49 And Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt-offering, and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
And thou shalt make an altar for the burning of incense: of acacia-wood shalt thou make it; a cubit the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof -- square shall it be; and two cubits its height; of itself shall be its horns. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make upon it a border of gold round about. And two rings of gold shalt thou make for it under its border; by its two corners shalt thou make [them], on the two sides thereof; and they shall be for receptacles for the staves, with which to carry it. And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it in front of the veil which is before the ark of the testimony in front of the mercy-seat which is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon fragrant incense: every morning, when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn the incense.
And thou shalt make the altar of acacia-wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth; the altar shall be square; and the height thereof three cubits. And thou shalt make its horns at the four corners thereof; its horns shall be of itself; and thou shalt overlay it with copper. And thou shalt make its pots to cleanse it of the fat, its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its firepans; for all the utensils thereof thou shalt employ copper. And thou shalt make for it a grating of network of copper; and on the net shalt thou make four copper rings at its four corners; and thou shalt put it under the ledge of the altar beneath, and the net shall be to the very middle of the altar. And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with copper. And its staves shall be put into the rings, that the staves may be on both sides of the altar, when it is carried. Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it hath been shewn thee on the mountain, so shall they make [it].
And Aaron shall make atonement for its horns once in the year: with the blood of the sin-offering of atonement shall he make atonement for it, once in the year, throughout your generations: it is most holy to Jehovah. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel according to those of them that are numbered, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to Jehovah on their being numbered, that there be no plague among them on their being numbered. This shall they give -- every one that passeth among them that are numbered -- half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary, -- twenty gerahs the shekel; a half shekel shall be the heave-offering for Jehovah. Every one that passeth among those that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give the heave-offering of Jehovah. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when ye give the heave-offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the children of Israel, and devote it to the service of the tent of meeting; and it shall be a memorial to the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls.
The priests, the Levites, [and] the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: Jehovah's offerings by fire, and his inheritance shall they eat, but they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah, he is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that sacrifice a sacrifice, whether ox, or sheep: they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the jawbones, and the maw. The firstfruits [also] of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstfruits of the shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him; for Jehovah thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, that he may stand to serve in the name of Jehovah, he and his sons continually. And if the Levite shall come from one of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourneth, and shall come according to all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah will choose, and shall serve in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brethren the Levites that stand there before Jehovah, -- they shall have like portions to eat, besides that which he hath sold of his patrimony.
If indeed then perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, for the people had their law given to them in connexion with *it*, what need [was there] still that a different priest should arise according to the order of Melchisedec, and not be named after the order of Aaron? For, the priesthood being changed, there takes place of necessity a change of law also. For he, of whom these things are said, belongs to a different tribe, of which no one has [ever] been attached to the service of the altar. For it is clear that our Lord has sprung out of Juda, as to which tribe Moses spake nothing as to priests.
Then he will be gracious unto him, and say, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.
And it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of Jehovah, that Jehovah spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' attendant, saying,
They shall eat the things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate [and] to hallow them; but a stranger shall not eat [of them], for they are holy.
And the priest shall make atonement for the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it was a sin of inadvertence, and they have brought before Jehovah their offering, as an offering by fire to Jehovah, and their sin-offering for their [sin of] inadvertence;
And Jehovah said to Moses, Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none make himself unclean for a dead person among his peoples, except for his immediate relation, who is near unto him -- for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother; and for his sister, a virgin, that is near unto him, who hath had no husband, for her may he make himself unclean. He shall not make himself unclean [who is] a chief among his peoples, to profane himself. They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they present Jehovah's offerings by fire, the bread of their God; therefore shall they be holy. They shall not take as wife a whore, or a dishonoured woman; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband; for he is holy unto his God. And thou shalt hallow him; for the bread of thy God doth he present: he shall be holy unto thee; for I, Jehovah, who hallow you am holy. And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burned with fire. And the high priest among his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil was poured, and who is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his garments. Neither shall he come near any person dead, nor make himself unclean for his father and for his mother; neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am Jehovah. And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or a dishonoured one, a harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take as wife a virgin from among his peoples. And he shall not profane his seed among his peoples; for I am Jehovah who do hallow him. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Any of thy seed throughout their generations that hath any defect, shall not approach to present the bread of his God; for whatever man hath a defect, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or one limb longer than the other, or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed, or hump-backed, or withered, or that hath a spot in his eye, or hath the itch, or scabs, or his testicles broken. No man of the seed of Aaron the priest that hath defect shall come near to present Jehovah's offerings by fire: he hath a defect; he shall not come near to present the bread of his God. The bread of his God, of the most holy and of the holy, shall he eat;
And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened [bread]; and gather all the assembly together at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses did as Jehovah had commanded him; and the assembly was collected at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Moses said to the assembly, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded to be done. And Moses brought Aaron near, and his sons, and bathed them with water. And he put upon him the vest and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the cloak, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the girdle of the ephod, and fastened the ephod on him. And he put the breastplate on it, and put on the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim; and he put the turban upon his head; and upon the turban, on the front of it, he put the golden plate, the holy diadem; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and hallowed them.
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar, and lay wood in order on the fire; and Aaron's sons, the priests, shall lay the pieces, the head, and the fat, in order on the wood that is on the fire which is on the altar; but its inwards and its legs shall he wash in water; and the priest shall burn all on the altar, a burnt-offering, an offering by fire to Jehovah of a sweet odour.
And thou shalt offer every day a bullock as a sin-offering for atonement; and the altar shalt thou cleanse from sin, by making atonement for it, and shalt anoint it, to hallow it. Seven days shalt thou make atonement for the altar and hallow it; and the altar shall be most holy: whatever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
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. .