37 The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
And the sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri. And Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon; and she gave birth to Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korahites.
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben, made themselves ready, And came before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty chiefs of the people, men of good name who had a place in the meeting of the people. They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord? And Moses, hearing this, went down on his face; And he said to Korah and his band, In the morning the Lord will make clear who are his, and who is holy, and who may come near him: the man of his selection will be caused to come near him. So do this: let Korah and all his band take vessels for burning perfumes; And put spices on the fire in them before the Lord tomorrow; then the man marked out by the Lord will be holy: you take overmuch on yourselves, you sons of Levi. And Moses said to Korah, Give ear now, you sons of Levi: Does it seem only a small thing to you that the God of Israel has made you separate from the rest of Israel, letting you come near himself to do the work of the House of the Lord, and to take your place before the people to do what has to be done for them; Letting you, and all your brothers the sons of Levi, come near to him? and would you now be priests? So you and all your band have come together against the Lord; and Aaron, who is he, that you are crying out against him? Then Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: and they said, We will not come up: Is it not enough that you have taken us from a land flowing with milk and honey, to put us to death in the waste land, but now you are desiring to make yourself a chief over us? And more than this, you have not taken us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us a heritage of fields and vine-gardens: will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up. Then Moses was very angry, and said to the Lord, Give no attention to their offering: not one of their asses have I taken, or done wrong to any of them. And Moses said to Korah, You and all your band are to come before the Lord tomorrow, you and they and Aaron: And let every man take a vessel for burning perfumes, and put sweet spices in them; let every man take his vessel before the Lord, two hundred and fifty vessels; you and Aaron and everyone with his vessel. So every man took his vessel and they put fire in them, with spices, and came to the door of the Tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. And Korah made all the people come together against them to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the glory of the Lord was seen by all the people. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. Then falling down on their faces they said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, because of one man's sin will your wrath be moved against all the people? And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the people, Come away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram. So Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the responsible men of Israel went with him. And he said to the people, Come away now from the tents of these evil men, without touching anything of theirs, or you may be taken in the punishment of their sins. So on every side they went away from the tent of Korah Dathan, and Abiram: and Dathan and Abiram came out to the door of their tents, with their wives and their sons and their little ones. And Moses said, Now you will see that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and I have not done them of myself. If these men have the common death of men, or if the natural fate of all men overtakes them, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord does something new, opening the earth to take them in, with everything which is theirs, and they go down living into the underworld, then it will be clear to you that the Lord has not been honoured by these men. And while these words were on his lips, the earth under them was parted in two; And the earth, opening her mouth, took them in, with their families, and all the men who were joined to Korah, and their goods. So they and all theirs went down living into the underworld, and the earth was shut over them, and they were cut off from among the meeting of the people. And all Israel round about them went in flight at their cry, For fear, said they, that we go down into the heart of the earth. Then fire came out from the Lord, burning up the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the perfume.
And they went down into the open mouth of the earth, together with Korah, when death overtook him and all his band; at the time when two hundred and fifty men were burned in the fire, and they became a sign. But death did not overtake the sons of Korah.
<To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of the sons of Korah.> Like the desire of the roe for the water-streams, so is my soul's desire for you, O God.
<To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah Maschil.> It has come to our ears, O God, our fathers have given us the story, of the works which you did in their days, in the old times,
<Alamoth. To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.> Give attention to this, all you peoples; let your ears be open, all you who are living in the world.
<To the chief music-maker; put to the Gittith A Psalm. Of the sons of Korah.> How dear are your tents, O Lord of armies!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 6
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 6 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 6
This chapter begins with the fathers and heads of the tribe of Levi, 1 Chronicles 6:1, and reckons up the high priests in the line of Eleazar, to the Babylonish captivity, 1 Chronicles 6:4 gives an account of the families of the sons of Levi, 1 Chronicles 6:16 and of those Levites that were employed as singers, and in other ministrations in the sanctuary in the times of David and Solomon, 1 Chronicles 6:31, then follows a repetition of the sons of Aaron in the line of Eleazar, to the said times, 1 Chronicles 6:50, and a recital of the dwelling places of the Levites in the several tribes, 1 Chronicles 6:54.
The sons of Levi,.... After an account of the chief of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, follows that of Levi, and his posterity; the kingdom being given to Judah, the birthright to Joseph, and the priesthood to Levi: the immediate sons of Levi were
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari; as in Genesis 46:11, from these sprung the three families of the Levites.
