Chapter Nine

1–34. Population of Jerusalem. 35–44. Repetition of Saul’s genealogy.

1 Chronicles 9:1. Thus all Israel was enumerated by genealogies; and behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. And the Jews were carried away captive to Babylon for their transgressions. 1 Chronicles 9:2. The first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions, in the cities of Israel, were the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim. 1 Chronicles 9:3. And in Jerusalem dwelt some of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin, and of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh: Verses 1–3 comprise the conclusion to the genealogies of chapters I–VIII and at the same time form a transition from the genealogical lists of the twelve tribes to the enumeration of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the capital of that theocratic state whose history is related hereafter. Before the detailed enumeration of them, the author prefixes a general remark about the composition of the population of the cities of Israel (priests, Levites, Nethinim), and then about Jerusalem itself. To the inhabitants of the first he assigns the designation “Garinonim” (verse 2), which means “former,” “early,” that is, inhabitants of the pre-exile period, but not the time after the exile, as Bertheau, Deuler, and others claim. In accordance with this, the population of Jerusalem, as placed in parallel with the population of the cities of Israel, cannot be regarded as post-exilic. Likewise, the general composition of it does not correspond to that which is noted in the book of Nehemiah. In it, among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh are not listed (Neh 11:4).

1 Chronicles 9:4. Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the sons of Perez the son of Judah; 1 Chronicles 9:5. And of the sons of Shiloh: Asaiah the firstborn and his sons; 1 Chronicles 9:6. And of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and his brothers—six hundred and ninety; 1 Chronicles 9:7. And of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah; 1 Chronicles 9:8. And Ibnijah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; 1 Chronicles 9:9. And their brothers according to their generations: nine hundred and fifty-six; all these men were heads of fathers’ houses in their generations. The detailed enumeration of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin. From the sons of Perez and from the Shilonites (verses 4–6) no name matches those in (Neh 11:4-6). Among the names of the sons of Benjamin, in both books the name Sallu is the same, but their ancestors are entirely different.

1 Chronicles 9:10. And of the priests: Jedaiah, Joiarib, Jachin; 1 Chronicles 9:11. And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; 1 Chronicles 9:12. And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah; and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; 1 Chronicles 9:13. And their brothers, heads of their fathers’ houses: one thousand seven hundred and sixty; they were mighty men of valor in the work of the service in the house of God. The names of the Jerusalem priests. According to (1 Chr 24:7), the names of verse (1 Chr 9:10) are not names of individuals, but of entire priestly families, and they appear also in (Neh 11:10). Instead of Azariah son of Hilkiah (verses 11–17), (Neh 11:11) calls Seraiah son of Hilkiah. Their ancestors are the same; but Seraiah could have been a post-exile descendant of these persons. The genealogies of Obadiah and Maasai are set forth in both books with differences in the number and names of their ancestors. Finally, the book of Chronicles lacks the genealogy of Zabdiel (Neh 11:14). The number 1760 (verse 13) is not the number of heads of priestly families, but of all priests belonging to the six priestly divisions.

1 Chronicles 9:14. And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; 1 Chronicles 9:15. And Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph; 1 Chronicles 9:16. And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of Netophah. The descendant of Merari, Shemaiah with the same name, is mentioned also in (Neh 11:15). However, the first three names of verse 15 are absent in Nehemiah. Of the names of verse 16, only one—Obadiah—can be identified with Ovadyah (Neh 11:17). Berechiah is not mentioned in Nehemiah, but neither are the names in the book of Chronicles (Neh 11:16): Shavfay and Yozavad. Since Berechiah dwelt in Jerusalem (1 Chr 9:4), the remark “who dwelt in the villages of Netophah” (Netophah near Bethlehem—Neh 7:26) refers not to him, but to his ancestor Elkanah.

1 Chronicles 9:17. And the gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brothers; Shallum was the chief. As is evident from (1 Chr 9:24-26), the four persons named in this verse, of whom the book of Nehemiah knows only two—Akkub and Talmon (Neh 11:19)—were not mere guards of the gates, but chiefs over the gatekeepers. The comparison just made between the names in the book of Chronicles and Nehemiah clearly shows that the difference between the two lists is so great that it is impossible to suppose that they enumerate the same persons and the same time. If, however, some names do actually coincide in both lists, this coincidence is very simply explained by the fact that after the exile the same families that had formerly, or whose ancestors had, dwelt there came back to Jerusalem, and chiefly by the custom common to the Hebrews of repeating the same names in family lines, so that children were called after the names of their ancestors (see, for example, the genealogy of Aaron—(1 Chr 6:4-15)).

