1 Chronicleschapter 6
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Speaks with:Joshua 21×281 Chronicles 6×17Exodus 6×12Numbers 3×51 Chronicles 23×5Joshua 10×4
Summary
Chapter summary
The tribe of Levi gets the longest and most carefully built list, running from Levi through Aaron's house to Jehozadak, 'when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.' Between the priestly lines stand the singers. The men David set 'over the service of song in the house of Jehovah, after that the ark had rest'. Heman, Asaph on his right hand, Ethan on his left, whose names head psalms still sung. The chapter closes with the Levitical cities scattered through every tribe. For a people rebuilding worship, this is the deed of title: who may serve, who may sing, and where they belong.
Context
History · Ezra — 1 Chronicles overview
- A. 1–15 The high-priestly line carried away into exile
- B. 16–30 The three houses of Levi
- C. 31–48 The singers David set over the house of the LORD
- D. 49–53 Aaron's sons who served at the altar
- E. 54–81 Cities and pasture lands given to the Levites
The outline
A.The high-priestly line carried away into exilevv. 1 to 15
Read vv. 1 to 15 →B.The three houses of Levivv. 16 to 30
Read vv. 16 to 30 →C.The singers David set over the house of the LORDvv. 31 to 48
Read vv. 31 to 48 →D.Aaron's sons who served at the altarvv. 49 to 53
Read vv. 49 to 53 →E.Cities and pasture lands given to the Levitesvv. 54 to 81
Read vv. 54 to 81 →
The world behind this chapter
1 Chronicles 6The history
The high priesthood ran in one family, and this chapter traces it from Aaron through Zadok down to Jehozadak, who 'went into captivity when the LORD carried Judah away.' That last name is the credential of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest who came home with Zerubbabel. The list exists to prove he was who he said he was.
The middle section names the three great families of temple musicians and where they stood: Heman in the center, Asaph at his right hand, and the sons of Merari under Ethan on the left. These are not decorative details. Many psalms carry those names in their headings, which means the hymnbook and the duty roster line up.
The last section is the map of Levi's forty-eight towns. Levi received no block of territory — instead the tribe was given towns with their surrounding pasture, scattered through everyone else's land, so that teaching and sacrifice were never more than a walk away. The priestly families were clustered near Jerusalem in Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon; the rest of Levi was spread to the far north and east.
What it meant to them
Everything the second temple did — who could enter the holy place, who could sing, who could carry, who could teach — depended on lines like these. This was not history for its own sake. It was the staff list of the building they were standing in.
It also carried a hard edge. If a family could not show its line, it did not serve. In a community rebuilding from scratch, this chapter was both a door and a wall.
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 6. 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.