THE BOOKS OF __________ FIRST BOOK§ 1. TABLES OR , WITH SHORT .—CH. 1–9a. Genealogies of the Patriarchs from Adam to Isaac’s Sons Israel and Edom, with the Posterity of the Latter till the Times of the Kings, Ch. 1 1Adam, Sheth, Enosh. 2Kenan, Mahalalel, Jered. 3Henoch, Methushelah, 4Lamech. Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 5The sons of Japheth: Gomer, 6and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 7And the sons of Javan: Elisha, and Tarshishah, Kittim, and Rodanim. 8The sons of Ham: Cush and Mizraim, Put and Kanaan. 9And the sons of Kush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Rama, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Rama: Sheba 10and Dedan. And Kush begat Nimrod; he began to be a hero on the earth. 11And Mizraim begat the Ludim, and the Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the 12Naphtuhim. And the Pathrusim, and the Kasluhim, of whom came the 13Pelishtim, and the Kaphtorim. And Kanaan begat Zidon, his first-born, and 14, 15Heth. And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite. And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite. 16And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. 17The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpakshad, 18and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech. And 19Arpakshad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Heber. And to Heber were born two sons; the name of the one was Peleg [division]; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. 20And Joktan begat 21Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah. And Hadoram, and 22Uzal, and Diklah. And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba. 23And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these are sons of Joktan. 24Shem, Arpakshad, Shelah. 25Eber,Peleg,Reu. 26Serug, Nahor, Terah. 27Abram; 28that is, Abraham. The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael. 29These are their generations: Ishmael’s first-born was Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and 30, 31Mibsam. Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema. Jetur, Naphish, 32and Kedemah: these are sons of Ishmael. And the sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: she bare Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah; and Jokshan’s sons: Sheba and Dedan. 33And the sons of Midian: Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah: all these are the sons of Keturah. 34And Abraham begat Isaac; the sons of Isaac: Esau and Israel. 35The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah. 36The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timnah, and Amalek. 37The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. 38And the sons of Seir: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibon, and Anah, and Dishan, and Ezer, and Dishan. 39And the sons of Lotan: Hori and Homam; and Lotan’s sister was Timnah. 40The sons of Shobal: Aljan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam; and the sons of Zibon: Ajah and Anah. 41The sons of Anah: Dishon; and the sons of Dishon: Hamran, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Keran. 42The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Jaakan; the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 43And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before the sons of Israel had kings: Bela, son of Beor; and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 44, 45And Bela died, and Jobab, son of Zera of Bozrah, reigned in his stead. And Jobab died, and Husham, of the land of the Temanites, reigned in his stead. 46And Husham died, and Hadad, son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the land 47of Moab, reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Ajuth. And 48Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. And Samlah 49died, and Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. And Shaul 50died, and Baal-hanan, son of Hakbor, reigned in his stead. And Baal-hanan died, and Hadad reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Pahi; and the name of his wife was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred, daughter of 51Mezahab. And Hadad died; and the dukes of Edom were: the duke of 52Timnah, duke of Aljah, duke of Jetheth. Duke of Oholibamah, duke of 53Elah, duke of Pinon. Duke of Kenaz, duke of Teman, duke of Mibzar. 54Duke of Magdiel, duke of Hiram: these are the dukes of Edom. Preliminary Remark.—The whole of these patriarchal forefathers of the house of David down to Israel and Edom, sons of Isaac, appear to be divided into two nearly equal parts, to the second of which is added an appendix on the descendants of Edom till the times of David. The first part, 1 Chronicles 1:1-23, enumerates the 10 antediluvian patriarchs from Adam to Noah, the 3 sons of Noah, and the 70 nations descending from them (on this number 70, see the Remark under 1 Chronicles 1:23). In the second part, 1 Chronicles 1:24-42, are given the 10 generations from Shem to Abraham, the sons of Abraham by Hagar, Keturah, and Sarah, and the stocks derived from them, which again amount to 70 (see under 1 Chronicles 1:42). The appendix, 1 Chronicles 1:43-54, mentions the kings of the Edomites before David, that are also given in Genesis 36, as well as the 11 there named dukes of Edom. In all these genealogical and ethnological statements the author adheres closely to the matter, and where he does not merely abbreviate, as several times in the second part, and partly also in the appendix, even to the words of Genesis, of which 1 Chronicles 5, 10 (the table of nations) serve him till 1 Chronicles 1:23, and 1 Chronicles 2, 25, 36 till the end as sources and models. He reports in the briefest manner concerning the patriarchs before Noah, and concerning Noah himself, and his sons (1 Chronicles 1:1-4), of whom he merely gives the names, 13 in number, without even remarking that the first 10 of these names denote successive generations and the last 3 brothers. He might certainly presuppose in his readers sufficient knowledge of the relations of these holy and venerable names from the earliest foretime. He knew that to them as well as to himself belonged “the faculty to perceive in all these names the indications and foundations of a rich ancient history” (Berth.). And it was scarcely otherwise with the names of the following series, reaching further into the more known history, which he also brings together in a brief and bare report. Even where we are unable to perceive the historical importance of the prominent names, and the grounds on which they must have been of interest to every pious Israelite, the fact of such importance is to be presumed in every case, and for every single name. Comp. Ewald, Gesch. d. Volkes Israel, 2d edit. i. 1Chr 479: “These dry names from a hoary antiquity when we know how to awaken them from their sleep, do not remain so dead and stiff, but announce and revive the most important traditions of the ancient nations and families, like the petrifactions and mountain strata of the earth, which, rightly questioned, tell the history of long vanished ages.”§ I. The Patriarchs before Noah, the three Sons of Noah, and the (70) Nations descending from them: 1 Chronicles 1:1-231. From Adam to Noah’s Sons: 1 Chronicles 1:1-4.—On the stringing together of the bare names, without any explanation, see Preliminary Remark. The names are all taken from Genesis 5 : the rich contents of this oldest genealogy of primeval history is here reduced to the shortest possible form of an abstract. For the conjectural etymology of the several names (Adam = man ; Sheth = substitute; Enosh = weak, frail man; Kenan = gain or gainful, etc.), see vol. i. p. 121 f. of the Bibelwerk.—The order of the names of the three sons of Noah is Shem, Ham, and Japheth; as always in Genesis also, though Ham (Genesis 9:24) was the youngest of the three. Comp. our Introductory Remarks on the prophet Daniel (Bibelwerk, part xiii. p. 11), where it is made probable that this order, like that of the names Noah, Daniel, and Joab (in Ezekiel), depends on euphonic principles (so Delitzsch, Komm. όber die Genesis , 4 th edit. 1872, p. 233) 2. From Noah’s Sons to Abraham; the Table of Nations: 1 Chronicles 1:5-23.—This abstract from the Mosaic table of nations Genesis 10 has abridged the larger genealogical ethnographic account to the present narrow limits, chiefly by omitting the opening and closing notes, and passing over the remarks on the kingdom of Nimrod at Babel, and the spread of the Shemites and Hamites in their countries (1 Chronicles 1:5; 1 Chronicles 1:9-12; 1 Chronicles 1:18-20). Here, again, there is that abbreviating and condensing process which is characteristic of the author. For the ethnological and geographical import of the several names, comp. the commentary on Genesis by the editor (vol. i. p. 171 of the Bibelwerk), and the monographs on the table of nations there cited. a. The Japhethites: 1 Chronicles 1:5-7.—The names of the descendants of Japheth, 14 in number (7 sons and 7 grandsons), open the series in Genesis 10 of stems and nations to be enumerated, perhaps because they represented the strongest and most widely-spread body (Japheth = “enlarging,” Genesis 9:27), scarcely because he passed for the firstborn of Noah; for Shem, who is always placed before Japheth, even when only the two are named together, is to be regarded as such; see especially the decisive passages, Genesis 9:23; Genesis 9:26 (against Starke, Bertheau, etc.). [These texts are not decisive; and Shem was born in the 503d year of Noah, Genesis 11:11, and therefore two years at least after Japheth, Genesis 5:32,–J. G. M.]—The view recently again maintained with ingenuity and learning by J. G. Mόller (Die Semiten in ihrem Verhδltniss zu Chamiten und Japhetiten, Gotha 1872), that the so-called Shemites are nothing but Japhethites or Indogermans Hamitized in language, is in any case at variance with the Biblical genealogy of the sons of Noah, whether Shem or Japheth be the first-born. 1 Chronicles 1:6. Riphath. This form, rejected by the Masoretes in favour of the probably erroneous (resting on an old clerical error) γּ ?ιτַ ?ϊ, has not only the weight of so old witnesses as the Sept. and Vulg. for it (see the Crit. Note on 1 Chronicles 1:6), but also the circumstance that plausible ethnographic explanations can be adduced for Riphath, but not for Diphath; comp. the name ‛ ?Ριφαταῖοι = Παφλαγόν in Joseph. Antiq. i. 6, and the ὄρη ‛ ?Ρίπαια, on the ground of which Knobel has attempted to show in Riphath the ancestor of the Kelts (against which the Paphlagonian cities Tibia and Tobata [Bochart, Geogr. Sacra, p. 198 seq.], produced by the ancients in defence of the reading γִּ ?ιτַ ?ϊ, cannot, from their smallness and insignificance, be taken into account). 1 Chronicles 1:7. Tarshishah (ϊַּ ?ψְ ?ωִׁ ?ιωָׁ ?δ), a later form for ϊַּ ?ψְ ?ωִׁ ?ιωׁ, which is usual in Gen. (1 Chronicles 10:4) and elsewhere in the O. T. (also 2 Chronicles 9:21; 2 Chronicles 20:36), the ah of motion having in this form melted into one word with the name itself. “With this are to be compared the modern Greek names, obtained by the wearing away of the proposition εἰς and the article, Stalimene = Lemnos, Stambul = (Konstantino)polis, Satines = Athenζ, Stanko= Kos,” etc. (Berth.).—Rodanim, ψεֹ ?γָ ?πִ ?ιν; many transcribers and older editors wish to change this into the γֹּ ?γָ ?πִ ?ιν of Genesis 10:4, although even there some old authorities (Sam., Sept., Jerome, Qu�st. in Gen.) read ψεֹ ?γָ ?πִ ?ιν. The decision is difficult, because, on the one hand, Knobel’s reference of Dodanim to the Dardani is verbally doubtful; on the other hand, the Rhodians ( = Rodanim) appear too unimportant a part of the Hellenic race to be put on the same footing with Ζolians (= Elishah), Etruscans (= Tarshish), and Cyprians or Karians (= Kittim). And yet the placing of Kittim and Rodanim together, and the consideration that the sea trade of the Rhodians might have become very important for such oriental nations as the Ph�nicians and the Hebrews, appear to speak more for the reading of our book than for the original (comp. Berth.). And if Dodanim were to pass for the original form, and yet the application to the Dardani be untenable, the reference to Dodona would be internally still less probable than that to the Rhodians. b. The Hamites: 1 Chronicles 1:8-16.—Of these are named 4 sons, 24 grandsons, and 2 great-grandsons, being 30 descendants in all. Nimrod, 1 Chronicles 1:10, does not count among the grandsons, as he appears only as a famous individual (hero), not as a head or founder of a people (patriarch). His introduction, therefore, is different from that of those previously named, not by εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι (see 1 Chronicles 1:5-9; and comp. Genesis 10:2-7), but by ιָ ?μַ ?γ, as Genesis 10:8, which verse is literally transcribed by the Chronist. By the formula: “he began to be a hero on the earth,” the nature and import of Nimrod are briefly and pithily expressed, so that a repetition of the further statements of Genesis concerning him (1 Chronicles 10:9-12) is not necessary. Comp. as a parallel from the New Testament: ὅςκαὶπαρέδωκεναὐτόν (or ὁκαὶπαραδοὺςαὐτόν), with which the evangelists are wont to characterize Judas Iscariot.—On μεּ ?γִ ?ιִּ ?ιν, 1 Chronicles 1:11, see Critical Note. c. The Shemites, particularly the non-Hebrews: 1 Chronicles 1:17-23.—Of them are named in all 23 members, namely (as the parallel passage Genesis 10:23 more exactly shows), 5 sons, 5 grandsons, and 16 other descendants. That in 1 Chronicles 1:17 the names Uz, Hul, Gether, Meshech, which properly denote grandsons of Shem by Aram, are appended at once to the 5 sons of Shem (so that they appear to be his sons, and thus the number of his sons would be 9, and that of his grandsons only 1), is a circumstance sufficiently explained, as the similar case in 1 Chronicles 1:4 of Noah’s sons: the author presumed the relation of the 4 as sons to Aram to be sufficiently known, and therefore thought it unnecessary to repeat the words εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ιΰֲ ?ψָ ?ν before ςεּ ?υ from Genesis 10:23. Less probable is the supposition that the words in question fell out by a mistake of the copyist, or that the Chronist, deviating from the Pentateuch, really took the nations Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech to be sons, not grandsons, of Shem (as Knobel, Vφlkertafel, p. 252).—Moreover, almost all manuscripts give the last name in 1 Chronicles 1:17 ξֶ ?ωֶׁ ?κְ; only a few conform to the reading in Genesis (ξַ ?ωׁ), for which also the Sept. there presents Μοσόχ = ξֶ ?ωֶׁ ?κְ; and so might the Chronist have read in the text of Genesis. It is also in favour of Meshech being the original name, that Mash as a national name is quite unknown, while Meshech occurs as the name of a Shemite or Arabic tribe along with Kedar in Psalms 120:51 Ch 1:22. Ebal, ςֵ ?ιαָ ?μ, is called in the parallel Genesis 10:28 rather Obal, ςεֹ ?αָ ?μ; yet the Sept. seems to have read ςֵ ?ιαָ ?μ, for it gives the name as Εὐάλ. Comp. the similar but reverse case of Homam ( = Hemam) under 1 Chronicles 1:39.—The 14 descendants of Japheth, 30 of Ham, and 26 of Shem, amount to 70 nations descended from Noah. This number the author intended to bring out; for with him, or before him, other Jewish expositors might have discovered the symbolic number 70 in the Mosaic table of nations (it may, in fact, be gathered from it; comp. J. Fόrst, Gesch. der bill. Liter. und des jόdisch-hellenischen Schriftthums, i. p. 119); and this number of the nations of the globe, occasionally enlarged to 72, plays otherwise an important part in the Jewish circle of thought. This is shown by its frequent mention in the Talmud, and its occurrence in the Gnostic writings and the Pseudo-Clementine (Recogn. ii. 42). To this belong also such biblical passages as Numbers 9:16 and Luke 10:1 ff.; for the 70 elders appointed by Moses in the wilderness (with the 70 members of the Jewish Sanhedrin on this model), as well as the 70 disciples chosen by Jesus, appear to be due to a symbolic reference to the 70 nations of the globe (comp. Godet, Commentaire sur l’ιvangile de Luc, 1870, ii. p. 21). And there is actually a deeper sense in the view; that the total number of the nations of the earth is = the sacred ideal number 70 (7 x 10, the humanly complete, elevated and multiplied by the power of the Divine Spirit; comp. my Theol. naturalis, i. p. 716). And why should we not have as good a right, in the popular phraseology of Hebrew antiquity, to speak of the “70 nations of the world,” as of the 4 winds, the 4 quarters of heaven, the 12 signs of the zodiac, without uttering anything untrue or against nature, though such expressions may have no exact scientific basis? There seems then to be no reason to hesitate, from a dogmatic-apologetic point of view, to acknowledge that the number 70 was intended by the author to apply to the descendants of Noah. The only thing that can be said against it is, the absence of an express intimation, such as Matthew gives at the close of his genealogy of Jesus, in the form of a recapitulation of the several groups of numbers (1 Chronicles 1:17). Yet the pedigree by Luke (1 Chronicles 3:23-24) wants also such a recapitulation, though its symbolic construction out of 77 = 7 x 11 members is no less certain than that of Matthew. If Keil objects to our view, which is that of almost all recent expositors, that the number 70 is only obtained by making, “in the sons of Shem, the personal names Arpakshad, Shelah, Heber, Peleg, and Joktan to be names of nations, contrary to the view of Genesis, in which the five names denote persons, the ancestors of the nations descending from Heber through Peleg and Joktan,” this refutes nothing. For the number 70 is obtained throughout, and not merely in the case of Arpakshad, etc., by the addition of all names, those of the patriarchs, who only became nations in their sons, as well as these sons themselves, and their descendants. In other words, it is quite reasonable, and corresponds entirely with the spirit and method of the genealogizing ethnography of the Hebrews, to regard all higher or lower members of old pedigrees as in abstracto equivalent factors and representatives of definite co-ordinate races in the subsequent history, though this view may be in concreto impracticable. Comp., moreover, the evangelical-ethical principles under 1 Chronicles 9. § II. The Patriarchs from Shem to Abraham, and the Descendants of the latter through Ishmael, Keturah, Edom (70 stems in all): 1 Chronicles 1:24-421. From Shem to Abraham: 1 Chronicles 1:24-27.—The 10 members of this line are exactly coincident with Genesis 9:10-29, though with the omission of all historical details. And the Chronist follows the genealogical account of the Masoretic text, which represents Abraham himself as the tenth of the line, not that of the Sept., which inserts a Kenan (Καϊνᾶν) between Arpakshad and Shelah, thus following a tradition that regarded Terah, the father of Abraham, as the tenth from Shem. Bertheau (in the annual report of the “Deutsche Morgenl. Gesellschaft,” 1845–46) has attempted to make it probable that this tradition was the older, and that the name χֵ ?ιπָ ?ο stood originally in the text of Genesis. 1 Chronicles 1:27. Abram, perhaps for the sake of brevity, and to avoid all needless accumulation of names, afterwards (from Genesis 17:5) Abraham, in which the author, in his brief manner, notices the change of name, is alone named as a son of Terah, Nahor and Haran and their posterity being omitted. 2. Abraham’s Sons and their Descendants: 1 Chronicles 1:28-34.—They fall, like those of Noah and Terah, into three stocks or branches under Ishmael, Keturah, and Isaac. The Chronist places the former groups first, because, like the genealogists in the primeval history, he wished first to enumerate the remote stocks, and then to take up the people of God. The same process from without to within placed the genealogy of the Japhethites and Hamites before the Shemites, and determines, further, that of Isaac’s posterity the Edomite branch is first treated, and then the Israelite. a. Ishmael and his Twelve Sons: 1 Chronicles 1:29-31.—The twelve names agree exactly with the list in Genesis 25:12-16, with respect to the order as well as the words. And the introductory ΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δϊּ ?εֹ ?μְ ?γεֹ ?ϊ, 1 Chronicles 1:29, the predicate αְּ ?λεֹ ?ψ, “the firstborn” before Ishmael (comp. Genesis 25:13), and the closing formula, “These are the sons of Ishmael” (1 Chronicles 1:31; comp. Genesis 25:16), show how closely the author adheres to the Mosaic record. The designation of Ishmael as the “first-born” is only to be explained by this faithful adherence to the original, not by the wish of the author to justify his placing the Ishmaelites before the descendants of Israel (as Bertheau seems to think); for this position needed no justification, because it necessarily followed from the genealogical method of our author (see on 1 Chronicles 1:28). [In our author’s version of 1 Chronicles 1:29, “the first-born” is made to refer to Nebaioth, and not to Ishmael, as above. This seems to be correct.—J. G. M.] b. The Descendants of Keturah: 1 Chronicles 1:32-33.—The six sons and seven grandsons of Abraham by Keturah are not given literally as in Genesis 25:1-4. On the contrary, the Chronist has left out three great-grandsons there named—Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim, descendants of Dedan—whether intentionally, on account of the plural form of the names, or because he did not find them in his copy of Genesis, must remain undetermined. That Medan and Midian, 1 Chronicles 1:32, are only different pronunciations of the same name (comp. Genesis 37:28; Genesis 37:36), the number of the sons of Keturah was originally and properly five, and the total number of her descendants only twelve, is an arbitrary conjecture of Bertheau, while pushing too far the endeavour to find certain symbolic numbers everywhere. c. The Two Sons of Isaac, Esau, and Israel, and the Descendants of the former: 1 Chronicles 1:34-42.—And Abraham begat Isaac. This notice, leading back to the statement in 1 Chronicles 1:28, appears occasioned by Genesis 25:19, where the same words (only with δεֹ ?μִ ?ιγ for εַ ?ιּ ?εֹ ?μֶ ?γ) occur immediately after the enumeration of the sons of Keturah. This reference to Abraham was not in itself necessary here; but comp. also the reference to Shem above in 1 Chronicles 1:24. 1 Chronicles 1:25. Esau’s sons, enumerated exactly after Genesis 36:4-5 (though without naming their mothers, the three wives of Esau), as in general the author henceforth reports very closely from Genesis 36, following which also he annexes the Seirites or aborigines of Idumζa to the proper Edomites, and treats both as belonging to one and the same family of nations. 1 Chronicles 1:36. Sons of Eliphaz. These, five in number, are given exactly as in Genesis 36:11; for the name of the third, Zephi, is only a by-form of Zepho, as in 1 Chronicles 1:40 a Shephi appears in place of the Shepho, Genesis 36:23; comp. the Crit. Remark. But if the names Timnah and Amalek are annexed, apparently as sons of Eliphaz, this is probably a similar breviloquence to that in 1 Chronicles 1:4; 1 Chronicles 1:17; the author presumes it sufficiently known to his readers, that Timnah, Amalek’s mother, was not a son, but rather a concubine of Eliphaz (another wife besides Adah, the mother of those five sons first named); comp. Genesis 36:12. So have the Sept. (in the cod. Alex.) and numerous older Jewish and Christian expositors solved the difficulty, and of the moderns, J. H. Michaelis, Starke, Keil, etc.; whereas Bertheau, having regard to 1 Chronicles 1:39; 1 Chronicles 1:51, where actually a separate stem and then a stem-prince Timnah are counted, prefers to assume that “the Chronist, interpreting the genealogical language, and perceiving in the family names the stem-relations that lie at their root, has explained the statements of Genesis concerning Timnah, so that by them the connection of two stems Timnah and Amalek with the other stems of Eliphaz shall be indicated, and they are accordingly counted in the same line with these stems as sons of Eliphaz.” This assumption seems to us too artificial, and ascribes to the Chronist a higher degree of bold independence and wilfulness in his operations than is admissible or consistent with his evident piety and conscientiousness in recording the facts of primeval history that were handed down to him. 1 Chronicles 1:37. Sons of Reuel. These are entered four in number, exactly as in Genesis 36:13. There are thus in all 10 grandsons (6 sons of Eliphaz and 4 of Reuel) who are assigned by our author to Esau, and who, with the three sons of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah (sons of Oholibamah), form the 13 family or stem chiefs (φύλαρχοι, Sept. Genesis 36:15) of the Edomites. Against Bertheau, who would here make out a 12 from the 13 families, by reducing Amalek, 1 Chronicles 1:36, to a secondary place, comp. Keil, p. 1Chr 36: “Neither Chronicles nor Genesis knows 12 tribes of Edom, but both books give 13 grandsons (rather descendants) of Esau; and these 13 grandsons are, by the report of Genesis, the 13 phylarchs of Edom which are distributed among the 3 wives of Esau, so that the 13 families may be reduced to 3 stems. And in Genesis, Amalek is not placed in a looser connection with the remaining tribes, but on the contrary, is not only, 1 Chronicles 1:12, counted with the sons of Adah, perhaps because Timnah stood to Adah, the wife of Esau, in the same relation as Hagar to Sarah, but also in 1 Chronicles 1:16 is reckoned to the dukes of the sons of Eliphaz. Thus Genesis counts not 5, but 6 stems of Eliphaz; and Chronicles has not fully effaced the number 12, as Bertheau further asserts, but the 13 sons and grandsons of Esau, who became phylarchs, are fully entered, and only their designation as ΰַ ?μּ ?εּ ?τֵ ?ιαְ ?πֵ ?ιςֵ ?ωָׂ ?ε left out, because unnecessary for the genealogy of the descendants of Esau.” 1 Chronicles 1:38-42. The 7 sons of Seir and their descendants, or the (mingled since Esau’s invasion with his descendants) Seirite or Horite aborigines of Idumζa according to their tribes. These aborigines of the mountains of Edom, though not of Abrahamic descent, yet, from their gradually formed connection and intermingling with the descendants of Esau, are so reckoned as if they belonged to the Edomite family of nations. And this occurs not only here in Chronicles, where they are introduced as αְּ ?πֵ ?ιωֵׂ ?ςִ ?ιψ, but also in Genesis 30:20-30, where they are called ηֹ ?ψִ ?ι, “dwellers in caves, Troglodytes.” Comp. also on these Horites, our exp. of the book of Job, vol. 10. of the Bibelw. p. 238.—The names of the seven sons of Seir, that is, the seven Seirite chiefs, agree exactly with Genesis; and likewise their descendants, in number 18 men and 1 woman, Timnah, 1 Chronicles 1:39. Only Oholibamah, a second Seiritess named in Genesis 36:25, has been passed over by the Chronist, according to his wont in general to reckon only male members in his genealogical lists. On the deviations of some forms from the text of Genesis, as Homam, 1 Chronicles 1:39, for Hemam; Aljan, 1 Chronicles 1:40, for Alwan, etc., see Crit. Note.—The total names enumerated from Abraham amount to about 70, whether the two Timnahs, the mother of Amalek, 1 Chronicles 1:36, and the sister of Lotan, 1 Chronicles 1:39, or the Edomite and the Seirite Timnah be included, in which case there are exactly 70, or both or one of them be excluded from the number, and so then be only 68 or 69. Bertheau (whom Kamphausen, in Bunsen’s Bibelw., follows), counting in the former way, finds 12 descendants of Esau, 13 of Keturah, 2 of Isaac, 16 of Esau, and 27 of Seir, and so obtains the number 70; Keil, in the latter way, regards the Seirite Timnah as only mentioned by the way, and therefore excluded, and consequently reckons only 26 descendants of Seir, and in all, only 69 descendants of Abraham. Though the latter be right in many of his objections to Bertheau’s mode of reckoning (for instance, its exclusion of Ishmael, and inclusion of Esau and Israel), yet he certainly goes too far when he utterly denies the design of the Chronist to follow up his list of 70 descendants of Noah with the same number of those of Abraham. This design, though not carried out with mathematical exactness, and therefore not expressly mentioned here (any more than in 1 Chronicles 1:5 ff.), appears in fact to have had a distinct influence on the selection and arrangement of his genealogical lists. The incidental agreement of the number in 1 Chronicles 1:29-42 with that in 1 Chronicles 1:5-23 shows this, just as the decade of the patriarchs between Noah and Abraham, in its agreement with that of the patriarchs before Noah (comp. 1 Chronicles 1:24-27 with 1 Chronicles 1:1-4), points to design. Appendix.—The Edomite Kings and Chiefs till the beginning of Kingdom of Israel: 1 Chronicles 1:43-541. The Kings: 1 Chronicles 1:43-51 a.—A nearly literal repetition from Genesis 36:31-39; only the words εַ ?ιִּ ?ξְ ?μֹ ?κְ αֶּֽ ?ΰֱ ?γֹ ?ν (1 Chronicles 1:43) before αֶּ ?μַ ?ς, and in 1 Chronicles 1:51 after αַּ ?ςַ ?μηָ ?πָ ?ο, the words αֶּ ?οΞςַ ?λְ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψ are left out, which, however, many Mss. here also supply. On the variants in Ajuth, 1 Chronicles 1:46, and in Hadad and Pai, 1 Chronicles 1:50, see Crit. Notes. 1 Chronicles 1:51. And Hadad died. This statement (εַ ?ιָּ ?ξָ ?ϊηֲ ?γַ ?γ) is wanting in the parallel texts of Genesis, where, after entering Hadad (or rather Hadar) as the last king, the formula εְ ?ΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δωְׁ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ serves to introduce the then following list of the phylarchs and their seats. By the sentence “and Hadad died,” along with the following, “and there were” (εַ ?ιִּ ?δְ ?ιεּ), this list of phylarchs is here brought into a far closer connection with the foregoing register of kings than in Genesis,—into a connection, indeed, which at first sight looks as if the Chronist intended to represent the dukes as successors of the kingdom terminated by Hadad’s death, and so report a transition from the monarchic to the aristocratic form of government in Edom. This supposition, however, which Bertheau, Kamph., and others defend, is not absolutely necessary; the ε consec. in εַ ?ιִּ ?δְ ?ιεּ “may express merely the order of thought; that is, may connect the mention of the dukes only in thought with the enumeration of the kings, or intimate that besides the kings there were also dukes, who could govern the nation and country” (Keil). The latter supposition is the more probable, as the following list is owing to a statistical and chronographic rather than a genealogical tendency, as will presently be shown. 2. The Dukes: 1 Chronicles 1:51-54.—This list agrees in the order and form of the 11 names given exactly (on the variant Aljah for Alwah, 1 Chronicles 1:51, see Crit. Note) with Genesis 36:40-43. Yet it has received from the Chronist another superscription and subscription, of which the former runs thus: “and there were the dukes of Edom” (ΰַ ?μּ ?εּ ?τֵ ?ιΰֱ ?γεֹ ?ν instead of ΰΧςֵ ?ωָׂ ?ε, Genesis 36:40, the name of the people and land taking the place of the n. propr. of the patriarch), and the latter: “these are the dukes of Edom” (for which that of Genesis is more circumstantial: “These are the dukes of Edom according to their habitations in the land of their possessions: this is Esau, the father of Edom”). And the list treats not so much of the enumeration of certain persons as of that of the seats of certain (perhaps hereditary) dukes of the nation or phylarchs, according to which they are briefly named, “the duke of Timnah,” etc. The list has thus a geographical, not a genealogical import; it is a list of neighbouring principalities of Edom, not of Edomite princes. The number eleven of these principalities forms an approximative parallel with the number twelve of the tribes of Israel; it agrees also nearly with the number of the descendants of Esau above named (1 Chronicles 1:36 ff.): but it could only by violent means and arbitrary hypotheses be made to agree with this number, or reduced to the number twelve (comp. the remarks against Berth. on 1 Chronicles 1:37). Footnotes: γִּ ?ιτַ ?ϊ is certainly an error of the pen for ψιτϊ, Genesis 10:3, which is found here in many mss. and editions, as well as in the Sept. and the Vulg. ψεֹ ?γָ ?πִ ?ιν appears to be an error of the pen or an arbitrary amendment for γֹּ ?γָ ?πִ ?ιν, Genesis 10:4, which many mss. and older editions present here also. But comp. the exposition. So (μεּ ?γִ ?ιν) the Keri in our passage, which, however, may rest on a confirmation with Genesis 10:13. The Kethib has μεּ ?γִ ?ιִּ ?ιν, a long plural form, which is to μεּ ?γִ ?ιν as in English Lydian would be to Lydian, or as in Hebrew λֻּ ?ωִׁ ?ιִּ ?ιν, Amos 9:12, to λּ ?εּ ?ωִׁ ?ιν, 2 Chronicles 21:6. On ξֶ ?ωֶׁ ?κְ instead of ξַ ?ωׁ, Genesis 10:23, see the Commentary. Instead of Aljan (ςַ ?μְ ?ιָ ?ο) many mss. have Alvan (ςַ ?μְ ?εָ ?ο), in accordance with Genesis 36:23. For ωְׁ ?τִ ?ι some mss. have ωְׁ ?τεֹ, as in Genesis 36:23. So in 1 Chronicles 1:36, where the name φְ ?τִ ?ι is in a number of mss. changed into φְ ?τεֹ, as in Genesis 36:11. For ηַ ?ξְ ?ψָ ?ο a considerable number of mss. have ηֶ ?ξְ ?γָּ ?ο, as in Genesis 36:26. For the Kethib ςָ ?ιּ ?εּ ?ϊ the Keri has ςֲ ?εִ ?ιϊ, as in Genesis 36:35. For δֲ ?γַ ?γ some mss. read δֲ ?γַ ?ψ, which is the usual reading in Genesis 36:39, while there also several mss. present δγγ. Hadad’s city τָּ ?ςִ ?ι, which, in the same parallel, is τָּ ?ςεּ, some good codices here also change into τָּ ?ςεּ. For ςַ ?μְ ?ιָ ?δ the Keri gives ςַ ?μְ ?εָ ?δ, according to Genesis 36:40. Comp. also Wellhausen, De gentibus et fam. judζis, etc., p.4, where with respect to the genealogical lists in the beginning of Chronicles, it, is well remarked: Quo fit. ut cζmeterii quasi speciem nobis prζbeant hζc capita cipporum pleni: fuit ζtas, cui breves suffecere tituli ad resuscitandam sepultorum memoriam;—interjectis sζculis, nedum millenniis, leguntur tituli, sed quo referantur, quid sibi velint, nescitur. b. The Sons of Israel, and the Generation of Judah down to David, with David’s Descendants to Elioenai and his Seven Sons.—1 Chronicles 2:1 to 1 Chronicles 4:231. The Twelve Sons of Israel and the Descendants of Judah: 1 Chronicles 2:1-41 (with an Appendix relating chiefly to the Posterity of Caleb: 1 Chronicles 2:42-55) 1 Chronicles 2:1 These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon (Shimon), Levi, and Judah, 2Issachar, and Zebulun. Dan, Joseph and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Assher. 3The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah; three were born to him of the daughter of Shuah, the Canaanitess; but Er, the first-born of 4Judah, was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and He slew him. And Thamar his daughter-in-law bare him Perez and Zerah: all the sons of Judah were five. 5The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. 6And the sons of Zerah: Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all. 7And the sons of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing. 8And the sons of Ethan: Azariah. 9And the sons of Hezron, that were born to him: Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Celubai. 10And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the sons of Judah. 11And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat 12Boaz. And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse. 13And Jesse begat his 14first-born Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shima the third. Nathanael 15, 16the fourth, Raddai the fifth. Ozem the sixth, David the seventh. And their sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail: and the sons of Zeruiah: Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. 17And Abigail bare Amasa; and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite. 18And Caleb, son of Hezron, begat with Azubah his wife, and with Jerioth; 19and these are her sons: Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. And Azubah died; and Caleb took to him Ephrath, and she bare him Hur. 20And Hur begat 21Uri, and Uri begat Bezalel. And afterwards Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir, father of Gilead; and he took her when he was sixty years old, and she bare him Segub. 22And Segub begat Jair, who had twenty and three 23cities in the land of Gilead. And Geshur and Aram took the towns of Jair from them, with Kenath and her daughters, sixty cities. All these are sons 24of Jair, the father of Gilead. And after the death of Hezron, in Calebephrathah, Abiah, Hezron’s wife, bare him Ashur (Ashchur), father of Tekoah. 25And the sons of Jerahmeel, the first-born of Hezron, were Ram, the first- born, 26and Bunah, and Oren, and Azem of Ahijah. And Jarahmeel had another wife, and her name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. 27And the sons of Ram, the first-born of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. 28And the sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada; and the sons of Shammai: Nadab and Abishur. 29And the name of Abishur’s wife was Abihail, and she bare him Ahban and Molid. 30And the sons of Nadab: Seled and Appaim; and Seled died childless. 31And the sons of Appaim: Ishi; and the sons of Ishi: Sheshan; 32and the sons of Sheshan: Ahlai. And the sons of Jada,brother of Shammai: Jether and Jonathan; and Jether died childless. 33And the sons of Jonathan: Peleth and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. 34And Sheshan had no sons, but only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant, whose name was Jarha. 35And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant to wife; and she bare him Attai. 36And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad. 37And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed. 38And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah. 39And Azariah begat Helez, 40and Helez begat Elasah. And Elasah begat Sismai, and Sismai begat Shallum. 41And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama. Appendix: Three Series of Descendants of Caleb: 1 Chronicles 2:42-5542 And the sons of Caleb, brother of Jerahmeel, were Mesha, his first-born; he was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah, the father of Hebron. 43, 44And the sons of Hebron: Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. And Shema begat Raham, father of Jorkeam; and Rekem begat Shammai. 45And the son of Shammai was Maon; and Maon was father of Bethzur. 46And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine, bare Haran, and Moza, and Gazez; and Haran begat Gazez. 47And the sons of Jehdai: Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, 48and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph. Caleb’s concubine Maacha bare Sheber 49and Tirhanah. And she bare Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva, father of Machbenah, and father of Gibeah; and Caleb’s daughter was Achsah. 50These were the sons of Caleb the Song of Solomon 7 of Hur, first-born of Ephrathah: 51Shobal, father of Kiriath-jearim. Salma, father of Bethlehem, Hareph, father 52of Bethgader. And Shobal, father of Kiriath-jearim, had sons: Haroeh, and the half of Menuhoth. 53And the families of Kiriath-jearim were the Ithrite, and the Puthite, and the Shumathite, and the Mishraite. From these came the Zorathite and the Eshtaolite. 54The sons of Salma: Bethlehem, and the Netophathite, Ataroth of the house of Joab, and half of the Menahathite, the Zorite. 55And the families of the scribes dwelling at Jabez were the Tirathites, Shimathites, Suchathites: these are the Kenites that came from Hammath, father of the house of Rechab. Preliminary Remark.—The author here begins to enroll his detailed genealogies of the tribes of Israel, extending to the end of 1 Chronicles 8. After premising a list of the 12 sons of Jacob as the general basis of the whole, 1 Chronicles 2:1-2, he begins with the enumeration of the generations and families of the tribe of Judah, which he then pursues in 1 Chronicles 3 and 1 Chronicles 4:1-23, and completes in several parts. No order, regulated by definite historical, geographical, or any systematic principles, lies at the base of this enumeration; he seems rather to have combined into a whole, as far as possible, the more or less fragmentary genealogies of certain branches and families of the house of Judah as they came down to him from antiquity; but this whole is very defective in the unity and homogeneity of its several parts. For of the five immediate descendants of Judah, that founded the tribe of Judah by a numerous posterity, his three sons Shelah, Perez, and Zerah, and his two grandsons Hezron and Hamul, only Zerah (1 Chronicles 2:6-8), Hezron (1 Chronicles 2:9-13), and Shelah (1 Chronicles 4:21-23) have their genealogies given with any fulness; Hamul is entirely passed over, and Perez is only followed out in the line of Hezron. This line (under which the Chronist sums up all that was known of the descendants of Caleb and of the Jephunnite Calebites) is treated with special care and fulness: to it belongs the whole series of the descendants of David till the times after the captivity (1 Chronicles 3), and at least the more considerable part of the genealogical fragments in 1 Chronicles 4:1-23, which serve as a supplement to 1 Chronicles 2:9-55, and of which it is often doubtful which of the members previously named they continue or supplement. 1. The Twelve Sons of Israel: 1 Chronicles 2:1-2.—These are given in an order deviating from Genesis 35:23 ff., so that the 6 sons of Leah stand first, then the son of Rachel’s maid, Dan; after that the 2 sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin; and lastly, the 3 remaining sons of the maids (Naphtali, Bilhah’s son; Gad and Asher, Zilpah’s sons). This separation of Dan from his full brother Naphtali is surprising, and can hardly be satisfactorily explained. For if we suppose that Rachel (see Genesis 30:3 ff.) regarded Dan, born of her maid Bilhah, as in a sense her own son, and so he is named before Joseph and Benjamin, yet still it is a question, why not also Naphtali, who was likewise born before her own sons. The procedure of the Chronist in regard to Dan is in several respects enigmatical; comp. on 1 Chronicles 7:12. [It is probable that Naphtali was born about the same time with Gad, and is therefore classified with him.—J. G. M.] 2. The Descendants of Judah: 1 Chronicles 2:3-41.—a. The 5 sons of Judah, the 2 sons of Perez, and the descendants of Zerah: 1 Chronicles 2:3-8. 1 Chronicles 2:3-4. The sons of Judah, etc. The five sons of Judah, three legitimate, born of the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite, Er, Onan, and Shelah, and two born in incest of Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Perez and Zerah, are given in accordance with Genesis 38, and in the same order (comp. also Genesis 46:12). The author recalls this his source by taking over word for word the remark on Er in Genesis 38:7 : “But Er the first-born of Judah was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and He slew him.” 1 Chronicles 2:5. The sons of Perez, etc. (Hezron, perhaps the “blooming, fair;” Hamul, the “forgiven,” or the “tender, weak;” comp. Bibelw. i. p. 432). These occur in two registers of the Pentateuch, the list of the children of Israel who went down to Egypt with Jacob, Genesis 46:12, and in that of the families of Judah in the Mosaic age, Numbers 26:21. 1 Chronicles 2:6-8. And the sons of Zerah. Five such are named: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara. On the first of these names, which might possibly be wrongly written (ζִ ?ξψִ ?ι for ζַ ?αְ ?γִ ?ι, Joshua 7:1), see under 1 Chronicles 2:7. The four following names, especially if we read for the last, Darda, with a great number of old witnesses (see Crit. Note), agree surprisingly with the four men compared with Solomon in 1 Kings 5:11 : Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the the sons of Mahol. The assumption of an identity of these four wise men with the four younger sons of Zerah is very natural; it has been already asserted by Grotius, Clericus, Lightfoot (Chronol. V. T. p. 24), Hiller (Onom. Sacr.), and others, and recently by Movers (p. 237) and Bertheau, who insisted on the circumstance, that in 1 Kings 5:11 contemporaries of Solomon were not intended (no more than in Ezra 14:14, 18:20, contemporaries of Daniel); further, on the probable identity of Zerah with Ezrah the father of Ethan mentioned in 1 Kings 5:11 (ΰֶ ?ζְ ?ψַ ?η=ζֶ ?ψַ ?η); and lastly, on the statement of the Rabbinical book Seder Olam, which says (p. 52, ed. Meyer) of the sons of Zerah named in our passage: “These were prophets who prophesied in Egypt,” and thus appears to confirm expressly their being of the class of Hakamim. But the argument raised of late, especially by Hengstenberg (Beitrδge zur Einl. ii. 61 f., and on Psalms 88), Keil (Apol. Vers. p. 164 ff.; comp. Comment. p. 39 ff.), as well as Bδhr (on 1 Kings 5:11, Bibelw. 7 p. 30), against the identity of these persons, seems to be more weighty and decisive. For, 1. The variant “Darda” for “Dara” in our passage, however old, appears clearly to have arisen from the endeavour to harmonize; 2. To this endeavour the notice in the Seder Olam owes its origin; 3. That at least near contemporaries of Solomon are named in 1 Kings 5. follows from the manifest and undeniable identity of Ethan the Ezrahite with the so-named composer of Psalms 89, and from the very probable identity of Heman with “Heman the Ezrahite,” the composer of Psa 88:4. If the Ethan and Heman of 1 Kings 5:11 be identical with the composers of these Psalms, they are also probably to be regarded as Levites of the family of the sons of Korah (see the superscr. of these Psalms), who are in 1 Chronicles 15, 17, , 19 called masters of song, and belong not to the family of Judah, and might at the most have found admission into it as adoptive sons of Zerah (Hengstenberg, Beitrδge zur Einl. ins A. T. ii. 71),—an assumption, however, which is too artificial; 5. The express designation of Calcol and Darda in Kings as “sons of Mahol” makes it difficult to assume their identity with the sons of Zerah, as the latter must be regarded not as immediate sons, but later descendants of Zerah; 6. Of the pre-eminent wisdom of the sons of Zerah, neither the canonical Old Testament nor the apocryphal literature has anything to report; even such passages as Jeremiah 49:7, Bar 3:22 ff. are silent on the subject. The assumption of the identity of these with the names in 1 Kings 5 can only be maintained on the presupposition that εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι in our passage means not strictly sons, but later descendants of Zerah (so recently Keil, in Comment. p. 41). But this expedient has its difficulty, and by no means suffices to destroy the force of most of the arguments here adduced against the identity. We must therefore take the surprising coincidence of the names to be accidental, or assume with Movers (Chron. p. 237) that we have in the present passage the peculiar genealogical combination of a later author. For the conjecture of Ewald, that Heman and Ethan, “the two great singers of the tribe of Judah, were taken by the Levitical music schools into their company and family, and therefore were afterwards (in the superscriptions of Psalms 88, 89) reckoned to the tribe of Levi” (Gesch. d. V. Isr. iii. 1, p. 84), is no less artificial than that of Hengstenberg. [But of these considerations, Nos. 1 and 2 contain a mere subjective assumption. No. 3 assumes, without necessity, that the Ethan of 1 Kings 5 and the composer of Psalms 89 are one, since two Ethans may descend from the one patriarch. No. 4 assumes that the composers of Psalms 88, 89 were Levites, whereas the epithet Ezrahite appears to be added expressly to distinguish them from the Levites of those names. No. 5 assumes that Mahol is a proper name, which remains to be proved. No. 6 assumes that the wisdom of Zerah’s sons is not probable, because it is not elsewhere mentioned. This argument of itself has little if any weight. On the other hand, one motive to insert these sons of Zerah in the list was probably their occurrence in 1 Kings 5, and the Chronist, according to his wont, is silent on their wisdom, for the sake of brevity, as it was elsewhere recorded.—J. G. M.] 1 Chronicles 2:7. And the sons of Carmi; Achar; that is, Achar was descended from Carmi. Comp. the oft-recurring use of the plural αְּ ?πֵ ?ι, where only one descendant is named (1 Chronicles 2:8; 1 Chronicles 2:30-31; 1 Chronicles 2:42, and Genesis 46:23). By Achar, as the addition, “the troubler of Israel” (ςλψ, properly “the troubled”), shows, is meant the Achan of the book of Joshua (Joshua 7:1 ff., Joshua 22:20), whose name must have been known to the author of this book in the by-form Achar, as he puts the valley of Achor in etymological connection with it (Joshua 7:26, Joshua 15:7). The link that connects Carmi, the father or ancestor of this Achar, with Zerah is wanting; but from Joshua 7:1, where he is called a son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, it is highly probable that he springs from Zimri, the first named of the sons of Zerah, whether Zimri in our passage be an error of the pen for Zabdi, or the reverse, or Zabdi be a son of Zimri, and thus several links of the series from Zerah to Achar have been omitted. On Carmi, comp. also 1 Chronicles 4:1 and Numbers 26:6, where a family of Reuben bears the name. 1 Chronicles 2:8. And the sons of Ethan: Azariah. This Ethanite Azariah is not otherwise known: no probable reason can be assumed why he only of the sons of Ethan is mentioned. b. The Descendants of Hezron: 1 Chronicles 2:9-41.—a. His three sons, 1 Chronicles 2:9.—And the sons of Hezron that were born to him. The passive πεֹ ?μַ ?γ stands “for the indefinite active, so that the following accusatives with ΰֶ ?ϊ depend on the virtual notion of the active ‘one bare him;’ comp. Genesis 4:18; Genesis 21:5; Genesis 46:20, and the sing. πεֹ ?μַ ?γ in a similar position, 1 Chronicles 3:4; 1 Chronicles 26:6” (Berth.). The name Ram is, in the New Testament genealogies of Jesus, Matthew 1:3-4, Luke 3:33, Aram; comp. ψָ ?ν, Job 32:2, with ΰֲ ?ψָ ?ν, Genesis 22:21. The name λְּ ?μεּ ?αַ ?ι is undoubtedly a by-form of λָּ ?μֵ ?α, 1 Chronicles 2:18, or, as this name is written in 1 Chronicles 4:11, of λְּ ?μεּ ?α: it is an adject, gentil., that stands to its stem λְּ ?μεּ ?α, as φεֹ ?τַ ?ι 1 Chronicles 6:11, to φεּ ?σ 1 Chronicles 6:20 (Ewald, Lehrb. § 164, c), or as in Greek Μανιχαῖος (the n. pr. of the well-known Persian sectary) to Μάνης. Accordingly, the celebrated forefather of Bezaleel had of old three names—Caleb, Celub, the Celuban. Comp. underneath on 1 Chronicles 2:18 ff. and on 1 Chronicles 2:40. The three here named, Jerahmeel, Ram, and Celubai, appear to have been actual sons or immediate descendants of Hezron, whereas the sons of Hezron afterwards appended,—Segub, 1 Chronicles 2:21, and Ashur, 1 Chronicles 2:24,—as they are co-ordinated with his later descendants, may possibly be sons in a wider sense. At all events, they did not belong to the aforesaid founders of the three celebrated lines of Hezronites, which are analyzed in the following passage, though in an order different from the present enumeration, the family of Ram being placed first, and that of Jerahmeel transferred to the end (comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:18). β. The family of Ram, as first of the three Hezronite lines. His precedence is explained by the circumstance that the house of David sprang from him. The posterity of Ram is therefore carried down to David in seven members. The six members to Jesse, the father of David, are found also in the book of Rth 4:19-21; comp. the genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 1 Chronicles 2:10. Nahshon, prince of the sons of Judah. This distinguishing epithet, which is wanting in Ruth, points to Numbers 1:7; Numbers 2:3; Numbers 7:12, where Nahshon is named as the prince of Judah at the exodus. As this date, according to the most probable interpretation of the number 430, Exodus 12:40, is to be placed fully four centuries after the time of Judah, several members must have fallen out between Hezron, the grandson of Judah, and Nahshon, as well as between Nahshon and Jesse, as the series Salma, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse is not sufficient to fill up the interval of 400 years between Moses and David. [If the 430 years count from the call of Abraham, which has not yet been disproved, the exodus was only 210 years after the descent of Judah into Egypt, instead of four centuries.—J. G. M.] 1 Chronicles 2:11. Salma. Instead of ωַׂ ?μְ ?ξָ ?ΰ, the book of Ruth has, 1 Chronicles 4:20, ωַׂ ?μְ ?ξָ ?δ, but in the following verse ωַׂ ?μְ ?ξεֹ ?ο, which has passed into the New Testament (Luke 3:32, Σαλμών and so Matthew 1:4-5, where Luther has Salma). 1 Chronicles 2:13-15. The seven sons of Jesse. According to 1 Samuel 17:12 (comp. 1 Chronicles 16:6 ff.), Jesse had 8 sons,—a difference which is most easily explained by the supposition that one of the eight died without posterity, and therefore was not included by later genealogists.—His first-born Eliab. So is the eldest called in the books of Samuel; on the contrary, in 1 Chronicles 27:18 the form Elihu appears to have come into the place of Eliab. The Peshito has in our passage 8 instead of 7 sons of Jesse, of whom it calls the seventh Elihu, the eighth David; the first 6 agree with the Masoretic text.—And Shima the third. The name ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςָ ?ΰ, occurring thus in 1 Chronicles 20:7, is in 2 Samuel 13:3; 2 Samuel 21:22 in the Keri ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςָ ?δ on the contrary, in the Kethib of the latter passage ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςִ ?ι, and in Samuel (1 Chronicles 16:6, 1 Chronicles 17:13) twice ωַׁ ?ξָּ ?δ. The latter is merely an abbreviated form of ωִׁ ?ξִ ?ςָ ?δ.—The names of the next three brothers occur nowhere else. 1 Chronicles 2:16-17. And their sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. Both sisters obtained great celebrity through their heroic sons,—Zeruiah, as the mother of Abishai, Joab, and Asahel (1 Samuel 26:6, 2 Samuel 2:18; 2 Samuel 3:39; 2 Samuel 6:16, etc.), who are always named after their mother, never after their less celebrated father; Abigail, as mother of the commander Amasa, who was involved in Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 17:25; 2 Samuel 19:14; 2 Samuel 20:10), whom she bare to Jether the Ishmaelite. This ιֶ ?ϊֶ ?ψ is called 2 Samuel 17:25ιִ ?ϊְ ?ψָ ?ΰ, with the epithet δַ ?ιִּ ?ωְׂ ?ψָ ?ςֵ ?μִ ?ι, for which, according at least to our passage, the correct form is δַ ?ιִּ ?ωְׂ ?ξְ ?ςֵ ?μִ ?ι; for the Israelitish descent of the man would have needed no distinct notice. Abigail herself appears, besides, according to 2 Samuel 17:25, as a daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, and therefore not a full, but only a half sister of David. γ. The family of Caleb, as second of the three Hezronite lines: 1 Chronicles 2:18-24.—The question, how this first list of his descendants is related to the second in 1 Chronicles 2:42-49, Wellhausen (p. 13 seq.) has endeavoured to answer by regarding the Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2:42 as corresponding to the Celubai in 1 Chronicles 2:9, designating the order in which the special genealogies of the three Hezronite lines occurred, by the names Ram (1 Chronicles 2:10 ff.), Jerahmeel (1 Chronicles 2:25 ff.), and Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:42 ff.), and considering the genealogy of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:18-24) as a later insertion, whereby the Chronist has disfigured the original and normal development of his genealogy of the Hezronites. He holds that, indeed, this insertion itself is again a conglomerate of genealogical fragments of various origin, as appears most clearly from the reference of 1 Chronicles 2:21-23 to Hezron himself, the father of Caleb. Indeed, even 1 Chronicles 2:10-17 are probably an interpolation, whereby the Chronist has endeavoured to extend the pedigree of the Hezronites originally beginning with Jerahmeel (“the first-born of Hezron,” 1 Chronicles 2:25), on the basis of the book of Ruth, the Ram of which (Rth 4:19) appears to him as a son of Hezron and a brother of Jerahmeel and Caleb, whereas he is in truth, according to 1 Chronicles 2:25, a son of Jerahmeel and grandson of Hezron. Accordingly, the old genealogical table before the Chronist had only two lines of Hezronites (Jerahmeelites and Calebites), and his supplementing action had extended this register, so that he first added a Ram son of Hezron, with his posterity (1 Chronicles 2:10-17), different from Ram son of Jerahmeel, and then a second Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:18-24), with many other descendants than those of the younger brother Jerahmeel, 1 Chronicles 2:42 ff. It cannot be denied that many reasons appear to recommend this bold hypothesis. It explains in a satisfactory way the circumstance that the first-born Jerahmeel, whose genealogy we should expect first, appears after those of his two younger brothers, and also the surprising duplication of the names Ram and Caleb. But the hypothesis comes short of absolute certainty in many points which require to be adduced for confirmation. And especially it still remains doubtful which of the different old traditions concerning the descendants of the old prince of Judah, Caleb the companion of Joshua, whether that in 1 Chronicles 2:18 ff., or that in 1 Chronicles 2:42 ff., or that in 1 Chronicles 4:11; 1 Chronicles 4:15 ff., is to be pronounced the oldest and most trustworthy, and whether we are entitled to reject for one of them all the others at once as totally untrustworthy, and containing no element of historical truth. If it were to be assumed that originally there were two persons of this name, a Caleb son of Hezron (2, 1 Chronicles 4:11 ff.) and a Caleb son of Jephunneh (1 Chronicles 4:15 ff.), this duplication would warn us to be so much the more cautious in the reception or rejection of this or that one of the various traditions that are attached to these honourable names: the still greater complexity of the collective genealogies of Caleb would all the more favour the conjecture that each of the series referred to him must be accounted in the one or the other way as authentic, as containing in itself elements of the genuine posterity of Caleb. 1 Chronicles 2:18. Begat with Azubah his wife. δεֹ ?μִ ?ιγΰֶ ?ϊ, either “begat with” (as elsewhere δεֹ ?μִ ?ιγξִ ?ο, 1 Chronicles 8:8-9) or “caused to bring forth” (comp. Isaiah 66:9). The following words, ΰִ ?ωָּׁ ?δεְ ?ΰֶ ?ϊΞιְ ?ψִ ?ιςεֹ ?ϊ, appear to be corrupt. If we translate (with D. Kimchi, Piscat., Osiand., and others), “with Azubah, a wife, and with Jerioth,” two things are strange: the indefinite designation of Azubah as a wife, ΰִ ?ωָּׁ ?δ (for which we should expect “his wife,” ΰִ ?ωְׁ ?ϊּ ?εֹ), and the circumstance that of the second wife no son is named. If we regard (with Hiller, J. D. Mich.) εְ ?ΰֶ ?ϊ as explicative, with Azubah a wife, that is, Jerioth, we establish a mode of expression which is without a parallel in our book. It is impossible to render “And Caleb begat Azubah and Jerioth” (B. Striegel). We must either hold ΰִ ?ωָּׁ ?δ, which is, moreover, wanting in two mss. (see Crit. Note), with Berth, and Kamph., as a marginal note that has crept into the text, designed to prevent the translation “begat Azubah,” or adopt the reading of the Pesh. and the Vulg., ΰִ ?ωְׁ ?ϊּ ?εֹ ΰֶ ?ϊ, which gives the sense, “begat with Azubah his wife Jerioth, and these are her (Jerioth’s) sons.” The latter appears the most satisfactory (comp. Keil). The names of her three sons occur nowhere else in the Old Testament. 