He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. The Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of Yahweh’s house, six thousand were officers and judges, four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”
David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan. The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons; therefore they became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever. But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi. The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief. The sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brothers the sons of Kish took them as wives. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of Yahweh’s house, from twenty years old and upward. For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.” For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and upward. For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house, in the courts, and in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house; for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size; and to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh, and likewise in the evening; and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh; and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of Yahweh’s house.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 14, 17, 22, 24, 28 Or, to have care over.
Or, to have care over.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, 24, 29 1Ch 23:2 And he gathered together all the princes…
1Ch 23:2 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
Ver. 2. With the priests and the Levites.] These were most of all concerned in the following charge: but the princes and people were to be informed of it. And albeit this and the three following chapters may seem to be of little use unto us, yet we are to hold that "every word of God is pure"; and "all Scripture is profitable to instruct." Here we may learn that there should still be a supply of faithful ministers; and these to be ordered by the supreme authority of the land; that there are different offices of ministers; that order is to be observed in the Church; that each one is to do his own work with utmost diligence, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 Partly to declare God’s mind and his own will,…
Partly to declare God’s mind and his own will, that Solomon should be his successor; and so to cut off the claims and pretences which others of his sons might make to the crown; and partly to acquaint them with those directions which he had received from God by the Spirit, as appears from 1Ch 28:11, &c., concerning the establishment of a new order and method in the ministration of the priests and Levites in the temple.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v24 Here is, I. An alteration made in the computation…
Here is, I. An alteration made in the computation of the effective men of the Levites - that whereas, in Moses's time, they were not enlisted, or taken into service, till they were thirty-years old, nor admitted as probationers till twenty-five (Num 8:24), David ordered, by direction from God, that they should be numbered for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upwards, Ch1 23:24. This order he confirmed by his last words, Ch1 23:27. When he put his last hand to the draught of this establishment he expressly appointed this to be done for ever after; yet not he; but the Lord. 1. Perhaps the young Levites, having no work appointed them till twenty-five years old, had many of them got a habit of idleness, or grew addicted to their pleasures, which proved both a blemish to their reputation and a hindrance to their usefulness afterwards, to prevent which inconvenience they are set to work, and brought under discipline, at twenty-years old. Those that will be eminent must learn to take care and take care betimes. 2. When the work of the Levites was to carry burdens, heavy burdens, the tabernacle and the furniture of it, God would not call any to it till they had come to their full strength; for he considers our frame, and, in service as well as sufferings, will lay no more upon us than we are able to bear. But now God had given rest to his people, and made Jerusalem his dwelling-place for ever, so that there was no more occasion to carry the tabernacle and the vessels thereof, the service was much easier, and what would not over-work them nor over-load them if they entered upon it at twenty-years old. 3. Now the people of Israel were multiplied, and there was a more general resort to Jerusalem, and would be when the temple was built, than had ever been at Shiloh, or Nob, or Gibeon; it was therefore requisite there should be more hands employed in the temple-service, that every Israelite who brought an offering might find a Levite ready to assist him. When more work is to be done it is a pity but there should be more workmen fetched in for the doing of it. When the harvest is plenteous why should the labourers be few?
II. A further account of the Levites' work. What the work of the priests was we are told (Ch1 23:13): To sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the Lord, and to bless in his name; that work the Levites were not to meddle with, and yet they had work enough, and good work, according to that to which they were appointed, Ch1 23:4, Ch1 23:5. 1. Those of them that were to set forward the work of the house of God (Ch1 23:4) were therein to wait on the sons of Aaron (Ch1 23:28), were to do the drudgery-work (if any work for God is to be called drudgery) of the house of God, to keep the courts and chambers clean, set things in their places, and have them ready when there was occasion to use them. They were to prepare the show-bread which the priests were to set on the table, to provide the flour and cakes for the meat-offerings, that the priests might have every thing ready to their hands. 