1 Chronicles 15:11
in 1 Chronicles 15David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,
KJV
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab,
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 15
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
called for Zadok and Abiathar
on 1 Chronicles 15:11-12
David summons the two priests and the six family heads just numbered, and charges them to sanctify themselves before the ark is touched again. Nothing like this charge to sanctify is recorded before the ark went out on the cart in chapter 13; the ceremonial cleansing named here is new to this second attempt. The men addressed are called the chief of the fathers of the Levites, the same standing the roster of verses 4 through 10 has just established, so the command falls on named men rather than an anonymous class.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests,.... See 2Sa 8:17. and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab; the six chiefs before mentioned.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
To hakhinoti lo. This means: to the place asher hakhinoti lo (=that I have prepared for it).
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. 3 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
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֣א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| דָוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לְצָד֥וֹק | letzadok | <to> Zadok | H6659 → | 53 times |
| וּלְאֶבְיָתָ֖ר | uleevyatar | and <to> Abiathar | H54 → | 30 times |
| הַכֹּֽהֲנִ֑ים | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְלַלְוִיִּ֗ם | velalviyim | and <to> the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| לְאֽוּרִיאֵ֤ל | leuriel | <to> Uriel | H222 → | 4 times |
| עֲשָׂיָה֙ | ʾasayah | Asaiah | H6222 → | 8 times |
| וְיוֹאֵ֣ל | veyoel | and Joel | H3100 → | 20 times |
| שְׁמַֽעְיָ֔ה | shema'yah | Shemaiah | H8098 → | 41 times |
| וֶאֱלִיאֵ֖ל | veeliel | and Eliel | H447 → | 10 times |
| וְעַמִּינָדָֽב׃ | veaminadav | and Amminadab | H5992 → | 13 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֣אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
דָוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לְצָד֥וֹק<to> Zadok
letzadokH6659 →53 times
וּלְאֶבְיָתָ֖רand <to> Abiathar
uleevyatarH54 →30 times
הַכֹּֽהֲנִ֑יםthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
וְלַלְוִיִּ֗םand <to> the Levites
velalviyimH3881 →291 times
לְאֽוּרִיאֵ֤ל<to> Uriel
leurielH222 →4 times
עֲשָׂיָה֙Asaiah
ʾasayahH6222 →8 times
וְיוֹאֵ֣לand Joel
veyoelH3100 →20 times
שְׁמַֽעְיָ֔הShemaiah
shema'yahH8098 →41 times
וֶאֱלִיאֵ֖לand Eliel
veelielH447 →10 times
וְעַמִּינָדָֽב׃and Amminadab
veaminadavH5992 →13 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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 Chronicles 12:28and Zadok, a mighty young man of valor, with 22 commanders from his own family.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 6:8
Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 6:53
Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 8:17
Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
- 1 Chronicles 6:8
Through
1 Kings 2:35And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:27
So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.
- 1 Kings 4:4
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
- 1 Kings 2:27
Through
2 Samuel 8:17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 18:16
Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;
- 1 Chronicles 16:39
And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
- 1 Chronicles 24:3–4
With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service.
- 1 Chronicles 18:16
About 1 Chronicles

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonDivided kingdom (date contested)JoelProphet, son of Pethuel (Joel 1:1); his locust-plague oracle widens into the Day of the LORD and the promise of the Spirit poured…
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
