20 And of the Levites, Ahijah `is' over the treasures of the house of God, even for the treasures of the holy things.
Sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of the house of Jehovah,
And it is complete -- all the work that king Solomon hath made `for' the house of Jehovah, and Solomon bringeth in the sanctified things of David his father; the silver, and the gold, and the vessels he hath put in the treasuries of the house of Jehovah.
And Asa taketh all the silver and the gold that are left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the house of the king, and giveth them into the hand of his servants, and king Asa sendeth them unto Ben-Hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying,
For in office `are' the four chiefs of the gatekeepers, they are Levites, and they have been over the chambers, and over the treasuries of the house of God, and round about the house of God they lodge, for on them `is' the watch, and they `are' over the opening, even morning by morning. And `some' of them `are' over the vessels of service, for by number they bring them in, and by number they take them out. And `some' of them are appointed over the vessels, even over all the vessels of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices. And `some' of the sons of the priests are mixing the mixture for spices.
And iron in abundance for nails for leaves of the gates, and for couplings, hath David prepared, and brass in abundance -- there is no weighing. And cedar-trees even without number, for the Zidonians and the Tyrians brought in cedar-trees in abundance to David.
`And lo, in mine affliction, I have prepared for the house of Jehovah of gold talents a hundred thousand, and of silver a thousand thousand talents; and of brass and of iron there is no weighing, for in abundance it hath been, and wood and stones I have prepared, and to them thou dost add. `And with thee in abundance `are' workmen, hewers and artificers of stone and of wood, and every skilful man for every work. To the gold, to the silver, and to the brass, and to the iron, there is no number; arise and do, and Jehovah is with thee.'
This Shelomith and his brethren `are' over all the treasures of the holy things, that David the king, and heads of the fathers, even heads of thousands, and of hundreds, and heads of the host, sanctified; from the battles, even from the spoil they sanctified to strengthen the house of Jehovah; and all that Samuel the seer, and Saul son of Kish, and Abner son of Ner, and Joab son of Zeruiah sanctified, every one sanctifying `any thing -- it is' by the side of Shelomith and his brethren.
and the pattern of all that hath been by the Spirit with him, for the courts of the house of Jehovah, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the things sacrificed; and for the courses of the priests and of the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of Jehovah, and for all vessels of service of the house of Jehovah, even gold by weight, for `things of' gold, for all instruments of service and service; for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of service and service; and `by' weight for the candlesticks of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight `for' candlestick and candlestick, and its lamps; and for the candlesticks of silver, by weight for a candlestick and its lamps, according to the service of candlestick and candlestick; and the gold `by' weight for tables of the arrangement, for table and table, and silver for the tables of silver; and the forks, and the bowls, and the cups of pure gold, and for the basins of gold, by weight for basin and basin, and for the basins of silver, by weight for basin and basin, and for the altar of perfume refined gold by weight, and for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubs of gold -- spreading and covering over the ark of the covenant of Jehovah. The whole `is' in writing from the hand of Jehovah, `He caused me to understand all the work of the pattern,' `said David.'
and with all my power I have prepared for the house of my God, the gold for `things of' gold, and the silver for `those of' silver, and the brass for `those of' brass, the iron for `those of' iron, and the wood for `those of' wood, shoham stones, and settings, and stones of painting and of diverse colours, and all `kinds of' precious stone, and stones of white marble, in abundance. `And again, because of my delighting in the house of my God, the substance I have -- a peculiar treasure of gold and silver -- I have given for the house of my God, even over and above all I have prepared for the house of the sanctuary: three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses, even gold for `things of' gold, and silver for `those of' silver, and for all the work by the hand of artificers; and who `is' he that is offering willingly to consecrate his hand to-day to Jehovah?' And the heads of the fathers, and the heads of the tribes of Israel, and the heads of the thousands, and of the hundreds, even to the heads of the work of the king, offer willingly. And they give for the service of the house of God, of gold -- talents five thousand, and drams a myriad; and of silver -- talents ten thousand, and of brass -- a myriad and eight thousand talents; and of iron -- a hundred thousand talents; and he with whom stones are found hath given to the treasury of the house of Jehovah, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite.