1 Chronicles 2:19. And Azubah died, and Caleb took to him Ephrath, namely, to wife. To this second wife of Caleb, whose name in 1 Chronicles 2:50 (comp. 1 Chronicles 4:4) is Ephrathah, belongs Hur, who is also mentioned Exodus 31:2 as the grandfather of Bezalel. By this we are scarcely to understand that Ephrathah was properly a local name equivalent to Bethlehem (Genesis 36:16; Genesis 36:19; Micah 5:1), so that Hur would be designated a descendant of Caleb, born at Bethlehem, or originating thence (an assumption to which Bertheau seems inclined).—On 1 Chronicles 2:20, comp. Exodus 31:2; Exodus 35:30. 1 Chronicles 2:21. Afterwards Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir. “Afterwards,” εְ ?ΰַ ?ηַ ?ψ, that is, after the birth of those three sons mentioned 1 Chronicles 2:9, whose mother is not named. The whole notice, extending to 1 Chronicles 2:24, of Hezron’s descendants, born in his old age of the daughter of Machir the Gileadite, and of a son Ashur, born after his death of a third wife Abiah (1 Chronicles 2:24), is undoubtedly surprising, and unsuitable to the present place: the series of Hezron’s sons and their descendants is thereby violently interrupted, and the above-mentioned interpolation theory of Wellhausen has in this case a very strong support. If we hold the present order to be original, we must assume, with Keil, that the here mentioned descendants of Hezron “were somehow more closely connected with the family of Caleb than with that of either Ram or Jerahmeel.” On Machir the first-born of Manasseh, to whom Moses gave the land of Gilead, comp. Genesis 1:23; Numbers 32:40; Deuteronomy 3:15. As he is here and 1 Chronicles 2:23 called “father of Gilead,” so is it said Numbers 26:29 that he begat Gilead. Comp. Numbers 27:1, from which it follows that, by this paternal relation of Machir to Gilead, more must be meant than the bare notion of a descent of the Israelitish population of Gilead from Machir, and that there must have been a definite person, Gilead, son of Machir and grandfather of Zelophehad. By the designation father of Gilead, the present Machir is distinguished from later persons of the same name; comp. 2 Samuel 9:4; 2 Samuel 17:27. 1 Chronicles 2:22. And Segub begat Jair. This Jair, the grandson of Hezron through Segub, belonged on the mother’s side to the tribe of Manasseh, and occurs therefore elsewhere, as Numbers 32:41, Deuteronomy 3:14, as a Manassite. His family, after the conquest of Og king of Bashan under Moses, received the territory of Argob, and gave to the conquered cities which Moses handed over to him the name Havvoth-Jair (ηַ ?εֹּ ?ϊιָ ?ΰִ ?ιψ), “tent-villages of Jair,” or “life of Jair” (comp. Numbers 32:41; Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13), with, which designation the name “Judah on Jordan,” Joshua 19:34 (that is, the colony of Jews in Gilead east of the Jordan), is most probably identical; comp. 5. Raumer, Pal�James , 4 th edit. p. 233; Hengstenb. Gesch. des Reichs Gottes im A. T. ii. p. 258; Hoffm. Blicke in die frόheste Gesch. des gelobten Landes, i. (1870) p. 114. 1 Chronicles 2:23. And Geshur and Aram, the Geshurites and Aramζans, which is scarcely a hendiadys for “the Aramζans of Geshur,” but rather points to an alliance of the Geshurites with the neighbouring Aramζans. For Geshur (2 Samuel 3:3; 2 Samuel 13:37; 2 Samuel 15:8) was a region in Aram or Syria, lying on the north-west border of Bashan near Hermon and the eastern bank of the Jordan, that in David’s time (comp. on 1 Chronicles 3:2) had a king of its own, and formed at that time an independent kingdom, not subject to Israel,—in the opinion of Hitzig (Gesch. d. Volks Israel, i p. 28 ff.), an Amorite kingdom of Arian (?) origin, though Moses in the distribution of the country had assigned it to Manasseh (Joshua 13:13; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:5).—With Kenath and her daughters, sixty cities. So should the ΰֶ ?ϊΞχְ ?πָ ?ϊεβεΨ be most probably taken, as a farther district, besides the villages of Jair, which the Geshurites and Aramζans took, and not as an explanatory apposition to these (comp. Berth.). For the preceding statement, that the villages of Jair amounted to twenty-three (1 Chronicles 2:22), is much too definite to allow it to be supposed that the now named sixty daughter towns of Kenath form an inexact repetition of the same designation. Much rather the difference of the two districts: “the villages of Jair” and the “daughters of Kenath,” appears in the clearest manner from Numbers 32:41-42, according to which, of the two Manassites Jair and Nobah, the former conquered the “Havvoth Jair,” the latter the “Benoth Kenath.” Only in their sum total were these places sixty in number, and only to this sum total does the present ωִׁ ?ωִׁ ?ινςִ ?ιψ apply. Whether, therefore, the group of towns designated by “Kenath” (now Kanwat, on the western slope of Jebel Hauran) and her daughters numbered exactly thirty-seven towns (as Keil thinks), remains uncertain; and the number sixty may very probably be a round number (comp. also Deuteronomy 3:12-14; Joshua 13:30). On the time when the Geshurites and Aramζans took the sixty towns, nothing can be ascertained from our passage. Certain it is that the later Judge of Israel, Jair (Judges 10:4), possessed again at least thirty of these towns under the name of Havvoth-Jair, which must have survived to still later times. All these are sons of Jair, not the sixty towns, but the afore-mentioned Segub and Jair and their descendants and correlatives. It may be conjectured that the genealogical source used by the Chronist was originally more full, so that λָּ ?μΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δ referred not merely to these two names. 1 Chronicles 2:24. And after the death of Hezron in Caleb-ephrathah. This place, which does not elsewhere occur, might possibly be the same as Ephrathah or Bethlehem-ephrathah (see on 1 Chronicles 2:19); the name of Caleb’s second wife Ephrath might be somehow connected with this her place of abode and death. “In 1 Samuel 30:14 a part of the south of Judah is called ‘Negeb Caleb,’ because it belonged to the family of Caleb; in analogy with which the town or place, in Which Caleb and his wife Ephrath dwelt, might be called ‘Caleb of Ephrathah,’ if Ephrath had brought it as a dowry to him, as in Joshua 15:18 f.” (Keil). Or from the Negeb Caleb, as the southern part of Caleb’s territory, 1 Samuel 30:14, “possibly the northern part might be distinguished by the more definite name ‘Caleb of Ephrathah,’ that is, of Bethlehem” (Berth.). None of these interpretations of this obscure phrase is perfectly satisfactory; and there is therefore much plausibility in the emendation of Wellhausen, founded on a various reading presented by the Sept. ἦλθεΧαλὲβεἰς ’Εφραθά = αָּ ?ΰλָ ?μֵ ?αΰֶ ?τְ ?ψָ ?ϊָ ?δ), “And after Hezron’s death Caleb went to Ephrath, the wife of his father Hezron.” Here for αְ is read αָּ ?ΰ; for ΰֵ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊ ,εְ ?ΰֵ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊ and for ΰָ ?αִ ?ιε ,ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιָּ ?δ—a change which is certainly somewhat radical; but the resulting sense is not improbable (comp. Genesis 35:22). As the text stands, here is a third wife of Hezron, called Abiah (comp. 1 Chronicles 2:9; 1 Chronicles 2:21), who bears to him “Ashur, father of Tekoa” (comp. 1 Chronicles 4:5-7), as a fil. postumus after his death. This Ashur (whom Wellhausen is disposed to change into an ΰִ ?ιωׁ ?Ξηεּ ?ψ, and to identify with Hur, Caleb’s son by Ephrath, 1 Chronicles 2:19) is called father of Tekoa, as lord and chieftain of the town Tekoa, the home of the prophet Amos, two hours south of Bethlehem (comp. Joshua 15:59), where this place still exists under the name Tekua (comp. Robinson’s Pal. ii. p. 406). δ. The family of Jerahmeel, the third line of Hezron: 1 Chronicles 2:25-41.—Of Jerahmeel (he whom God pities, whom He loves = θεόφιλος) the first-born of Hezron: 1 Chronicles 2:9. As there was a negeb Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:24) and a negeb of the Kenites, so there was a negeb of the Jerahmeelites, 1 Samuel 27:10; comp. 1 Samuel 30:29. This is a proof of the strength and power of this line springing from the oldest Hezronites.—Ram the first-born. Wellhausen, perhaps without ground, takes this Ram to be originally identical with the Ram of 1 Chronicles 2:10, the founder of the Ramite family, from which David sprang; comp. on 1 Chronicles 4:21.—And Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem of Ahijah. The last of these names, ΰֲ ?ηִ ?ιָּ ?δ should not apparently designate a fifth son of Jerahmeel, because in that case the ε should not be wanting. It appears rather to be the name of the mother of the four sons, and a ξֵ before ΰֲ ?ηִ ?ιָּ ?δ appears to have fallen out before the ν of the foregoing εְ ?ΰֹ ?φֵ ?ν (comp. 1 Chronicles 8:9). This conjecture, thrown out by Jun., Tremell., Clericus, J. H. Mich., J. Lange, and approved by all the moderns, appears the more probable, as in the following verse mention is made of a second wife of Jerahmeel, and the Syr. and the Sept. in our verse have reckoned only four sons, the latter rendering ΰֲ ?ηִ ?ιָּ ?δ by ἀδελφὶςαὐτοῦ. 1 Chronicles 2:26. Atarah; she was the mother of Onam, whose family is traced out 1 Chronicles 2:28-33. The name ςֲ ?θָ ?ψָ ?δ appears to signify “crown,” a name not unsuitable for a female, Proverbs 31:10. Yet it might signify “wall, fort,” as the sing, of ςֲ ?θָ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ, the city (comp. Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:34 f.; Joshua 16:5; Joshua 16:7; Joshua 18:13; and Wellhausen, p. 25). 1 Chronicles 2:28-30. Onam’s family continues itself in pairs of sons to Abishur and Nadab, his grandsons, and to their sons. On the name “Abihail,” comp. Crit. Note. Ver, 31. And the sons of Sheshan (descendants; see on 1 Chronicles 2:7), Ahlai. This Ahlai must have been a daughter, not a son, of Sheshan, great-grandson of Nadab, 1 Chronicles 2:29; for (1 Chronicles 2:34) Sheshan had no sons, but only daughters: Ahlai was therefore his heiress; but whether the same daughter who (1 Chronicles 2:35) married the Egyptian Jarha must remain uncertain. The remark of Hiller (Onom. s. p. 736), therefore, on Sheshan: Quicquid habuit liberorum, s. nepotum, sustulit ex unica filia Achlai, is not quite correct. 1 Chronicles 2:33. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. This subscription (going back to 1 Chronicles 2:25) includes 23 descendants of Jerahmeel. It deserves notice, that 23 descendants of Jerahmeel, with the preceding descendants of Judah (from 1 Chronicles 2:3), make up the sum of 70 members of the house of Judah, namely, sons of Judah, 5; of Perez, 2; of Zerah, 5; Carmi, Achar, and Azariah, 3; Ram and his descendants (including the 2 daughters of Jesse, and Jether father of Amasa), 21; Caleb and his descendants, 10; and Jerahmeel and his descendants, 24. This new number 70 of the ancestors of the Jews, made out by Bertheau, loses weight and certainty, because it includes several females, against all genealogical rule reckons the father and mother of Amasa as two members, and excludes the 13 descendants of Sheshan, which sprang from the Egyptian servant Jarha (1 Chronicles 2:34-41), treating them as a mere offshoot (comp. Keil, p. 46). And would not the Chronist, if he had actually wished to represent the posterity of Judah, after the manner of that of his father Israel, Genesis 46:28 f., as 70 souls, have overturned this reckoning again by his later additions, and especially the supplements given in 1 Chronicles 4:1-23, and altogether effaced the impression made thereby? Wellhausen’s interpolation theory, even if only approximately true, by no means agrees with this assumption of a tendency in the writer to symbolic numbers in his enumerations in 1 Chronicles 2:3-33. 1 Chronicles 2:34-41. The family of Jarha, the Egyptian servant. This Jarha occurs nowhere else; he may have served Sheshan during the sojourn of Israel in Egypt; for the latter branched off from Judah in the ninth generation, and belonged thus to the time before Moses. Most of the old expositors, perhaps rightly, presume that Jarha, only after he was made a free man and a proselyte by Sheshan (comp. Exodus 22:20; Exodus 23:9), married his daughter; comp. the law concerning intermarriage between Israelites and Egyptians, Deuteronomy 23:8; also David’s Egyptian servant, 1 Samuel 30:13 ff. Of the 13 here named descendants of Jarha, none occur elsewhere in the history of the Old Testament. Their names, indeed, recur several times, some of them, for example, in 1 Chronicles 3, among the descendants of David; but it is not in the remotest degree probable that any of these belong to the list of the descendants of Jarha. Appendix to the Genealogy of the House of Judah: Three Series of Descendants of Caleb, with Names chiefly of Geographical Import: 1 Chronicles 2:42-55a. The first series: Mesha’s posterity: 1 Chronicles 2:42-45.—And the sons of Caleb, brother of Jerahmeel. This introduction leaves no doubt that the same Caleb is meant as in 1 Chronicles 2:18, and that this is an appendix to his genealogy already communicated. Mesha his first-born; he Was the father of Ziph. Though almost all the following names: Ziph, Mareshah, Hebron, appear to be local names, yet Mesha (ξֵ ?ιωַׁ ?ς) sounds decidedly like a personal name; comp. the Moabitish king of this name, who has recently become celebrated by his monument of victory (2 Kings 3:4). As, on the other hand, Ziph (ζִ ?ισ) appears to be the town adjacent to Hebron which is mentioned Joshua 15:55, the same that gave its name to the wilderness of Ziph known to us from the history of David, 1 Samuel 23:14 ff; 1 Samuel 25:2, and which Robinson has recognised (1 Chronicles 2:4-17 ff.) in certain ruins on a hill south-east of Hebron, nothing is more natural than to perceive in Mesha the father of Ziph a lord or chieftain, or even the founder, of the town of Ziph (comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:24). By Ziph might also be meant the place mentioned Joshua 15:24, pretty far from Hebron in the plain (Shephelah) situated not far from Marash, the ancient Mareshah (so thinks Keil against Bertheau).—And the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. Mareshah is scarcely the name of that town mentioned Joshua 15:44 and 2 Chronicles 11:8 along with Ziph, which occurs in the times of the Maccabees and the Romans under the name of Marissa, and is preserved in the ruins of Marash in the Shephelah, half an hour south of Beitjibrin (5. Raum. Pal�James 3 d edit. p. 192; Robinson, 2:693; Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, pp. 129, 142). The expression “father of Hebron” makes the reference to this town very improbable; for at no time is any dependence of the ancient Hebron (Numbers 13:23) on that very remote Mareshah recorded. We must rather, as the reading of the Masoretic text now runs, regard Mareshah as the proper name of some old tribe chief, and hold the Hebron signalized among his sons as most probably a person or tribe distinct from the well-known city Hebron (comp. Numbers 5:28 and Exodus 6:18, where ηֶ ?αְ ?ψεֹ ?ο is likewise a personal name). So, justly perhaps, Wellhausen and Keil, who is, moreover, disposed to consider the text corrupt, and proposes the following emendation (see Crit. Note): “and the sons of Mesha were Abi-Hebron.” This conjecture is supported by the analogy of such compounds as Abidan, Abiezer, Abinadab; the simple Hebron in 1 Chronicles 2:43 might very well be an abbreviated form of Abihebron (comp. En-tappuah, Joshua 17:7, with the shorter Tappuah, Joshua 16:8). [It is simpler and easier to regard Hebron as a person, named, if you will, after a former Hebron.—J. G. M.] 1 Chronicles 2:43. And the sons of Hebron: Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. These four names also must rather be names of persons or tribes than of towns. For Korah and Shema occur only as personal names; Rekem once indeed as the name of a city, Joshua 18:27, but belonging to Benjamin, and several times as a personal name; in Numbers 31:8 as the name of a Midianite prince; and 1 Chronicles 7:18 as the name of a descendant of Manasseh. Only Tappuah (“apple”) recurs merely as the name of a city (Joshua 12:17; Joshua 15:34; Joshua 16:8; comp. 1 Chronicles 17:7), which, however, proves nothing for the case in point, and by no means establishes a reference to this or that so-called city. 1 Chronicles 2:44. And Shema begat Raham, father of Jorkeam. for ιָ ?ψְ ?χְ ?ςָ ?ν which occurs nowhere else, the Sept. exhibits ’Ιεκλάν whence Bertheau concludes that it was originally ιָ ?χְ ?γְּ ?ςָ ?ν, as in Joshua 15:56. But this name “Jokdeam’ the Sept. renders by ’Ιεκδαάμ, and here it reads twice in succession ’Ιεκλάν. It exhibits the same also for ψֶ ?χֶ ?ν, and thereby obscures the original relation of the genealogical data in our passage; some of the four sons of Hebron (1 Chronicles 2:43), first Shema and then the penultimate Rekem, have their genealogy traced. With Shammai the son of this Rekem comp. the so named persons above 1 Chronicles 2:28 and below 1 Chronicles 4:17, and also the celebrated leader of the Pharisees of this name, the antagonist of Hillel in the time of Jesus (Joseph. Anliq. xiv. 9. 4). 1 Chronicles 2:45. And Maon was father of Beth Zur. Both Maon and Bethzur are cities in the hill country of Judea; comp. for the former, which is now called Main, and is pointed out as a castle in ruins, with cisterns, etc., on a hill in Carmel south of Hebron, Joshua 15:55; 1 Samuel 23:24 f., 1 Chronicles 25:2; Robinson, 2:421; for the latter, the site of which is to be sought north of Hebron on the road to Jerusalem, Joshua 15:58; 2 Chronicles 11:7; 2 Chronicles 5. Raumer, Pal. p. 163. There is no decisive reason for excluding a reference to these places. Maon the son of Shammai may be regarded as the founder of the city so called (comp. Judges 10:12, where Maon is the name of a non-lsraelitish tribe, along with Amalek and the Zidonians); Bethzur may then have been founded as a colony from Maon, a genetic relation, which is here expressed in a manner not quite usual by “father of Bethzur” (for above in 1 Chronicles 2:24; 1 Chronicles 2:42, and below in 1 Chronicles 2:50-51, it is not descent of a colony from its mother city, but government of cities by their princes or lords, that is designated in this manner). b. The second series: posterity of Ephah and Maachah, the two concubines of Caleb: 1 Chronicles 2:46-49.—And Ephah, Caleb’s concubine. The name ςֵ ?ιτָ ?δ, occurring elsewhere (1 Chronicles 2:47; 1 Chronicles 1:33) as a man’s name, seems here, where it designates a secondary wife of Caleb, to point to a non-lsraelitish origin of its possessor, whether she be regarded as a person or a race. Of the latter opinion is Wellhausen, p. 12, who takes this non-lsraelitish gens mingling With the Calebites to belong to Midian; and on the contrary, the second concubine of Caleb, designated as Maachah, 1 Chronicles 2:48, to be a gens belonging to Canaan. Of the three sons of Ephah, Haran and Gazez are not otherwise known. The middle name Moza occurs Joshua 18:26 as the name of a city of Benjamin; but this can scarcely be connected with the son of Caleb and Ephah. That Gazez (Sept. Γεζουέ) is first named as a third son, and then as a grandson of Caleb, may be explained in two ways,—either so that the statement: “and Haran begat Gazez” (which is omitted in the Sept.), be taken as a more exact addition to the foregoing mention of Gazez, or that there were really two descendants of Caleb of the same name, a son and a grandson (uncle and nephew; comp. 1 Chronicles 3:10). The former is the more probable assumption. 1 Chronicles 2:47. And the sons of Jehdai. It is not clear how this Jehdai (ιֶ ?δְ ?γַּ ?ι) is genealogically connected with the foregoing. Hiller in the Onom. s. conjectures without ground that he was one and the same person with Moza, 1 Chronicles 2:46; Jehdai might as well be a second concubine of Caleb. Of the six sons of Jehdai also, of whose names only some (Jotham; comp. Shaaph, 1 Chronicles 2:49) occur elsewhere, we know nothing more. 1 Chronicles 2:48. And Caleb’s concubine Maachah bare Sheber and Tirhanah. Though this name ξַֽ ?ςֲ ?λָ ?δ occurs often (comp. 1 Chronicles 3:2, 1 Chronicles 7:16, 1 Chronicles 8:29, 1 Chronicles 9:43; also the nom. gentilic. δַ ?ξַּ ?ςֲ ?λָ ?ϊִ ?ι, 2 Kings 25:23; 1 Chronicles 4:19), yet nothing certain can be conjectured concerning its present bearer; that she was a Canaanitess is a mere conjecture of Wellhausen. The two sons of Maachah occur nowhere else. The masc. ιָ ?μַ ?γ (for which some mss. have ιָֽ ?μְ ?γָ ?δ; see Crit. Note) may arise from the writer thinking of the father, whom he does not name. 1 Chronicles 2:49. And she bare (besides the two already mentioned) Shaaph, the father of Madinannah. This city of Judah, mentioned Joshua 15:31, may be preserved in the present Miniay or Miniah south of Gaza. Its “father” Shaaph, clearly different from him who is so named 1 Chronicles 2:47, may be regarded as its prince or founder (comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:42); even so Sheva (on which name comp. 2 Samuel 20:25, Keri) in reference to Machbenah, and the unnamed father in reference to Gibeah. Machbenah, belonging no doubt to Judah, is no further known. Joshua also, Joshua 15:57, names a Gibeah in the mountains of Judah, whether the same with the village Jeba mentioned by Robinson and Tobler, on a hill in Wady Mussur, remains a question; comp. Keil on Joshua 15.—And Caleb’s daughter was Achsa. This closing notice puts it beyond doubt that the Caleb hitherto (from 1 Chronicles 2:46) spoken of is the same as Caleb the son of Jephunneh and father of Achsa (whom he promised and gave to the conqueror of Debir as a reward, Joshua 15:16 ff.; Judges 1:12). This is Caleb son of Jephunneh, the contemporary of Moses and Joshua; and therefore it seems difficult to identify him at once with the brother of Jerahmeel and son of Hezron mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:18; 1 Chronicles 2:42 (comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:18). For this Hezronite, a great-grandson of Judah through Perez, appears to have been older than Moses and Joshua; but our passage, as also 1 Chronicles 4:15, refers clearly to that contemporary of Joshua who is mentioned in the books of Joshua and Judges. That this younger Caleb is a descendant of the Hezronite is highly probable, because in the descendants of one and the same stock it is easy for the collateral genealogies to intermingle, as they have done here and in 1 Chronicles 4:15 ff. (comp. besides, the remarks on 1 Chronicles 4:11; 1 Chronicles 4:13; 1 Chronicles 4:15). If we assume accordingly two Calebs, an older, the Hezronite, of whom we read 1 Chronicles 2:9 (under the name Celubai), 18, 42–45, and then again 1 Chronicles 2:50-55, and a younger, whose genealogy is given in our verses (46–49) and in 1 Chronicles 4:15 ff., we do not go so far as some older expositors (even Starke), who assume with a double Caleb a double Achsa, a daughter of the Hezronite Caleb (supposed to be here mentioned), and a daughter of the Jephunnite Caleb (Joshua 15; Judges 1). As little do we approve of Movers’ conjecture (Chron. p. 83), that the words, “and Caleb’s daughter was Achsa,” are a spurious interpolation of a later hand. But Keil’s conjecture, also, that the expression “daughter” denotes here “grand—daughter, descendant,” that it is the Achsah of Jos 15:16 that is here spoken of, but as a later descendant of the old Hezronite Caleb, and not a daughter of the Jephunnite, we cannot accept, as it obviously does violence to the term “daughter.” Finally, we reject also Bertheau’s attempt to admit only one Caleb, and to refer the diversity in the accounts of him here and before to the inexact manner of the genealogical terms that express also geographical relations; as well as Ewald’s opinion, that Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2:42-49 is the Caleb of the book of Joshua; the Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2:9; 1 Chronicles 2:18-20; 1 Chronicles 2:50-55, on the contrary, is a quite different person, whose real name was Celubai. (On the somewhat different, and at all events more probable hypothesis of Wellhausen, see above on 1 Chronicles 2:18.) c. The third series: posterity of Hur, son of Caleb: 1 Chronicles 2:50-55.—As Hur is doubtless the grandfather of Bezaleel mentioned 1 Chronicles 2:19, we have here again a line going back to Caleb the Hezronite.—These were the sons of Caleb. This introductory sentence, the generality of which does not suit the following statement, giving a genealogy of only one son of Caleb, appears to indicate that the whole section is taken from an originally different connection.—The son of Hur, first-born of Ephrathah (comp. 1 Chronicles 2:19): Shobal. As, after Shobal in the following verse, Salma and Hareph are also named as sons of Hur, it appears more correct to read for αֶּ ?οΞηεּ ?ψ, with the Sept., the plur. αְּ ?πֵ ?ιΞηεּ ?ψ. In the Masoretic pointing, indeed, the names Salma and Hareph follow Shobal, father of Kiriath-jearim, without close connection by ε; and αֶּ ?οΞηεּ ?γ appears in some measure as a superscription. Whether Shobal be the same with the brother of Hur and son of Judah mentioned 1 Chronicles 4:1, must remain doubtful. The town of Kiriath-jearim, of which he is here called the father, that is, founder or chief, is that old Gibeonite town which is otherwise called Kiriath-baal or Baalah (comp. Joshua 9:17; Joshua 15:9; Joshua 15:60), and lay in the north-west corner of Judah, on the border of Benjamin, probably the present Kureyet el Enab (wine town), on the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa (Robinson, 2:588 ff; Keil on Joshua 9:17). 1 Chronicles 2:51. Salma, father of Bethlehem. The coincidence of name with the Bethlehemite ancestor of David of the house of Ram mentioned 1 Chronicles 2:17 is perhaps only accidental; comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:54.—Hareph, father of Bethgader, of the same place, which in Joshua 12:13 is Geder, and in Joshua 15:36 Gederah; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:4; 1 Chronicles 27:28. Keil thinks rather of Gedor (βְּ ?γεֹ ?ψ), Joshua 15:58, 1 Chronicles 4:4; 1 Chronicles 12:7, but with less ground. The name Hareph does not occur elsewhere, though ηָ ?ψִ ?ισ, Nehemiah 7:24; Nehemiah 10:20 (comp. δַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψεּ ?τִ ?ι, 1 Chronicles 12:5), may be only a variation of the same name. 1 Chronicles 2:52. Haroeh and the half of Menuhoth. These words, unintelligible to the old translators; δָ ?ψֹ ?ΰֶ ?δηֲ ?φιδַ ?ξְּ ?εֻ ?ηεֹ ?ϊ, for which the Sept. gives three proper names: ’ ΑραὰκαὶΑἰσὶκαὶ ’ Αμμανίθ, and the Vulg. the unmeaning words: qui videbat dimidium requietionum, are obviously corrupt. Let us read after 1 Chronicles 4:2, where a Reaiah son of Shobal occurs, for ψְ ?ΰָ ?ιָ ?ηδָ ?ψֹ ?ΰֶ ?η (for to regard the former as a mere by-form of ψְ ?ΰָ ?ιָ ?δ, as many old expositors do, is inadmissible), and for ηֲ ?φִ ?ιδַ ?ξְּ ?πֻ ?ηεֹ ?ϊ according to 1 Chronicles 2:54 : εַֽ ?ηֲ ?φִ ?ιδַ ?ξָּ ?πַ ?ηַ ?ϊ or εַֽ ?ηֲ ?φִ ?ιδַ ?ξָּ ?πַ ?ηְ ?ϊִּ ?ι. The text thus amended (according to Bertheau’s conjecture) gives Reaiah and Hazi-hammanahath, that is, half of the Manahathite, as sons of Shobal, two Jewish families, of which the latter may be part of the inhabitants of the town Manahath, 1 Chronicles 8:6. The situation of this place is determined by 1 Chronicles 2:54, where Zorah is mentioned as a neighbouring town, to be near the border of Judah, towards Dan. Reaiah seems from 1 Chronicles 4:2 not to have continued as a local name, but to have been the ancestor of the citizens of Zora; so that his former seat is also to be sought in the north-west of Judah. 1 Chronicles 2:53. And the families of Kiriath-jearim were the Ithrite, etc. These families of Kiriath-jearim are annexed to the already named sons of Shobal as other sons, descendants of the same ancestor. The four families are adduced in the fundamental text as singulars: the Ithrite, the Puthite, etc. The three last named occur nowhere else; on the contrary, to the family of the Ithrites, 1 Chronicles 11:40 (2 Samuel 23:38), belonged Ira and Gareb, two of David’s heroes.—From these came the Zorathite and the Eshtaolite. Zorah, the home of Samson (Judges 13:2; Judges 16:31), now Sura, between Jerusalem and Jabneh; Eshtaol, a town on the border of Judah and Dan, near Zorah (comp. Judges 16:31; Judges 18:11), probably the present Um Eshteijeh. 1 Chronicles 2:54. The sons of Salma: Bethlehem (the family of Bethlehem; comp. 1 Chronicles 2:51) and the Netophathite. The town Netophah must, as follows from the reference of its inhabitants to Salma, be sought close by Bethlehem; comp. 1 Chronicles 9:16; 2 Samuel 23:28 f.; 2 Kings 25:23; Ezra 2:22; Nehemiah 7:26, whence appears the comparative celebrity of this town, whose site has not yet been discovered.—Ataroth of the house of Joab. This is certainly the name of a town, which is to be interpreted, not “crowns,” but rather “walls, forts,” of the house of Joab; comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:26. The site is as uncertain as that of the following Hazi-hammanahath (half Manahath); comp. 1 Chronicles 8:6. On the contrary, δַ ?φָּ ?ψְ ?ςִ ?ι at the close points certainly to the known border city Zorah mentioned in the foregoing verse; for φָ ?ψְ ?ςִ ?ι is only formally different from φָ ?ψְ ?ςָ ?ϊִ ?ι, being derived from the masc. of φָ ?ψְ ?ςָ ?δ, which may have been used along with the feminine as the name of the town, although this cannot be proved. The Zorites of our verse must have formed a second element of the inhabitants of Zorah, along with the Zorathites of the previous verse descended from Shobal. 1 Chronicles 2:55. And the families of the scribes dwelling at Jabez. This Jewish town of Jabez (ιַ ?ςְ ?αֵּ ?υ), whose name recurs 1 Chronicles 4:9 f. as that of a descendant of Judah, is quite unknown in site, but must apparently be sought, like all the places mentioned from 1 Chronicles 2:53, in the north of Judah, on the borders of Benjamin or Dan. Of the families of scribes in Jabez, however, three are mentioned: the Tirathites, Shimathites, and Suchathites. These three names the Vulg. has applied appellatively to the functions of these three classes of learned men, translating: canentes et resonantes et in tabernaculis commorantes. It is possible that the Jewish doctors consulted by Jerome in the translation of our book (perhaps the rabbi from Tiberias, with whom he collated the text from beginning to end; comp. Introd. § 6, Rem.) had presented an etymological basis for this interpretation, in seeking to refer—1. ϊִּ ?ψְ ?ςָ ?ϊִ ?ιν to ϊְּ ?ψֻ ?ςָ ?δ, “jubilee song, trumpet sound;” 2. ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςָ ?ϊִ ?ιν to ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςָ ?δ, “report, echo” (or perhaps to ωְׁ ?ξָ ?ςִ ?δ, Aram. ωְׁ ?ξַ ?ςְ ?ϊָּ ?ΰ, traditio legis; comp. Wellhausen, p 30); 3. ωׂ ?εּ ?λָ ?ϊִ ?ιν to ρֻ ?λָּ ?δ = ωׂ ?εּ ?λָ ?δ, “hut, booth;” comp. Leviticus 23:34 ff. If the etymology here were correct, and it commends itself at all events more than the partly deviating one which Bertheau (by reference of the first term to the Chald. ϊְּ ?Ξς, door, and thus making ϊִּ ?ψְ ?ςָ ?ϊִ ?ιν a synonym of ωֹׁ ?ςֲ ?ψִ ?ιν, porters) has attempted, the functions assigned to the three classes of Sopherim, and giving origin to their names, would belong to divine worship, and resemble those of the Levites. And this seems to agree very well with the closing remark: these are the Kenites, that came from Hammath, father of the house of Rechab, as a certain connection or spiritual relationship may be shown, as well of the Kenites as of the Rechabites, with the Levites, if we think on the one hand of Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, the priest of the Midian-Kenites in the region of Sinai (Exodus 2:15; Exodus 3:1; comp. Judges 1:16; Judges 4:11; Judges 4:17), and of his influence on the legislative and religious activity of Moses (Exodus 18); on the other hand, of the priestly fidelity of the family of the Rechabites, as Jeremiah 35. (comp. 2 Kings 10:15) describes them, of their constant “standing before the Lord,” and, moreover, of the ancient tradition still surviving among the nominal descendants of the Rechabites in Yemen, that the house of Rechab descended from Hobab or Keni (Judges 1:16), the father-in-law of Moses (comp. A. Murray, Comment, de Kinζis, Hamb. 1718; Nδgelsbach on Jeremiah 35, vol. xv. p. 254 of Bibelwerk). On a fair examination of these circumstances, it appears highly probable that the certainly foreign (1 Samuel 15:6) yet highly honoured Kenites, in like manner as the Gibeonites, ministered of old in the sanctuary of Israel, and that the Rechabites of the times of the Kings and a ter the exile (Nehemiah 3:14) were descendants of these old Kenite temple ministers, who, by adherence to one part of their ancient wont and use, kept themselves distinct from the great mass of the people. The naming of Hammath also, as “father of the house of Rechab,” agrees very well with this hypothesis; for if Jonathan the Rechabite that met with Jehu king of Israel, and was honoured by him (2 Kings 10:15; 2 Kings 10:23), was a son of Rechab, so may Hammath have been father or forefather of this Rechab, and so ancestor of the whole family. Though all this rises little above the range of the hypothetical, and though in particular the question remains dark and unanswerable, why this Kenite family of Sopherim from Jabez is directly attached to Salma the father of Bethlehem, and through him to Hur the son of Caleb (whether on account of some intermarriage having taken place between a Kenite and an heiress of the house of Salma ?), yet it is on the whole probable that those three names are really designations of three classes of ministers in the sanctuary, and not proper names of families, as the Sept. (’Αργαθιείμ, Σαμαθιείμ, Σωκαθιείμ) held, and a majority of recent expositors still hold. Besides, Wellhausen’s attempt to refer that which is stated, both in our verse concerning the Kenites or Rechabites of Jabez, and generally from 1 Chronicles 2:50 on concerning the posterity of Hur and their settlements in the north of Judah to the time after the exile, and so ascribe these statements to bias and fancy, and to admit only the foregoing genealogy, 1 Chronicles 2:42-49, which assigns to the Calebites settlements in the south of Judah around Hebron, as historically reliable, that is, referring to the time before the exile,—this whole attempt (pp. 29–33) falls short of satisfactory proof. There is no ground for holding that which is reported of the Calebites as inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, Bethlehem, Netophah, Zorah, etc., to be a collection of later traditions than the foregoing accounts of Calebite families in Tappuah, Maon, Bethzur, etc. Neither do we know the geographical position of the several places mentioned in the two sections (1 Chronicles 2:42-55) so well, as to be able to assert that the former refers only to the south, the latter only to the north, of Judah. Respecting Jabez, for example, the seat of the Kenites, it is by no means determined that it is to be sought in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem and Kiriath-jearim (comp. above). In short, it is advisable to avoid such violent attempts to solve the problem here presented as the assumption of a genealogy of Calebites before and after the exile, and to approve the more cautious remark of Bertheau: “We can easily imagine the motive which led the Chronist to communicate this verse, though we are unable completely to perceive its contents.” [The term αְּ ?μεּ ?αָ ?ι, 1 Chronicles 2:9, seems to be, if not a patronymic, at least a virtual plural, and may well indicate more than one Caleb. The name was famous and frequent in the tribe of Judah. The first of the name appears in 1 Chronicles 2:18-24. He is designated “the son of Hezron,” though Ram is not, evidently to distinguish him from others of the name. He may have been born 50 or 58 years after Jacob came down to Egypt, as his father was born shortly before that event. He has by his wife Azubah three sons, or perhaps grandsons; and after her death he marries Ephrath, and by her has a well-known son Hur, who was the contemporary of Moses, Exodus 17:10. The episode about his father Hezron marrying again when sixty years old, is brought in partly from the concurrence in the foregoing paragraph of the two names Caleb and Ephrath, which are combined in the name of the place where he died, and partly from the high antiquarian interest which it possesses. Hezron was born before Jacob went down to Egypt, and therefore most probably died within 110 years from that date. He died, not in Egypt, but in Caleb-Ephrathah. This implies the presence and power of Caleb in the region of Hebron as a sheik giving name to a place in his estate. In this quarter Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had resided and acquired some property in land, Genesis 23. Caleb of the line of Judah held possession of this estate during the early period of Israel's residence in Egypt, when they were still a free and honoured people. And there his father died in a town called after the united names of himself and his wife. After the Israelites, however, were reduced to slavery by the Pharaoh that knew not Joseph, the occupation of this region by the descendants of Judah was rendered precarious or entirely interrupted. In this paragraph, then, we have a most unexpected and interesting glimpse of what was taking place in the time of the first Caleb; and in this view of the passage we see that it occupies its right place. A second Caleb is presented to us in 1 Chronicles 2:42-49. He is distinct from the former in everything but the name: 1. In the mode in which he is introduced, namely, in an appendix after the three sons of Hezron have been brought forward in order; 2. In his sons and wives, which are all quite different from those of his namesake; 3. In his time, as he is the father of Achsah, and therefore lived in and after the 40 years of the wilderness, two or three generations later than the former Caleb; 4. In his place, as a careful examination of the two paragraphs will show; 5. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/lange/ 2. The Descendants of David to Elioenai and his Seven Sons: 1 Chronicles 3 1 Chronicles 3:1.And these were the sons of David, that were born to him in Hebron: the first-born Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of 2Abigail the Carmelitess. The third Absalom, the son of Maachah, daughter 3of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah, son of Haggith. The fifth 4Shephatiah of Abital; the sixth Ithream, by Eglah his wife. Six were born unto him in Hebron, and he reigned there seven years and six months; and he reigned thirty and three years in Jerusalem. 5And these were born to him in Jerusalem: Shima, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath 6,7shua daughter of Ammiel. And Ibhar, and Elishama, and Eliphelet. And Nogah,and Nepheg, and Japhia. 8And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. 9All the sons of David, except the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister. 10And the son of Solomon: Rehoboam, Abiah his son, Asa his son, Jehosha 11, 12phat his son. Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son. Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son. 13Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, 14Manasseh his son. Amon his son, Josiah his son. 15And the sons of Josiah: the first-born Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. 16And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jechoniah his son, Zedekiah his son. 17, 18And the sons of Jechoniah the captive: Shealtiel his son. And Malchiram, and Pedaiah, and Shenazzar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. 19And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei; and the Song of Solomon 3 of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister. 20And Hashubah, and 21Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushabhesed, five. And the Song of Solomon 4 of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jesaiah; the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. 22And the sons of Shechaniah: Shemaiah; and the sons of Shemaiah: Hattush, and Igal, and Bariah, and 23Neariah, and Shaphat, six. And the son of Neariah: Elioenai, and Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three. 24And the sons of Elioenai: Hodaiah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Delaiah, and Anani, seven. Preliminary Remark.—After the family of Ram, the middle son of Hezron was carried down, 1 Chronicles 2:10-17, only to Jesse the father of David, and the genealogies of Caleb and Jerahmeel were interposed, 1 Chronicles 2:18-55, the line of Ramites, starting from David, is resumed and traced from David to the time after the captivity. This is given in three paragraphs, of which the first registers all the sons of David except those born of concubines, 1 Chronicles 3:1-9; the second, the series of kings of the house of David from Solomon to Jechoniah and Zedekiah, 1 Chronicles 3:10-16; and the third, the descendants of Jechoniah to the seven sons of Elioenai, 1 Chronicles 3:17-24. The names in the second of these paragraphs mostly recur, those in the third, at least partly, in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew (whereas Luke 3:23 ff. presents a totally different series of names from David to Shealtiel, and again from Zerubbabel to Joseph). 1. The Sons of David: 1 Chronicles 3:1-9. a. The six sons born in Hebron: 1 Chronicles 3:1-4.These six senior sons of David are, with one exception, enumerated literally as in 2 Samuel 3:2-5.—The first-born Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; literally, “to Ahinoam.” The μ before ΰηιπςν designates the wife to whom the son belonged. Comp. on this Ahinoam, 1 Samuel 25:43; 1 Samuel 27:3, and on Amnon, who is also called Aminon (2 Samuel 13:20), 2 Samuel 13. The second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess. Instead of ωֵׁ ?πִ ?ι, properly “a second,” stands in the parallel 2 Samuel 3:3ξִ ?ωְׁ ?πֵ ?δεּ, “his second,” with which δַ ?ξִּ ?ωְׁ ?πֶ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 5:12, is to be compared. A more important difference from 2 Samuel 3:3 is λִּ ?μְ ?ΰָ ?α, quite another name, which stands there for γָּ ?πιֵּ ?ΰμ. This other designation of the second son of David may be explained by the supposition of a real double name, as in Uzziah Azariah (comp. on 2 Chronicles 26:1), Jehoiakim Eliakim, Mattaniah Zedekiah (comp. also on 1 Chronicles 3:15). The variant Δαλουία (perhaps = γְּ ?μָ ?ιָ ?δ) Presented by the Sept. in 2 Samuel 3:3 may be an error of transcription for Δκνιήλ (or inversely “Daniel,” a later variation for the original Delaiah); but the name Cilab is still unexplained. On Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite (not to be confounded with Abigail the sister of David, 1 Chronicles 2:16), comp. 1 Samuel 25:3 ff. 1 Chronicles 3:2. The third Absalom. For ΰַ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν is also found ΰֲ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν, 1 Kings 15:2; 1 Kings 15:10. The μ before ΰַ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν might, in another connection, serve to lay emphasis on the name (“the well-known Absalom;” comp. Isaiah 32:1). Here, however, in a mere list of names, it scarcely has this import, but seems rather to have come into the text through an oversight, in consequence of the foregoing μΰα in μַֽ ?ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιβַ ?ιִ ?μ. Other attempts to explain this μְ (which is wanting in some copies; see Note) are quite worthless, and deserve to be noted only as curiosa; for example, Kimchi’s proposal to take μ for μֹ ?ΰ, thereby designating him as properly not an Absalom, a father’s peace, but a rebel, or Hiller’s supposition (Onom. S. p. 733) that μְ ?ΰַ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν is a fuller form for the simpler and more usual ΰַ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν, etc. On Geshur, comp. above 1 Chronicles 2:23; on Adonijah, son of Haggith, comp. 1 Kings 1:2. 1 Chronicles 3:3. By Eglah his wife,μְ ?ςֶ ?βְ ?μָ ?δΰִ ?ωְׁ ?ϊּ ?εֹ; quite similar to 2 Samuel 3:5, μְ ?ςֶ ?βְ ?μָ ?δΰֵ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊγָּ ?εִ ?ιγ. This addition “his wife,” or “wife of David,” appears to be inserted merely to make a full-toned conclusion of the series, and scarcely to distinguish Eglah as the most eminent wife of David, as some Rabbis and recently Thenius on 2 Samuel 3:5 think, who take Eglah only for another name of Michal, 1 Samuel 18:20, or even substitute ξִ ?ιλָ ?μ as the original reading for ςֶ ?βְ ?μָ ?δ (so Thenius). 1 Chronicles 3:4. For the historical notices in this verse comp. 2 Samuel 2:11; 2 Samuel 5:5, The statement in 2 Samuel 2:10 (from which Ishbosheth appears to have reigned only two years in Mahanaim) conflicts only apparently with the seven years of the residence of David in Hebron; on which see Hengstenb. Gesch. d. Reiches Gottes unter dem A. B. ii. 2, p. 114 f. b. The thirteen sons of David born in Jerusalem: 1 Chronicles 3:5-9. These sons of David (of whom four are by Bathsheba) are again mentioned 1 Chronicles 16:7-11, in the history of David. Less complete is the list in the parallel passage 2 Samuel 5:14-16, by the omission of the last two. 1 Chronicles 3:5. The four sons of Bathsheba, or, as she is here called, Bathshua. The two names, occurring beside one another, receive their explanation from the intervening form αַּ ?ϊΞωֶׁ ?εַ ?ς; as this, however, is obviously weakened from αַּ ?ϊΞωֶׁ ?λַ ?ς (as αַּֽ ?ϊΞωׁ ?εּ ?ςַ again is a weakening of αַּ ?ϊΞωֶׁ ?εַ ?ς), the latter form appears to be the oldest and most original. Two other peculiarities of the names contained in our verse are—1. ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςָ ?ΰ as the name of the first of Bathsheba’s four sons, for which stands in 1 Chronicles 14:4 and 2 Samuel 5:14; ωַׁ ?ξּ ?εּ ?ςַ; Ammiel (ςַ ?ξִּ ?ιΰֵ ?μ) the name of the father of Bathsheba, for which in 2 Samuel 11:3 is the form Eliam (ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιςָ ?ν), containing the two elements of the name transposed. It is uncertain which of these two forms is correct and original. 1 Chronicles 3:6-8. Here follow the nine sons born at Jerusalem of other wives. And Ibhar, and Elishama, and Eliphelet. As the two parallel passages 1 Chronicles 14:5 and 2 Samuel 5:15 agree in presenting after Ibhar an Elishua, ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιωׁ ?εּ ?ςַ, Elishama in our passage appears clearly an error of transcription, especially as this name occurs again in 1 Chronicles 3:8. The following name Eliphelet (ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιτֶ ?μֶ ?θ) is found also in 1 Chronicles 16:5, although in the somewhat abbreviated form ΰֶ ?μְ ?τֶּ ?μֶ ?θ; on the contrary, it is wanting in 2 Samuel 5:15, where only one Eliphelet, the last of the series, is mentioned. It is uncertain whether this want be original, and the double position is the result of some error of the Chronist or his voucher (as Berth. thinks). That David should have repeated the same name in the sons of his different wives is of itself not incredible. 1 Chronicles 3:7. And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia. The name πֹ ?βָ ?δּ, omitted by an oversight in 2 Samuel 5:15, is certainly original, though nothing be known concerning this Nogah, perhaps because he died early and childless. “The view of Movers, p. 229, that this name was not originally in the text, and came in by a false writing of the following πτβ, has arisen from an undue preference for the text of the books of Samuel” (Berth.). 1 Chronicles 3:8. And Elishama (comp. on 1 Chronicles 3:6), and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. For ΰֶ ?μְ ?ιָ ?γָ ?ς appears 1 Chronicles 16:7αְּ ?ςֶ ?μְ ?ιָ ?γָ ?ς, scarcely correct; for the other parallel 2 Samuel 5:16 and the Sept. and Syr. versions in 1 Chronicles 14:7 have ΰֶ ?μְ ?ιָ ?γָ ?ς (Sept. cod. Vat.’Ελιαδέ—cod. Alex., indeed, Βαλλιαδέ) 1 Chronicles 3:9. All the sons of David, except the sons of the concubines. These sons of David by concubines or slaves are also unnamed elsewhere; but their existence appears from 2 Samuel 5:13; 2 Samuel 12:11; 2 Samuel 15:16; 2 Samuel 16:22.—And Tamar their sister, not the only one, but the sister known from the history (2 Samuel 13:1 ff.). 2. The Kings of the House of David from Solomon to the Exile: 1 Chronicles 3:10-16.—As far as Josiah, they are enumerated, without naming any non-reigning descendants, as a simple line of sovereigns, embracing in it fifteen members (with the omission of the usurper Athaliah as an idolater and a foreigner) by the addition of a αְּ ?πεֹ, “his son,” to each. At variance with this course, four sons of Josiah are then named, not perhaps in him, the great reformer, “to introduce a pause in the long line of David’s descendants” (Berth.), but “because with Josiah the regular succession ceased” (Keil).—The first-born Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. To Josiah succeeded, 2 Kings 23:30, 2 Chronicles 36:1, his son Jehoahaz as king. This Jehoahaz is called in Jeremiah 22:11 properly Shallum; he was thus, as the present list shows, the youngest, or at all events one of the youngest, among them; not to be identified with the first-born Johanan, as many older writers (Seb. Schmidt, Starke, etc.), and of the moderns, for example, Hitzig (Begriff der Kritik, etc., p. 182ff., and Gesch. d. Volks Isr. p. 246), do. For, 1. The statement of Jeremiah, that Shallum became king in his father’s stead, is quite positive and unhesitating. 2. From comparing 2 Kings 23:31; 2 Kings 23:36, with 2 Chronicles 36:2; 2 Chronicles 36:5, it appears that Jehoahaz was two years younger than Jehoiakim, and therefore not the first-born. 3. The preferring of a younger son before an older to the throne is not surprising, if we consider the analogous case of Solomon, who, though one of the youngest of the sons of David (the youngest of the four sons of Bathsheba), succeeded to the throne. 4. The double name Jehoahaz Shallum is not more surprising than Jehoahaz Johanan would be; the mutually exchanging names are in both cases, if not quite alike in meaning, yet expressive of similar ideas (ιְ ?δεֹ ?ΰָ ?ηָ ?ζ, “whom Jehovah holds,” and ωַׁ ?μּ ?εּ ?ν, “who is requited (of God),” and so ιְ ?δεֹ ?ηָ ?πָ ?ο); comp. the numerous cases of double raming, of which some examples are quoted on 1 Chronicles 3:1, also Simonis Onom. p. 20. The only inaccuracy that can be imputed to the Chronist in the present statements is, that he names Shallum in the last place, and so appears to favour the opinion that he was the youngest of the four brothers, whereas Zedekiah was much younger than he; indeed, as a comparison of 2 Kings 23:31 with 1 Chronicles 26:18 shows, at least 13 or 14 years younger (for Shallum was 23 years old when he ascended the throne, while Zedekiah, who ascended the throne 11 years later, was then only 21 years of age). How this inaccuracy in the order is to be explained, Keil shows very well, p. 55 f.: “In our genealogy Zedekiah is placed after Jehoiakim and before Shallum, because, on the one hand, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah held the throne a longer time, each for eleven years; on the other hand, Zedekiah and Shallum were the sons of Hamutal (2 Kings 23:31; 2 Kings 24:18), Jehoiakim the son of Zebidah (2 Kings 23:36). With respect to age, they should have succeeded thus: Johanan, Jehoiakim, Shallum, and Zedekiah; and in regard to their reign, Shallum should have stood before Jehoiakim. But in both cases those born of the same mother Hamutal would have been separated. To avoid this, Shallum appears to have been reckoned beside his brother Zedekiah in the fourth place.” Regarded thus, the passage loses its obscurity, which Nδgelsbach has still imputed to it (on Jeremiah 22:11), without going quite so far as Hitzig, who here lays a whole series of errors to the charge of the Chronist. Comp. against the imputations of the latter, Movers, p. 157 f.: “The two names (Johanan and Jehoahaz) are to be distinguished exactly as Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin; had the Chronist named Jehoahaz along with Shallum, or, as Hitzig thinks right, called him the first-born, the error would certainly have been undeniable. Further misled by the passage of Jeremiah, he has taken Shallum for another son of Josiah, the fourth, and different from Jehoahaz. Shallum Jehoahaz is certainly named the fourth in 1 Chronicles 3:15, incorrectly indeed, for he was the third; hut the Chronist could not mistake the passage of Jeremiah, for it clearly says: ‘who (Shallum) reigned instead of Josiah his father.’ How should an error in the Jewish line of kings occur in a Jewish historian!” 1 Chronicles 3:16. And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jechoniah his son, Zedekiah his son. Instead of ιָ ?λεֹ ?οιָ ?δεּ ?=ιְ ?λָ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δ (whom God establishes), the son of Jehoiakim in 2 Chronicles 36:9, as in 2 Kings 24:8 ff., bears the equivalent name Jehoiachin (ιְ ?δεֹ ?ιָ ?λִ ?ιο; comp. ιεֹ ?ιָ ?λִ ?ιο, Ezekiel 1:2) whereas he is called, Jeremiah 26:1; Jeremiah 27:20; Jeremiah 28:4, and Esther 2:6, ιְ ?λָ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δ, quite as here and Jeremiah 22:24; Jeremiah 22:28; Jeremiah 37:1, Conjahu (αָּ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δεּ, an abbreviation of ιְ ?λָ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δ ,ιְ ?λְ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δεּ). The Zedekiah here named can only be regarded as a son of Jechoniah, and so a grandson of Jehoiakim and great - grandson of Josiah; for the αְּ ?πεֹ added to his name uniformly designates in the previous genealogical line the son of the aforesaid: and the circumstance; that this son of Jechoniah is named here apart from his other sons, may find its explanation in this, that this Zedekiah, perhaps the first-born, did not go into captivity with his father and brethren, but died beforehand as a royal prince in Jerusalem. He is therefore not to be confounded with the Zedekiah who was mentioned in the foregoing verse as a third son of Josiah, and, 2 Kings 24:17 ff., 2 Chronicles 36:11, became successor of Jechoniah on the throne; he is a grand-nephew of king Zedekiah, who before his accession was called Mattaniah, and whose subsequent name, as well in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 36:10) as in Kings (2 Kings 24:17 ff.), is uniformly written φִ ?γְ ?χִ ?ιָ ?δεּ (not, as here, φִ ?γְ ?χִ ?ιָ ?δ). This last variety of name is merely graphical, though in the present case, where the double name (Mattaniah Zedekiah) serves as a mark of the king, it may have a further import. Against the assumption of some ancients (even of Starke), that the Zedekiah of our verse is the same as king Zedekiah, who is quoted (1 Chronicles 3:15) as a son of Jehoiachin, because he was his successor on the throne, comp. the just remarks of Calov. in the Biblia illustrata. With respect to 2 Chronicles 36:10, where Zedekiah the successor of Jehoiachin appears to be erroneously termed his brother, which in reality is only inexactness, or a wider sense of the word ΰָ ?η (= relative in general), see on the passage. 3. The Descendants of Jechoniah to the Seven Sons of Elioenai: 1 Chronicles 3:17-24.—And the sons of Jechoniah the captive. It is certainly possible to translate the words εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ιιְ ?αָ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δΰַ ?ρִּ ?ψ with the Sept., Vulg., Kimchi, Jun., etc., and even Keil: “And the sons of Jechoniah were Assir.” But the appellative meaning of ΰַ ?ρִּ ?ψ, “the captive,” adopted by Luther, Starke, Berth., Kamph., is decidedly preferable. For, 1. As one of the sons of Jechoniah, the early deceased Zedekiah, has been already named, we expect here a remark of Jechoniah indicating that he as captive or in captivity begat the sons now to be named. 2. An Assir, as connecting link between Jechoniah and Shealtiel, nowhere occurs, neither in Matthew 1:12 nor in the Seder Olam Sutta (comp. Herzfeld, Gesch. d. V. Israel, i. 379). 3. The absence of αְּ ?πεֹ after ΰַ ?ρִּ ?ψ, while it stands after ωְׁ ?ΰַ ?μְ ?ϊִּ ?ιΰֵ ?μ makes it impossible to see in Assir a link between Jechoniah and Shealtiel. 4. Neither can Assir be regarded as a brother of Shealtiel, because the copula could not then be wanting between the two names, and because the singular αְֹּ ?πεֹ after ωְׁ ?ΰַ ?μְ ?ϊִּ ?ιΰֵ ?μ is inexplicable, if two sons of Jechoniah were named. 5. The combination proposed by Keil (p. 57), that Assir, the only son of Jechoniah besides the early deceased Zedekiah, left only a daughter, by whom he became the father-in-law of Neri, a descendant of David of the line of Nathan, and by this son-in-law, again (Luke 3:27), the father, or strictly the grandfather, of Shealtiel, of Malchiram, Pedaiah, and the other sons named 1 Chronicles 3:18, fails through its excessive artificiality, and through this, that it takes αְּ ?πεֹ at the close of our verse, notwithstanding the constant use of the Chronist in the foregoing genealogy, in the sense of his grandson. 6. The single objection that can be made to the appellative meaning of ΰַ ?ρִּ ?ψ, that it wants the article, loses much of its force from the abrupt and merely allusive manner of our genealogist. 7. The Masoretic accentuation points out ΰַ ?ρִּ ?ψ as an appellative addition to ιְ ?λָ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δ, a circumstance not to be overlooked in the present case, as it proves our interpretation to be supported by no less respectable and ancient authorities than the opposite one. 1 Chronicles 3:18. And Malchiram, and Pedaiah, etc. These six other sons of the captive Jechoniah, Kimchi, Tremell., Piscat., Hiller, Burmann, and recently Hitzig on Haggai 1:1; Haggai 1:12, regard not as brothers, but as sons of Shealtiel, because Zerubbabel elsewhere appears (Haggai 1:1; Ezra 3:2; Ezra 5:2; Matthew 1:12) as son, or at all events direct successor, perhaps grandson, of Shealtiel, whereas here he would appear to be his nephew, if his father Pedaiah (1 Chronicles 3:19) had actually to pass for a brother of Shealtiel. Against this hypothesis is—1. The copula before ξַ ?μְ ?λִּ ?ιψָ ?ν, which makes it impossible to regard the six named in our verse otherwise than as brothers of Shealtiel. 2. The paternal relation of Pedaiah to Zerubbabel, as attested 1 Chronicles 3:19, may be easily reconciled with the elsewhere attested filial relation of Zerubbabel to Shealtiel, by the assumption of intermarriage or adoption; in other words, the Chronist’s making Zerubbabel to be son of Pedaiah and nephew of Shealtiel may well be taken for a more exact statement than that of the other reporters (Hag., Ezra, and Matt.). Besides, the five sons of Jechoniah named along with Shealtiel and Pedaiah are otherwise unknown. Only of Pedaiah are further descendants known in the following verses. 1 Chronicles 3:19. And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel and Shimei. The latter is not elsewhere named: concerning the former, of whose identity with the celebrated prince and leader of the first band of returning captives, 536 b.c. there can be no well-founded doubt (although Hottinger, S. J. Baumgarten, Starke, and the ancients incline to assume two or even three different Zerubbabels), comp. on the previous verse.—And the son of Zerubbabel: Meshullam and Hananiah. On the somewhat surprising sing. εּ ?αֶ ?