1 Chronicleschapter 26
32 verses · Ezra, by tradition · 450 to 400 BC · History
They cast lots for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.
Introduction
Ezra, by tradition, History, 1 Chronicles Overview.
This chapter was written for men who guarded and funded a temple in a province with no army of its own. It completes the lists of Levites by naming those who kept the doors, the storehouses and the treasuries. One family in it belongs to the man who once gave the ark a home for three months. The first hearers knew what it meant to control who entered a holy place and what left it. Listen for the plunder of old wars kept for the upkeep of the house. Then follow the record out of Jerusalem to officials across the whole land.
Context
- Who
- Men who guarded and funded a temple in a province with no army of its own
- What
- A register of the gatekeepers and their posts, the keepers of the treasuries, and the Levites who served as officials across Israel.
- Where
- The gates and storerooms of the sanctuary in Jerusalem, and the districts of Israel on both sides of the Jordan.
- When
- The last year of David's reign, about 970 BC, with one appointment dated to the fortieth year of the reign.
- Why
- To show that guarding, funding and administering the house of God were assigned duties of the same service.
Historical context
The chapter is David's, and the families in it are Korahite, Merarite and Gershonite. One of them belonged to Obed-edom, the man who had housed the ark for three months in 2 Samuel 6.
Show the rest of the historical context, 5 more paragraphs
The setting moves outward from the sanctuary gates in Jerusalem to the districts west and east of the Jordan. Verse 31 dates one appointment, saying that in the fortieth year of David's reign the records were searched and capable men were found among the Hebronites at Jazer in Gilead.
The occasion is the assignment of the last three Levitical duties, the gates, the treasuries and the outside offices.
A first hearer knew what gatekeeping meant, and a reader today needs it said. These men controlled who entered, when the doors opened and shut, and what went in and out, including the gold and silver vessels, which were counted. The posts were drawn by lot family by family, and the results are recorded like a duty board. There were six on the east, four on the north, four on the south, two pairs at the storehouse, and a detail on the western approach. The Shallecheth Gate lay on the causeway that climbed to the temple platform, which was the busiest entrance.
Two treasuries are kept apart in the record. One held the ordinary dedicated gifts. The other held the spoil of war set apart by Samuel the seer, by Saul, by Abner, by Joab and by the commanders, a fund kept for the upkeep of the house.
The last section leaves the temple altogether. Officers and judges are appointed for the outward business over Israel, 1,700 west of the Jordan and 2,700 over the eastern tribes. They were responsible in every matter pertaining to God and to the affairs of the king. Religious and civil administration were one service, staffed by Levites.
Significance
Under Persian rule the temple was again the centre of the province's public life, its court, its treasury, its record office and its granary. This chapter showed that it had always been so.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
It also gave weight to plain work. Guarding a door and counting silver into a chest were assignments made by lot in the presence of the king, recorded by name, and remembered five hundred years later.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
1 Chronicles carries no weekly portion and no Haftarah, and no part of it is read in the synagogue service on any Sabbath of the year. In the Hebrew Bible Chronicles stands among the Writings, and the Haftarah is drawn from the Prophets, so the yearly cycle passes this book over entirely. This site's own table of synagogue readings records the same absence. It holds no portion, no Haftarah use and no festival reading for any of the twenty-nine chapters of the book.
Rashi reads the gatekeepers' arrangement as a different kind of rota from the priests' and the singers'. The gatekeepers were distributed by gate rather than set to take turns. The lot decided which house held which gate, east, west, north and south, and so through every gate of the forecourt. The small house stood under the lot exactly as the great one did (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:1:1 and 26:13:1). The chapter therefore describes a fixed posting rather than a turn of duty, and Rashi says so at the start before the lots are cast.
How it is read
The corpus carries twelve kept notes of Rashi for this chapter in The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, under CC-BY.