1 Chronicles 9:18. And until now these gatekeepers were at the gates of the king’s house, to the east, keeping the watch of the sons of Levi. 1 Chronicles 9:19. And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers of his father’s house, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent; and their fathers had been over the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance. 1 Chronicles 9:20. Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past; the Lord was with him. 1 Chronicles 9:21. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance of the tent of meeting. 1 Chronicles 9:22. All those who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. These were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had ordained them in their office of trust. 1 Chronicles 9:23. So they and their sons were in charge of the gates of the house of the Lord, that is, the house of the tent, by watches. 1 Chronicles 9:24. The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north, and south. 1 Chronicles 9:25. And their brothers in their villages were obliged to come in every seven days, in turn, to be with them; 1 Chronicles 9:26. for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were in an office of trust, and they had charge of the chambers and the treasures of the house of God. 1 Chronicles 9:27. And they lodged around the house of God; for the duty of watching belonged to them, and they had charge of opening it every morning. 1 Chronicles 9:28. Some of them had charge of the serving vessels, for by count they were brought in and by count they were taken out. 1 Chronicles 9:29. Others of them had charge of the furniture, and of all the holy vessels, as well as of the fine flour and wine and oil and incense and spices. 1 Chronicles 9:30. And some of the sons of the priests prepared the anointing oil for the spices. 1 Chronicles 9:31. Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with the making of the flat cakes. 1 Chronicles 9:32. And some of their brothers of the sons of Kohath had charge of the showbread, to prepare it for every Sabbath. 1 Chronicles 9:33. These are the singers, the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites, who lodged in the chambers of the temple; for they were on duty day and night. 1 Chronicles 9:34. These were heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites, heads throughout their generations; they lived in Jerusalem. Duties and service of the Levites in the temple.

1 Chronicles 9:18. And until now these gatekeepers were at the gates of the king’s house, to the east, keeping the watch of the sons of Levi. The men of (1 Chr 9:17) were gatekeepers at that main entrance into the court, which was intended only for the king (2 Kgs 16:18; Ezek 46:1).

1 Chronicles 9:19. And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brothers of his father’s house, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent; and their fathers had been over the camp of the Lord, keepers of the entrance. In accordance with the instruction (1 Chr 9:19) about the appointment of gatekeepers at the threshold by David, it may be supposed that Shallum, the chief of the chiefs over the gatekeepers (1 Chr 9:17), serving at the thresholds of the tent, was David’s contemporary. Indeed, he is identified with Meshelemiah (1 Chr 26:1) on the grounds, among others, that both names are similar in meaning: Shallum means “recompense,” Meshelemiah means “Jehovah will repay.”

1 Chronicles 9:21. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance of the tent of meeting. The identity of Zechariah son of Meshelemiah with Zechariah (1 Chr 26:2) is beyond doubt; consequently, he too, like Shallum, was David’s contemporary. But what distinguished his service from that of the other gatekeepers, why is he mentioned specifically, this is not explained either by the present verse or by (1 Chr 26:2).

1 Chronicles 9:22. All those who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. These were enrolled by genealogies in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had ordained them in their office of trust. The total number of gatekeepers—212—does not correspond to either the number in the time of David (93, see (1 Chr 26:8-11)), or in the time of Zerubbabel (139—(Ezra 2:42)), or in the time of Nehemiah (172—(Neh 11:19)). In all probability, this number is from the pre-exile period.

1 Chronicles 9:24. The gatekeepers were on the four sides: east, west, north, and south. See (1 Chr 26:14) and others.

1 Chronicles 9:28. Some of them had charge of the serving vessels, for by count they were brought in and by count they were taken out. See (1 Chr 28:13; Dan 1:2).

1 Chronicles 9:29. Others of them had charge of the furniture, and of all the holy vessels, as well as of the fine flour and wine and oil and incense and spices. See (Lev 2:1; Exod 30:23).

1 Chronicles 9:30. And some of the sons of the priests prepared the anointing oil for the spices. See (Exod 30:23). 1 Chr 9:32. Some of their brothers of the sons of Kohath had charge of the showbread, to prepare it for every Sabbath. See (Num 4:7).

1 Chronicles 9:35. And in Gibeon dwelt Jeiel the father of Gibeon; and the name of his wife was Maacah; 1 Chronicles 9:36. and his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, and Nadab, 1 Chronicles 9:37. Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. 1 Chronicles 9:38. And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And they also dwelt beside their brothers in Jerusalem with their brothers. 1 Chronicles 9:39. And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 1 Chronicles 9:40. And the son of Jonathan was Meribaal; and Meribaal begat Micah. 1 Chronicles 9:41. And the sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, and Tahrea [and Ahaz]. 1 Chronicles 9:42. And Ahaz begat Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza; 1 Chronicles 9:43. And Moza begat Binea; Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. 1 Chronicles 9:44. And Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bochru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel. The genealogy of Saul, which reproduces the genealogy of (1 Chr 8:29-40) (see the commentary), is placed here as a transition to chapter (1 Chr 10), which concerns one of the moments of Saul’s reign—his unsuccessful war with the Philistines and his death.