I Chronicles 26, Gatekeepers

We continue the report of temple worship and its organization.

1 Chronicles 26: 1-12, Division of Gatekeeperd

The divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.
     Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth and Eliehoenai the seventh.
     Obed-Edom also had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh and Peullethai the eighth. (For God had blessed Obed-Edom.)
     His son Shemaiah also had sons, who were leaders in their father's family because they were very capable men. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed and Elzabad; his relatives Elihu and Semakiah were also able men.
     All these were descendants of Obed-Edom; they and their sons and their relatives were capable men with the strength to do the work--descendants of Obed-Edom, 62 in all.
     Meshelemiah had sons and relatives, who were able men--18 in all.
     Hosah the Merarite had sons: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn, his father had appointed him the first),
     Hilkiah the second, Tabaliah the third and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and relatives of Hosah were 13 in all.

These divisions of the gatekeepers, through their chief men, had duties for ministering in the temple of the LORD, just as their relatives had.

The gatekeepers held a position of trust, both concerned about maintenance and security. They probably had  treasury to oversee expenses involved. We will see the importance of the gatekeepers when we look at Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the city by the exiles returning from Babylon.

1 Chronicles 26: 13-18, Four cohots chosen by lot

Lots were cast for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.
     The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. 

     Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him.

     The lot for the South Gate fell to Obed-Edom, and the lot for the storehouse fell to his sons.

     The lots for the West Gate and the Shalleketh Gate on the upper road fell to Shuppim and Hosah. 

Guard was alongside of guard:

There were six Levites a day on the east, four a day on the north, four a day on the south and two at a time at the storehouse. As for the court to the west, there were four at the road and two at the court itself.

Lots are cast to determine who takes care of the major gates. Obed-Edom, on whose property the ark rested for some time, plays a significant role in this job. 

Tbere are four directions given here. The word "gate" does not appear in the Hebrew text (eg. 1 Chronicles 26:14 Hebrew) but is clearly implied.

1 Chronicles 26: 19-25, Descendants of Korah, Merari, Ladan,...

These were the divisions of the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah and Merari. Their fellow Levites were in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries for the dedicated things.

     The descendants of Ladan, who were Gershonites through Ladan and who were heads of families belonging to Ladan the Gershonite, were Jehieli, the sons of Jehieli, Zetham and his brother Joel. They were in charge of the treasuries of the temple of the LORD.
     From the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites: Shubael, a descendant of Gershom son of Moses, was the officer in charge of the treasuries. His relatives through Eliezer: Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zicri his son and Shelomith his son.

Among the gatekeeping duties was a significant financial responsibility: keeping up with the treasury that oversaw the temple costs, including the special objects dedicated to the temple. For an example of things "dedicated", see 1 Chronicles 18: 9-11. Sadly, this treasury and the objects would be carried off later by invading armies.

1 Chronicles 26: 26-32, In charge of the treasuries

Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David, by the heads of families who were the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and by the other army commanders. Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the LORD. And everything dedicated by Samuel the seer and by Saul son of Kish, Abner son of Ner and Joab son of Zeruiah, and all the other dedicated things were in the care of Shelomith and his relatives.

     From the Izharites: Kenaniah and his sons were assigned duties away from the temple, as officials and judges over Israel.

     From the Hebronites: Hashabiah and his relatives--seventeen hundred able men--were responsible in Israel west of the Jordan for all the work of the LORD and for the king's service.

     As for the Hebronites, Jeriah was their chief according to the genealogical records of their families. In the fortieth year of David's reign a search was made in the records, and capable men among the Hebronites were found at Jazer in Gilead. Jeriah had twenty-seven hundred relatives, who were able men and heads of families, and King David put them in charge of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.

Objects dedicated to YHWH and the temple dated back to the time of Samuel. The Chronicler continues to carefully record the individuals involved in these duties and their relatives. Probably writing from after the Babylonian exile, the Chronicler presumably had access to records long since lost.