Two notes fix the meaning of words that a reader is likely to take too strongly. At the eighth verse the gatekeepers are called men of valour. Rashi says the phrase here means a man of standing, as it does of Boaz in the book of Ruth, and carries no reference to strength or to war (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:8:1). At the eighteenth he takes the obscure word for the western precinct from the tractate Tamid, where Rava reads it as meaning toward the outside (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:18:1). At the seventeenth he treats Asuppim as the name of a place (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:17:1).
The blessing on Obed-Edom is read against the earlier chapter that reported it. When the fifth verse says that God had blessed him, Rashi points back to the notice that the LORD blessed the house of Obed-Edom while the ark lodged there (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:5:1). The many sons counted in this list are read as the blessing that account promised. At the sixth verse he explains that the sons ruled through the standing of their father (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:6:1). At the twelfth he identifies the divisions here with the chiefs of the twenty-four watches (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:12:1).
The treasuries at the end of the chapter draw four notes. Ahijah over the treasuries is read as the man set over the money with which the offerings for the house of God were bought (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:20:1). Jehiel and Joel are matched to the men of the same names in the Levitical list three chapters earlier (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:21:1 and 26:22:1). On Shebuel at the twenty-fourth verse Rashi gives two readings without choosing between them. He ruled over one of the treasuries of the forecourt, or he ruled over the treasuries as a whole with all the temple trustees under him (Rashi on I Chronicles 26:24:1).
Metzudat David, Radak and Malbim comment on this chapter as well. The corpus carries their refs with the reason that Sefaria holds no English version of them, so they stand here cited and unquoted. Metzudat David comments at I Chronicles 26:4:1, 26:7:1, 26:10:1, 26:14:1, 26:16:1, 26:19:1, 26:23:1, 26:26:1 and 26:27:1. Radak comments at I Chronicles 26:15:1 and 26:25:1. Malbim comments at I Chronicles 26:9:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries twenty-eight rabbinic locators for this chapter and the text of none, so each is cited and linked here rather than quoted. Seven stand on the twenty-fourth verse, where Shebuel the son of Gershom the son of Moses is ruler over the treasuries. Four of them are Bava Batra 110a:6, Ein Yaakov, Bava Batra 8:3, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Bava Batra 8:3, and Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2:12. The others are Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin 11:5:5, Nedarim 10b:10, and Otzar Midrashim, Midrashim on Missing and Extra Letters 1:24.
Four stand on the tenth verse, the sons of Hosah of the Merarites with the head who came before the firstborn. They are Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 12:30, Pesikta Rabbati 17:1, Pesikta Rabbati, Supplement A 2:8, and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 186:8. Three stand on the fifth, the eighth son of Obed-Edom and the blessing on his house: Berakhot 64a:1, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Berakhot 9:20, and Shir HaShirim Rabbah 2:5:3. Three stand on the seventeenth, the posts to the east and the north and the south and at Asuppim. They are Midrash Lekach Tov, Numbers 3:6:1, and Tamid 27a:4 and 27a:5, the tractate Rashi draws on in the verse after it.
Two stand on the eighteenth, Tamid 27a:7 and Zevachim 55b:11. Two stand on the twenty-third, the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites, Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 1:10:4 and Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 1:1:8. Two stand on the thirty-first, the Hebronites sought out and found at Jazer in Gilead, Seder Olam Rabbah 14:2 and Taanit 27a:7. Two more are carried across pairs of verses, Jerusalem Talmud Yevamot 4:12:3 on the fourth and fifth and Bamidbar Rabbah 4:29 on the sixth and seventh. The last three are single. Bamidbar Rabbah 4:20 stands on the fourth verse and Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben Yochai 35:2 on the twenty-ninth. Introductions to Tanaitic Literature, Introductions to Tractates of the Mishnah, Kelim 385 stands on the thirteenth. What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on I Chronicles 26:1:1 to 26:24:1, twelve kept notes in The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, CC-BY; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on I Chronicles 26:4:1 to 26:27:1, nine refs cited because the corpus carries no English text; Radak, Radak on I Chronicles 26:15:1 and 26:25:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Malbim, Malbim on I Chronicles 26:9:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/1-chronicles/26.json, the 28 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; This site's table of synagogue readings, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, which records no portion, no Haftarah use and no festival reading for 1 Chronicles.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Gates east, north, and south, with the storehouse watch
1 Chronicles 26:1-3
From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore: The gatekeepers open with the Korahites, the family of Korah, whose rebellion against Moses is told in Numbers 16. Numbers 26:11 records that the line of Korah did not die out. Meshelemiah heads a house of seven named sons, each counted as the holder of an accountable office.
