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1 Chronicleschapter 27

34 verses · Ezra, by tradition · 450 to 400 BC · History

Key verse

Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.

It stands in Twenty-four thousand men a month, all year long, verses 1 to 15.

The chapter

Chapter summary

The civil and military establishment. Twelve divisions of twenty-four thousand serve month by month through the year, each under a named captain, several of them the mighty men already met in chapter 11. The princes of the tribes are listed, with a note that David did not take the number of those under twenty years old, 'because Jehovah had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of heaven'. And a reminder that wrath came upon Israel over the numbering. Then the stewards of the crown estates: treasuries, field-work, vineyards and wine-cellars, olive and sycamore trees, herds, camels, asses, flocks. Last the counselors: Ahithophel, Hushai 'the king's friend,' and Joab captain of the king's army.

Context

History · Ezra · 1 Chronicles overview

The world behind this chapter

1 Chronicles 27
When
The military rota, the tribal officers and the royal estates · Within David's reign, before its last years, since verse 33 still names Ahithophel among the living
Where
The whole kingdom, in twelve districts of muster, with crown farms from Sharon to the eastern valleys
Who first heard it
A community with no army, no crown lands and no standing government of its own

The history

The chapter is David's administration rather than David's voice, and it names the men who held each charge.

It can be placed inside the reign rather than at its close. Albert Barnes reads verses 32 to 34 as earlier material, because Ahithophel is still named as the king's counsellor, and that man died after Absalom's revolt failed to follow his advice.

The setting is the whole kingdom, twelve districts of muster and the crown estates that ran from the plain of Sharon to the eastern valleys.

The rest of the history, and what it meant to them

A first hearer understood the army as a rotation and a reader today may expect a standing force. Twelve divisions of 24,000 men each served one month a year and then went home to their fields, which kept a trained force always available without taking the country off the land. It is the logic of the priests' courses applied to war. The commanders are men from the earlier lists of the Three and the Thirty, now holding district commands. Beside them stand the tribal officers, one to a tribe, forming a civil chain of command alongside the military one.

The chapter then pauses to admit something. David did not record the count of men under twenty, and the census Joab began was never finished, because wrath came upon Israel for it and the number was left out of the royal record. The official record kept the gap and explained it.

The final list is an inventory of crown property, and it is one of the most concrete pictures of an ancient royal economy in Scripture. There are officers over the storehouses, the field workers, the vineyards and the wine vats. Others hold the olive and sycamore trees of the foothills, the oil stores, the herds in Sharon and in the valleys, the camels, the donkeys and the flocks. Two of the specialists are foreigners, an Ishmaelite over the camels and a Hagrite over the flocks, because desert peoples knew those animals best.

What it meant to them

This is what a working state looked like, remembered by people who had none. It reads as a picture of order, with everything counted, everyone accountable and each man's name set against his charge.

The note about the unfinished census stood at the centre of the administrative section as a permanent warning. Even good bookkeeping can be done in pride.

Sources cited

  • Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
  • John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament

Every work MannaFest builds on →

Where the chapter sits

1 Chronicles 27 falls in David's reign: temple-framed (chapters 10–29). Saul's death framed as judgment; David's consolidation; the ark brought to Jerusalem; the Davidic covenant (ch. 17); the military victories; the census and the threshing-floor site (ch. 21); temple preparation; Solomon's charge; David's doxology.

Before it: Genealogies from Adam to Saul, chapters 1–9.

The whole shape of 1 Chronicles→

The structure of this chapter

People3

Places1

The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.

A. Twenty-four thousand men a month, all year long

1. (vv. 1-2)

Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.

1 Chronicles 27:1

“This verse is a general heading to the list 1Ch 27:2-15. The heading has been taken from some fuller and more elaborate description of David’s army, whereof the writer of Chronicles gives us only an abridgement. Omitting the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, and the officers (probably “scribes”) who served the king, he contents himself with recording the “chief fathers” or heads of the divisions 1Ch 28:1, and the number of Iraelites in each course.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.

1 Chronicles 27:1

“By this order near three hundred thousand of his people were instructed and exercised in the use of their arms, and fitted for the defense of their king and kingdom when it should be needful, and in the mean time sufficient provision was made against any sudden tumults or irruptions of enemies.”

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical

1 Chronicles 27:1

“The probability is, that provided the requisite number was furnished, no stricter scrutiny would be made. A change of men might, to a certain degree, be encouraged, as it was a part of David's policy to train all his subjects to skill in arms; and to have made the enlistment fall always on the same individuals would have defeated that purpose.”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

1 Chronicles 27:2

“First course for the first month - Instead of mentioning first, second, third, etc., month, the Targum names them thus: First month, Nisan; second, Aiyar; third, Sivan; fourth, Tammuz; fifth, Ab; sixth, Elul; seventh, Tishri; eighth, Marchesvan; ninth, Cisleu; tenth, Tebeth; eleventh, Shebat; twelfth, Adar. No mention is made of a veadar or intercalary month.”

