1 Chronicles 23:4
in 1 Chronicles 23“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah; and six thousand were officers and judges;
KJV
Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges:
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseOfficers - To take care that all the work of the temple about sacrifices should be punctually performed, either by themselves or others: which they were not to do all at once, but by courses, a thousand at a time.
This site's exposition
numbered from the age of thirty
on 1 Chronicles 23:3-5
The Levites number thirty eight thousand, counted from age thirty as Numbers 4 had set, and David sorts them by task: twenty four thousand for the temple's work, six thousand as officers and judges, four thousand as gatekeepers, and four thousand as musicians on instruments David says he made himself. No earlier text gives Israel's worship a standing body of musicians on this scale, and the claim of authorship stands in the text without further comment. Adam Clarke reads the phrase against Amos 6:5, which faults instruments made for luxury, and takes David's claim as distinct in purpose from the sin the prophet later names.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Of which twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord,....
It was the happiness of Israel that they had among them such a considerable body of men who were obliged by their office to promote and keep up religion among them. If the worship of God go to decay in Israel, let it not be said that it was for want of due provision for the support of it, but that those who should have done it were careless and false.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord--They were not to preside over all the services of the temple. The Levites were subject to the priests, and they were superior to the Nethinim and other servants, who were not of the race of Levi. But they had certain departments of duty assigned, some of which are here specified.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵאֵ֗לֶּה | meeleh | from these | H428 → | 746 times |
| לְנַצֵּ֙חַ֙ | lenatzeach | [are] to act as overseers | H5329 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מְלֶ֣אכֶת | melekhet | [the] work of | H4399 → | 167 times |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֥ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וְאַרְבָּעָ֖ה | vearbaah | and four | H702 → | 318 times |
| אָ֑לֶף | ʾalef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְשֹׁטְרִ֥ים | veshoterim | and officials | H7860 → | 25 times |
| וְשֹׁפְטִ֖ים | veshofetim | and judges | H8199 → | 202 times |
| שֵׁ֥שֶׁת | sheshet | six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| אֲלָפִֽים׃ | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
מֵאֵ֗לֶּהfrom these
meelehH428 →746 times
לְנַצֵּ֙חַ֙[are] to act as overseers
lenatzeachH5329 →
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מְלֶ֣אכֶת[the] work of
melekhetH4399 →167 times
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עֶשְׂרִ֥יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
וְאַרְבָּעָ֖הand four
vearbaahH702 →318 times
אָ֑לֶףthousand
ʾalefH505 →505 times
וְשֹׁטְרִ֥יםand officials
veshoterimH7860 →25 times
וְשֹׁפְטִ֖יםand judges
veshofetimH8199 →202 times
שֵׁ֥שֶׁתsix
sheshetH8337 →216 times
אֲלָפִֽים׃thousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 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
Deuteronomy 16:18You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 26:29
From the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons had the outside duties as officers and judges over Israel.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 21:6
then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for…
- Deuteronomy 17:9
You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
- Romans 13:1–6
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- Deuteronomy 1:15–17
So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your…
- 1 Chronicles 26:29
Through
Nehemiah 11:22Now the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. He was one of Asaph’s descendants, who were the…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 12:42
and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. Then the choirs sang out under the direction of Jezrahiah.
- Nehemiah 12:35
and some of the priests with trumpets, and also Zechariah son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
- Nehemiah 12:42
Through
2 Chronicles 19:8Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 17:8–9
accompanied by certain Levites—Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah—along with the priests Elishama and Jehoram.
- 2 Chronicles 17:8–9
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.