1 Chronicles 26:1
“The divisions of the porters - There were four classes of these, each of which belonged to one of the four gates of the temple, which opened to the four cardinal points of heaven. The eastern gate fell to Shelemiah; the northern, to Zechariah, 1Ch 26:14; the southern, to Obed-edom, 1Ch 26:15; the western, to Shuppim and Hosah, 1Ch 26:16. These several persons were captains of these porter-bands or door-keepers at the different gates. There were probably a thousand men under each of these captains; as we find, from 1Ch 23:5, that there were four thousand in all.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Meshelemiah had sons: Meshelemiah of verse 1 heads the first Korahite house of gatekeepers. His first four sons, Zechariah, Jediael, Zebadiah and Jathniel, are numbered by birth. Zechariah the firstborn returns in verse 14 as a wise counselor, and the lot gives him the North Gate.
1 Chronicles 26:2
“And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the firstborn,.... And six more, who are mentioned in their order: Jediael, Zebadiah, and Jathniel, Elam, Jehohanan, and Elioenai.”
Elam the fifth: Elam, Jehohanan and Eliehoenai complete the seven sons of Meshelemiah. Verse 9 counts his house at 18 capable men with their brothers. John Gill notes that the gatekeepers came only from the Levites of Korah and Merari, and this house is the first of them.
1 Chronicles 26:4-8
Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second: Obed-edom is the man who housed the ark, and two generations later his line stands at the gates. Verse 5 gives the reason, “For God had blessed Obed-edom”. Matthew Henry and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown both trace this household to the blessing of 2 Samuel 6:11-12.
1 Chronicles 26:4
“Obed-edom and Hosah 1Ch 26:10 had been “porters,” or door - keepers, from the time of the bringing up of the ark into Jerusalem 1Ch 15:24; 1Ch 16:38.”
God had blessed Obed-edom: Ammiel, Issachar and Peullethai bring Obed-edom's sons to eight. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown trace the blessing to his care of the ark in 2 Samuel 6:11, shown in the growth of his house. The Targum, as Adam Clarke cites it, counts 82 descendants, while verse 8 gives 62.
1 Chronicles 26:5
“For God blessed him - “That is, Obed-edom; because of the ark of the Lord which was in his house; and to him was given the honor that he should see his children and grand-children, even fourscore and two, masters of the Levites.” - T. In 1Ch 26:8, we have only sixty-two mentioned.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:5
“The increase and building up of families are owing to the divine blessing; and a great blessing it is to a family to have many children, when like these they are able for, and eminent in, the service of God. His sons were preferred to places of trust in the sanctuary. They had faithfully attended the ark in their own house, and now were called to attend it in God's house.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Chronicles 26:5
“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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
his son Shemaiah were born: Shemaiah is the firstborn of Obed-edom from verse 4. His sons became heads of their families, and verse 6 calls them strong, capable men. John Gill notes that the gates required such men, to guard the temple night and day and to turn away rioters.
1 Chronicles 26:6
“Also unto Shemaiah his son,.... His firstborn, 1Ch 26:4. were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father; were heads of families, eminent and principal men: for they were mighty men of valour; which their office sometimes required them to be, to guard the temple at night as well as day from thieves and robbers, and to hinder resolute men entering in, unfit for it, and seize on rioters, and quell tumults raised.”