ο, on account of the plural number of sons, and the variant εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι, see Crit. Note. Bertheau, moreover, justly remarks: “In the names of the sons of Zerubbabel appear to be reflected the hopes of the Israelites at the time of the return from Babylon, in Meshullam (friend of God), comp. Isaiah 42:19, Hananiah (grace of God), Berechiah, Hasadiah, Jushab-Chesed (mercy will return).”—And Shelomith their sister. She is perhaps named after the first two sons, because she sprang from the same mother. Her name divides the collective family of Zerubbabel into two groups, the former of two, the latter of five sons. Possibly the second group contains exclusively or chiefly younger sons of Zerubbabel born after the return from the exile. 1 Chronicles 3:21. And the son of Hananiah: Pelatiah and Jeshaiah. The two grandsons of Zerubbabel are otherwise unknown, but must have belonged to the contemporaries of Ezra, about 450 b.C.—The sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. In what relation these four families stand to Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, the sons of Hananiah, is not clear, as the express statement that their heads, Rephaiah, etc., were sons of Hananiah, and brothers of those two, is wanting; and the various readings of the old translators (Sept., Vulg., Syr.), that give, instead of the plur. αְּ ?πֵ ?ι, always the sing with the suff. αְּ ?πεֹ, thereby originating a continuous line of descent, with seven members from Hananiah to Shechaniah, have little claim to credibility. For, 1. The line of David’s descent would, if 1 Chronicles 3:21 actually reckoned seven successive generations, seem to be continued far into the 3d century b.C. (for in 1 Chronicles 3:22-24 four generations more are added),—much further than a rational estimate of the age of our author, who must have lived at the latest about 330 b.C., will admit (comp. Einl. p. 3). 2. The assumption of an addition to the series, arising from a younger writer than the Chronist, is extremely doubtful. 3. The Hattush of 1 Chronicles 3:22 appears to be the same with the descendant of David bearing the same name mentioned Ezra 8:2, a younger contemporary of Ezra, which is quite possible, and even probable, if this Hattush be the fourth in descent from Zerubbabel, but, on the contrary, impossible if he be the ninth. 4. The brief mode of enumerating with the mere αְּ ?πεֹ, appending the son only to the father without mention of other descendants, does not agree with the verses around from 1 Chronicles 3:18, in which a more copious enumeration, almost in every number giving a plurality of children, is presented. If it appear, on the whole, most probable that the sons of Rephaiah, etc., are designations of contemporary families of the house of David, not successive generations, it still remains doubtful how these families are connected with the last-named descendant of Zerubbabel. On this there are, in the main, two opinions among recent expositors: a. Ew., Berth., Kamph., etc., take Rephaiah, Arnan, Obadiah, and Shechaniah, as well as the two before named, Pelatiah and Jeshaiah, to be sons of Hananiah, and assume that, on account of the great celebrity and wide extension of their families, these last four sons are named, “not as individuals, but as families ” (for which cases like 1 Chronicles 1:41; 1 Chronicles 2:42; 1 Chronicles 4:15; 1 Chronicles 24:26, etc., afford examples). b. Movers, Herzfeld, Hδvernick, Keil see in these four families, generations “whose descent the Chronist could not or would not more precisely define, and therefore merely enumerates one after another” (Herzf.), and are inclined to regard the whole series from αְּ ?πֵ ?ιψְ ?τָ ?ιָ ?δ to the end of the chapter as “a genealogical fragment, perhaps inserted afterwards into the text of Chronicles” (Keil), and accept where possible the assumption defined by the ancients, as Heidegger, Vitringa, Carpzov, etc., of a corruption of the present Masoretic text, perhaps a gap before αְּ ?πֵ ?ιψְ ?τָ ?ιָ ?δ (so likewise Keil). We may reserve the choice between these two views; for while the assumption of a corruption of the text seems to be natural enough, and to be rendered even probable by the change of αְּ ?πֵ ?ι into αּ ?πεֹ in the Sept., yet, on the other hand, we scruple to ascribe to the Chronist an uncertain or defective knowledge concerning the families of the house of David after Zerubbabel, as it is to be presumed that he would be especially well informed on matters so near his own time. 1 Chronicles 3:22. And the sons of Shechaniah: Shemaiah. The plur. αְּ ?πֵ ?ι, as in 1 Chronicles 1:41, 1 Chronicles 2:42, etc. On Hattush son of Shemaiah, then named in the first place, see on previous verse, and Introd. § 3, Rem. The closing notice, that six sons of Shemaiah are named in all, is strange, because only five of them are named; and it is quite unfeasible, with J. H. Mich., Starke, and others (as in Genesis 46:15), to assume that the father is included. We can scarcely escape the assumption, that one of the six names has fallen out of the text by an old error of transcription; but we can hardly regard the sixth name Sesa (Sessa), presented by the Vulg. in the Edit. Sixt. of 1590, as anything else than a poor emendation arising from the number ωִׁ ?ωָּׁ ?δ, since no other text presents this name. 1 Chronicles 3:23. And the son of Neariah: Elioenai. With the latter name, which is here written without δ (ΰֶ ?μְ ?ιεֹ ?ςֵ ?ιπַ ?ι), but elsewhere in full ΰֶ ?μְ ?ιְ ?δεֹ ?ςֵ ?ιπַ ?ι (my eyes unto Jehovah), comp. Ezra 8:4, and, with respect to the sentence which contains its etymology, Psalms 25:15. 1 Chronicles 3:24. And the sons of Elioenai: Hodaiah, etc. With the name δεֹ ?γַ ?εְ ?ιָ ?δεּ (or perhaps δεֹ ?γεּ ?ιָ ?δεּ “praise Jehovah, praise God”) compare the shorter form δεֹ ?γַ ?εְ ?ιָ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 5:24, 1 Chronicles 9:7, Ezra 2:40, and δεֹ ?γְ ?εָ ?δ, Nehemiah 7:43; see also Crit. Note. The seven sons of Elioenai here named, if we are to suppose a direct genealogical connection of the families enumerated from 1 Chronicles 3:21 b with the before-named descendants of Zerubbabel (if, consequently, the assumption of Movers, Herzfeld, and Keil, that 1 Chronicles 3:21 b–24 form an unconnected interpolation, is to be rejected), would be the seventh generation inclusive from Zerubbabel, and, if the length of a generation be fixed at 30 years, would have to be placed near the middle of the 4th century b.C., as, for example, Bertheau (p. 35) reckons the years 386–356 b.C., Ewald (Gesch. d. V. Isr. 2d edit. i. 229) the time after 350, as the period of the existence of the seven sons of Elioenai, who are supposed to be contemporary with the author of Chronicles. The assumption that we are here dealing with direct descendants of Zerubbabel is liable to serious doubt. For, besides the loose connection of αְּ ?πֵ ?ιψְ ?τָ ?ιָ ?δ and the following families in 1 Chronicles 3:21, it appears to favour the fragment hypothesis, that “in the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew , 1, not a single name of the descendants of Zerubbabel agrees with the names in this register,” and that at least seven members must be supposed to be overleaped at once by Matthew or his genealogical voucher (so Clericus, and recently Keil). In reply to this, it may be assumed certainly, that those descendants of Zerubbabel whose pedigree is traced by the Chronist to his own time need not necessarily have been the direct ancestors of Joseph (or Mary), but that the line of Abiud, Eliakim, etc., leading to Jesus in Matthew, might have sprung from another of the seven sons of Zerubbabel. Besides, Matthew must have made very great omissions in the interval of 500 years between Zerubbabel and Joseph, as he reckons only twelve members for this period (comp. the edit. of the Bibelw. on Matt. p. 8 f.): an omission of six or seven successive members would be nothing inconceivable in his mode of proceeding. And if the genealogy of Hananiah, communicated at length by the Chronist, in particular the family of Elioenai with his seven sons, were deemed worthy of special notice on account of their celebrity, high reputation, and eminent services on behalf of the theocracy, this would not prove that the New Testament pedigree of Jesus must necessarily have mentioned these famous descendants of Zerubbabel as belonging to the ancestors of our Lord. For lowlines and obscurity, not splendour and fame, should be the characteristic of the pedigree of Jesus after the exile. if the line of the ancestors of Jesus, reaching from David to the exile, according to Mathew’s arrangement, contains crowned heads, and thus forms a lofty range of royal names, it corresponds to the plan of the apostolic genealogists, that the third line from the exile to Joseph and Mary should include in it chiefly undistinguished names, and thus form a descending line which ends in the carpenter Joseph (see Lange, p. 6). Nothing decisive can thus be inferred from a comparison of the New Testament genealogies of the Messiah with our passage for the relation of the names therein contained to the posterity of Zerubbabel, or for the question whether those named in 1 Chronicles 3:21 b–24 are to be regarded as descendants or as remoter connections of this prince. Footnotes: For μְ ?ΰַ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν many mss. and most old prints read ΰַ ?αְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν. Comp. Exeg. Expl. εֶֽ ?ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιωָׁ ?ξָ ?ς in this first place is perhaps an error of the transcriber for εֶֽ ?ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιωׁ ?εּ ?ςַ, which appears not only in the two parallel passages 1 Chronicles 14:5 and 2 Samuel 5:15 (after εְ ?ιִ ?αְ ?ηָ ?ψ), but also in cod. vat. of the Sept, as it gives ’Ελισά. For εּ ?αֶ ?ο before ζְ ?ψֻ ?αָּ ?αֶ ?μ some mss., as well as the old translators, read εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι, an unnecessary amendment (comp. Exeg. Remark on 1 Chronicles 2:7). The same variation as in 1 Chronicles 3:19 (see Note 2). For απι, “sons of,” the Sept. reads from this to the end of the verse αְּ ?πεֹ, “his son,” so that from Hananiah to Shechaniah it yields a series of seven successive generations. So also R. Benjamin in R. Azariah de Rossi in Meor Aenajim (comp. Zunz, Gottesdienstliche Vortrδge der Juden, p. 31). Keri: δεֹ ?γַ ?εְ ?ιָ ?δεּ (for which, according to the Hebrew law of sounds, we should expect δεֹ ?γεּ ?ιָ ?δεּ). The Kethit δεγειδι cannot be so pronounced, and appears to arise from a confusion of the forms Hodavjahu and Hodijahu. 3. Supplements to the Genealogy of the House of Judah (leading to the Genealogical Survey of the Twelve Tribes of Israel): 1 Chronicles 4:1-231 Ch 4:1.The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 2And Reaiah son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai and Lahad: these are the families of the Zorathite. 3And these were of the father of Etam: Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi. 4And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah: these are the sons of Hur the first-born of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. 5And Ashur the father of Tekoah had two wives, Helah and Naarah. 6And Naarah bare him Ahuzzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and the Ahashtari: these were the sons of Naarah. 7And the sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. 8And Koz begat Anub and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. 9And Jabez was honoured above his brethren; and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, If thou wilt bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and thy hand be with me, and thou deal without evil, that it grieve me not! And God brought that which he had asked. 11And Celub the brother of Shuhah begat Mehir; he was the father of Eshton. 12And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of the city Nahash: these are the men of Rechah. 13And the sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath. 14And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab father of the valley of the carpenters; for they were carpenters. 15And the sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the sons of Elah and Kenaz. 16And the sons of Jehalelel: Ziph and Ziphah, Tiria and Asarel. 17And the Song of Solomon 3 of Ezrah: Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon; and she conceived [and bare] Miriam, and Schammai, and Ishbah father of Eshtemoa. 18And his wife, the Jewess, bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah: and these are the sons of Bithiah daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took.19And the sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham: the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. 20And the sons of Shimon: Amnon and Rinnah, Benhanan and Tulon; and the sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Benzoheth.21The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er the father of Lechah, and Ladah the father of Mareshah; and the families of the house of byssus work, of the house of Ashbea. 22And Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who 23ruled over Moab, and Jashubi-lehem: and these are ancient things. These are the potters and the dwellers in Netaim and Gederah; with the king, in his service, they dwelt there. Preliminary Remark.—This section, unusually rich in obscurities and difficulties, is characterized on the one hand as a supplement to the pedigree of Judah already communicated, embracing numerous fragments of old genealogies; on the other hand, as a transition and introduction to the genealogical and chorographical survey of the twelve tribes except Judah, contained in 1 Chronicles 4:24-27. In common with the latter group of genealogies, it makes frequent reference to the places in the territory of each tribe, and inserts brief historical or archζological notices, which are of considerable value on account of the antiquity of the events recorded (1 Chronicles 4:9-10; 1 Chronicles 4:14; 1 Chronicles 4:21-23). We are reminded of the former notices of the families of Judah in 1 Chronicles 2, not only by the superscription connecting the introductory verse of this chapter, with its enumeration of some of the most eminent descendants of Judah (1 Chronicles 4:1), but also by the abundance of the details communicated concerning many more or less celebrated Jewish families (at all events a proof that the tribe of Judah passed with the author for the most important of all, and that the most special notices concerning it lay before him); as well as by the loose order of the several fragments, in which a similar neglect of the formation of longer lines of generations standing in direct succession to one another betrays itself, as in those supplementary reports concerning various descendants of Caleb at the close of 1 Chronicles 2, and perhaps in the closing verses of 1 Chronicles 3. Nowhere is this fragmentary character of the genealogical notes of our author so striking as in the present section, which presents no less than ten or twelve isolated fragments of lines or genealogical notices, having no visible connection with that which precedes or follows. The whole, in fact, looks almost like a gathering of genealogical pebbles, rolled together from various quarters, and consisting of older and younger parts, that are kept together only by their common connection with the tribe of Judah. That anything here communicated refers to the state of things after the exile, is assumed by Bertheau (p. 36), perhaps without sufficient ground. Yet it cannot be positively asserted that the author (who in 1 Chronicles 3 traced the house of David down to his own late times) here describes only ancient relations, and purposely has not overstepped the limits of the exile. 1. The Superscription: 1 Chronicles 4:1.—The sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. These five are called “sons” of Judah, as appears from 1 Chronicles 2:3 ff., only in a wider sense; for Perez only was an actual son of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:5); Hezron was his grandson; Carmi, as the probable grandson of Zerah (1 Chronicles 2:7), was his great-grandson; Hur the son of Caleb, son of Hezron, was his great-great-grandson (1 Chronicles 2:18-19); and Shobal son of Hur was his grandson’s great-grandson (1 Chronicles 2:50). The putting together of these five descendants is highly peculiar, and cannot be satisfactorily explained in its historical grounds. Several of the families founded by them certainly became chief families in the tribe of Judah, but not all; in particular, the prominence of Carmi between names so celebrated as Hezron and Hur is so truly strange, as to justify the suspicion that this name is not genuine, and to favour the hypothesis of Wellhausen (p. 20), that for αַּ ?ψְ ?ξִ ?ι is to be read λּ ?μִ ?αι, Celubai=Caleb (see 1 Chronicles 2:9). If this were the original reading, we should obtain a series of directly succeeding descendants of Judah (Comp. 1 Chronicles 2:3; 1 Chronicles 2:9; 1 Chronicles 2:18 f., 50), and so far as our verse is a superscription for the following, it would merely indicate descendants of Hezron, who is also named in 1 Chronicles 2 as the ancestor of a widely-spread stock of Jewish families. This indication, however, would by no means correspond with the following verses. For only by uncertain conjecture do we think to find in 1 Chronicles 4:5-7 descendants of Hur, in 1 Chronicles 4:11-15 descendants of Caleb, in 1 Chronicles 4:16-23 other Hezronites of different lines (comp. on the respective passages). On the whole, the several groups of our section are strung together without much connection; and that they form no continuous line of descent (by which the line started in 1 Chronicles 4:1, if the proposed emendation be accepted, would be carried forward) is at all events clear and beyond a doubt. The matter, therefore, must rest with the remark of Bertheau: “Why in our passage precisely these five ‘sons’ of Judah are enumerated, while in Genesis 45:1 and 1 Chronicles 2 other names occur in a different order, is a question we should only be able to answer if we could state the point of time in the history and development of the tribe of Judah to which our series refers, and were in a position to trace further from other sources the relations of the families of Judah here exhibited. As matters stand, we must be contented with the genera”, remark, that the families designated by our five names were without doubt the prominent families in the time of the author of our series, and are therefore enumerated as sons of Judah. It is surprising, certainly, that in the following pedigree, 1 Chronicles 4:2-20, this arrangement almost entirely disappears, and that in 1 Chronicles 4:21-23 Shelah, sixth ‘son’ of Judah, is introduced by way of appendix.” 2. The Zorathites, a line of descent from Shobal: 1 Chronicles 4:2.—And Reaiah son of Shobal (the son who is probably latent under δָ ?ψֹ ?ΰֶ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 2:52, on which see) begat Jahath.ιַ ?ηַ ?ϊ is no further mentioned as a descendant of Judah through Shobal, but occurs often as a Levite name; comp. 1 Chronicles 6:5; 1 Chronicles 6:28, 1 Chronicles 23:10 ff., 1 Chronicles 24:22, 2 Chronicles 34:12.—His sons also, Ahumai and Lahad, occur nowhere else. On the contrary, the closing notice, “these are the families of the Zorathite,” refers us to well-known ground, in so far as a descent of the inhabitants of Zorah from Shobal (the ancestor of Kiriath-jearim, the mother city of Zorah and Eshtaol) is manifest from 1 Chronicles 2:50-53. The present verse therefore stands plainly in the relation of a supplement to that passage. 3. A Line of Descent from Hur: 1 Chronicles 4:3-4.—And these were of the father of Etam. So is it to be amended instead of the unmeaning “and these were Abi Etam” of the Masoretic text, or with the Sept. and Vulg.: “And these were the children of Etam.” ςֵ ?ιθָ ?ν, whether it be an element of a personal name ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιςֵ ?ιθָ ?ν, or itself denote an old patriarch or family, points at all events to the inhabitants of an old Jewish mountain city not far from Bethlehem and Tekoa (2 Chronicles 11:6), which occurs in the history of Samson (Judges 15:8). Jezreel also, the first-named son of Etam, occurs Joshua 15:56 as a mountain city of Judah; comp. the nom. gentil. “the Jezreelitess” referring to this city, and applied to Ahinoam the wife of David, 1 Chronicles 3:1. On the contrary, Ishma, Idbash, and their sister Hazelelponi are mentioned only here. Whether the name of the last is the name of a family or of an individual (comp. Ew. § 273e) remains doubtful. 1 Chronicles 4:4. And Penuel the father of Gedor. Penuel (τְּ ?πεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ) is here the name of a patriarch of Jewish descent, but in 1 Chronicles 8:25 of a Benjamite. With the city Penuel or Peniel, east of the Jordan and south of Jabbok (Genesis 32:31 f., Judges 8:8; Judges 8:17, 1 Kings 12:25), the name here has no connection. On the contrary, that of his son Gedor occurs also as a name of a town in the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:58; comp. 1 Chronicles 4:39; 1 Chronicles 13:7), and this town, preserved as a ruin in the present Jedur (Robins. ii. 592), is to be referred to the son of Penuel as its father or founder. We meet, indeed, in 1 Chronicles 4:18 with a certain Jered as “father of Gedor,” whence we may conclude that the posterity of both formed the population of this Gedor.—And Ezer the father of Hushah.ςֵ ?ζֶ ?ψ occurs elsewhere as a man’s name (1 Chronicles 7:21, 1 Chronicles 12:9), but not in the genealogies of the house of Judah. The site of the town Hushah founded by this Ezer is unknown; but the nom. gentil.ηεּ ?ωָׁ ?ϊִ ?ι occurs several times, namely, in the Davidic hero Sibbechai, 1 Chronicles 11:28; 1 Chronicles 20:4, 2 Samuel 23:27.—These are the sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathath, the father of Bethlehem. Comp. 1 Chronicles 2:19, and on Hur’s relation to Bethlehem 1 Chronicles 2:51, where more precisely than here Salma the son of Hur is called “father of Bethlehem.” “The circumstance, moreover, that in our verses (3 and 4) other names and persons are enumerated as descendants of Hur than in 1 Chronicles 2:50-55, betokens no difference; for there is no ground for the assumption that in the latter passage all his descendants are given” (Keil). Our passage is thus, like 1 Chronicles 4:2, supplementary to 1 Chronicles 2:50-55, so far as it repeats and confirms some of the names and affinities there mentioned, and adds other new ones. 4. Ashur the father of Tekoa and his descendants: 1 Chronicles 4:5-7. According to 1 Chronicles 2:24, this Ashur was a posthumous son of Caleb [?Hezron] by Abiah. That he was properly a son of Caleb, and no other than Hur (ΰַ ?ωְׁ ?ηεּ ?ψ = ηεּ ?ψ, that is, ΰִ ?ιωׁ ηεּ ?ψ, Ew. § 273b), is a hypothesis of Wellhausen, grounded on several rather forced emendations of the text (p. 14 sq.; comp. above on the p.) 1 Chronicles 4:6. And Naarah bare him Ahuzzam, a son mentioned nowhere else. Why Naarah’s sons are enumerated first, while Helah was named 1 Chronicles 4:5 as the first, and Naarah the second, wife of Ashur, remains uncertain. Hepher the second son of Naarah is at all events different from the Gileadite of this name mentioned 1 Chronicles 11:36 and Numbers 26:32 f., but might possibly be the patriarch or founder of the district Hepher, 1 Kings 4:10, in the south of Judah, not far from Tappuah, where a Canaanitish king resided in early times .—Temeni (ϊֵּ ?ιξְ ?πι) or Temani (Southern), the third son, will designate a neighbouring family of the tribe of Judah. Ahashtari, that is, the family of those from Ahashtar, is wholly unknown. 1 Chronicles 4:7. And the sons of Helah: Zereth, Izhar, and Ethnan. These names occur only here. The φֹ ?ηψ of the Keri, instead of the Kethibιִ ?φְ ?ηַ ?ψ, occurs as the name of a son of Simeon, Genesis 46:10, and of a Canaanitish king, Genesis 23:8 ; but these names have obviously nothing to do with the son of Ashur and Helah. 5. Koz and his descendants, among whom is Jabez: 1 Chronicles 4:8-10. This section wants all genealogical connection with the families already mentioned.—And Koz begat Anub. A Koz (with the art. δַ ?χּ ?εֹ ?υ occurs afterwards, 1 Chronicles 24:10, as a Levite, and also in Ezra 2:61 and Nehemiah 3:4, in which latter passage, moreover, the Levitical descent is not expressed, so that possibly a Jew descended from this Koz might be meant. In what relation our Koz stands to those before named, whether he belonged to the sons of Ashur (as Glassius, Tremell., Piscator, Starke, etc., think), is quite uncertain. The name of his son ςָ ?πεּ ?α appears, moreover, to he identical with that of the town ςֲ ?πָ ?α, Joshua 11:21; Joshua 15:50 (a place not far from Debir in the south of Judah); for the Sept. (cod. Alex.) renders it by ’Ανώβ. If this identification be correct, ςָ ?πεּ ?α, “the grape,” would be the product of χεֹ ?υ, a “thorn,” and the present genealogical notice thus present an allegorical sense, reminding us of the fable of Jotham (Judges 9), and of Mat 7:16 (comp. Hiller, Hierophyt. i. p. 464).—Zobebah and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. These are quite unknown. 1 Chronicles 4:9. And Jabez was honoured above his brethren. Jabez here is probably the name of another descendant of Koz; for the εַֽ ?ιְ ?δִ ?ι connects the notice of him closely with that which precedes. The town Jabez, the inhabitants of which are mentioned 1 Chronicles 2:55, may perhaps have been founded by him; from which might be surmised a connection of himself and of those named, 1 Chronicles 4:8, with Shobal the son of Hur (1 Chronicles 2:50). But all this is very uncertain.—I bare him with sorrow. This maternal utterance, discovering the fundamental meaning of the name ιַ ?ςְ ?αֵּ ?υ = “son of sorrow” (comp. the root ςָ ?φַ ?α, the second and third radicals of which are here transposed), reminds us of similar exclamations of mothers in the patriarchal age as Genesis 4:25; Genesis 19:37 f., Genesis 29:32-35, Genesis 33:20. In like manner, the statement that Jabez was “honoured above his brethren,” reminds us of Gen 34:19 (Hamor the son of Shechem). And by the vow of this Jabez to the “God of Israel” (comp. Genesis 28:20; Genesis 33:20) recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10, as well as by the new explanation of the name, which is contained in the terms of this vow (a second reference of ιַ ?ςְ ?αֵּ ?υ to the root ςφα, but with a new turn, μְ ?αִ ?μְ ?ϊִּ ?ιςָ ?φְ ?αִּ ?ι, “that thou grieve me not”), we are carried back to the scenes of Genesis (comp. Genesis 17:17 ff; Genesis 18:12; Genesis 21:6; Genesis 26:8, etc.), so that we have here an undoubted primeval historical record. Even the rhetorical clothing of the vow, a mere antecedent clause, with ΰִ ?ν wanting a consequent, but with clear emphasizing of the ςָ ?φְ ?αִּ ?ι coming in at the end as the point of the whole, reminds us of the ancient style of the Pentateuch; comp. Genesis 28:20 ff.; Numbers 21:2, etc.—And God brought that which he had asked. This statement, occupying the place of consequent to the aposiopesis ΰִ ?ρΞαָּ ?ψֵ ?κְ ϊְּ ?αָֽ ?ψְ ?λֵ ?πִ ?ι, serves to explain the above notice that Jabez was honoured above his brethren, and exhibit him as the lord of a wide domain, and the possessor of the divine blessing. Observe, moreover, the name ΰֱ ?μֹ ?δִ ?ιν used here (as in 1 Chronicles 5:20; 1 Chronicles 5:25-26) instead of ιְ ?δεָֹ ?δ, which occurs elsewhere in these genealogical sections (for example, 1 Chronicles 2:3, 1 Chronicles 5:41, etc.). 6. The Men of Rechah: 1 Chronicles 4:11-12.—And Celub the brother of Shuhah begat Mehir. This Celub (αְּ ?μεֹּ ?α) bears indeed the same name as the famous hero Caleb or Celubai (1 Chronicles 2:9), but is distinguished by the addition “the brother of Shuhah” from his more illustrious namesake, and cannot possibly have passed with our genealogist for the same person (as Wellhausen, p. 20, thinks). The choice of the form λְּ ?μεּ ?α, which stands to λָּ ?μֵ ?α as ςָ ?πεּ ?α, 1 Chronicles 4:8, to ςָ ?πָ ?α, while the famous Caleb the son of Jephunneh, 1 Chronicles 4:15, is designated by his usual name, shows that in the view of the writer the owners of the two names are to be kept apart. It is doubtful whether ωׁ ?εּ ?ηָ ?δ be a man’s or a woman’s name; its identification with ηεּ ?ωָׁ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 4:4, is not admitted (against Starke and other old writers). Mehir the son, and Eshton the grandson, of Celub occur nowhere else. 1 Chronicles 4:12. And Eshton begat Bethrapha, that is, perhaps, the house or family of Rapha, who is otherwise unknown; for neither the Benjamite Rapha (1 Chronicles 8:2) nor the offspring of Rapha (1 Chronicles 20:4-8) can apply here. And the two following descendants of Eshton remain at least uncertain. Paseah might possibly be the ancestor of the “sons of Paseah” introduced among the Nethinim (Ezra 2:49; Nehemiah 7:51); Tehinnah occurs not elsewhere, though perhaps the city Nahash, of which he is the father or founder, may be connected with Nahash the father of Abigail, the step-sister of David (see 1 Chronicles 2:16; 2 Samuel 17:25).—These are the men of Rechah, the inhabitants perhaps of the town Rechah, a place not elsewhere named. 7. The Descendants of Kenaz: 1 Chronicles 4:13-14.—And the sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah. That Kenaz (χְ ?πַ ?ζ), the “father” of Othniel the judge (Judges 1:13 ff; Judges 3:9), sprang from Hezron the grandson of Judah, appears to follow from this, that Caleb the son of Jephunneh is several times designated a Kenizzite (χְ ?πִ ?ζִּ ?ι) and, so placed in a certain genealogical relation to Kenaz. It is to be observed, indeed, that Kenaz, if really father or grandfather, and not a more remote ancestor of Othniel, would have been younger than Caleb or a contemporary of nearly the same age. Caleb and Othniel are usually called “brothers,” on account of their common relation to Kenaz (Joshua 15:17; Judges 1:13); and, indeed, in the latter place Othniel is called the “younger brother” of Caleb (we must therefore translate, with Bachmann, the son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, with which, however, Joshua 15:17 would conflict; see Keil, p. 63). Hence appears the possibility that both the companion of Joshua, Caleb the son of Jephunneh (who was eighty-five years old at the conquest of Canaan, Joshua 14:10 f.), and Othniel the judge, at least a generation younger (the conqueror of Cushan-rishathaim), stood in a common relation to an otherwise unknown patriarch Kenaz. Of what nature this relation was, whether it was that Caleb, by means of his father Jephunneh, was a grandson of Kenaz (as appears to have been the case, Numbers 32:12), and that Othniel, either through Jephunneh or some other, was likewise his grandson, or perhaps great-grandson, must remain uncertain. Possibly Kenaz is merely the name of a race external to Israel, belonging in fact to Edom, Genesis 36:11, 1 Chronicles 1:36; 1 Chronicles 1:53, to which Caleb became somehow related in the march through the wilderness, and from which also Othniel was descended. Knobel (on Genesis 36:11, p. 281) conceives the relationship thus: “The ‘Kenizzite’ is perhaps a surname of Caleb, originating from some Kenizzites having passed into his family during the journey of Moses. After Jephunneh’s death, one of them appears to have married Caleb’s mother, and had by her Othniel. His name being afterwards for gotten, he was designated by the name of his tribe.”—Seraiah, Othniel’s brother, occurs only here; we meet with a later Jew of this name, who returned with Zerubbabel, Ezra 2:2.—And the sons of Othniel: Hathath. On the phrase εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι before only one name, see 1 Chronicles 2:7. Yet the plural might here possibly refer also to Meonothai as brother of Hathath (1 Chronicles 4:14), if a εּ ?ξְ ?ςεֹ ?πֹ ?ϊָ ?ιhad fallen out at the end of our verse, or if the genealogist had presupposed that Meonothai was brother to Hathath, and therefore hastened at once to the statement of his descendants. Othniel’s sons occur nowhere else. The name Meonothai might also be connected with the town Maon (Joshua 15:55), or with the Meunim (Ezra 2:50; Nehemiah 7:52). 1 Chronicles 4:14. And Meonothai begat Ophrah. We can scarcely think of Ophrah as the Benjamite town of this name (Joshua 18:23; 1 Samuel 13:17), or even of the home of Gideon in the tribe of Manasseh (Judges 6:11).—And Seraiah begat Joab father of the valley of the carpenters. This occurs here as a place founded by Joab son of Seraiah (1 Chronicles 4:13), called the “Valley of the carpenters or the craftsmen” (ηֲ ?ψָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν), and in Nehemiah 11:35; and, indeed, as a place not far from Jerusalem, on the north side. Whether it had received its name after the exile, and whether Joab, the founder of the colony, is to pass for one of those Joabs in Zerubbabel’s time who are mentioned Ezra 2:6, Nehemiah 7:11 (to which hypothesis Berth. seems inclined), must remain doubtful. 8. The Descendants of Caleb the Son of Jephunneh: 1 Chronicles 4:15.—That this Jephunnite Caleb is probably the same with him whose genealogy is given 1 Chronicles 2:46-49 (and therefore with the Caleb of Num., Josh., and. Judg.), and different from the Hezronite Celubai or Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:9, 18, 42 ff., 50 ff., perhaps his ancestor [rather descendant]), has been fully shown on 1 Chronicles 2:49.—Iru, Elah, and Naam. These three sons of Caleb occur nowhere else; for the second, Elah, must have been combined with the Edomite prince of the same name mentioned 1 Chronicles 1:52, as Kenaz might be identical with the Kenaz named there, 1 Chronicles 4:53. This Calebite Kenaz cannot be the same as the father of Othniel (1 Chronicles 4:13); rather as grandson or great-grandson, he bore the same name as his ancestor. Why “the sons of Elah” are set down between this Kenaz and Naam in the series of the sons of Caleb we can no longer explain. It is inadmissible, at all events, to translate, with a number of older expositors (including Starke): “and the sons of Elah were (also) Kenaz,” as if ε before χְ ?πַ ?ζ could be anything but the copula. As the words run, Kenaz is appended to the aforementioned descendants of Caleb, of whom the sons of Elah take the fourth place, as the fifth and last; only if a name were fallen out before εּ ?χְ ?πַ ?ζ (as Keil supposes), could Kenaz be regarded as belonging to the sons of Elah. 9. Jehalelel’s Sons: 1 Chronicles 4:16.—Ziph and Ziphah, Tiriah and Asarel. Only the first of these is known, and, indeed, as the supposed father of one of those towns in Judah which are named in Joshua 15:24; Joshua 15:55. Even of Jehalelel we know nothing more. A quite arbitrary hypothesis of some older scholars makes out of him rather a woman, the supposed second wife of Kenaz, ver 13, whose first wife was (?) Jephunneh. 10. Ezrah’s Posterity: 1 Chronicles 4:17-18.—And the sons of Ezrah: Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon; and she conceived, etc. If the sing. εּ ?αֶ ?ο is to be retained, we may compare such cases as 1 Chronicles 3:19; 1 Chronicles 3:21; 1 Chronicles 3:23, etc.; but see Crit. Note. The here-named Ezrah occurs nowhere else ; he belongs, at all events, to a grey antiquity, as the father of old Jewish towns like Eshtemoa, Socho, Zanoah, etc. It is not clear how he is connected with the foregoing or following families of Judah. Of his four sons, the last, Jalon, occurs only here even in name; the names Jether and Epher occur elsewhere, but in other families (Jether, 1 Chronicles 2:32, comp. 53; and Epher, 1 Chronicles 11:33 and 1 Chronicles 5:24); further notices of them are wanting. On the contrary, the closing sentence of 1 Chronicles 4:18 shows, with respect, to Mered, that probably all the names from 1 Chronicles 4:17 b (“and she conceived,” etc.) denote descendants of this man by two wives, a “Jewess” and a “daughter of Pharaoh.” And as the words εַ ?ϊַּ ?δַ ?ψεβεΨ, standing as they now do after the name of the fourth son of Ezrah, and wanting a feminine subject, yield no rational sense, the removal (proposed by Bertheau, and adopted by Kamph., Keil, and others) of that closing sentence: “and these are the sons of Bithiah daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took,” to our passage after εְ ?ιָ ?μεֹ ?ο, commends itself as a very suitable amendment; comp. the Crit. Note. εϊַּ ?δַ ?ψ is then to be taken as a synonym of εַ ?ϊֵּ ?μֶ ?γ (which is given by the Sept. and the Vulg.), and the names Miriam (ξִ ?ψְ ?ιָ ?ν, for which, perhaps, ξְ ?ψεֹ ?ν, as in Sept. cod. Vat. or the like, is to be read, as we expect to find a man’s name in the first place), Shammai, and Ishbah then denote the sons born to Mered by Pharaoh’s daughter; whereupon in 1 Chronicles 4:18 the names of those descended from the Jewess are added. We obtain here, accordingly, two lines descending from Mered—one Egyptian, from which (and in particular from Ishbah the third son of Pharaoh’s daughter) the inhabitants of the town Eshtemoa (Sept. ’Εσθεμών or ’Εσθαιμών), on the mountains of Judah, the present Samua, south of Hebron, drew their origin (comp. Joshua 15:15; Joshua 21:14, and 1 Chronicles 4:19), and one Jewish, from which three towns of Judah are derived:—1. Gedor, comp. on 1 Chronicles 4:4; 1 Chronicles 2. Socho, perhaps the present Suweikeh, in the lowland south west of Jerusalem, comp. Joshua 15:35, 1 Samuel 17:1, etc.; 3. Zanoah, perhaps the present Sanuah, in the lowland near Zorah, comp. Joshua 15:34 (though the other Zanoah on the mountains of Judah, Joshua 15:36, the site of which we do not know, might be meant). Of the names of the three “fathers” or founders of these towns, Jekuthiel (ιְ ?χεּ ?ϊִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ, probably “fear of God”) occurs nowhere else; while Jered (comp. Genesis 5:15) and ηֶ ?αֶ ?ψ occur elsewhere, the latter pretty often (Genesis 46:17; Numbers 26:45; Judges 4:11; Judges 4:17; 1 Chronicles 8:17).—And these are the sons of Bithiah, etc. These words, in the position which we have assigned to them, are not a subscription for the preceding, but rather an introduction to the following words εַ ?ϊַּ ?δַ ?ψεβεΨ. We know nothing more of this daughter of Pharaoh. αַּ ?ϊΞτַּ ?ψְ ?ςֹ ?δ may be merely a general phrase for ξִ ?φְ ?ψִ ?ιϊ, an Egyptian; so thinks Hitzig, Gesch. d. V. Isr. p. 64, who, indeed, without right, might thus degrade the Pharaoh’s daughter of the Exodus, the foster-mother of Moses, into a common Egyptian. No less arbitrary is the opposite conjecture of the older Rabbins, and recently of Fόrst (Gesch. d. bibl. Liter. i. 319), that this same king’s daughter Thermuthis, the protectress of Moses, is here meant. The name Miriam, at the head of the descendants of this Egyptian, seems to have given rise to this identification with Thermuthis (comp. Wagenseil, Sota, p. 271). The opinion of Osiander, Hiller, J. H. Michaelis, Starke, etc., that we are not to think of an Egyptian here, as Bithiah is a Hebrew name, and Pharaoh the name of a Jew, is also arbitrary, and directly against the phrase αַּ ?ϊΞτַּ ?ψְ ?ςֹ ?δ (comp. 2 Chronicles 8:11; 1 Kings 9:24). 11. The Sons of the Wife of Hodiah: 1 Chronicles 4:19.—And the sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham. Hodiah (δεֹ ?γִ ?ιָּ ?δ). as the present St. constr.ΰֵ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊ, and its occurrence as the name of several Levites after the exile, in the book of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 8:7; Nehemiah 9:5; Nehemiah 10:11), show, is not a woman’s, but a man’s name. We know neither the name of Hodiah’s wife nor her relation to the foregoing; for that πַ ?ηַ ?ν, whose sister she is said to be, is the same as πַ ?ςַ ?ν, Caleb’s son, 1 Chronicles 4:15, no one will seriously assert.—The father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa (or perhaps “the father of Eshtemoa;” see Crit. Note) the Maachathite. The two designations, “the Garmite” and “the Maachathite,” are to us equally obscure and unintelligible; the latter may, perhaps, contain an allusion to Maachah the third wife of Caleb, 1 Chronicles 2:48. The situation of Keilah (χְ ?ςִ ?ιμָ ?δ), a town in the lowland of Judah (Joshua 15:44), has not yet been ascertained. On Eshtemoa, see 1 Chronicles 4:17. 12. Descendants of Shimon and Ishi: 1 Chronicles 4:20.—And the sons of Shimon: Amnon, etc. We know not otherwise either Shimon or his four sons, and therefore cannot indicate his place in the genealogy of Judah. That he was a Hezronite, like all the foregoing, is a mere conjecture of Wellhausen (p. 20).—And the sons of Ishi: Zoheth and Benzoheth. The name Ishi was also borne by a Jerahmeelite (1 Chronicles 2:31), the son of Appaim, and by a Simeonite, 1 Chronicles 4:42. Neither, can be meant here, especially as a son Zoheth, not there mentioned, and an anonymous grandson of this Zoheth, are added as descendants. 13. Descendants of Shelah, third son of Judah: 1 Chronicles 4:21-23.—The sons of Shelah son of Judah. On this third son of Judah by the Canaanitess Bathshua, see 1 Chronicles 2:3; Genesis 38:5. The absence of the copula ε before αְּ ?πֵ ?ιωֵׁ ?μָ ?δ(as before αְּ ?πֵ ?ιιְ ?δεּ ?γָ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 4:1) marks the beginning of a new genealogical series; and, indeed, a series that is of the more importance, because the posterity of Shelah is entirely omitted in 1 Chronicles 2.—Er the father of Lechah, and Ladah the father of Mareshah. This Er is not to be confounded with Shelah’s brother, the first - born of Judah (as Bertheau thinks); rather is this a similar case of uncle and nephew having the same name, as in Ram, for example, 1 Chronicles 2:9; comp. 1 Chronicles 4:25. We know no more of the town Lechah (μֵ ?λַ ?δ) founded by this younger Er; but Mareshah, founded by his brother Ladah, is no doubt the present Marash in the Shephelah; see on 1 Chronicles 2:42.—And the families of the house of byssus work, of the house of Ashbea. This house of byssus work (cotton factory) may have been situated in Egypt, or possibly in Palestine. We know as little of its situation as of the “house of Ashbea” (αֵּ ?ιϊΰַ ?ωְׁ ?αֵּ ?ςַ,) rendered by Jerome: domus juramenti). For the cultivation of cotton (αּ ?εּ ?υ, here defectively αֻּ ?υ) also in Syria and Palestine, comp. Ezekiel 27:16; Pausan. v. 5. 2; Pococke, Morgenl. ii. 88; Robinson, ii. 612, 628, iii. 432. 1 Chronicles 4:22. And Jokim, and the men of Cozeba, etc. The strange rendering of these and the following words in the Vulg. (see Crit. Note) seems to have been occasioned by an old Rabbinical combination of the words ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψαָּֽ ?ςֲ ?μεּ μְ ?ξεֹ ?ΰָ ?α with the narrative of the book of Ruth; the ιεֹ ?χִ ?ιν = qui stare fecit solem are accordingly Elimelech, the viri mendacii his sons Mahlon and Chilion, who removed with him to Moab, and married daughters of this land; and in ιωαιμην is indicated their return to Bethlehem, etc. Our passage in reality states a total or partial conquest of Moab, effected in ancient times by several descendants of Shelah, whose names are not otherwise known to us. ιεֹ ?χִ ?ιν appears contracted from ιεֹ ?ιָ ?χִ ?ιν. The men of λֹּ ?ζְ ?αָ ?δ might be the inhabitants of λְּ ?ζִ ?ια, Genesis 38:5 (= ΰַ ?λְ ?ζִ ?ια, Joshua 15:44), the birthplace of Shelah, in the lowland of Judah. An altogether strange and now inexplicable name occurs at the end, ιָ ?ωֻׁ ?αִ ?ιμֶ ?ηֶ ?ν, “which the punctuators would scarcely have so pronounced, if the pronunciation had not been so handed down to them” (Berth.).—And these are ancient things, that is, not merely “before the exile, in the period of the kings,” as Bertheau thinks (p. 46), who endeavours to convert this notice into an indirect support of his hypothesis, that in 1 Chronicles 4:7-20 the generations and families of Judah after the exile are reported, while 1 Chronicles 4:21-23 form an appendix referring to the period of kings, but certainly without warrant; the words merely bespeak a high age, belonging to the grey foretime, for the traditions concerning Jokim, the men of Cozeba, etc. (comp. Wellhausen, p. 23, n. 1). 1 Chronicles 4:23. These are the potters and the dwellers in Netaim and Gederah.δֵ ?ξָּ ?δִ “these,” appear to refer to the whole descendants of Shelah (with the natural exception of those “byssus workers,” 1 Chronicles 4:21, that could not well be at the same time potters), and not merely those named in 1 Chronicles 4:22 (as Berth.); for this verse has its closing notice in εְ ?δַ ?γְּ ?αָ ?ψִ ?ινςַ ?ϊִּ ?ιχִ ?ιν. It is not known where Netaim (πְ ?θָ ?ςִ ?ιν, “plantings”) was; perhaps it means royal gardens near Jerusalem, or near those pleasure gardens of Solomon in the Wady Urtus at Bethlehem (see on Son 1:1, vol. 13. p. 29 of Bibelw.); comp. also Uzziah’s gardens, 2 Chronicles 26:10. Gederah (βְּ ?γֵ ?ψָ ?δ, “fence”) is perhaps the town mentioned Joshua 15:36 in the lowland of Judah (the present village Gedera, about an hour south-west of Jabneh; see Keil on 1 Chronicles 12:4).—With the king, in his service, they dwelt there. To what king this alludes is uncertain; probably no single king (as Uzziah, or David, or Solomon) is meant: but the phrase applies to the kings of the house of David in general, who, from the beginning, inherited extensive private domains, where not merely cattle-breeding, tillage, and gardening were pursued, but also handicrafts, as the pottery here mentioned, the cotton-weaving, 1 Chronicles 4:21, and perhaps carpentry, ver 14.It has been already remarked that Bertheau’s assumption, that 1 Chronicles 4:1-20 of our chapter “presented a description of the generations and families of the tribe of Judah which were living soon after the exile (the time of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah),” but 1 Chronicles 4:21-23 formed an appendix relating to earlier times, was not well founded, and finds no sufficient support in the assertion, “and these are ancient things.” Comp. the full refutation which Keil (p. 66 ff., note 2) has given to this hypothesis. Neither is the concomitant assumption tenable, that there are exactly twelve families of the house of Judah in 1 Chronicles 4:1-29, and of Judah, too, after the exile, in the days of Zerubbabel; for the families mentioned are not arranged according to the sons and grandsons of Judah in 1 Chronicles 4:1, but are strung together loosely, and without any mark of connection. Instead of twelve, also, a smaller number of families may be brought out by another mode of reckoning; as, for example, Ewald, in a far more arbitrary way indeed than Bertheau, has found twelve families in the whole of our section, including Shelah and his descendants in 1 Chronicles 4:21-23 (Gesch. i. p. 471). Both appear to be merely accidental—the number twelve of the families named, according to Bertheau’s reckoning, and the circumstance that many of the persons and places in our section recur in Ezra and Nehemiah. To the latter circumstance, strongly urged by Bertheau, Keil has justly opposed the no less undeniable fact, that most of the places already occur in Joshua, and very many of the persons in Samuel and Kings, and that, with respect to the geographical coincidences with Ezra and Nehemiah, the historical contents of these books, that were almost exclusively enacted on the soil of Judah, and among Israelites of Jewish extraction, should in great part be taken into account in explanation of this. Comp. also what has been urged above in the Preliminary Remark, p. 53. c. The Families of Simeon, and the Transjordanic Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh (till the Deportation of the latter by the Assyrians).—1 Chronicles 4:24 to 1 Chronicles 5:261. The Families of Simeon: 1 Chronicles 4:24-431 Ch 4:24.The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul. 25Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. 26And the sons of Mishma: 27Hamuel his son, Zaccur his son, Shimi his son. And Shimi had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many sons: and all their family did not multiply, like the sons of Judah. 28, 29And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual. And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad. 30And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at 31Ziklag. And at Beth-marcaboth, and at Hazar-susim, and at Beth-biri, and 32at Shaaraim: these were their towns until the reign of David. And their villages, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five towns. 33And all their villages that were round these towns unto Baal. This was their habitation, and they had their own genealogy. 34, 35And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah. And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel. 36And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah. 37And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, 38the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah. These are they that entered by name princes in their families; and their father-houses spread greatly. 39And they went to the entrance of Gedor, to the east of the valley, to seek pasturefor their flocks. 40And they found fat and good pasture, and the land was wide on all sides, and quiet, and peaceful; for they were of Ham who dwelt there before. 41And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the Meunites that were found there, and destroyed them unto this day, and dwelt in their stead; for there42was pasture there for their flocks. And of them, of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men went to mount Seir; and Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, were at their head. 43And they smote the remnant that had escaped of Amalek, and dwelt there unto this day. Preliminary Remark.—This account of the tribe of Simeon includes in it a genealogical, a geographical, and a historical section. The first (1 Chronicles 4:24-27) gives the five sons of Simeon, and traces the posterity of the last, Shaul, through a series of generations; the second (1 Chronicles 4:28-33) recounts their dwelling-places till the time of David ; the third (1 Chronicles 4:34-43) contains two migrations or conquests of Simeonite families, one in the time of Hezekiah into a region previously inhabited by Hamites, another without a date to Mount Seir, into a district previously Amalekite. These accounts partake of the same fragmentary character as the sections referring to the following tribes. Comp. moreover, K. H. Graf, Der Stamm Simeon, a contribution to the History of Israel, Meissen 1866, and, with respect to the geography, the great work of the Englishmen E. H. Palmer and T. Drake, The Desert of the Exodus, etc., Cambridge 1871, one of the most valuable publications of the “Palestine Exploration Fund,” with specially valuable contributions to the geography of the south of Palestine. With the conclusion of these inquirers, that the south border of Palestine, in particular of the tribe of Simeon, must be extended much farther than is usually supposed, agrees also Consul Wetzstein, Ueber Kadesh und Palδstina’s Sόdgrenze (Excursus III. in Delitzsch’s Comment on Genesis , 4 th edit.). 1. The Five Sons of Simeon, and the Descendants of Shaul: 1 Chronicles 4:25-27.—Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, Shaul. The list in Numbers 26:12-14 also names five sons of Simeon, and quite the same as here, except Jarib, who is there Jakin (ιָ ?λִ ?ιο), of which it appears to be a corruption. On the contrary, in the older parallels, Genesis 46:10, Exodus 6:15, six sons of Simeon are enumerated, among whom an Ohad stands in the third place, who is wanting here and in Numbers, perhaps because his posterity had died out so soon as to form no distinct family; and in the first place a Jemuel, who corresponds to the Nemuel of our passage, and in the last a Zohar, instead of the Zerah here before the last. It is plain that we have here equivalent names, as φֹ ?ηַ ?ψ, candor, is not very remote from ζֶ ?ψַ ?η, ortus solis (comp. Mal. 3:20; Luke 1:78), and also πְ ?ξεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ (with whom Hitzig on Proverbs 30:31, perhaps too boldly, identifies the conjectural king Lemuel of Massa) appears only a by-form of ιְ ?ξεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ, day of God. It is uncertain whether we are to regard the forms given in Genesis and Exodus at once as original. It is at least plain, from the agreement of Num 26:12-14 with our passage, that the Chronist has not adopted an arbitrary form of the names, as Gramberg assumes. 1 Chronicles 4:25. Shallum his son, etc. Only of Shaul, the last (perhaps the youngest) of the sons of Simeon, whose mother is called a Canaanitess in the parallel accounts of Genesis and Exodus, are further descendants reported in six succeeding generations, Shallum, Mibsam, Mishma, Hamuel, Zaccur, and Shimi. By the words, “and the sons of Mishma,” at the beginning of 1 Chronicles 4:27, these six generations are divided into two groups, of which, however, the second, only lineal, without any collateral descendants; comp. the plur. εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι in like cases, as 1 Chronicles 1:41, 1 Chronicles 2:31, 1 Chronicles 3:16; 1 Chronicles 3:22, etc. 1 Chronicles 4:27. And Shimi had sixteen sons and six daughters. This father of a very large and flourishing family is brought into prominence, like Elioenai, 1 Chronicles 3:24; comp. the descendants of Jacob, Jesse, David, Job, and Psalms 127:3; Psalms 128:3.—But his brethren (the remaining Simeonites, not merely Shimi’s immediate brothers) had not many sons. This is the reason that their whole “family did not multiply like that of Judah.” With this agrees the comparatively small number of the Simeonites in the census under Moses (Num_1:-4), and the way in which this smaller tribe was included in the stronger tribe of Judah in the division of the land, Joshua 19:1. 2. The original Dwelling-Places of the Simeonites in the Southern Part of the Land of Judah: 1 Chronicles 4:28-33; comp. Joshua 19:2-8.—With the names of the Simeonite dwelling-places reported in this old parallel, those here named agree in the main, and in particular with respect to the separation into two groups, one of thirteen, the other of five towns. Only the second group consists there of only four towns (see on 1 Chronicles 4:32), and in the first group, notwithstanding the statement that thirteen towns are reported, 1 Chronicles 4:6, fourteen are actually named; between Beer-sheba and Moladah a Sheba is inserted, a name (ωֶׁ ?αַ ?ς) which appears to be a repetition of the second component of αְּ ?ΰֵ ?ψωֶׁ ?αַ ?ς, occasioned by negligence in copying, but possibly also = ωְׁ ?ξָ ?ς, a town named, Joshua 15:26, before Moladah (of the latter opinion is, for example, Keil, on Joshua 19:2 and our passage). There are several unessential differences of form or orthography between our passage and Joshua 19, as in the latter αָּ ?μָ ?δ for αִּ ?μְ ?δָ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 4:29, ΰֶ ?μְ ?ϊּ ?εֹ ?μָ ?γ for αְּ ?ϊεּ ?μ ,ϊּ ?εֹ ?μָ ?γ for ,αְּ ?ϊεּ ?ΰֵ ?μηֲ ?φַ ?ψρεּ ?ρָ ?δ for αֵּ ?ιϊμְ ?αָ ?ΰεֹ ?ϊ ,ηֲ ?φַ ?ψρεּ ?ρִ ?ιν (house of lions) for αֵּ ?ιϊαִּ ?ιְ ?ΰִ ?ι, and ωָׁ ?ψεּ ?ηֶ ?ο (pleasant harbour) for ωַֽׁ ?ςֲ ?ψַ ?ιִ ?ν (two gates). It cannot be shown which of these forms is the more original: some of the deviations may rest on mere errors of transcription, as might so easily happen in places that scarcely ever occur again. Moreover, the book of Joshua (1 Chronicles 15:26-29) repeats the most of them as belonging to the towns of the south of Judah, and certainly with some variations of form (for example, αַּ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ςֲ ?μָ ?δ for Bilhah, λְּ ?ρִ ?ιμ for Bethul, ωִׁ ?μְּ ?ηִ ?ιν for Shaaraim, Madmannah for Beth-marcaboth, Sansannah for Hazar - susim). Most of these places are still undiscovered; Beer-sheba survives in Bir-es-Seba ; Moladah probably in the ruins Tel Milh, south of Hebron, on the road to Aila; Hormah, the older name of which was Shephath, in the ruin Sepata, two and a half hours south of Khalasa; Ziklag in Kasluj, east of this Sepata; and Shaaraim in Tell Sheriah, between Beer-sheba and Gaza.—These were their towns until the reign of David, and their villages. With almost all recent expositors, εְ ?ηַ ?φְ ?ψֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν is certainly to be attached to 1 Chronicles 4:31, for the parallel, Joshua 19:6, speaks of “towns and their villages,” and all that are named in 1 Chronicles 4:32 are expressly named “towns.” Moreover, the separation of εηφψιδν from the foregoing, occasioned by the date “until the reign of David,” is already very old; for the old translators agree with the Masoretic text in transferring the word to the following verse. The reason why the date “until the reign of David” was inserted here, and not in 1 Chronicles 4:33 (where it would be less surprising), appears to be this, that the changes occurring from the time of David in the habitations of the Simeonites, consisting in their partial removal by the Jews (comp. 1 Chronicles 4:34 ff.), applied only to the thirteen towns already named, whereas the five towns, with their villages to be named in the following verse, remained still an undiminished possession of the Simeonites. So, justly, Keil, following Rashi and Kimchi, and partly against Bertheau, who assumes as the object of the subscription merely an allusion to Ziklag (comp. 1 Samuel 27:6), or perhaps to others of the forementioned towns, as belonging from the time of David no longer to the tribe of Simeon, whereas such a limitation of the sense is foreign to the words; and, moreover, Ziklag was severed from Simeon by the Philistines before the reign of David (1 Samuel 27:6). 1 Chronicles 4:32. Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashen, five towns. After the thirteen towns, the parallel, Joshua 19:7, gives a second group, not a pentapolis, but only a tetrapolis, with the omission of Tochen, and the change of Etam (ςֵ ?ιθָ ?ν) into Ether (ςֶ ?ϊֶ ?ψ). It is hard to say where the original is to be sought. We are scarcely entitled, with Movers (p. 73) and Bertheau, to charge both texts with inaccuracy, and to affirm that the series of these towns originally ran thus: ϊֹּ ?λֶ ?ο ,ςֶ ?ϊֶ ?ψ ,ςֵ ?ιοψִ ?ξּ ?εֹ ?ο ,ςָ ?ωַׁ ?ο, so that by an oversight two cities were made out of one En-rimmon (which occurs in Nehemiah 11:29), and by another oversight Tochen fell out of the text of Joshua, and by a third the name ςֶ ?ϊֶ ?ψ, which is proved to be original by the subsequent mention of such a town in Joshua 15:43, has in Chronicles been supplanted by the better known ςֵ ?ιθָ ?ν. Against this conjecture Keil has justly urged: 1. The ψִ ?ξּ ?εֹ ?ο and ςַ ?ιִ ?ο are counted as separate cities not merely in Joshua 19:7, but also in Joshua 15:32, and the union of the two names into an En-rimmon in Nehemiah may be explained simply from the contiguity of the two places (of which Rimmon is discovered in “Rum er Rummanin,” four hours north of Beer-sheba, and Ain appears to have been the name of an old well lying near it), or possibly by a coalescence of the two at a later period; 2. Etam, if it actually came into the text by exchange with the original Ether, should have been, not at the head of the list, but the last but one (where ςֶ ?ϊֶ ?ψ stands in Joshua 19:7); and 3. There were notoriously two Etams, one in the mountains of Judah south of Bethlehem, 2 Chronicles 11:6, and one in the Negeb of Judah on the border of Simeon, which occurs in the history of Samson, Judges 15:8; Judges 15:11, and must be the place here meant, where a locality near Ain and Rimmon is intended. This leaves nothing unsolved but the difference of the number, being only four in Joshua, and five here. The hypothesis of Keil, that ϊֹּ ?λֶ ?ο is only another name for ςֶ ?ϊֻ ?ψ, is not well grounded. 