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical

1 Chronicles 27:2, The whole record on this verse →

the chief fathers and captains: The chapter opens with a heading before the list itself: twelve courses of twenty and four thousand men, rotating one month at a time through the year, put the crown's standing army near two hundred and eighty eight thousand without any one soldier serving more than a month running. Only the heads of the divisions are named here; the captains of hundreds, the captains of thousands, and the scribes under them belong to a fuller record the Chronicler has abridged.

2. (vv. 3-9)

Of the children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month.
And over the course of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course likewise were twenty and four thousand.

1 Chronicles 27:4

“Dodai The words “Eleazar, son of,” have probably fallen out before Dodai (or Dodo). According to Jewish tradition, EIeazar 1Ch 11:12 was cousin to David; his father, Dodai, being Jesse’s brother. Mikloth was probably second in command to Eleazar.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

1 Chronicles 27:5

“A chief priest - Rather, “the chief priest” - an expression by which is meant, not the high priest, but probably the high priest’s deputy, who is sometimes called “the second priest” 2Ki 25:18.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

1 Chronicles 27:5, The whole record on this verse →
This is that Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son.
The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

1 Chronicles 27:7

“Asahel--This officer having been slain at the very beginning of David's reign [2Sa 2:23], his name was probably given to this division in honor of his memory, and his son was invested with the command.”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

1 more voice on this verse

1 Chronicles 27:7

“Asahel died before the courses, as here described, could have been instituted. Perhaps the arrangements of David in his later years were based upon institutions belonging to the period of his reign at Hebron.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

The whole record on this verse →
The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

the children of Perez: Of the twelve captains named month by month, two carry weight beyond the list. Benaiah at the third month is the same man already famous from the mighty men, mighty among the thirty and set above the thirty, so the roster reaches back to a name the reader already knows. Asahel heads the fourth course though he died at the very start of David's reign by Abner's hand; the honor passes to his son Zebadiah, who commands in his father's place.

3. (vv. 10-15)

The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the Benjamites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: The list runs out the remaining six months, one course of twenty and four thousand after another, with no story attached to any of the six names. The uniform silence is itself the pattern: after the flashes at Benaiah and Asahel, Chronicles lets the rest of the year's captains stand as names alone, the discipline the book keeps through most of its rosters.

B. Princes of the tribes, and the census God cut short

1. (vv. 16-22)

Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah:

1 Chronicles 27:16

“Over the tribes of Israel - In this enumeration there is no mention of the tribes of Asher and Gad. Probably the account of these has been lost from this register. These rulers appear to have been all honorary men, without pay, like the lords lieutenants of our counties.”

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical

1 more voice on this verse

1 Chronicles 27:16

“The ruler - These were the princes of the tribes, the constant rulers of the tribes; who seem to have had a superior power to these twenty four captains, and therefore are named before them, being probably the king's chief counsellors and assistants in the great affairs of his kingdom.”

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical

The whole record on this verse →
Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok:
Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:
Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel:
Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:
Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:

1 Chronicles 27:21

“Though Abner was David's enemy, and opposed his coming to the throne, yet David would not oppose the preferment of his son, but perhaps nominated him to this post of honour, which teaches us to render good for evil.”

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.

the ruler of the Reubenites: A second list follows the military one: princes over the tribes, named by descent rather than army rank, and given priority over the twenty-four captains because their standing was older. Adam Clarke notes that Asher and Gad are missing from the record, a gap the text itself does not explain. Benjamin's prince is Jaasiel the son of Abner, the general who opposed David's rise and died by Joab's hand; Matthew Henry reads David's willingness to honor that son as returning good for the father's old enmity.

2. (vv. 23-24)

But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.

1 Chronicles 27:23

“Joab was disgusted with it, and did it by halves; David was ashamed of it, and willing it should be forgotten, because there fell wrath for it against Israel. A good man cannot, in the reflection, please himself with that which he knows God is displeased with, cannot make use of that, nor take comfort in that, which is obtained by sin.”

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

2 more voices on this verse

1 Chronicles 27:23

“David’s numbering of the people was therefore a military arrangement in order to fix the amount of his standing army. To the general Oriental prejudice against numbering possessions, etc., there was added in the case of the Jews a special objection - a feeling that it would be irreverent to attempt to count what God had promised should be countless.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

1 Chronicles 27:23

“The limitation to a certain age was what had probably quieted David's conscience as to the lawfulness of the measure, while its expediency was strongly pressed upon his mind by the army arrangements he had in view.”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.

1 Chronicles 27:24

“Neither was the number put in the account - Joab did not return the whole number; probably the plague began before he had finished: or, he did not choose to give it in, as he had entered on this work with extreme reluctance; and he did not choose to tell the king how numerous they were.”

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical

1 more voice on this verse

1 Chronicles 27:24

“No notice was taken of this census in the historical register, as from the public calamity with which it was associated it would have stood as a painful record of the divine judgment against the king and the nation.”