And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel,.... Given in the same order as in Exodus 6:18; see Gill on Exodus 6:18.
And the children of Amram, Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam,.... Very memorable persons: Aaron was the high priest, Moses the prophet and lawgiver, and Miriam a prophetess, see Micah 6:4,
the sons also of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; the two first were destroyed by fire from heaven for offering strange fire, Leviticus 10:1 and the third succeeded his father in the high priesthood; the line of which is drawn from Aaron through him unto the Babylonish captivity, from hence to the end of the fifteenth verse, where it ends: Jehozadak is the same with Josedech, Haggai 1:1 who went young into Babylon, and whose son Joshua, born in the captivity, came out of it on the proclamation of Cyrus, Ezra 2:2. According to JosephusF5Antiqu. l. 5. c. 11. sect. 5. , and other Jewish writersF6Juchasin, fol. 136. 1. , in the times of Uzzi, 1 Chronicles 6:6 the priesthood was translated into the family of Ithamar, of which Eli was the first high priest; where it continued to the times of Solomon, when it was restored to Zadok, of the line of Eleazar. It is particularly observed of Azariah, 1 Chronicles 6:10 that he it was that executed the priest's office in the temple built by Solomon; not that he was the first that officiated in it, that was Zadok; but this seems to be Azariah, who was the high priest in the times of Uzziah, who opposed him when he would have offered incense in the temple, 2 Chronicles 26:17, which may be the reason why he is so particularly taken notice of here; though some think this is to be understood of Johanan, the father of Azariah, supposed to the same with Jehoiada, who, in the times of Athaliah, was the instrument of preserving both church and state, 2 Kings 11:4, the temple in which he ministered is described as built by Solomon, because at the time of the writing of this there was another temple built, or building, by Zerubbabel.
The sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Which is repeated from 1 Chronicles 6:1 for the sake of their posterity, whose names are given in the three following verses, in the same manner as in Exodus 6:17.
Of Gershon, Libni his son,.... Whose genealogy runs thus, Jahath, called Jehiel, 1 Chronicles 23:8. Zimmah, between whom was Shimei, 1 Chronicles 6:42. Joah, the same with Ethan, 1 Chronicles 6:42. Iddo, called Adaiah, 1 Chronicles 6:41. Zerah, Jeaterai, whose name was also Ethni, 1 Chronicles 6:41, the posterity of Shimei, the brother of Libni, are omitted.
The sons of Kohath, Amminadab,.... The same with Izhar, 1 Chronicles 6:2 the posterity of his brethren, Amram, Hebron, and Uzziel, are omitted; and his genealogy is carried to a considerable length, for the sake of Samuel the prophet, who sprang from him: it stands thus, Korah, Assir, Elkanah, Ebiasaph, Assir, Tahath, Uriel, called Zephaniah, 1 Chronicles 6:36 Uzziah, the same with Azariah, 1 Chronicles 6:36. Shaul, whose name is Joel, 1 Chronicles 6:36 then through the sons of Elkanah, before mentioned, Amasai, Ahimoth, called Mahath, 1 Chronicles 6:35 another Elkanah, Zophai, or Zuph, 1 Chronicles 6:35. Nahath, the same with Toah, 1 Chronicles 6:34 and Tohu, 1 Samuel 1:1, Eliab, called Eliel, 1 Chronicles 6:34, and Elihu, 1 Samuel 1:1, Jeroham, another Elkanah, the father of Samuel the prophet, whose firstborn was Vashni, and whose name also was Joel, 1 Chronicles 6:33 and so here it is read in the Syriac and Arabic versions:
and his second son Abiah.
The sons of Merari; Mahli,.... The posterity of his brother Mushi are omitted; his genealogy is drawn thus, Libni, Shimei, Uzza, Shimea, Haggiah, Asaiah.
And these are they,.... Who follow; the account of whom begins 1 Chronicles 6:33,
whom David set over the service of the song in the house of the Lord: whom he appointed chief musicians, and masters of the chorus, to manage and conduct that part of divine service in the sanctuary, singing the praises of God, both with vocal and instrumental music:
after the ark had rest; which was when it was brought from the house of Obededom to the city of David, and was placed in a tabernacle he provided for it, 2 Samuel 6:12, where it remained until the temple was built, when and which was the only time it was removed, whereas before it had been removed from place to place, and so till now had no rest; though some understand this of the ceasing or silence of the oracle over the ark, which was neither consulted by Solomon and his successors, nor any of the high priests afterwardsF7Vid. Marsham. Canon. Chron. Setul. 14. p. 365. .