2. Those of them that were judges and officers had an eye particularly upon all measure and size, Ch1 23:29. The standards of all weights and measures were kept in the sanctuary; and the Levites had the care of them, to see that they were exact, and to try other weights and measures by them when they were appealed to. 3. The work of the singers was to thank and praise the Lord (Ch1 23:30), at the offering of the morning and evening sacrifices, and other oblations on the sabbaths, new moons, etc., Ch1 23:31. Moses appointed that they should blow with trumpets over their burnt offerings and other sacrifices, and on their solemn days, Num 10:10. The sound of the trumpet was awful, and might be affecting to the worshippers, but was not articulate, nor such a reasonable service as this which David appointed, of singing psalms on those occasions. As the Jewish church grew up from its infancy, it grew more and more intelligent in its devotions, till it came at length, in the gospel, to put away childish things, Co1 13:11; Gal 4:3, Gal 4:9. 4. The work of the porters (Ch1 23:5) was to keep the charge of the tabernacle and of the holy place, that none might come nigh but such as were allowed, and those no nearer than was allowed them, Ch1 23:32. They were likewise to keep the charge of the sons of Aaron, to be at their beck and go on their errands, who are yet called their brethren, to be a memorandum to the priests that, though they were advanced to a high station, yet they were hewn out of the same rock with common Levites, and therefore must not lord it over them, but in all instances treat them as brethren.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 And he gathered together all the princes of Israel,....…
And he gathered together all the princes of Israel,.... Ordered them to be assembled, partly to acquaint them with his will and pleasure, that Solomon should succeed him in the kingdom; and partly to settle the order of the work and service of the temple; and therefore these were convened
with the priests and Levites; to assign to them their respective places and offices.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 24, 28, 29, 30, 32 Gathered, &c. - To declare God's mind and his…
Gathered, &c. - To declare God's mind and his own will, that Solomon should be his successor: and to acquaint them with those directions which he had received from God by the spirit.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30, 32 Verse 3. Thirty years and upward] The enumeration of…
Verse 3. Thirty years and upward] The enumeration of the Levites made in the desert, Nu 4:3, was from thirty years upwards to fifty years. In this place, the latter limit is not mentioned, probably because the service was not so laborious now; for the ark being fixed they had no longer any heavy burdens to carry, and therefore even an old man might continue to serve the tabernacle. David made another ordinance afterwards; see on 1Ch 23:24; 1Ch 23:27.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30 1Ch 23:2. He gathered together all the princes, &c.…
1Ch 23:2. He gathered together all the princes, &c. — Partly to declare God’s will, and his own desire, that Solomon should be his successor; and so to cut off the claims and pretences which others of his sons might have made to the crown; and partly to acquaint them with those directions which he had received from God, by the Spirit, as appears from 1Ch 28:11, &c., concerning the establishment of a new order and method in the ministration of the priests and Levites in the temple.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24, 27, 31 From the age of twenty years - The Levites…
From the age of twenty years - The Levites had hitherto not entered upon their regular functions until the age of thirty 1Ch 23:3. Certain lighter duties were by the Law imposed on them at the age of twenty-five Num 8:24; but it was not until they were five years older that they became liable to the full service of the sanctuary. David appears now to have made a change. By his “last words” 1Ch 23:27 the time for the Levites to enter on the full duties of their office was advanced from thirty to twenty years. This change was based upon the lighter character of the labors imposed on them now that the ark had ceased to be carried from place to place and obtained a permanent habitation 1Ch 23:26. The limit of age continued in after times where David had fixed it (see Ezr 3:8).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 19, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 Princes, heads of families, or officers of the army,…
Princes, heads of families, or officers of the army, chap. xxv. 1. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 21, 24 NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITES. (Ch1 23:2-6)
NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEVITES. (Ch1 23:2-6)
he gathered together all the princes of Israel--All important measures relating to the public interest were submitted for consideration to a general assembly of the representatives of the tribes (Ch1 13:1; Ch1 15:25; Ch1 22:17; 1Ch. 26:1-32).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv4, 13, 14, 24, 31 4. To set forward the work of the house…
4. To set forward the work of the house — Rather, to preside over the work; to attend to the various kinds of service specified in 1Ch_23:28-32.
Officers and judges — Hebrew, Shoterim and Shophetim. They served as local magistrates and judges throughout the various cities of the land. See notes on Jos_1:10, and comp. 1Ch_26:29, and 2Ch_19:8-10.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 2–23. Organisation of the Levites (first account)
2–23. Organisation of the Levites (first account)
Two accounts are given of David’s organisation of the Levites. According to the first the Levites were admitted to service at thirty years of age; 1Ch_23:3; cp. Num_4:3; Num_4:23; Num_4:30, where the period from thirty to fifty is fixed as the period for service. According to the second account (Num_4:24; Num_4:47) the Levites were taken from twenty years old and upwards; this was apparently the later custom; cp. 2Ch_31:17; Ezr_3:8. The discrepancy probably arises from an actual variation in practice. The original age of admission for Levites was probably thirty, but owing to the scarcity of their numbers it seems to have been necessary to reduce the limit of age to twenty. On the Levites see Ryle (Ezra and Nehemiah p. liii. ff.). See also on 1Ch_23:27.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–32 (2) And he gathered together all the princes of…
(2) And he gathered together all the princes of Israel.—The form of the verb (the imperfect with waw conversive) implies that this was done in connection with the transfer of the kingdom to Solomon. The following chapters, therefore, relate to arrangements made by David towards the close of his life. (Comp. 1Ch_26:30, “the fortieth year of the reign of David.”)