I Chronicles 25, Levite Musicians

David has set up the schedules for priestly cohorts in the temple worship. Now he organizes the Levite musicians into cohorts. 

1 Chronicles 25: 1-5, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun

David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service:

   From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king's supervision.

   As for Jeduthun, from his sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the LORD.

   As for Heman, from his sons: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-Ezer; Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth. All these were sons of Heman the king's seer. They were given him through the promises of God to exalt him. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 

 

Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun are all names that appear in the Psalms. These assignments continue earlier appointments of 1 Chronicles 16: 4-7, 37-42. David's reign, and that of Solomon that follows, will emphasize praise and worship in music and song. 

Payne (p. 425) says that Heman's last nine sons, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer; Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir and Mahazioth form a prayer. The Hebrew represented by the names is, in order of birth:

Be gracious YHWH

be gracious to me!

My God, You

I've praised

and exalted for helping.

Though sitting forlorn

I've proclaimed

highest 

visions.

Heman also had three daughters. Having even sons and three daughters is interpreted as a heavenly blessing (eg. Job 1: 2) and doubling the number of sons to fourteen is an exceptional heavenly blessing (eg. Job 42: 12-15.)

1 Chronicles 25: 6-8, Cymbals, lyres and harps

All these men were under the supervision of their fathers for the music of the temple of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king. Along with their relatives--all of them trained and skilled in music for the LORD--they numbered 288. Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots for their duties.

The singing is accompanied by the musical instruments of the day.

1 Chronicles 25: 9-31, Results of lot casting

 The first lot, which was for Asaph, fell to Joseph, his sons and relatives, 12

   the second to Gedaliah, he and his relatives and sons, 12
   the third to Zaccur, his sons and relatives, 12
   the fourth to Izri, his sons and relatives, 12
   the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the seventh to Jesarelah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the tenth to Shimei, his sons and relatives, 12
   the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and relatives, 12
   the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the thirteenth to Shubael, his sons and relatives, 12
   the fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the fifteenth to Jerimoth, his sons and relatives, 12
   the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and relatives, 12
   the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and relatives, 12
   the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and relatives, 12
   the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and relatives, 12
   the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and relatives, 12
   the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and relatives, 12
   the twenty-fourth to Romamti-Ezer, his sons and relatives, 12

The twenty four cohorts of Levitical musicians are chosen by lot. Courses one, three, five and seven go to sons of Asaph. (Jesarelah is the same as Asarelah, says an NIV footnote.)

Hebrew Alephbet: Waw, Zayin, Het, Tet, Yod

 In two previous Sunday essays, I have introduced the Hebrew alphabet and looked at the first five letters. Here we look at the next five, waw, zayin, het, tet and yod.

6. Waw

The sixth letter in Hebrew is waw . In modern Hebrew it is vav; the w sound has evolved into a v. Although this vowel makes a w (Biblical Hebrew) or v sound (modern Hebrew) it also can take on certain vowel sounds in some settings. 

Hebrew writing is an abjad writing system, in which the Hebew letters supposedly only represent consonants. Still, the need for some vowel symbols apparently creeps in and occasionally waw represents a vowel sound. In order to describe vowel sounds, Hebrew has additional niqqud symbols that are optional and are placed under consonants. I will look at niqqud later.

The script forms are:

Waw naturally enough represents a hook and the word vav in Hebrew is "hook", drawn below.

Wah is used in Biblical Hebrew as a prefix, usually representing "and".

7. Zayin

The seventh letter is zayin, pronounced to rhyme with Brian. It makes a "z" sound.

8. Het

The eighth letter is het.

9. Tet

The ninth letter is tet, making a "t" sound.

10. Yod

The tenth letter is yod, which is half-size, in the upper half of the line. It makes a "y" (yuh) sound.

Resources

In addition to the Hebrewpod101 video, Christian publisher Zondervan has a channel which includes this lecture in Hebrew. I am also using this text on basic Hebrew, Read Hebrew in 22 Days or Less by Seltzer, Lizorkin-Eyzenberg and Shir.