And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacles of the congregation with singing,.... Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; this service they performed before the ark, which was in a tent or tabernacle David pitched for it; and which the Targum here calls the tabernacle of time, or a temporary tabernacle:
until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem; the temple there:
and then they waited on their office according to their order; performed it in the manner prescribed by David, see 1 Chronicles 25:1.
And these are they that waited with their children,.... They and their posterity, who officiated in the service of singing psalms in the sanctuary: the three heads of them were of the three families of the Levites, as follow:
of the sons of the Kohathites, Heman a singer; the chief of the singers, and who composed psalms and hymns, which are in the book of Psalms:
the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel; or Samuel. This Heman was grandson of Samuel the prophet; for whose sake his genealogy is traced up to Jacob or Israel in the following verses, and stands thus; after Samuel, Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath, Amasai, Elkanah, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah, Tahath, Assir, Ebiasaph, Korah, Izhar, Kohath, Levi, Israel.
And his brother Asaph,.... That is, Heman's brother; so Asaph was, as he was a descendant from the same original ancestor Levi, yet in the line of Gershon; and as being of the same office, a precentor, or chief singer:
who stood on his right hand; he was next to Heman; Heman stood in the middle, which was the most honourableF8"Alecto stetit in mediis----", Claudian in Rufin. l. 1. ver. 41. Vid. Barthii Animadv. in ib. , and Asaph on his right hand, and Ethan, after mentioned, on his left; even Asaph, whose name is often met with in the book of Psalms; and his genealogy here stands thus, as traced up to Levi, viz. Berechiah, Shimea, Michael, Baaseiah, Malchiah, Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah, Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei, Jahath, Gershon, Levi.
And their brethren, the sons of Merari,.... Who were the brethren of the Kohathites and Gershonites, descending from the same ancestor Levi: stood
on the left hand; that is, of Heman, see 1 Chronicles 6:39, the chief of whom was Ethan, sometimes called Jeduthun, 1 Chronicles 16:41 and often in the book of Psalms; his genealogy is traced up to Levi thus; Kishi, called Kushaiah, 1 Chronicles 15:17 Abdi, Malluch, Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah, Amzi, Bani, Shamer, Mahli, Mushi, Merari, Levi.
Their brethren also the Levites,.... Who were not skilled in singing, and employed in that service, even the rest of the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites:
were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God; some were porters at the gates; others had the care of the vessels; others slew the beasts for sacrifices, flayed them, and cut them up, and brought the pieces to the altar of burnt offerings, for the priests to offer.
But Aaron and his sons,.... Those that descended from him, though of the same tribe of Levi were all priests:
and they offered upon the altar of burnt offerings; the daily sacrifice, and all the offerings of the people brought to them:
and on the altar of incense; they burnt incense night and morning: and were appointed
for all the work of the place most holy; such as were high priests of the line of Eleazar, whose work it was to go into the most holy place once a year:
to make atonement for all Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God commanded; in Leviticus 16:1 which see; and on mention of this, a list of the high priests from Aaron, in the line of Eleazar, is given, to the times of Solomon, in the four following verses, just in the same order as in 1 Chronicles 6:4.
Now these are their dwelling places,.... The dwelling places of the priests and Levites, assigned and given to them in the several tribes of Israel; and the account of them agrees with that in Joshua 21:1 with some few variations of names of places, which have been there observed: see the notes there; only in 1 Chronicles 6:57 two cities are omitted, Juttah and Gibeon, through want of care in transcribing, since they are said to be "thirteen", as they should be, whereas eleven only are mentioned. The Jews sayF8T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 48. 2. , the cities of the suburbs (those here mentioned) ceased from the time the first temple was destroyed; and yet Ezra, who lived after the captivity, and the building the second temple, here gives a very particular account of them; the suburbs belonging to every city, which he particularly mentions, were 2000 cubits, both to the cities of refuge, and the rest, Numbers 35:5 Hebron, the first city mentioned in the next verse, was a city of refuge, and had suburbs of such a space; and it is remarkable, that some of the temples with the Heathens, which were asylums, or places of refuge, had the space of 2000 paces assigned them for the same sanctity and privilegeF9Tacit. Annal. l. 3. c. 62. .