The princes of Israel.—Comp. 1Ch_13:1; 1Ch_15:25; 1Ch_22:17. “The princes and the priests and the Levites” together constituted, in the conception of the chronicler, the three estates of the realm: the representatives of all spiritual and temporal authority. David consults with the national assembly in a matter of national concern.
Read full note →
(2-5) The numbering of the Levites and their appointments.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–32 He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with…
He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. As on an occasion of supreme importance, David, in view of his own death and of his son"s succession at the present time, calls together the full council, and the highest possible representative council of the nation. So. 1Ch_22:17 1Ch_24:6 1Ch_25:1; in which last passage the word "captains" should have have been rendered "princes" (yric) The arrangement of the Levites, and the distribution of their functions in the presence of the princes, as here described, and as it is even more strongly put, (1Ch_25:1) "by" them, simply points to the fact that the ultimate outer authority, as between Church and state, lay with the state. The Church was made for it, not it for the Church. And it was the duty of the state to defend the Church.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Vers. 2, 3.
Read full note →
The mission of the Levites.
They were called to service which men might call "menial," but which was truly "honourable," and might be made "more honourable by the loyal, devout, and loving spirit in which it was done. But there are indications that the Levites were tempted to undervalue their place and their work; they sometimes envied the priests, and fretfully wanted to be other than they were. (see Num_16:9) Confusion and difficulty are sure to arise when men undervalue the positions in which they are set, and the work that is entrusted to them to do, and begin to envy other people"s positions and other people"s work. We treat here the mission of the Levites as introducing the subject of our separation unto God"s service. What is called the Divine election may be fittingly called the Divine selection, for it really is God, in his infinite foreknowledge, selecting fitting agents, and, in the ordering of his providences, separating them unto the work for which he has chosen them. The sacred Word is full of instances of these Divine selectings and separatings. The race of Seth is separated from the other descendants of Adam. Noah is separated from the ungodly world. Japheth is separated from the new races coming from Noah. Abraham is separated from the idolatrous Chaldeans. Isaac is separated as the sole heir of the covenant. Jacob, Judah, and Ephraim are separated by Divine interference with the right of eldest sons. The nation of Israel is separated from all nations to be the repository of God"s revelation. The tribe of Levi is separated to special service in the Divine tabernacle. Saul is separated to be the first king. David is separated from the sheepfolds. Our Lord separates twelve from among his disciples. Barnabas and Saul are separated unto the work of the ministry. Fixing our attention on the senses in which the Levites were separated from the congregation, we may learn some of the ways in which we should regard ourselves now as "separated unto God." The Levites were not made a distinct class, dwelling together; they lived about among the people, and shared the common life. They worked for a part at least of their living; their families grew up around them; they joined in the local feast as well as in the yearly festival. Their pleasures and their daily interests were precisely those of the people about them. And yet they were God"s by special call and consecration. Wheresoever they went the stamp of the Holy rested upon them. Their very presence tended to check sin, and to purify the social atmospheres. The distinctness of the Levites belonged to their character, spirit, and tone of conduct. And they were called to a particular service. They were to attend on the worship of the tabernacle, taking their orderly turns. They were selected by God for this one life-work, "to bear the vessels of the Lord." They were called to receive a trust, and called to manifest the spirit which was becoming to that "trust." Still we find separation unto God quite compatible with taking our place among our fellow-men, and entering heartily into everything that properly belongs to family and social and national life. The world in which we live is God"s world. In it there is nothing unclean, save to him who makes a thing unclean. Work is holy; rest is holy; pleasure is holy; friendship is holy. The Christian and the Christian Church stand out from all the world, and are set "in the world"s eye;" and yet it is equally true that the Christian and the Christian Church blend and mingle in every sphere of life. They force no distinctions upon men"s notice, and yet they are "separate" everywhere. Their distinction comes out of their first and ruling principles. The thought of God, the reference of all things to the will of God, and the effort to be in full harmony with the mind of God, are so essential to the Christian, and so characteristic of him, that he must bring the sense of God"s presence into every life-association. And just in this lies his peculiarity and his mission. When a Jew looked upon a Levite in the midst of the people, he thought of Jehovah. When a Jew talked to a Levite, if he was a true Levite, he would make the man feel God"s relation to the matter in hand. And so it is the Christian"s mission to be an open "epistle of Christ." Levites failed from their duty, and from the joy of their duty, when they began to count their separation unto God a light thing. And this came about by their not putting their hearts into their work; by their nourishing jealousies and envyings; and by their failing to recognize how their work fitted into the great whole of God"s service. Do we think it a small thing to have been separated unto God? Do we think unworthily of the talent committed to our trust? Can it be a little thing to be God"s priests and Levites in his great world, ministering his truth, his will, his love, to men? Can it be a little thing to be the "candlestick" that holds out the light of God"s holiness and God"s gospel to men? Here is one chief root of the Christian evils which we deplore under-valuing our Christian standing; under-estimating our Divine call, and the mission which is given us to fulfil. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.