I Chronicles 24, Assignments of Levites

After describing the heritage and duties of the Levites, the Chronicler turns to the general priesthood.

1 Chronicles 24: 1-5, Descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar

These were the divisions of the sons of Aaron: The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did, and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. 

With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar's descendants than among Ithamar's, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar's descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar's descendants. 

They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

Two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, are killed by YHWH when they desecrate the temple (see Leviticus 10: 1-2.) But two other sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar, have descendants in David's time. Eleazar has, in David's time, roughly twice as many descendants as Aaron's son Ithamar and so Eleazar's descendants are divided into sixteen groups while Ithamar's are divided into eight.

1 Chronicles 24: 6-19, Heads of priests

The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelech son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites--one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.
   The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, 

   the second to Jedaiah,
   the third to Harim, 

   the fourth to Seorim,
   the fifth to Malkijah, 

   the sixth to Mijamin,
   the seventh to Hakkoz, 

   the eighth to Abijah,
   the ninth to Jeshua, 

   the tenth to Shecaniah,
   the eleventh to Eliashib, 

   the twelfth to Jakim,
   the thirteenth to Huppah, 

   the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
   the fifteenth to Bilgah, 

   the sixteenth to Immer,
   the seventeenth to Hezir, 

   the eighteenth to Happizzez,
   the nineteenth to Pethahiah, 

   the twentieth to Jehezkel,
   the twenty-first to Jakin, 

   the twenty-second to Gamul,
   the twenty-third to Delaiah 

   and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
  

This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

To organize the schedule of the twenty four groups of priests, the groups are chosen by lot. Presumably we have here the choices identified by the head of the household or clan.

The eighth grouping, headed by Abijah, will still be active in New Testament times; Zechariah, father of John the Baptizer, will come from that line (Luke 1: 5.) Payne claims that the seventh cohort is named in the time of the Maccabees and that the names of the first, second, fourth, ninth and twenty-fourth groups have been found in manuscripts in a Qumran cave (Payne, p. 421.) Also see Nehemiah 10: 1-8, Nehemiah 12: 1-21 and Ezra 2: 36-39 for a later list of descendants. Payne attempts to track these priestly cohorts across the five centuries from David's time into the Second Temple period of Nehemiah. Below is a diagram from page 422 in the commentary of J. Barton Payne in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 4.

The Priestly Cohorts from David to Nehemiah

1 Chronicles 24: 20-30, Priests not from Aaron

As for the rest of the descendants of Levi: from the sons of Amram: Shubael; from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.
   As for Rehabiah, from his sons: Isshiah was the first.
   From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.
   The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.
   The son of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.
   The brother of Micah: Isshiah; from the sons of Isshiah: Zechariah.
   The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.
   The sons of Merari: from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri.
   From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.
   From Kish: the son of Kish: Jerahmeel.
   And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth. 

These were the Levites, according to their families.

According to Payne, these priests are descendants of Levi but not Aaron.

1 Chronicles 24: 31, Assigned by lots

They also cast lots, just as their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites. The families of the oldest brother were treated the same as those of the youngest.

Like the others before them, duties are assigned by lot.

As in earlier lists, the modern reader, two-and-a-half millennia later, have little use for the organizations of these cohorts. But for the Chronicler and his descendants, this record is an important historical document authenticating the renewal of temple worship after the exiles return from Babylon. For this reason, we will see updates of these lists when we get to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

I Chronicles 23, Levites Service in the Permanent Temple

David has instructed his son, Solomon, to build a temple.

1 Chronicles 23: 1-5, Solomon becomes king

When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. David said, "Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the LORD and six thousand are to be officials and judges. Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose."

At the end of David's life, while David is still alive, he makes Solomon king. (This is a co-regency, for a short time.) There is intrigue and scandal to go with this but those details are in 1 Kings 1; the scrolls of Samuel and Kings carry considerable more daily details -- and scandal -- than does the scroll of Chronicles.

