1 Chronicles 24:1
in 1 Chronicles 24These were the divisions of the descendants of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the courses of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
KJV
Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
⋯
This verse in 1 Chronicles 24
Commentary
2 notes on this verseNow these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron,.... Into the classes or courses following: the sons of Aaron; Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar; 1Ch 6:3, these were the immediate sons of Aaron; but the division or distribution of them into classes are of their posterity in the times of David, who descended from the two latter.
This site's exposition
these are the divisions of
on 1 Chronicles 24:1-3
Aaron had four sons, but Nadab and Abihu die without children under the fire of Leviticus 10, so the priesthood David organizes here descends through Eleazar and Ithamar alone. David pairs Zadok from Eleazar's line with Ahimelech from Ithamar's to distribute the courses, the same two men Chronicles later credits with helping number the singers at 1 Chr 25:1. Some texts of Samuel name Abiathar rather than Ahimelech beside Zadok in David's day, a detail the commentators note without resolving it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And of the sons of Aaron The meaning is: These are the sons of Aaron, etc. according to their divisions.
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. 4 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלִבְנֵ֥י | velivnei | and to [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֖ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| מַחְלְקוֹתָ֑ם | machlekotam | divisions their | H4256 → | 42 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֔ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| נָדָב֙ | nadav | Nadab | H5070 → | 20 times |
| וַאֲבִיה֔וּא | vaavihu' | and Abihu | H30 → | 12 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֖ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| וְאִיתָמָֽר׃ | veitamar | and Ithamar | H385 → | 21 times |
וְלִבְנֵ֥יand to [the] descendants of
velivneiH1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֖ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
מַחְלְקוֹתָ֑םdivisions their
machlekotamH4256 →42 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹ֔ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
נָדָב֙Nadab
nadavH5070 →20 times
וַאֲבִיה֔וּאand Abihu
vaavihu'H30 →12 times
אֶלְעָזָ֖רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
וְאִיתָמָֽר׃and Ithamar
veitamarH385 →21 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
Exodus 6:23And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 6:3
The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ruth 4:19–20
Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab,
- Numbers 2:3
On the east side, toward the sunrise, the divisions of Judah are to camp under their standard:
- 1 Chronicles 2:10
Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of the descendants of Judah.
- Numbers 1:7
from Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;
- 1 Chronicles 6:3
Through
Numbers 26:60Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar were born to Aaron,
it leads to
- Numbers 3:2
These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
- Numbers 3:2
Through
Numbers 3:2These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
it leads to
- Exodus 6:23
And Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
- Exodus 6:23
Through
1 Chronicles 23:6Then David divided the Levites into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 8:14
In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests…
- 2 Chronicles 8:14
About 1 Chronicles

Who and where
5 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus eraAaronBrother of Moses and Israel's first high priest; his rod budded, his garments were for glory and beauty, and his line carried the…
- PersonWildernessNadabAaron's eldest son, ordained in Leviticus 8 and killed with his brother Abihu for offering strange fire before Jehovah on the prie…
- PersonWildernessAbihuAaron's second son, killed alongside Nadab for the strange fire Jehovah had not commanded — "I will be sanctified in them that com…
- PersonWildernessEleazarAaron's third son who succeeded him as high priest on Mount Hor, founding the line that runs to Phinehas and Zadok.
- PersonWildernessIthamarAaron's fourth son, ordained priest in Leviticus 8; overseer of the tabernacle's accounts and the Gershonite and Merarite service.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.