1 Chronicles 4:33. And all their villages that were round these towns unto Baal. The parallel, Joshua 19:8, is more full: “and all the villages that were round these towns, unto Baalath-beer, Ramath-negeb.” Hence αַּ ?ςַ ?μ appears to be an abbreviation of the fuller name αְּ ?ΰֵ ?ψαַּ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ςֲ ?μַּ ?ϊ and the group of villages extending to this Baalath-beer (or Bealoth, as it is called Joshua 15:24) bore the name Ramath-negeb or Ramah of the south, with which Ramoth-negeb, 1 Samuel 30:27, is manifestly identical. “An attempt has been recently made to determine the situation of this place, in doing which it is to be observed that Baal or Baalath-beer is not to be counted among the towns of Simeon; for it is only said that the villages of the last-named towns extend to Baal, that is, in the direction and perhaps very near to Baal, so that we are warranted in seeking our Baal in a region somewhat more remote from the towns, if it had otherwise a peculiar character and adaptation to denote the direction in which the territory of Simeon extended. Now Walkott found near Ramet el Khulil, about an hour north of Hebron, a second Ramah, called Ramet el Amleh, and also two heights with old sites. A whole group of places on hills, which can be observed at one glance, and present a grand and peculiar aspect, is here found: there is no doubt that the Ramoth-negeb, 1 Samuel 30:27, is to be sought here. As there is a remarkable well in Ramet el Khulil, the conjecture arises that here is a Baalath-beer, a well-town; and a confirmation of this conjecture presents itself in the designation of this place by the addition Ramoth-negeb.” So Bertheau, after Roediger (review of Robinson’s Bibl. Sacra, Halle’sche Literaturztg. 1843, No. 111); whereas Keil on Joshua 19:8 is inclined to seek Baalath-beer and Ramoth-negeb in a more southerly situation than Ramet el Khulil, which is not far from Hebron; and the best chartographers of the day (Menke in 1 Chronicles 3 of his Bible Atlas, Gotha 1868) place the localities in question south-west of the Dead Sea, on the caravan road leading to Hebron.—This was their habitation, and they had their own genealogy, that is, their own register of families as a separate independent tribe, though they dwelt in the territory of Judah, and were much less in number and extent than this contiguous tribe. On the substantively used infin. δִ ?ϊְ ?ιַ ?ηֵ ?ωׁ, genealogy (properly, entrance in the register), comp. Introd. § 5. 3. History of the Two Migrations or Conquests of the Simeonites: 1 Chronicles 4:34-43.—a. First expedition, in the time of Hezekiah: 1 Chronicles 4:34-41.—And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah, etc. These thirteen princes of the tribe of Simeon are only made prominent because they were the leaders of the present expedition, not because the former genealogical series (1 Chronicles 4:24-26) was continued by them. For although of some of them (Joshah, Jehu, and Ziza) the descent for several generations is given, yet the connection of these small genealogical lines with that earlier series is wanting. With the remarkable form ιַֽ ?ςֲ ?χֹֽ ?αָ ?δ, “to Jacob” (reckoned to him), comp. the analogous form ιִ ?ωְׂ ?ψָ ?ΰֵ ?μָ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 25:14, and other examples in Ewald, Lehrb. p. 670, n. 1, 7th edit. 1 Chronicles 4:38. These are they that entered by name princes in their families (not: “these were famous, celebrated princes,” as Luther). A phrase essentially the same occurs in 1 Chronicles 4:41; comp. also 1 Chronicles 12:31; Numbers 1:17; Ezra 8:25. “Princes of families” are, moreover, not heads of families, but “heads of the houses into which the families were divided” (Keil).—And their father-houses spread greatly, unfolded and branched out into a great multitude. On αֵּ ?ιϊΞΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ, plural of the compound αֵּ ?ιϊΞΰָ ?α, comp. Ewald, § 270, p. 657, where the same plural is cited from 2 Chronicles 35:5, Numbers 1:2; Numbers 1:18; Numbers 1:20; Numbers 7:2, etc., and the similar αֵּ ?ιϊαָּ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ, high houses, from 1 Kings 12:31, 2 Kings 17:29; 2 Kings 17:32.—And they went to the entrance of Gedor (scarcely “to the west of Gedor,” as Keil, for this would have required the addition of δַ ?ωֶּׁ ?ξֶ ?ωׁ to μִ ?ξְ ?αεֹ ?ΰ, to the east of the valley. What valley is uncertain, as the definite article only points to some known valley near Gedor, a place that cannot itself be determined; but the identification of this δַ ?βָּ ?ιְ ?ΰ with the valley of the Dead Sea is a very precarious conjecture of Ewald and Bertheau, for the valley of the Dead Sea with its southern continuation bears in the O. T. the standing name of δָ ?ςֲ ?ψָ ?αָ ?δ. Equally uncertain is the conjecture of the same inquirers, and of Kamph., Graf, Mόhlau (also of Menke in 1 Chronicles 3. of his Bible Atlas), that βְּ ?γֹ ?ψ is an error of transcription for βְּ ?ψָ ?ψ (Γεράρ in Sept.; see Crit. Note). A place so far west as Gerar (now Kirbet el Gerar) on the river Gerar can scarcely have been used to mark the border of the Simeonite pasture lands; and the mode of expression is not fitted to indicate the west and east bounding points of the region occupied by the Simeonites (comp. also on 1 Chronicles 4:41). On the other hand, to identify Gedor with the town βְּ ?γεֹ ?ψ named in Joshua 15:58, situated on the mountains of Judah, has its difficulties. for it must also be presumed that the Meunim named in 1 Chronicles 4:41 were the inhabitants of the adjacent hill-town Maon, Joshua 15:55; and the region of this hill-town of Judah cannot be that intended here, as the latter is described, 1 Chronicles 4:40, as On all sides (literally “on both sides;” ιָ ?γַ ?ιִ ?ν, as in Genesis 34:21) open, and therefore clearly as a plain. 1 Chronicles 4:40. For they were of Ham who dwelt there before. For the phrase, comp. Judges 18:7; Judges 18:28. These men of Ham, whom the Simeonites found as inhabitants, peaceable and harmless inhabitants of the country in question, and subdued, may have been Egyptians, Cushites, or Canaanites; most probably they belonged to the last branch of the Hamites, as the region in question is contiguous to Palestine. Hitzig (“The Kingdom of Massa” in Zeller’s Theolog. Jahrbόchern, 1844, p. 269 ff., and on Prov. p. 312) gratuitously supposes the Amalekites to be designated by “the men of Ham” (likewise Hoffmann, Blicke in die frόheste Geschichte des heiligen Landes, p. 73): for the history of the second expedition of the Simeonites refers to the Amalekites, 1 Chronicles 4:42-43, and it is a question whether the Amalekites were Hamites (Knobel on Genesis 10:13; Genesis 10:23, and comp. above on 1 Chronicles 1:36 f.); and the circumstance that these Hamites were nomades does not compel us to think of Amalekites (Ludim, Hyksos?), since many Canaanitish tribes lived as nomades; for example, those of Laish, Judges 18. 1 Chronicles 4:41. Came in the day’s of Hezekiah. Here is a quite definite chronological date, that shows still more positively than the reference to the reign of David in 1 Chronicles 4:31, the high age and the certainty of these notices.—And smote their (the Hamites’) tents, and the Meunites that were found there. The smiting refers first to the tents or dwellings of the Hamites; and then to the Meunites found there, who are therefore foreigners who had come to dwell among the Hamites. ξְ ?ςεּ ?πִ ?ιν (for which the Kethib has ξְ ?ςִ ?ιπִ ?ιν and the Sept. Μιναῖοι) are here, as in 2 Chronicles 16:7 (comp. 1 Chronicles 20:1), probably inhabitants of the town Maon near Petra, east of the Wady Musa (Robinson, iii. 127). Their being involved in the fate of the Hamites implies that the scene of the present event lay to the east, though it cannot be further defined. Against the reading proposed by some old expositors (Luther, Starke), εְ ?ΰֶ ?ϊΞδַ ?ξְּ ?ςֹ ?πִ ?ιν, “and the fixed habitations,” in contrast with the forementioned tents, see Bochart, Geogr. Sacra, p. 138.—And destroyed them unto this day, and dwelt in their stead.εַ ?ιַּֽ ?ηֲ ?ψִ ?ιξֻ ?νad internecionem usque eos exciderunt (J. H. Mich.), deleverunt (Vulg.). Comp. δֶ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ηֱ ?ψִ ?ιν ban, extirpate, in 2 Chronicles 20:23; 2 Chronicles 32:14, 2 Kings 19:11, Isaiah 37:11. The term “unto this day” points to the time of composition, not by the Chronist, but by the old historical sources at least before the exile employed by him. b. Second expedition of the Simeonites against Mount Seir: 1 Chronicles 4:42-43.—And of them, of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men went to Mount Seir. Nothing more precise is stated regarding the time of this expedition; it may have been before or alter that in the time of Hezekiah. And the statement, “of them, of the sons of Simeon,” is quite general, and sets no limit either to the Simeonites named 1 Chronicles 4:34-37 or to those before enumerated, 1 Chronicles 4:24-27. Keil, who exchanges the Ishi of our verse with Shimi, 1 Chronicles 4:27, is arbitrary in thinking only of the latter; and no less so is Bertheau, who refers the words to the part of the Simeonites described 1 Chronicles 4:34 ff. Of the surmise, that the event of our verse is somehow connected with that referred, 1 Chronicles 4:34-41, to the time of Hezekiah, and is to be regarded as in some measure a continuation of it (Ew., Berth., Kamph.), there is not the slightest hint in the text, even if the valley of the present expedition to Mount Seir could be situated in the same direction from the tribe of Simeon as that of the former; see on 1 Chronicles 4:39-40. 1 Chronicles 4:43. And they smote the remnant that had escaped ofAmalek, that is, those Amalekites who escaped annihilation in the victories of Saul and David over this hereditary foe of the Israelites (who were formerly settled, Judges 5:14; Judges 12:15, comp. Numbers 13:29, chiefly in Paran or half-Manasseh east of Jordan; comp. Hitzig, Gesch. d. V. Isr. pp. 26, 104); comp. 1 Samuel 14:48; 1 Samuel 15:7; 2 Samuel 8:12. These who thus escaped had retired into the Idumean mountains, and there intermingled partly with the Edomites (comp. 1 Chronicles 1:36 f.). Here they were now sought out and extirpated by the Simeonites under the sons of Ishi, while the conquerors occupied their seats. From a comparison of the present passage with Micah 1:15; Micah 2:8-10, Isaiah 21:11; Isaiah 28:12, etc., which appear to indicate an advance of the Israelites who believed in Jehovah far into the south and south-east in the times of Hezekiah and Isaiah, Hitzig (Das Kφnigreich Massa) has, with the concurrence of Bunsen, Bertheau, etc., developed his hypothesis of the founding of an Israelitish kingdom of Massa east or south-east of Seir (not far from Dumah; comp. Gen. 25:44; 1 Chronicles 1:30) by the colony of Simeonites here mentioned, and has assigned to it as kings, Agur and Lemuel, the authors of the two appendices to the book of Proverbs. Comp. our substantially concurring judgment concerning this hypothesis on Proverbs 30:1 ff., vol. 12. p. 208 of the Bibelw. The objections urged against this hypothesis by Graf (Der Stamm Simeon, p. 12 ff.) and Mόhlau (De prov. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/lange/ 2. The Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh: 1 Chronicles 5 α. The Tribe of Reuben: 1 Chronicles 5:1-101 Ch 5:1.And the sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel,—for he was the first-born; but, because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of 2Joseph the son of Israel, though he was not to be registered as first-born. For Judah was mighty among his brethren, and of him was the prince; and Joseph 3had the birthright.—The sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. 4The sons of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his Song of Solomon , 5 Shimi his son. Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his Song of Solomon 6 Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Asshur carried away; he was prince among the Reubenites. 7And his brethren by their families, in the register after their generations: the chief Jeiel, and Zechariah 8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema,the son of Joel; he dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon. 9And eastward he dwelt unto the entrance into the wilderness from the river Euphrates;for their cattle multiplied in the land of Gilead. 10And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, and they fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents on all the east side of Gilead. β. The Tribe of Gad: 1 Chronicles 5:11-1711 And the sons of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan, unto Salcah. 12Joel the chief, and Shapham the second, and Janai and Shaphat inBashan. 13And their brethren by their father-houses: Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Eber, seven. 14These are the sons of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son 15of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz. Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of their father-houses. 16And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in her daughters, and in all the suburbs of Sharon unto17their outgoings. All of them were registered in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. γ. War of the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh with Arab Nations: 1 Chronicles 5:18-22 And 18the sons of Reuben, and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men bearing shield and sword, and drawing the bow, and skilful in war, were19forty and four thousand and seven hundred and sixty going forth to war. And they made war with the Hagarites, and Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab. 20And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and He was entreated of them, because they trusted in Him. 21And they took their cattle; their camels fifty thousand, and sheep two hundred and fifty thousand,22and asses two thousand, and souls of men a hundred thousand. For many fell slain, because the war was of God; and they dwelt in their stead until the captivity. δ. The half-Tribe of Manasseh: 1 Chronicles 5:23-2423 And the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land, from Bashanunto Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon; these were many. 24And these were the heads of their father-houses, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, valiant heroes, famous men, heads of father-houses. ε. Carrying of the Three East-Jordanic Tribes into Exile: 1 Chronicles 5:25-2625 And they were untrue to the God of their fathers, and lusted after the godsof the people of the land, whom the Lord destroyed before them. 26And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Asshur, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Asshur, and he carried them away, the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah and Habor, and the mountain and the river Gozan, unto this day. Preliminary Remark.—The three east-jordanic tribes are closely connected by our genealogist on account of their common fate, not only by being here placed together, although by this arrangement the eastern half of Manasseh are severed from their western kindred, but also by the insertion of two historic episodes referring to the common doings and fortunes of the three. The first of these pieces is inserted between Gad and half-Manasseh; the second is transferred to the end, because it describes the catastrophe by which the three tribes lost their independence. “An endeavour after an equable distribution of the historical matter” (Berth.) may lie at the ground of this; for even to the genealogical account of the Reubenites a short war notice, 1 Chronicles 5:10, is appended. But the notable thing is, that the more copious and important of these historical notices refer to the common acts and the common fall of the three (it is not observed that the tribe of Gad, in connection with whose generations the war report, 1 Chronicles 5:18-22, is given, played a specially prominent part in it), by which our section is distinguished as one compact group from the genealogical series of our chapter. 1. The Tribe of Reuben: 1 Chronicles 5:1-10.—The introductory 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 treat of the birthright of Reuben in its relation to that of Joseph.—For he was the first-born; but because, etc. These words to the close of 1 Chronicles 5:2 form a parenthesis, which, reminding us in its opening words of Gen 49:4, set forth the ground on which the birthright of Joseph is mentioned along with that of Reuben,—Though he was not to be registered as first-born, literally, “though not to register (μְ before δִ ?ϊְ ?ιַ ?ηֵ ?ωׂ, to denote that which should take place; see Ew. § 237, c) for the first birth,” that is, in the rank of the first-born. The subject here is perhaps not Reuben (Sept., Vulg.), but Joseph, as Kimchi and other Rabbinical expositors justly observe; for the statement of the following verse refers to Joseph as the chief person spoken of here. 1 Chronicles 5:2. For Judah was mighty among his brethren.βָּ ?αַ ?ψ, was strong, mighty, in numbers and influence; comp. Genesis 49:8 ff.; Judges 1:1, and 1Ch_2:-4.—And of him was the prince (namely, David, 1 Chronicles 28:4; 1 Samuel 13:14; 1 Samuel 25:30), or, “and of him should be one of the princes” (Kamph.). This concealed reference to the Davidic kingdom that sprang from Judah reminds us in its form of Mic 5:1 (comp. ξִ ?ξֶּ ?πּ ?εּ here with ξִ ?ξְּ ?κָ there, and μְ ?πָ ?βִ ?ιγ with μִ ?δְ ?ιεֹ ?ϊξεֹ ?ωֵׁ ?μ there).—And Joseph had the birthright. To him were allowed two territories (according to the right of first birth, Deuteronomy 21:15-17), one for Ephraim and one for Manasseh. 1 Chronicles 5:3. Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. So are the four sons of Reuben named Genesis 46:9, Exodus 6:14; comp. Numbers 26:5-7. 1 Chronicles 5:4-6. The descendants of Joel, as a single line of Reubenites, which is carried through several generations. From which of the four sons this line descended, the author of the present list knew, and perhaps even the Chronist, who incorporated it into his work; but the knowledge is lost to after times.—Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, etc. The first after αְּ ?πεֹ after ωְׁ ?ξַ ?ςְ ?ιָ ?δ the Sept. has read as a nom. propr., and therefore inserted between Shemaiah and Gog another descendant of Joel, Βαναιά, whereby his whole descendants are increased from seven to eight,, though scarcely in accordance with the original text. The seven names occur also elsewhere, but only here in reference to the descendants of Reuben. 1 Chronicles 5:6. Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser carried away. The Chronist always writes ϊִּ ?μְ ?βַ ?ϊτִּ ?μְ ?πְ ?ΰֶ ?ρֶ ?ψ, whereas in 2 Kings the only form of writing is ϊִּ ?βְ ?μַ ?ϊτִּ ?μְ ?ΰֶ ?ρָ ?ψ (comp. the similar difference between “Nebuchadrezzar” of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and “Nebuchadnezzar” of the other books; see on Daniel 1:1). Whether G. Oppert’s interpretation of the name = ϊִּ ?βְ ?μַ ?ϊΞτַּ ?μִּ ?ΰΞρְ ?ηַ ?ψ, “prayer to the son of the Zodiac,” the Assyrian Hercules, be correct, or the certainly preferable one of Schrader (Tuklat-habalasar, “trust in the son of the house of grace,” or, “he who trusts in the house of grace,” that is, in the god Adar; comp. Schrader, Die Keilin-schriften und das AlteT., 1872, pp. 134 f., 237), the form used in the books of Kings appears the more original.—He was a prince among the Reubenites, that is, Beerah. He was prince of a family of Reubenites, not of the whole tribe; for the μְ (μָ ?ψְ ?ΰεּ ?αֵ ?πִ ?ι) indicates a looser sort of connection than the relation of prince to the whole tribe, to be expressed by the stat. constr. The adjective form, “the Reubenite,” denotes here, as in 1 Chronicles 5:26; 1 Chronicles 26:32, generally those belonging to the tribe of Reuben; comp. 1 Chronicles 5:18, βָּ ?γִ ?ι, and 1 Chronicles 4:2, δַ ?φָּ ?ψְ ?ςָ ?ϊִ ?ι, and similar forms in Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 5:7-9. The brothers of Beerah, that is, the families among the descendants of Joel most nearly related to his family.—And his brethren by their families (before μְ ?ξִ ?ωְׁ ?τְּ ?ηֹ ?ϊָ ?ιε supply ΰִ ?ιωׁ, every one by his family; comp. Numbers 2:34; Numbers 11:10), in the register after their generations (or order of birth): the chief Jeiel, etc. δָ ?ψֹ ?ΰωׁ the head, the first, the chief of the family. Comp. 1 Chronicles 5:12; 1 Chronicles 9:17, where, however, this epithet stands after the name of the person in question, while in 1 Chronicles 12:3, 1 Chronicles 23:8, as here, it stands before. 1 Chronicles 5:8. And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel; scarcely any other than the Joel of 1 Chronicles 5:4. From him sprang Bela in the third generation, a clear proof that he belonged only in the wider sense to the brethren of Beerah, who descended from him in the seventh generation, and that he was at all events considerably older than the latter; see on 1 Chronicles 5:10.—He dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon. Aroer, now a ruin, Arrayr on the river Arnon (comp. Joshua 12:2; Joshua 13:9; Joshua 13:16); Nebo, a place on Mount Nebo, in the range of Abarim, over against Jericho (Numbers 32:38; Numbers 33:47); Baal-meon, perhaps the ruins Myun, two miles south of Heshbon (comp. Numbers 32:38, where it is also found along with Nebo). 1 Chronicles 5:9. And eastward he dwelt, unto the entrance into the wilderness from the river Euphrates, that is, to the line where the great wilderness begins, that extends from the Euphrates to the east border of Perζa, or Gilead as it is called in this verse; for Gilead (Genesis 31:21; Genesis 37:25; Joshua 13:11; Joshua 17:1; Judges 5:17, etc.) is the general term usual in the Old Testament for the territory of Israel east of the Jordan; comp. on 1 Chronicles 5:16. 1 Chronicles 5:10. And in the days of Saul (the first king of Israel) they made war with the Hagarites (or Hagarenes; comp. Psalms 83:7), the same North Arabian tribe that appears, 1 Chronicles 5:19-20, as the adversary of the east-jordanic Israelites, perhaps the ’Αγραῖοι of Strabo, xiii. p. 767, occurring, according to Schrader, in the form Hagaranu (or Ha-ar-gi-‘i) several times in the Assyro- Babylonian cuneate inscriptions.—And they fell by their hand, or, even into their hands, of which the consequence was, that the victors dwelt in the tents of the vanquished (that is, occupied their country, Genesis 9:27), “on all the east side of Gilead,” that is, on the whole east border of the land of Gilead and beyond it (with ςַ ?μΞλָּ ?μΞτְּ ?πֵ ?ι comp. ςַ ?μτְּ ?πֵ ?ι, “close before,” Genesis 16:12). Who are these conquerors? Are they the Reubenites in general, or only those of the family of Bela? Against the latter alternative, which is defended by Keil, appears to be the circumstance that in 1 Chronicles 5:8-9 Bela is spoken of in the singular. But this singular begins even in 1 Chronicles 5:9 b to pass into the plural (ξִ ?χְ ?πֶ ?ιδֶ ?ν), and the mighty outspreading of the Belaites mentioned there seems intended to prepare for the notice of their war with their Hagarene neighbours. Moreover, the statement in 1 Chronicles 5:8, that Bela was great-grandson of Joel, while Beerah was his descendant in the seventh generation, corresponds with the fact that this conquest of the Hagarites preceded the deportation of the Reubenites under Beerah by Tilgath-pilneser, 1 Chronicles 5:6, some centuries. After the removal of a considerable portion of the Reubenites, so wide an outspreading of another Reubenite family as is here related would scarcely have taken place. We must therefore refer what is recorded from 1 Chronicles 5:7 of the family of the brothers of Beerah, and especially of that of Bela, to a much earlier time than that which is related in 1 Chronicles 5:6, because the narrative issues in the present notice of a war in the time of Saul; and there is no good ground why we should isolate this war notice, and regard it as an unconnected appendix to the genealogy of Reuben (against Berth. and others, and also against Hoffmann, Das gelobte Land in den Zeilten des getlhieilten Reichs, etc. 1871, p. 27). 2. The Tribe of Gad: 1 Chronicles 5:11-17.—And the sons of Gad dwelt over against them in the land of Bashan, that is, over against the Reubenites dwelling beside the Dead Sea in the mountain-range of Abarim or Moab, and also beyond the Jordan in middle Gilead, which formed the southern part of the former kingdom of Og king of Bashan (Numbers 21:3; Deuteronomy 3:11). The extension of this tract inhabited by the Gadites to the east is shown to be considerable by the addition “unto Salchah”(as in Joshua 13:11). For Salchah, now Sulkhad, lies on the southern slope of Jebel Hauran, six or seven hours east of Bozra, and therefore about thirty hours in a direct line east from Jordan. 1 Chronicles 5:12. Joel the chief, and Shapham the second, and Janai and Shaphat in Bashan, that is, dwelling, the ιָֽ ?ωְׁ ?αεּ of the previous verse completing the sense here. It is uncertain how these four Gadite heads of families are genealogically connected with the immediate descendants of Gad named in Genesis 46:16. The omission of those seven sons of Gad enumerated in Genesis (Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, Areli) is surprising, and raises the suspicion of a gap in the text. On the variant reading of the Sept. for εְ ?ωָׁ ?τָ ?θ, see Crit. Note. As ωָׁ ?τָ ?θ occurs elsewhere as a proper name, for example, 1 Chronicles 3:22, its retention here is the less doubtful. 1 Chronicles 5:13. And their brethren by their father-houses, that is, by the families at whose head they stood, and which were named after them. For the plur. αֵּ ?ιϊΰֲ ?αεֹ ?ϊֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν comp. on 1 Chronicles 4:38 Luther has erroneously taken the phrase for a singular, and therefore translated, “and their brethren of the house of their fathers,” etc. The term “brethren” stands naturally in as wide a sense as in 1 Chronicles 5:7. A statement of the country where they dwelt does not follow the names of these seven brothers of the four Gadite heads of families already named. But their pedigree is first given, 1 Chronicles 5:14-15, through eight generations, terminating in a not otherwise known Buz, who has perhaps as little to do with his namesake the son of Nahor, Genesis 22:21, as with the progenitor of Elihu, Job 32:2. 1 Chronicles 5:15. Ahi, the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of their father-houses. This Ahi we may suppose to have lived at the beginning of the eighth century b.c., under Jeroboam 2. of Israel, or half a century later, under Jotham of Judah, as 1 Chronicles 5:17 shows. 1 Chronicles 5:16. And they dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan, and in her daughters, and in all the suburbs of Sharon unto their outgoings. The first of these designations of place is the widest and most general: it embraces both “Bashan and her daughters” and “the suburbs of Sharon;” see on 1 Chronicles 5:9. The suffix in αִּ ?αְ ?πεֹ ?ϊֶ ?ιδָ refers to both countries, the more extensive Gilead and the narrower Bashan forming merely the northern part of Gilead; and the “suburbs” or pastures (ξִּ ?βְ ?ψָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν, as in Numbers 35:2 ff.; Joshua 21:11 ff.; Ezekiel 48:15) of Sharon are no doubt to be sought in Gilead, as nothing is known of a dwelling or a grazing of any Gadites on the well-known plain of Sharon, west of Jordan, between Cζsarea and Joppa (Son 2:1; Isaiah 33:9; Isaiah 35:2; Isaiah 65:10); and the “outgoings” of the suburbs of Sharon are not necessarily outgoings or boundaries on the sea, as Keil, referring to Joshua 17:9, will have it; comp. on the contrary, Numbers 34:4-5. Kamph. is right, who at the same time mentions a plausible conjecture of the early expositors, that Shirion should be read for Sharon. But we see no reason why there should not be a Sharon east of the Jordan. Comp. Smith’s Bibl. Dict., Art. “Sharon.” 1 Chronicles 5:17. All of them were registered in the days of Jotham, etc. “All of them” refers to the collective families of the Gadites from 1 Chronicles 5:11, not merely to those mentioned 1 Chronicles 5:13 ff. Of the two kings of the eighth century under whose reign the registration took place, that of the rightful kingdom of Judah is, contrary to the order of time, named first. We meet with no other notices of these two registrations of the tribe of Gad, of which that undertaken by Jeroboam 2 of Israel (825–784), at all events, coincides with the restoration of the old boundaries of the northern kingdom mentioned 2 Kings 14:25 ff. A temporary subjection of the tribe of Gad by Jotham of Judah (759–743), or perhaps by his predecessor, the powerful Uzziah (811–759), as a prelude to the second registration here mentioned, is easily conceivable, because after Jeroboam’s death a long weakening of the northern kingdom by internal strife and anarchy ensued, from which it recovered under Pekah’s reign of twenty years (759–39). Comp. Keil, p. 77, where, however, Pekah’s reign, probably by an error of the press, is stated to be of only ten years’ duration. 3. War of the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh with Arab Tribes: 1 Chronicles 5:18-22.—On the reason why this account is inserted here after the families of Gad, see Preliminary Remark.—Of valiant men, literally, of sons of valour (ξִ ?οαְּ ?πֵ ?ιηַ ?ιִ ?μ; comp. βִּ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ιηַ ?ιִ ?μ 1 Chronicles 5:24). These and the following descriptions of the military prowess of these tribes are confirmed by 1 Chronicles 12:8; 1 Chronicles 12:21, at least with regard to Gad and half-Manasseh. With μְ ?ξεּ ?γֵ ?ιξִ ?μְ ?ηָ ?ξָ ?δ, comp. the partic. Pualξְ ?μֻ ?ξְּ ?γֵ ?ιSon 3:8 and 1 Chronicles 25:7. The number 44,760, which certainly rests on an exact numeration, nearly agrees with that given in Joshua 4:13, but not with the added numbers yielding a far greater sum in Numbers 1:21; Numbers 1:25; Numbers 26:7; Numbers 26:18. The difference is explained by this, that the statements in Numbers refer to the time when the whole tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh were armed for war under Moses, and in a wandering state, and each of these tribes, at least of the first two, numbered more than 40,000 men fit for war, whereas the present statement, like that in Joshua 4:13, refers to the time after they were settled beyond the Jordan, when the number of troops available for external service was naturally much smaller; comp. on 1 Chronicles 21:5. 1 Chronicles 5:19. And they made war with the Hagarites. The same tribe of northern Arabs with which Reuben alone, 1 Chronicles 5:10, had been at war. The present common fight of all the tribes beyond the Jordan with this tribe is perhaps to be dated later than that of Reuben; comp. ver: 22.—And Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab. The first two tribes (of which ιְ ?θεּ ?ψ has given name to the district of Iturζa) occurred in 1 Chronicles 1:31 and in Genesis 25:15 as descendants of Ishmael. Nodab, also a Beduin tribe, occurs nowhere else. The name appears to signify “noble, princely,” and might possibly be the source of the Nabatζans (Arab,nabt) ; for to identify this at once with πְ ?αָ ?ιεֹ ?ϊ, Genesis 25:13, Isaiah 60:7, as is usually done, has its difficulties; comp. Chwolsohn, Die Sabier, i. 698; Quatremθre, Les Nabatιens, Par. 1835; Muhlau, De prov. Aguri et Lemuelis orig. et indole, p. 28 f. 1 Chronicles 5:20. And they were helped against them. εַ ?ιֵּ ?ςָֽ ?ζְ ?ψεּ, namely, of God; comp. 2 Chronicles 26:15; Psalms 28:7.—And all that were with them, namely, the Iturζans, etc., the confederates of the Hagarites.—And he was entreated of them. εְ ?πַ ?ςְ ?ϊּ ?εֹ ?ψ is not an unusual form of the perf. Niphal (for εְ ?πֶ ?ςְ ?ϊַּ ?ψ, Isaiah 19:22), but, what alone suits for continued narrative, as here, infin. abs. Niph., with a perfect meaning ; comp. πַ ?ηְ ?ϊּ ?εֹ ?ν, Esther 8:8; πַ ?δֲֽ ?τεֹ ?κְ, Esther 9:1. 1 Chronicles 5:21. Camels, fifty thousand. Luther, Starke, and even Kamph., in Bunsen’s Bibelwerk, incorrectly (not observing the plur. ηֲ ?ξִ ?ωִּׁ ?ιν), “five thousand.” The enormous numbers, that are explained by the great riches in herds of the north Arabians, remind us of the like statements regarding the rich booty in the war with Midian, Numbers 31:11; Numbers 31:32 ff. 1 Chronicles 5:22. For many fell slain. The greatness of the defeat which the foe sustained accounts for the extremely great value of the booty taken from them. On the further explanatory sentence, “for the war was of God,” comp. 2 Chronicles 25:20; 1 Samuel 17:47.—And they dwelt in their stead, in the seats of the conquered tribes; unhindered, they made use of their abodes and pastures, “until the captivity,” until the deportation decreed by Tilgath-pilneser, 1 Chronicles 5:6. 4. The half-Tribe of Manasseh: 1 Chronicles 5:23-24.—From Bashan unto Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon. As Bashan is the district inhabited by Gad bordering on the south, 1 Chronicles 5:12, it denotes here the south border, while Baal-hermon (Judges 3:3, or “Baal-Gad under Hermon,” Joshua 12:7; Joshua 13:5), Senir (later, by the Arabs, Sunir; according to Ezekiel 27:8, the name of a part of the Hermon range; according to Deuteronomy 3:9, an Amorite name for the whole of Hermon), and Mount Hermon (or Antilibanus, now Jebel esh Sheik) designate the north border. On account of this wide extent from south to north, and also in breadth, it is said of those belonging to this half-tribe, “these were many;” comp. Numbers 26:34, where the number of military age in this whole tribe is said to be 52,700. 1 Chronicles 5:24. And these were the heads of their father-houses, even Epher. The ε before ςֵ ?τֶ ?ψ may be rendered “even“; but it is surprising, and raises the suspicion that perhaps a name has fallen out. None of these heads of families of East Manasseh is otherwise known, so that we know nothing of the deeds for which they were called “valiant heroes, famous men.” 5. Carrying away into Exile of the three east-Jordanic Tribes: 1 Chronicles 5:25-26.—And they were untrue, etc., namely, the three eastern tribes named in the following verse, and not merely the Manassites. For the terms, as for the fact, comp. 2 Kings 17:7 ff.—The people of the land, whom the Lord had destroyed before them, are the Amorites and the subjects of Og of Bashan. 1 Chronicles 5:26. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul. εַ ?ιַּ ?ςַ ?ψ, as 2 Chronicles 21:16 (comp. 2 Chronicles 36:22; Ezra 1:1; Ezra 1:5). L. Lavater justly remarks: in mentem illis dedit, movit eos, ut expeditionem facerent contra illos. Pul is, moreover, named as the beginner of the oppressions coming from Assyria (comp. 2 Kings 15:19 f.); the removal itself is completed by Tiglath-pileser, as the sing. εַ ?ιַּ ?βְ ?μֵ ?ν, referring only to him, shows. Besides, the Assyriologists, especially Rawlinson, Schrader (p. 124 ff.), declare Pul to be the same with Tiglath-pileser, and his name a mere mutilation of the latter name, because the Assyrian inscriptions nowhere exhibit any such thing as a ruler Pul almost contemporary with Tiglath-pileser.—Carried them away, the Reubenites, etc. The suffix in εַ ?ιַּ ?βְ ?μֵ ?ν is more precisely defined by the following accusatives μָֽ ?ψְ ?ΰεּ ?αֵ ?πִ ?ιεβεΧ, introduced by μ (according to later usage); comp. Ew. § 277e.—And brought them to Halah and Habor, and the mountain and the river Gozan, unto this day. ηְ ?μַ ?η, perhaps = λֶּ ?μַ ?η, Genesis 10:11, at all events = Καλαχήνη, a region described by Strabo and Ptolemy: “On the east side of the Tigris, near Adiabene, north of Nineveh, on the borders of Armenia.” Not far from this Halah (the name of which occurs on the Assyrian monuments in the form Kal-hu; comp. Schrader, Die Keilenschriften und d. A, T. p. 20 f.) is to be sought ηָ ?αεֹ ?ψ, perhaps a district in North Assyria, after which both the mountain Χαβώρας (Ptolem. vi. 1), near the Median border, and a river flowing into the Tigris (Khabur Chasani�, now Khabur), are named. We are not here to think of the Mesopotamian river Chaboras, rising at Nisibis, and falling into the Euphrates near Circesium, as its Hebrew name is λְּ ?αָ ?ψ, Ezekiel 1:1. The river Gozan, also, is scarcely to be sought in Mesopotamia (where there is certainly a district Γαυζανῖτις, the present Kaushan, bordering on that river Chebar, and where also Schrader, p. 161, has pointed out a place Guzana, near Nisibis—Nasibina–in an Assyrian inscription), but perhaps in the border land of Assyria and Media, where the Median city Γαυζανία, mentioned by Ptol. vi. 2, lay, and where also a river Ozan (in full, Kizil-Ozan, the red Ozan) is found, the Mardos of the old Greeks, rising south-east of the lake Urumiah, forming the boundary of Assyria and Media, and falling into the Caspian Sea. As all these places point to the north of Assyria and to Media, so the term before the last, “the mountain,” appears to mean the Median highlands; and, indeed, δָ ?ψָ ?ΰ seems to be the Aramaic form for the Hebrew δָ ?ψ, mountain, the popular designation in that region of the Median highlands (al Jebal among the Arabs); comp. also 2 Kings 17:6, where, in place of δָ ?ψָ ?ΰ, the “cities of Media” (ςָ ?ψֵ ?ιξָ ?γָ ?ι) are named. Keil on our passage and on 2 Kings 17:6, Bδhr on the latter, Ew. (Gesch. iii. p. 318), M. Niebuhr (Gesch. Assurs und Babels), Wichelhaus (Das Exil der 10 Stδmme,S right; while Thenius, Berth., Hitz. think, without sufficient grounds, of parts of Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates. Moreover, not merely the Chronist, but the sources used by him, appear to have assumed as the place to which Tiglath-pileser removed the tribes beyond the Jordan, the same region in the north of Assyria to which, 2 Kings 17:6, some decennia afterwards, Shalmaneser transplanted the remaining tribes of the northern kingdom. Whether this statement be historically correct, or involve the confounding of two different events (as Berth, will have it), must remain undecided. From 2 Kings 15:29, where the country to which Tiglath-pileser brought the 2½ tribes is simply called Asshur, the inaccuracy of the present statements cannot be proved. d. The Family of the Levites, with a Statement of their Seats in the different Tribes.—1 Chronicles 5:27–6:66 1. The Family of Aaron, or the High-priestly Line to the Exile: 1 Chronicles 5:27–41 [1 Chronicles 6:1 ff] 1 Chronicles 5:27, 28.The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of 29Kohath: Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the sons of Amram: Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, 30Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar begat Phinehas, and Phinehas begat Abishua. 31, 32And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi. And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, 33and Zerahiah begat Meraioth. Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat 34, 35Ahitub. And Abitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz. And Ahimaaz 36begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan. And Johanan begat Azariah, he that served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem. 37, 38And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub. And 39Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum. And Shallum begat Hilkial 40and Hilkiah begat Azariah. And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat 41Jehozadak. And Jehozadak went away, when the Lord carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. Footnotes: For εְ ?ωָׁ ?τָ ?θ the Sept. read ωֹׁ ?τֵ ?θ or ρֹ ?τֵ ?ψ; for it gives the words εְ ?ιַ ?ςְ ?πַ ?ιεְ ?ωָׁ ?τָ ?θαַּ ?αָּ ?ωָׁ ?ο by καὶΓανὶνὁγραμματεύςἐνΒασάν. For ωָׁ ?ψεֹ ?ο the cod. Vat. of the Sept. has Γεριάμ (possibly from an original ωִׁ ?ψְ ?ιεֹ ?ο; comp. Exeg. Note). 2. The Descendants of Gershom, Kohath, and Merari, in a Double Series: 1 Chronicles 6:1-151 Ch 6:1-2.The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. And these are the 3names of the sons of Gershom: Libni and Shimi. And the sons of Kohath: 4Amram and Izhar, and Hebron and Uzziel. The sons of Merari: Mahli and 5Mushi. And these are the families after their fathers. 6To Gershom: Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son. Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeatherai his son. 7The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son. 8, 9, Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son. Tahath his son, 10Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. And the sons of Elkanah: 11Amasai and Ahimoth. Elkanah his Song of Solomon , 1 Elkanah of Zoph his son, and Nahath 12, 13his son. Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. And the sons of Samuel: the first-born Vashni, and Abiah. 14The sons of Merari: Mahli, Libni his son, Shimi his son, Uzzah his son. 15Shima his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son. 3. The Ancestors of the Levitical Songmasters Heman, Asaph, and Ethan: 1 Chronicles 6:16-3416 And these are they whom David set over the singing in the house of the 17Lord, after the resting of the ark. And they ministered before the dwelling of the tent of meeting with singing, until Solomon built the house of the Lord 18in Jerusalem, and they attended in their order to their service. And these are they who attended, and their sons: of the sons of Kohath: Heman the 19singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel. The son of Elkanah, the son of 20Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah. The son of Zuph, the son of 21Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai. The son of Elkanah, the 22son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah. The son of Tahath, 23the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah. The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. 24And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, Asaph the son of 25Berechiah, the son of Shima. The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the 26son of Malchiah. The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah. 27, 28The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimi. The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. 29And the sons of Merari, their brethren on the left hand : Ethan the son of 30Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch. The son of Hashabiah, the son 31of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah. The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of 32Shamer. The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. 33And their brethren the Levites, given for all service of the tabernacle of 34the house of God. And Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt-offering, and on the altar of ineense, for all the work of the holy of holies, and to atone for Israel, in all that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded. 4. The Series of High Priests from Eleazar to Ahimaaz (in the time of Solomon) : 1 Chronicles 6:35-3835 And these are the sons of Aaron: Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, 36, 37Abishua his son. Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son. Meraioth 38his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son. Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. 5. The Towns of the Levites: 1 Chronicles 6:39-6639 And these are their dwellings, by their districts, in their border, of the sons of Aaron: of the family of the Kohathites, for to them was the lot. 40And they gave them Hebron, in the land of Judah, and its suburbs round 41about it. And the field of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the 42son of Jephunneh. And to the sons of Aaron they gave the free towns,Hebron and Libnah and its suburbs, and Jattir and Eshtemoa and its suburbs. 43, 44And Hilen and its suburbs, Debir and its suburbs. And Ashan and its 45suburbs, and Bethshemesh and its suburbs. And out of the tribe of Benjamin: Geba and its suburbs, and Allemeth and its suburbs, and Anathoth and its suburbs; all their cities were thirteen cities in their families. 46And to the sons of Kohath that remained of the family of the tribe, were 47from the half-tribe, the half of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities. And to the sons of Gershom for their families, of the tribe of Issachar, and of the tribe of Asher, and of the tribe of Naphtali, and of the tribe of Manasseh, in Bashan, 48thirteen cities. To the sons of Merari for their families, of the tribe of Reuben, and of the tribe of Gad, and of the tribe of Zebulun, by lot twelve cities. 49And the sons of Israel gave to the Levites the cities and their suburbs. 50And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, these cities which they called by names. 51And of the families of the sons of Kohath, some had the cities of their 52border out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave them the free towns, Shechem and its suburbs in Mount Ephraim, and Gezer and its suburbs. 53, 54And Jokmeam and its suburbs, and Beth-horon and its suburbs. And 55Aijalon and its suburbs, and Gathrimmon and its suburbs. And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner and its suburbs, and Bilam and its suburbs, to the family of the remaining sons of Kohath. 56To the sons of Gershom, out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, 57Golan in Bashan and its suburbs, and Ashtaroth and its suburbs. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kedesh and its suburbs, Daberath and its suburbs. 58, 59And Ramoth and its suburbs, and Anem and its suburbs. And out of the 60tribe of Asher, Mashal and its suburbs, and Abdon and its suburbs. And 61Hukok and its suburbs, and Rehob and its suburbs. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee and its suburbs, and Hammon and its suburbs, and Kiriathaim and its suburbs. 62To the sons of Merari that remained, out of the tribe of Zebulun, 63Rimmono and its suburbs, Tabor and its suburbs. And beyond Jordan by Jericho, east of Jordan, out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness 64and its suburbs, and Jahzah and its suburbs. And Kedemoth and its 65suburbs, and Mephaath and its suburbs. And out of the tribe of Gad, 66Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, and Mahanaim and its suburbs. And Heshbon and its suburbs, and Jazer and its suburbs. Preliminary Remark.—Of the five subdivisions into which this section falls, the first (1 Chronicles 6:27-41) is a list of the high priests from Aaron to the exile, which appears to be taken from a peculiar older source, partly because one portion of the high priests is enumerated again (1 Chronicles 6:35-38) under a different genealogical form (instead of δεֹ ?μιγ before the name, αְּ ?πεֹ comes after it), partly because Gershon (1 Chronicles 6:27) appears instead of “Gershom,” which is used throughout 1 Chronicles 6 But the four divisions also in 1 Chronicles 6 bear a more or less fragmentary character ; only the genealogies of the three Davidic songmasters Heman, Asaph, and Ethan (1 Chronicles 6:16-34), appear to be complete in themselves, and without delect. In the register of the three Levitical families Gershom, Kohath, and Merari (1 Chronicles 6:1-15), many names are obviously wanting, and some parts, especially in the series of the Kohathites, 1 Chronicles 6:7-13, appear to have come down in a state of some confusion. The list of the Levitical cities, 1 Chronicles 6:39-66, presents great corruptions of the text in considerable number, with many inaccuracies, and a notorious perversion of the original order (see on 1 Chronicles 6:49-50), as a cursory comparison of it with that drawn from other sources in the book of Joshua , 21, will show. And lastly, the short list of the high priests appears clearly to be a fragment from its breaking off with Ahimaaz ; is, moreover, closely connected with the preceding remarks in 1 Chronicles 6:33-34, on the ministry of the Aaronites in the temple, and might be fitly formed with these two verses into a special section referring to the ἀρχιερατικὸνγένος of the house of Levi and its functions. Comp. moreover, H. Graf, Zur Gesch. d. St. Levi, in A. Merx’s Archiv. f. Wissenschaftliehe Mrforsclmng des A. T. vol. i. 1870 (hypercritical on the content of our chapter, and throughout). 1. The Family of Aaron, or the High-priestly Line to the Exile: v. 27–41. a. Aaron’s descent from Levi : 1 Chronicles 6:27-29.—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. So run the names of the three sons of Aaron in the Pentateuch, Genesis 46:11, Exodus 6:18. The form βֶּ ?ψְ ?ωׁ ?εֹ ?ο is there constant, while for χְ ?δָ ?ϊ is occasionally χֳ ?δָ ?ϊ. 1 Chronicles 6:28. The names of the four sons of Kohath (the father of the chief Levitical line) are literally the same in Exodus 6:18. Likewise the names of the three children of Amram, and those of the four sons of Aaron, 1 Chronicles 6:29, agree literally with Exodus 6:20; Exodus 6:23 ; comp. Numbers 3:2-4, and in 1 Chronicles 24:2, the account of the premature death of Nadab and Abihu by a divine judgment, reminding us of Lev 10:1 ff.—b. The descendants and successors of Eleazar (Numbers 20:28; Joshua 14:1) in the office of high priest: 1 Chronicles 6:30-41. Only this series of high priests from Eleazar is given here, as in 1 Chronicles 6:35 ff., not that from Ithamar, as the former only is strictly legitimate. That the line from Ithamar, to which Eli belonged (1 Samuel 2:30),—whose son was Phinehas, and grandson, Ahitub (1 Samuel 4:11; 1 Samuel 14:3), further, Ahitub’s son Ahijah or Ahimelech (comp. 1 Samuel 14:3 with 1 Chronicles 22:9 ff.), lastly, this Ahimelech’s son Abiathar (from whom Solomon took the high-priesthood to give it to Zadok, 1 Samuel 22:20; 1 Kings 2:26-35),—was not unknown to our author, is shown by his account in 1 Chronicles 24:3 ff. But the line of Eleazar only must have passed with him as really legitimate ; for here, and in 1 Chronicles 6:35 ff., he ignores the line of Ithamar running parallel with it for several generations (from Uzzi, 1 Chronicles 6:31, the contemporary of Eli, to Zadok, the contemporary and rival of Abiathar, 1 Chronicles 6:34). On the relation existing between those collateral lines in the times of Saul and David we find nothing certain, either in our books or in those of Samuel or Kings. So much appears certain, however, from various intimations in the latter books, that the statement of Josephus (Antiq. Jud. viii. 1.3; comp. 1 Chronicles 5:12), that the descendants of Eleazar kept quiet, and lived as private persons during the supremacy of Eli, Phinehas, Ahitub, and Ahimelech, is incorrect, and rests on mere conjecture. Rather, from 1 Kings 3:4 ff. (comp. 1 Chronicles 16:39), Zadok appears to have presided at Gibeon, contemporary with Abiathar (the constant companion of David, 1 Samuel 22:20-23) at Jerusalem over the service of the sanctuary ; and even before David, there seems to have been a certain co-existence of different sanctuaries with different high priests in different places,—an assumption that is at least better supported than the conjecture proposed by Thenius on 2 Samuel 8:17, that, in David’s time, the two high priests of the collateral houses might have held office in alternate years. 1 Chronicles 6:35. And Ahimaaz begat Azariah. As Ahimaaz (1 Chronicles 6:38) is son of Zadok, he belongs to the reign of Solomon, within which also his son Azariah may have been high priest. Without doubt, the notice standing in 1 Chronicles 6:36, beside a younger Azariah (grandson of the other), “he that served as priest (λִּ ?δֵ ?ο, Exodus 40:13; Leviticus 16:32) in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem,” only suits the present Azariah, the grandson of Zadok. For in 1 Kings 4:2, also, Azariah the son (more exactly grandson) of Zadok is named as priestly prince under Solomon; his grandson of the same name in 1 Chronicles 6:36 cannot have lived before the time of Rehoboam, or even Asa or Jehoshaphat. We must therefore assume, with Bertheau, that the words quoted from 1 Chronicles 6:36 b originally stood after the name ςֲ ?ζַ ?ψְ ?ιָ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 6:35 a,—an assumption which, from the second occurrence of the same name shortly after, and from the notorious occurrence of such erroneous transpositions in our section (see on 1 Chronicles 6:49 f.), involves no difficulty, and at least commends itself more than the attempt of Keil to identify the Azariah of 1 Chronicles 6:36 with the high priest of this name under king Uzziah (who, 2 Chronicles 26:17, boldly resisted the attempt of this king to burn incense in the sanctuary). The name Azariah appears to have often recurred in the family of the high priest in the time of the kings ; for as our series contains this name no less than three times (1 Chronicles 6:35-36; 1 Chronicles 6:40), we know from other accounts several other high priests of the name before the exile ; thus, besides the one in Uzziah’s time, another in the time of Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 21:10, who cannot possibly be identical with those here mentioned. For the one named in 1 Chronicles 6:40 as the son of Hilkiah (2 Kings 22) may have lived under Josiah, nearly a century after Hezekiah; of all the three Azariahs of our section, therefore, only the first (1 Chronicles 6:35) can coincide with one of the elsewhere mentioned high priests of this name, and this can have been no other than that contemporary of Solomon named in 1 Kings 4:2.1 Chronicles 6:37. And Azariah begat Amariah. This is the Amariah mentioned, 2 Chronicles 19:11, in the history of Jehoshaphat. Here Oehler, Art. “Hoherpriester” in Herzog’s Real-Encycl. vi. 205, is certainly right, though opposed by Keil; in the sixty-one years between Solomon’s death and Jehoshaphat’s accession, the four high priests named between Zadok and Amariah may very well have followed in succession. 1 Chronicles 6:38. And Ahitub begat Zadok. In the neighbourhood of this second Ahitub, whom we must place at the beginning or middle of the ninth century b.c., we miss the Jehoiada who dethroned Athaliah, and governed some time for the young king Joash (who was perhaps, however, not properly high priest, but only “chief of the priesthood of his time,” that is, a very influential priest; see on 2 Chronicles 23:8). Even so somewhat later in the vicinity of Shallum is wanting the Uriah, known from 2 Kings 16:10 ff., who was high priest under king Ahaz. The list from 1 Chronicles 6:37-40, or for the last period of the kings (ninth, eighth, and seventh centuries), appears very defective and concise, like the New Testament genealogies of Jesus (Matthew 1:8-10; Luke 3:28-31), which make the longest leaps in this very epoch. The number of the links omitted in our list between the high priests for the time of Solomon (1 Chronicles 6:36) and Seraiah must be at least seven; for with the ten generations of high priests enumerated 1 Chronicles 6:36-40, correspond seventeen generations of the house of David, from Solomon to Zedekiah (comp. 1 Chronicles 3:10-24); and there is no reason why the line of priests should have a less rapid succession of generations than that of kings. 1 Chronicles 6:41. And Jehozadak went away, to captivity in Babylon. δָ ?μַ ?κְ stands here for the usual more definite δָ ?μַ ?κְ αַּ ?βּ ?εֹ ?μָ ?δ, Jeremiah 49:3. The carrying away of this Jehozadak must have taken place before the destruction of Jerusalem (perhaps 599); for at the destruction of Jerusalem (588), not he, but his aged father Seraiah, grandson of Hilkiah, was high priest, as appears from the account in 2 Kings 25:18; 2 Kings 25:21, of his capture by Nebuchadnezzar and execution at Riblah. Jehozadak, in exile, became father of that Joshua who returned 536 b.c. with Zerubbabel at the head of the exiles, Ezra 3:2; Ezra 5:2, Haggai 1:1. With the series here given of the high priests from Aaron to the exile, agrees that in Ezra 7:1-5, which is more summary, and makes even greater omissions. If we compare the sixteen names there given, from Seraiah to Aaron, with twenty-two of our list, the shorter list of Ezra appears to be an abbreviated extract of the present longer one. But the author of the latter cannot have aimed at absolute completeness. The δεֹ ?μִ ?ιγ used by him to denote the descent is quite as much a mere phrase of indefinite and elastic meaning as the αֶּ ?ο of Ezra. Moreover, the argument of Gramberg, p. 55, from the repeated occurrence of the same names in our list, for the assumption of an arbitrary process of compiling by the Chronist, has been long refuted by Movers, Keil, and others. On the extra-biblical traditions concerning the series of high priests before the exile, in Josephus, in the Seder Olam, etc., comp. Lightfoot, Ministerium templi, Opp. t. i. p. 682 sqq.; Selden, De successione in pontif. l. i; and Reland, Antiq. ii. c. 2. So far as these accounts supplement the statements of our text, they are almost devoid of any historical authority. [The line from Aaron is not said to be a list of actual high priests. External influence seems to have often determined who should be the actual high priest.—J. G. M.] 2. The Descendants of Gershom, Kohath, and Merari: 1 Chronicles 6:1-15.—These are first given alone with their sons (1 Chronicles 6:1-4); then follow further genealogical statements regarding the descendants of the most important of these sons, who became the ancestors of the three chief families of the Levites. That in the Kohathite family the line of Amram, the father of Aaron, is not given again, as in 1 Chronicles 6:27 ff., is explained by this, that the families of the Levites, not that of the high priest, are here to be registered. For the form “Gershom,” comp. on 1 Chronicles 6:27. The two sons each of Gershom and Merari, and the four sons of Kohath, bear the same names as in the Pentateuch, Exodus 6:16-19, Numbers 3:17-20; Numbers 26:57 ff. 1 Chronicles 6:4 b. And these are the families of Levi, after their fathers. This formula, found by the author in his source, seems rather to be the superscription for the following special genealogy of the Levites, than the subscription to what precedes; but comp. Exodus 6:19, where the same words serve clearly as the subscription to the list of the sons and grandsons of Levi. 1 Chronicles 6:5-6. Descendants of Gershom.—To Gershom: Libni his son, etc. The μְ before βֵּ ?ψְ ?ωׁ ?εֹ ?ν serves for introduction, and therefore stands in another sense than in Ezra 2:6; Ezra 2:16, where it is nota genitivi; comp. rather Psalms 16:3; Isaiah 32:1.—Jeatherai, the last in this eightlink chain of the descendants of Gershom, may have lived in the times of Saul and David, but is not otherwise known. That some of the names in this series, Jahath, Zimmah, and Zerah, occur also among the ancestors of Asaph, who springs from the line of Shimi (1 Chronicles 6:24-28), does not warrant the identification of the two series, nor (as Bertheau affirms) the assumption that “these are inserted, not because they lead to Jeatherai, but because they belong to the ancestors of Asaph.” As if the recurrence of the same names in different lines were not usual in our genealogical sections! 1 Chronicles 6:7-13. Descendants of Kohath. Three series of names, each beginning with a new αְּ ?πֵ ?ι or εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι (1 Chronicles 6:7; 1 Chronicles 6:10; 1 Chronicles 6:13), without exhibiting their genealogical connection. The very beginning: “The sons of Kohath: Amminadab his son,” involves a surprising deviation both from 1 Chronicles 6:3 and from Exodus 6:18 ff., where no Amminadab occurs among the sons of Kohath. As the latter parallels, as 1 Chronicles 6:23, agree in naming an Izhar as the link between Kohath and Korah, with Keil and the majority of older expositors, Amminadab is to be regarded as a by-name of Izhar; for to regard Amminadab, with Bertheau, as a descendant of Izhar, and suppose an omission of the latter by some oversight, is less probable. Why should not the name Amminadab, otherwise occurring among the descendants of Judah as father of Nahshon and father-in-law of Aaron (Exodus 6:23; Numbers 6:23; Rth 1:19; comp. 1 Chronicles 2:10), by some no longer discoverable cause, serve as a by-name to Izhar, the second son Kohath ?—Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his non, and Ebiasaph his son. If we compare the series in 1 Chronicles 6:18-23 of the ancestors of Heman, which presents so many points of contact with the present, that it may and must be used for the elucidation of several of its obscurities, it appears that Ebiasaph also (the father of that second Assir who is named 1 Chronicles 6:8) is a son of Korah, and a brother of that first Assir; and in fact Assir, Elkanah, and Ebiasaph appear in Exodus 6:24 as sons of Korah. Thus these three, not withstanding the inexact phraseology of our list, which seems to exhibit them as father, son, and grandson, are rather to be taken for brothers. That Ebiasaph, the third of these Korahites, had a son Assir, and this a son Tahath, is recorded also in the genealogy of Heman, 1 Chronicles 6:22. On the contrary, the names of the three following members, Uriel, Uzziah, and Shaul, vary from the parallel names Zephaniah, Azariah, and Joel, in the line of Heman, 1 Chronicles 6:21; whence it would appear natural to assume a double name (favoured by the known identity of the king’s name, Uzziah-Azariah) for these three members; but this is liable to grave doubts. 1 Chronicles 6:10. And the sons of Elkanah: Amasai and Ahimoth. Among the ancestors of Heman also, 1 Chronicles 6:20, an Amasai is named as son of an Elkanah. It is natural to identify that Elkanah with the present, to take him for a son of Joel, son of Azariah, and so supply the severed connection between Shaul, 1 Chronicles 6:9, and Elkanah. The present Elkanah might also, indeed, be the son of Korah mentioned 1 Chronicles 6:8, and brother of Ebiasaph. It is impossible, however, to decide absolutely. 1 Chronicles 6:11. Elkanah his son, Elkanah of Zoph his son, or “Elkanah Zophai.” As the text is here notoriously corrupt, and an Elkanah, be it the first or the second, is redundant (see Crit. Note), it should perhaps be emended, with Bertheau, “Elkanah his son, Zophai his son,” etc. In this case, a desirable agreement with 1 Chronicles 6:20 is gained, where Elkanah appears, not indeed as son, but as grandson of Amasai (through a certain Mahath omitted in our text), and where, further, Zuph is named as son of this Elkanah, a name that is obviously identical with Zophai (comp. Kelubai, 1 Chronicles 2:9, with Kelub, 1 Chronicles 4:11). 1 Chronicles 6:12. Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. As “Nahath,” the father of Eliab, bears a name that is closely allied in etymology to Toah, the son of Zuph (or Zophai), in the series of the ancestors of Heman, 1 Chronicles 6:19, and so may pass for a by-form of this name, ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιΰָ ?α also appears to be a collateral form of ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ, 1 Chronicles 6:19; but Jeroham and Elkanah coincide exactly with the two there named predecessors (or rather descendants) of Eliab. Hence the two parallel series actually agree out and out, from Zuph to the last Elkanah. So much the more certainly is a ωְׁ ?ξεּ ?ΰֵ ?μαְּ ?πεֹ (comp. 1 Chronicles 6:18), forming the transition to 1 Chronicles 6:13, to be supposed omitted at the end of our verse, or the assumption at least to be made that the author (as follows at once from 1 Chronicles 6:13) meant by the last Elkanah no other than the father of Samuel. 1 Chronicles 6:13. And the sons of Samuel: the first-born Vashni, and Abiah. That here the name of Joel, who was actually the first-born of Samuel, and is named, 1 Chronicles 6:18, as his proper scion, has fallen out, appears indubitable from 1 Samuel 8:2; comp. Crit. Note. On the whole, the present genealogy of Kohath coincides with that of the ancestors of Heman in 1 Chronicles 6:18-23, though the text of our list appears the more defective, inaccurate, and partly corrupt. 1 Chronicles 6:14-15. Descendants of Merari, of the line of Mahli, from whom six generations of direct descendants are given. Against Bertheau’s attempt to identify the names Mahli, Libni, Shimi, Uzzah, Shema, Haggiah, Asaiah with those of the ancestors of Ethan in 1 Chronicles 6:29-32 (Mushi, Mahli, Shamer, Bani, Amzi, Hilkiah, Amaziah), in order to represent the three series of our section as mere parallels to the three series of the following section, see the remarks of Keil (p. 89). The latter justly asserts, in reference to 1 Chronicles 6:4 a: “The 1 Chronicles 6:14-15 furnish a list of the family of Mahli, whereas the ancestors of Ethan, 1 Chronicles 6:29-32, belong to the family of Mushi. Accordingly, our series cannot be designed to introduce Ethan or Ethan’s ancestors. This hypothesis is altogether a castle in the air.” 3. The Ancestors of the Levitical Songmasters Heman, Asaph, and Ethan: 1 Chronicles 6:16-34.—And these are they whom David set over the singing in the house of the Lord; comp. 1 Chronicles 15:17 ff. and 2 Chronicles 29:27.—ςַ ?μΞιְ ?γֵ ?ιΞωִׁ ?ιψ, properly: “to the hands of song,” that is, for the singing, for the purpose of leading and executing it.—After the resting of the ark; from the time when the ark (ΰֲ ?ψֹ ?οδַ ?αְּ ?ψִ ?ιϊ = ΰָ ?ψεֹ ?ο), instead of its previous wandering, had a permanent abode on Mount Zion, 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Samuel 6:17. 1 Chronicles 6:17. And they ministered before the dwelling of the tent of meeting with singing. “Before the dwelling;” for in the court, before the holy tent, or before the temple, took place the public worship, consisting of sacrifice and singing. The genitive, “of the tent of meeting” (institution), is explicative of the dwelling, that is, the dwelling of God among His people. This means, in the first place, the tent of institution or meeting (ΰֹ ?δֶ ?μΞξεֹ ?ςֵ ?γ), which David erected on Zion, as the immediate predecessor of the stone temple (2 Samuel 6:17 ff.; 1 Chronicles 21:28 ff.; 2 Chronicles 1:3), and along with which the old Mosaic tent of meeting continued a long time in Gibeon, with a separate service (1 Chronicles 1:29; 2 Chronicles 1:3; 1 Kings 3:4). That this Davidic tent on Zion is intended in the first place, is shown partly by the following reference to the building of Solomon’s temple, and partly by the circumstance that the following genealogy takes its start from the three songmasters of David.—And they attended in their order to their service. “In their order” (λְּ ?ξִ ?ωְׁ ?τָּ ?θָ ?ν), that is, according to the order prescribed by David,—so, namely, that (1 Chronicles 6:18 ff.) Heman the Kohathite, as chief leader of the whole choir, should stand in the middle, Asaph the Gershonite, with his choir, on his right, and Ethan the Merarite on his left, in conducting the sacred singing of the temple (comp. 1 Chronicles 16:37 ff., 1 Chronicles 24:1 : 2 Chronicles 30:16). 1 Chronicles 6:18. And these (the following) are they who attended, and their sons, with the choirs formed of their sons and their families. The names of their sons, see in 1 Chronicles 25:2-4. Here it is intended to trace, not so much the descendants of these songmasters from David’s time down, as rather their ancestors up to Levi.—Of the sons of Kohath: Heman the singer. He stands before the rest, and is distinguished from them by the mere predicate, “the singer” (ηַֽ ?ξְ ?ωׁ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ψ Sept. ὁψαλτῳδός), because the chief leading of the temple singing belonged to him. He appears here as the grandson of Samuel, which is chronologically and genealogically admissible, and is needlessly questioned by Hitzig (Gesch. d. Isr. p. 125 f.), who denies that Samuel belonged to the house of Levi. On the series of Kohathites now following to 1 Chronicles 6:23, consisting of twenty-two generations, and its relation to that in 1 Chronicles 6:7-13, see above. 1 Chronicles 6:23. The son of Levi, the son of Israel. Only here is this ascent beyond Levi to the patriarch of all Israel; comp. Luke 3:38 : τοῦ ’ΑδὰμτοῦΘεοῦ. 1 Chronicles 6:24-28. The ancestors of Asaph the Gershonite.—And his brother Asaph. “Brother,” obviously in a wider sense, as relative and fellow-officer in the sacred service. On the relation of his genealogy, including fifteen members to the earlier series of Gershonites, see on 1 Chronicles 6:5-6. 1 Chronicles 6:29-32. The ancestors of Ethan the Merarite.—And the sons of Merari, their brethren on the left, forming the choir standing on the left. For the name Jeduthun (ιְ ?γεּ ?ϊεּ ?ο, “praiseman”), otherwise occurring for Ethan, perhaps an honorary surname, comp. 1 Chronicles 16:41, 1 Chronicles 25:1; 2 Chronicles 35:15; Nehemiah 11:17. The series of Ethan’s ancestors must be greatly abbreviated, as it contains only twelve names up to Merari. 1 Chronicles 6:32. The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari. If Mahli and Mushi, 1 Chronicles 6:4, be named together as sons of Merari (as also Numbers 3:20), this does not contradict our passage, as Mahli is plainly enough designated, not as son, but as grandson of Merari, therefore as nephew or perhaps grand-nephew of Mushi the younger son of Merari. On the diversity of the whole series, 1 Chronicles 6:29-32, from that in 1 Chronicles 6:14-15, see on these verses. 1 Chronicles 6:33 f. And their brethren the Levites, given for all service, etc. “Their brethren the Levites” are other Levites beside the singers already mentioned. A general notice of the ministry of the Levites not belonging to the families of the singers thus closes our section, as the like notice of the liturgical functions of the singers themselves (1 Chronicles 6:16-17) opened it. πְ ?ϊεּ ?πִ ?ιν, “given to all service,” that is, given to Aaron and his descendants, to the priestly family appointed for service in the performance of worship ; comp. Numbers 3:9; Numbers 8:16-19; Numbers 18:6; also Samuel’s consecration or dedication to the temple service, 1 Samuel 1:11; 1 Samuel 1:28, and the oblati of monkery in the middle ages, for example, Bernard, etc. 1 Chronicles 6:34. And Aaron and his sons offered. There are three functions of the priestly portion of the Levites:—1. Sacrifice (on the altars of burnt-offering and incense), Numbers 18:1-7; Numbers 2. Ministration in the holy of holies, 1 Chronicles 28:13; 1 Chronicles 3. Propitiation or expiation for Israel, Leviticus 16:32.—In all that Moses, the servant of God, had commanded. For this honourable designation of Moses, comp. Numbers 12:7 ; Deuteronomy 34:5; Joshua 1:1; Joshua 1:13; Hebrews 3:2 ff. 4. The Series of High Priests from Eleazar to Ahimaaz: 1 Chronicles 6:35-38.—This section is closely connected with the two preceding verses; for it states who were “the sons of Aaron” named, 1 Chronicles 6:34, as the conductors of the priestly service in the temple. This series (which agrees essentially with 1 Chronicles 6:30-34; comp. Ezra 7:1-5) is brought down only to Ahimaaz, the contemporary of Solomon (comp. 2 Samuel 15:27), because in the whole section, from 1 Chronicles 6:16, a “source is used in which the prominent families of Levi in the time of David (and Solomon) were described, and along with the genealogies of Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, that of Ahimaaz also stood, which the author of Chronicles was induced to insert for the sake of completeness and confirmation of the former series” (Bertheau). This series of high priests, breaking off with the time of Solomon, does not form a specially suitable transition to the following list of the Levitical cities (against Keil), although by its introductory words (especially by the suffix in ξεֹ ?ωְׁ ?αεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν, 1 Chronicles 6:38, that points to εְ ?ΰֵ֖ ?μֶּ ?δαְּ ?πֵ ?ιΰַֽ ?δֲ ?ψεֹ ?ο, 1 Chronicles 6:35) it appears closely connected with the foregoing section. 5. The Cities of the Levites: 1 Chronicles 6:39-66.—And these are their dwellings, by their districts in their border—the border which was then assigned to the several Levitical families. The superscription may have stood in the document which the Chronist here follows; it is wanting in the list of the dwellings of the Levites, Joshua 21, which runs in the main parallel to this, but deviates in form and in many details. For θִ ?ιψָ ?δ (from θεּ ?ψcircumdare), in early times, village of nomades, of tents (Genesis 25:16 ; Numbers 21:10), here district, circuit of dwellings, comp. Psalms 69:26.—Of the sons of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathites; for to them was the lot. These words form the special superscription to 1 Chronicles 6:40-45. After δַ ?βּ ?εֹ ?ψָ ?μ, perhaps ψִ ?ΰιωֹׁ ?πָ ?δ has fallen out; comp. Joshua 21:10. At all events, the first lot is here in question. 1 Chronicles 6:40-41 agree almost literally with Joshua 21:11-12, only Hebron has there its old name Kiriath Arba; and for “in the land of Judah,” stands “on the mountains of Judah.”—And its suburbs round about it.ξִ ?βְ ?ψָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν is the standing phrase for the pastures (Kamph.) or commons belonging to the cities, as distinguished from the field ωָׂ ?γֶ ?δ, or arable land, 1 Chronicles 6:41. For the historical contents of 1 Chronicles 6:41, comp. also Joshua 14:14; Joshua 15:13. 1 Chronicles 6:42. And to the sons of Aaron they gave the free towns Hebron and Libnah. As Hebron only was a free town (ςִ ?ιψξִ ?χְ ?μַ ?θδָ ?ψεֹ ?φֵ ?ηַ, place of refuge for the manslayer), the plural appears at least inexact. The parallel, Joshua 21:13, has the correct form ςִ ?ιψ. The same occurs with respect to Shechem, 1 Chronicles 6:52.—And Jattir, and Eshtemoa, and its suburbs. After ιַ ?ϊִּ ?ιψ, the standing addition εְ ?ΰֶ ?ϊΞξִ ?βְ ?ψָ ?ωֶׁ ?ιδָ, which is found in Joshua 21:13 as always. 1 Chronicles 6:43. And Hilen and its suburbs. Instead of ηִ ?ιμֵ ?ο, Joshua 21:15 has the more correct ηֹ ?μֹ ?ο (comp. Joshua 15:51). 1 Chronicles 6:44. And Ashan and its suburbs. The name ςָ ?ωָׁ ?ο in this place appears more correct than ςַ ?ιִ ?ο in Joshua 21:16. Immediately after this Ashan the name of Juttah must have fallen out, as appears from Joshua 21; as in 1 Chronicles 6:45 the name of Gibeon before Geba. This twofold omission is indirectly confirmed by the closing notice in 1 Chronicles 6:45 : “all their cities were thirteen cities in their families;” for at present, the list referring to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, 1 Chronicles 6:42-45, contains only eleven cities. Besides, the third of the Levitical cities in Benjamin is called, Joshua 21:18, not Allemeth (ςַ ?μֶּ ?ξֶ ?ϊ), but Almon (ςַ ?μְ ?ξεֹ ?ο). It is impossible to decide which is the original form. 1 Chronicles 6:46-48 give summarily only the number, not the names, of the cities of the remaining Levites of the families of Kohath, Gershom, and Merari (parallel to 1 Chronicles 6:5-7 in Joshua 21); the enumeration by name follows 1 Chronicles 6:51 ff.—Of the family of the tribe, from the half-tribe. Between these words of 1 Chronicles 6:46 (δַ ?ξַּ ?θֶּ ?δ and δַ ?ξַּֽ ?ηֲ ?φִ ?ιϊ) there is an obvious gap; according to Joshua 21:5, the words “Ephraim, and of the tribe of Dan and” have here fallen out. 1 Chronicles 6:47. And of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. More exactly, Joshua 21:6, “and of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan,” though we may do without the missing ηֲ ?φִ ?ι. 1 Chronicles 6:49-50 disturb the progress of the enumeration, which, after the summary statements of the foregoing three verses, raises the expectation of a specification of the cities of the other Kohathites in a way so surprising, that their original occupation of another place, and that before 1 Chronicles 6:39 b (“of the sons of Aaron,” etc.), admits of no doubt; comp. Joshua 21, where they stand in 1 Chronicles 6:8-9 as superscription of the list of cities assigned to the priests. As they are there annexed to the summary statement, 1 Chronicles 6:5-7, which forms here 1 Chronicles 6:46-48, a mechanically proceeding compiler takes them over with these at once, and the Chronist, who followed this compiler, neglects to repair his negligence.—These cities which they called by names. The plurals ωֵׁ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ and ιִ ?χְ ?ψְ ?ΰεּ are suitable explanations, instead of the corresponding singulars in Joshua 21:9, as the subject, “the sons of Israel,” is easily supplied to the verb from 1 Chronicles 6:48, and several names of cities are given. The masc. ΰֶ ?ϊְ ?δֶ ?ν, instead of ΰֶ ?ϊְ ?δֶ ?ο, may be only an oversight (Berth., Keil). 1 Chronicles 6:51-55. The cities of the remaining Kohathites; comp. Joshua 21:20-26. And of the families of the sons of Kohath.—Instead, of εּ ?ξִ ?ξּ ?ωְׁ ?τְּ ?ηεֹ ?ϊ, is perhaps to be read εּ ?μְ ?ξִ ?ωְׁ ?τְּ ?ηεֹ ?ϊ, “and with respect to the families,” etc. 1 Chronicles 6:52. For the pl. “free towns,” comp. on 1 Chronicles 6:42. 1 Chronicles 6:53. And Jokmeam. Joshua 21:22 gives for this ιָ ?χְ ?ξְ ?ςָ ?ν an otherwise unknown χִ ?αְ ?φַ ?ιִ ?ν; but the Sept. confirms the former reading by its ’Ιεκμαάν. 1 Chronicles 6:54. And Aijalon and its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon and its suburbs. In Joshua 21:23-24, these two Levitical cities, with two others here omitted, Eltekeh and Gibbethon, belong to the tribe of Dan. According to this, before these words a whole verse has fallen out: “and of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its suburbs, Gibbethon and its suburbs.” That the mention of the tribe of Dan is here for the second time avoided (comp. 1 Chronicles 6:46), can scarcely be called accidental; comp. on 1 Chronicles 7:12. 1 Chronicles 6:55. Aner and its suburbs, and Bilam and its suburbs. Joshua 21:25 calls the two Levitical cities in West Manasseh rather Tanach and Gathrimmon; but these names appear to be errors of transcription originating in the foregoing verse. In this case, our text should be the more correct, only that αִּ ?μְ ?ςָ ?ν (Joshua 17:11) should perhaps be changed into ιִ ?αְ ?μְ ?ςָ ?ν.—To the family of the remaining sons of Kohath. These words, formally annexed to “they gave,” etc., 1 Chronicles 6:52 a, form a kind of subscription, in which, perhaps, the singular “family” should be changed into the plural; comp. μְ ?ξִ ?ωְׁ ?τְּ ?ηεֹ ?ϊ, Joshua 21:26. 1 Chronicles 6:56-61. The cities of the Gershonites; comp. Joshua 21:27-33.—Golan in Bashan. That Golan is one of the six cities of refuge, like Hebron, Shechem, etc., is not mentioned; this again is one of the omissions in which our text abounds. For the name Ashtaroth, Joshua 21:27 substitutes Beeshterah (αְּ ?ςֶ ?ωְׁ ?ϊְּ ?ψָ ?δ), perhaps compounded of αֵּ ?ιϊΞςֶ ?ωְ ?ϊְּ ?ψָ ?δ.This city (Deuteronomy 1:4, Joshua 13:12, once the seat of king Og) was perhaps formerly called Ashteroth-karnaim, Genesis 14:5, now Tell Ashteroth, some hours north-west of Edrei. 1 Chronicles 6:57. Kedesh and its suburbs. For χֶ ?γֶ ?ωׁ, Joshua 21:28 has more correctly χִ ?ωְׁ ?ιεֹ ?ο, as in 1 Chronicles 6:58 the reading ιַ ?ψִ ?ξεּ ?ϊ, Joshua 21:29, is perhaps more correct than ψָ ?ΰξεֹ ?ϊ, and ςֵ ?ιοβַּ ?πִּ ?ιν than ςָ ?πֵ ?ν. 1 Chronicles 6:59. Mashal (ξָ ?ωָׁ ?μ) is contracted for ξִ ?ωְׁ ?ΰָ ?μ, Joshua 19:26. On the contrary, ηεּ ?χֹ ?χ, 1 Chronicles 6:60, appears to be wrongly transcribed for ηֶ ?μְ ?χָ ?δ, which Joshua has in our passage and Joshua 19:25 (ηֻ ?χֹּ ?χ in Naphtali, Joshua 19:24, cannot be here intended), 1 Chronicles 6:61. Kedesh in Galilee. Of this city, also, it is not noted that it belonged to the six free towns, Joshua 21:32. On its site, west of the lake Merom, where Kedes now lies, see Rob. 3:682, Raumer, Pal�st, p. 116.—The following Hammon corresponds to Hammoth-dor, Joshua 21:32, and to Hammath, Joshua 19:35, which three forms appear all to point to hot springs in the vicinity of the place. In Joseph. Antiq. xviii. 2. 3, the name is ’Αμμαοῦς. For Klriathaim, Joshua 21:32 has the contracted form Kartan (χַ ?ψְ ?ϊָּ ?ο), that stands to the present full form as γּ ?εֹ ?ϊָ ?ο, 2 Kings 6:13, to γּ ?εֹ ?ϊַ ?ιִ ?ο, Genesis 37:17. 1 Chronicles 6:62-66. The cities of the Merarites; comp. Joshua 21:34-37.—To the sons of Merari that remained, namely, the Levites, as the fuller form δַֽ ?μְ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?νδַ ?πִּ ?εֹ ?ϊָ ?ψִ ?ιν, Joshua 21:34, shows, which may mean, “those of the Levites still to he mentioned.” —Rimmono and its suburbs, Tabor and its suburbs. Here the names of two other cities of Zebulun have fallen out, Jokneam and Kartah. But even the two here named have other names there, where, for ψִ ?ξּ ?εֹ ?πεֹ, the probably less correct γִּ ?ξְ ?πָ ?δ appears (comp. the repeated mention of a city ψִ ?ξּ ?εֹ ?ο in Zebulun, Joshua 19:13), and where, in place of our ϊָּ ?αεֹ ?ψ, stands the name πַֽ ?δֲ ?μָ ?μ, which is certainly identical with Nahalol, Judges 1:30, and is perhaps found in the present Nalul, south-west of Nazareth. It is hard to say how our ϊָּ ?αεֹ ?ψ came into the text instead of the undoubtedly original πδμμ; possibly the author meant, instead of the city, only the region where it lay—Mount Tabor (Movers); possibly the name of the city fell out, and of the determination of its site, that was perhaps included in the words ςַ ?μβְּ ?αεּ ?μλִּ ?ρְ ?μֹ ?ϊϊָּ ?αεֹ ?ψ, only the last word remains (Berth.); or possibly the place bore two quite different names. 1 Chronicles 6:63-64 are wanting in some editions of the books of Joshua, where they are Joshua 19:36-37. But the most and best mss. contain them, and there is no decisive reason for their condemnation as spurious; see the particulars in Fay on the passage.—And beyond Jordan by Jericho, east of Jordan. This determination of place (which is often found in like terms, Numbers 22:1; Numbers 26:3; Numbers 34:15; comp. on 2 Chronicles 8:3) is wanting in the book of Joshua, which in other respects agrees with our verse, only that it omits not to mark Bezer as a free town. 1 Chronicles 6:65. And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead. Here also is wanting the mention of its being a city of refuge; comp. Joshua 21:36, where also the name is written, not as here, ψָ ?ΰξεֹ ?ϊ, but ψָ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ, as, of the two places mentioned in the following verse, the latter is there not Jaazer but Jazer; comp. Numbers 21:32. The situation of these towns is wholly unknown. Moreover, let us compare, with respect to the Levitical cities in general, the not unimportant remark of Hengstenberg, Gesch. d. Reichs Gottes unter dem A. B. ii. i, p. 1Chr 259: the number of the cities in all amounted to forty-eight. At first sight, for a comparatively small tribe, this appears to be too great. But this appearance vanishes, when we consider that in these cities, not the Levites alone, but, along with them, craftsmen and others from the other tribes dwelt, who made often the greater part of the population; comp. Leviticus 25:33; 1 Chronicles 6:40-41 (Caleb as inhabitant of the lands of Hebron), etc.” There is weight also in his remark, p. 260, on the many differences between our list and Joshua 21; these “are most easily explained by the fact that some of the cities assigned to the Levites were at the time (when the land was divided among the twelve tribes) in possession of the Canaanites, and as the hope of their immediate conquest failed, were first recovered from them by others, in whose possession they remained, on account of the inconvenience of the change.” In many cases this assumption may be correct, and serve to explain the double names, as Ashan and Ain, Allemeth and Almon, Kedesh and Kishion, Anem and Engannim, Tabor and Nahalal, etc. (See on 1 Chronicles 6:44-45; 1 Chronicles 6:57-58; 1 Chronicles 6:62.) But that, besides numerous corruptions of the text, errors in transcription, and omissions of names, sentences, and clauses, took place not merely in our text, but also in that of Joshua, must have been abundantly evident from our exegetical and critical remarks. Footnotes: The Kethib is ΰֶ ?μְ ?χָ ?πָ ?δαְ ?πεֹ; the Keri puts αְּ ?πֵ ?ι for αְּ ?πεֹ, and places ΰֵ ?μְ ?χָ ?πָ ?δ (with Athnach) as a separate superscription. The text is, at all events, corrupt (see Exeg. Expl.), whether the first ΰֶ ?μְ ?χָ ?πָ ?δ is to be erased, and αְּ ?πֵ ?ι to be read, or the second ΰμχπδ removed, and the sing. αְּ ?πεֹ to be retained. After δַ ?αְּ ?λεֹ ?ψ, the name ιεֹ ?ΰֵ ?μ must have fallen out, as the comparsion of 1 Samuel 8:2 shows (comp. also 1 Chronicles 6:18). The Kethib has αֶּ ?οΞφִ ?ισ; the Keri, more correctly, αֶּ ?οΞφεּ ?σ. For ΰֶ ?ϊΞςָ ?ψֵ ?ιδַ ?ξִּ ?χְ ?μָ ?θ, some old prints, after the Bibl. Veneta Rabb. 1525, have ΰֶ ?ϊΞςָ ?ψֵ ?ιιְ ?δεּ ?γָ ?δδַ ?ξִּ ?Χ. The mss. (see de Rossi, Var. Lect) do not show this addition, which appears to have come into the text from the margin. For ηִ ?ιμֵ ?ο (in Joshua 21:16, ηֹ ?μֹ ?ο), the more accurate mss. have, according to R. Norzi and Ed. Neapolit., ηιμο. It is only an insipid rabbinical conceit, which Keil should not have reproduced, of Rashi and Kimchi to apply the words ver 36b, “he that served as priest in the house that Solomon built,” to the bold stand of the Azariah, under Uzziah, against this king recorded in 2 Chronicles 26:17. But no less untenable is Neteler’s assertion (Chron. pp. 58. 240), that Azariah was the son of Jehoiada, the husband of Jehoshabath, and effecter of that revolution which raised Joash to the throne (2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 23:1 ff.); see on 2 Chronicles 23:8. With Keil’s and Bδhr’s attempt (Bibelw. part vii. p. 25 ff.) to regard the “Azariah son of Zadok” of this passage, not as priest or high priest, but as the first of the great civil functionaries of Solomon, we cannot agree, because δַ ?αֹּ ?δֵ ?ο is thereby taken in too abnormal a sense. Comp. Gesen.-Dietrich on the word αδο. e. The Families of the Remaining Tribes (except Dan and Zebulun), and in particular of the Benjamtte House Of Saul 1 Chronicles 7–8 1. The Families of Issachar, Benjamin, Naphtali, West Manasseh, Ephraim, and Asher: 1 Chronicles 7α. The Tribe of Issachar: 1 Chronicles 7:1-51 Ch 7:1.And the sons of Issachar: Tola and Puah, Jashub and Shimron, four. 2And the sons of Tola: Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Samuel, heads of their father-houses to Tola, valiant heroes in their generations; their number in the days of David was twenty and two thousand and six hundred. 3And the sons of Uzzi: Izrahiah; and the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five heads in all. 4And with them, by their generations, by their father-houses, troops of the host of war, thirty and six thousand; for they had many wives and sons. 5And their brethren of all the families of Issachar, valiant heroes, eighty and seven thousand was their register for all. β. The Tribe of Benjamin: 1 Chronicles 7:6-116 Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. 7And the sons of Bela : Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of father-houses, valiant heroes; and their register was twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. 8And the sons of Becher: Zemirah, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alemeth: 9all these were the sons of Becher. And their register by their generations, heads of their father-houses, valiant heroes, twenty thousand and two hundred. 10And the sons of Jediael: Bilhan; and the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11All these were sons of Jediael, by the heads of the fathers, valiant heroes, seventeen thousand and two hundred going out in the host for war. γ. Another Tribe, and the Tribe of Naphtali: 1 Chronicles 7:12-1312 And Shuppim and Huppim, sons of Ir: Hushim, sons of another. 13The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, sons of Bilhah. δ. Half-Tribe of Manasseh (west of Jordan): 1 Chronicles 7:14-1914 The sons of Manasseh: Ashriel, whom his concubine, the Aramitess, bare; she bare Machir, the father of Gilead. 15And Machir took a wife for Huppim and Shuppim, and the name of his sister was Maachah, and the name of the 16second was Zelophehad ; and Zelophehad had daughters. And Maachah, wife of Machir, bare a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rekem. 17And the sons of Ulam : Bedan: these are the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son ofManasseh. 18And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19And the sons of Shemidah: Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. ε. The Tribe of Ephraim: 1 Chronicles 7:20-2920 And the sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son. 21And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son; and Ezer and Elad ; and the men of Gath that were born in the land slew them, because they came down to take away their cattle. 22And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to 23comfort him. And he went in to his wife, and she conceived and bare a son, 24and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. And his daughter was Sherah, and she built Beth-horon, the nether and the upper, and 25Uzzen-sherah. And Rephah his son, and Resheph and Telah his son, and 26,27Tahan his son. Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son. Non 28his son, Joshua his son. And their possession and their habitations were Bethel and her daughters, and eastward Naaran, and westward Gezer and her daughters, and Shechem and her daughters unto Ajjah and her daughters. 29And on the side of the sons of Manasseh, Bethshean and her daughters, Taanach and her daughters, Megiddo and her daughters, Dor and her daughters; in these dwelt the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. ζ. The Tribe of Asher: 1 Chronicles 7:30-4030 The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishuah, and Ishui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. 31And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel; he is the father of Birzavith. 32And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. 33And the sons of Japhlet Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath : these are the sons of Japhlet. 34And the sons of Shemer: Ahi, and 35Rohgah, and Hubbah and Aram. And the son of Helem his brother: Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. 36The sons of Zophah : Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, 37Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. 38And the sons of Jether: Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. 39And the sons of Ulla: Arah, and Hanniel, and Riziah. 40All these were the sons of Asher, heads of father-houses, choice, valiant heroes, heads of the princes: and their register for the service in war was twenty and six thousand. 1. The Tribe of Issachar: 1 Chronicles 7:1-5.—And the sons of Issachar. That εְ ?μִ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι is an error of the pen for εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι (comp. 1 Chronicles 7:20; 1 Chronicles 5:11, etc.), occasioned by the many μִ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι in the previous section (1 Chronicles 6:42; 1 Chronicles 6:46-47, etc.), is probable in itself, and is confirmed by the Sept. cod. Alex. (see Crit. Note). To regard the μְ as introductory, “as for the sons of Issachar,” is impossible, because the names of the four sons immediately follow. On the constant Keri (ιִ ?ωָּׁ ?λָ ?ψ, “obtained by hire”) referring to the name ιωׂ ?ωׂ ?λψ, and on its probable pronunciation, comp. the expositors on Genesis 30:16, and Dietrich’s Gesenius.—Tola and Puah, Jashub and Shimron. So run the names also in Numbers 26:23 ff., while in Genesis 46:15 the second and third vary (τֻּ ?εָּ ?δ for τּ ?εּ ?ΰָ ?δ, and ιεֹ ?α for ιָ ?ωׁ ?εּ ?α). 1 Chronicles 7:2. Uzzi and Rephaiah, etc. These sons of Tola occur nowhere else. They are here designated “heads of their father-houses to Tola” their parent; this addition μְ ?ϊεֹ ?μָ ?ς serves to define μְ ?αֵ ?ιϊΰֲ ?αεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν more exactly ; but it is somewhat strange, which raises the suspicion of corruption.—Valiant heroes in their generations, after their births, that is, as they are registered. Before μְ ?ϊֹ ?μְ ?γεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν a δִ ?ϊְ ?ιַ ?ηְ ?ωָׂ ?ν appears to have fallen out; comp. 1 Chronicles 7:9. Less probable is the connection of μְ ?ϊֹ ?μְ ?γεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν with the following ξִ ?ρְ ?τָּ ?ψָ ?ν against the accentuation, which Keil proposes, “after their births their number was,” etc. Moreover, the number 22,600 for the men of Issachar fit for service in David’s time should rest on the known census made by Joab under this king (1 Chronicles 21; 2 Samuel 24), and therefore, like the following numbers, 1 Chronicles 7:4-5; 1 Chronicles 7:7; 1 Chronicles 7:11, etc., should be credible and accurate. 1 Chronicles 7:3. Five heads in all, namely, Izrahiah the father with his four sons. 1 Chronicles 7:4. And with them, namely, the five heads of families mentioned 1 Chronicles 7:3 (ςַ ?μ in εַֽ ?ςֲ ?μֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν, “with, along with”). The number 36,000 for this family alone is at first sight surprising; but the following remark: “for they (those five heads) had many wives and sons,” is sufficient to explain and justify it, pointing to an unwonted fruit-fulness of this family, and making it conceivable that the grandson of Izrahiah should have nearly twice as many descendants (36,000) as the patriarch Tola (22,600). 1 Chronicles 7:5. And their brethren … eighty and seven thousand was their register, literally, their register with respect to all (μְ ?λֹ ?μ). In this sum total of all the tribes of Issachar in the time of David are included—1. The 22,600 descendants of Tola; 2. The 36,000 of Izrahiah; and 3. “Their brethren,” 28,400 of the other families of the tribe not mentioned by name. The credibility of these numbers is shown by the circumstance that in the two enumerations under Moses the men of Issachar fit for service were respectively 54,400 (Numbers 1:29) and 64,300 (Numbers 26:25). The comparatively slow increase (about 23,000) during the centuries from Moses to David is due to the desolating troubles in the time of the judges. 2. The Tribe of Benjamin: 1 Chronicles 7:6-11.—Benjamin: Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. A αְּ ?πֵ ?ι or εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι appears to have fallen out before αִּ ?πְ ?ιָ ?ξִ ?ιο. If only three sons of Benjamin are here enumerated, this seems to contradict Genesis 46:21, where ten sons of Benjamin are named; also Numbers 26:38, where at least five are named; and 1 Chronicles 8:1 f., where at all events five are enumerated, though some of them are different from those in Numbers. The relation of these four different registers may be thus exhibited:— Genesis 46Numbers 261 Chronicles 81 Chronicles 7Bela.Bela.Bela.Bela.Becher.Becher.Ashbel.Ashbel.Ashbel.Gera.Naaman.Ehi.Ahiram.Ahrah (ΰַ ?ηְ ?ψַ ?η).Kosh.Muppim.Shephuphan.Huppim.Hupham.Ard.Nochah (πεֹ ?ηָ ?δ).Raphah (ψָ ?τָ ?ΰ).Jediael.From this comparison, it appears that—1. Jediael occurs only here, and may be corrupted from the Ashbel of the other three lists, or a synonymous by-form of it. If this conjecture of most old expositors (with which the derivation of ΰωαμ from ΰֶ ?ωְׁ ?αַּ ?ςַ ?μ [Wellhausen, Text d. B. Sam. p. 31] would not agree) were well grounded, our text would give three sons of Benjamin agreeing with Genesis, and pass over in silence the remaining seven. 2. Becher the second son of Benjamin, is, to our surprise, wanting in Num. and 1 Chronicles 8, although a family of nine sons, growing into 20,200 men, are given underneath (1 Chronicles 7:8-9). His omission in those lists in Numbers 26. may arise from this, that he did not attain to great numbers in the time of Moses, but only in the days of David and Solomon, whose enumerations lie at the basis of the data here. 3. Some of the differences in the other names prove to be mere variations of pronunciation or structure; thus Ehi, Ahiram, and Ahrah are one and the same; also Muppim (ξֻ ?τִּ ?ιν, probably written by mistake for ωֻׁ ?τִּ ?ιν; see on 1 Chronicles 7:12) and Shephupham, Huppim and Hupham. 4. Two of the ten names in Genesis 46, as the partly more correct genealogy in Numbers 26:38-40 shows, are not sons, but grandsons of Benjamin, Naaman and Ard, who were sons of Bela. 5. The two names in Genesis 46. that have no parallel, Gera and Rosh, appear to have died childless, or to have not been blessed with a numerous offspring, to whose existence the later genealogists were not led to make any further reference. 1 Chronicles 7:7. And the sons of Bela … five, etc. Their names do not agree with the names of the sons of Bela given in 1 Chronicles 8:3 and in Numbers 26:40; the difference will rest on this, that a part of these heads of father-houses of the family of Bela, or perhaps all of them, were later descendants of their ancestors, and therefore sons in a wider sense.—Valiant heroes.. βִּ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ιηֲ ?ιָ ?μִ ?ιν here and in 1 Chronicles 7:10 for the otherwise usual and more concrete βִּ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ιηַ ?ιִ ?μ (1 Chronicles 7:2; 1 Chronicles 7:9, etc.). 1 Chronicles 7:8. And the sons of Becher, etc. Of the names of these nine sons of Becher, the last two, Anathoth and Alemeth, occur otherwise as cities of Benjamin; Alemeth (in the varied form ςַ ?μֶּ ?ξֶ ?ϊ), 1 Chronicles 6:45, and Anathoth there and Isaiah 10:30, Jeremiah 1:1, both as Levitical cities. 1 Chronicles 7:9. Heads of their father-houses, valiant heroes.ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ιαֵ ?ιϊΰֲ ?αεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν is in explanatory apposition with μְ ?ϊֹ ?μְ ?γεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν, and βִּ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ιηַ ?ιִ ?μwith the former. The heads of houses are, at the same time, designated as heroes of war. See a similar construction in Ezra 3:12. 1 Chronicles 7:10. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, etc. Of these grandsons of Jediael, the first is called in the Kethib “Jeish” (see Crit. Note); the second bears the name of the patriarch, his ancestor ; the third is a namesake of Ehud the judge (Judges 3:15), who was of the family of Gera, and scarcely identical with the present one (Genesis 46:21). Chenaanah, λְּ ?εַֽ ?ςֲ ?πָ ?δ, may incline us to think (with Berth.) of a Canaanitish family incorporated with the Benjamites. The names Tarshish, otherwise denoting a precious stone, and Ahishahar, brother of the morning blush, point to the glory and fame of their bearers, and may be surnames, which afterward became personal names. 1 Chronicles 7:11. All these were sons, descendants, of Jediael, by the heads of the fathers registered. ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ιδָ ?ΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ stands briefly for ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ιαֵ ?ιϊΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ. The μְ before ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ι seems to be redundant; it is also wanting in the Sept., and is perhaps to be erased, though it may be dependent on a δִ ?ϊְ ?ιַ ?ηְ ?ωָׂ ?ν (1 Chronicles 7:9) to be supplied in thought, and in this case to be retained. The 17,200 men of Jediael’s family fit for war, with the 20,200 men of Becher’s and 22,034 of Bela’s, make up 59,434 warriors or heads of houses in Benjamin when David made his census, about 14,000 more than in the days of Moses, when all the families of Benjamin presented in the field 45,600 men (Numbers 26:41). In weighing the grounds for this not very rapid increase during a period of three or four centuries, it is proper to take into account the catastrophe of the first period of the judges, whereby the whole tribe of Benjamin was reduced to 600 men (Judges 20:47). The number of 280,000 Benjamite warriors given, 2 Chronicles 24:7, for the time of Asa is explained in this way, that there, not heads of houses, but individuals fit for military service, are included. 3. Another (unnamed) Tribe, and the Tribe of Naphtali: 1 Chronicles 7:12-13.—And Shuppim and Huppim, sons of Ir. This first half of the verse contains pretty certainly a supplement to the genealogy of Benjamin; for the names Shuppim and Huppim coincide with those of two by the sons of Benjamin, as they are called Genesis 46:21 (the word ξֻ ?τִּ ?ιν there appears, as has been said, corrupted from ωֻׁ ?τִּ ?ιν); and that these two Benjamites, whose more correct forms are preserved in Numbers 26:39, appear here as αְּ ?πֵ ?ιςִ ?ιψ, is easily reconciled with other statements, for ςִ ?ιψ is most probably identical with ςִ ?ιψִ ?ι the son of Bela, 1 Chronicles 7:7; hence those who are called, Genesis 46 and Numbers 26, sons of Bela, appear here more correctly as his grandsons. Thus our verse contains so far nothing difficult or enigmatical.—Hushim, sons of another, or “sons of Aher” (ΰַ ?ηֵ ?ψ). It is possible that these words also refer to a Benjamite family, for the name ηֻ ?ωִׁ ?ν, in the varying form ηεּ ?ωִׁ ?ιν or ηֻ ?ωִׁ ?ιν, is found, 1 Chronicles 8:8; 1 Chronicles 8:11, among the Benjamites as the son of a Shaharaim, who might lie hid under the ΰַ ?ηֵ ?ψ of our passage (so thinks Davidson, Introd. ii. 51, who proposes the middle form ωַׁ ?ηַ ?ψ as common ground for ΰַ ?ηֵ ?ψ and ωַֽׁ ?ηֲ ?ψַ ?ιִ ?ν). But it is more probable that ηֻ ?ωִׁ ?ν denotes the only son of Dan mentioned Genesis 46:23, who is himself, indicated by the mysterious ΰηψ. For—1. Both in Genesis 46. and Numbers 26. Dan immediately follows Benjamin, and he stands in the first passage, as here, between Benjamin and Naphtali. 2. The name ωׁ ?εּ ?ηָ ?ν, which Numbers 26:42 gives for the only son of Dan, is different only in form from the ηֻ ?ωִׁ ?ν of our passage and the ηֻ ?ωִׁ ?ιν of Genesis; we may suppose a ηεּ ?ωָׁ ?ν or ωְׁ ?ηεּ ?ηָ ?ν (comp. ωְׁ ?τεּ ?τָ ?ν, Numbers 26:39) as common ground-form for both. 3. Decisive for the reference of 1 Chronicles 7:12 b to the tribe of Dan is the αְּ ?πֵ ?ιαִ ?μְ ?δָ ?δ at the close of 1 Chronicles 7:13, a note referring obviously, Genesis 46:25, to Dan and Naphtali, the two sons of Bilhah. The avoiding to name Dan, and concealing him under the indefinite ΰַ ?ηֵ ?ψ (comp. Ezra 2:31), recall the former surprising omissions of this tribe in 1 Chronicles 6:46-54, and appear to rest like these on a peculiar dislike of our author to record particulars concerning a tribe that had early separated itself from the theocratic community by the establishment of a foreign worship; comp. Judges 17, 18. That the name Dan occurs three times in our book (1 Chronicles 2:2, 1 Chronicles 12:35, 1 Chronicles 27:22) certainly appears to stand against this hypothesis proposed by Bertheau, and approved by other moderns, as Kamph., Bφhmer (Zur Lehre vom Antichrist, Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol. 1859, p. 449), and to favour either the view of Ewald, who supposes an accidental omission of the name of Dan and of some other words by a corruption of the text, or that of Keil, who, with the ancients, finds in the words “ Hushim, sons of Aher,” only a Benjamite family (named 1 Chronicles 8:8; 1 Chronicles 8:11). But that here again a corruption of the text accidentally affects the name of Dan, whom we expect to meet between Benjamin and Naphtali, is scarcely credible; and against the addition of the words in question to the foregoing series of Benjamites is the absence of the copula ε before ηֻ ?ωִׁ ?ν. There is therefore considerable probability in the assumption of Berth., that the omission of Dan is as little accidental here as in the list of the twelve tribes in Revelation 7:5-8, and that it has a theocratic, judicial import, as it points to the fall of Dan into idolatry. From the Rabbinical tradition concerning Judges 18:30, where the name of Moses is supposed to be intentionally changed into Manasseh, that it might not occur in the history of the Danite sanctuary, nothing can be drawn in support of this assumption, as this is only an insipid conceit in explanation of the Keriξπωׁ ?δ (against Berth.). It is also to be borne in mind that another tribe, that of Zebulun, is wholly passed over in our series, the omission of which may well be called accidental (as, for example, that of the tribes Asher and Gad in the list of tribe-princes, 1 Chronicles 27:16-24). Comp. the evangelical-ethical principles, No. 2.—The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jazer, and Shallum. The parallel lists, Genesis 46:24, Numbers 26:48 f., give these names, only the first is there Jahzeel (ιַ ?ηְ ?φְ ?ΰֵ ?μ) and the last Shillem (ωִׁ ?μֵּ ?ν). For the addition, “ sons of Bilhah,” see on 1 Chronicles 7:12. 4. The half-Tribe of Manasseh (west of Jordan): 1 Chronicles 7:14-19.—The sons of Manasseh: Ashriel, whom his concubine the Aramitess bare. That here it is treated of the western half of Manasseh is understood of itself after the former communications concerning East Manasseh, 1 Chronicles 5:23 f. Of the six families of West Manasseh named in Numbers 26:30; Numbers 26:34, and Joshua 17:2, only two are mentioned here, Ashriel and Shemida (1 Chronicles 7:19). But Ashriel, from the more exact accounts in Numbers 26:31, is not a son, but a grandson, of Manasseh, by his father Gilead. Now, as the following sentence referring to the Avamζan concubine of Manasseh, “she bare Machir the father of Gilead,” seems designed to explain how Ashriel could be called a son of Manasseh and his concubine, it seems necessary to assume that he sprang from her in the fourth degree as the son of Gilead and grandson of Machir. But this assumption is as doubtful as the Masoretic expedient, which separates the words ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψιָֽ ?μְ ?γָ ?δ by an Athnach under the latter from the following τִּ ?ιμַ ?βְ ?ωׁ ?εֹ εβεΧ, and requires the supplement of some unmentioned wife to the “whom she bare.” The sagacious hypothesis of Movers (assented to by Berth. and Kamph.) here commends itself, that the name Ashriel, as a gloss arising from writing twice the consonants immediately following ΰωִׁ ?ψιμ, is to be erased, and so the sense is to be gained: “the sons of Manasseh, whom his Aramζan concubine bare: she bare Machir,” etc. Comp. the Sept. on Genesis 46:26 : ἐγένοντοδὲυἱοὶΜανασσῆ, οὓςἔτεκεναὐτῷἡπαλλακὴἡΣύρα. 1 Chronicles 7:15. And Machir took a wife for Huppim and Shuppim, etc. The whole verse is so obscure, that the assumption either of interpolation or of the omission of some words seems unavoidable. Bertheau proceeds in the former way, rejects the words μְ ?ηֻ ?τִּ ?ινεּ ?μְ ?ωֻׁ ?τִּ ?ιν as a gloss from 1 Chronicles 7:12, and by means of some other changes, especially the insertion of 1 Chronicles 7:18 a, arrives at the sense: “and Machir took a wife, whose name was Maachah, and the name of his sister was Hammolecheth; and the name of his brother (the second) was Zelophehad.” Somewhat less violent is the emendation attempted by Movers (p. 89), which limits itself to the change of ΰֲ ?ηֹ ?ϊεֹ before ξςλδ into δָ ?ΰַ ?ηַ ?ϊ, and yields the sense: “ and Machir took a wife from Huppim and from Shuppim (μְ) standing for ξִ ?ο, and pointing to a marriage of Machir with two wives out of the families of Huppim and Shuppim, 1 Chronicles 7:12); the name of the first was Maachah, and the name of the second Zelophehad.” Keil conjectures an omission of some words, among these the name of Ashriel, the first son of Gilead, but at the same time the intrusion of senseless interpolations in 1 Chronicles 7:15 a; while, on the contrary, he regards as critically impregnable the words of the second half verse: “and the name of the second is Zelophehad; and Zelophehad had daughters (only).” Several gaps are also supposed in the emendations of older writers, as in that of J. H. Michaelis, who endeavours to squeeze out the sense: “ and Machir took to wife (the sister of) Huppim and Shuppim, and the name of his sister (namely of Huppim) was Maachah, and the name of the second (here named son of Manasseh) was Zelophehad.” From the unsatisfactory character of all these attempts, it is plain that a correct interpretation of the verse must be given up. So much only is clear from the second gloss, whether it be preserved intact or in some way corrupted, that therein Zelophehad was called the brother or near relative of Machir, and was the same who, Numbers 27:1; Numbers 36:1 ff., Joshua 17:3, was called the father of a great number of daughters. 1 Chronicles 7:17. The sons of Maachah here mentioned, Peresh and Sheresh, as also the sons of the latter, Ulam and Rekem, occur only here. 1 Chronicles 7:17. And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. The Masoretic text names a judge Bedan, 1 Samuel 12:11, where, however, perhaps αָּ ?ψָ ?χ is to be read.—These are the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir. Bertheau, perhaps rightly, proposes here the change (favoured by 1 Chronicles 7:41 and by 1 Chronicles 2:21): “These are the sons of the father of Gilead, of Machir the son of Manasseh.” 1 Chronicles 7:18. And his sister Hammolecheth bare Ishod. The Vulg. explains this not elsewhere occurring name appellatively: Regina (as Kimchi, queen of a part of Gilead). Rightly ?—The first of her sons, Ishod, “man of fame, of glory,” is otherwise unknown; on the contrary, the second appears to be identical with the Abiezer named Joshua 17:2, the chief of one of the families of Manasseh. If this were so, he would have to pass for the ancestor of Gideon, Judges 6:11; Judges 6:15. But Abiezer in Joshua, or Jezer (ΰִ ?ςֵ ?ζֶ ?ψ) as it is in Numbers 26:30, appears as first son of Manasseh after Machir, not as the mere sister’s son of this Machir, as here ; for which reason the identity is doubtful. Whether the following name ξַ ?ηְ ?μָ ?δ denotes a brother of these two, or a sister (comp. Mahlah, the daughter of Zelophehad, Numbers 26:33; Numbers 27:1), is doubtful. 1 Chronicles 7:19. And the sons of Shemidah. A son of Manasseh, Joshua 16:2, or, more exactly, of Gilead, Numbers 26:32. The names of his four sons, except Shechem, ωֶׁ ?λֶ ?ν, who appears, Joshua 17:2, as an immediate son of Manasseh, but, Numbers 26:32, as a son of Gilead, occur nowhere else; for Bertheau’s attempts to connect Likhi with Helek, Numbers 26:30, and Aniam (ΰֲ ?πִ ?ιςָ ?ν) with πֹ ?ςָ ?δ, one of the daughters of Zelophehad, Numbers 26:33, Joshua 17:3, are arbitrary. 5. The Tribe of Ephraim: 1 Chronicles 7:20-29.—Shuthelah, and Bered his son, etc. Shuthelah appears also, Numbers 26:25, as founder of a chief family of Ephraim. This family is here traced through six generations to a second Shuthelah, 1 Chronicles 7:21, to whom are then added Ezer and Elad, two brothers of the older Shuthelah, and therefore sons or near descendants of Ephraim.—And the men of Gath, that were born in the land, slew them, namely, Ezer and Elad. The Avim (Avites), driven by the Philistines from their seats between Hazerim and Gaza, Deuteronomy 2:23, are said to be born in the land, in contrast with the intruders. Hence Ew., Berth., Kamph. will have these Avim to be here meant, whereas Keil thinks rather of the Philistines, whose settlement in south-west Palestine, in the district of Gath, was attested even in the time of Abraham, or even of the Canaanites, but not the Avites, of whom there is no tradition that they had spread to Gath. At any rate, reference is here made to a very old event, as Ephraim, the son of Jacob, still lived and begat other children. This can scarely have taken place before the descent into Egypt, as Ephraim was born in Egypt, Genesis 46:20 (against Ewald). We must suppose it to have occurred during the sojourn in Egypt, and to have been a warlike expedition from the land of Goshen, that may have fallen in the interval from Genesis 1:13-23. The verb ιָ ?ψַ ?γ is not absolutely against this assumption, which was advocated by older expositors (Rossi, Kimchi, L. Lavater, Grot., Calov., etc.), and accepted by more recent ones, as Fόrst (Gesch. -d. bibl. Lit. i. 318). When the Ephraimite host marched from the wilderness of Shur or Paran, we may very well regard this as a descent upon the district of Gath (without directly identifying Ephraim with Paran, as Hitzig does, Gesch, Isr. p. 48). 1 Chronicles 7:22. And Ephraim, their father, mourned many days. Bertheau will, without ground, take these words figuratively, and apply them to the whole tribe of Ephraim; the going in of Ephraim to his wife, mentioned 1 Chronicles 7:23, can only be taken literally; and as there is no indication that a younger Ephraim is meant (as Keil), it is plainly recorded of the old patriarch Ephraim that he begat a son, Beriah, after those two sons were slain by the Gathites. Ewald perhaps goes too far, when he makes the sons Rephah and Resheph, 1 Chronicles 7:25, be born to Ephraim in this latter period. Rather is the interwoven historical notice of the raid of Ezer and Elad against Gath and its results to be regarded as closed with 1 Chronicles 7:23, and the following passage from 1 Chronicles 7:24 to be taken as the continuation of the genealogy of Ephraim.—And he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house, “because there had been calamity (αְּ ?ψָ ?ςָ ?δ) in his house.” This etymology of the name αְּ ?ψִ ?ιςָ ?δ, reminding us of the well-known derivations of Genesis (especially Genesis 5:9; Genesis 5:29-30), speaks for the undoubted antiquity of the present account. For the relation of this Ephraimite to his namesake of Benjamin, see on 1 Chronicles 8:13 f. 1 Chronicles 7:24. And his daughter was Sherah, namely, Ephraim’s daughter (1 Chronicles 7:20), not Beriah’s, who is only mentioned by the way. The places Nether and Upper Beth-horon built, that is, fortified, by this Sherah, probably a powerful heiress, correspond (Robinson, iii. 273ff.) to the present Beit Ur et-Tachta and Beit Ur el-Foka, on the road from Jerusalem to Joppa. They lay at the south border of the tribe of Ephraim, on a strip of land stretching out between the tribes of Benjamin and Dan. Uzzen-Sherah must be sought in their immediate neighbourhood. The name (ΰζֶֹ ?ο=ΰֻ ?ζֵּ ?ο, ear) points to a like projection or skirt as its site. 1 Chronicles 7:25-27. Joshua’s forefathers.—And Rephah his son, and Resheph. These two can scarcely pass for actual sons of Ephraim; comp. Numbers 26:35 f. It is uncertain to which of the families of Ephraim there mentioned they belonged.—And Telah his son, that is, Rephah’s son, who is the chief person, while Resheph is only mentioned by the way. The Tahan named as the son of this Telah appears different from the Tahan named Numbers 26:25 as son of Ephraim, but might belong to his posterity. 1 Chronicles 7:26. Ladan his son, etc. The name μςγο occurs, 1 Chronicles 28:7 f., 1 Chronicles 26:21, also as the name of a Levitical family, but only here as an Ephraimite. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, meets us, Numbers 7:48; Numbers 10:22, as prince of the tribe of Ephraim. in the time of Moses. His grandson was Joshua the son of Non, or Nun, as it is constantly spelled in the Pentateuch and Joshua. [This episode corresponds in antiquarian interest with the notices concerning Caleb in 1 Chronicles 2. The simplest exposition of the passage is obtained by making a pause after “Shuthelah his son,” and another after “Rephah his son.” Ezer and Elad are then the second and third sons of Ephraim. This younger but greater son of Joseph became heir to the portion of ground which Jacob had taken from the Amorite in the region of Shechem, Genesis 48:22. Hence, in the early period of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, we find Ephraim in this quarter asserting his claim and taking possession of this domain. The presence, or perhaps the aggression, of his family provoked the Philistines, and in a warlike encounter these two sons of Ephraim were slain by the men of Gath. After this another son was born to Ephraim, of whom Sherah, the builder or fortifier of towns, and Rephah were most probably the daughter and son, though they are generally regarded as the immediate children of Ephraim. Then we have a fifth son of Ephraim, Resheph, through whom Joshua is the eighth in descent from Ephraim. After the exploits of Sherah, it is probable that the tribe lost its hold on this region, and the bondage in Egypt commenced. We learn from this curious passage that there were nine generations in the line of Joshua during the sojourn in Egypt.—J. G. M. ] 1 Chronicles 7:28-29 attach as a geographical notice of the dwelling-places of the Ephraimites, 1 Chronicles 7:28, and West Manassites, 1 Chronicles 7:29, to their genealogies, as the account of the Levitical cities, 1 Chronicles 6:39 ff., to the preceding genealogy of Levi, or as the like geographical notice of the dwelling-places of the Simeonites, 1 Chronicles 4:28 ff., to the preceding genealogy.—Bethel and her daughters, that is, the surrounding hamlets belonging to Bethel. Bethel, now Beitin, on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim (Joshua 16:2; Joshua 18:15), was originally assigned to the former tribe (Joshua 18:22), but afterwards belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, and therefore to Ephraim. Our genealogist regards only this later relation.—Naaran bears in Joshua 16:7 the name πַֽ ?ςֲ ?ψָ ?ϊָ ?δ, lengthened by δ local, and seems to be identical with Neara, north of Jericho (comp. Joseph. Antiq. xvii. 13. 1).—Gezer (Joshua 16:3) lay between Bethhoron and the sea, in the south-west corner of Ephraim, while the next named, Shechem and Ajjah, lay on the north-west. For the uncertainty of the reading ςַ ?ζָּ ?δ see Crit. Note. The only here occurring ςַ ?ιָּ ?δ lay not far from Shechem (Neapolis, Nablous), perhaps in the region of Michmethah (Joshua 16:6; Joshua 17:7). 1 Chronicles 7:29. And on the side of the sons of Manasseh, on their border, and in their possession. ςַ ?μιְ ?γֵ ?ι, as in 1 Chronicles 6:16. The four cities now named, Bethshean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, lie properly (like Ibleam joined with them, Joshua 17:11) outside the territory of Manasseh, in that of the tribes of Issachar and Asher bordering it on the north. They were, however, to be assigned to Manasseh as remote dwelling-places towards the north, and serve here to mark the north border of the whole territory of “the sons of Joseph,” as the Ephraimite cities named, 1 Chronicles 7:28, determined their south border. 6. The Tribe of Asher: 1 Chronicles 7:30-40.—The sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishuah, and Ishui, and Beriah. So Genesis 46:17, whereas, Numbers 26:44 ff., Ishui is omitted. Beriah’s sons Heber and Malchiel occur also in Genesis 46 and Numbers 26, but the last, Birzajith, only here (perhaps a woman’s name, see Crit. Note; but perhaps also = αְּ ?ΰֵ ?ψζַ ?ιִ ?ϊ, “well of the olive,” and so a local name). 1 Chronicles 7:32-34, Heber’s descendants for three generations. The name Shomer (ωׁ ?εֹ ?ξֵ ?ψ), 1 Chronicles 7:32, recurs, 1 Chronicles 7:34, in the form ωָׁ ?ξֶ ?ψ (in pausaωָׁ ?ξֶ ?ψ), without warranting a difference between the two. For the name Ahi (ΰֲ ?ηִ ?ι) in 1 Chronicles 7:34 (which is not to be taken appellatively, “brother,” as the following ε shows), comp. 1 Chronicles 5:15, where a Gadite is so called. 1 Chronicles 7:35-38. Descendants of Helem, as it appears, the son of Heber, and brother of Shemer, who was called Hotham in the third place after Japhlet and Shomer, 1 Chronicles 7:32. One of the two names, either ηεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν or ηֵ ?μֶ ?ν, seems to have arisen from a slip of the pen, but which is uncertain. So it is with Ithran, the last but one of the eleven sons of Zophah, 1 Chronicles 7:37, who reappears in the following verse under the name of Jether, and perhaps also with Ulla, 1 Chronicles 7:39, which may be = Beera, the last son of Zophah, on the supposition of a very gross error of the pen. 1 Chronicles 7:40. All these were the sons of Asher, etc. This collective notice is like that in 1 Chronicles 7:11; the plur. ηֲ ?ιָ ?μִ ?ιν, as in 1 Chronicles 7:5.