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.