Note the emphasis on music, always a creative gift of David, always an emphasis of those in his dynasty.

Here, as in Numbers 4: 1-3, the Levites are counted if they are thirty or older.

1 Chronicles 23: 6-23, Levites to serve

David divided the Levites into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

   Belonging to the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

   The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the first, Zetham and Joel--three in all.

   The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel and Haran--three in all. These were the heads of the families of Ladan.

   And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah. These were the sons of Shimei--four in all.

   Jahath was the first and Ziza the second, but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they were counted as one family with one assignment.

   The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel--four in all.

   The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.

   The sons of Moses the man of God were counted as part of the tribe of Levi.

   The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

   The descendants of Gershom: Shubael was the first.

   The descendants of Eliezer: Rehabiah was the first. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous.

   The sons of Izhar: Shelomith was the first. 

   The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third and Jekameam the fourth.

   The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first and Isshiah the second.

   The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

   Eleazar died without having sons: he had only daughters. Their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

   The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder and Jerimoth--three in all.

The Chronicler has gone several chapters without giving us a long list. So it is time ....  The Chronicler, concerned about the reinstatement of temple worship, provides details about who is a descendant of Levi and thus who is qualified to serve in the temple. These lists will be extended in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

1 Chronicles 23: 24-26, Levites need not carry the tabernacle

These were the descendants of Levi by their families--the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more who served in the temple of the LORD. For David had said, "Since the LORD, the God of Israel, has granted rest to his people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever, the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles used in its service."

As there is to now be a permanent resting place for the ark, the work of the Levites has changed.

1 Chronicles 23: 27-32, Duties of the Levites

According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more. The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. They were in charge of 

    the bread set out on the table, 

    the flour for the grain offerings, 

    the unleavened wafers, 

    the baking and the mixing, 

and 

    all measurements of quantity and size. 

They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.

And so the Levites carried out their responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting, for the Holy Place and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, for the service of the temple of the LORD.

Here the Levites are counted if they are twenty years old or older; this age is ten years younger than that given in the first verses of this chapter. David has apparently moved the age limit down.

What are these feasts? Numbers 28-29 gives five annual feasts:

1. The Passover, 
2. the Festival of Weeks, 
3. the Festival of Trumpets,
4.  the Day of Atonement, and 
5. the Festival of Tabernacles.

These are in addition to the weekly Sabbath worship and New Moon offerings. Here, at Hebrew4Christians is a brief description of ancient Hebrew holidays. According to that website, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is at the end of Passover, followed by First Fruits. The Festival of Weeks is also called Pentecost. Later, the Jewish people will add a number of other festivals. (See this Wikipedia page.) Rosh Hashanah brings in the new year; Purim celebrates the victory of Esther and Mordecai over Haman's attempt at genocide in Babylon (see the book of Esther.) Hanukkah celebrates the later recovery of the Jerusalem temple during the Maccabean revolt and, because it comes around the winter solstice and thus is close to the western civilization celebration of Christmas, is elevated to a major holiday as a Jewish substitute for the Christmas holidays.

I Chronicles 22, Preparations for a Temple

After a plague, David has built an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah, a Jebusite living in Jerusalem. The Chronicler now relates (for the rest of 1 Chronicles) events that are not covered in the scroll of Samuel.

1 Chronicles 22: 1-5, Plans for a House

Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel." So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

David said, "My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it." So David made extensive preparations before his death.

David decides to build a temple on the threshing floor, a House for YHWH. He knows he is not to personally build the temple but that it will be built by his son, Solomon. To prepare the building of the temple, David requires some resident aliens to work on cutting stone for the temple. 

Note the statement about "large amount of iron" in David's temple plans. We are now deep into Iron Age 1. The problem of access to iron dates back to the time of the judges (see Judges 1: 19) and was a problem as recently as the reign of Saul (see 1 Samuel 13: 19-22.) However this problem has been resolved during David's reign.