—Heads of the princes (Vulg. duces ducum), that is, captains of the greater divisions of the army, at the head of which stood the πְ ?ωִׂ ?ιΰִ ?ιν, elati, magnates, optimates.—And their register for the service in war, that is, not that of the whole tribe of Asher, but only that of the family of Heber, as the most powerful and flourishing. The limitation to this one family explains how the present list of warriors (it is expressly designated as such, in contrast with registers including the whole inhabitants of the country; comp. 1 Chronicles 9:22) yields only 26,000 men of war, whereas for the whole tribe of Asher, the Numbers 41,500 and 53,400 are given in Numbers 1:41; Numbers 26:47. Footnotes: For εְ ?μִ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι read εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι, as the Sept. cod. Alex. reads καὶοὗτοιυἱοὶ ’Ισσάχαρ (cod. Vat. has καὶτοῖςυἱοῖς ’Ισσ). So the Keri: the Kethib has ιָ ?ωִׁ ?ια. ιְ ?ςִ ?ιωׁ in the Kethib. ΰַ ?ωְׁ ?ψִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ appears to be a gloss introduced into the text by the double writing of the following consonants, ΰωׁ ?ψιμΧSo (ςַ ?ιָּ ?δ) all the best mss. and prints. The ςַ ?ζָּ ?δ of some other mss. and editions is an error of the pen or the press introduced into the text by the influence of the Sept, Vulg., and Targ.; comp. de Rossi, Var. lect. ad h. l.So the Keri: it is doubtful how the Kethib αψζεϊ is to be pronounced (αִּ ?ψְ ?ζεֹ ?ϊ with Gesen., who supposes it to be a woman’s name). For ιְ ?ηֻ ?αָּ ?δ is to be read, with the Keri, εְ ?ηֻ ?αָּ ?δ. 2. Again the Families of Benjamin, especially the House of Saul: 1 Chronicles 8 1. The Families of Benjamin: 1 Chronicles 8:1-281 Ch 8:1.And Benjamin begat Bela his first-born, Ashbel the second, and Ahrah 2the third. Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3And the sons of Bela were Addar, and Gera, and Abihad. 4And Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah. 5And Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram. 6And these are the sons of Ehud (these are the heads of the fathers to the 7inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath. Even Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them): and he begat Uzza and Ahihud. 8And Shaharaim begat, in the field of Moab, after he had sent them away, Hushim and Baarah, his wives. 9And he begat of Hodesh his wife: Jobab, and Zibiah, and Mesha, and Malcam. 10And Jeuz, and Shobiah, and Mirma: these were his sons, heads of fathers. 11And of Hushim he begat Ahitub and Elpaal. And 12the sons of Elpaal: Eber, and Misham, and Shemer; he built Ono and Lod, and her daughters. 13And Beriah and Shema (these were the heads of fathers for the 14inhabitants of Aijalon; these put to flight the inhabitants of Gath). And Ahio, 15Shashak, and Jeremoth. And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Eder. 16And Michael, and Ishpah, and Joha, sons of Beriah. 17, 18And Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hizki, and Heber. And Ishmerai, and Izliah, and Jobab, sons of Elpaal. 19And Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi. 20And Elienai, and Zillethai, and Eliel.21And Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, sons of Shimi. 22And Ishpan, and Eber, and Eliel. 23And Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan.24, 25And Hananiah, and Elam, and Antothijah. And Iphdeiah, and Penuel, sons of Shashak. 26, 27And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah. And Jaareshiah, and Elijah, and Zichri, sons of Jeroham. 28These were heads of fathers in their generations, chiefs ; these dwelt in Jerusalem. 2. The House of Saul: 1 Chronicles 8:29-4029 And at Gibeon dwelt Abi-gibeon; and his wife’s name was Maachah. 30And his first-born son was Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab. 31And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zecher. 32And Mikloth begat Shimah; and these also, beside their brethren, dwelt in Jerusalem with their brethren. 33And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. 34And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal begat Micah. 35And the sons of Micah : Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz. 36And Ahaz begat Jehoaddah; and Jehoadah 37begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza. And Moza begat Binah: Rapha his son, Elasah his son, Azel his son. 38And Azel had six sons; and these are their names : Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Shehariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan; all these were the sons of Azel. 39And the sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his first-born, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40And the sons of Ulam were valiant heroes, archers, and had many sons and sons’ sons, a hundred and fifty; all these were of the sons of Benjamin. Preliminary Remark.—This full supplement to the shorter genealogy of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles 7:6-11 appears in its whole plan and form to have been taken from another document, when we regard the frequent occurrence of δεֹ ?μִ ?ιγ, the collection of many families in 1 Chronicles 8:6-28, without expressing their relation with the nearest immediate descendants of Benjamin; and lastly, the termination of the whole genealogy, in a register of the house of Saul, reaching down nearly to the exile (or perhaps quite beyond it, as Bertheau will have it). The latter phenomena remind us of 1 Chronicles 3, 4 in relation to 1 Chronicles 2, and show that the Chronist had before him genealogical accounts of the tribe of Benjamin, and the royal house descending from it, of the same extent and exactness as of Judah and the royal house of David. 1. Families of Benjamin : 1 Chronicles 8:1-28.—a. Sons of Benjamin and Bela : 1 Chronicles 8:1-5.—For the relation of the five sons of Benjamin here mentioned to those of the parallel list, see on 1 Chronicles 7:6. Keil is perhaps right in supposing that only those sons are mentioned here who founded families of Benjamin. That Ahrah = Ahiram, Numbers 26:38, and also = Ehi, Genesis 46:21, appears certain. It is possible that the not otherwise occurring names Nohah and Rapha correspond to the Shephupham and Hupham of the parallel list, Numbers 26, or at least denote descendants of these two sons of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles 8:3 ff. And the sons of Bela were Addar, and Gera, etc. The suspicion that the list of the sons of Bela contains several errors of transcription, is raised by the recurrence of the name Gera. ΰַ ?γָּ ?ψ also appears to be a transcriptive error for ΰַ ?ψְ ?γְּ, Genesis 46:21, ωְׁ ?τεּ ?τָ ?ο for ωְׁ ?τεּ ?τָ ?ν, and ηεּ ?γָ ?ν possibly for ηεּ ?τָ ?ν, Numbers 26:39. At any rate, several are found among these six sons of Bela, that appear in Genesis 41:21 and Numbers 26:38 f. among the sons of Benjamin ; in particular, the first of the two Geras is like the Gera there; and Naaman there appears again here. Only Abihud, Abishua, and Ahrah occur exclusively here as sons of Benjamin. b. Sons of Ehud: 1 Chronicles 8:6-7.—And these are the sons of Ehud. As Ehud (ΰֵ ?ηεּ ?γ, union, from ΰηγ) is radically different from Ehud (ΰֵ ?δεּ ?γ, mild, from ΰδγ, to be mild), the well-known judge Ehud, the son of Gera, Judges 3:15, has nothing to do with the person here named.—These are the heads of the fathers to the inhabitants of Geba. These words, with the following notice of the removal to Manahath, are a parenthesis; the names of the sons of Ehud, Uzzah and Ahihud, follow at the close of 1 Chronicles 8:7. For Geba, that is, “Geba of Benjamin,” now Jeba, a Levitical city, comp. 1 Chronicles 6:45; 1 Samuel 13:3; 1 Samuel 13:16. The place is the same as “Gibeah of Benjamin,” 1 Samuel 12:2; 1 Samuel 12:15; 1 Samuel 14:2; 1 Samuel 14:16 (comp. Knobel on Isaiah 10:29). For Manahath, a place of uncertain situation, of which the inhabitants were partly from Judah, see on 1 Chronicles 2:52 (Hazi-hammenuhoth). The subject to εַ ?ιַּ ?βְ ?μεּ ?ν is the three men named in ver 7, of whom, as the sing. δεּ ?ΰ shows, the last must have been the proper originator of the removal. Whether this Gera was the first or the second of the sons of Bela so named, is as uncertain as the other details of this old historical event. c. Descendants of Shaharaim: 1 Chronicles 8:8-12.—And Shaharaim begat in the field of Moab, etc. This Shaharaim, and his connection with the genealogy of Benjamin, are quite unknown. That he was the same as Ahishahar, 1 Chronicles 7:10, or Shechariah, 1 Chronicles 8:26, or that he lies hid under ΰַ ?ηֵ ?ψ (= ωַׁ ?ηֵ ?ψ),—all these are uncertain conjectures. Neither do we know the ground of his coming to the field of Moab, or of his tarrying there.—After he had sent them away, (namely) Hushim and Baarah, his wives. ξִ ?οωִׁ ?μְ ?ηεֹ, literally, “from his sending;” ωִׁ ?μְ ?ηεֹ, inf. Piel, retaining the i and rejecting the Dag. f. (Ew. § 238, d). The suff. in ΰεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν though masc., refer only to the two wives whose names are appended (comp. Ew. § 309, c). The construction is thus more loose and negligent than in 1 Chronicles 8:6-7, since to the prefixing of the verb is added an enallage generis. Moreover, the first of the two names has not a feminine form (ηεּ ?ωִׁ ?ιν), and is only known as such by the following πָ ?ωָׁ ?ιε. 1 Chronicles 8:9. And he begat of Hodesh his wife, namely, his third, after the dismissal of the two above named; perhaps a Moabitess, as the names of some of her sons have a Moabitish sound, particularly ξֵ ?ιωָׁ ?ΰ (comp. the king of Moab, ξֵ ?ιωַׁ ?ς, 2 Kings 3), ξַ ?μְ ?λָ ?ν (name of the idol of Ammon and Moab, Jeremiah 49:1; Jeremiah 49:3), etc. For δεֹ ?μִ ?ιγξִ ?ο, comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:18. 1 Chronicles 8:11-12. Here follow the descendants of Shaharaim by Hushim, and these are certainly, in contrast with those Moabites, genuine Israelitish and cisjordanic, as the reference of the places Ono and Lod, west of the tribe of Benjamin, to one of them (probably to Elpaal, to whom the δεּ ?ΰ appears to apply) shows. Ono, without doubt adjacent to Lod, occurs also in Ezra 2:33, Nehemiah 7:37; Nehemiah 11:35, as a place in West Benjamin (properly by situation in Dan), and Lod is certainly Lydda, afterwards Diospolis, now Ludd or Lidd, north of Ramleh, near the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. In 1 Chronicles 8:17-18 follows a further series of sons of an Elpaal, whose identity with the present one is uncertain. d. Benjamite Heads of Families of Aijalon, 1 Chronicles 8:13, and of Jerusalem (see 1 Chronicles 8:28): 1 Chronicles 8:13-28.—And Beriah and Shema, etc. There is no visible genealogical connection of these and the next following with the foregoing names. On the contrary, a partly genealogical connection seems to exist between the five heads of families in 1 Chronicles 8:13-14 and the following names in 1 Chronicles 8:15-27. For in 1 Chronicles 8:15-16 are “ sons of Beriah ” enumerated, in 1 Chronicles 8:22-25 “ sons of Shashak ” (see 1 Chronicles 8:14); and if we may connect “ the sons of Shimi” in 1 Chronicles 8:19-21 with Shema, 1 Chronicles 8:13 (because ωֶׁ ?ξַ ?ς and ωִׁ ?ξְ ?ςִ ?ι look like two forms of the same name), and discover in “ the sons of Jeroham,” 1 Chronicles 8:26-27 (by assuming an error of the pen), descendants of Jeremoth, 1 Chronicles 8:14, it will be still more natural to combine “ the sons of Elpaal,” 1 Chronicles 8:17-18, with the fifth of the heads of families in 1 Chronicles 8:13 f., and suppose “Ahio,” 1 Chronicles 8:14 = Elpaal, read ΰָ ?ηִ ?ιε, with the Sept., instead of ΰַ ?ηְ ?ιεֹ, and supply ΰֶ ?μְ ?τַּ ?ςַ ?μ before it (according to Bertheau’s proposed emendations; see Crit. Note). Many doubts, however, remain in force against this hypothesis, especially the circumstance that both 1 Chronicles 8:13 and 1 Chronicles 8:15 (where the descendants of Beriah, the first of the five heads of families, are enumerated) begin with a mere ε instead of a more distinct formula of introduction (such as in 1 Chronicles 8:6, εְ ?ΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δεβεΧ).—These were the heads of fathers for the inhabitants of Aijalon . . . Gath. A historical notice in parenthesi, like that in 1 Chronicles 8:6-7. Aijalon, now Jalo, lay west of Gibeon, in the earlier district of Dan, where also Ono and Lod as Benjamite colonies were situated (comp. on 1 Chronicles 8:12); see Joshua 10:12; Joshua 19:42. Because Beriah and Shema are here named as conquerors of the inhabitants of Gath, Bertheau thinks we may infer an identity of the present fact with that mentioned 1 Chronicles 7:21 ff., that the Benjamite family Beriah, after the defeat there recorded (in which Ezer and Elad fell), came to the help of Ephraim against the Gathites, overcame and chastised them, in gratitude for which they were admitted by the Ephraimites into their community, whence Beriah is there represented as a late-born son of Ephraim. That this is a mere fancy is manifest from the impossibility of understanding the account of Ephraim and his sons in 1 Chronicles 7:21 ff. otherwise than literally (see on the passage). Besides, the name Beriah is by no means so rare that the identity of these persons and events can be inferred from it alone (comp. for example, Asher’s son Beriah, 1 Chronicles 7:30). And why might not Gath, in the long period of conflict between Israel and the Philistines, have been the object of repeated attacks by Israel? 1 Chronicles 8:15-16. And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Eder, etc. Of these six sons of Beriah nothing further is known, though their names almost all occur elsewhere: Zebadiah, 1 Chronicles 8:17, among Elpaal’s sons, and also 1 Chronicles 8:7, Ezra 8:8; Ezra 10:20; Michael still oftener, etc. 1 Chronicles 8:17-18. And Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hizki, etc. Of these seven sons of Elpaal, Bertheau will identify three, Meshullam, Heber, and Ishmerai, with the three sons of Elpaal in 1 Chronicles 8:12, Misham, Eber, and Shemer, to make the identity of the Elpaal in both places probable. But this assumption is the more uncertain, the more doubtful it is whether that earlier Elpaal family that dwelt in Ono and Lydd can, by a supposed migration, be connected with the present family in Jerusalem (see 1 Chronicles 8:28). 1 Chronicles 8:19 ff. On Shimi, Shashak, and Jeroham, and their probable identity with Shema, Shashak, and Jeremoth, 1 Chronicles 8:13-14, see above. Of the sons of these three heads of families given as far as 1 Chronicles 8:27, nothing is known elsewhere, although their names mostly recur. 1 Chronicles 8:28. These were heads of fathers in their generations, chiefs. The repetition of ψָ ?ΰωִׁ ?ιν serves scarcely (as the Vulg., principes inquam, and some older expositors will have it) to lay stress on the idea of heads, which would be here quite unmeaning. The sense rather appears to be, “ that the persons named in the genealogical lists are cited as heads (of houses); and this appears to be noted, that those cited as sons of such and such persons may not be taken for individual members of houses” (Keil).—These dwelt in Jerusalem, not merely the heads, but their families, who cannot be supposed to be separate from them. 2. The House of Saul: 1 Chronicles 8:29-40 (comp. 1 Chronicles 9:35-44, where this section, with the exception of 1 Chronicles 8:39-40, recurs).—a. Saul’s Ancestors: 1 Chronicles 8:29-32.—And at Gibeon dwelt Abi-gibeon; and his wife’s name was Maachah. The plur. ιָֽ ?ωְׁ ?αεּ refers also to the sons of Abi-gibeon, to be named in the following verse. Gibeon is now el Jib, two and a half hours north-west of Jerusalem; comp. Rob. 2:351. The here appellatively-named Abi-gibeon, that is, father (founder) of Gibeon (comp. the like remarks in 1 Chronicles 2:42 ff.), bears in 1 Chronicles 9:35 the name Jeiel or Jeuel (ιְ ?ςִ ?εΰֵ ?μ; Kethibιְ ?ςεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ). His descent from Benjamin is not given, and he occurs only here; and so it is with Maachah his wife, whose name, however, is of frequent occurrence (comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:48). 1 Chronicles 8:30. And his first-born son was Abdon, etc. Instead of the eight sons of Abi-gibeon here named, 1 Chronicles 9:36 f. enumerates ten; and, in fact, the names of two seem to have fallen out of our passage, namely Ner (between Baal and Nadab) and Mikloth (at the end of the series, ver 31), for their descendants are given in the following verses. It is doubtful whether the names αַּ ?ςַ ?μ and πָ ?γָ ?α at the close of our verse are to be combined into one, αַּ ?ςַ ?μְ ?πָ ?γָ ?α (as Wellh., Text d. B. Sam. p. 31, will have it). In 1 Chronicles 9:37 we find Zechariah in place of the present ζֶ ?λֶ ?ψ. 1 Chronicles 8:32. And Mikloth begat Shimah. In 1 Chronicles 9:38 he is called Shimam.—And these also, namely Shimah and his family, beside their brethren, dwelt in Jerusalem with their brethren. “These also ” perhaps points only to Mikloth’s family as likewise dwelling in Jerusalem. The “brethren” of these descendants of Shimah are the remaining Benjamites, in the first phrase (“beside their brethren”) perhaps those dwelling outside of Jerusalem to the west and north, and in the second (“with their brethren”) those settled in Jerusalem itself. b. The Family of Ner, and the House of Saul: 1 Chronicles 8:33-40.—And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul. As in 1 Samuel 9:1; 1 Samuel 14:51, the father of Kish is called Abiel, Ner is an earlier ancestor, perhaps the father or grandfather of the Abiel. Possibly, indeed, there was originally in the text, “ And Ner begat Abner (comp. 1 Samuel 14:51), and Kish begat Saul ;” for it is scarcely conceivable that the celebrated general Abner, the uncle of Saul, should be originally wanting in this genealogy (comp. Berth. and Kamph.).—And Saul begat Jonathan . . . and Eshbaal. Instead of these four sons of Saul, 1 Samuel 14:49 names only three—Jonathan, Ishui, and Malchishua. But Ishui is, as appears from 1 Samuel 31:2 and 1 Chronicles 10:1, only another name for Abinadab; and thus the three, who are the three that fell with Saul, quite agree with the first three of those here named. But Eshbaal is no other than Ishbosheth, the well-known rival of David, 2 Samuel 2:8 ff. The change of the second element of this name (αַּ ?ςַ ?μ) intoαֹּ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊ, “shame, idol,” expressing abhorrence and contempt, may be compared with Jerubbaal, Judges 6:32, changed into Jerubbesheth (ιְ ?ψֻ ?αֶּ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊ), 2 Samuel 11:21, or with the name of the son of Ishbosheth, who is here called Merib-baal (so, with a slight difference in orthography, ξְ ?ψִ ?ιΞαַ ?ςַ ?μ, 1 Chronicles 9:40), but in 2 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 21:7, Mephibosheth (or perhaps ξְ ?ψִ ?ιαֹ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊ, as at least Berth, thinks; but comp. Wellh., Der Text d. B. Sam. p. 31). 1 Chronicles 8:35. The sons of Micah, the son of the lame Meribbaal, are four in number, the same as in 1 Chronicles 9:41-42, only that the last but one is called Tahrea (ϊַּ ?ηְ ?ψֵ ?ςַ) instead of Tarea (ϊַּ ?ΰְ ?ψֵ ?ς). 1 Chronicles 8:36. And Ahaz begat Jehoaddah. The descendants of this Ahaz are traced through ten generations. For ιְ ?δεֹ ?ςַ ?γָּ ?δ (ιεֹ ?ςַ ?γָּ ?δ) stands in 1 Chronicles 9:42ιַ ?ςְ ?ψָ ?δ, by a mistake of ψ for γ. Of the two following names, Alemeth occurs (with a slight variation) in 1 Chronicles 9:42 as a Benjamite place, and Azmaveth twice, 1 Chronicles 11:33 and 1 Chronicles 12:3, as a Benjamite person. 1 Chronicles 8:37. Instead of Rapha (ψָ ?τָ ?ΰ), the parallel 1 Chronicles 9:43 has the longer and more original form Rephaiah (ψְ ?τָ ?ιָ ?δ). 1 Chronicles 8:38. For the name Bocheru, the second of the sons of Azel, comp. Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 8:40. And the sons of Ulam were valiant heroes, archers. For the expression, comp. 1 Chronicles 5:18. For the thing, namely, the warlike prowess of the tribe of Benjamin, comp. Judges 20:16, Genesis 49:27.—And had many sons and sons’ sons, a hundred and fifty. For ξַ ?ψְ ?αִּ ?ιν, properly “ multiplying” sons, comp. 1 Chronicles 7:4, Leviticus 11:42. As grandsons of Ulam and grand-nephews of Azel (who was the thirteenth in descent from Saul), the hundred and fifty here mentioned were the fifteenth generation from Saul. If we reckon for every generation a maximum average of thirty years, the resulting sum of 450 years from the time of Saul (1095–1055) would terminate in the middle or second half of the 7th century b.c., and therefore in the time before the exile. Against Bertheau’s attempt to assign the sons and grandsons of Ulam to the time after the exile, Keil justly remarks on the whole: “ This reckoning is too high. Sixty years cannot be allowed for Saul and Jonathan, as Jonathan fell in the year 1055, and his son Meribbaal was then only five years old, and therefore born in 1060. In the following generations also not more than twenty-five years on an average (?) can be allowed. Accordingly, the grandsons of Ulam’s sons, who were the twelfth generation from Micah (son of Meribbaal), may have come into the world about 760 b.C.., have grown into the host of 150 grandsons of Ulam about 760–700. But even if thirty years be reckoned for each generation, the last-named generation of 150 grandsons and great-grandsons of Ulam would have lived in the period from 660–600, and therefore before the exile, at least before the first great deportation of the people under Jehoiachin, 599 b.C.” Moreover, the traces of a representation of the relations of the tribe of Benjamin after the exile which he has endeavoured to show in our chapter,—for example, the occurrence of several names of places and persons of our section in the history of the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, the connection of the Benjamites in the land of Moab mentioned 1 Chronicles 8:8-10 with the “princes in Moab” (τηϊξεΰα) named in Ezra 2:6; Ezra 8:4; Ezra 10:30, Nehemiah 3:11; Nehemiah 7:11, the form αֹּ ?λְ ?ψεּ corresponding with βַּ ?ωְׁ ?ξεּ, the near agreement of the number 150 with the numbers of some families in Ezra and Nehemiah (comp. Ezra 2:18-30; Ezra 8:3 ff.), etc.,—-would only render it probable that the present genealogical account extends beyond the exile, if we were entitled to suppose that a number of links had fallen out in the series of generations from Saul to Ulam and his grandsons. The possibility of such assumption is as undeniable as it is precarious to take it for granted without any sufficient ground.—All these were of the sons of Benjamin. “All these” goes back to 1 Chronicles 8:1, and includes the whole of the names in our section. Footnotes: Instead of a proper name ΰַ ?ηְ ?ιεֹ, the Sept. read ΰָ ?ηִ ?ιε, as they render ὁἀδελφὸςαὐτοῦ. The conjecture of Bertheau, that the appellative is the original sense, and that the name Elpaal, which from 1 Chronicles 8:18 we expect here, has fallen out before this ΰηιε, so that the text was originally εְ ?ΰֶ ?μְ ?τַּ ?ςַ ?μΰָ ?ηִ ?ιεεְ ?ωְׁ ?ωָׁ ?χ, is very plausible. See Exposition For αֹּ ?λְ ?ψεּ (with the closing u of proper names, comp. βַּ ?ωְׁ ?ξεּ, Nehemiah 6:6) the Sept. (πρωτότοκοςαὐτοῦ) and some Hebrew mss. read αְּ ?λεֹ ?ψεֹ, incorrectly however, as six sons of Azel are announced. f. The Inhabitants of Jerusalem till the Times of the Kings, with a Repetition of the Genealogy of Saul.—Ch. 91. The Inhabitants of Jerusalem: 1 Chronicles 9:1-341 Ch 9:1.And all Israel was registered; and, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel; and Judah was carried away to Babel for his transgression. 2And the former inhabitants, that were in their possession in their cities, were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim. 3And in Jerusalem dwelt, of the sons of Judah, and of the sons of Benjamin, and of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh. 4Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the sons of Perez the son of Judah. 5And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the first-born, and his sons. 6And of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their brethren, six hundred and ninety. 7And of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah. 8And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah. 9And their brethren in their generations, nine hundred and fifty and six; all these men were chiefs of their father-houses. 10,11And of the priests: Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin. And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, a prince of the house of God. 12And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, the son of Maasai, the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer. 13And their brethren, heads of the father-houses, a thousand and seven hundred and sixty, able men for the work of the service in the house of God. 14And of the Levites : Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari. 15And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zicri, the son of Asaph. 16And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites.—17And the porters: Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, 18and Ahiman, and their brethren; Shallum the head. And hitherto he was in the king’s gate eastward; these are the porters for the camps of the sons of Levi.—19And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, for the house of his father, the Korhites, were over the work of the service of the keepers of the thresholds of the tents; and their fathers in the camp of the Lord were keepers of the entry. 20And Phinehas the son 21of Eleazar was formerly prince over them ; the Lord with him. Zechariah 22the son of Meshelemiah was porter at the door of the tent of meeting. All these that were chosen to be porters at the thresholds were two hundred and twelve; they were registered in their villages: David and Samuel the 23seer had ordained them in their trust. And they and their sons were over 24the gates of the house of the Lord, at the house of the tent, by wards. To the four winds were the porters, to the east, west, north, and south. 25And their brethren in their villages were to come in seven days from time to time26with them. For they were in trust, the four head keepers of the gates, these Levites, and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God.27And they lodged around the house of God; for on them was the charge, and 28they had to open every morning. And some of them were over the vessels of service, for they brought them in and out by tale. And 29some of them were appointed over the vessels, even over all the holy vessels, and over the 30flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices. And of the sons of the priests some were compounders of the ointment of the spices.31And Mattithiah of the Levites, who was the first-born of Shallum the Korhite,32was in trust over the baking in pans. And of the Kohathites their brethren,33some were over the shew-bread, to prepare it every Sabbath. And these the singers, heads of the fathers for the Levites, were free in the chambers; for they were over them in the service day and night. 34These are the heads of the fathers for the Levites, heads in their generations; these dwelt in Jerusalem. 2. Register of Saul’s Family repeated: 1 Chronicles 9:35-4435 And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jeiel ; and his wife’s name was36Maachah. And his first-born son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and 37Ner, and Nadab. And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and Mikloth. 38And Mikloth begat Shimam; and they also, beside their brethren, dwelt in Jerusalem with their brethren. 39And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal. 40And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal: and Merib-baal begat Micah. 41And the sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea. 42And Ahaz begat Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza. 43And Moza begat Bina,and Rephaiah his son, Elasah his son, Azel his son. 44And Azel had six sons; and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel. Preliminary Remark.—Of the two unequal sections into which our chapter falls, the second, 1 Chronicles 9:35-44, coincides almost literally with 1 Chronicles 8:29-38, and so presents only a repetition of the register of Saul and his house there given, preliminary to the narrative of the fall of his dynasty following in 1 Chronicles 10. The first section, 1 Chronicles 9:1-34, presents in its first half, containing a list of the heads of families dwelling in Jerusalem, 1 Chronicles 9:4-17, several points of contrast with a similar list in Nehemiah 11:3-19. The plan of both lists is at all events the same; and if, with Bertheau, of the three chiefs of Judah, 1 Chronicles 9:4-6, we put Uthai beside Athaiah (Nehemiah 11:4), and Asaiah beside Maaseiah (1 Chronicles 9:5) (so that only the third name, Jeuel, has nothing corresponding to it in Nehemiah); if we consider the recurrence of the Benjamite chiefs Sallu and Hodaviah in Nehemiah 11:7-9 (where, certainly, the remaining names are wanting); if we compare the six chiefs of the priestly divisions with those corresponding in number and mostly in name in the list of Nehemiah, and find here (1 Chronicles 9:10-13) the series: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin, Azariah, Adaiah, Masai, there the series : Jedaiah, Joiarib, Jachin, Seraiah, Adaiah, Amashai; if we observe among the chief of the Levites two, Shemaiah and Mattaniah, verbally identical, and a third, Obadiah (= Abda in Nehemiah), approximately so; if, lastly, we perceive at least two of the four chiefs of the porters, Shallum and Akkub, common to both lists,—a pretty general agreement even in names appears to prevail between the two registers. It seems natural, also, either with Zunz (Gottesdiensll. Vortrδge der Juden, p. 31; also Herzfeld, Gesch. p. 298) to conceive our list modelled after that of Nehemiah, or both drawn from one source, and in like manner referring to the inhabitants of Jerusalem after the exile, as Movers (p. 234), Berth., Kamph., etc., do. But if both lists are based upon one common document, relating to the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, and arising from them, we should expect a more complete agreement with regard to all the names. The accordance of the names in only half of the whole number given, and the resemblance in place (giving first the sons of Judah, then the sons of Benjamin, then the priests, and then the Levites and porters), are sufficiently explained by supposing a general continuity of the inhabitants of Jerusalem before and after the exile, and laying the diversities of the two lists to the account of the altering, disturbing, and partly destroying effects of the exile, and the similarities to that of the endeavour of those returning with Zerubbabel and Ezra to restore as far as possible the former state of things. The following exegetical treatment of the passage will prove that, with this presupposition, the assumption of the origin of our present list before the exile, in contrast with the obvious reference of Nehemiah’s list to the times after the exile, has nothing of moment against it, and is even demanded by 1 Chronicles 9:2 and other indications. 1. 1 Chronicles 9:1-3. Transition from the Genealogical Registers of the Twelve Tribes to the Enumeration of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem.—And all Israel was registered; and, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel; and Judah was carried away. By the Masoretic accentuation, which plainly separates εִ ?ιδεּ ?γָ ?δ from the foregoing words, and makes it the subject of a new sentence (comp. Crit. Note), the first sentence appears to treat of Israel in the narrow sense that is, of the northern kingdom, and its kings in particular (so Berth., Kamph., etc.). But the phrase “all Israel” makes it more natural here to think of the people of the south as well as of the north; and it is also in favour of this, that the expression: “the book of the kings of Israel,” is in 2 Chronicles 20:34 manifestly of like import with “the book of the kings of Judah and Israel,” or “Israel and Judah,” as well as that the universal sense of the term “Israel” is found at the beginning of the second verse. Keil therefore justly remarks: “The antithesis of Israel and Judah is analogous to that of Judah and Jerusalem;” that is, Israel denotes the whole covenant people, Judah a part. To understand the name Israel of the whole people is also demanded by the position of our verse at the end of the genealogies of all the tribes of Israel, and not merely of the ten northern tribes. That 1 Chronicles 9:1 effects the transition from the genealogies to the following enumeration of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and so forms properly the close of the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 2-8, is so obvious, that Bertheau has not been able to bring forward a single tenable ground for his counter assertion, that “the verse forms obviously a new beginning. “For the affirmation, that “we perceive in it a brief introduction to the historical accounts of the tribe of Judah, or of the Israelites after the exile,” can furnish no ground for this, because it not only contradicts the assertion that Israel is to be understood of the northern kingdom, but cannot be reconciled with the letter of the verse (that begins with the connective ε). The same exegete justly declares against the further assertion of Berth., that 1 Chronicles 9:1 cannot be written by our historian himself, but must have been taken literally from his source,—an assertion which is devoid of all solid ground.—For their transgression: so 1 Chronicles 5:25-26. 1 Chronicles 9:2. And the former inhabitants, that were in their possession in their cities. Movers, Berth., and Kamph., who find in the following list the inhabitants of Jerusalem after the exile, in the time of Nehemiah, will understand by these “former inhabitants” those citizens of Jerusalem who dwelt there in the time of Zerubbabel and his immediate successors, before Jerusalem was newly peopled from the surrounding districts. It is much more natural, with almost all old expositors, and with Keil, to refer δָ ?ψִ ?ΰωׁ ?εֹ ?πִ ?ιν here to the inhabitants of Jerusalem before the exile; for, in that case, “the inhabitants in their possession in their cities” are in no way opposed as former inhabitants of Jerusalem to the later, but both appear so placed side by side that this opposition is excluded. The parallel Nehemiah 5:15, quoted by Bertheau, where the governors from Zerubbabel to Ezra are opposed as δַ ?τַּ ?ηεֹ ?ϊδָ ?ψִ ?ΰωׁ ?εֹ ?πִ ?ινto Nehemiah as the later τֶּ ?ηָ ?δ, proves indeed the possibility of understanding the predicate δψΰωׁ ?επιν in the sense of “before the exile,” but not the necessity. And from the dwelling “in their cities” (comp. Ezra 2:70; Nehemiah 7:23; Nehemiah 11:1 f.) nothing can be concluded in favour of this interpretation.—Were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim. “Israel” denotes here obviously the lay element of the citizens, that which is otherwise designated by ςַ ?ν beside λֹּ ?δֵ ?ο (Isaiah 24:2; Hosea 4:9). For the notion and name of the Nethinim, properly the “bestowed,” that is, the temple ministers, comp. Numbers 8:19; Joshua 9:27; 1 Samuel 1:11; Ezra 2:43; Ezra 8:17; Ezra 8:20, and elsewhere. 1 Chronicles 9:3. And in Jerusalem dwelt of the sons of Judah, etc. These words are not a superscription of the list of those dwelling in Jerusalem in contrast with those living in other cities (as Berth., etc.). The list rather begins with these words, so that thus the verse serves to introduce the contents of the greater part of our chapter (to 1 Chronicles 9:34), and corresponds to 1 Chronicles 9:35. This close connection of our verse with the following special enumeration of the families of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 9:4 ff.), and the mention of “the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh” as fellow-citizens with them in Jerusalem (comp. 2 Chronicles 34:9), are against referring the present list to the time after the exile. The book of Nehemiah (1 Chronicles 11:3) announces its list corresponding to ours in quite another way, so that there no doubt at all remains of its exclusive reference to conditions and relations after the exile. Moreover, the circumstance that the following list contains no names of Ephraimites and Manassites in Jerusalem, is simply explained by this, that of the former only a very few families dwelt in Jerusalem, while the Jews and Benjamites formed the bulk of its population. On the evangelical and theocratic import of the association of Ephraim and Manasseh with Judah, Benjamin, and Levi in the citizenship of Jerusalem, comp. below, evangelical and ethical principles, No. 1. 2. 1 Chronicles 9:4-17. Special Enumeration of the Inhabitants of Jerusalem, and first, of the Heads of Families of Judah and Benjamin, of the Priests and Levites: 1 Chronicles 9:4-6.—Three heads of families out of the three chief branches of Judah, those of Perez, Shelah, and Zerah (comp. 1 Chronicles 2:3-4).—Uthai, the son of Ammihud. . . of the sons of Perez. The name Uthai might be etymologically equivalent to that of the Athaiah (ςֲ ?ϊιָ ?δ) mentioned Nehemiah 11:4 as a head of a family of the sons of Perez; for ςεּ ?ϊְ ?ιָ ?δ=ςεּ ?ϊַ ?ι “whom Jehovah helps,” might, if we regard the somewhat obscure root ςϊδ as a by-form of ςεּ ?ϊ, have the same meaning as ςֲ ?ϊָ ?ιָ ?δ. But to the still diverse form is to be added the quite diiferent series of ancestors that connect Athaiah with Perez (Uzziah, Zechariah, Amariah, Shephatiah, Mahalalel, instead of the present Ammihud, Omri, Imri, Bani). It seems therefore very doubtful whether Uthai be the same with Athaiah. For the defective reading concealing the name Bani, see the Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 9:5. And of the Shilonites, Asaiah the first-born, etc. It seems pretty certain, that δַ ?ωֵּׁ ?μָ ?πִ ?ι should be read here instead of δַ ?ωִּׁ ?ιμֹ ?πִ ?ι, as in Nehemiah 11:5. We expect to find the descendants of Shelah (Numbers 26:20; comp. 1 Chronicles 2:3; 1 Chronicles 4:21) mentioned between the sons of Perez and those of Zerah. Moreover, it is doubtful whether the Shelanite Asaiah (ςֲ ?ωָׂ ?ιָ ?δ, “whom Jehovah has made”) is to be at once taken as identical with the Maaseiah (ξַֽ ?ςֲ ?ωֵׂ ?ιָ ?δ, “Jehovah’s Work”), as both names are of frequent occurrence (comp. for Asaiah, 1 Chronicles 4:36, 1 Chronicles 6:15, 1 Chronicles 15:6; 1 Chronicles 15:11, 2 Kings 22:12; 2 Kings 22:14, and for Maaseiah, 1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:20, 2 Chronicles 23:1, Jeremiah 21:1; Jeremiah 29:21). The existence of an Asaiah as head of a house in the family of Shelah before the exile does not preclude the appearance of a Maaseiah, son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hasaiah, etc., as head of this family after the exile. 1 Chronicles 9:6. And of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel and their brethren, six hundred and ninety. This number refers, as the plur. suff. in ΰֲ ?ηֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν shows, not to Jeuel alone, but to the three chiefs named in 1 Chronicles 9:4-6, and to their brethren, the remaining heads of houses of subordinate import. So it is also with the number 956 in 1 Chronicles 9:9. Moreover, the name Jeuel (ιְ ?ςεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ), or its variant (ιְ ?ςִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ), occurs elsewhere; for example, 1 Chronicles 5:7, 2 Chronicles 26:11. In Nehemiah 11. no descendants of Zerah are given. 1 Chronicles 9:7-9. Four Benjamite chiefs: Sallu, Ibneiah, Elah, Meshullam, of whom the first (and, as here, the son of Meshullam) occurs also Nehemiah 11, but the other three not ; see the Preliminary Remark. 1 Chronicles 9:9. And their brethren, etc.; comp. on 1 Chronicles 9:6.—All these men were chiefs of their father-houses. This remark, which naturally refers, not to the brethren numbered, but to the chiefs named, applies to all that are named from 1 Chronicles 9:4, both Jews, and Benjamites. It serves thus to close the list of family chiefs, and lead to the following one of the priests and Levites. 1 Chronicles 9:10-13. The priests of Jerusalem.—Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin. The names of these three priestly classes dwelling in Jerusalem (comp. 1 Chronicles 24:7; 1 Chronicles 24:17) are found also in the parallel list in Nehemiah 11:10 ff. (supposing that there, by a change of αֶּ ?οΞιεֹ ?ιָ ?ψִ ?ια into ιְ ?δεֹ ?ιָ ?ψִ ?ια, the true reading is restored). 1 Chronicles 9:11. And Azariah the son of Hilkiah ... a prince of the house of God. Instead of this prince or president of the temple, Azariah ben Hilkiah, certainly the same who, 1 Chronicles 5:40, was named as grandfather of the Jehozadak who was carried to Babel (comp. also 2 Chronicles 31:13), Nehemiah 11:11 names rather a Seraiah son of Hilkiah. Yet the identity of this Seraiah with the Azariah of our passage is probable, as the other ancestors of both up to Ahitub (Meshullam, Zadok, Meraioth, Ahitub) are quite the same. Seraiah might indeed be a descendant of Azariah ben Hilkiah after the exile. 1 Chronicles 9:12. And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, etc. This priestly chief Adaiah (belonging to the class of Malchijah; comp. 1 Chronicles 24:9) is given in Nehemiah 11:12 in the same form and with the same line, up to Malchijah, as here. The following Maasai (ξַ ?ςְ ?ωַׂ ?ι), belonging to the class of Immer (1 Chronicles 24:14), is called in Nehemiah Amashai (ςֲ ?ξַ ?ωְׁ ?ρַ ?ι), and appears there connected by another line with Immer. Another priestly chief given by Nehemiah, Zabdiel, son of Hagge-dolim, who is designated the president or overseer of the last-named priestly family (that of Amashai), is wanting here. 1 Chronicles 9:13. And their brethren, heads of the father-houses, 1760. This number cannot possibly refer to the heads; it rather denotes (like the number 1192 in Nehemiah) that of the brethren or the heads of houses standing under the heads of the great complex of families. The phrase appears thus inexact; perhaps, with Keil, a transposition of the words is to be assumed, in such a way that “heads of father-houses” is placed before and drawn to 1 Chronicles 9:12 as closing formula, while “and their brethren” (εַֽ ?ΰֲ ?ηֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν) is immediately connected with the number 1760. Moreover, that all the priests dwelling in Jerusalem, or the priestly families of the six classes named, amount in our passage to 1760, and in Nehemiah only to 1192, tends to confirm our view of the present list as belonging to the period before the exile; we expect for the priesthood of Jerusalem after the exile, about 150 years after the restoration of the city and temple, not so great a number as here.—Able men for the work of the service in the house of God. Before ξְ ?μֶ ?ΰλֶ ?ϊ, which may not be a mere accusative of reference (“able men with respect to the work”), the word ςωֵֹׁ ?ι (comp. 1 Chronicles 23:24; Nehemiah 11:12), or perhaps a mere μ (which might easily be overlooked after ηַ ?ιִ ?μ), appears to have fallen out; see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 9:14-16. The Levites of Jerusalem.—Shemaiah the son of Hashub, etc. This Merarite Shemaiah, as the descendant of Asaph (therefore Gershonite) Mattaniah named in 1 Chronicles 9:15, recurs in Nehemiah 11:15, and with substantially the same line of ancestors. Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal (1 Chronicles 9:15 a) are wanting there; for the first name would have to be identified with Bakbukiah, Nehemiah 11:17, of which there are grave doubts, as αַּ ?χְ ?αַּ ?χַּ ?ψ ( = αַּ ?χְ ?αַּ ?χδָ ?δָ ?ψ) seems to mean “destruction of the hill;” but αַּ ?χְ ?αֻּ ?χְ ?ιָ ?δ, “desolation from Jehovah.” And of the names of Levites in 1 Chronicles 9:16, only Obadiah can be identified with Abda, Nehemiah 11:17 (as Jeduthun appears as the ancestor of both). Berechiah is wanting in Nehemiah; and the latter has two names, Shabbethai and Jozabad, which are foreign to our text.—And Berechiah, the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, and so a Kohathite, as the name Elkanah is native in this family; comp. 1 Chronicles 6:18-23.—Who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites, thus near Bethlehem; comp. Nehemiah 7:26. This clause refers, not to Berechiah, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, but to his ancestor Elkanah. It is impossible to determine what the Kohathite so called in 6. 18 ff. was to this Elkanah. 1 Chronicles 9:17. And the porters: Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren; Shallum the head. The four here named (of whom, in Nehemiah 11:19, only two, Akkub and Talmon, recur) are to be regarded, as appears from the particulars following (1 Chronicles 9:24; 1 Chronicles 9:26), not as common porters, but as captains of the four companies of porters, who were to keep guard on the four sides and gates of the temple : they are designated, 1 Chronicles 9:26, as “head keepers of the gates,” a phrase reminding us of the στρατηγοὶτοῦἱεροῦ in Luke 22:52. The number of all the doorkeepers, which is stated to be 172 in Nehemiah 11:19, is wanting here, where it would, like that of the priests, have been considerably higher, because Jerusalem before the exile must have had a much more numerous staff of officers in every respect than that after the exile, to which the catalogue of Nehemiah refers. From all this, the correspondence of the two similar lists in the personal matters is only partial, and by no means such as to be inconsistent with the origin of the one before the exile and of the other after it. The resemblance and even sameness of the names in two or three generations does not of itself prove the identity of the persons, because we learn from the genealogy of Aaron (5. 29 ff.) that the series Amariah, Ahitub, Zadok repeats itself at different times (comp. 1 Chronicles 9:33 f. and 37 f.). In general, the same names recur very often in genealogies, because it was the custom to give the children the names of their ancestors; comp. Luke 1:59; Winer, Realw. ii. 133; Hδvernick, Einl. ii. 1, 179 ff. But if the likeness of names in the two lists furnishes no necessary ground for the identity of the lists, and in no way warrants us to identify the like sounding names by the assumption of errors of the pen, we must, on account of the great diversity in all points, understand our list of the inhabitants of Jerusalem before the exile, especially as the following remarks on the functions of the Levites demand this, because they relate throughout to the time before the exile. 3. 1 Chronicles 9:18-34. The Ministerial Functions of the Levites, and first (1 Chronicles 9:18-26 a), of the Levitical porters.—And hitherto (he was, namely Shallum, who is called in 1 Chronicles 9:17 the head of the porters) in the king’s gate eastward; that is, till the present time the family of Shallum had to keep the guard at the east gate of the temple, that chief entrance to the inner court, by which the king alone entered (comp. 2 Kings 16:18; Ezekiel 46:1-2). The “hitherto” scarcely gives a hint of the time when the present list was composed. It may point as well to a time before the exile as after it, as Shallum is here obviously named as a hereditary name of a house or collective personality, which Keil contravenes unnecessarily. For the circumstance that a pedigree of Shallum is given, not yet in 1 Chronicles 9:18, but at length in 1 Chronicles 9:19, shows that in this latter passage the person of the patriarch of the leading house of doorkeepers is first distinguished from his descendants; see also after.—These are the porters for the camps of the sons of Levi. This expression, having an antique ring, and reminding us of the wanderings of the people under Moses (Numbers 3:21 ff.), proves no more than the many other designations of this kind (“tent,” 1 Chronicles 9:20; “tent of meeting,” 1 Chronicles 9:21; “house of the tent,” 1 Chronicles 9:23 a) that our list was composed before Solomon or near the time of Moses; comp. “camp of Jehovah” of Solomon’s temple, 2 Chronicles 31:2. 1 Chronicles 9:19. And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah. This reference of Shallum to Korah, the grandson of Kohath (1 Chronicles 5:7), comes so close upon the ancestry of Shelemiah or Meshelemiah, the Korhite appointed by David over the east gate, 1 Chronicles 26:1; 1 Chronicles 26:14, that the Shallum of our passage can scarcely be different from him. It is also highly probable that the name of ΰֶ ?αְ ?ιָ ?ρָ ?σ, the father or ancestor of Korah, should be restored there (see Crit. Note), so that the identity of the two persons and the merely formal diversity of their names (ωַׁ ?μּ ?εּ ?ν, requital; ξְ ?ωֶׁ ?μֶ ?ξְ ?ιָ ?δεּ, whom Jehovah requites) is almost certain; and the Meshelemiah, 1 Chronicles 9:21, must be held to be identical with the Shallum belonging to the time of David; for there, as in 1 Chronicles 26:2, a son Zechariah is ascribed to him. Thus the record goes back, as in 1 Chronicles 9:20 to Phinehas the contemporary of Joshua, so in 1 Chronicles 9:21 at least to a contemporary of David; and the guard at the east gate (the king’s gate), as it was hereditary in the family, is referred to a nomination by King David. The then mentioned brethren of Shallum, of the house of his father, the Korhites, are the heads of the other three families of porters, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman, living in the time of David, 1 Chronicles 9:18.—Were over the work of the service of the keepers of the thresholds of the tent. This specifies the service performed by these Levites at the temple; they were threshold or gate keepers; comp. 2 Kings 12:10; 2 Chronicles 23:4. The genit. “of the tent” (here expressed by μְ before ΰֹ ?δֶ ?μ, because the preceding word having the article cannot be in the construct state) applies to the tent in Jerusalem erected by David, without, however, expressing any contrast to the temple of Solomon (which, in 1 Chronicles 9:23, seems clearly to be included in the term “tent”); comp. on 1 Chronicles 9:18.—And their fathers in the camp of the Lord were keepers of the entry, namely, in the time of Moses, to which there is reference here as in the following verse. “In the Pentateuch there is no mention of the Korhites keeping guard in the time of Moses; but as the Kohathites to whom they belonged were the first servants of the sanctuary, Numbers 4:4 ff., and especially had the charge of the tabernacle, it is in itself probable that they had to keep the entrance to the sanctuary (comp. Numbers 4:17-20); and therefore we cannot doubt that our statement follows an old tradition” (Berth.). 1 Chronicles 9:20. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was formerly prince over them, over the porters of the Korhite family. Phinehas cannot have been invested with this oversight of the Korhite porters when he was high priest, but only under the high-priesthood of his father Eleazar; as also Eleazar, as chief over the chiefs of Levi, Numbers 3:32, under the presidency of Aaron, had the oversight of the keepers of the sanctuary.—The Lord with him. This clause might be meant as a historical remark, and so completed by a δָ ?ιָ ?δ “was,” in which case the copula ε was to be expected before ιְ ?δεָֹ ?δ, as in 1 Chronicles 11:9. It is more natural to see in the two words a blessing, “God be with him,” and to compare the German phrases, “God bless him,” “Of blessed memory.” We may remember also God’s covenant of peace with Phinehas and his posterity, Numbers 25:11 ff. [This goes to prove that the historical is the correct meaning, and not one that is nearly akin to an error of doctrine.—J. G. M.] 1 Chronicles 9:21. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah, that is, Shallum; see on 1 Chronicles 9:19. The designation of this Shallum (before whose name we miss the copula ε; see Crit. Note) as porter at the door of the tent of meeting has something indefinite needing explanation. But we can find nothing either from the present passage or from 1 Chronicles 26:2 to clear up this difficulty, or account for the prominence given to this Zechariah. 1 Chronicles 9:22 returns to the description of the service of the porters, which was interrupted by the historical digression, 1 Chronicles 9:19-21. What is now stated belongs to the time of the author of the list, with the exception of the remark applying to the time of David, 1 Chronicles 9:22 b.—All these, that were chosen to be porters at the thresholds. On αְּ ?ψεּ ?ψִ ?ιν, “chosen,” comp. 1 Chronicles 7:40, 1 Chronicles 16:41; for construction with μְ, 1 Chronicles 25:1. The number 212 as the total of the porters agrees neither with the time of David, in which (1 Chronicles 26:8-11) 93 porters in all officiated at the tabernacle; nor with that of Zerubbabel, for which Ezra 2:42 gives the number 139; nor, lastly, with that of Nehemiah, for which, Nehemiah 11:19, the number 172 is set down. But it suits the time before the exile, to which also the numbers of the families and priests in 1 Chronicles 9:6; 1 Chronicles 9:9; 1 Chronicles 9:13 most probably point.—They were registered in their villages. They dwelt, therefore, in villages (ηֲ ?φֵ ?ψִ ?ιν, as 1 Chronicles 6:41 ff.) around Jerusalem, and came to it on the days of their service, as the singers in the time after the exile, Nehemiah 12:29 f.—David and Samuel the seer (ancient designation for prophet, πָ ?αִ ?ιΰ; comp. 1 Samuel 9:9) had ordained them in their trust.αֶּ ?ΰֱ ?ξεּ ?πָ ?ϊָ ?ν, “in their trust,” official trust or duty; comp. the same term without suffix, 1 Chronicles 9:26; 1 Chronicles 9:31; 2 Kings 12:16; 2 Kings 22:7; 2 Chronicles 31:12. The naming of Samuel with David (and after him, against the order of time; comp. Hebrews 11:32) the Chronist no doubt found in his source, and it is explained by the fact that the agency of Samuel in the religious institutions of Israel prepared the way for the reforms of David, and were therefore usually mentioned along with them. And perhaps some arrangement regarding the Levitical porters was made by Samuel which laid the foundation for that of David, though we have no information concerning this beyond the present passage. 1 Chronicles 9:23. And they and their sons, the porters of the time of David and after it. The following phrase also, “at the house of the tent” (comp. on 1 Chronicles 9:18-19), is chosen, because the present statement applies to both—the tent-sanctuary before Solomon, and the stone temple built by him. 1 Chronicles 9:24. To the four winds (quarters of the heaven; comp. Job 1:19; Matthew 24:31) were the porters,ιִ ?δְ ?ιεּ, that is, according to the arrangement of David (1 Chronicles 26:14 ff.).—By wards, ξִ ?ωְׁ ?ξָ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ of persons, as Nehemiah 12:9; Nehemiah 4:3; Nehemiah 4:16. 1 Chronicles 9:25. Were to come in seven days, the seventh day from time to time, that is, on the Sabbath of the week, on which every family was in their rank to perform the service μ in μָ ?αεֹ ?ΰ, to denote obligation, as 1 Chronicles 5:1).—With them (ςִ ?νΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δ), along with the heads or chiefs of the divisions, 1 Chronicles 9:17, who dwelt in Jerusalem itself, and to whom the notice in 1 Chronicles 9:26 a refers.—For they were in trust, the four head keepers of the gates; comp. on 1 Chronicles 9:17. 1 Chronicles 9:26 b–32 report on the duties of the other Levites besides the porters.—These Levites, and were, etc. It has been remarked in the Crit. Note that for this we are most probably to read (according to 1 Chronicles 9:14), “And of the Levites were.” At all events, the duties enumerated in the following passage (exclusive of 1 Chronicles 9:27) belong to the Levites in common, and not to the porters. Accordingly, the words εְ ?δֵ ?νδַ ?μְּ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?ν must be regarded either as a subscription to the whole preceding paragraph from 1 Chronicles 9:14 (so Berth.), or amended (with Keil) in the way indicated.—Over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. These chambers (μְ ?ωָׁ ?λεֹ ?ϊ) and treasuries (ΰֹ ?φָ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ) were in the side buildings of the temple, over which the Levites presided; comp. Ezekiel 40:17; Ezekiel 42:1 ff.; Nehemiah 10:38; and Keil, Bibl. Arch. i. pp. 121, 124. 1 Chronicles 9:27. And they lodged around the house of God. This notice, referring again to the porters, with the subjoined statement, that they had to open every morning (lit. “were set over the keys;” comp. ξַ ?τְ ?ϊֶּ ?ηַ, Judges 3:25; Isaiah 22:22), is strange in the present place: it had its place perhaps originally after 1 Chronicles 9:26 a. 1 Chronicles 9:28. And some of them were over the vessels of service, the more valuable vessels of gold and silver, with the sacrificial bowls (1 Chronicles 28:13 f.; Daniel 1:2; Daniel 5:2 ff.), which required careful keeping, and as they were to be taken out of the treasuries for the public worship an exact “tale.” 1 Chronicles 9:29. Over the vessels, even over all the holy vessels, and over the flour, and the wine, etc. As the term λֵּ ?μִ ?ιν is used here as in 1 Chronicles 9:28, the difference between the vessels here and there mentioned seems to depend on the articles which are here named in connection with the latter, namely, flour (ρֹ ?μֶ ?ϊ, Leviticus 2:1 ff.), wine, oil, frankincense, and spices (αְּ ?ωָׂ ?ξִ ?ιν, as Exodus 30:23). They may be, therefore, the more ordinary, less costly vessels used in the daily incense, meat and drink offering (comp. on Exodus 25:6). For ξπδ, “order, appoint,” in the Piel, comp. Daniel 1:5; Daniel 1:10-11; the partic. Pi. only here. 1 Chronicles 9:30. And of the sons of the priests, etc. To them belonged, Exodus 30:23 ff., the preparation of the holy anointing oil, by the compounding of several spices. This notice referring to the priests does not, strictly taken, belong to the functions of the Levites. The division of things has here for the moment overruled the division of persons. [The priests, however, were Levites.] 1 Chronicles 9:31. And Matti-thiah of the Levites, who was the first-born of Shallum the Korhite: thus an elder brother of that porter Zechariah, 1 Chronicles 9:21, if this is actually to pass for the son of the Shallum here. But certainly, in 1 Chronicles 26:2, Zechariah is directly called first-born (αְּ ?λεֹ ?ψ) of Meshelemiah; and hence, to maintain the identity of this Meshelemiah with Shallum, we must assume “that in our passage Mattithiah bears the honourable title of first-born only in an improper sense, because he ranks high among the descendants of Shallum on account of his office” (Berth.). Nothing further is known to us concerning the person or time of Mattithiah.—Was in trust over the baking in pans. The term δַֽ ?ηֲ ?αִ ?ϊִּ ?ιν, a baking in pans (comp. ξַֽ ?ηֲ ?αַ ?ϊ, an iron pan, Leviticus 2:5; Leviticus 6:14; 1 Chronicles 23:29; Ezekiel 4:3), is used only here. 1 Chronicles 9:32. And of the Kohathites their brethren, the brethren of the last-mentioned Levites, at whose head was the Korhite Mattithiah. For the way of laying on the shew-bread, see Leviticus 24:6 ff.—Every Sabbath. For the phrase ωַׁ ?αַּ ?ϊωַׁ ?αָּ ?ϊ (the first with Pattach in the last syllable, for euphony), comp. Bertheau. 1 Chronicles 9:33. And these the singers, heads of the fathers for the Levites, were free in the chambers. This is usually regarded as a first subscription to the foregoing, from 1 Chronicles 9:14, to which a second still more general subscription is added in 1 Chronicles 9:34. Yet in the mention of the singers (the families of which had been reported in 1 Chronicles 9:14-16), the enumeration of the ministerial functions of the several classes of the Levites, which had begun 1 Chronicles 9:26 b, is rather continued; and therefore, instead of “these are the singers,” the rendering is rather “these singers, etc.,” and thus a force, extending to a rather remote point (1 Chronicles 9:14), is to be assigned to the demonstrative (Kamph. justly). The “being free” in their chambers is set forth very naturally, because their exclusive occupation with their art was to be indicated. Comp. Rashi’s and Kimchi’s interpretation of τְּ ?