1 And David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
3 And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward; and their number, by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.
4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to preside over the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and judges;
5 and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, [said David,] to praise [therewith].
6 And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei.
8 The sons of Laadan: the head was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.
9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief fathers of Laadan.
10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, and Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei.
11 And Jahath was the head, and Ziza the second; and Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: as father's house, therefore, they were reckoned as one.
12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Jizhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was separated, that he should be hallowed as most holy, he and his sons for ever, to offer before Jehovah, to do service to him, and to bless in his name for ever.
14 -- And as to Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.
15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the head.
17 And the sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the head; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
18 -- The sons of Jizhar: Shelomith the head.
19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the head, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the head, and Jishijah the second.
21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters; and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.
23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
24 These were the sons of Levi according to their fathers' houses, the chief fathers, as they were reckoned, by number of names by their polls, who did the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, from twenty years old and upward.
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Commentary on 1 Chronicles 23 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 23
1Ch 23:1. David Makes Solomon King.
1. when David was old … he made Solomon … king—This brief statement, which comprises the substance of 1Ki 1:32-48, is made here solely to introduce an account of the preparations carried on by David during the latter years of his life for providing a national place of worship.
1Ch 23:2-6. Number and Distribution of the Levites.
2. he gathered together all the princes of Israel—All important measures relating to the public interest were submitted for consideration to a general assembly of the representatives of the tribes (1Ch 13:1; 15:25; 22:17; 26:1-32).
3. the Levites were numbered … thirty and eight thousand—Four times their number at the early census taken by Moses (see on Nu 4:1-49; 26:1-51). It was, in all likelihood, this vast increase that suggested and rendered expedient that classification, made in the last year of David's reign, which the present and three subsequent chapters describe.
by their polls, man by man—Women and children were not included.
4. twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord—They were not to preside over all the services of the temple. The Levites were subject to the priests, and they were superior to the Nethinim and other servants, who were not of the race of Levi. But they had certain departments of duty assigned, some of which are here specified.
5. praised the Lord with the instruments which I made—David seems to have been an inventor of many of the musical instruments used in the temple (Am 6:5).
6. David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi—These are enumerated according to their fathers' houses, but no more of these are mentioned here than the twenty-four thousand who were engaged in the work connected with the Lord's house. The fathers' houses of those Levites corresponded with the classes into which they [Josephus, Antiquities] as well as the priests were divided (see on 1Ch 24:20-31; 1Ch 26:20-28).
1Ch 23:7-11. Sons of Gershon.
7-11. the Gershonites—They had nine fathers' houses, six descended from Laadan, and three from Shimei.
1Ch 23:12-20. Of Kohath.
12. The sons of Kohath—He was the founder of nine Levitical fathers' houses.
13. Aaron was separated—as high priest (see on 1Ch 25:1-19).
14. concerning Moses—His sons were ranked with the Levites generally, but not introduced into the distinctive portion of the descendants of Levi, who were appointed to the special functions of the priesthood.
1Ch 23:21-23. Of Merari.
21-23. The sons of Merari—They comprised six fathers' houses. Summing them together, Gershon founded nine fathers houses, Kohath nine, and Merari six: total, twenty-four.
1Ch 23:24-32. Office of the Levites.
24-27. These were the sons of Levi … that did the work … from the age of twenty years and upward—The enumeration of the Levites was made by David (1Ch 23:3) on the same rule as that followed by Moses (Nu 4:3), namely, from thirty years. But he saw afterwards that this rule might be beneficially relaxed, and that the enrolment of Levites for their proper duties might be made from twenty years of age. The ark and tabernacle being now stationary at Jerusalem, the labor of the Levites was greatly diminished, as they were no longer obliged to transport its heavy furniture from place to place. The number of thirty-eight thousand Levites, exclusive of priests, was doubtless more than sufficient for the ordinary service of the tabernacle. But this pious king thought that it would contribute to the glory of the Lord to employ as many officers in his divine service as possible. These first rules, however, which David instituted, were temporary, as very different arrangements were made after the ark had been deposited in the tabernacle of Zion.