1 Chronicles 24:3
in 1 Chronicles 24With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service.
KJV
And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd David distributed them,.... The posterities of Eleazar and Ithamar into certain classes or courses: both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar; these were the two principal men of the respective families, the one was high priest, and the other "sagan" or deputy; or they both officiated as high priests alternately, until the one was removed in Solomon's time, and the other established alone.
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.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Zadok and Ahimelech (rather Abiathar, see 1Ch 24:6) assisted David in drawing up the priestly courses, as the “captains of the host” assisted him in making the divisions of the singers 1Ch 25:1.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Zadok . . . and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar--This statement, taken in connection with 1Ch 24:6, is not a little perplexing, since (2Sa 15:24, 35; 20:25) Abiathar is mentioned as the person conjoined in David's time with Zadok, in the collegiate exercise of the high priesthood.
And Ahimelech - Ahimelech is put here for Abiathar, who was high priest in the days of David. Abiathar had also the name of Ahimelech, as well as his father. See Calmet.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and Ahimelech was of the sons of Ithamar This is Ahimelech the son of Ebiathar, as is proven immediately following (verse 6): “And Shemaiah, etc. wrote them..” until “and Ahimelech the son of Ebiathar.”
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֶּֽחָלְקֵ֣ם | vaiyechalkem | and he divided them | H2505 → | 65 times |
| דָּוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְצָדוֹק֙ | vetzadok | and Zadok | H6659 → | 53 times |
| מִן־ | min- | one of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֔ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| וַאֲחִימֶ֖לֶךְ | vaachimelekh | and Ahimelech | H288 → | 16 times |
| מִן־ | min- | one of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אִיתָמָ֑ר | ʾitamar | Ithamar | H385 → | 21 times |
| לִפְקֻדָּתָ֖ם | lifkudatam | to group their | H6486 → | 32 times |
| בַּעֲבֹדָתָֽם׃ | baavodatam | by service their | H5656 → | 145 times |
וַיֶּֽחָלְקֵ֣םand he divided them
vaiyechalkemH2505 →65 times
דָּוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְצָדוֹק֙and Zadok
vetzadokH6659 →53 times
מִן־one of
min-H4480 →1188 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אֶלְעָזָ֔רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
וַאֲחִימֶ֖לֶךְand Ahimelech
vaachimelekhH288 →16 times
מִן־one of
min-H4480 →1188 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
אִיתָמָ֑רIthamar
ʾitamarH385 →21 times
לִפְקֻדָּתָ֖םto group their
lifkudatamH6486 →32 times
בַּעֲבֹדָתָֽם׃by service their
baavodatamH5656 →145 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 Samuel 21:1Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”
it leads to
- Nehemiah 11:32
in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
- Mark 2:26
During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”
- 1 Samuel 14:3
including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of the LORD in Shiloh. But the troops did not…
- Isaiah 10:32
Yet today they will halt at Nob, shaking a fist at the mount of Daughter Zion, at the hill of Jerusalem.
- 1 Samuel 16:4
So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
- Nehemiah 11:32
Through
1 Chronicles 24:31As their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, they also cast lots in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 24:5–6
Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.
- 1 Chronicles 24:5–6
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 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 6:8
Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,
- 1 Chronicles 6:8
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.
- PersonEarly monarchyAhimelechPriest of Nob who gave the fugitive David the showbread and Goliath's sword, not knowing the king's quarrel; slain with eighty-fiv…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament.
