1 Crônicas 6
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
1 Crônicas 6
NJB (LXX versing) LXX numbering different, 6:1 is 6:16 in LXX Genealogy: The Priestly Line The Family of Levi The Lineage of the Levites The Family Line of the High Priest The Line of Levi 6:1-15 6:1-15 6:1-15 6:1-2 6:1-4a 6:3a 6:3b 6:4-15 6:4b 6:5-6 6:7-13 6:14-15 Other Descendants of Levi The Singers 6:16-30 6:16-30 6:16-30 6:16-19 6:16-17 6:18a 6:18b-23 6:20-21 6:22-24 6:24-28 6:25-27 6:28 6:29-30 6:29-32 Musicians in the House of the Lord The Temple Musicians 6:31-48 6:31-32 6:31-48 6:31-33a The Other Levites 6:33-43 6:33b-38 6:33-34 6:35-38 Towns of the Aaronites 6:39-43 6:39a 6:39b-45 6:44-48 6:44-47 Towns of the Other Levites 6:46-50 6:48 The Family of Aaron Descendants of Aaron 6:49-53 6:49-53 6:49-53 6:49-53 Dwelling Places of the Levites Where the Levites Lived 6:51-55 6:54-60 6:54-60 6:54-60 6:54-61 6:56-61 6:61-65 6:61-65 6:61-65 6:62-65 6:62-66 6:66-70 6:66-70 6:66-70 6:66-70 6:71-76 6:71-76 6:71-81 6:71a 6:71b 6:72-73 6:74-75 6:76 6:77-81 6:77-81 6:77a 6:77b 6:78-79 6:80-81 Etc. CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS The MT has 41 verses in 1 Chronicles 5. English translations break the chapter division at 5:26. The MT has 66 verses in 1 Chronicles 6. English translations have chapter 6 starting at 1 Chr. 5:27-6:81. This English division highlights the lineage of Levi. Israel's future is connected to the Davidic covenant (Judah) the Mosaic covenant (Levi) Basic outline: Notice how 1 Chr. 6:1-15 lists the line from Levi through Aaron, the first High Priest, to Seraiah, the last High Priest in Jerusalem at the Babylonian exile of 586 B.C. 1 Chronicles 6:16-30 contains the specific families of the tribe of Levi. 1 Chronicles 6:31-48 deals with the families of Levitical musicians and singers. 1 Chronicles 6:49-53 deals with the tabernacle/temple duties of the High Priest. 1 Chronicles 6:54-81 details the cities and adjacent small farm land of the tribe of Levi. They did not have any land allocation, just special cities (cf. Joshua 20-21). Why do the names in the lists of ancestors disagree? They are different persons by the same name. Often names recur in families and periods. There are two separate genealogies combined by an editor. The person went by two names. The person's name was changed. The term "son" can refer to a wide number of relatives. The first father died and the wife remarried or there was Levirate marriage involved. Ancient Jewish genealogies are often incomplete.