1 Chronicles 22: 6-10, Charge to Solomon

Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: 

"My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. But this word of the LORD came to me: `You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.'

 

Solomon is to build the temple; David cannot because David's reign had too much bloodshed. There is wordplay in the Hebrew text of verse 9: Shelomoh will be a man of shalom.

1 Chronicles 22: 11-16, Blessing for success

"Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.

"I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. You have many workmen: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as men skilled in every kind of work in gold and silver, bronze and iron--craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the LORD be with you."

David passes on to Solomon his wishes for success and wisdom in building the temple. Considerable material wealth has been accumulated for this project.

1 Chronicles 22: 17-19

Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has handed the inhabitants of the land over to me, and the land is subject to the LORD and to his people. Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD."

David instructs his cabinet to support Solomon's endeavors. It is not clear when David gave these instructions to the leaders in his kingdom. 1 Kings 1 tells a story of palace intrigue and rivalry for the throne.

I Chronicles 21, An Evil Census

David has triumphed everywhere, greatly extending the domain of Israel, pushing back Canaanites who have persisted in the land since the time of Joshua. As this chapter opens, the date is probably about 975 BC; David has reigned in Israel for thirty years or more. His kingdom has endured his acts of adultery and murder, the accompanying scandals of the palace, and the rebellion of his son Absalom. That material is covered in 2 Samuel 13-23 but skipped by the Chronicler, who focuses on the promises of the Davidic dynasty. But the Chronicler will describe one scandal:

1 Chronicles 21: 1-6, David's census sin

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."

But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"

The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah. But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him.
 

David, late in his reign, is convinced by "Adversary" (Hebrew: Satan) to conduct a census.  This is apparently a great sin; even Joab recognizes this.

Commentators suggest that the census is a sign of arrogance and pride; David wants to place his power in the size of his army. This website at GotQuestions.org claims that Exodus 30: 11-12 indicates that a census was to occur only when YHWH initiated it and we see in the Exodus passage that a plague is described as punishment for doing it improperly.

A parallel passage 2 Samuel 24: 1 is not clear on how David was "incited", to take the census as there the critical verb, way-ya-set, apparently means "he/it incited" and most translations interpret the pronoun to be God. (I add a comment or two on this in my blogpost on 2 Samuel 24.) The eventual result of this census and the ensuing plague is the identification of the location of the future temple and this is apparently the reason for the Chronicler including this scandal in his report.

Payne says that the 1,100,000 fighting men could also be 1100 fighting groups.

1 Chronicles 21: 7-12, Choose the punishment

This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."

The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, "Go and tell David, `This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'"

So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: `Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD--days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me."

David is told to choose between three options. Each option itself uses the number three: three years of famine, three months of enemy invasion, three days of plague.

1 Chronicles 21: 13-15a, Three day plague

David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." 

 

David, who has spent so much effort on pushing out invaders, does not want the second choice. He then chooses that last one, a plague of three day duration. This is about to culminate in the destruction of Jerusalem (by a supernatural being) when YHWH says, "Enough!" The angel stops -- and the Chronicler will want us to note that location.

Sidenote: some commentators have suggested that the plague was a natural result of Joab and his men moving throughout the population of Israel, intermingling in close contact with thousands of people. But that idea does not describe the plague culminating in three days!

As we have seen previously, the number "thousand" is Hebrew eleph which could be translated something like "chiefs" or "clans."

1 Chronicles 21: 15b-19, The threshing floor of Araunah

The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people."

Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.

When YHWH says, "Stop!", the angel is "standing between heaven and earth", with sword pointing at Jerusalem. This supernatural being is suddenly visible to David and the elders and they fall down before him. Speaking through the prophet Gad, David is told to build an altar on the threshing floor above which the angel stands.

1 Chronicles 21: 20-25, David purchases the site

While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."

Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this."

But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing." So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site.
 

