Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

1 Chronicles 27:1

in 1 Chronicles 27

This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the heads of fathers’ houses and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers that served the king, in any matter of the courses which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year—of every course were twenty and four thousand.

KJV

Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.

⋯

This verse in 1 Chronicles 27

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
This verse is a general heading to the list 1Ch 27:2-15. The heading has been taken from some fuller and more elaborate description of David’s army, whereof the writer of Chronicles gives us only an abridgement. Omitting the captains of thousands, the captains of hundreds, and the officers (probably “scribes”) who served the king, he contents himself with recording the “chief fathers” or heads of the divisions 1Ch 28:1, and the number of Iraelites in each course.

This site's exposition

the chief fathers and captains

on 1 Chronicles 27:1-2

The chapter opens with a heading before the list itself: twelve courses of twenty and four thousand men, rotating one month at a time through the year, put the crown's standing army near two hundred and eighty eight thousand without any one soldier serving more than a month running. Only the heads of the divisions are named here; the captains of hundreds, the captains of thousands, and the scribes under them belong to a fuller record the Chronicler has abridged.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

By this order near three hundred thousand of his people were instructed and exercised in the use of their arms, and fitted for the defense of their king and kingdom when it should be needful, and in the mean time sufficient provision was made against any sudden tumults or irruptions of enemies.
Now the children of Israel after their number,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The probability is, that provided the requisite number was furnished, no stricter scrutiny would be made. A change of men might, to a certain degree, be encouraged, as it was a part of David's policy to train all his subjects to skill in arms; and to have made the enlistment fall always on the same individuals would have defeated that purpose.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The chief fathers and captains of thousands - The patriarchs, chief generals, or generals of brigade. This enumeration is widely different from the preceding. In that, we have the orders and courses of the priests and the Levites in their ecclesiastical ministrations; in this, we have the account of the order of the civil service, that which related simply to the political state of the king and the kingdom. Twenty-four persons, chosen out of David’s worthies, each of whom had a second, were placed over twenty-four thousand men, who all served a month in turn at a time; and this was the whole of their service during the year, after which they attended to their own affairs. Thus the king had always on foot a regular force of twenty-four thousand, who served without expense to him or the state, and were not oppressed by the service, which took up only a twelfth part of their time, and by this plan he could at any time, when the exigency of the state required it, bring into the field twelve times twenty-four thousand, or two hundred and eighty-eight thousand fighting men, independently of the twelve thousand officers, which made in the whole an effective force of three hundred thousand soldiers; and all these men were prepared, disciplined, and ready at a call, without the smallest expense to the state or the king. These were, properly speaking, the militia of the Israelitish kingdom. See Calmet.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

in every matter of the divisions All this was from the beginning of his reign and onwards, and since the number of the Levites is stated, he proceeds to relate who the leaders of David’s division were.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 27:1:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

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

27 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.

  • וּבְנֵ֣יand [the] people of

    uveneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל׀Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לְֽמִסְפָּרָ֡םto number their

    lemisparamH4557 →134 times

  • רָאשֵׁ֣י[the] heads of

    rasheiH7218 →599 times

  • הָאָב֣וֹתthe fathers

    haavotH1 →1212 times

  • וְשָׂרֵ֣יand [the] commanders of

    vesareiH8269 →421 times

  • הָֽאֲלָפִ֣ים׀the thousands

    haalafimH505 →505 times

  • וְהַמֵּא֡וֹתand the hundreds

    vehameotH3967 →581 times

  • וְשֹׁטְרֵיהֶם֩and officials their

    veshotereihemH7860 →25 times

  • הַמְשָׁרְתִ֨יםwho serve

    hamsharetimH8334 →97 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • לְכֹ֣ל׀to every

    lekholH3605 →5413 times

  • דְּבַ֣ר<the> matter of

    devarH1697 →1440 times

  • הַֽמַּחְלְק֗וֹתthe divisions

    hamachlekotH4256 →42 times

  • הַבָּאָ֤הwhich come

    habaahH935 →2568 times

  • וְהַיֹּצֵאת֙and which go out

    vehaiyotzetH3318 →1067 times

  • חֹ֣דֶשׁmonth

    chodeshH2320 →284 times

  • בְּחֹ֔דֶשׁby month

    bechodeshH2320 →284 times

  • לְכֹ֖לto all

    lekholH3605 →5413 times

  • חָדְשֵׁ֣י[the] months of

    chadesheiH2320 →284 times

  • הַשָּׁנָ֑הthe year

    hashanahH8141 →877 times

  • הַֽמַּחֲלֹ֙קֶת֙the division

    hamachaloketH4256 →42 times

  • הָֽאַחַ֔ת<the> one

    haachatH259 →971 times

  • עֶשְׂרִ֥ים[was] twenty

    ʾesrimH6242 →315 times

  • וְאַרְבָּעָ֖הand four

    vearbaahH702 →318 times

  • אָֽלֶף׃ סthousand

    ʾalefH505 →505 times

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

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Chronicles 1:2Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel—the heads of the families.3 works1 Kings 5:14He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.2 works1 Kings 4:27Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.2 worksDeuteronomy 1:15So 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 tribes.2 worksMicah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.2 works2 Chronicles 17:12–19Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah2 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
Exodus 18:25So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.2 works2 Chronicles 26:11–13Uzziah had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officers.2 works1 Chronicles 13:1Then David conferred with all his leaders, the commanders of hundreds and of thousands.2 works1 Samuel 8:12He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, to make his weapons of war, and to equip his chariots.2 works1 Chronicles 28:1Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.2 works1 Kings 4:7Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,2 works1 Chronicles 7:2The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, the heads of their families. In the days of David, 22,600 descendants of Tola were numbered in their genealogies as mighty men of valor.2 works2 Chronicles 25:5Then Amaziah gathered the people of Judah and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and of hundreds. And he numbered those twenty years of age or older throughout Judah and Benjamin and found 300,000 chosen men able to serve in the army, bearing the spear and shield.2 works

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

    Micah 5:2

    But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days…

    it leads to

    • Matthew 2:6

      ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people…

    • John 7:42

      Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

    • Luke 1:31–33

      Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.

    • Isaiah 9:6–7

      For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…

    • Psalms 90:2

      Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 1:15

    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…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 18:25–26

      So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

    • Deuteronomy 16:18

      You 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.

    • Ephesians 4:11

      And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

About 1 Chronicles

Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Cedars Are Cut Down for the Jerusalem Temple, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 1 Chronicles 27 →

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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.

Read on in 1 Chronicles 27 →