1 Chronicleschapter 16
43 verses · BSB1 Chronicles book hub →
Speaks with:Psalms 96×5Psalms 105×41 Chronicles 25×41 Chronicles 15×3Psalms 98×31 Kings 8×3
Summary
Chapter summary
The ark is set in its tent, offerings are made, and David blesses the people and gives every one a loaf, a portion of flesh, and a cake of raisins. He then appoints Asaph and his brethren to minister before the ark continually. Israel's first standing choir. The psalm delivered that day is stitched from what we read as Psalms 105, 96, and 106: 'Seek ye Jehovah and his strength; seek his face evermore'; sing unto Jehovah, all the earth; let the heavens be glad and the fields exult; 'give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever.' The people say Amen, and praise Jehovah.
Context
History · Ezra — 1 Chronicles overview
- A. 1–7 Burnt offerings, bread for everyone, a day of gladness
- B. 8–22 Sing to the LORD and remember His covenant forever
- C. 23–33 Let the heavens be glad and the trees of the wood sing
- D. 34–36 Save us, O God, and gather us from the nations
- E. 37–43 Asaph before the ark, Zadok at Gibeon
The outline
A.Burnt offerings, bread for everyone, a day of gladnessvv. 1 to 7
Read vv. 1 to 7 →B.Sing to the LORD and remember His covenant forevervv. 8 to 22
Read vv. 8 to 22 →C.Let the heavens be glad and the trees of the wood singvv. 23 to 33
Read vv. 23 to 33 →D.Save us, O God, and gather us from the nationsvv. 34 to 36
Read vv. 34 to 36 →E.Asaph before the ark, Zadok at Gibeonvv. 37 to 43
Read vv. 37 to 43 →
The world behind this chapter
1 Chronicles 16The history
Israel now had two sanctuaries at once, and this chapter is where that starts. The ark went into a plain tent David pitched in Jerusalem. The tabernacle Moses built, with the great bronze altar, stayed six miles away at Gibeon. So the writer splits the staff: Zadok and his priests kept the burnt offerings going morning and evening at Gibeon, while Asaph and his company ministered before the ark in Jerusalem. That arrangement lasted until Solomon's temple joined them again.
The offerings and the distribution follow the pattern of a covenant meal. Burnt offerings went up whole; peace offerings were shared, and every person in the crowd, men and women alike, got bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Pressed raisin cakes were dense, sweet, and traveled well — festival food.
The song David hands to Asaph is assembled from pieces that appear elsewhere in the Psalms — the opening from one psalm, the middle from another, the closing lines from a third. That is not a puzzle; it is how a liturgy is built. A worship leader compiles from the existing hymnbook, and the refrain 'give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever' became the standing response of Israel's worship for the next thousand years.
What it meant to them
The first hearers sang that same refrain. Ezra records it at the laying of the second temple's foundation, word for word. This chapter told them where their own service came from.
And the song aims outward: 'Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all peoples.' A tiny province under Persian administration was handed a job description that assumed the whole world was listening.
Sources cited
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Chronicles
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on 1 Chronicles 16. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.