1 Chronicles 25:7
in 1 Chronicles 25Together with their relatives, who were all trained and skillful in the songs of the LORD, they numbered 288.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in singing unto Jehovah, even all that were skilful, was two hundred fourscore and eight.
KJV
So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
With their brethren - i. e., “with others of the tribe of Levi.” Each son of Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman, was at the head of a band of twelve skilled musicians, consisting partly of his own sons, partly of Levites belonging to other families 1 Chr. 25:9-31. The 24 band-leaders, together with their bands, formed a body of 288 persons (24 x 12 =288) Besides these, we hear of there being above 3,700 singers, who were probably divided, like the trained musicians, into 24 courses, which must have contained about 155 each 1Ch 23:5.
This site's exposition
was two hundred fourscore and eight
Two hundred eighty eight singers stood cunning enough to lead, a figure Gill and Barnes both derive from twenty four courses of twelve, the same structure chapter twenty four already gave the priests. The Levites' service in song is counted with the same precision Chronicles gives every other office in the house, a trained and numbered charge rather than an occasional overflow of feeling.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So the number of them, with their brethren,.... Who each of them had twelve with them, as after reckoned: that were instructed in the songs of the Lord; taught how to sing them: even all that were cunning; expert and well skilled in the science of singing: was two hundred and eighty eight; for there being twenty four classes answerable to those of the priests, and twelve in each class, twelve times twenty four makes two hundred and eighty eight.
They were all Levites and were in number 288. These were a good number, and a competent number to keep up the service in the house of God; for they were all skilful in the work to which they were called. When David the king was so much addicted to divine poesy and music many others, all that had a genius for it, applied their studies and endeavours that way.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Two hundred fourscore and eight - That it twelve classes of twenty-four Levites each; for two hundred and eighty-eight divided by twelve quotes twenty-four.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֤י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִסְפָּרָם֙ | misparam | number their | H4557 → | 134 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֲחֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾacheihem | relatives their | H251 → | 630 times |
| מְלֻמְּדֵי־ | melumedei- | trained of | H3925 → | |
| שִׁ֖יר | shir | song | H7892 → | 59 times |
| לַיהוָ֑ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַ֨מֵּבִ֔ין | hamevin | <the> understanding [person] | H995 → | 170 times |
| מָאתַ֖יִם | matayim | two hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| שְׁמוֹנִ֥ים | shemonim | eighty | H8084 → | 38 times |
| וּשְׁמוֹנָֽה׃ | ushemonah | and eight | H8083 → | 109 times |
וַיְהִ֤יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִסְפָּרָם֙number their
misparamH4557 →134 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אֲחֵיהֶ֔םrelatives their
ʾacheihemH251 →630 times
מְלֻמְּדֵי־trained of
melumedei-H3925 →
שִׁ֖ירsong
shirH7892 →59 times
לַיהוָ֑הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַ֨מֵּבִ֔ין<the> understanding [person]
hamevinH995 →170 times
מָאתַ֖יִםtwo hundred
matayimH3967 →581 times
שְׁמוֹנִ֥יםeighty
shemonimH8084 →38 times
וּשְׁמוֹנָֽה׃and eight
ushemonahH8083 →109 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 23:54,000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4,000 are to praise the LORD with the instruments I have made for giving praise.”
it leads to
- Amos 6:5
You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments.
- Psalms 87:7
Singers and pipers will proclaim, “All my springs of joy are in You.”
- 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 29:25–26
Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command…
- 2 Chronicles 35:15
The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave…
- Amos 6:5
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.