Shemaiah’s sons were Othni: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad were Shemaiah's sons, and Elihu and Semachiah were his brothers. John Gill notes that strength was needed at the gates. He cites Josephus, who says twenty men were required to open and shut the doors of the temple.
1 Chronicles 26:7
“The sons of Shemaiah,.... The same before mentioned, the firstborn of Obededom: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, and Elzabad, whose brethren were strong men; Elihu and Semachiah; which may rather denote their valour and courage, as before, though strength of body was needful, particularly to open and shut the doors of the temple, which, Josephus (r) says, required the assistance of twenty men. (r) Contr. Apion. l. 2. sect. 9.”
All these were descendants of Obed-edom: The house of Obed-edom totals 62 capable men, sons and grandsons together. John Gill notes that later Jewish writers explained the number by miraculous births, a reading he calls extravagant. Meshelemiah's house, in verse 9, counts 18.
1 Chronicles 26:8
“All these of the sons of Obededom,.... And grandsons: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service; men of fortitude of mind and strength of body, as before observed: were sixty two of Obededom: that sprung from him, which the Jews (s) account for in an extravagant manner, as the effect of miraculous births. (s) T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 63. 2. & 64. 1.”
1 Chronicles 26:9-11
Meshelemiah also had sons and brothers: Meshelemiah's house counts “18 in all”, a smaller family than Obed-edom's. Hosah the Merarite set Shimri first by his own choice as father, “although he was not the firstborn”. The law kept the double portion for the firstborn, while the gatekeeper's post was given for fitness.
1 Chronicles 26:9
“And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen,.... He had seven sons, 1Ch 26:1 and therefore must have eleven brethren or kinsmen.”
Hosah the Merarite also had sons: Hosah the Merarite made his son Shimri chief. John Gill notes that Hosah had kept the ark with Obed-edom in 1 Chronicles 16:38. Matthew Henry held that the rank was in this service alone, as the law of Deuteronomy 21:16 and 17 kept the inheritance for the firstborn.
1 Chronicles 26:10
“Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons,.... Who was a fellow porter of Obededom's at the ark, 1Ch 16:38. Simri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief); the firstborn being unfit for service, either through want of an intellectual capacity, or of strength of body, or through some defect or another; according to the Syriac version, he was dead; so some understand the words, he, the father, had no firstborn remaining or living.”
Hilkiah the second: Hilkiah, Tebaliah and Zechariah follow Shimri among the sons of Hosah. The house of Hosah the Merarite numbered 13 in all, the smallest of the three houses of gatekeepers. John Gill traces these Merarites to Merari, a brother of Kohath.
1 Chronicles 26:11
“Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. Four sons, and nine brethren or kinsmen.”
1 Chronicles 26:12-19
had duties for ministering: The gatekeepers cast lots for their posts, “young and old alike”, as the singers of chapter 25 were assigned by lot. The four gates take the compass points: east to Shelemiah, north to Zechariah, south to Obed-edom, west to Shuppim and Hosah. Twenty-four men stand on watch at one time.
1 Chronicles 26:12
“This verse is obscure, but its probable meaning is the following: “To these divisions of the porters, principal men, (were assigned) the watches, together with their brethren, for service in the house of the Lord;” i. e., the “chief men” 1Ch 26:1-11, amounting to no more than 93, kept the watch and ward of the house, together with a further number of their brethren (4,000, 1Ch 23:5), who assisted them from time to time.”
They cast lots for each gate: The gatekeepers cast lots for each gate by their families. John Gill reads young and old as the smaller, poorer families and the larger, richer ones. The lot alone set each post, whatever the rank of the family.
1 Chronicles 26:13
“And they cast lots,.... To determine at which gate each should stand, who at this gate, and who at the other, &c. as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate; meaning, not little ones and grown persons in a family, but the smaller and poorer families, and the larger and richer ones, had their places assigned them at the several gates, as the lot directed; they did not go according to the dignity and precedence of their families, but according to lot.”
the East Gate fell to Shelemiah: , whose name matches Meshelemiah of verse 1. His firstborn Zechariah, a wise counselor, drew the North Gate. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the east gate was the busiest and so kept six Levites a day, as verse 17 counts.
