Chapter XXIV
1–19.
David’s Organisation of the Priests by courses.
¹And the courses of the sons of Aaron were these. The sons of Aaron; Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
1. the sons of Aaron] So vi. 3; Exodus vi. 23.
²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest’s office.
2. Nadab and Abihu died] by fire from heaven as a punishment for sacrilege—so Leviticus x. 1, 2; Numbers iii. 4.
³And David¹ with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their ordering in their service.
¹ Or, And David divided them, even Zadok &c.
3. Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar] The colleague of Zadok in the priesthood is variously named in different passages:—
1 Chronicles xxiv. 3. Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar.
1 Chronicles xxiv. 6. Ahimelech the son of Abiathar.
1 Chronicles xviii. 16. Abimelech the son of Abiathar.
Probably the same person is meant throughout, the confusion springing from a false reading in 2 Samuel viii. 17, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar for Abiathar the son of Ahimelech; see the notes on xv. 11, xviii. 16.
according to their ordering] i.e. according to the arrangement which follows; compare verse 19.
⁴And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight.
4. more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than... of Ithamar] The superiority of the Zadokites (sons of Eleazar) in the post-exilic period is read back into the days of David, and construed in the terms of a right of primogeniture: thus the proportion assigned here is sixteen to eight, i.e. Eleazar’s descendants have a double portion, besides the right of the High-priesthood.
⁵Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for there were princes of the sanctuary, and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.
5. one sort with another] i.e. sons of Eleazar with sons of Ithamar.
there were princes of the sanctuary, and princes of God, both of the sons, etc.] The princes of the sanctuary (Isaiah xliii. 28) are probably the same as the princes of God and as the chiefs of the priests (2 Chronicles xxxvi. 14). The Hebrew expression in 2 Chronicles xxxv. 8 is different (rulers of the house of God).
⁶And Shemaiah the son of Nethanel the scribe, who was of the Levites, wrote them in the presence of the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites: one fathers’ house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken¹ for Ithamar.
¹ The Hebrew text has, taken, taken.
6. the scribe, who was of the Levites] so designated in order to distinguish him from the king’s scribe (compare 2 Chronicles xxiv. 11).
one taken] This rendering involves a simple and entirely probable correction of the Hebrew The alternate drawing here described could have lasted only for the first sixteen lots; in the last eight drawings the descendants of Eleazar must have drawn against each other only; compare verse 4, and the similar procedure described in xxv. 9–31.
⁷Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah;
7. Jehoiarib] Lists of the priestly families occur also Nehemiah x. 2–8, xii. 1–7, 12–21. Compare Ryle (on Nehemiah xii. 1) for a discussion of the names. For Jehoiarib see ix. 10, note.
⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim;
8. Harim] So Nehemiah x. 5, xii. 15, but in Nehemiah xii. 3, “Rehum.” The confusion of form is easy in Hebrew writing.
⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin;
9. Mijamin] So Nehemiah x. 7, xii. 5; but xii. 17, “Miniamin.”
¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah;
10. Hakkoz] Called “Koz” in Ezra ii. 61; Nehemiah iii. 4, 21 (Revised Version “Hakkoz” in all three places; so also in 1 Chronicles iv. 8 where a Calebite Koz is mentioned). Unable to trace their genealogy in the records after the Return, this family is stated in Ezra (ii. 61) to have been deprived of their right to the priesthood.
Abijah] So Nehemiah x. 7, xii. 4, 17. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was of the course of Abiah (Revised Version Abijah); Luke i. 5.
¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah;
11. Jeshua] This is the Hebrew name expressed by Ἰησοῦς in Greek, and by “Jesus” in English. The high-priest under whom the second Temple was built bore this name according to Ezra iii. 2, v. 2.
Shecaniah] So Nehemiah xii. 3; but Nehemiah x. 4, xii. 14, “Shebaniah.” The Hebrew letters transliterated b and c are easily confused.
¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim; ¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab;
12. Eliashib] A priest of this name is mentioned Nehemiah xiii. 4–7.
¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer; ¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez;
14. Bilgah] “Bilgah” (Nehemiah xii. 5) appears as a priest or priestly family in the time of the Return, and (under the form “Bilgai,” Nehemiah x. 8) in the time of Nehemiah.
Immer] compare ix. 12; Ezra ii. 37; Jeremiah xx. 1.
¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel;
16. Jehezkel] a more correct form of “Ezekiel,” the name of the priest-prophet of the Captivity.
¹⁷the one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul;
17. Jachin] Compare ix. 10 (= Nehemiah xi. 10).
¹⁸the three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah. ¹⁹This was the ordering of them in their service, to come into the house of the Lord according to the ordinance given unto them by the hand of Aaron their father, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
18. Maaziah] Nehemiah x. 8 (x. 9, Hebrew).
20–31 (compare xxiii. 13–23).
Families of the Levites.
These verses repeat the list of Levitic families given in xxiii. 6–23 with the important omission of the whole of the Gershonites (xxiii. 6–11), but with some additions to the Kohathite and Merarite families. Further, six “heads” of classes mentioned in xxiii. are here replaced by new names. These features, together with several details, point to the conclusion that the present list is the work of a later writer than the Chronicler.
²⁰And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, Shubael¹; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah.
¹ In chapter xxiii. 16, Shebuel.
20 And of the rest of the sons of Levi: of, etc.] These are probably the words of the glossator, introducing the list which follows and which he intended as a corrective to the list in xxiii. 6–23.
Amram] The four Kohathite families are now noticed in order, viz. Amram, Izhar (verse 22), Hebron (verse 23), Uzziel (verse 24).
Shubael] Called “Shebuel” in xxiii. 16, xxvi. 24.
²¹Of Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, Isshiah the chief.
21. Of Rahabiah] He (like Shubael) was descended from Moses; xxiii. 15–17.
²²Of the Izharites, Shelomoth¹; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath.
¹ In chapter xxiii. 18, Shelomith.
22. Shelomoth] Called “Shelomith” in xxiii. 18.
²³And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴The sons of Uzziel, Micah; of the sons of Micah, Shamir. ²⁵The brother of Micah, Isshiah: of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah.
23. And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the chief] The words of Hebron and the chief which are printed in italics in the text above have been omitted in the Hebrew by some error of transmission. They are rightly restored in accordance with xxiii. 19.
²⁶The sons of Merari; Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno. ²⁷The sons of Merari; of Jaaziah, Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri.
26. The sons of Merari] In xxiii. 21 only two families of Merari are mentioned, viz., Mahli and Mushi. Here however a third family “the sons of Jaaziah” is mentioned. Probably the fuller text is right to this extent that there was a family tracing their ancestry to Jaaziah and claiming that this Jaaziah was of Merarite descent; but is wrong in making Jaaziah an immediate son of Merari, parallel with the famous Mahli and Mushi. Hence the following word Beno (literally his son) should probably be struck out as an erroneous gloss (see also verse 27).
of Jaaziah; Beno] Either delete Beno (see previous note) or perhaps read Bani.
²⁸Of Mahli; Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹Of Kish; the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel.
28. Eleazar] Compare xxiii. 22.
³⁰And the sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after their fathers’ houses.
30. Jerimoth] Spelt “Jeremoth” in xxiii. 23.
These were... houses] = xxiii. 24a.
³¹These likewise cast lots even as their brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and of the Levites; the fathers’ houses of the chief even as those of his younger brother.
31. and Ahimelech] We expect and Abiathar; compare verse 3, xv. 11, xviii. 16, with the notes.