David, aware that he must build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah, offers to buy that property. In typical ancient Near Eastern customs, Araunah says, "No, I will give it to you" to which David responds, "No, I insist -- I will pay full price." (We see a similar negotiation in Abraham's purchase of a burial plot for Sarah in Genesis 23.)

1 Chronicles 21: 26-30, A sacrifice

David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there.

The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

The plague ends with David making a sacrifice on the new altar. Meanwhile, our narrator notes, the ark is still back at Gibeon.

I Chronicles 20, More Victories

David's kingdom is growing. There have been a series of battles with the Ammonites in the east and still, occasionally, struggles with the Philistines in the west.

1 Chronicles 20: 1-3, When kings go off to war...

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins.

David took the crown from the head of their king--its weight was found to be a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones--and it was placed on David's head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

Joab lays siege to the Ammonite city of Rabbah and conquers it. Joab waits for David to arrive so that David can have the Ammonite king's crown placed on his head. 

This passage parallels 2 Samuel 11:1 & 2 Samuel12:26-31. Notably absent is the sordid affair with Bathsheba that began when "David remained in Jerusalem." That affair, and its many consequences, lead to strife and pain for David's kingdom throughout the remainder of his reign.

1 Chronicles 20: 4-5, Victories over the Philistines

In the course of time, war broke out with the Philistines, at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaites, and the Philistines were subjugated.

In another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod.

 

Other conquests are described. In a conflict with the Philistines, a soldier Sibbecai kills a Philistine Sippai and helps defeat the Philistines. In another, a man named Elhanan kills the brother of Goliath.

1 Chronicles 20: 6-8, Other descendants of Rapha

In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot--twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.

The descendants of Rapha were supposedly giants and here we have a warrior with six fingers on each hand, six toes of each foot!  A nephew of David kills him and other descendants of Rapha fall in battle with David's men.

Verses 4-8 are parallel to 2 Samuel 21:15-22.

I Chronicles 19, Battle at Medeba and Amman

David, protected by YHWH, is winning at every turn. He is expanding the boundaries of Israel. A new king arises in the east and he is not interested in an alliance with David.

1 Chronicles 19: 1-5, Hanun's desecration

In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. 

When David's men came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Haven't his men come to you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?" So Hanun seized David's men, shaved them, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away. 

When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back."

A king, Nahash of the Ammonites, dies. Apparently he had an alliance with David. (1 Samuel 11 describes a cruel Ammonite king named Nahash that is defeated by Saul. It is not clear if this is the same king; if so, the alliance is due to Saul's previous victory.) David now sends ambassadors to a new king of Ammon. But King Hanun is not interested in an alliance and, guided by some nobles, humiliates David's ambassadors. (2 Samuel 10: 4 adds that the Harum shaved half of each of the men's beards, especially humiliating.)

1 Chronicles 19: 6-7, Army at Medeba

When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David's nostrils, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah and Zobah. They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maacah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.

Realizing that their snub is tantamount to a declaration of war, the Ammonites hire a cavalry of chariots led by Aramean king Maacah. Maacah's army prepares to meet David at a place called Medeba. During the time of Joshua, Medeba was captured from King Sihon and given to the transjordan tribes (Joshua 13: 8-13.) Long after David's reign, during the divided kingdom, Medeba will be lost to Moab but then recaptured by Omri and will be mentioned in the Mesha Stele around 840 BC. 

1 Chronicles 19: 8-13, Battle at Amman

On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites.

Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight."
 

As Joab approaches, the Ammonites line up at the entrance of their city (probably modern day Amman) plans to attack in several groups, one wave against the Ammonites and another group against the Arameans.

1 Chronicles 19: 14-16, First Victory

Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the River, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer's army leading them.

Joab defeats the Arameans and seeing this rout, the Ammonites also retreat. More Arameans are then brought from beyond the Euphrates in preparation for the next battle.

1 Chronicles 19: 17-19, Second Battle

When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.

When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.

