Chapter Twenty-Five

1–31. Division of the Levites.

1 Chronicles 25:1. And David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals; and they were assigned to their service: For the temple singing, Levites of three families are appointed: of Kohath—Heman with his sons, of Gershon—Asaph and of Merari—Ethan, or Jeduthun (1 Chr 6:33: see commentaries). Their selection is made, among other things, by the “commanders of the army,” not army in the literal sense, but the assembly of elders, since the Hebrew word “tsava” means not only an army waging war, but also any assembly of beings of any kind subject to one law and serving one goal, in the present case—an assembly of Levitical elders, who distributed together with the king the duties of the Levites.

1 Chronicles 25:2. Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. As is evident from the ninth and subsequent verses, each of the sons of Heman, Asaph and Jeduthun was appointed as the head of a separate choir.

1 Chronicles 25:3. Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Isaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattaniah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. Following the letter of the modern Hebrew text, the word standing after the name Mattaniah, “shisha,” should be taken as a proper name. But according to the indication of the LXX translation, this is the numeral six. The missing number of sons of Jeduthun is supplied by the name Shimei, of whom there is indeed mention in (1 Chr 25:17).

1 Chronicles 25:5. All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer, in the words of God, to exalt his horn. And God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. The title “seer” is ascribed to Heman, which in meaning and usage in Scripture is equivalent to the word “prophet.” But since this quality is nowhere else ascribed to Heman, some translators understand the term “seer” in the sense of “skilled,” “learned,” or, as the LXX, in relation to his art, “musician.”

1 Chronicles 25:7. And the number of them with their brothers, trained to sing to the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred eighty-eight. The number 288 is obtained as follows. The three chief singers had 24 sons (Asaph had 4, Jeduthun had 6 and Heman had 14, verses 2–4), and each was the head of a separate choir consisting of 12 people. 24 x 12 equals 288. Thus, in accordance with the 24 priestly shifts, 24 Levitical choirs were organized. All these singers are called “trained to sing to the Lord, knowing their work,” which distinguishes them from the rest of the singers (1 Chr 23:5), apparently less experienced.

1 Chronicles 25:9. And the first lot fell for Asaph to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, him and his brothers and his sons, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:10. the third to Zaccur, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:11. the fourth to Izri, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:12. the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:13. the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:14. the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:15. the eighth to Isaiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:16. the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:17. the tenth to Shimei, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:18. the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:19. the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:20. the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:21. the fourteenth to Mattathiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:22. the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:23. the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:24. the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:25. the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:26. the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:27. the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:28. the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:29. the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:30. the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his brothers, twelve; 1 Chronicles 25:31. the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brothers, twelve. As is evident from these verses, the turns were distributed among the singers in the following order: the four sons of Asaph received the first, third, fifth and seventh; the six sons of Jeduthun—the second, fourth, eighth, tenth, twelfth and fourteenth; the first four sons of Heman—the sixth, ninth, eleventh and thirteenth, and the remaining ten—the others, that is, 15–24.