Skip to content
mannafest.faith

1 Chronicles 25:1

in 1 Chronicles 25

Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

Moreover David and the captains of the host set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of them that did the work according to their service was:

KJV

Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was:

This verse in 1 Chronicles 25

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

David and the captains of the host - The chiefs of those who formed the several orders: not military captains. Should prophesy - Should accompany their musical instruments with prayer and singing.

This site's exposition

the captains of the host separated

on 1 Chronicles 25:1-3

David separates three families, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, to a service the chapter names with the verb it uses of the prophets: they should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals. The same verb returns of Jeduthun's sons in verse three, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the LORD, so the chapter states its own doctrine in its own words rather than leaving a reader to infer it. Clarke notes the Targum reads the verb as prophesying by the Holy Spirit and cites Elisha calling for a minstrel before the hand of the LORD came upon him.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Cassiodorus

EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS, PREFACE 2 · Written before 585.

proposed

We read in the first book of Paralipomena that when the prophet David grew old in years devoted to the Lord, he chose four thousand young men from the people of Israel to render the psalms, which he had composed through the Lord's inspiration, so …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Not but that it is the greatest liberty and pleasure to be employed in praising God: what is heaven but that? But it intimates that it is our duty to make a business of it, and stir up all that is within us to it; and that, in our present state of corruption and infirmity, it will not be done as it should be done without labour and struggle.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), not that all those who were employed in this service were honoured with the visions of God, or could foretel things to come. Heman indeed is said to be the king's seer in the words of God (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

Moreover, David and the captains of the host separated to the service,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

David and the captains of the host--that is, the princes (1Ch 23:2; It is probable that the king was attended on the occasion of arranging the singers by the same parties that are mentioned as having assisted him in regulating the order of the priests and Levites.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

The captains of the host - Rather, “the princes” of 1Ch 23:2; 1Ch 24:6.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Who prophesied by order of the king. This refers to the psalms that Asaph composed: he would compose them with Divine inspiration.
Radak: Provence, 1160–1235 · Radak on I Chronicles 25:2:1, via Sefaria, The Commentary of Radak to Chronicles: A Translation with Introduction and Supercommentary, by Yitzhak Berger, Brown University, 2007

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. 5 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

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּבְדֵּ֣לand he separated

    vaiyavdelH91442 times

  • דָּוִיד֩David

    davidH1732999 times

  • וְשָׂרֵ֨יand [the] commanders of

    vesareiH8269421 times

  • הַצָּבָ֜אthe army

    hatzava'H6635485 times

  • לַעֲבֹדָ֗הfor service

    laavodahH5656145 times

  • לִבְנֵ֤י<to> [the] sons of

    livneiH11214930 times

  • אָסָף֙Asaph

    ʾasafH62334 times

  • וְהֵימָ֣ןand Heman

    veheimanH196816 times

  • וִֽידוּת֔וּןand Jeduthun

    vidutunH303814 times

  • הַֽנִּבְּאִ֛יםwho prophesied

    hanebiimH5012115 times

  • בְּכִנֹּר֥וֹתwith harps

    bekhinorotH365842 times

  • בִּנְבָלִ֖יםwith lyres

    binvalimH503538 times

  • וּבִמְצִלְתָּ֑יִםand with cymbals

    uvimtziltayimH470013 times

  • וַֽיְהִי֙and it was

    vayhiH19613559 times

  • מִסְפָּרָ֔םnumber their

    misparamH4557134 times

  • אַנְשֵׁ֥יmen of

    ʾansheiH582566 times

  • מְלָאכָ֖הwork

    melakhahH4399167 times

  • לַעֲבֹדָתָֽם׃for service their

    laavodatamH5656145 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    2 Kings 3:15

    But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 16:23

      And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.

    • Ephesians 5:18–19

      Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

    • 1 Samuel 10:5

      After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded…

    • Ezekiel 1:3

      the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.

    • 1 Kings 18:46

      And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 10:5

    After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded…

    it leads to

    • 2 Kings 3:15

      But now, bring me a harpist.” And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

    • 1 Samuel 13:3

      Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

    • 1 Samuel 19:20

      he sent messengers to capture him. But when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon them, and Saul’s messengers also began to prophesy.

About 1 Chronicles

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, EXPLANATION OF THE PSALMS, PREFACE 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.