1 Chronicles 23:17
in 1 Chronicles 23The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
KJV
And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief,.... The first and only begotten, as it follows: and Eliezer had none other sons; before nor after him: but the sons of Rehabiah were very many; or greatly multiplied; not, as the Targum says, above 600,000; the number of Israel, as the Jewish writers (m) fancy; which they gather from Exo 1:7, and that though Moses deprecated the multiplication of his seed, God fulfilled it. (m) T. Bab Beracot, fol. 7. 1, 2, Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 16. fol. 220. 4.
This site's exposition
Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel
on 1 Chronicles 23:12-17
Kohath's family carries the chapter's one narrative turn. Aaron is separated to sanctify the most holy things for ever, while his brother Moses is named only to record that Moses' own sons were counted as common Levites, no priesthood and no standing rank attached to the lawgiver's name. Chronicles states the contrast without comment, the same restraint Numbers already keeps toward Moses' family. Matthew Henry reads it as a mark of Moses' own self denial, the man who refused a nation built from his own line at Exodus 32:10 and is here counted level with the tribe he led.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When God proposed to him that, if he would let fall his intercession for Israel, he would make of him a great nation, he generously refused it, in recompence for which his family is here greatly increased, and makes up in number what it wants in figure, in the tribe of Levi. The levelling of Moses' family with the rest is an evidence of his self-denial.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
But the sons of Rehabiah were very many - The Targum says, “On account of the merits of Moses, the posterity of Rehabiah were multiplied to more than sixty myriads.”
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽהְי֥וּ | vaiyihyu | and they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְנֵי־ | venei- | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֱלִיעֶ֖זֶר | ʾeliezer | Eliezer | H461 → | 14 times |
| רְחַבְיָ֣ה | rechavyah | Rehabiah | H7345 → | 5 times |
| הָרֹ֑אשׁ | harosh | the chief | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיָ֤ה | hayah | it belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לֶאֱלִיעֶ֙זֶר֙ | leeliezer | to Eliezer | H461 → | 14 times |
| בָּנִ֣ים | banim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲחֵרִ֔ים | ʾacherim | other | H312 → | 166 times |
| וּבְנֵ֥י | uvenei | and [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְחַבְיָ֖ה | rechavyah | Rehabiah | H7345 → | 5 times |
| רָב֥וּ | ravu | they were numerous | H7235 → | 227 times |
| לְמָֽעְלָה׃ | lemaelah | <to> upwards <towards> | H4605 → | 140 times |
וַיִּֽהְי֥וּand they were
vaiyihyuH1961 →3559 times
בְנֵי־[the] sons of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
אֱלִיעֶ֖זֶרEliezer
ʾeliezerH461 →14 times
רְחַבְיָ֣הRehabiah
rechavyahH7345 →5 times
הָרֹ֑אשׁthe chief
haroshH7218 →599 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָיָ֤הit belonged
hayahH1961 →3559 times
לֶאֱלִיעֶ֙זֶר֙to Eliezer
leeliezerH461 →14 times
בָּנִ֣יםsons
banimH1121 →4930 times
אֲחֵרִ֔יםother
ʾacherimH312 →166 times
וּבְנֵ֥יand [the] sons of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
רְחַבְיָ֖הRehabiah
rechavyahH7345 →5 times
רָב֥וּthey were numerous
ravuH7235 →227 times
לְמָֽעְלָה׃<to> upwards <towards>
lemaelahH4605 →140 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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 26:25His relatives through Eliezer included Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 23:17–18
The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer did not have any other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.
- 1 Chronicles 23:15
The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
- Exodus 18:4
The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
- 1 Chronicles 23:17–18
About 1 Chronicles

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
