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:
- The Passover,
- the Festival of Weeks,
- the Festival of Trumpets,
- the Day of Atonement, and
- 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.
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