David then joins the battle, gathering  large army.  David's army is victorious and they kill a large number of soldiers, including Shophach, the commander of the Aramean army. This leads to a treaty and the Arameans becoming subjects of Israel, presumably paying tribute.

This chapter has a parallel in 2 Samuel 10. Verse 18 of 2 Samuel has the number of killed charioteers as 700, not 7000. Payne, commentator on 1 & 2 Chronicles, thinks that 700 in 2 Samuel is an error; both texts list a total of 40,000 foot soldiers killed.  But elsewhere Payne notes the issues raised by the Hebrew word eleph, sometimes translated "thousands", sometimes "chiefs."

Hebrew Alephbet: Gimel, Dalet, Heh

Let's explore the Hebrew alphabet further. We already looked at the first two letters of the twenty-two Hebrew letters. The first two are alef (or aleph) and bet.

Now we move on to the next three, Gimel, Dalet, Heh.

3. Gimel

The third Hebrew letter is gimel, usually with a "guh" sound. It probably began as a drawing of a weapon or slanted stick. It evolved into capital Gamma in Greek and a similar symbol in Cyrillic, the Cyrillic Ge. I find that a little distressing since in my math research area, I regularly use the Greek lambda which looks too much like this!

In modern Hebrew there are different print or cursive drawings of gimel:

The Hebrew word for "roof" is gag. See Deuteronomy 22:8, where one is required to put a railing around one's roof.

4. Dalet

Dalet is the fourth Hebrew letter. Dalet makes the "d" sound, as suggested by the first letter in its name. Dalet may have come from an ancient proto-Sinaitic drawing of a door. Indeed, the Hebrew word for door is a modification of dalet; it is deleth. 

The word for "fish" in Hebrew is dag; dalet followed by gimel. Here the dalet has the dot to soften it but apparently that no longer has an effect on the "d" sound.

From the Hebrewpod101 video are the modern scripts for dalet

5. Heh

The fifth letter of Hebrew is heh, often making an "h" or "huh" sound.

In ancient times, heh was often used at the end of a word if there were certain vowel sounds (eg. Nineveh.)

In the TV series The Chosen, each episode opens with these two symbols, with the caption "Loaves and Fish". The Hebrew numbers are often drawn from the Hebrew alphabet, with the first letter, aleph, representing 1, and so on. Below we have the fifth and second letters of the Hebrew alphabet, representing 5 and 2. They stand for the five loaves and two fish used in the feeding of the 5000.

The four letters aleph-het-bet-het is sounded out as ahava. This is the word for love.

(Note that the dot in bet is missing, so the consonant bet has a v, not b, sound.)

From the Hebrewpod101 video are the modern scripts for heh:

Here are the first five letters in printed script, with arrows to suggest how to draw them. (Start from the top!)

Resources

In addition to the Hebrewpod101 video, Christian publisher Zondervan has a channel which includes this lecture in Hebrew. I am also using this text on basic Hebrew, Read Hebrew in 22 Days or Less by Seltzer, Lizorkin-Eyzenberg and Shir. (This is the best resource of the three.)

I Chronicles 18, Victory Everywhere

David is king and YHWH has promised him an eternal dynasty. The date is about 995 BC.

1 Chronicles 18: 1-6, Philistines, Moabites, Arameans

In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Gath and its surrounding villages from the control of the Philistines. David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to him and brought tribute. Moreover, David fought Hadadezer king of Zobah, as far as Hamath, when he went to establish his control along the Euphrates River. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.

David is dramatically extending the borders of Israel, pushing Philistines, Moabites and Arameans out of the region. The Philistines are the western threat to Israel, many of them in the area of the modern day Gaza Strip, the Moabites are in the east  (modern day Jordan) and the Arameans are to the north (in modern day Syria.) David will complete victories over all four parts of the compass when he defeats the Edomites (below.)

1 Chronicles 18: 7-11, Treasures and tribute

David took the gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. From Tebah and Cun, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze, which Solomon used to make the bronze Sea, the pillars and various bronze articles. 