And Hezekiah saith to prepare chambers in the house of Jehovah, and they prepare, and they bring in the heave-offering, and the tithe, and the holy things faithfully; and over them is a leader, Conaniah the Levite, and Shimei his brother `is' second;
according to their power they have given to the treasure of the work; of gold, drams six myriads and a thousand, and of silver, pounds five thousand, and of priests' coats, a hundred.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 26
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 26 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 26
1Ch 26:1-12. Divisions of the Porters.
1, 2. Concerning the divisions of the porters—There were four thousand (1Ch 23:6), all taken from the families of the Kohathites and Merarites (1Ch 26:14), divided into twenty-four courses—as the priests and musicians.
Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph—Seven sons of Meshelemiah are mentioned (1Ch 26:2), whereas eighteen are given (1Ch 26:9), but in this latter number his relatives are included.
5. God blessed him—that is, Obed-edom. The occasion of the blessing was his faithful custody of the ark (2Sa 6:11, 12). The nature of the blessing (Ps 127:5) consisted in the great increase of progeny by which his house was distinguished; seventy-two descendants are reckoned.
6. 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 popular insurrection—to be, in fact, a military guard—but, after the temple was built, to open and shut the gates, which were extraordinarily large and ponderous.
10. 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.
12. Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men—These were charged with the duty of superintending the watches, being heads of the twenty-four courses of porters.
1Ch 26:13-19. The Gates Assigned by Lot.
13. they cast lots—Their departments of duty, such as the gates they should attend to, were allotted in the same manner as those of the other Levitical bodies, and the names of the chiefs or captains are given, with the respective gates assigned them.
15. the house of Asuppim—or, "collections," probably a storehouse, where were kept the grain, wine, and other offerings for the sustenance of the priests.
16. the gate Shallecheth—probably the rubbish gate, through which all the accumulated filth and sweepings of the temple and its courts were poured out.
by the causeway of the going up—probably the ascending road which was cast up or raised from the deep valley between Mount Zion and Moriah, for the royal egress to the place of worship (2Ch 9:4).
ward against ward—Some refer these words to Shuppim and Hosah, whose duty it was to watch both the western gate and the gate Shallecheth, which was opposite, while others take it as a general statement applicable to all the guards, and intended to intimate that they were posted at regular distances from each other, or that they all mounted and relieved guard at the same time in uniform order.
17-19. Eastward were six Levites—because the gate there was the most frequented. There were four at the north gate; four at the south, at the storehouse which was adjoining the south, and which had two entrance gates, one leading in a southwesterly direction to the city, and the other direct west, two porters each. At the Parbar towards the west, there were six men posted—four at the causeway or ascent (1Ch 26:16), and two at Parbar, amounting to twenty-four in all, who were kept daily on guard.
18. Parbar—is, perhaps, the same as Parvar ("suburbs," 2Ki 23:11), and if so, this gate might be so called as leading to the suburbs [Calmet].
1Ch 26:20-28. Levites That Had Charge of the Treasures.
20. of the Levites, Ahijah—The heading of this section is altogether strange as it stands, for it looks as if the sacred historian were going to commence a new subject different from the preceding. Besides, "Ahijah, whose name occurs after" the Levites, is not mentioned in the previous lists. It is totally unknown and is introduced abruptly without further information; and lastly, Ahijah must have united in his own person those very offices of which the occupants are named in the verses that follow. The reading is incorrect. The Septuagint has this very suitable heading, "And their Levitical brethren over the treasures," &c. [Bertheau]. The names of those who had charge of the treasure chambers at their respective wards are given, with a general description of the precious things committed to their trust. Those treasures were immense, consisting of the accumulated spoils of Israelitish victories, as well as of voluntary contributions made by David and the representatives of the people.
1Ch 26:29-32. Officers and Judges.
29. officers and judges—The word rendered "officers" is the term which signifies scribes or secretaries, so that the Levitical class here described were magistrates, who, attended by their clerks, exercised judicial functions; there were six thousand of them (1Ch 23:4), who probably acted like their brethren on the principle of rotation, and these were divided into three classes—one (1Ch 26:29) for the outward business over Israel; one (1Ch 26:30), consisting of seventeen hundred, for the west of Jordan "in all business of the Lord, and in the service of the king"; and the third (1Ch 26:31, 32), consisting of twenty-seven hundred, "rulers for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king."