--- title: "1 Chronicles 23 - Study King James Bible with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary" description: "Read 1 Chronicles 23 with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary commentary. 1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 ¶ And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the pries" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23" --- [ Read](/kjv/1-chronicles/23)[ Commentary](/study/1-chronicles/23)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/1-chronicles/23) Audio 1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 ¶ And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. 4 Of which, twenty and four thousand *were* to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand *were* officers and judges:* 5 Moreover four thousand *were* porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, *said David*, to praise *therewith*. 6 And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, *namely*, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.* 7 ¶ Of the Gershonites *were*, Laadan, and Shimei.* 8 The sons of Laadan; the chief *was* Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These *were* the chief of the fathers of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei *were*, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four *were* the sons of Shimei.* 11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to *their* father’s house.* 12 ¶ The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever. 14 Now *concerning* Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses *were*, Gershom, and Eliezer. 16 Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel *was* the chief.* 17 And the sons of Eliezer *were*, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.** 18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.* 19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and Jesiah the second. 21 ¶ The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.* 23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three. 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. 25 For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:* 26 And also unto the Levites; they shall no *more* carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof. 27 For by the last words of David the Levites *were* numbered from twenty years old and above:* 28 Because their office *was* to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;* 29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for *that which is baked in* the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;* 30 And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even; 31 And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD: 32 And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy *place*, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD. [1 Chronicles 22](/study/1-chronicles/22) [1 Chronicles 24](/study/1-chronicles/24) ## Commentary To verse 1 *Number, duties, and fathers'-houses of the Levites*. - This clear account of the state and the order of service of the tribe of Levi is introduced by the words, [1 Chronicles 23:1](/kjv/1-chronicles/23/1), “David was old, and life weary; then he made his son Solomon king over Israel.” זקן , generally an adjective, is here *third pers. perf.* of the verb, as in [Genesis 18:12](/kjv/genesis/18/12), as שׂבע also is, to which ימים is subordinated in the accusative. Generally elsewhere ימים שׂבע is used, cf. [Genesis 35:29](/kjv/genesis/35/29); [Job 42:17](/kjv/job/42/17), and also שׂבע alone, with the same signification, [Genesis 25:8](/kjv/genesis/25/8). These words are indeed, as Berth. correctly remarks, not a mere passing remark which is taken up again at a later stage, say [1 Chronicles 29:28](/kjv/1-chronicles/29/28), but an independent statement complete in itself, with which here the enumeration of the arrangements which David made in the last period of his life begins. But notwithstanding that, it serves here only as an introduction to the arrangements which follow, and is not to be taken to mean that David undertook the numbering of the Levites and the arrangement of their service only after he had given over the government to his son Solomon, but signified that the arrangement of this matter immediately preceded Solomon's elevation to the throne, or was contemporaneous with it. Our verse therefore does not contain, in its few words, a “summary of the contents of the narrative 1 Kings 1,” as Berth. thinks, for in 1 Kings 1 we have an account of the actual anointing of Solomon and his accession to the throne in consequence of Adonijah's attempt to usurp it. By that indeed Solomon certainly was made king; but the chronicler, in accordance with the plan of his book, has withdrawn his attention from this event, connected as it was with David's domestic relations, and has used המליך in its more general signification, to denote not merely the actual elevation to the throne, but also his nomination as king. Here the nomination of Solomon to be king, which preceded the anointing narrated in 1 Kings 1, that taking place at a time when David had already become bed-rid through old age, is spoken of. This was the first step towards the transfer of the kingdom to Solomon; and David's ordering of the Levitical service, and of the other branches of public administration, so as to give over a well-ordered kingdom to his successor, were also steps in the same process. Of the various branches of the public administration, our historian notices in detail on the Levites and their service, compressing everything else into the account of the army arrangements and the chief public officials, 1 Chron 27. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23","name":"1 Chronicles 23 - Study King James Bible with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read 1 Chronicles 23 with keil and delitzsch old testament commentary commentary. 1 So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2 ¶ And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the pries","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary","name":"keil and delitzsch old testament commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles","name":"1 Chronicles"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/keil-and-delitzsch-old-testament-commentary/1-chronicles/23","name":"23"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```