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed

The whole record on this verse →

twenty years old and under: David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under, because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens: the promise of Gen 15:5 is cited as the reason a count was not taken, inside a chapter that is otherwise nothing but a count. The next verse turns the same word toward the census David did take: Joab began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel, the full story chapter 21 already carries. Set beside each other, the two sentences read as one lesson: numbering the young for administration stood unpunished, while numbering the men of war brought the wrath the earlier chapter recorded.

C. Stewards of the fields and the king's own counselors

1. (vv. 25-31)

And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah:

1 Chronicles 27:25

“This section is important as showing that David, the younger son of a not very opulent family 1Sa 16:11, 1Sa 16:20, had now become a large landed proprietor, as well as a capitalist, possessed of much moveable wealth. We may perhaps see the sources of both these kinds of property, in the successful wars which he had waged 1Sa 27:8-9; 1Sa 30:20; 2Sa 8:4, 2Sa 8:7-8, 2Sa 8:12; in the revenue derived from subject kings 1Sa 8:2, 1Sa 8:14; 1Sa 10:19; and in the purchase and occupation of lands in different places.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

1 Chronicles 27:25, The whole record on this verse →
And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub:
And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite:

1 Chronicles 27:27

“Vineyards - Over the workmen and labourers in the vineyards; as the next officer is over the fruit of the vineyards. In like manner, one man was over the labourers in the fields, ver. 26, and another over the fruits of the fields put into stores.”

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical

1 Chronicles 27:27, The whole record on this verse →
And over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains was Baal–hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash:
And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:
Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite:
And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David’s.

1 Chronicles 27:31

“All these - It is observable, here are no officers for state, none for sport, no master of the ceremonies, or of the bounds, but all for substance, agreeable to the simplicity and plainness of those times. David was a great soldier, a great scholar, and a great prince; and yet a great husband of his estate.”

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical

1 more voice on this verse

1 Chronicles 27:31

“David was a great soldier, a great scholar, and a great prince, and yet a great husband of his estate, kept a great deal of ground in his own hand, and stocked it, not for pleasure, but for profit; for the king himself is served of the field, Eccles.”

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

the king’s treasures: A civil list follows the military and tribal ones: named overseers for the treasuries, the storehouses, the fields, the vineyards, the olive and sycomore trees, the herds, the camels, the asses, and the flocks. Two of the herdsmen are named by nationality rather than tribe, Obil the Ishmaelite over the camels and Jaziz the Hagerite over the flocks, foreign specialists managing crown property alongside Israelite officers. John Wesley notes that the list carries no officer of state and no master of ceremonies, only stewards of substance, which he reads as a mark of the plainness of the age.

2. (vv. 32-34)

Also Jonathan David’s uncle was a counsellor, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons:

1 Chronicles 27:32

“A list - supplemental in character - of some chief officers of David, not mentioned before. The list cannot belong to a very late part of David’s reign, since it contains the name of Ahithophel, who killed himself during Absalom’s rebellion 2Sa 17:23. 1Ch 27:33 Was the king’s companion - or, “king’s friend,” as in 1Ki 4:5. Compare also 2Sa 16:17. 1Ch 27:34 After Ahithophel - i. e., next in counsel to Ahithophel: inferior to him, but superior to all others.”

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

1 more voice on this verse

1 Chronicles 27:32

“Another, who no doubt excelled in learning and prudence, was tutor to his children. Ahithophel, a very cunning man, was his counsellor: but Hushai, an honest man, was his companion and confidant.”

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan

And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion:

1 Chronicles 27:33

“Counsellor - The person whose counsel in matters of state the king most prized and followed. Companion - Or his friend, 2 Sam. xv, 37, the person whom he trusted with his secrets, and whose conversation was most pleasant and acceptable to him. Observe, A cunning man was his counsellor: but an honest man was his friend.”

John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical

And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the general of the king’s army was Joab.

1 Chronicles 27:34

“And after Ahithophel - The Targum is curious: “When they went to war, they asked counsel of Ahithophel; and, after the counsel of Ahithophel, they inquired by Urim and Thummim of Jehoiada, the son of Benaiah, prince of the Sanhedrin, and chief of the priesthood; and from Abiathar, the high priest.”

Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical

Jonathan David’s uncle: The chapter closes with the king's inner circle: Jonathan his uncle serving as counsellor, Ahithophel as the counsellor whose advice the record treats as the king's own, and Hushai the Archite as his companion. Albert Barnes places the list before the later years of the reign, since it still names Ahithophel among the living, the same Ahithophel who will hang himself after Absalom's revolt fails to follow his advice. Joab closes the roster as general of the king's army, the same office he holds through every list this chapter has kept.

This page carries no textual note on 1 Chronicles 27. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →

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 exposition

Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. H. Bennett, The Books of Chronicles (Expositor's Bible).

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