1 Chronicles 9:20
in 1 Chronicles 9In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was ruler over them in time past, and Jehovah was with him.
KJV
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the Lord was with him.
⋯
This verse in 1 Chronicles 9
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd Phinehas - The Targum says, “And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was ruler over them from ancient times, from the day in which the tabernacle was set up in the wilderness; and the Word of the Lord was his assistant.”
This site's exposition
Shallum was the chief
on 1 Chronicles 9:17-21
The porters introduced at 9:17, Shallum, Akkub, Talmon and Ahiman, guarded the king's gate eastward, the entrance David's own kings used to reach the temple, and the office is traced back to Phinehas son of Eleazar, ruler over the gatekeepers in time past, and the LORD was with him. The Korahites named at verse 19 carry a history the name alone recalls: Korah's own rebellion was judged at Num 16, but his sons did not die with him, and their descendants stand here still keeping the gate their ancestor once tried to seize by force. A trust rebellion could not overturn is inherited, one generation guarding what another once wanted to take.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), not the famous high priest of that name, but (as is supposed) an eminent Levite, of whom it is here said that the Lord was with him, or (as the Chaldee reads it) the Word of the Lord was his helper --the eternal Word, who is Jehovah, the mighty one on whom help is laid.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, the Lord being with him [This means] that he prophesied in time past, and our Sages said that this is Phinehas the priest, and because he did not annul Jephthah’s vow, the Shechinah left him.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפִֽינְחָ֣ס | ufinchas | and Phinehas | H6372 → | 25 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֶלְעָזָ֗ר | ʾelazar | Eleazar | H499 → | 72 times |
| נָגִ֨יד | nagid | a leader | H5057 → | 45 times |
| הָיָ֧ה | hayah | he had been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾaleihem | over them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לְפָנִ֖ים | lefanim | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עִמּֽוֹ׃ | imo | [was] with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וּפִֽינְחָ֣סand Phinehas
ufinchasH6372 →25 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֶלְעָזָ֗רEleazar
ʾelazarH499 →72 times
נָגִ֨ידa leader
nagidH5057 →45 times
הָיָ֧הhe had been
hayahH1961 →3559 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֛םover them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
לְפָנִ֖ים<to> before
lefanimH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֥ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עִמּֽוֹ׃[was] with him
imoH5973 →1050 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 16:18One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:19
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
- Genesis 39:23
The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
- 1 Samuel 17:32–36
And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!”
- Genesis 39:2
And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
- 1 Samuel 10:7
When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.
- 1 Samuel 3:19
Through
Numbers 4:16Eleazar son of Aaron the priest shall oversee the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the daily grain offering, and the anointing oil. He has oversight of the entire tabernacle and everything in…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:6
olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
- Leviticus 24:2
“Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
- Exodus 25:6
Through
Numbers 31:6And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.
it leads to
- Numbers 14:44
But they dared to go up to the ridge of the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the covenant of the LORD moved from the camp.
- Numbers 14:44
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.