1 Crônicas 6:1-15
6:1 (MT 5:27) "The sons of Levi. . ." They are given specific tasks related to carrying the portable tent of meeting. Kohathites ‒ Num. 4:4-15 Gershonites ‒ Num. 4:21-28 Merarites ‒ Num. 4:29-33 The development of the concept and lineage of "levite" is spelled out clearly in G. B. Caird's, The Language and Imagery of the Bible, pp. 68-72. He introduces the summary by this interesting quote, "The history of the OT priesthood is a complex story in which many influences, social, ideological, and technological, combined to produce semantic change. It is not possible to document the whole process precisely, because many of the older sources were rewritten by later editors with a theological axe to grind" (pp. 69-70). ▣ "Gershon" In Exod. 2:22 and Jdgs. 18:30 it is spelled "Gershom" (cf. 1 Chr. 6:17,20,43,62,71), from the Hebrew "ger sham" (i.e., "a stranger there"). It is spelled with the final "m" in 1 Chr. 6:16. This shows that the Chronicler is using separate genealogical lists. 6:4 (MT 5:30) "Eleazar" This is the son of Aaron who became the future High Priest. This line is developed until the Babylonian exile of 586 B.C. (cf. 1 Chr. 6:15). Yet notice it is a selective, not exhaustive, list. 6:8 (MT 5:38) "Ahitub" This is not the "Ahitub" of the line of Eli (cf. 1 Sam. 14:3) at Shiloh, who later became a part of Abiathar's line (cf. 1 Sam. 22:20). 6:9-10 "Azariah" This name appears in 1 Chr. 6:9 and 10 and refers to different priests, both connected to Solomon's temple (cf. 1 Kgs. 4:2 and the one in 6:9 and the one in 6:10 is a grandson of Zadok). Young's Analytical Concordance lists 28 people by this name. It lists 1 Kgs. 4:2 as one priest 1 Chr. 6:9 as another 1 Chr. 6:10,11 as still another 1 Chr. 6:13,14; 9:11 as still another priest Obviously names run through families, genealogies are not complete, and there is confusion! 6:10 "the house which Solomon built in Jerusalem" The word "house" (BDB 108), in this context, means "temple" (cf. 2 Kgs. 11:10,11,13; 2 Chr. 23:10; 35:20). In the key theological text of YHWH's special covenant with David, there is a word play on house (i.e., 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17). David wants to build YHWH a house/temple. But YHWH will build David a "house," meaning dynasty. 6:12 (MT 5:38) "Zadok" This High Priest served along with Abiathar during David's reign and later Solomon's (cf. 2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Kings 1). He supported the reign of Solomon and was made the only functioning High Priest under Solomon. 6:13 (MT 5:39) "Hilkiah" This is the High Priest who found the "book of the law" during the remodeling of the temple in Joshua's day (cf. 2 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 34). 6:14 (MT 5:40) The line of the High Priest proceeded to "Seraiah," who was killed by Nebuchadnezzar II (cf. 2 Kgs. 25:18-21). ▣ "Jehozadak" This was the high priestly line exiled to Babylon. He is called "Jozadak" in Ezra and Nehemiah. His son, "Jeshua" or "Joshua," will partner with Zerubbabel, the prince of the line of David, to form the leadership of the post-exilic faith community in the restored Judah (see Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah). SPECIAL TOPIC: TIMELINE OF THE POST-EXILIC PERIOD 6:15 (MT 5:41) "when the Lord carried Judah and Jerusalem away into exile"" The centrality of "Judah" and "Jerusalem" (i.e., the temple) shows the seriousness of this divine act of judgment (cf. 1 Chr. 5:26; Jer. 29:4,7,14; Lam. 4:22; Ezek. 39:28; Amos 5:27). The God who gave Israel the land (cf. Gen. 15:12-21) now takes it away. When Israel acts like Canaanites, they suffer the same judgment.
1 Crônicas 6:16-30
6:16-19 These are the three sons of Levi mentioned in Gen. 46:11; Exod. 6:16-19; Num. 3:17-20; 26:57-58. The repetition shows their significance. 6:22 (MT 6:7) "sons" Since this differs from 1 Chr. 6:18, it may refer to descendants, not literally sons. ▣ "Korah" In 1 Chr. 6:22 "Korah," the Levite who rebelled and was swallowed by the earth (cf. Numbers 16), is said to be the son (Kohath) Amminadab, but in 1 Chr. 6:38 the same genealogy of Num. 16:1 appears "the son of Izhah, the son of Kohath." They may be two names for the same person the genealogies a different Korah 6:24 "Uriel" In 1 Chr. 15:5 there is a "Urial" who is a descendant of Kohath. These may be the same person. 6:25 "Elkanah" This is not the same Elkanah as 1 Chr. 6:35-36, but a later relative of Ebiasaph, Elkanah of 1 Chr. 6:25's brother. 6:27 Are the descendants of Elkanah listed in 1 Chr. 6:26,27 the same as the descendants of Elkanah of 1 Chr. 6:34-35? It is very hard to coordinate these lists because of the semantic field of "son" the partial nature of the lists themselves the merging of several lists the limited historical information of this period 6:28 (MT 6:13) "Samuel" This is the descendant of Levi who plays such a prominent role in 1 Samuel. He was priest, prophet, and judge. Apparently he was from the area of Ephraim (cf. 1 Sam. 1:1). ▣ "Joel" This name is not included here in the MT but it is found in 1 Chr. 6:33 and 1 Sam. 8:2. ▣ "the second" Since the name "Joel" fell out of the MT, later translators (i.e., the Masoretic scholars) made the numerical reference a name "Vashni."
