shift (verse 10), from which came Zechariah, father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5); the Immer shift (verse 14), from whose members the priest Pashhur, a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, was known (Jer 20:1).

1 Chronicles 24:20. As for the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram: Shubael; and of the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah; 1 Chronicles 24:21. Of Rehabiah: the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah was the first; 1 Chronicles 24:22. Of Izhar: Shelomoth; and of the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath; 1 Chronicles 24:23. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. 1 Chr 24:24. Of the sons of Uzziel: Micah; and of the sons of Micah: Shamir.

1 Chronicles 24:25. Isshiah the brother of Micah; and of the sons of Isshiah: Zechariah. 1 Chronicles 24:26. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; of the sons of Jaaziah: Beno. 1 Chr 24:27. Of the sons of Merari of Jaaziah: Beno and Shogam, and Zakur and Ivri.

1 Chronicles 24:28. Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. 1 Chronicles 24:29. Of Kish: of the sons of Kish: Jerahmeel; 1 Chronicles 24:30. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. These are the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses. 1 Chronicles 24:31. These also cast lots, even as their brothers the sons of Aaron, before King David and Zadok and Ahimelech and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites: the chief father’s house, even as the youngest brother. The list of Levitical families presented in these verses does not include the names of representatives of the Gershonites, and therefore it cannot be considered, as some suppose, a list of all Levitical families. The names of the Levites enumerated here coincide with the names of the heads of the Levites appointed to the “work of the house of the Lord” (1 Chr 23:6-23). And since the latter participated in worship (1 Chr 23:28-32), one can suppose that in the present case the Levites, nearest assistants of the priests in this respect, are enumerated. In favor of such a supposition speaks the fact, among others, that they drew lots after the sons of Aaron (verse 31).

1 Chronicles 24:20. As for the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram: Shubael; and of the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah; Shubael was the grandson of Moses, son of his son Gershom, named in (1 Chr 23:16) as Shebuel. The representative of the family descended from him in the time of David was a certain Jehdeiah, a completely unknown person.

1 Chronicles 24:21. Of Rehabiah: the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah was the first; 1 Chronicles 24:22. Of Izhar: Shelomoth; and of the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath; 1 Chronicles 24:23. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. 1 Chr 24:24. Of the sons of Uzziel: Micah; and of the sons of Micah: Shamir.

1 Chronicles 24:26. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; of the sons of Jaaziah: Beno. 1 Chr 24:27. Of the sons of Merari of Jaaziah: Beno and Shogam, and Zakur and Ivri. The name “Beno” (“his son”) can in no way be recognized as a proper name. The mention of someone’s son presupposes the disappearance of the name of his father. Another sign of textual corruption is the repetition of the phrase of verse 26: “the sons of Merari” at the beginning of verse 27: an enumeration that has no parallel in the preceding verses.

Chapter Twenty-Four

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