1.
The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
2.
And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.
3.
And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
4.
Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua,
5.
And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi,
6.
And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth,
7.
Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,
8.
And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz,
9.
And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan,
10.
And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)
1 Chronicles 6:10. He it is that executed the priest's office, &c.— Some suppose that this Azariah is he who strenuously opposed king Uzziah; and that, therefore, he is thus mentioned. Houbigant thinks that he was the son of Zadok, mentioned 1 Kings 4:2.
11.
And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,
12.
And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum,
13.
And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah,
14.
And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak,
1 Chronicles 6:14. Azariah begat Seraiah, &c.— Seraiah was put to death by Nebuchadnezzar. In him ended the succession of high-priests under the first temple. Their number from Zadok amounted to twelve.
15.
And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
16.
The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
1 Chronicles 6:16. &c. The sons of Levi— This pedigree of the posterity of Levi is given again, 1 Chronicles 6:43. It appears most probable, that in this catalogue the name of the son of Gershom was omitted, and לבני Libni, inserted, from בנו beno, his son, since the name of Gershom's son in the Syriac and Arabic, 1 Chronicles 6:20, is said to be Nahath instead of Jahath, as we find it in the second catalogue. See Pilkington, p. 29.
17.
And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei.
18.
And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.
19.
The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.
20.
Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,
21.
Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.
22.
The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,
23.
Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,
24.
Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.
25.
And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth.
26.
As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,
27.
Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.
28.
And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.
1 Chronicles 6:28. The sons of Samuel— The sons of Samuel, Joel his first-born, Abiah his second. See 1Ch 6:33 and 1 Samuel 8:2. At the end of the 27th verse, instead of Elkanah his son, read Samuel his son. Houbigant.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, As Judah had the pre-eminence, and Joseph the birthright, Levi had the honour of the priesthood. Among the descendants of Kohath were Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, whose names are great in God's book. Two of the sons of Aaron, on whom the priesthood was settled, suffered for their daring presumption. In the others, the priestly line was maintained. The line of Eleazar to the captivity is drawn, during which the high-priesthood in general continued in that family; though, in the time of the judges, we find it for a while transferred to the descendants of Ithamar, till Solomon again restored Zadok. Azariah is mentioned as officiating in Solomon's temple, perhaps when Uzziah invaded the priest's office, whom he so nobly withstood. They who have a zeal for God, fear not to testify against the sins of the greatest men, though at the hazard of prison or death.
2nd, When David had brought up the ark from Obed-edom's house, he appointed a solemn choir of Levites, for the constant singing of God's praises; at the head of which were Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, one out of each of the three great houses of Levi, with their children, as many as were musical at least. The other Levites, according to the classes into which they were divided, did the rest of the service, kept the gates, prepared the sacrifices, &c. Note; (1.) The work of praise in the great congregation should be as much the minister's care, as the work of prayer. It is a sure sign of a decay of godliness, when there is a neglect of divine psalmody. (2.) That only is to God a pleasing service of song, when in the heart, as well as the lips, we make melody to God. (3.) In God's house there must be no idlers; the work is important, and calls for labour and diligence.
3rdly, Sacrificing was peculiarly appropriated to the priests, the sons of Aaron. They alone shed the blood of atonement, and burnt incense; and herein they were typical of him, who, himself both priest and sacrifice, by one oblation of himself once offered, hath obtained eternal redemption for us.
29.
The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,
30.
Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.
31.
And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest.
32.
And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order.
33.
And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,
34.
The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,
35.
The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,
36.
The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,
37.
The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
38.
The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.
39.
And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,
40.
The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah,
41.
The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,
42.
The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,
43.
The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.
44.
And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,
45.
The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,
46.
The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer,
47.
The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.
48.
Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.
49.
But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
50.
And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,
51.
Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,
52.
Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,
53.
Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.
54.
Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.
1 Chronicles 6:54. For theirs was the lot— The first lot. Syriac and Houbigant. See Joshua 21:10.
55.
And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.
56.
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
57.
And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,
1 Chronicles 6:57. The cities of Judah— The author of this book, as well as the author of the book of Joshua, (chap. 1 Chronicles 21:19.) expressly asserts, that the cities given to the Levites were thirteen. In the catalogue before us, two of the names are omitted, and only five of them written as they are in Joshua. The differences in the 4th, 5th, and 6th names are very immaterial. The transposition of the two last names shews no want of correctness in either catalogue. See Pilkington, p. 30. Houbigant translates the beginning of this verse, moreover to the sons of Aaron they gave for a city of refuge, Hebron with her suburbs, and Libna, &c.
58.
And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,
59.
And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs:
60.
And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
61.
And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.
1 Chronicles 6:61. And unto the sons of Kohath—were given, &c.— And to the rest of the sons of Kohath from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and the tribe of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, were given by lot ten cities.
62.
And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.
63.
Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
64.
And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.
65.
And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.
66.
And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.
67.
And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,
68.
And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs,
69.
And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs:
70.
And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.
71.
Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:
72.
And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,
73.
And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:
74.
And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,
75.
And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:
76.
And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.
77.
Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun. Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:
1 Chronicles 6:77. Out of the tribe of Zebulun— Here are some names changed, and some omitted; for in Jos 21:34-35 four cities are assigned to the Merarites out of the tribe of Zebulun; whereas two only are mentioned here, the names of which are not the same. See and compare the places.
REFLECTIONS.—The Levites were distributed throughout the tribes, that the people might be better taught; taken off all worldly employments, that they might give themselves up to the work of the ministry; and liberally provided with cities to dwell in, and the tithes for their maintenance. The names of the cities are much the same as Joshua 21 except some trivial differences, which time may be supposed to have made. Note; (1.) They deserve a liberal provision, who labour in the word and doctrine. (2.) They who neglect the Levite's work, to eat the bread of the church in idleness, not only rob their brethren, but rob God also.
78.
And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,
79.
Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs:
80.
And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,
81.
And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.