1 Crônicas 6:31-48
6:31 (MT 6:16) "whom David appointed" This is recorded in 1 Chr. 15:16-22,27; 16:4-6. ▣ "the service of song in the house of the Lord" Literally the phrase starts out "at the hands of song." The word "song" can refer to a song a choir (cf. 1 Chr. 23:18; 29:28; Neh. 12:31) music of worship instruments which accompany worship music (cf. 2 Sam. 6:5; 1 Chr. 15:16; 25:6-7; Neh. 12:27; Amos 6:5) Obviously the phrase refers to all aspects of music in worship. These Levitical families wrote, sang, played, trained, and organized the music of worship. It appears that music was part of the tabernacle worship as well as the temple of Solomon. ▣ "the ark" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ARK OF THE COVENANT. 6:32 (MT 6:17) "the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. . .the house of the Lord in Jerusalem" The first authorized revelation/worship site was the portable tent of the exodus and wilderness wandering period (cf. Exodus 25-40). In 2 Samuel 7 David desired to build a "house/temple" for YHWH. YHWH would not let him because he was a man of war, but allowed his son, Solomon (cf. 1 Kings 6-7; see the wonderful dedication prayer in 1 Kings 8) to build it. SPECIAL TOPIC: TABERNACLE ▣ "they served in their office according to their order" This is outlined in 1 Chr. 24:1-19; 28:13. These divisions were designed and implemented by David. Whether there was earlier division is uncertain. 6:33-47 There are three main singers from each of Levi's sons (1 Chr. 6:1; 15:17,19). Gershon, Gershom ‒ Asaph (1 Chr. 6:39-43) Kohath ‒ Heman (1 Chr. 6:33-38) Merari ‒ Ethan (1 Chr. 6:44-47) There is an Ethan mentioned in 1 Chr. 6:42 who is of the line of Gershon and another by the same name in 6:44 of the line of Merari. 6:38 (MT 6:23) "Israel" This name is used three times in this chapter. here ‒ to refer to Jacob 1 Chr. 6:49 ‒ to refer to the collective nation 1 Chr. 6:64 ‒ to the descendants of Israel during Joshua's time SPECIAL TOPIC: ISRAEL (THE NAME) 6:39 (MT 6:24) "stood at his right hand" Notice 1 Chr. 6:44 has "on the left hand." This is detailed eyewitness testimony of the staging of the Levite musicians. 6:40 (MT 6:24) "Baaseiah" The LXX and early Syriac have "Maaseiah" and the Peshitta has "Measiah." 6:48 (MT 6:32) This may refer to the Nethinim (BDB 682) of Jos. 9:27, cf. 1 Chr. 9:2; Ezra 2:43,70; 7:7,24; 8:20; Neh. 7:46-56. However, it probably clarifies the menial tasks of the Levites versus the priests (1 Chr. 6:49). There was an institutional gradation in the family of Levi.
1 Crônicas 6:49-53
6:49 (MT 6:33) NASB, NKJV, NRSV, Peshitta "offered" "presented" "burned" "burning incense" "burnt" This VERB (BDB 882, KB 1094, Hiphil ACTIVE PARTICIPLE) can mean make sacrifices smoke (i.e., place on the altar, cf. 1 Kgs. 12:33; 2 Chr. 29:1; both of which could fit #2) cause incense (1 Chr. 23:13; 2 Chr. 2:4; 26:18,19) Here, as in several of the above references, it could refer to sacrifices on the altar of sacrifice or incense on the altar of incense. 1 Chronicles 6:49 gives a summary statement of the duties of the priests according to the Mosaic Covenant. However, here sacrifice has priority but in Deut. 33:8-11, there are two other responsibilities mentioned. care of the oracle (i.e., Urim and Thummim) legal decisions SPECIAL TOPIC: ALTAR OF SACRIFICE SPECIAL TOPIC: ALTAR OF INCENSE SPECIAL TOPIC: URIM AND THUMMIM ▣ "the most holy place" The central tent of the tabernacle was a rectangle divided into two-thirds of an outer court (i.e., the holy place, cf. Exod. 26:33) and a perfect cube at the far end called the "most holy place" or "Holy of Holies" (cf. Exod. 26:33-34), where only the High Priest could enter on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). SPECIAL TOPIC: CHART OF THE TABERNACLE ▣ "Moses the servant of God" See SPECIAL TOPIC: MY SERVANT. 6:50-53 This is a repeat of 1 Chr. 6:3-8. This shows that several genealogical lists are being merged in this chapter.