When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Hadoram brought all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze. King David dedicated these articles to the LORD, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek.
 

David's victories mean that treasures come into Jerusalem.  Solomon will later take the large amount of captured bronze to make his famous "sea" in the temple. King Tou of Hamath offers tribute.

1 Chronicles 18: 12-13, Victory everywhere

Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. 

The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.
 

David also defeats the Edomites. In summary, the Chronicler says that everything David did led to success, since YHWH was giving the victory.

David's nephew Abishai is given the credit here for defeating Edom. 2 Samuel 8: 13 attributes the victory over Edom to David; the heading of Psalm 60 attributes the victory to Abishai's brother, Joab, David's commander in chief. Both Abishai (see 2 Samuel 23: 18-19) and Joab were leaders in David's army and involved in all of David's battles.

1 Chronicles 18: 14-17, Leaders in David's kingdom

David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people. Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was secretary; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David's sons were chief officials at the king's side.

The Chronicler lists the names of some important leaders of David's kingdom.

A parallel passage to 1 Chronicles 18 is 2 Samuel 8.

I Chronicles 17, Plans for a Temple

David is king. A marvelous palace has been built for David and the ark is in a tent in Jerusalem. 

1 Chronicles 17: 1-2, Build a temple?

After David was settled in his palace, he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent."

Nathan replied to David, "Whatever you have in mind, do it, for God is with you."

David seeks to build a temple in Jerusalem and Nathan agrees.

1 Chronicles 17: 3-6, YHWH responds

That night the word of God came to Nathan, saying:

 "Go and tell my servant David, `This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in. I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to another. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their leaders whom I commanded to shepherd my people, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"'

 

But suddenly God appears to Nathan and blocks the plans. He apparently does not need a temple and David is not the one to build it. In 1 Chronicles 22: 8 YHWH gives, as a reason for this denial, the bloody campaigns of David.

1 Chronicles 17: 7-10, Picked from the pasture

Now then, tell my servant David, `This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies. "`I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you:

 

YHWH recounts his choice of David, from the days David was a shepherd. YHWH will build, out of David's line, a "house."

1 Chronicles 17: 11-14, A throne forever

When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.'"

YHWH promises that one of David's sons will succeed him; that son is the one who will build the House of God. David's kingdom will then last forever. To the Chronicler, there must be some issues here, as the house of David does not continue as a kingdom in his day. Is this clearly messianic? 

God promises to be the father of the future king and to identify that king as His son. That son will reign over God's kingdom forever. Yamauchi argues that this passage has moved past Solomon to the future Messiah.

Yamauchi points out that the parallel passage in 2 Samuel 7: 12-16 has a statement about punishments for forsaking the covenant and those statements are not included here. Yamauchi argues that the Chronicler, reporting so soon after the Babylonian exile, sees no need for warnings here about apostasy.

1 Chronicles 17: 15-19, Who am I?

 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: 

"Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God. 

 

"What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, O LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

David apparently goes into the tent housing the ark and sits down before it. He acknowledges his lack of standing and the honor of his appointment.

1 Chronicles 17: 20-24, David's response

"There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel--the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.

 

"And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say,

`The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God!'

And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

David reviews God's promise to Israel, from the time of Egypt, His protections of David and the promise of an eternal kingdom.

1 Chronicles 17: 25-27,

"You, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. So your servant has found courage to pray to you.

 

O LORD, you are God! You have promised these good things to your servant. Now you have been pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O LORD, have blessed it, and it will be blessed forever."

Yamauchi argues that this chapter is the heart of 1 Chronicles. David begins an eternal dynasty, rooted on the proper worship of YHWH as required by the Mosaic Covenant.

The emphasis here is on an infinite Jewish kingdom, begun with David, fulfilled by the future Messiah. At this time, there is no mention of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12: 1-3) in which the descendants of Israel will bless all nations and peoples. As a Gentile, I am grateful for that promise also!