1 Chronicles 26:14
“The sons of Obed-edom were employed in this office, sixty-two of that family. This was he that entertained the ark with reverence and cheerfulness; and see how he was rewarded for it.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the South Gate fell to Obed-edom: Obed-edom drew the South Gate, and his sons took the storehouses. Albert Barnes gives the Hebrew name of this building, Asuppim, as the house of collections, a treasure house of some kind. Verse 17 sets two pairs of guards there each day.
1 Chronicles 26:15
“The house of Asuppim - literally, “the house of collections” (see the margin and compare Neh 12:25 margin). A treasure-house of some kind or other is probably intended.”
the Shallecheth Gate: Shuppim and Hosah drew the West Gate and the Shallecheth Gate beside the highway. Adam Clarke reads Shallecheth as the gate of projections, the gate he judged the temple's refuse went out by. Hosah is the Merarite of verse 10.
1 Chronicles 26:16
“The gate Shallecheth - The gate of the projections: probably that through which all the offal of the temple was carried out.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
six Levites on the east: Six Levites kept the east each day. Four kept the north, four the south, and two pairs the storehouse, which Albert Barnes reports was thought to have two doors. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain the six on the east as the guard of the busiest gate.
1 Chronicles 26:17
“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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:17
“Toward Asuppim two and two - It is conjectured that the “store-house” in question (1Ch 26:15 note) had two doors, to each of which two porters were appointed.”
the court on the west: On the west, four guards kept the highway and two kept the court. John Gill places the four by the Shallecheth Gate of verse 16 and, with Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, ties the name Parbar to the suburbs. Albert Barnes notes the house of the LORD was still unbuilt.
1 Chronicles 26:18
“Parbar” must designate here the space between the western wall of the temple building and the wall of the court, which would be a sort of “precinct” or “purlieu” of the temple (2Ki 23:11 note). Here were two gates, at one of which two guards were stationed; while at the Shallecheth, which gave upon the causeway, there were four. In this whole account, the temple is spoken of as if it were existing, when it was not as yet built.
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:18
“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]. LEVITES THAT HAD CHARGE OF THE TREASURES.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the divisions of the gatekeepers: The gatekeepers came from two Levite lines, Korah and Merari, as John Gill notes. Albert Barnes counts 24 guards on duty at one time. He sets that against the 4,000 gatekeepers of 1 Chronicles 23:5 and suggests the 93 chief men served as officers over the rest.
1 Chronicles 26:19
“These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari. For among those Levites which descended from Kore, a grandson of Kohath, and which sprung from Merar, a brother of Kohath, the porters only wore; see 1Ch 26:1.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:19
“The divisions of the porters - The account of the porters here given makes them only twenty-four in number at any one time; 1Ch 23:5 states that the duty was discharged by 4,000 persons. Perhaps of the 93 chief porters here spoken of 1Ch 26:8-9, 1Ch 26:11, 1Ch 26:24 were always on guard as officers, while of the remaining 3,907, a certain proportion were each day on duty as their subordinates.”
Treasuries filled with spoil dedicated from every war
1 Chronicles 26:20-26
in charge of the treasuries of the house of God: The treasuries are held by Gershonite and Kohathite families. Shebuel, “a descendant of Gershom son of Moses”, was “the officer in charge of the treasuries”. John Gill reads this as the first time in Chronicles that a descendant of Moses holds a post of honor and trust.
1 Chronicles 26:20
“The treasures of the house of God - Where the money was kept, which was to be expended in oblations for the temple. - Jarchi.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:20
“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].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
From the descendants of Ladan: Jehieli heads the Gershonite treasurers. He comes from the house of Ladan, the Gershonite family head of this verse. John Gill takes Ladan to be the same man as Libni and points to 1 Chronicles 23:7.