1 Crônicas 6:54-60
6:54 (MT 6:39) "the first lot" This refers to Joshua's use of the Urim and Thummim (cf. Jos. 21:4,10). The lot was Israel's way to know the will of God. These cities were not given by human reasoning but by God's choice and mercy. The tribe of Aaron did not receive a land allocation but they did receive houses and small pieces of land for gardening around 48 geographically scattered cities (cf. 1 Chr. 6:57). The tribe of Levi was purposely spread throughout Israel. The Levites were not the only, or even majority, inhabitants of these 48 cities. This is clear from 1 Chr. 6:55-56 (i.e., Hebron, both a city of Levites and the inheritance of Caleb by Moses, cf. Jos. 14:6-15). SPECIAL TOPIC: URIM AND THUMMIM SPECIAL TOPIC: CITIES OF REFUGE 6:55 "Hebron" This is an important location for the Patriarchs in southern Canaan. It was first called Kiriath Arba, Gen. 23:2; Jos. 14:15; Jdgs. 1:10. Abraham built an altar there, Gen. 13:18 Abraham purchased a burial cave, Genesis 23 close to the "oaks of Mamre," Gen. 13:18; 18:1; 23:19; 35:27 it was given as part of Judah's land allocation, Jos. 15:54 it was given to Caleb as a special reward by Moses, Jos. 14:13-15; 15:13; Jdgs. 1:20 it was a Levitical city, Jos. 21:11,13; 1 Chr. 6:55 it was a city of refuge, Jos. 20:7; 1 Chr. 6:57 6:57 "cities of refuge" These are specialized Levitical cities. They become places for man-slayers to seek refuge and justice from kinsmen avengers (cf. Numbers 35; Deut. 19:1-10; Joshua 20). SPECIAL TOPIC: CITIES OF REFUGE 6:58 (MT 6:43) "Hilen" In Jos. 21:15 it is called "Holon." The UBS Text Project suggests "Hilen" and gives it a "C" rating (considerable doubt). The MT has "Hilez." 6:59 (MT 6:44) "Ashan" In Jos. 21:16 it is called "Ain." Also in Jos. 21:16 an added city is named "Juttah with its pasture lands." This same kind of addition occurs in 1 Chr. 6:60 (cf. Jos. 21:17).
1 Crônicas 6:61-65
6:61 (MT 6:46) This verse states that the family of Kohalath received ten cities from the half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua 21:5 says these cities were from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Dan. The land from Ephraim is dealt with in 1 Chr. 6:66-70. Dan is not mentioned at all.
1 Crônicas 6:66-70
6:68 "Jokmeam" In Joshua 21:22 he is named "Kibzaim." 6:70 (MT 6:55) "Bileam" The LXX and Targums have "Ieblaam" or "Ibleam." Apparently it was common to drop the yod in proper names (cf. AB, pp. 17,43).
1 Crônicas 6:71-76
6:72 (MT 6:57) "Kedesh" In Joshua 19:20; 21:28, it is called "Kishion." 6:73 (MT 6:58) "Anem" In Joshua 19:21 it is called "En-gannim." 6:75 "Hukok" In Joshua 19:25; 21:31 he is named "Helkath."
1 Crônicas 6:77-81
6:77 (MT 6:62) "Rimmono" In Joshua 19:13 it is called "Rimmon." The UBS Text Project thinks the original MT had "Rimmonah" ("B" rating, some doubt). This place is located close to Mt. Tabor (NE edge of the Valley of Jezreel). As we have seen several times, the parallel in Joshua (cf. Jos. 21:34) has additional places added.