R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv5, 14, 25 And four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments…
1Ch_23:5
And four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made.
Read full note →
Music and religion
I. The object of music. To praise therewith well expresses the attitude of the Bible towards music. Plutarch says: The chiefest and sublimest end of music is the graceful return of our thanks to the gods. In these words the wisdom of the Bible representation is vindicated. A worthy conception of God is the only thing which can give the true inspiration of music, and keep it pure and noble through all its strains. Thus music and religion ought never to be divorced.
II. Some of the features of the revelation of God which the Bible gives, and see how they agree with the best features of musical life and growth.
1. The Bible reveals God to man, and man to himself; it opens up depths of meaning which ordinary life cannot sound; it calls man the son of God; it bases itself upon the love of God, which passeth knowledge; it speaks of things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. If we allow music any rights of its own, they must be based upon its claim to give expression which is beyond the power of words, and to utter conceptions which thought cannot formulate. It has the power to take them out of the surroundings even of the deepest thoughts, to lift their aspirations where nothing else can go, to carry them into the presence of a power of harmony and order more fundamental than the skill of the hand or the logic of the mind can represent.
2. Then there is the universality of religion. It is meant for all men: there are all grades and kinds of reception of it. The gospel of Christ is for all men; it has truths for the simple, and doctrines for the wise; it meets all nations of men, each according to its nature and its needs. So music in one way or another affects the simplest and the most cultured, appeals to the joyful and to the sorrowing, defies lines of nationality and of language, and is appropriated by all according to the needs of each.
3. The object of religion is harmony--harmony between heaven and earth, between man and man, harmony in the life of the individual, with its varying experiences. The power of man to appreciate harmony finds a response in the growing resources of the musical art; and the yearnings of man for a better existence, where life shall not clash with death, joy with sorrow, and love with hate, finds an answer in a revelation which destroys death, comforts sorrow, and makes love seen everywhere. There could be no better expression for heaven, aa the place where such a revelation finds its completion, than as the place of music. (Arthur Brooks, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv22, 28, 29 i.e. cousins.
brethren
i.e. cousins.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v24 The Ministry of the Levites
The Ministry of the Levites
v. 24. These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward, the lower age here referred to being explained in the following words.
Read full note →
v. 25. For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto His people that they may dwell, or, "and He dwells," in Jerusalem forever, this city having now been chosen by God for the central Sanctuary;
v. 26. and also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the Tabernacle nor any vessels of it for the service thereof, and the work thus being lighter, the age at which the Levites could enter upon their work was placed lower.
v. 27. For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above,
v. 28. because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in assisting the priests, in the courts, and in the chambers, in keeping every part of the Temple clean, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God, attending to all the external features of the service;
v. 29. both for the showbread, in helping to prepare it, and for the fine flour for meat-offering, and for the unleavened cakes, Lev 2:4, and for that which is baked in the pan, Lev 2:5, and for that which is fried, Lev 6:14, and for all manner of measure and size, the measures of capacity and length, principally for measuring flour, oil, and wine;
v. 30. and to stand every morning, namely, the four thousand detailed for this liturgical service, to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even;
v. 31. and to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the Sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, for they had to provide the necessary number of sacrificial animals, examine their fitness, attend to their slaughtering and flaying, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord;
v. 32. and that they should keep the charge of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, Num 18:4, and the charge of the Holy Place, of all the holy things connected with the worship, Num 18:5, and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brethren, the care of all the things commanded them by the priests, in the service of the house of the Lord. Our God is a God of order, and it pleases Him if all the matters pertaining to external worship also are regulated properly, given into charge of certain people, to avoid all clashing.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 7, 10, 12, 15, 19, 21, 24, 27, 30, 32 Of these, twenty-four thousand
Of these, twenty-four thousand
"Of these Levities, 24,000" (See: Numbers)
Read full note →
six thousand
"6,000 Levites" (See: Numbers)
officers and judges
These Levites listened to legal arguments and administered justice according to the law of Moses.
four thousand
"4,000 Levites" (See: Numbers)
gatekeepers
These Levites guarded the temple entrance so no person who was ceremonially unclean entered.
that corresponded to
"based on" or "according to the descendants of"
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari
These are names of Levi's sons. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
house of God
judge, judges
praise
Yahweh
praise
Levi
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 6, 24, 28 23:3-5 The Levites are recorded according to their roles…
23:3-5 The Levites are recorded according to their roles rather than their families.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.