1 Chronicles
1 Chronicles 26
1For the divisions of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. 2Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh. 4Obed-Edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, 5Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him. 6Sons were also born to Shemaiah his son, who ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor. 7The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah. 8All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom: they and their sons and their brothers, able men in strength for the service: sixty-two of Obed-Edom. 9Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, valiant men, eighteen. 10Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief), 11Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. All the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen. 12Of these were the divisions of the doorkeepers, even of the chief men, having offices like their brothers, to minister in Yahweh’s house. 13They cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers’ houses, for every gate. 14The lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counselor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward. 15To Obed-Edom southward; and to his sons the storehouse. 16To Shuppim and Hosah westward, by the gate of Shallecheth, at the causeway that goes up, watchman opposite watchman. 17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and for the storehouse two and two. 18For Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar. 19These were the divisions of the doorkeepers; of the sons of the Korahites, and of the sons of Merari.
20Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of God’s house and over the treasures of the dedicated things. 21The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers’ households belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli. 22The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of Yahweh’s house. 23Of the Amramites, of the Izharites, of the Hebronites, of the Uzzielites: 24and Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler over the treasures. 25His brothers: of Eliezer, Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son. 26This Shelomoth and his brothers were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers’ households, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. 27They dedicated some of the plunder won in battles to repair Yahweh’s house. 28All that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated, whoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomoth, and of his brothers. 29Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges. 30Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, men of valor, one thousand seven hundred, had the oversight of Israel beyond the Jordan westward, for all the business of Yahweh, and for the service of the king. 31Of the Hebronites, Jerijah was the chief, even of the Hebronites, according to their generations by fathers’ households. They were sought for in the fortieth year of the reign of David, and mighty men of valor were found among them at Jazer of Gilead. 32His brothers, men of valor, were two thousand seven hundred, heads of fathers’ households, whom king David made overseers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, and for the affairs of the king.
Commentary
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What others are saying
5 commentators · 83 notes on this chapter
Matthew Henry3
Writes as a pastor rather than a critic. Expect devotional and practical application over historical or linguistic analysis, read through a Reformed covenantal frame — and expect the Old Testament to be read forward toward Christ throughout.
Why this voice is here: The most widely read English commentary for three centuries. Included as a baseline: where Henry and a modern voice diverge, the divergence itself is usually the interesting part.
Observe, I. There were porters appointed to attend the temple, who guarded all the avenues that let to it, opened and shut all the outer gates and attended at them, not only for the state, but for service, to direct and instruct those who were going to…
Observe, 1. There were treasures of the house of God. A great house cannot be well kept without stores of all manner of provisions. Much was expended daily upon the altar - flour, wine, oil, salt, fuel, besides the lamps; quantities of these were to be kept…
All the offices of the house of God being well provided with Levites, we have here an account of those that were employed as officers and judges in the outward business, which must not be neglected, no, not for the temple itself. The magistracy is an…
John Gill30
The most exhaustive and the most doctrinally committed here. Expect high — even supralapsarian — Calvinism applied consistently, and unusually heavy use of rabbinic and Talmudic sources for Jewish context. Where a passage bears on election or the will, Gill will read it in one direction, and knowing that in advance is the point.
Why this voice is here: The strongest Calvinist reading available in the public domain, and the best on Jewish background. Read alongside Clarke, not instead of him — between them you get both sides of the argument.
Concerning the divisions of the porters,.... Or doorkeepers, whose business it was to open and shut the doors of the temple, to keep all impure and improper persons from entering into it, or any of the vessels being carried out of it, and to prevent tumults…
And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the firstborn,.... And six more, who are mentioned in their order: Jediael, Zebadiah, and Jathniel, Elam, Jehohanan, and Elioenai.
Moreover, the sons of Obededom,.... The same at whose house the ark was, before it was brought by David to Zion; his sons were porters also, as himself, 1 Chronicles 15:24, mention is made of eight sons of his, according to their birth: Shemaiah, Jehozabad…
Adam Clarke13
The linguist of this set. Expect Hebrew and Greek word study, oriental custom, and geography — and an Arminian reading of grace and free will where Gill or Henry would read election. Note one real divergence: Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ, a position most of the tradition rejects, so read him closely on the person of Christ.
Why this voice is here: Where you want to know what a word actually says, Clarke is the one who will tell you — with the caveat above on Christ’s sonship.
The divisions of the porters - There were four classes of these, each of which belonged to one of the four gates of the temple, which opened to the four cardinal points of heaven. The eastern gate fell to Shelemiah; the northern, to Zechariah, Ch1 26:14; the…
For God blessed him - "That is, Obed-edom; because of the ark of the Lord which was in his house; and to him was given the honor that he should see his children and grand-children, even fourscore and two, masters of the Levites." - T. In Ch1 26:8, we have…
They were mighty men of valor - They were not only porters or door-keepers in the ordinary sense of the word, but they were a military guard for the gates: and perhaps in this sense alone we are to understand their office.
Keil & Delitzsch26
The technical one, and Old Testament only. Expect Hebrew grammar, textual argument, and direct engagement with nineteenth-century critical scholarship — closer to a scholarly apparatus than a devotional read. Where a modern critic claims a text is late or composite, this is where the conservative counter-argument was made.
Why this voice is here: Old Testament only, and heavy going — but the place to look when someone asserts a passage cannot mean what it appears to.
Concerning the divisions of the porters,.... Or doorkeepers, whose business it was to open and shut the doors of the temple, to keep all impure and improper persons from entering into it, or any of the vessels being carried out of it, and to prevent tumults…
And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the firstborn,.... And six more, who are mentioned in their order: Jediael, Zebadiah, and Jathniel, Elam, Jehohanan, and Elioenai.
Moreover, the sons of Obededom,.... The same at whose house the ark was, before it was brought by David to Zion; his sons were porters also, as himself, Ch1 15:24, mention is made of eight sons of his, according to their birth: Shemaiah, Jehozabad, Joah…
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown11
The concise option. Three authors split the canon, so the voice shifts between sections. Expect brief, sober, conservative notes that resolve difficulties rather than dwelling on them — useful for orientation, thinner than Gill or Clarke where a passage is genuinely contested.
Why this voice is here: The quickest way to see what the mainstream Reformed reading of a passage is. Start here, then go to Gill or Clarke when it matters.
God blessed him--that is, Obed-edom. The occasion of the blessing was his faithful custody of the ark (Sa2 6:11-12). The nature of the blessing (Psa 127:5) consisted in the great increase of progeny by which his house was distinguished; seventy-two…
mighty men of valour--The circumstance of physical strength is prominently noticed in this chapter, as the office of the porters required them not only to act as sentinels of the sacred edifice and its precious furniture against attacks of plunderers or…
Simri the chief . . . though . . . not the first-born--probably because the family entitled to the right of primogeniture had died out, or because there were none of the existing families which could claim that right.
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