1 Chronicles 26:21
“As concerning the sons of Laadan,.... The same with Libni, see 1Ch 23:7. the sons of the Gershonite Laadan; so called, to distinguish him from another Laadan, as Kimchi thinks: chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite; that sprung from him: were Jehieli; and his sons next mentioned.”
the sons of Jehieli, Zetham: Zetham and his brother Joel, sons of Jehieli, kept the treasuries of the LORD's house. Verse 20 names two treasuries, one for the house and one for the dedicated things. Shelomith held the second in verse 26.
1 Chronicles 26:22
“The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother,.... Both sons of Jehieli: which were over the treasures of the house of the Lord; that part of the trust which before was committed to Ahijah, which concerned provisions for sacred uses, before observed.”
From the Amramites, the Izharites: The Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites are the four Kohathite houses. John Gill traces them to the four sons of Kohath in Exodus 6:18. He notes that the account which follows names every house except the Uzzielites.
1 Chronicles 26:23
“Of the Amramites and the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites. Who sprang from the four sons of Kohath, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, Exo 6:18 with respect to the concerns they severally had in the trust of the treasures, the account follows, all but the Uzzielites, who are not after mentioned.”
Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom: Shebuel descended from Gershom son of Moses. John Gill counts this as the first office of honor held by a descendant of Moses. The Targum, cited by Adam Clarke, calls him Jonathan and says David chose him for his skill with money, a reading Gill rejects.
1 Chronicles 26:24
“And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures. This is the first time that any of the posterity of Moses are taken notice of, as being in any office of honour, authority, and trust; by the Targum he is said to be Jonathan, spoken of in Jdg 18:30 but very wrongly; this man, according to Jarchi and Kimchi, had all the treasures and treasurers under him.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:24
“Shebuel the son of Gershom - “Shebuel, that is, Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, who returned to God [שבואל shebuel]. And David, seeing him expert in money matters, constituted him chief treasurer.” - T.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
His relatives through Eliezer: Shebuel's relatives through Eliezer run in a single line of sons. Each man is the son of the one before, from Rehabiah through Jeshaiah, Joram and Zichri to Shelomith. Shelomith, the last of the line, keeps the dedicated treasuries in verses 26 and 28.
1 Chronicles 26:25
“And his brethren by Eliezer,.... His kinsmen that descended from Eliezer, the brother of Gershom, the ancestor of Shebuel, whose descent from him in succession were Rehabiah, Jeshaiah, Joram, Zichri, and Shelomith.”
This Shelomith and his brothers: Shelomith and his brothers kept the gifts that King David, the family heads and the army commanders had dedicated. The dedicated things were gifts set apart for God's house. Matthew Henry says the charge of these Levites covered both the work of the Lord and the service of the kings.
1 Chronicles 26:27-28
some of the plunder from their battles: The dedicated treasury is filled with “some of the plunder from their battles”. Verse 28 names the givers: Samuel the seer, Saul, Abner and Joab, the last judge, the first king, his general and David's own commander. Everything they set apart stood “under the care of Shelomith and his brothers”.
1 Chronicles 26:27
“The spoils won in battles did they dedicate - It seems these were intended for its repairs. This custom prevailed amongst almost all the people of the earth. All who acknowledged any supreme Being, believed that victory could only come through him; and therefore thought it quite rational to give him a share of the spoils. Proofs of this exist in all ancient histories: thus Virgil: - Irruimus ferro, et divos, ipsumque vocamus In partem praedamque Jovem.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
dedicated by Samuel the seer: Shelomith's care reached back to gifts from Samuel the seer. Saul, Abner and Joab added their own, and Matthew Henry says men of war must honor God with their spoils. Albert Barnes dates this sacred treasury to Samuel's time, after an earlier one under Joshua in Joshua 6:24 ran out.
