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1 Chronicles 9:20

in 1 Chronicles 9

In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was ruler over them in time past, and Jehovah was with him.

KJV

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the Lord was with him.

This verse in 1 Chronicles 9

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And Phinehas - The Targum says, “And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was ruler over them from ancient times, from the day in which the tabernacle was set up in the wilderness; and the Word of the Lord was his assistant.”

This site's exposition

These were the gatekeepers

on 1 Chronicles 9:17-21

The gatekeepers are Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives, and Shallum was stationed at the King’s Gate. Verse 20 traces the office to Phinehas son of Eleazar. The Korahites descend from Korah, whose rebellion was judged in Numbers 16, though his sons did not die with him.

This site's exposition

Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge

Numbers 3:32 set Eleazar over the leaders of the Levites, and Phinehas his son is remembered for his zeal at Peor (Numbers 25:7 to 13). Clarke reports the Targum's reading that Phinehas ruled the gatekeepers from the day the tabernacle was set up. The office looked back to him.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), not the famous high priest of that name, but (as is supposed) an eminent Levite, of whom it is here said that the Lord was with him, or (as the Chaldee reads it) the Word of the Lord was his helper --the eternal Word, who is Jehovah, the mighty one on whom help is laid.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, the Lord being with him [This means] that he prophesied in time past, and our Sages said that this is Phinehas the priest, and because he did not annul Jephthah’s vow, the Shechinah left him.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 9:20:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וּפִֽינְחָ֣סand Phinehas

    ufinchasH6372 →25 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • אֶלְעָזָ֗רEleazar

    ʾelazarH499 →72 times

  • נָגִ֨ידa leader

    nagidH5057 →45 times

  • הָיָ֧הhe had been

    hayahH1961 →3559 times

  • עֲלֵיהֶ֛םover them

    ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times

  • לְפָנִ֖ים<to> before

    lefanimH6440 →2123 times

  • יְהוָ֥ה׀Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • עִמּֽוֹ׃[was] with him

    imoH5973 →1050 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 16:18

    One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and…

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 3:19

      And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

    • Genesis 39:23

      The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

    • 1 Samuel 17:32–36

      And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!”

    • Genesis 39:2

      And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

    • 1 Samuel 10:7

      When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

  • Through

    Numbers 4:16

    Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 25:6

      olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

    • Leviticus 24:2

      “Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.

  • Through

    Numbers 31:6

    And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 14:44

      But they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of the LORD moved from the camp.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Chronicles

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Berean Standard Bible, Numbers 3:32; Numbers 25:7 to 13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.