1 Chronicles 26:28
“The foundations of a sacred treasury had therefore been laid as far back as the time of Samuel, when the Israelites began to recover from their last servitude. Such a treasury had been once before established, namely, under Joshua Jos 6:24; but it appears to have been soon exhausted, and we hear nothing of it under any of the later judges until Samuel.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:28
“Note, The more God bestows upon us the more he expects from us in works of piety and charity. Great successes call for proportionable returns. When we look over our estates we should consider, "Here are convenient things, rich things, it may be, and fine things; but where are the dedicated things?" Men of war must honour God with their spoils.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Officers and judges for the outward business of Israel
1 Chronicles 26:29-32
the outside duties as officers and judges: Chenaniah's Izharites and Hashabiah's Hebronites serve outside the sanctuary “as officers and judges over Israel”. Hashabiah's command lies west of the Jordan, and Jerijah's reaches east into Gilead, where capable men were found in David's fortieth year. The two commands count 1,700 and 2,700 men.
1 Chronicles 26:29
“Outward business - Work done without the city; cutting of timber, hewing stones, ploughing the fields belonging to the sanctuary. - Jarchi.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Hashabiah and his relatives, 1,700: Hashabiah the Hebronite led 1,700 capable men west of the Jordan. Adam Clarke reads the work of the LORD as church affairs and the service of the king as civil affairs. Albert Barnes notes that Jerijah's Hebronites held the same charge east of the Jordan in verse 32.
1 Chronicles 26:30
“In all the business of the Lord - Every thing that concerned ecclesiastical matters. In the service of the king - Every thing that concerned civil affairs: see also 1Ch 26:32. Thus courts of ecclesiastical and civil judicature were established in the land; and due care taken to preserve and insure the peace of the Church, and the safety of the state; without which the public welfare could neither be secured nor promoted. Whatever affects religion in any country, must affect the state or government of that country: true religion alone can dispose men to civil obedience.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Jerijah was the chief: Jerijah was chief of the Hebronites by the family records. In David's fortieth year the records were searched, and capable Hebronites were found at Jazer in Gilead. Albert Barnes notes that Jerijah's house held the same office east of the Jordan that Hashabiah's held in the west.
Among Jerijah’s relatives there were: Jerijah's relatives were set over Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh. Albert Barnes places their charge east of the Jordan, matching Hashabiah's in the west. John Wesley reads the matters of God as gathering gifts for the temple and seeing the laws of God kept among the people.
1 Chronicles 26:32
“Rulers - This term is somewhat too strong. The same kind of office was assigned to Jerijah and his brethren in the trans-Jordanic region as to Hashabiah and his brethren in western Palestine 1Ch 26:30, namely, a superintendence over religious matters and over the interests of the king.”
1 more voice on this verse
1 Chronicles 26:32
“Of the Lord - In all things which concerned the house or worship of God; to take care that such monies as were given towards building the temple, or towards the sacrifices and other holy ministrations should be gathered and received, and faithfully sent up to Jerusalem; and to see to the execution of all the laws of God among the people.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: Administrative list, the gatekeepers assigned by lot, the treasuries entrusted, and the outside duties given, as Clarke classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Capable men, said of house after house | The chapter grades the gatekeepers by fitness rather than by seniority. The phrase capable men stands seven times, counted in the Berean text in the store. It falls in Obed-edom's house at verses 6, 7 and 8, in Meshelemiah's at verse 9, and in the Hebronite commands at verses 30, 31 and 32. The repetition carries the chapter's own standard for the office.John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 1748 to 1763, on 1 Chronicles 26:6. | 1 Chronicles 26:6, 1 Chronicles 26:8, 1 Chronicles 26:9, 1 Chronicles 26:30, 1 Chronicles 26:32 |
| The four sides, and the watch on each | Verses 14 to 18 assign the gates by the compass, east to Shelemiah, north to Zechariah, south to Obed-edom, west to Shuppim and Hosah, with the storehouses and the Shallecheth Gate beside them. Verse 17 then counts the daily watch, six on the east, four on the north, four on the south and two pairs at the storehouse. The house those gates belong to had not been built.Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1832 to 1869, on 1 Chronicles 26:17. | 1 Chronicles 26:14, 1 Chronicles 26:15, 1 Chronicles 26:16, 1 Chronicles 26:17, 1 Chronicles 26:18 |
| Two treasuries, kept apart | Verse 20 names the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated things as two trusts rather than one. Verses 26 to 28 then show why, because the dedicated treasury held what David, the commanders and four earlier figures had set apart from war spoil. The ordinary accounts of the house and the gifts made by vow were kept in separate hands.Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on 1 Chronicles 26:20. | 1 Chronicles 26:20, 1 Chronicles 26:26, 1 Chronicles 26:27, 1 Chronicles 26:28 |
| The lot, cast for gates as it was cast for courses | Verse 13 states the method in one sentence, that they cast lots for each gate according to their families, young and old alike. It is the same draw that set the priestly courses at 24:5 and the singers at 25:8, and the same pairing of young and old. Three chapters in a row settle a Levitical assignment the same way.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Chronicles 26:13. | 1 Chronicles 26:13, 1 Chronicles 24:5, 1 Chronicles 25:8 |
The historical value
11 more paragraphs on the patterns
Obed-edom is the man who housed the ark for three months at 2 Samuel 6:10 to 6:12, while David's first attempt to bring it up lay abandoned. Two generations later his line stands at the gates, and the text gives the reason without qualification at verse 5, that God had blessed him. The record counts eight sons and their households, sixty-two able men in all.
The Korahites at verse 1 are the descendants of the man whose rebellion against Moses in Numbers 16 destroyed him. Numbers 26:11 states directly that the sons of Korah did not die, and the same family name stands over a group of psalms.
Verse 31 dates one of its appointments, that in the fortieth year of David's reign the records were searched and capable men were found among the Hebronites at Jazer in Gilead. It is one of the few dated administrative acts in the book.
The dossier on this book sets the courses of 1 Chronicles 23 to 26 against the Babylonian temple prebend records of the sixth to fifth centuries BC. The Eanna archive at Uruk and the Ebabbar archive at Sippar covered singers, gatekeepers, bakers and the rest of the working orders. Its verdict is that these courses look like what a working temple actually required, and that the parallel settles nothing about the date they were written down.
The debated concept
The two civil commands at verses 30 and 32 count 1,700 capable men west of the Jordan and 2,700 east of it. That scale belongs to the wider question the dossier carries about the size of the numbers in Chronicles. Three positions stand there with their holders. C. F. Keil and Franz Delitzsch, in Biblical Commentary on the Books of Chronicles, 1872, read the divergences between Chronicles and Samuel as copying damage in the Hebrew numeral notation. John Wenham, in Large Numbers in the Old Testament, Tyndale Bulletin 18, 1967, reads the Hebrew eleph as a unit or a clan rather than always a literal thousand. A third reading takes the totals as deliberate scale in the ancient way of stating magnitude. The page states the three and gives no verdict.
The divine connection
The chapter twice sets fitness above birth order. Hosah's son Shimri is made first at verse 10 although his father passed over the birth order, and the whole body is graded by the phrase capable men. The office at the doors asked for what a man could do.
Verse 24 names Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, as the officer over the treasuries. John Gill reads it as the first post of honour and trust in Chronicles held by a descendant of Moses, reached through service rather than through the name. The chapter before recorded that Moses' own sons were counted as ordinary Levites, so the two chapters read together show an office earned rather than inherited.
The New Testament and the later church
This chapter is not quoted in the New Testament. The office it describes is remembered in the psalm line about the doorkeeper in the house of God at Psalm 84:10, which the later church has read alongside these lists. The link is one of subject rather than of citation.
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Chronicles 26:13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 1748 to 1763, on 1 Chronicles 26:1; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on 1 Chronicles 26:5 and The dossier's ancient Near Eastern section on this book, src/components/book/dossier-content/1-chronicles.ts, the Eanna and Ebabbar entry.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.