θεּ ?ψִ ?ιν, immunes ab omni alio officio.—For they were over them in the service day and night. This literal rendering of the Masoretic text (ςֲ ?μֵ ?ιδֶ ?ναַּ ?ξְּ ?μָ ?ΰλָ ?δ) seems to express the sense: “they were placed over them, the subordinate singers, had to superintend them” (Berth.). But the comparison of the somewhat different passage, 2 Chronicles 34:12, is insufficient to justify this view. It is more natural to take ςֲ ?μֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν to mean: “it lay upon them;” but then αַּ ?ξְּ ?μָ ?ΰλָ ?δ would have to be changed into δַ ?ξְּ ?μָ ?ΰλָ ?δ (1 Chronicles 9:27), and so the suitable sense restored: “for by day and night their service, their singing function, was incumbent on them.” 1 Chronicles 9:34. These are the heads of the fathers for the Levites, etc. Comp. the similar subscription, 1 Chronicles 8:28. Since this precedes the first genealogy of Saul, as here the repetition of this genealogy immediately follows, Movers (p. 82 f.) conjectured that it had its place here originally, but was taken by an old transcriber erroneously for the beginning of the following genealogy of Saul, and therefore transposed with this (as he endeavoured to point out a more suitable place, as he thought, for it at the close of the genealogy of Benjamin, 1 Chronicles 8:1-27) to that previous place, and thereby somewhat altered. This assumption would only be plausible if the double position of the genealogy of Saul must be regarded as resting on a mistake, and contrary to the plan of the writer, for which there is no manner of ground. He rather repeated this genealogy intentionally here to form a proper transition from his genealogical section to his following (introducing the historical section) account of the fall of Saul’s house. This simple consideration removes all that was formerly adduced in the way of doubts, conjectures, and highly absurd and superfluous reflections on the supposed ground of this repetition, as, according to Mar Sutra in Tr. Pesachim 62b, 400 (or in another report, 1300) camel-loads of explanations are forthcoming on this repetition and on the present section; comp. Herzfeld, Gesch. p. 299. 4. Repeated Genealogy of Saul: 1 Chronicles 9:34-44.—On the deviations of this list from 1 Chronicles 8:29-39, see on that passage, where it has been already stated that our present passage seems to present the older and more correct text with respect to the forms of the names. AND ETHICAL ON CH. 1–9There is in many respects the impression of wandering in a wilderness, of walking among the stones in a graveyard, ranged in long rows, and more or less weathered, remaining on the mind after the exegetical examination of the genealogical contents of these chapters. But as in the wilds of Hauran, Idumζa, and Arabia Petrζa, bristling with innumerable bare rocks, there is, notwithstanding all the drought and waste, a mysterious charm that acts with irresistible attraction on all Christian travellers animated by the spirit of biblical research; or as, to use another but kindred figure, the labyrinthine windings of the old Christian catacombs of Rome, with their thousands of sarcophagi, and the ever-varying inscriptions and manifold symbolic figures on them, prepare for the Christian antiquarian walking through them, not weariness, but an inexhaustible charm and ever new satisfaction; even so do the seemingly so dry and unrefreshing names of these nine chapters act upon the searchers of Scripture, not only the Jewish, but also the Christian. For it is from beginning to end holy ground through which we here pass. They are the grave-stones of the people of God, the monuments of a thousand years of the old covenant people, between the rows of which the Chronist leads us. They are the cities and places of the holy land, the origins of which are here presented to us in greater or briefer extent. And the same mysterious attraction that yearly impels thousands of Christian pilgrims, of all countries and confessions, to that land, in which not merely Israel after the flesh, but also the confessors of Christ, have to seek a right of home, insensibly influences every reader of this section who is led by a Christian and scientific interest. The same home-longing that comes upon us on beholding every chart of the country of the twelve tribes, on examining every plan and picture of Jerusalem, even on reading the plainest and simplest of the innumerable books of travels with which the present luxuriant literature of Palestine constantly floods us, seizes with irresistible power the biblical inquirer who turns his attention to these opening chapters of our work; it sweetens in many ways the hard labours that are occasioned by the deciphering of the often illegible text, the pondering on the import of so many isolated names, the reconciling of so many contradictory statements concerning places, persons, and genealogical lists. Considered in detail, there are four chief aspects in which the deeper significance of the history of salvation in our chapters is presented, and on which the attention of the historical inquirer, moved by higher motives than mere profane history and criticism can yield, will be concentrated. 1. The grouping and arrangement of the genealogical material, with all the complication, seeming inconnection and arbitrariness of the considerations involved, is highly attractive, as it affords a deep insight into the organic arrangement of the tribes of God’s people, and the parts they are destined to perform in the history of the theocracy. The fundamental principle of division is neither purely genealogical nor politico-theocratic, but has reference to all these relations. The enumeration of the tribes is not arranged genealogically, according to the ages of the twelve sons of Jacob; otherwise it would have begun with Reuben and ended with Benjamin. It proceeds not according to the political relations of the time of the divided kingdom; otherwise Judah and Benjamin would have stood first, and Ephraim would have followed at the head of the northern kingdom. It follows not exclusively the geographical principle; for if it starts with Judah, the chief tribe of the south, and passing over the seats of the Simeonites, extending far to the south, bends round to the three eastern tribes, and enumerates them from south to north, in order to pass on to the remaining tribes of middle and northern Canaan, in the enumeration of the latter it abandons all geographical order, as the southern Benjamin and probably Dan are annexed to the northern Issachar, and then follows, not Ephraim, the more southern of the tribes of Joseph, but the more northern Manasseh, next to Naphtali; and lastly, after Ephraim and Asher, Benjamin reappears. In the midst of this not very geographical enumeration falls the copious genealogical details of Levi, to whom a definite territory was wanting, on account of its distribution over all the tribes. And yet in this apparently ungeographical and unhistorical order there lies a deeper sense. The author, as a strict theocratic legitimist, subordinates all the others to the two chief tribes, Judah and Benjamin, forming the kingdom of Judah, and adhering to the legitimate national sanctuary, as well as the tribe of Levi remaining in natural mutual connection with them. As he otherwise ignores, as far as possible, the northern kingdom, that had revolted from the legitimate worship, and subordinates the tribes belonging to it, on every occasion, to the orthodox tribes of the south, and regards them as mere dependencies of the latter (comp. 1 Chronicles 9:3, where, along with Jews, Benjamites, and Levites, those belonging to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh are named as belonging to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; also the quite similar passage, 2 Chronicles 34:9, and our remarks on it), here also is all that does not belong to the kingdom of Judah treated as accessory, and not only more briefly despatched (none of the tribes belonging to the north is given as fully as the tribe of Simeon belonging to Judah; some, as Dan and Naphtali, are almost wholly, and one, Zebulun, wholly omitted), but pushed in as subordinate, filling up between the tribes of Judah, Levi, and Benjamin, forming the beginning, the middle, and the end. What is especially conspicuous and beautiful is the central, all-pervading, embracing, and connecting position of the priestly tribe of Levi. “Over the whole distribution of the tribes is spread out as a connecting network the uniformly-distributed tribe of Levi, as the priestly mediator between God and His people, in its forty-eight cities, that belonged to all the tribes, but are not to be regarded as exclusively inhabited by Levites (comp. our remarks on 1 Chronicles 6:65); whereby, according to Joshua 21 (and our 1 Chronicles 6), a peculiar crossing of the families of Levi took place, partly in the east and partly in the north of Palestine, so that those akin in family appear removed as far asunder as possible (Kohathites in Judah and Simeon, but also in Ephraim and West Manasseh; Merarites in Reuben and Gad, but also in Zebulun, etc.). It is as if this tribe, provided it remained at the height of its destiny, and the consciousness of God’s people clung to it, should represent the strong sinews and muscles running through the body of the people, which bind the members into a living and moving whole” (Hoffmann, Blicke in die frόheste Geschichte des gelobten Landes, p. 99 f.). 2. Prominent in this arrangement, with regard to the history of grace, is the passing over of two tribes in silence. That Dan is only indicated, not named, in 1 Chronicles 7:12, can only be conceived as a critical judgment on this tribe, that early and almost wholly fell into idolatry (see on the passage, and comp. 1 Chronicles 27:16 ff., where there is not so much an overpassing of the name as a transposition of it to the end of the twelve tribes, by which the same theocratico-critical judgment is passed upon it). On the contrary, it may be accidental that no mention is made of the tribe of Zebulun in giving the genealogy of the twelve tribes, though it occurs in the enumeration of the Levitical cities (1 Chronicles 6:48; 1 Chronicles 6:62). Yet a certain significance for the history of salvation cannot be denied to this accidental omission, as it was certainly the relative smallness of the tribe, the low number of famous and populous families, that occasioned its disappearance from the genealogical traditions of the later time. Yet this so small and obscure tribe it was that included Nazareth, the dwelling - place of the earthly parents of Jesus. Zebulun, with its neighbour Naphtali, was, according to prophetic announcement (Isaiah 9:1; Psalms 68:28), to prove to be “the people walking in darkness,” the land overshadowed with heathen gloom, that was to see the great light of salvation go forth from its midst. In this contemporaneous omission, then, of Dan, the tribe typically pointing to the Antichrist, and of Zebulun, the tribe serving as the earliest scene of the earthly living and working of the Saviour, there is in our registers a certain significance for the history of salvation, that even if it rests upon accident, points to a higher guidance and a providential arrangement. 3. The investigator of all that is significant for the history of salvation and the defence of the truth, will take no less interest in the many historical and archζological notices that are interwoven in the genealogical text. With their now scanty, now copious, contributions to the special history of the tribe, their details, often truly surprising by the epic grandeur and dramatic life of the narrative (to which belong, in particular, the records of the conquests of the Simeonites, the successful raids of the three trans-jordanic tribes against the north Arabian Beduin, and the slaying of the two sons of Ephraim, Ezer and Elad, by the primeval inhabitants of Gath), their highly ancient colouring both in style and deed, which prompts us almost to generalize the remark once added by the author: “these are ancient things,” and apply it to the whole of these accounts, these notices delight us as petrifactions from the grey foretime imbedded in the strata of genealogical series; they resemble scattered gems or medals of antique stamp shining through the rubbish of ages, that give us accounts of otherwise unknown events of theocratic history, and open to us perspective views into remote epochs of the development of God’s people, on which the darkness of absolute oblivion would otherwise have rested. From each of these, now shorter, now longer, documents concerning the older and oldest history of the tribe, goes forth the testimony of an unusually rich and many-sided individual impress of the Israelitish spirit, reminding us almost of the German nation in the multiplicity of its tribes, of a fresh but rude native power as a heritage more or less proper to each of the twelve tribes, and to each in peculiar modification, and thereby of a divine providence guiding and governing the life of the several tribes and of the whole nation with uninterrupted fatherly love as well as judicial integrity. 4. Of pre-eminent importance is finally the appearance, more or less clear in every tribe, of a preponderating repute and influence of one family over the rest. In the tribe of Judah, it is the family of Hezron the son of Perez, and grandson of Judah, that by its growth and power casts all the rest into the shade. In the tribe of Levi, the Kohathites predominate; in that of Benjamin, it is the house of Jeuel, or Abi-gibeon, the ancestor of Saul (1 Chronicles 8:29, 1 Chronicles 9:35 ff.), that, obscuring all the rest, rises to kingly worth and power, and even in its later offshoots, especially the sons of Azel and the bold archers of Ulam (1 Chronicles 8:38-40), remains great and renowned. Among the Simeonites, Shimei, the descendant of Shaul, the last of the five sons of Simeon, becomes the ancestor of the most flourishing family (1 Chronicles 4:26 f.). Among the Reubenites, the family of Joel is conspicuous (1 Chronicles 5:4 f., 8 f.); among the Gadites, that of Buz (1 Chronicles 5:14); among the Manassites, that of Machir the father of Gilead (1 Chronicles 7:14 ff.); among the Ephraimites, that of Resheph the ancestor of Joshua (1 Chronicles 7:25); among the sons of Issachar, that of Izrahiah the son of Uzzi, the son of Tolah (1 Chronicles 7:3); among the sons of Asher, that of Heber the son of Beriah (1 Chronicles 7:32 ff.). It is obvious enough to explain this remarkable phenomenon naturally, and regard it as preservation and completion of the strong families in “the struggle for existence,” or, if you will, as natural training. The statement of Palgrave, the English traveller, regarding the division of all the Arab tribes into two kinds of families, the townsmen or peasants, and the nomads or beduin, of which the former are the stronger and more developed, the latter the weaker, though patriarchally the more simply constituted, and therefore better fitted for handing down faithfully their genealogical recollections, should perhaps be regarded as pointing to a partial explanation of the present interesting phenomenon. Neither of these two purely natural attempts at explanation can be called satisfactory. The last and deepest ground of the rise of one family or tribe to a physically, ethically, or intellectually distinguished preeminence, and to an illustrious name, obscuring kindred tribes or families, is the secret of the divine election, that, without respect to character or conduct, raises and glorifies the one people or family, and leaves the other to lowness and oblivion, according to the words, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated;” and, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” (Romans 9:13; Romans 9:15; Malachi 1:2 f.; Exodus 33:19). As in the life of nations, so is this elective grace visible in the development of single tribes, clans, and families, and often in a way that directly contradicts the normal mode of growth and self-development, especially the law of the prevalence of the strong over the weak in “the struggle for existence,” and rather proceeds according to the Pauline saying: “ God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Above all, in the development of the forefathers of Christ, before David as well as after, in the times of the rise as in those of the decline, this election by grace has repeatedly asserted itself, and operated as the proper principle and inmost motive of that blessed historical process, embracing many thousands of years, which, as the divine education of the human race, is the counterpart of all natural training, and the ideal archetype of all human education. Footnotes: The Sept, the Vulg., and Luther attach εִ ?ιδεּ ?γָ ?δ to the foregoing word (τῶνβασιλέων ’Ισρκὴλκαὶ ’Ιοῦδα), with an arbitrary interpretation of the following δָ ?βְ ?μεּ εβεΧ (μετὰτῶνἀκοικισθέντωνεἰςΒαβυλῶνα,—translatique sunt in Babyl.). For the Kethib αֶּ ?οΞαִּ ?πְ ?ιָ ?ξִ ?οΞαְּ ?πֵ ?ι is doubtless to be read the Keri αֶּ ?οΞαָּ ?πִ ?ιξִ ?οΞαְּ ?πֵ ?ι (comp. the name αָּ ?πִ ?ι in 1 Chronicles 6:31, among the Merarites). For δַ ?ωִּׁ ?μֹ ?πִ ?ι, since ωִׁ ?ιμֹ ?δ (ωִׁ ?μεֹ ?ο is a city of Ephraim, must apparently have been read, according to Genesis 26:20, δַ ?ωֵּׁ ?μָ ?πִ ?ι (the Shelanites, descendants of Shelah, third son of Judah). The incorrect pointing δַ ?ωִּׁ ?ιμֹ ?πִ ?ι appears to have arisen from the scriptio plena: δַ ?ωֵּׁ ?ιμָ ?πִ ?ι. Comp. Nehemiah 11:5, where, instead of δַ ?ωִּׁ ?ιμֹ ?πִ ?ι, we should also perhaps point δַ ?ωֵּׁ ?μָ ?πִ ?ι. Before ξְ ?μֶ ?ΰλֶ ?ϊ a μ (in consequence of the μ at the end of ηַ ?ιִ ?μ) seems to have fallen out. Comp. εἰςἐργασίαν of the Sept., and 1 Chronicles 7:2; 1 Chronicles 12:25 (also F. Bφttcher, Neue exeg. krit. Aehrenlese, iii. 223). Before ζְ ?λַ ?ψְ ?ιָ ?δ a ε seems to have fallen out. For εְ ?δֵ ?νδַ ?μְּ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?νεְ ?δָ ?ιεּ the original text seems to have been εּ ?ξִ ?οδַ ?μְּ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?νδָ ?ιεּ; comp. ver.14. Kethib: τְּ ?θιγִ ?ιν. Keri: τְּ ?θεּ ?ψִ ?ιν. So the Keri. The Kethib is ιְ ?ςεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ. That Zebulun, in the times of Moses, and even David, sent into the field an army of 50,000 men (see 1 Chronicles 12:33), is not in contradiction with its insignificance in the later times before and after the exile, and is historically quite conceivable. Thus J. fόrst (Gesch. der bibl. Lit. i. p. 318) conjectures that the raid of Elad and Ezer, the sons of Ephraim, against Gath, narrated 1 Chronicles 7:21, is probably taken from “the old accounts (γαψινςϊιχιν) mentioned 1 Chronicles 4:22, which the Chronist had before him,” but without adducing any direct proof for it. Palgrave, Central Arabia, i. p. 35: “Arab nationality is and always has been based on the divisions of families and clans. These clans were soon by the nature of the land itself divided each and every one into two branches, correlative indeed, but of unequal size and importance. The greater section remained as townsmen or peasants in the districts best susceptible of culture and permanent occupation, where they still kept up much of their original clannish denominations and forms, though often blended, and even at times obliterated, by the fusion inseparable from civil and social organization. The other and lesser portion devoted themselves to a pastoral life. They, too, retained their original clannish and family demarcations, but unsoftened by civilization, and unblended by the links of close-drawn society; so that in this point they have continued to be the faithful depositaries of primeval Arab tradition, and constitute a sort of standard rule for the whole nation. Hence, when genealogical doubts and questions of descent arise, as they often do among the fixed inhabitants, recourse is often had to the neighbouring beduins for a decision unattainable in the complicated records of the town life.” Wellhausen (De gentibus et familiis Jud., etc., p. 24 f.), setting out from the mainly correct presupposition, that these observations of Palgrave on the Arabs apply mutatis mutandis to the tribes of ancient Israel, has described the family of Celeb (1 Chronicles 2:18 ff., 1 Chronicles 2:42 ff.) as an example of a Jewish family dwelling in towns and tilling the ground, and therefore widely spread, but certainly difficult to reduce to a genealogy; and, on the contrary, that of his brother Jerahmeel, 1 Chronicles 2:25-41, as an example of a nomad family, remaining certainly smaller and less renowned. but also provided with far more precise and correct genealogical recollections Etenim casu non factum est, he thinks, with reference to 1 Chronicles 2:25-41, quod nusquam excultior invenitur articulatio corporis ethnologici, quam apud Jerachmeelem *immout mosille schemate genealogico depingendi res gentilicias fluxit primarie e tali societate, quζ magnζ familiζ erat similior quam artificiosζ an contortζ structurζ civilatis quζ recte dici potest, ita postea etiam ibi sine dubio maxime viguit. ubi antiqua patriarcharum fidelius servabatur vitζ consuetudo, sic quidem ut sanouinis vis jungens et dirimens ceteris omnibus causis, quibus homines solent conciliari et abalienari aut revera prζvaleret aut certe secundum conscientiam popularem prζvalere judicaretur, etc. § 2. HISTORY OF THE KINGS IN FROM DAVID TO THE EXILE.— 1 Chronicles 10-361. DAVID.—1 Chronicles 10-29 a. Introduction: Fall of the House of Saul.—Ch. 10 1 Chronicles 10:1.And the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa. 2And the Philistines pursued Saul and his sons; and the Philistines smote Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, sons of Saul. 3And the battle went sore against 4Saul, and the archers found him, and he trembled for the archers. And Saul said to his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and insult me; but his armour-bearer would 5not; for he was sore afraid; and Saul took the sword and fell upon it. And his armour-bearer saw that Saul was dead, and he also fell on the sword and 6died. And Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together. 7And all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead; and they forsook their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8And it came to pass on the morrow that the Philistines came to strip the slain, 9and they found Saul and his sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. And they stripped him, and took his head and his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines around, to bear tidings to their idols and to the people. 10And they put his armour in the house of their god, and fastened his skull in the house of Dagon. 11, 12And all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul. And all the valiant men arose, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. 13And Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, for the word of the Lord which he kept not, and also for asking a necromancer 14to inquire. And inquired not of the Lord; and He slew him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse. Preliminary Remark.—This account of the downfall of Saul and his house agrees, except in coordinate details, literally with 1 Samuel 31:13 ; only the 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 are an addition of the Chronist, designed to mark the history of the fall of Saul’s family as the transition to the following history of David, that forms the proper centre of the whole work of our historian. For this history of David points all that precedes, the whole of the genealogies in the first nine chapters, with their emphatic elevation of the tribe of Judah. And if these genealogies are so disposed that they close with the register of the Benjamite house of Saul, this serves to prepare for the contents of our chapter, which on its part is preparatory to the following special history of the reign of David, the ancestor aud founder of the legitimate line of kings. 1. Saul’s Defeat and Death in the Battle with the Philistines on Mount Gilboa: 1 Chronicles 10:1-12 comp. 1 Samuel 31:1-12).—And the men of Israel fled before the Philistines. The fuller statement of the books of Samuel (1 Samuel 29 comp. 1 Chronicles 28:4) shows that this flight of the defeated Israelites was directed from the plain of Jezreel, as the proper field of battle, to Mount Gilboa, their former post. 1 Chronicles 10:2. And the Philistines pursued Saul and his sons; properly, clung to Saul,” a fit expression for the incessant and vehement pursuit (Sept.: συνάπτουσιτῷΣαούλ; Luth.: “hingen sich an Saul”). The abridged form εַ ?ιַּ ?γְ ?αְּ ?χεּ, for εַ ?ιַּ ?γְ ?αִּ ?ιχεּ, as in 1 Samuel 14:22; 1 Samuel 21:2. On Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua see 1 Chronicles 8:33. 1 Chronicles 10:3. And the archers found him, overtook him (as 1 Chronicles 10:8; comp. 1 Samuel 20:11).—And he trembled for the archers. εַ ?ιָּ ?ηֶ ?μ lit. apoc. Kal of ηεּ ?μ, torqueri, tremerc; so 1 Samuel 31:3; comp. εַ ?ϊָּ ?ηֶ ?μ, Ps. 197. 4. The resent terror of Saul corresponds with that in 1 Samuel 28:5. It is unnecessary here to prefer the reading of the Sept.: καὶἐπόνεσενἀπὸτῶντόξων (ἐπόνεσεν, perhaps resting on a εַ ?ιַּ ?ηַ ?μ, from ηָ ?μָ ?οΰ, πονεῖν), and so render (with Kamph.), “and he was pressed by the archers.” For the ἐτραυατίσθη “he was wounded,” of the Sept. in the parallel 1 Samuel 31:3, comp. Berth, and Wellh., Text der der BiicherSam. p. 147, who perhaps unnecessarily assumes that the Chronist may have read εַ ?ιֵ ?ηַ ?μ “and he was wounded” Niph. of ημμ), and therefore omitted ξְ ?ΰֹ ?γ, which did not suit this verb. The omission of this adverb is sufficiently accounted for by the abbreviating habit of the author, on which also the omission of the pleonastic ΰֲ ?πָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν after δַ ?ξּ ?εֹ ?ψִ ?ιν (1 Samuel 31:3) rests, as also that of ςִ ?ξּ ?εֹ at the close of 1 Chronicles 10:5, etc. 1 Chronicles 10:4. Lest these uncircumcised come and insult me. Before εְ ?δִ ?ϊְ ?ςַ ?μְּ ?μεּ ?Ξαִ ?ι (comp. Jeremiah 38:19; 1 Samuel 6:6) the parallel text in Samuel exhibits a εּ ?γְ ?χָ ?ψֻ ?πִ ?ι, which perhaps did not originally stand in the text, but seems to be repeated by mistake from the foregoing imper. εְ ?γָ ?χְ ?ψֵ ?πִ ?ι, so that the word is rightly omitted by the Chronist; comp. Berth, and Wellh. 1 Chronicles 10:6. And all his house died together. Again an abbreviation for, “and his armour-bearer, and all his men on that day together, “in Sam. 31. The design of this abbreviation was scarcely to remove the strong” exaggeration” (Wellh.) contained in βַּ ?νλָּ ?μΞπָ ?ωָׁ ?ιε on account of which the Sept. perhaps left these words untranslated; for the εְ ?λָ ?μΞαֵּ ?ιϊεֹ of our author contains a like exaggeration, as Saul’s whole house did not fall in this battle, as the author (1 Chronicles 9:35 ff.) knew very well. The expression is general and excessive, as the longer one in 1 Samuel 31. also. 1 Chronicles 10:7. And all the men of Israel that were in the valley, or on the plain. More exactly, 1 Samuel 31, “the men of Israel that were beyond the valley and beyond the Jordan,” that is, that dwelt west and east of Mount Gilboa. That our writer had a defective text (Thenius) is not to be assumed ; rather the same process of abbreviation is found here, as immediately after, where the required subject ΰַ ?πְ ?ωֵׁ ?ιιִ ?ωְׂ ?ψָ ?ΰֵ ?μ is omitted after λִּ ?ιπָ ?ρεּ. 1 Chronicles 10:9. And they stripped him, and took his head and his armour. Instead of this, 1 Samuel 31:9 has, “and they cut off his head and stripped off his armour.” The beheading, understood of itself (comp. Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:54), our author leaves unmentioned.—And sent into the land of the Philistines around, namely, these trophies, Saul’s head and armour (comp. Judges 19:29 f.). Accordingly, the Sept. in 1 Samuel has translated καὶἀποστέλλουσιναὐτά, where perhaps “messengers” (ξְ ?αַ ?ωְּׂ ?ψִ ?ιν ,φִ ?ιψִ ?ιν) is to be supplied; see Then. and Wellh.—To their idols and to the people. For ΰֶ ?ϊΞςֲ ?φַ ?αֵּ ?ιδֶ ?ν (where ΰֶ ?ϊ=with, before), the text in Samuel has αֵּ ?ιϊςֲ ?φַ ?Χ, “in the house of their idols,” a reading not confirmed by the Sept., which seems to owe its origin to the following verse (αιϊΞΰμδιδν). 1 Chronicles 10:10. And they put his armour in the house of their god; according to 1 Samuel 31:10, in the temple of Astarte. for the Ashtaroth, the same deity as the “queen of heaven” of the Canaanites, Jeremiah 7:18 ff., or the Alilat of the Arabs, Herod, iii. 8 (perhaps also = the Phenician mother of gods, Astronoe of Damascius [vit. lsid. 302; comp. Dφllinger, Judenth. p. 143], and the Spartan Venus hastata victrix of Cythera), was the chief deity of the Philistines, that ’AφροδίτηΟὐρανία whose ancient and wealthy sanctuary at Askelon is mentioned by Herodotus i. 108. We are perhaps, therefore, to understand this Astarte temple at Askelon, as the text named temple of Dagon, the second chief divinity of the Philistines, will be that mentioned, 1 Samuel 5:3 ff., at Ashdod, which was especially frequented in the times of Saul (comp. Vaihinger, Art. “Philister” in Herzog’s Encycl. xi. 576 f.). That “their god” and “Dagon” could not be opposed, as Wellh. thinks, is too much to assert. Rather was the Astarte of the Philistines a kind of androgynous being, that formed with Baal a syzygy or a supreme divine principle, and certainly one fundamentally different from the fish god Dagon (because the latter was both younger and less esteemed). Comp. Dφllinger, p. 397 ff.; Mόller, Astarte, a contribution to the mythology of oriental antiquity, Wien 1861 (in which also the Cretan Europa [ = ψַ ?αָּ ?δ the strong] is identified with Astarte), Vaihinger, as above.—And fastened his skull in the house of Dagon. These words are wanting in 1 Samuel 31, where, on the contrary (1 Chronicles 10:10), is found the following notice: “and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shean.” Here we must choose between the assumption, that our text arose from a corruption of this reading of Samuel (Wellh.), and such harmonizing attempts as that of Ewald and Thenius, who assume that originally after the words, “his skull in the house of Dagon,” stood the following, “and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshean,” but they fell out on account of the similarity of εΰϊβμβμϊε and εΰϊβειϊε; or that of Bertheau, who explains the omission of the notice of the fastening of the body to the wall of Bethshean as an intentional one, that is to be judged in the same way as the other abbreviations of our writer. The latter assumption is the most probable, because in 1 Chronicles 10:12 there is no mention of fetching the body from Bethshean. 1 Chronicles 10:11. And all Jabesh-gilead:1 Samuel 31 : “and the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.” According to Berth., the ιωְׁ ?αֵ ?ι before ιָ ?αֵ ?ωׁ; came into the text on account of the plur. ειωׁ ?ξςεּ but here again the easier supposition is that the Chronist has abbreviated the text of Samuel. Besides, it was gratitude for the deliverance wrought for them by Saul (1 Samuel 11) that moved the oitizens of Jabesh to this pious care for his burial. 1 Chronicles 10:12. And took the body of Saul.βּ ?εּ ?τַ ?ϊ is a later phrase, usual in Aramaic, occurring only here in the O. T. for the βְּ ?εִ ?ιַּ ?ϊ of Samuel, Whence the body was fetched, and what was done with it (for example, its incremation, 1 Samuel 31:12), our author, true to his abbreviating habit, omits. 2. Closing Reflection on the Fall of the Kingdom of Saul: 1 Chronicles 10:13-14.—And Saul died for his transgression. Wherein this transgression ξςμ: unfaithfulness, apostasy; comp. 1 Chronicles 5:25, 1 Chronicles 9:1; Leviticus 5:5) consisted, is added—1. In not following the word of the Lord, that is, His command to destroy Amalek (1 Samuel 15:11; comp. 1 Chronicles 28:18);–2. In inquiring of the necromancer.—For the word of the Lord which he kept not. Besides 1 Samuel 15, we are to understand here, also, that earlier case of disobedience in 1 Samuel 10:8; 1 Samuel 13:13, and also 1 Samuel 22:18 f.—And also for asking the necromancer to inquire, to seek an oracle, a revelation; comp. 1 Samuel 28:7, where γψωׁ is used in the same pregnant sense. On the quite superfluous gloss of the Sept., comp. Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 10:14. And inquired not of the Lord, sought not information. This is not inconsistent with the fact that, 1 Samuel 14:37; 1 Samuel 26:6, Saul had inquired of the Lord, but without effect (because the Lord had departed from him, 1 Chronicles 28:15). It rests rather on the certainly correct and historical presupposition, that Saul had neglected to seek the favour of Jehovah with the proper zeal, and then inquire of Him. Comp. Starke: “he sought Jehovah not uprightly and in due order, and put not his trust in the Lord, in the order of true repentance;—he did not continue his inquiry of the Lord, when God refused him an answer on account of his sins, to the confession and entreaty for pardon of which he had not brought himself, but betook himself forthwith to the soothsayer.”—And He slew him (in the battle, after Samuel’s spirit had announced to him his doom, 1 Samuel 28:19), and turned the kingdom to David. On ειρα, comp. 1 Chronicles 12:23; 2 Samuel 13:12. On the significance of the present small section for the history of salvation, comp. the evangelical and ethical reflections on 1 Chronicles 10-29, No. 1. Footnotes: Kethib: ιָ ?αΰֹ ?εּ. Keri: ιָ ?αεֹ ?ΰεּ. After μִ ?γְ ?ψεֹ ?ωׁ the Sept. gives the superfiuous addition: καὶἀπεκρίνατοαὐτῷΣαμουῆλὁπροφήτης. Comp. Sir 46:20. b. David’s Elevation to the Kingdom; Fixing of his Residence at Jerusalem; Wars and Numbering of the People.—Ch. 11–21 α. The Anointing of David in Hebron, and his Removal thence to Jerusalem: 1 Chronicles 11:1-91 Ch 11:1 And all Israel gathered to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy 2bone and thy flesh. Also heretofore, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that led Israel out and in; and the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt 3feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over my people Israel. And all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel. 4And David went and all Israel to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus; and there the Jebusites were the inhabitants of the land. 5And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither; and David took the castle of Zion: this is the city of David. 6And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain; and Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and became chief. 7And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it the city of David. 8And he built the city around, from Millo to the 9circuit; and Joab repaired the rest of the city. And David became greater and greater; and Jehovah Zebaoth was with him. β. List of David’s Heroes: 1 Chronicles 11:10-4710 And these are the chiefs of the heroes of David, who held fast to him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, by the word of the Lord concerning Israel. 11And this is the number of the heroes of David: Jashobam son of Hachmoni, the chief of the thirty; he lifted his spear against three hundred slain at one time. 12And after him Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite; he was among the three heroes. 13He was with David at Pas-dam-mim, and the Philistines were gathered there for battle, and there was a plot of ground full of barley; and the people fled before the Philistines. 14And they stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and smote the Philistines; and the Lord granted them a great salvation. 15And three of the thirty chiefs went down the rock to David, to the cave of Adullam; and the camp of the Philistines was in the valley of Rephaim. 16And David was then in the hold, and a post of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 17And David longed, and said, Who will give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate? 18And the three brake through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, at the gate, and took and brought it to David; but David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord. 19And said, My God, forbid it me that I should do this thing; shall I drink the blood of these men at the risk of their lives? for at the risk of their lives they brought it: and he would not drink it; these things did the three heroes. 20And Abshai, Joab’s brother, he was chief of the three; and he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain, and had a name among the three. 21Above the three he was honoured among the two, and was their captain; but he attained not to the three, 22Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, son of Ish-hail, great in deeds, from Kabzeel; he smote two [sons] of Ariel of Moab, and he 23went down and smote a lion in a pit in a snowy day. And he smote the Egyptian, a man of stature, of five cubits; and in the hand of the Egyptian was a spear like a weaver’s beam, and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear from the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. 24These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three heroes. Before the thirty, 25behold, he was honoured; but he attained not to the three; and David set him over his guard. 26And the heroes of war were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son 27, 28of Dodo of Bethlehem. Shammoth the Barorite, Helez the Pelonite. Ira 29the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Antothite. Sibbechai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite. 30Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite. 31Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, of the sons of Benjamin, 32Benaiah the Pirathonite. Hurai of Nahale-gaash, Abiel the Arbathite. 33Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite. 34The sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shageh the Hararite. 35Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur. 36Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah 37, 38the Pelonite. Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai. Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri. 39Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armour-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah. 40Ira the Ithrite, 41Gareb the Ithrite. Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai. 42Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him. 43, 44Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite. Uzziah the 45Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hothan the Aroerite. Jediaei 46the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite. Eliel the Mahavim, and Jeribai and Joshaviah the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite. 47Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel of Hammezobaiah.Preliminary Remark.—In the history of David, the author dwells chiefly on the bright and prosperous side of the Davidic kingdom; the troubles and disorders of his glorious career, occasioned by misfortune and his own guilt, he passes over as much as possible (comp. Introd. § 4, p. 11). Hence the mention of his anointing at Hebron, 1 Chronicles 11:1-3, and yet the entire omission of the rival kingdom of Ishbosheth at Mahanaim, to which there is not even an indirect allusion in stating the seven years’ duration of David’s residence at Hebron. An account of the taking of Jerusalem, and the valour of Joab therein displayed, 1 Chronicles 11:4-9, is then followed by a list of the other famous warriors of David, 1 Chronicles 11:10-47, wherein again a shadow in the bright picture, the unprincipled and barbarous conduct of Joab (the murderer of Abner, Uriah, Absalom, etc.), is passed over in silence. And after this list, the appendix in 1 Chronicles 12, containing the heroes devoted to David during the reign of Saul, and the proceedings in his elevation to the throne at Hebron, makes no reference to the rival kingdom of Ishbosheth, though many occasions of doing so were presented; so that it appears almost as if the statement in 1 Chronicles 10:6, that Saul and all his house together had fallen in the battle of Gilboa, were meant by the author to be literally true. But besides the conscious tendency to glorify as much as possible the kingdom of David, as the prototype of all theocratic excellence, his propensity to communicate long lists and mere enumerations, his statistical rather than historical mode of representation, also contributes more or less to the one-sidedness of his narrative. This method leads him to place the list of heroes, which in the books of Samuel (at least in its greater part; see 2 Samuel 23:8-39) stands at the end of David’s history, at the very head of it. Besides, not only this list, of which the closing verses only (41–47) are peculiar to Chronicles, but also the account of the anointing at Hebron, has its parallel in the books of Samuel, 2 Samuel 5:1-10. The agreement between the two is tolerably exact; comp. 1 Chronicles 11:1-3 with 2 Samuel 5:1-3, and 1 Chronicles 11:4-9 with 2 Samuel 5:6-10. Yet the note of the length of David’s reign, 2 Samuel 5:4-5, is wanting in our text, not from an oversight of the Chronist (Then.), but because he preferred to introduce it at the end of his report, 1 Chronicles 29:27. 1. The Anointing of David at Hebron: 1 Chronicles 11:1-3.—And all Israel gathered to David unto Hebron. The phrase “all Israel” (comp. Ezra 2:70) includes the northern and trans-jordanic tribes; it is therefore not the earlier anointing of David in Hebron by the tribes of Judah only, 2 Samuel 2:4, which is here reported, but that which was performed after the deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth by all the tribes together, 2 Samuel 5:1 ff., to which there is a still fuller reference in 1 Chronicles 12:23 ff.—Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh, thy relatives by tribe and blood; comp. Genesis 29:14. 1 Chronicles 11:2. Also heretofore, literally, “yesterday and ere yesterday,” that is, a long time since; comp., besides 2 Samuel 5:2, also Genesis 31:2; 2 Kings 13:5.—That led Israel out and in, out to the battle, and home after the victory; comp, 1 Samuel 18:13; 1 Samuel 18:16.—And the Lord thy God said unto thee, by the mouth of Samuel the prophet; comp. 1 Samuel 16:1-3; 2 Samuel 3:9; 2 Samuel 3:18, etc. 1 Chronicles 11:3. And all the elders of Israel came, as the representatives of the people, to establish the rights of the kingdom (1 Samuel 8:11; 1 Samuel 10:25) by contract (by making a covenant or elective treaty).—According to the word of the Lord by Samuel. These words, wanting in the corresponding place in 2 Samuel 5:3, appear to be an explanatory addition of our author; for it is not probable that they originally stood in the text of Samuel, and fell out by ὁμοιοτέλ. (ωξεΰμ—ιωψΰμ); comp. 1 Chronicles 11:10 with 2 Samuel 23:8 (against Then.). On the absence of the date here appended in the parallel text 2 Samuel 5:4 f. as intentional on the part of the writer, who reserves it for 1 Chronicles 29:27, comp. Preliminary Remark. 2. The Taking of Zion, and the Change of Residence to Jerusalem: 1 Chronicles 11:4-9.—To Jerusalem, that is, Jebus; and there the Jebusites were the inhabitants of the land. For this circumlocution 2 Samuel 5:6 gives more briefly: “to Jerusalem, to the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land.” That the latter reading has been obtained by corruption of the text from the former (Berth., Then.) it is by no means needful to assume; the δִ ?ιΰιְ ?αεּ ?ν after ιְ ?ψεּ ?ωָׁ ?μִַ ?ν seems rather to be an addition of the Chronist, serving as a transition from “Jerusalem” to the Jebusites, which then further necessitates the insertion of the notice: “and there the Jebusites were” (properly, the Jebusite was); comp. Wellh. p. 162 f. 1 Chronicles 11:5. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Only the close of this threat, given in full in 2 Samuel, is here recorded, after the abbreviating manner of the author. 1 Chronicles 11:6. Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first. Only these first words of David’s speech occur in 2 Samuel 5:8, where something quite different is given as spoken by him. “The highly peculiar account in 2 Samuel 5:8, clearly resting on strictly historical recollection, is obviously the more original and exact. It may well be conceived that in other accounts of the conquest of Jebus, the great captain of David, Joab (in like manner as Othniel, Judges 1:12 ff., in the conquest of Kiriath-sepher), was mentioned; and a celebrated saying of David in the siege was referred to Joab, not from clear recollection, but from a conjecture which might rest on the account of Joab in 1 Chronicles 11:8. Thus two different accounts of this saying might arise; the simpler, presenting apparently no difficulties, found its way into Chronicles.” Such is Bertheau’s view, at all events more probable than that of Then, on 2 Samuel, who makes the Chronist complete a critically corrupt text on the ground of tradition by conjecture.—And Joab the son of Zeruiah (comp. 1 Chronicles 2:16) went up first and became chief. That this “becoming chief” is only a confirmation of Joab in his previous office is shown by 2 Samuel 2:3. 1 Chronicles 11:7. And David dwelt in the castle.ξְ ?φָ ?γ, the same as ξְ ?φεּ ?γָ ?δ in 1 Chronicles 11:5; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:8; 1 Chronicles 12:16.—Therefore they called it the city of David. According to 2 Samuel 5:9, David himself gave it this name; but the one does not exclude the other. 1 Chronicles 11:8. And he built the city around, from Millo to the circuit, beginning from Millo, and returning to it in a circuit. Somewhat different Isaiah 2 Samuel 5:9 : “around from Millo and inward; that is, from the circumference to the centre. For the fortress Millo, situated probably on the north-west corner of Zion, comp. Thenius and Bδhr on 1 Kings 9:11. The name ξִ ?μּ ?εֹ ?ΰ signifies filling; that is, probably not wall or sconce, but a strong tower (bastion, castle); comp. αֵּ ?ιϊξִ ?μּ ?εֹ ?ΰ, 2 Kings 12:21 and 2 Chronicles 32:5.—And Joab repaired the rest of the city, properly, “quickened, made alive;” comp. ηιδ in the same sense, Neh. 3:34, as the similar expression “heal,” 1 Kings 18:30. On account of the supposed trace of ancient style contained in the use of ηιδ for απδ “rebuild, Wellhausen, p. 164, declares this addition peculiar to the Chronist regarding Joab’s co-operation in the building of Jerusalem, especially its fortification, to be not even historically credible. But that ηιδ in this sense occurs only here and in Nehemiah does not prove the lateness of this usage; and the circumstance that David’s field-marshal took part in the fortification of the capital is so far from being improbable, that the statement seems a genuine trace of ancient history. Wherefore Kennicott’s emendation, accepted by Thenius, is unnecessary: ειεΰαιδιδμωׂ ?ψδςιψ, “and Joab became governor of the city.” 1 Chronicles 11:9. And David became greater and greater. The construction with δμκְ is like that in Genesis 8:3; Genesis 8:5; Genesis 12:9; Genesis 26:13, Judges 4:24; comp. Ew. § 280, b. On b, comp. 1 Chronicles 9:20. The general remarks of the verse prepare very suitably for the following list of the numerous heroes of David. 3. List of David’s Heroes: 1 Chronicles 11:10-47; and first of Jashobam, Eleazar (and Shammah): 1 Chronicles 11:10-14.—And these are the chief of the heroes of David. By these words, peculiar to the Chronist (the parallel text 2 Samuel 23:8 opens the list merely with the clause: “and these are the names of the heroes of David”), the communication of the following list is justified, as standing in relation with David’s elevation to the kingdom and confirmation in it. Hence the designation: “chiefs of the heroes,” chief heroes, heroes of the first rank.—Who held fast to him in his kingdom, who stood bravely by him (in common with him) during his reign. δִ ?ϊְ ?ηַ ?ζֵּ ?χςִ ?ν, as in Daniel 10:21.—To make him king. Rightly Keil: “μְ ?δַ ?ξְ ?μִ ?ιλεֹ is not to be limited to the appointment to the kingdon, but includes also confirmation in it; for of the men named, heroic deeds are mentioned, which they performed in the wars which David as king waged with his foes, to maintain and extend his sway.”—By the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Comp. on 1 Chronicles 11:2-3; for the same word of God in and by Samuel is meant here also, as there. 1 Chronicles 11:11. And this is the number of the heroes of David. In 2 Samuel 23:8 : “and these are the names of the heroes of David.” The term ξִ ?ρְ ?τַּ ?ψ instead of ωֵׁ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ is not surprising, especially after the plur. ΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δ. If ξִ ?ρְ ?τַּ ?ψ be the original, the expression must mean: “that these heroes at first formed a corps definite in number (the thirty)” (Keil). Moreover, Bertheau’s conjecture, ξִ ?αְ ?ηַ ?ψ for ξρτψ (“and this is the choice, the ιlite, of the heroes”), deserves all attention.—Jashobam son of Hachmoni, the chief of the thirty. After the perhaps right reading here is to be corrected the corrupt ιωααωαϊϊηλξπι2 Samuel 23:8. It remains doubtful, however, in this respect, that Jashobam in 1 Chronicles 27:2 is called son of Zabdiel, not of Hachmoni, and that the mss. of the Sept. differ surprisingly in the writing of the name, inasmuch as cod. Alex, presents ’Ισβαάμ ( or ’Ισβοάμ , 1 Chronicles 27:2), but Vatic, the first time, 1 Chronicles 11:11, ’Ιεσαβαδά, the second time, 1 Chronicles 27:2, ’Ισβοάζ. Hence Wellhausen (p. 212) might possibly be right in his conjecture, that the true. name may have been “Ishbosheth the Hachmonite” ιִ ?ωְׁ ?αּ ?ωֶׁ ?ϊδַ ?ηַ ?λְ ?ξεֹ ?πι, and that the ιωαςν of our verse is corrupted from ιִ ?ωְׁ ?αַּ ?ςַ ?μ, the well-known by-form or rather primitive form of the name Ishbosheth. The “head of the thirty” (see Crit. Note) is given as an epithet to Jashobam as leader of the thirty heroes of second rank who are set down by name in 1 Chronicles 11:26 ff.—He lifted his spear against three hundred slain at one time. The same heroic deed is recorded, 1 Chronicles 11:20, of Abshai; whence Thenius, Keil, and Wellh., starting from the supposition that Jashobam was a greater hero than Abshai, wish to correct our passage after 2 Samuel 23:8, where the number of those slain at once by Jashobam is set down as 800 (otherwise Ew. Gesch. 2. p. 603, who defends the number 300 for both places; while Bertheau gives no decision). 1 Chronicles 11:12. And after him Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite.δָ ?ΰֲ ?ηεֹ ?ηִ ?ι is the correct reading, as appears from 1 Chronicles 27:4, not αֶּ ?οΰֲ ?ηֹ ?ηִ ?ι2 Samuel 23:9. Whether the name γּ ?εֹ ?γεֹ is to be changed, with the Sept. (as in 1 Chronicles 27:4), into γּ ?εֹ ?γַ ?ι appears less certain.—He was among the three heroes, among the three warriors of the first rank, Jashobam, Eleazar, and Shamma, of whom the name of the third has fallen out of the middle of 1 Chronicles 11:13, as the parallel 2 Samuel 23:11 shows. On the surprising but still grammatically admissible combination αִּ ?ωְׁ ?μεֹ ?ωָׁ ?δδַ ?βִּ ?αֹּ ?ψִ ?ιν instead of αִּ ?ωְׁ ?μωֶׁ ?ϊδβΧ (comp. 1 Chronicles 5:19), see Berth., who justly rejects as unnecessary the emendation of Thenius: αְּ ?ωָׁ ?μִ ?ιωֵׁ ?ιδַ ?βִּ ?αֹּ ?ψִ ?ιν, “among the knights (Shalishim) of the heroes.” 1 Chronicles 11:13. He was with David at Pas-dammim, and the Philistines. These words refer still to Eleazar; see 2 Samuel 23:9. Pas-dammim, or Ephes-dammim, 1 Samuel 17:1, is a place between Socho and Azekah, not otherwise known; in 2 Samuel 23 the name is wanting, from the great corruption of the text, which is otherwise fuller than our text here, as it describes more exactly the heroic deed of Eleazar. It is there said, 1 Chronicles 11:9-10, at the close of the sentence “and the Philistines were gathered there for battle:” “and the men of Israel were gone away (to the mountain, fleeing before the Philistines); and he stood and smote the Philistines, until his hand was weary and clave unto the sword; and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil. And after him was Shammah the son of Age the Hararite ; and the Philistines were gathered for battle,” etc. This not inconsiderable gap in our text, by which that which follows in 1 Chronicles 11:13 b and 1 Chronicles 11:14 seems to be a description of a heroic deed, not of Shammah, but of Eleazar, appears to have been occasioned by the eye of the transcriber wandering from αַּ ?τְּ ?μִ ?ωְׁ ?ϊִּ ?ινπֶ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ΰֶ ?ρְ ?τεּ ωָׁ ?ν, 2 Samuel 23:9, to εַ ?ιֵּ ?ΰָ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ρְ ?τεּ ,τְ ?μִ ?ωְׁ ?ϊִּ ?ιν 1 Chronicles 11:11.—And there was a plot of ground full of barley. For barley (ωְׂ ?ςεֹ ?ψִ ?ιν) in 2 Samuel 23:11, the plot is said to be full of lentiles (ςֲ ?γָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν) which is the original reading it is hard to decide, but it may be a mere slip of the pen (Movers, Wellh.).—And they stood in the midst of the plot. More correctly 2 Samuel 23 : “and he stood,” namely, Shammah. The two following verbs also, “defended” and smote,” are to be changed into the sing., as, according to 2 Samuel, the one Shammah clearly achieved the successful defence of the plot. The three plurals have come into our text after the lines referring to Shammah had fallen out. 4. Continuation. The Three Heroes who fetched Water to David from Bethlehem: 1 Chronicles 11:15-19 (comp. 2 Samuel 23:13-17).—And three of the thirty chiefs went down: three other than those already named. The thirty chiefs or captains are those mentioned 1 Chronicles 11:11 and given by name in 1 Chronicles 11:26 ff.—The rock to David, to the cave of Adullam. This cave must have been either in the rock itself or in its immediate neighbourhood. On the rock itself, however, stood the hold (ξְ ?φεּ ?γָ ?δ) mentioned 1 Chronicles 11:16. The valley of Rephaim (valley of giants, κοιλὰςτῶνΓιγάντων; Joseph. Antiq.vii. 4. 1), mentioned as the camping ground of the Philistines, lies, according to Robinson, “between the present convent Mar-Elias and Jerusalem; is wide, bounded on the north by a small ridge of rock, that forms the margin of the valley of Hinnom, and sinks gradually to the south-west” (Winer, Realwφrterb. ii. 322); comp. Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16; 2 Samuel 5:18; 2 Samuel 5:22. 1 Chronicles 11:16. And a post of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem, which is therefore to be conceived as not far from Adullam and the valley of Rephaim. 1 Chronicles 11:17. Of the well of Bethlehem, at the gate. On the dried-up cistern situated one-quarter hour north-east of Bethlehem, which tradition gives as the well of our passage, see Robinson, ii. 378, and Berth. 1 Chronicles 11:18. And the three brake through the camp of the Philistines, namely, not through the main camp, but that of the post before Bethlehem.—But poured it out to the Lord, made a libation to God by pouring it on the ground; comp. 1 Samuel 7:6. 1 Chronicles 11:19. My God forbid it me. The same construction as in 1 Samuel 24:7; 1 Samuel 26:11, 1 Kings 21:3, etc.—Shall I drink the blood of these men at the risk of their lives, literally, “in their souls;” comp. Genesis 4:4; Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:26; Leviticus 17:10 ff; Leviticus 19:26 ff., especially 1 Chronicles 17:14. “As blood and soul are here made equal, the blood as the seat and bearer of the soul, the soul as moving in the blood, so David, according to our report of his words, makes the water which those heroes had brought at the price (or risk) of their souls equal to their souls, and the drinking of the water brought by them equal to the drinking of their souls, and the souls equal to the blood, in order to express his abhorrence of such drinking. So that we may express the meaning thus: Should I drink in the water the souls, that is, the blood, of. these men; for they have fetched the water at the price of their souls?” (Keil). Moreover, αְּ ?πַ ?τְ ?ωׁ ?εֹ ?ϊָ ?ν appears to be put down twice only by an oversight; in the parallel 2 Samuel 23:17 it stands only once, which is perhaps the original form of the text. That David pours the water out instead of drinking has its ground in this, that it was become blood in his eyes; for blood, if it cannot be put on the altar, must be “poured on the earth as water,” Deuteronomy 7:16 (Berth.). With the Levitical prohibition of the use of blood, the saying of David has evidently nothing to do. 5. Abshai and Benaiah: 1 Chronicles 11:20-25 (comp. 2 Samuel 23:18-23).—And Abshai, Joab’s brother, he was chief of the three. Abshai or Abishai (2 Samuel), one of the three sons of Zeruiah (1 Chronicles 2:16), is here designated as chief, and in the following verse as captain, of the three, while it is said of him: “but he attained not to the three.” This enigmatical saying has been explained in various ways: 1. So that two groups or classes of three are distinguished: those mentioned 1 Chronicles 11:15-19, whose head or ruler Abshai may have been, and the three heroes, Jashobam, etc., mentioned before in 1 Chronicles 11:11-14, to whom he was not so related (so in particular the ancients, and Starke). 2. So that it is sought to unite both, the being chief of the three and standing after them (in bravery), as possibly co-existent, though the same three, Jashobam, Eleazar, and Shammah, are still referred to; that is, Abshai has taken, along with Joab the field-marshal, the first place among David’s captains ; is therefore, as having a higher command, the chief and leader of the three heroes, while they excel him in personal bravery and famous deeds (Keil). 3. So that δַ ?ωְּׁ ?μεֹ ?ωָׁ ?δ in 1 Chronicles 11:20-21 is taken in two different senses, in that of the number three (so 1 Chronicles 11:21), and in this of the abstract substantive, “body of thirty, Sheloshah-company” (so the three first times),—a sense that necessarily results from the comparison of 1 Chronicles 11:21 with 1 Chronicles 11:25, and of 2 Samuel 23:19 with 2 Samuel 23:23 (Berth.). We shall have the choice between these three modes, unless we prefer the three first times (1 Chronicles 11:20 and 1 Chronicles 11:21 a) to read the pl. δַ ?ωְּׁ ?μεֹ ?ωָׁ ?ιν, for δַ ?ωְּׁ ?μεֹ ?ωָׁ ?δ as Wellhausen (supported by the numerous cases in which these like numbers are exchanged; see pp. 20, 81, 214 ff. of his work) declares to be necessary in the parallel 2 Samuel 23—And he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain; comp. on 1 Chronicles 11:11. 1 Chronicles 11:21. Above the three he was honoured among the two. These enigmatical words in the present form can neither be explained, with the Vulg.: “Of the three of the second class” (inter tres secundos), nor, with the Sept.: “Of the three, above the two was he honoured” (κ̓πὸτῶντριῶνὑπὲρτοὺςδύοἔνδοξος). If the αִּ ?ωְׁ ?πַ ?ιִ ?ν is to be retained as genuine, it must be taken, with Ewald (Lehrb. § 269, b) and Keil, in the sense of “twofold, doubly,” and so rendered: “above the three doubly honoured, he became their chief” (Keil). Or we may read, with Berth., δֲ ?λִ ?ι, for αִּ ?ωְׁ ?πַ ?ιִ ?ν according to 2 Samuel 23:19 (comp. 2 Samuel 9:1; Genesis 27:36; Genesis 29:15), and render: “Among the Sheloshah-company certainly he was honoured, and became their captain.” 1 Chronicles 11:22 ff. Benaiah’s Heroic Deeds (comp. 1 Chronicles 18:17, 1 Chronicles 27:6).—Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of Ishhail. So, if we retain αֶּ ?ο before ΰִ ?ιωׁ ?Ξηַ ?ιִ ?μ. There is much, however, for its erasure (Berth., Wellh., Kamph.), in which case the sense comes out: “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a valiant man of great deeds.” For the home of this Benaiah, Kabzeel in the south of Judah, comp. Joshua 15:21; Nehemiah 11:25.—He smote two (sons) of Ariel of Moab, the king of Moab, who bore the epithet ΰֲ ?ψִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ, “lion of God,” as a title of honour. Before ΰψιΰμ is to be inserted, with the Sept., αְּ ?πֵ ?ι ; comp. Then, and Wellh., 2 Samuel 23:20.—And he went down and smote a lion. This feat of Benaiah, which happened on a snowy day, and therefore in winter, may have been performed during the great war of David with the Moabites, 2 Samuel 8:2. 1 Chronicles 11:23. And he smote the Egyptian, a man of stature, or probably, according to the Sept., “a man of repute.” The following particulars of the successful combat of Benaiah with the giant nearly coincide with those of the conflict of David with Goliath, though the differences are not to be overlooked (there a Philistine, here an Egyptian; there a stature of six cubits and a span, here of five cubits; there the weapons are a staff and a sling, here only a staff ; there the slaying of the fallen with his own sword, here with his own spear). if, with the Sept., in 2 Samuel 23:21 be substituted for the weaver’s beam a “bridge-beam” (ξύλονδιαβάθρας), as an object of comparison to show the thickness of the spear, the difference of the two narratives would be still greater. But even without this, the similar feats are only so related as Shamgar’s heroic deed to that of Samson (comp. Judges 3:31 with 1 Chronicles 15:15), or as Jashobam’s valiant deed (with the right reading 800 in 1 Chronicles 11:11) to that of Abshai. 1 Chronicles 11:24-25. For “among the three heroes” and “above the thirty” Berth, would in both cases read “among the Sheloshah-company;” comp. on 1 Chronicles 11:20.—And David set him over his guard, literally, “over his obedience,” that is (abstr. pro concr.), over his obedient, his trusty men; comp., besides 2 Samuel 23:23, also 1 Samuel 22:14; Isaiah 9:14. According to Bertheau’s not improbable conjecture, by this guard of David is meant the corps of the Cerethi and Pelethi (see 2 Samuel 8:18), from which, however, a second troop of guards, that of the 600 Gibborim (or Gittites, 2 Samuel 15:18), 2 Samuel 16:6; 2 Samuel 20:7, etc., were no doubt different. Commander of the former was Benaiah, according to our passage and 2 Samuel 8:18 ; over the 600 Gibborim, on the other hand, may have been placed the often named thirty, so that one of the thirty was leader to every twenty of the 600. This assumption of a difference of the Cerethi and Pelethi from the Gibborim is not certain; for as Benaiah, 2 Samuel 8:18, appears as commander of the Cerethi and Pelethi, he is also, 1 Kings 1:10, connected with the Gibborim (Benaiah and the heroes). 6. The Forty-eight Warriors: and first the thirty-two enumerated in 2 Samuel 23.: 1 Chronicles 11:26-41 a. On the sixteen added by the Chronist, 1 Chronicles 11:41 b–47, see No. 7.—And the heroes of war were, or more precisely: “And heroes of war were;” for the phrase εְ ?βִ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ιδַֽ ?ηֲ ?ιָ ?μִ ?ιν without the article is a general superscription. The article before ηֲ ?ιָ ?μִ ?ιν constitutes no real difference from βִּ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψֵ ?ιηֲ ?ιָ ?μִ ?ιν7:5, 7, 11, 40, or from βּ ?Χηַ ?ιִ ?μ,1 Chronicles 11:2; 1 Chronicles 11:9, etc. [?] Here, as there, are meant: “heroes in action, valiant heroes,” not “leaders of the divisions,” as Berth, (appealing to 2 Kings 15:20, 1 Chronicles 12:8, etc.) thinks.—Asahel the brother of Joab. For him, comp. 1 Chronicles 2:16; for his murder by Abner, 2 Samuel 2:19 ff. The parallel text 2 Samuel 23:24 adds to his name αַּ ?ωְּׁ ?μωִׁ ?ιν, “among the thirty.”—Elhanan the son of Dodo, different from Elhanan son of Jair, 1 Chronicles 20:5. 1 Chronicles 11:27 Shammoth the Harorite. In 2 Samuel 23. this hero is called “Shammah the Harodite,” but in 1 Chronicles 27:8, “Shamhuth the Izrahite.” In the gentilic. δηψεψι there appears at all events to be an error, which is to be corrected by δַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψֹ ?γִ ?ι of Samuel; for in Judges 7:1 a Jewish place ηֲ ?ψֹ ?γ is expressly mentioned. After the name of this Harodite Shammoth must have fallen out that of a second Harodite Elika (ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιχָ ?ΰ), as 2 Samuel 23:25 shows.—Helez the Pelonite. So 1 Chronicles 27:10, whereas in 2 Samuel 23:26 this Helez is originally designated as a Paltite (of Beth-pelet, αֵּ ?ιϊτֶּ ?μֶ ?θ, Joshua 15:27, Nehemiah 11:26), 1 Chronicles 11:28. Ira and Abiezer; comp. 1 Chronicles 27:9; 1 Chronicles 27:12. 1 Chronicles 11:29. Sibbechai the Hushathite. By the name ρִ ?αְּ ?λַ ?ι the suspicious ξְ ?αֻ ?πַּ ?ι of 2 Samuel must be corrected. Inversely, Ilai (ςִ ?ιμַ ?ι) must be amended after the φַ ?μְ ?ξεֹ ?ο of Samuel. 1 Chronicles 11:31. Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, of the sons of Benjamin. For the situation of this Gibeah of Benjamin (near Ramah), comp. the expositor on Joshua 18:28 and on Judges 14:19 ff.; for that of the following Pirathon (that occurs also, Judges 12:13-15, as the home of Abdon), Zeitschr. der Deutschen morgenl. Gesellsch. 1849, p. 55, and particularly Sandreczky in Ausland, 1872, No. 5, p. 97 ff. 1 Chronicles 11:32. Hurai (so read also 2 Samuel for ηִ ?γַּ ?ι) of Nahale-gaash. This place, occurring only here (and 2 Samuel 23:30), properly, “valleys of Gaash,” is at all events to be sought near Mount Gaash in the Ephraimite range, not far from which was Joshua’s grave; comp. Joshua 24:30; Judges 2:9.—Abiel the Arbathite, of Beth-haarabah, Joshua 15:6; Joshua 15:61; Joshua 18:18; Joshua 18:23. The name ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ is in 2 Samuel ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιΞςַ ?μְ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ο, which form Berth. takes without ground to be original, while Wellh. rejects both forms, and makes the original to be ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιΞαַ ?ςַ ?μ. 1 Chronicles 11:33. Azmaveth the Baharumite, that is, he of Bahurim (read δַ ?αַּ ?ηֻ ?ψִ ?ιξִ ?ι); comp. 2 Samuel 16:5; 2 Samuel 19:17.—The following gentilic. δַ ?ωַּׁ ?ςַ ?μְ ?αֹ ?πִ ?ι is to be referred to ωַׁ ?ςַ ?μְ ?αִּ ?ιν, Judges 1:35, 1 Kings 4:9 (or ωַׁ ?ςַ ?μַ ?αִּ ?ιο, Joshua 19:42), and so to be written δַ ?ωַּׁ ?ςַ ?μְ ?αִּ ?ιπִ ?ι. 1 Chronicles 11:34. The sons of Hashem the Gizonite. αְּ ?πֵ ?ι before δָ ?ωֵׁ ?ν appears to owe its origin to a repetition of the last three consonants of the foregoing gentilic. δωςμαπι; and thus originally there was only Hashem the Gizonite, after which 2 Samuel is to be amended: likewise in the following word the corrupt reading there is to be altered into our “Jonathan the son of Shageh the Hararite;” comp. Wellh. p. 216. 1 Chronicles 11:35. Eliphal the son of Ur. 2 Samuel 23:34 : “Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai.” The original was perhaps (comp. Then, and Berth, on the passage): “Eliphelet the son of Ur.” 1 Chronicles 11:36. Hepher the Mecherathite; perhaps the Maachathite (2 Samuel); as also “Ahijah the Pelonite” (comp. 1 Chronicles 11:27) must perhaps be changed, as in 2 Samuel, into “Eliam, son of Ahithophel the Gilonite.” 1 Chronicles 11:37. Naarai the son of Ezbai. For πςψι 2 Samuel has τּ ?ςψι for δָ ?ΰֲ ?ψָ ?αִ ?ι ,αֶּ ?οΞΰֶ ?ζְ ?αָּ ?ι, which is perhaps to be preferred on account of ΰֲ ?ψָ ?α, Joshua 15:52. 1 Chronicles 11:38. Joel the brother of Nathan. If Nathan the prophet were meant, the ΰηι, “brother,” by the side of the usual αֶּ ?οΞ, would lose its strangeness. But in 2 Samuel 23:36 we find a Nathan of Zobah. Hence ΰηι is perhaps to be changed into αο; and ιִ ?βְ ?ΰַ ?μ might possibly be more original than our ιεֹ ?ΰֵ ?μ.—Mibhar the son of Hagri. for these words 2 Samuel 23:36 has “Bani the Gadite.” ξִ ?αְ ?ηָ ?ψ may have there fallen out; but it may also have been corrupted from ξִ ?φֹּ ?αָ ?δ. In δβγι (if this, and not δβψι, is to be read) may possibly lie the name of the prophet Gad (Wellh.), so that here two relatives of prophets, a brother (son ?) of Nathan and a son of Gad, may be named together. 1 Chronicles 11:40. Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite. The family of the Ithrites was enumerated, 1 Chronicles 2:53, among those of Kiriath-jearim. 1 Chronicles 11:41. Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathsheba, 2 Samuel 11:3 ff. Here follows in 2 Samuel 23:39 the closing subscription: “thirty and seven in all,” as, according to the correct text, actually thirty-seven heroes are there enumerated, namely, twenty-nine others besides the eight mightiest heroes named in 1 Chronicles 11:8-23 (Jashobam, Eleazar, Shammah, etc.). These twenty-nine should in the view of the author of the books of Samuel represent those thirty warriors (named in 1 Chronicles 11:25); whence he breaks off his enumeration after Uriah (or perhaps after Gareb, as Wellh. seeks to render probable), although most probably the same list, containing forty-eight names in all, lay before him, which our author has continued from this verse to the end. Moreover, for the criticism of both lists running parallel as far as our verse, the facts brought out by Wellh. (p. 215 f.) are to be considered:—1. “That the heroes are placed in pairs, and often every two from the same city (two Bethlehemites, 1 Chronicles 11:26, two Netophathites, 1 Chronicles 11:30, two Ithrites, 1 Chronicles 11:40); 2. That the adjective of descent is always added, but not regularly the father’s name, to the name of the hero; 3. That thorough corrections are only possible, if we have first collected the whole material of the proper names in the O. T. along with the variants in the Sept., and then elaborated them.” The last rule applies also to the criticism of the following names preserved by the Chronist alone, which in this arrangement have no parallel. 7. The last Sixteen of the Forty-eight Warriors, whom the Chronist alone enumerates: 1 Chronicles 11:41 b–47. 1 Chronicles 11:42. Adina ... a chief of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, or besides him. So, according to the Masoretic reading, εςμιε; but Berth, prefers that of the Syriac version (see Crit. Note), and so gets the sense: “leader of the Reubenites over thirty,” that is, commander of the thirty captains or heroes of the Reubenites, to which may be compared the thirty leaders of the Benjamites, 1 Chronicles 22:4. 1 Chronicles 11:44. Uzziah the Ashterathite, from Ashteroth (Karnaim) or Beth-Eshterah, a city of East Manasseh, 1 Chronicles 6:56. Whether the “Aroerite” points to Aroer in the tribe of Reuben (Joshua 13:16), or in that of Gad (1 Chronicles 11:25), is doubtful. 1 Chronicles 11:46. Eliel the Mahavim. We should probably read “the Mahanaimite ” (Joshua 13:26); comp. Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 11:47. Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel of Hammezobaiah. The unmeaning δַ ?ξְּ ?φֹ ?αָ ?ιָ ?δ, that by its form cannot be a gentilic., is either to be changed by omitting the article and the penult consonant into ξִ ?φֹּ ?αָ ?δ, “from Zobah” (comp. 2 Samuel 23:36) (so Bertheau), or to be regarded as corrupted from a longer name, such as ξִ ?βְ ?γָּ ?μφִ ?αְ ?ςεּ ?ιָ ?ΰ (a place, according to Rabbinic tradition, not far from Hebron), not, however, as a contraction or abbreviation of this name, as Reland (Pal. p. 899). Moreover, the Rabbinic Migdol Zebuiah could scarcely be contemplated, because almost all the sixteen names of our section, from 1 Chronicles 11:41 b on, belong to heroes from the east of Jordan. The Syrian Zobah would suit better in this connection. Footnotes: For the Keri δַ ?ωָּׁ ?μִ ?ιωִׁ ?ιν, the Kethib δַ ?ωְּׁ ?μεֹ ?ωִׁ ?ιν is to be retained; comp. 1 Chronicles 11:15; 1 Chronicles 11:25; 1 Chronicles 12:4; 1 Chronicles 12:18; 1 Chronicles 27:6. For αֶּ ?οΞγּ ?εֹ ?γεֹ the Sept. seems to have read αֶּ ?οΞγּ ?εֹ ?γַ ?ι; comp. 1 Chronicles 27:4. For the not unimportant gap here, see Exeg. Expl. For εְ ?μֹ ?ΰ is to be read εְ ?μεֹ, one of the fifteen cases in which this form occurs in the Masoretic text, as Exodus 21:10, Isaiah 63:9. etc. For ξִ ?γָּ ?δ must apparently be read, with the Sept. (ἄνδραὅρατον), ξַ ?ψְ ?ΰֶ ?δ. Instead of δַֽ ?δֲ ?ψεֹ ?ψִ ?ι read, 2 Samuel 23:25, δַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψֹ ?γִ ?ι, and as there, supply ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιχָ ?ΰδַֽ ?ηֲ ?γֹ ?γִ ?ι. For the further conjectural corruption of the text till 1 Chronicles 11:41, comp. Exeg. Expl. The Sept. and Vulg. appear to have read εςμιεδωׁ ?μωׁ ?ιν, like the Masoretic text, but Syr. ςַ ?μδωׁ ?μωׁ ?ιν; for it renders thus: “and even he (Adina) was a prince over thirty heroes.” For δַ ?ξֲּֽ ?ηֲ ?εִ ?ιν the Sept. gives ὁΜαωί, the Vulg. Mahumites. The corruption of the name, under which, perhaps, δַ ?ξַּֽ ?ηֲ ?πַ ?ιְ ?ξִ ?ι is concealed. seems indubitable. δַ ?ξְּ ?φֹ ?αָ ?ιָּ ?δ is at all events corrupt. Sept. ὁΜεσωβία, Vulg. de Masobia; comp. Exeg. Expl. γ. Supplementary List of Brave Men who held to David during the Reign of Saul:1 Chronicles 12:1-221 Ch 12:1.And these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while banished from Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the heroes, helpers of the war. 2Armed with bows, using both right hand and left with stones and with 3arrows on the bow:—Of the brethren of Saul of Benjamin. The chief Ahiezer and Joash, sons of Hashmaah the Gibeathite; and Jezuel and Pelet the 4sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite. And Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a hero among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Jozabad the Gederathite. 5Eluzai, and Jerimoth, 6and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite. Elkanah, 7and Ishiah, and Azarel, and Joezer, and Jashobam, the Korhites. And Joelah and Zebadiah the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.8And of the Gadites, separated themselves unto David at the hold in the wilderness, valiant heroes, men of the host for battle, handling shield and spear, with faces like lions, and like roes on the mountains for swiftness. 9, 10Ezer the chief, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third. Mishmannah the 11, 12fourth, Jeremiah the fifth. Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh. Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth. 13Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh. 14These were of the sons of Gad, heads of the host: one for a hundred, the least, and the greatest for a thousand. 15These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all its banks; and they put to flight all the valleys to the east and to the west. 16And there came of the sons of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David. 17And David went out before them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, my heart shall be at one with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, with no wrong in my hands, the God of 18our fathers look on and rebuke it. And the spirit came upon Amasai the chief of the thirty, Thine are we, David, and with thee, son of Jesse; peace, peace be to thee, and peace to thy helpers; for thy God helpeth thee; and David received them, and made them captains of the troop. 19And of Manasseh some fell to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle; but they helped him not: for on advisement, the lords of the Philistines sent him away, saying, At the peril of our heads he 20will fall to his master Saul. When he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zillethai, captains of the thousands of Manasseh. 21And they helped David against the troop; for they were all valiant heroes, and they 22became captains in the host. For day by day they came to David to help him, until the camp was great, like a camp of God. δ. Supplementary Data concerning the Number of the Warriors who made David King in Hebron: 1 Chronicles 12:23-4023 And these are the numbers of the heads of those armed for the host who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to 24the word of the Lord. The sons of Judah, bearing shield and spear, were 25six thousand and eight hundred, armed for the host. Of the sons of Simeon, 26valiant heroes for the host, seven thousand and one hundred. Of the sons of Levi, four thousand and six hundred. 27And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him three thousand and seven hundred. 28And Zadok, a valiant young man, and his father’s house twenty and two captains. 29And of the sons of Benjamin, brethren of Saul, three thousand; for hitherto the most part of them kept the ward of the house of Saul. 30And of the sons of Ephraim, twenty thousand and eight hundred valiant heroes, famous men of their father-houses. 31And of the half-tribe of Manasseh, eighteen thousand, who were expressed by name, to come to make David king. 32And of the sons of Issachar, men having understanding of the times, to know what Israel had to do, their heads were two hundred, and all their brethren were at their 33command. Of Zebulun, those going to the host, ordering the battle with all weapons of war, fifty thousand, arraying themselves with a single heart. 34And of Naphtali, a thousand captains, and with them, with shield and spear, thirty and seven thousand. 35And of the Danites, ordering the battle, twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. 36And of Asher, those going to the host 37to order the battle, forty thousand. And beyond the Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all weapons of war for the battle, a hundred and twenty thousand. 38All these men of war, keeping rank, came with true heart to Hebron to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel also were of one 39heart to make David king. And they were there with David three days eating 40and drinking; for their brethren had prepared for them. Moreover, they that were nigh them, even to Issachar, and Zebulun, and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, bread of meal, fig and raisin cakes, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly; for there was joy in Israel. Preliminary Remark.—The whole of the twelfth chapter is peculiar to the Chronist. Standing after that which is related in 1 Chronicles 11:4 ff., it has the nature of an appendix, in the form of several military lists referring to the force of David before and at his accession to the sole sovereignty. The first of these lists consists properly of three smaller ones—a. That of the Benjamites and Jews that came to David during his residence at Ziklag: 1 Chronicles 12:1-7; b. That of the Gadites and some other men from Judah and Benjamin who passed over to him during his residence in the hold: 1 Chronicles 12:8-18; c. That of the Manassites who joined themselves to David shortly before the battle with the Philistines, and the death of Saul at Gilboa: 1 Chronicles 12:19-22. To these lists referring to the Sauline period is then subjoined that of the contingents from all the tribes present at the anointing in Hebron: 1 Chronicles 12:23-40. 1. The Benjamites and Jews who came to Ziklag: 1 Chronicles 12:1-7.—And these are they that came to David to Ziklag. Ziklag, belonging to the tribe of Simeon (1 Chronicles 6:30; Joshua 19:5), assigned by Achish to David as a residence, was in a site not certainly determined. The sojourn of David there until his anointing at Hebron lasted (1 Samuel 27:7) a year and four months.—While banished from Saul (ςεֹ ?γςָ ?φεּ ?ψ) that is, while his return to Israel as king was still hindered by Saul: inter Israelitas publice versari prohibitus (J. H. Michaelis).—And they were among the heroes, helpers of the wars. They belonged to the heroes who served and stood by him in his earlier wars; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:17-18; 1 Chronicles 12:21-22. 1 Chronicles 12:2. Armed with bows, or “aiming with the bow;” not really different from bending the bow (γֹּ ?ψְ ?λֵ ?ιχֶ ?ωֶׁ ?θ), 1 Chronicles 8:40; comp. 2 Chronicles 17:17 and Psalms 78:9.—Using both right and left with stones (in slinging, Judges 20:16) and with arrows on the bow, namely, to shoot and surely hit with them.—Of the brethren of Saul of Benjamin. The second restriction serves to explain the first: ΰֲ ?ηֵ ?ιΞωָׁ ?ΰεּ ?μ do not mean near or blood relations. Comp. Gibeath-Saul, 1 Samuel 11:4, Isaiah 10:29, and as denoting the same place, Gibeath-Benjamin, 1 Samuel 10:16; 1 Samuel 15:34, or Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, 1 Chronicles 11:31. 1 Chronicles 12:3. Sons of Hashmaah the Gibeathite, from the Gibeah of Benjamin just mentioned. 1 Chronicles 12:4. And Ishmaiah the Gibeonite. That this Gibeonite (this Benjamite of Gibeon; comp. 1 Chronicles 8:29, 1 Chronicles 9:35, with 2 Samuel 21:2 ff.) Ishmaiah is described first as a hero among the thirty, and then as a leader over the thirty, may be explained by assuming a temporary command over this company. The absence of his name in 1 Chronicles 11, must be explained by this, that he was no longer alive at the time when this list was composed, and was therefore among the earliest members of the corps of the thirty.—And Jozabad the Gederathite; perhaps from Gederah (now Ghedera, one hour south-west of Jabneh), a Jewish locality in the Shephelah, Joshua 15:36. That Jozabad, though coming from Gederah, belonged to some family of Benjamites dwelling there, is an unnecessary assumption of Keil. The following verses, especially the Geder, 1 Chronicles 12:7, rather show that those here enumerated were by no means exclusively Benjamite. 1 Chronicles 12:6. Elkanah . . . the Korhites. To think of another Korah as the ancestor of the Korhites than the known descendant of Levi is unnecessary; these may be Korhitic Levites settled in Benjamin who are here in question; and the names Elkanah and Azarel having a genuine Levitical ring, make it very probable that they are such; comp. Keil on the p. and Del. Psalter, p. 300. Yet it is possible that they may be descendants of the Jewish Korah mentioned ii. 43 (so Berth., Kamph., etc.). 1 Chronicles 12:7. And Joelah . . . of Gedor, without doubt the Jewish city mentioned 1 Chronicles 4:4, south-west of Bethlehem; so that here also non-Benjamites are included in the series, notwithstanding the announcement, 1 Chronicles 12:2, which leads us to expect only Benjamites. Whether this contradiction between the announcement and the contents of the list arises from the whole series of names being greatly abridged and composed out of two originally distinct lists, one of pure Benjamites, and another containing Jews, as Berth, thinks, appears doubtful; comp. Keil, p. 134. 2. The Gadites and some other Jews and Benjamites who joined themselves to David while in the Hold: 1 Chronicles 12:8-18.—a. The Gadites: 1 Chronicles 12:8-15.—And of the Gadites (that is, of those belonging to the tribe of Gad, while the others adhered to Saul) separated themselves unto David at the hold in the wilderness. This was during the first year of his flight before Saul, 1 Samuel 22:1 ff.—μַ ?ξְ ?φַ ?γξִ ?γְ ?αָּ ?ψָ ?δ (so pointed for μָ ?ξְ ?φָ ?γξΧ, on account of the close connection of the two following words) denotes properly: “to the hold towards the wilderness.” A definite single hold (= ξְ ?φָ ?γξְ ?φεּ ?γָ ?δ; comp. 1 Chronicles 11:16) is here as little intended as in 1 Chronicles 12:16, but rather the greater number of those holds of the wilderness of Judah (comp. αַּ ?ξִּ ?γְ ?αָּ ?ψαַּ ?ξְּ ?φָ ?γεֹ ?ϊ, 1 Samuel 23:14; 1 Samuel 24:1) in which David dwelt at that time; thus ξφγ is here general, as ξְ ?φεּ ?γָ ?δ, 1 Sam. 24:23.—Men of the host for battle, practised in war; comp. 1 Chronicles 7:11. On the following “handling (ςֹ ?ψְ ?λֵ ?ι) shield and spear,” comp. 1 Chronicles 12:24 (“bearing shield and spear”) and Jeremiah 46:3; for the comparison of the warriors with lions and roes, 2 Samuel 1:23; 2 Samuel 2:18. “The expressions in the description of their power and fleetness, 1 Chronicles 12:8, remind us of such as are used in the historical books of heroes in the time of David, and are without doubt drawn from the source which our author here used” (Berth.). 1 Chronicles 12:13. Machbannai the eleventh, literally, the eleven; comp. 1 Chronicles 24:12. 1 Chronicles 12:14. Heads of the host (so 1 Chronicles 12:21 b), that is, chief warriors, not leaders.—One for a hundred the least, and the greatest for a thousand. The smallest of them was equal to one hundred other warriors, and the strongest to a thousand,—an expression of manifestly poetical colouring, reminding us of Lev 26:8 and of 1 Samuel 18:7; 1 Samuel 21:11, which our author certainly found in his source. The Sept, and the most of the older Rabbis rightly understood the passage, but the Vulg. wrongly: novissimus centum militibus pr�erat et maximus mille, for which ςַ ?μ instead of μְ, and another order of words, should be expected. 1 Chronicles 12:15. These are they that went over Jordan, at the time when they separated themselves from the other Gadites of the host of Saul, and were forced to break through this to reach David. Their flight fell “in the first month,” that is, in the spring, when the Jordan was greatly swollen, and had overflown its bank. So much greater was the heroic deed.—And put to flight all the valleys to the east and to the west, on both sides of the river, just as if its overflowing waters were not present. ςξχιν, properly “valleys,” here inhabitants of the valleys, Hitzig (Gesch. Isr. p. 29) conceives to be the name of a people, that occurs also Jeremiah 49:4 (comp. Jeremiah 47:5), and is identical with the Anakim, Joshua 15:14, and with the Amorites—with the latter really, with the former even in name (?). See, on the contrary, Keil on Jer. p. 480.—b. The men of Benjamin and Judah: 1 Chronicles 12:16-18.—And there came of the sons of Benjamin and Judah. The names of these other followers of David when persecuted by Saul the Chronist does not give, either because his source did not contain them, or because they may have been included for the most part in the lists already communicated in 1 Chronicles 11. Amasai only, the leader of this troop, is named. 1 Chronicles 12:17. And David went out before them, or to meet them; comp. 1 Chronicles 14:8.—My heart shall be at one with you. μֵ ?αμְ ?ιָ ?ηַ ?γ, a phrase occurring only here, not essentially different from μֵ ?αΰֶ ?ηָ ?γ, 1 Chronicles 12:38 (comp. 1 Chronicles 12:33).—But if to betray me to my enemies. ψִ ?ξָּ ?δ, with accus, of the object, means, “to practise fraud on any one.” For the following, compare, on the one hand, Job 16:17, Isaiah 53:9; on the other hand, 2 Chronicles 24:22. For the phrase: “the God of our fathers,” namely, of the patriarchs Abraham, etc., comp. Exodus 3:13; Ezra 7:27; 2 Chronicles 20:6; Matthew 22:32. 1 Chronicles 12:18. And (the) Spirit came upon Amasai the chief of thirty. Here, as in the parallel Judges 6:34, the Spirit of God is meant (comp. 2 Chronicles 24:20), as the principle of higher inspiration to great and bold deeds. The Amasai of our passage is perhaps not different from Amasa (with ΰ instead of ι at the end) the son of Abigail, sister of David, 1 Chronicles 2:17, who, at a later period, in the time of Absalom, performed a not unimportant part as commander (first under Absalom, and then under David), till Joab murdered him (2 Samuel 17:25; 2 Samuel 19:14; 2 Samuel 20:4 ff.). Much less probable is the identity assumed by others of this Amasai with Abshai the brother of Joab (1 Chronicles 2:16, 1 Chronicles 11:20).—Thine are we, David, to thee we belong, and with thee, we hold, Notwithstanding this simple and obvious completion, the Sept, has wholly misunderstood the words μκγειγεςξκ, and made of them πορεύουκαὶὁλαόςσου.—For thy God helpeth thee. This ςֲ ?ζָֽ ?ψְ ?κָ refers to the past aid which David had received from God (1 Samuel 18:12 ff.), but also to the further aid in prospect, which was to be imparted to him in future.—And made them captains of the troop, appointed them leaders of the several divisions of his army,—that army (πְּ ?γεּ ?γ) of all kinds of people that had gathered about him; comp. 1 Samuel 22:2; 1 Samuel 27:8, etc. 3. The Seven Manassites who joined themselves to David before the Last Battle of Saul with the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 12:19-22.—And of Manasseh some fell to David. πָ ?τַ ?μςַ ?μ, as in 2 Kings 25:11;1 Samuel 29:3; comp. πָ ?τַ ?μΰֶ ?μ at the close of the verse. For the historical situation, comp. 1 Samuel 29:2-11.—For on advisement, αςφδ, on consultation, as Proverbs 20:18.—At the peril of our heads, literally, “for our heads, for the price of them;” comp. 1 Samuel 29:4. 1 Chronicles 12:20. When he went to Ziklag, and thus before the great battle of Gilboa in which Saul fell; comp. 1 Samuel 29:11.—Captains of the thousands of Manasseh, of the great military divisions (regiments) into which the tribe of Manasseh was divided; comp. Numbers 31:14; Numbers 31:26; Numbers 27:1, and 1 Chronicles 15:25. 1 Chronicles 12:21. And they helped David against the troop, namely, his present foes, the Amalekites; comp. 1 Samuel 30:8; 1 Samuel 30:15, where the βְּ ?γεּ ?γ here used (for which the Sept. perversely read a n. pr. Γεδδούρ) appears more definitely as the army of the Amalekites. Moreover, the seven here named Manassites only are the immediate and direct subject of the sentence, not all the heroes named from 1 Chronicles 12:1 to 1 Chronicles 12:20 (as Berth, thinks), though certainly the whole force of David (600 strong, 1 Samuel 30:9) was drawn out to fight with Amalek. But that by εְ ?δֵ ?ξָּ ?δ only the seven Manassites can here be meant is shown by the following words: “and they became captains in the host,” which cannot apply to the whole troop. 1 Chronicles 12:22. Until the camp was great, like a camp of God; comp. Genesis 32:2 and phrases like mountains, cedars of God, Psalms 36:7; Psalms 80:11. The phrase is “only rhetorical, not idealizing or exaggerating” (Keil); it extends also clearly beyond the time when David had only 600 followers to the time when thousands, and then hundreds of thousands, followed him. The following description seizes the moment when out of the thousands of the first seven years of his reign at Hebron came the hundred thousands and more. 4. The Number of the Warriors who made David King over all Israel: 1 Chronicles 12:23-40.—And these are the members of the heads of those armed for the host, or for military service (comp. Numbers 31:5; Joshua 4:13). The “heads of those armed” are here not the captains or leaders (Vulg. principes exercitus, Berth., etc.), but the sums or masses of the warriors, as Judges 7:16; Judges 7:20; Judges 9:34; Judges 9:37; Judges 9:44, 1 Samuel 11:11, or perhaps also the polls (Judges 5:30); so that ξִ ?ρְ ?τַּ ?ψψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ι would be the number of polls. For it cannot he proved (against Berth.) that only βֻּ ?μְ ?βֹ ?μֶ ?ϊ, and not also ψΰω, can have this sense; and the following is not a list of leaders, but a poll list, that also originally bore this form, though the abbreviating changes of our author make it difficult to prove.—To turn the kingdom of Saul to him; comp. 1 Chronicles 10:14, and for the following, 1 Chronicles 11:3; 1 Chronicles 11:10. 1 Chronicles 12:24. The sons of Judah, bearing shield and spear; comp. on 1 Chronicles 12:8. The enumeration begins with the two southern tribes, Judah and Simeon; next gives the priestly tribe of Levi, whose chief force lay at that time in and about Judah; and then, proceeding from south to north, names first the other western tribes, and then the three eastern ones. 1 Chronicles 12:26. And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, literally, “the leader of Aaron,” that is, not the high priest (who was at that time Abiathar, 1 Samuel 23:9), but the head of the family of Aaron. Perhaps this was Jehoiada the father of Benaiah, 1 Chronicles 6:22. 1 Chronicles 12:28. And Zadok, a valiant young man, perhaps that descendant of Eleazar (5:34) whom Solomon, 1 Kings 2:26, made high priest. That the house of this Zadok, at the time of David’s elevation, counted twenty-two chiefs or heads of families, proves how flourishing this branch of the Aaronites was at that time. 1 Chronicles 12:29. And of the sons of Benjamin, brethren of Saul, three thousand. This number is indeed surprisingly small, but certainly original. The writer accounts for it also, first briefly, by the characteristic addition ΰֲ ?ηֵ ?ιωָׁ ?ΰεּ ?μ, then more fully by the remark, “for hitherto (εְ ?ςַ ?γδֵ ?πָּ ?δ, as 1 Chronicles 9:18) the most part of them kept the ward of Saul’s house;” that is, the most of them were still devoted to the interest of the kindred house of Saul (ωָׁ ?ξַ ?ψξִ ?ωְׁ ?ξֶ ?ψֶ ?ϊ, as Numbers 3:38; comp. 1 Chronicles 23:32; 2 Chronicles 23:6), so that they turned to David only slowly, and when Ishbosheth was dead. 1 Chronicles 12:30. Famous men of their father-houses, arranged according to their father-houses. The Ephraimites, on the whole, though their number was above 20,000, are called celebrated, famous men (comp. Genesis 6:4), perhaps because they were distinguished by their warlike bravery, and had not merely a few able heroes or leaders. 1 Chronicles 12:31. And of the half-tribe of Manasseh, the western half. The “being expressed by name” (πִ ?χְּ ?αεּ αְּ ?ωֵׁ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ, as Numbers 1:17; 1 Chronicles 16:41) points to the formation of a list by the tribe authorities, in which all those warriors of the tribe were entered who were chosen to take part in the elevation of the new king at Hebron. All the other tribes may have formed similar lists for this purpose. 1 Chronicles 12:32. And of the sons of Issachar, men having understanding of the times, to know what Israel had to do. This applies, not to the whole tribe, but only to the 200 heads of their forces; and it denotes, not every kind of activity in astronomical or physical science (Chald., several Rabbis, Cleric), but only that those leaders “saw what was most advisable to be done in the condition of the times” (Starke), that they were prudentes viri, qui quid, quando et quomodo agendum esset, varia lectione (?) et usu rerum cognoscebant (L. Lavater). “Men understanding,” literally, knowing judgment, ιεֹ ?γְ ?ςֵ ?ιαִ ?ιπָ ?δ; comp. 2 Chronicles 2:12 and the similar ιεֹ ?γְ ?ςֵ ?ιγַ ?ςַ ?ϊ, Daniel 1:4. “ To know what Israel had to do,” in the present case, means to whom it had to apply as its king and supreme ruler. These men of Issachar were not dull and narrow “bony asses” (Genesis 49:14), but prudent “judges of the signs of their time” (Matthew 16:3).—And all their brethren were at their command. ςַ ?μτִּ ?ιδֶ ?ν, literally, “by their month,” namely, guided; comp. Genesis 41:40; Numbers 4:27; Deuteronomy 21:5. 1 Chronicles 12:33. Ordering the battle with all weapons of war, practised in the conflict with all kinds of weapons; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:6.—Arraying themselves with a single heart, literally, “and to band together with not heart and heart.” For εְ ?μַֽ ?ςֲ ?γֹ ?ψ, with some critical evidence (see Crit. Note), to read εְ ?μַֽ ?ςֲ ?εֹ ?ψ is unnecessary and untenable, from the recurrence of ςγψ in 1 Chronicles 12:38. From this parallel passage, this verb must mean, “to take rank for war, to stand in order of battle.” For μֵ ?αεָ ?μֵ ?α, to denote double-mindedness or a divided heart, comp. Psalms 12:3 and 1 Chronicles 12:38; μִ ?αָ ?αωָׁ ?μֵ ?ν and μֵ ?αΰֶ ?δֽ ?γ. 1 Chronicles 12:38. All these men of war, keeping rank; Sept. παρατασσόμενοιπαράταξιν. The change of ςֹ ?γְ ?ψֵ ?ι into ςֹ ?ψְ ?λֵ ?ι (see Crit. Note) is unnecessary, and as little demanded by ςψκְ in 1 Chronicles 12:33; 1 Chronicles 12:35-36 as by ξַֽ ?ςֲ ?ψָ ?λָ ?δ; comp. on 1 Chronicles 12:33. “All these” points naturally to the whole troops enumerated from 1 Chronicles 12:24 on.—And all the rest of Israel, etc. On μαΰηγ, “one, united heart,” comp 2 Chronicles 30:12. 1 Chronicles 12:39. And they were there with David three days, eating and drinking. Comp, the festivals described 1 Samuel 30:16, 1 Kings 1:25; 1 Kings 1:40, etc., and also from the most recent oriental history; for example, the enormous feast (100,000 sheep and wethers, 20,000 oxen, 40,000 gallons honey-wine, etc.) that was given in connection with the elevation of Kassai to be emperor (negus) of Abyssinia (Feb. 1872).—For their brethren had prepared for them (victuals), namely, the Jews about Hebron. Comp. on this δֵ ?λִ ?ιο, Genesis 43:16; 2 Chronicles 35:14, etc. 1 Chronicles 12:40. Moreover, they that were nigh them (comp. Deuteronomy 13:8), all the neighbouring tribes of Judah on this side the Jordan; and not merely those immediately adjacent, but also the tribes in the middle, and some of those in the north of Palestine.—Brought bread (victuals) on asses, and camels, and mules, etc. Observe the purely epical character of the representation, that points to a very ancient historical source used by the Chronist.—Fig and raisin cakes. For the masses of dried figs (γְּ ?αֵ ?μִ ?ιν) and raisins (φִ ?ξֻּ ?χִ ?ιν), as indispensable dainty additions to feasts, comp. 1 Samuel 25:18; 1 Samuel 30:12; Jeremiah 40:10; Jeremiah 40:12; Amos 8:1 f.; also Celsius, Hierobot. i. 377 ff.; Winer, Realw., Art. “Feigenbaum.’ Apologetic on 1 Chronicles 12:23 ff.With respect to the credibility of the numbers of our section, it is to be remarked in general, that the sum total of about 340,000 men, resulting from the data relative to the military contingents of the several tribes, agrees, on the whole, with other known data concerning the sum of the people of Israel equipped for war (for example, the 600,000 men in the time of Moses, the 800,000 Israelites and 500,000 Jews in the census of David), as, indeed, a full call of all those fit to bear arms could not be expected on the present occasion. On the contrary‚ the relation of the numbers in the several tribes presents much that is surprising. The strength of the three eastern tribes (120,000), exceeding a third of the sum total, and the likewise considerable strength of Zebulun (50,000), Naphtali (37,000), and Asher (40,000), seem to contrast in a manner scarcely conceivable with the small contingents of Judah, Simeon, Levi, and Benjamin. But—1. With regard to Benjamin, the ground of his only small share in the festivities at Hebron is expressly stated, and in a way entirely satisfactory, and admitting of no further objection. 2. The number of the Levites is, in 1 Chronicles 12:27-28, not fully given, inasmuch as of the third division of them, the house of Zadok, only the number of the chiefs (22) and not that of the common order is stated (as in Issachar only the number of the chiefs or heads is expressed, 1 Chronicles 12:32). 3. Of Judah and Simeon are certainly only comparatively very small numbers given, for this reason, that the warriors of this tribe had long since, seven years before, ranged themselves on the side of David, and therefore, in the review on the occasion of the solemnities of his anointing, did not need to be represented in their full military strength (which would have reached in itself to between 100,000 and 200,000 men). These warriors of Judah and Simeon had rather to act as commissaries, to make provision for the greater bodies of troops; and most of them were to be sought, not among the ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ιδֶ ?ηָ ?μεּ ?υμַ ?φָּ ?αָ ?δ (1 Chronicles 12:24-25 ff.), but among the ΰֲ ?ηֵ ?ιδֶ ?νδַ ?ξֵּ ?λִ ?ιπִ ?ιν 4. Yet highly surprising is the numerical relation of the middle and northern tribes west of the Jordan, namely, the smallness of Ephraim (20,800) beside Zebulun and Naphtali. “But if we consider that Ephraim, which had 40,500 men at the first census under Moses at Mount Sinai, had diminished to 32,500 at the second on the steppes of Moab, this tribe may not at this time have been very strong in men-at-arms, as it may have suffered and been weakened most of all the tribes in the last wars of Saul with the Philistines, and in the battles of Abner for the recovery of the region occupied by the Philistines for Ishbosheth. Moreover, perhaps Ephraim, in his jealousy of Judah, dating from the time of the Judges, might not be altogether inclined to make David king over all Israel. That, however, Zebulun and Naphtali are here so numerously represented, though they played no important part in the history of Israel, is not enough to cast suspicion on the numbers given. As Zebulun under Moses numbered 57,400, and afterwards 60,500, and Naphtali then 53,400, afterwards 45,400 men-at-arms (comp. Numbers 1-3. with Numbers 26), the former might send 50,000, the latter 37,000, men to David at, Hebron” (Keil). The subsequent smallness and insignificance of these tribes (comp Evangelical-Ethical Reflections on 1 Chronicles 1-9, No. 2, p. 92) is simply explained by their only imperfect restoration after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser.—The credibility of the data of our list cannot in general be doubted according to all this, that is, irrespective of particular corruptions of the text that are always to be admitted as possible. It would much more present matter for well-founded doubts if the numerical strength of the several tribes attested in it were exactly proportional to the data of Numbers regarding the early relations of the military divisions. The appearance of something surprising in the present numerical data speaks directly for their true historical origin, and imposes the greatest caution on the modern critic of the contents of our chapter, that exhibit so many traces of fresh originality and high antiquity. This also may perhaps be urged as a proof of the essentially unchanged transmission of the present documents from the author, that the tribe of Dan, which is elsewhere often omitted, as it seems intentionally, by the Chronist, is here expressly mentioned, and in no disparaging way; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:35 with Introd. § 6, No. 1, p. 24, and with the remarks on 1 Chronicles 6:46 and 1 Chronicles 7:12. Footnotes: Keri: Jeziel (ιְ ?ζִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ). With εְ ?ςַ ?μδַ ?ωְּׁ ?μωִׁ ?ιν the fourth verse closes in the mss. and older editions, even that of R. Norzi, so that the whole chapter contains forty-one verses. Keri: “the Hariphite” (δַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψִ ?ιτִ ?ι); comp. αְּ ?πֵ ?ιηָ ?ψִ ?ισ, Nehemiah 7:24. For δַ ?βְּ ?γεּ ?γ is certainly to be read δַ ?βְּ ?γεֹ ?ψ; comp. 1 Chronicles 4:4. For εָ ?ψֹ ?ξַ ?η the Bibl. Venet. Rabb. has εּ ?ξָ ?βֵ ?ο: so some old prints, but not the mss. The Kethib βִּ ?γְ ?ιֹ ?ϊָ ?ιε, if correct, would be the plur. of βִּ ?γְ ?ιָ ?δ, and occur only here. With the Keri βְּ ?γֹ ?ϊָ ?ιε comp. Joshua 3:15; Joshua 4:18; Isaiah 8:8. Kethib: δַ ?ωְּׁ ?μεֹ ?ωִׁ ?ιν; Keri, as usual: δַ ?ωָּׂ ?μִ ?ιωִׁ ?ιν. The Sept. and Vulg. agree with the Kethib. For εְ ?μַֽ ?ςֲ ?γֹ ?ψ nine mss., the Sept. (βοηθῆσαι), and the Vulg. read εְ ?μַֽ ?ςֲ ?ζֹ ?ψ. These mss. change ςֹ ?γְ ?ψֵ ?ι into ςֹ ?ψְ ?λֵ ?ι unnecessarily. See Exeg. Expl. ωֵׁ ?ψִ ?ιϊ, defective for ωְׁ ?ΰֵ ?ψִ ?ιϊ, occurring only here; hence some mss. have the scr. plena. Namely, from Judah,6,800 men.” Simeon7,100 men.” Levi,4,600 men.Also with Jehoiada,3,700 men (with 22 chiefs of the house of Zadok)From Benjamin,3,000 men.” Ephraim,20,800 men.” Half-Manasseh,18,000 men.” Issachar,? men (200 chiefs “and all their brethren”).” From Zebulun,50,000 men.” Naphrali,37,000 men. (with 1000 chiefs).” Dan,28,000 men.” Asher,40,000 men.From the three eastern Tribes,120,000 men.Sum,339,00 men (with 1222 cheifs and heads). ε. The Removal of the Ark from Kiriath-jearim: 1 Chronicles 13 1 Chronicles 13:1.And David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader. 2And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good to you, and it be of the Lord our God, let us send quickly unto our brethren remaining in all lands of Israel, and with them the priests and Levites in the cities of their suburbs, that they gather unto us. 3And let us bring again the ark of our God to us; for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul. 4And all the congregation said, We must do so; for the thing was right in the eyes of 5all the people. And David gathered all Israel, from Shihor of Egypt even unto Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. 6And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, unto Kiriath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the Lord, that sitteth over the cherubim, as He is called by name. 7And they carried the ark of God on a new waggon from the house of Abinadab; and Uzza and Ahio drove the waggon. 8And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with songs and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and cymbals, and trumpets. 9And they came to the threshing-floor of Chidon; and Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen shook it. 10And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, and He smote him, because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before the Lord. 11And David was angry, because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzza; and that place is called Perez-uzza to this day. 12And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God to 13me? And David removed not the ark to him to the city of David, but placed it in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 14And the ark of God remained in the house of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had. Preliminary Remark.—In the second book of Samuel, where 1 Chronicles 6:1-11 corresponds to the present section, the history of the transference of the ark from Kiriath-jearim to the Louse of Obed-edom (which is there related, irrespective of the somewhat shorter introduction, almost word for word as here; comp. 2 Samuel 6:2-11 with 1 Chronicles 13:6-14 of our chapter) is immediately followed by the account of the removal three months later of the ark from that house to Zion. Our author, on the contrary, inserted (1 Chronicles 14) an account of David’s house-building, his family, and his victory over the Philistines, which in 2 Samuel 5:11-25 follows the narrative of the taking of Zion, between the history of the removal of the ark to the house of Obed-edom and its introduction into Zion, and, moreover, on the ground of an old Levitical document, has treated this latter part of the history with vastly greater detail and fulness (see 1 Chronicles 15, , 16). The more circumstantial introduction of our chapter, 1 Chronicles 13:1-5, to which there is only one verse parallel in 2 Samuel 6, may spring from the same source as the following full detail in 1 Chronicles 15, 16. 1. Description of the Assembly in which the Removal of the Ark from Kiriath-jearim was resolved upon: 1 Chronicles 13:1-5.—And David consulted (comp. 2 Chronicles 10:6; 2 Chronicles 30:2) with the captains of thousands and of hundreds (comp. 1 Chronicles 15:25), with every leader. μְ before λָּ ?μΞπַ ?βִ ?ιγ serves here for the brief recapitulation of the fore-mentioned, thus, “in short, namely;” comp. Genesis 23:10. 1 Chronicles 13:2. And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, that is, to those princes as the representatives of the community (to the ecclesia repr�sentativa); comp. χδμ in Leviticus 14:3; Deuteronomy 31:30, etc.—If it seem good to you, properly, “if it be good with you;” comp. Nehemiah 2:5; Nehemiah 2:7; Esther 1:19; Esther 3:9. For the following: “and it be of the Lord our God,” comp. Genesis 24:50; Acts 5:39.—Let us send quickly, properly, “let us break through (τψυ) and send,” that is, with all diligence, and instant suppressing of all hesitation; comp. 1 Samuel 28:23. Less certain is the interpretation, flowing from the notion of spreading out (so τψυ, for example, Isaiah 54:3): “send far and wide.”—Unto our brethren remaining in all lands of Israel, in all lands of the several tribes; comp. λָּ ?μΞΰֲ ?ψָ ?φεֹ ?ϊ in Genesis 26:3-4; 2 Chronicles 11:23; 2 Chronicles 34:33. The preposition ςַ ?μ before ΰַ ?ηֵ ?ιπεּ, because in the sending is implied at the same time the commanding (comp. φִ ?εָּ ?δςַ ?μ). After ςִ ?ξָּ ?δֶ ?ν (“with them,” that is, here, “likewise, besides”), this ςַ ?μ, or even πִ ?ωְׁ ?μְ ?ηָ ?δςַ ?μ, is to be repeated. 1 Chronicles 13:4. We must do so, literally, “to do so;” μַֽ ?ςֲ ?ωׂ ?εֹ ?ϊλֵּ ?ο, the infin, with μְ, as in 1 Chronicles 5:1, 1 Chronicles 9:25. 1 Chronicles 13:5. All Israel, from Shihor of Egypt even unto Hamath, that is, not all the individuals, but a large representation of the whole people (according to 2 Samuel 6:1, a select number of 30,000). “From Shihor of Egypt even unto Hamath” means essentially the same as “from Dan to Beersheba,” namely, Palestine from the south to the north border; comp. Judges 20:1; 2 Samuel 3:10; 2 Samuel 17:11. ωִׁ ?ιηεֹ ?ψξִ ?φְ ?ψַ ?ιִ ?ν is abbreviated for ωִׁ ?ιηεֹ ?ψΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψςַ ?μΞτְּ ?πֵ ?ιξִ ?φְ ?ψַ ?ιִ ?ν, Joshua 13:3. It means the small stream between Palestine and Egypt, which is otherwise called the river of Egypt (πημξφΧ, Joshua 15:4; Joshua 15:47; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Chronicles 7:8, etc.), the Rhinokorura of old, and the Wady el Arisli of the present. The Nile certainly bears the name ωִׁ ?δֹ ?ψ, that is, “black water” (Isaiah 23:3; Jeremiah 2:18); yet smaller waters are also so named, as Joshua 19:26, the Shihor Libnath, in the tribe of Asher, which, however, casts no doubt on our interpretation. On μְ ?αεֹ ?ΰδֲ ?ξָ ?ϊ, to denote the northern border of Palestine, comp. Numbers 34:5; Numbers 34:8; 2 Kings 14:25. Hamath, on the river Orontes, on the southern slope of Antilibanus or Hermon, an old Canaanitish colony (Genesis 10:8), which the prophet Amos (1 Chronicles 6:2), in the 9th century b.c., designated “the great” , and which still, in the Seleucidic and Roman times, when it was called ’Επιφάνεια, belonged to the most considerable Syrian cities, was in David’s time the seat of a king friendly to David, but independent of him, and tolerably powerful; see 1 Chronicles 18:9 f.; 2 Samuel 8:9 ff. 2. The Execution of this Resolve: 1 Chronicles 13:6-14.—And David went up, and all Israel. By “all Israel” is undoubtedly to be understood here, as well as in the foregoing verse, that assembly of select representatives of the people from every tribe, which amounted, 1 Samuel 6:1, to 30,000 men. Neither the assumption that here, in the fetching of the ark, the participation of a much greater number is presupposed than in that preparatory assembly, nor the hypothesis that 2 Samuel 6:1 originally conveyed the sense: “And David multiplied all the men of war in Israel, the Sheloshim and the captains of thousands” (instead of 30,000), is necessary (against Berth.), as the indefinite “all Israel” would suit even a smaller number of representatives than 30,000.—To Baalah, unto Kiriath-jearim. For αַּֽ ?ςֲ ?μָ ?ϊָ ?δΰֶ ?μχִ ?ψְ ?ιַ ?ϊιΧ might be expected, from Joshua 15:9, perhaps αַּֽ ?ςֲ ?μָ ?ϊָ ?δδִ ?ιΰχΧιΧ; for Baalah is the older Canaanitish name for Kiriath-jearim, which is also called Kiriath-baal (Joshua 15:60; Joshua 18:14). Yet the thing is expressed intelligibly enough; the “to Baalah” is sufficiently explained by the addition, “unto Kiriath-jearim.” For the addition, “which belonged to Judah, comp. on Judges 18:12, and for the situation of Kiriath-jearim, the present Kureyet el Enab, on the way from Jerusalem to Ramleh and Lydda (three hours from Jerusalem), comp. Rob. Pal. ii. 589.—That sitteth over the cherubim, as He is called by name. ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψ, here ὡς, “as” (comp. Ew Lehrb. § 333, a); the acc, of reference ωֵׁ ?ν belongs not merely to ιδεδ, but to ιδεδιωαδλψεαιν, and designates the whole phrase as a usual epithet of God in religious worship; comp. Isaiah 37:16; Psalms 80:2. Others would refer ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψ to ΰֲ ?ψεֹ ?ο, and change ωֵׁ ?ν into αְּ ?ωֵׁ ?ν (Kamph.: “which is called by the name”), or even change ωֵׁ ?ν into ωָׁ ?ν (with reference to 2 Samuel 6:2, where also ωָׁ ?ν is once to be read), and so get the sense: “who was there, at the ark, addressed” (Berth.; comp. Then, on 2 Samuel 6). See, on the contrary, and in favour of our interp., Keil, p. 144. 1 Chronicles 13:7. And they carried . . . from the house of Abinadab. This house lay on a hill in Kiriath-jearim (αְּ ?βִ ?αְ ?ςָ ?δ, 1 Samuel 7:1), not in a place Gibeah, near Kiriath-jearim, as the passage 1 Samuel 7:1 seems to say in the faulty translation of the Vulg, and Luther (comp. C. Hoffmann, Blicke in die frόh. Gesch. d. gelobten Landes, i. p. 156). Uzza and Ahio, the drivers of the waggon with the ark, are, 2 Samuel 6, expressly called the sons of Abinadab. 1 Chronicles 13:8. With all their might, and with songs, and with harps, etc. The parallel: “with all woods of cypresses,” in 2 Samuel 6:5, rests on a corruption of the text, and is, as ἐνἰσχύϊ of the Sept, there shows, to be amended by our passage (αְּ ?λָ ?μΞςֹ ?ζ) comp. 2 Samuel 6:14. For the instruments here named, particularly the harps, psalteries, and cymbals, see on 1 Chronicles 15:16.—Cymbals and trumpets. The words presented instead of αξφμϊινεαηφφψεϊ in 2 Samuel 6:5 : εּ ?αִ ?ξְ ?πַ ?ςַ ?πְ ?ςִ ?ινεּ ?αְ ?φִ ?μְ ?φְ ?μִ ?ιν, “and with rattles and with cymbals,” are perhaps more original; at least the ξπςπςιν (Vulg. sistra), occurring nowhere else, might easily have been suppressed by the alleviating correction of a later hand (comp. Wellh. p. 167 f.). 3. Uzza’s Fall, and the Placing of the Ark in the House of Obed-edom: 1 Chronicles 13:9-14.—And they came to the threshing-floor of Chidon. The name λִּ ?ιγֹ ?ο is written, in 2 Samuel 6:6, πָ ?λεֹ ?ο (Sept. Ναχώρ), a reading scarcely preferable to our own.—For the oxen shook it, were on the point of upsetting it (Sept. ἐξέκλινεναὐτήν; Vulg. paululum inclinaverant eam); the ark of itself supplies the subject to ωָֽׁ ?ξְ ?θεּ. Others give “the oxen let go” (Berth.), or “stept aside” (Luther and many ancients), or “flung on every side,” Ew., etc. 1 Chronicles 13:10. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzza, whose error might lie less in the accidental and involuntary touching of the ark, as in his conveying this sacred thing on an ox waggon, instead of having it borne according to the law (Numbers 7:9; Numbers 10:17); comp, what David afterwards did, 1 Chronicles 15:2. For the parallel text of Samuel to be amended by our passage, comp. Thenius and Wellhausen. 1 Chronicles 13:13. In the house of Obededom the Gittite; according to 1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:24, this Obed-edom was one of the Levitical porters; whence we are not to think of the Philistine Gath, but the Levitical city Gath-rimmon (Joshua 19:45; Joshua 21:24), as his birth-place. 1 Chronicles 13:14. In the house of Obed-edom in his house, in his own tent, which was spread over it in the court of this Levite (thus, in his dwelling-house, ςִ ?ξΞαֵּ ?ιϊεֹ). This text appears more correct than that in 2 Samuel 6, which only states that the ark remained “in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.”—And all that he had. For this 2 Samuel 6. has: “and all his house.” The various reading of our passage “is well chosen, because, just before, αֵּ ?ιϊεֹ was used of the tent of the ark” (Berth.). That the blessing which God gave to Obed-edom consisted chiefly in numerous offspring, appears from 1 Chronicles 26:4-8. Yet, even during the three months mentioned in our passage, David must have clearly perceived that the Lord’s anger was sufficiently appeased by the death of Uzza, and that the removal of the ark to Jerusalem involved no danger, but would be attended with blessed effects. ζ. David’s House-Building, Family, and Victories over the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 14 1 Chronicles 14:1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar-wood, and masons, and carpenters, to build him a house. 2And David perceived that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel; for his kingdom was lift up on high, because of his people Israel. 3And David took more wives in Jerusalem; and David begat more sons 4and daughters. And these are the names of those born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua and Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. 5And Ibhar, and Elishua, and 6Elpelet. And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia. 7And Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphelet. 8And the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel; and all the Philistines went up to seek David: and David heard it, and went out against them. 9And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the 10valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines, and wilt Thou give them into my hand? And the Lord said 11unto him, Go up, and I will give them into thy hand. And they went up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there: and David said, God hath broken my enemies by my hand, like the breaking of waters; therefore they 12called the name of that place Baal-perazim. And they left their gods there; and David ordered, and they were burnt with fire. 13, 14And the Philistines came again and spread themselves in the valley. And David inquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them by the bacas. 15And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound going on the tops of the bacas, then go out to the battle; for God is gone out before thee to smite the camp of the Philistines. 16And David did as God commanded him: and they smote the camp of the 17Philistines, from Gibeon even unto Gezer. And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the Lord brought his fear upon all nations. Preliminary Remark.—On the different position of this section in 2 Samuel 5:11-25, namely, before the history of the removal of the ark from Kiriath-jearim, comp. the Preliminary Remark on 1 Chronicles 13. The motive of the Chronist for the transposition is evidently the wish to represent the preparations for the removal of the national sanctuary to Jerusalem as the first undertaking of the king after the taking of the capital, to exhibit the building of his own palace as a work certainly taken in hand soon after, but still standing behind that all-important concern. To the history of the beginning of the palace-building is attached in the sources common to both historians a description of the blessing which attended David as a father and a captain in the battles with the Philistines; Our author took this description, in the main unaltered, along with the notice of the beginning of the palace-building, over into his narrative, undeterred by the appearance thence arising of the events in question, especially the two successful battles with the Philistines, having fallen in the three months between the removal of the ark to the house of Obed-edom and its introduction into Jerusalem. This grouping is here, as often in his representation of the history of David, determined by the order of thought rather than of time. 1. David’s Palace-building and Family: 1 Chronicles 14:1-7.—The text of the older parallel, 2 Samuel 5:11-16, agrees in the main with the present, only here and there more precise.—And cedar-wood, and masons, and carpenters, literally, “and timbers (beams) of cedars, and craftsmen of walls, and craftsmen of timbers” (Vulg. artifices parietum lignorumque). 1 Chronicles 14:2. And David perceived (concluded from the high honour which was conferred upon him by this message from the Phenician king) that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, definitely transferred the kingdom to him, established (“bestδtigt,” Luther) him as king.—For his kingdom was lift up on high. πִ ?ωֵּׂ ?ΰϊ, if genuine, would be an irregularly formed 3 fem. perf. Niph. (not, as 2 Sam. 14:43, an inf. abs. Niph.) from πωׂ ?ΰ, intensified by the μְ ?ξַ ?ςְ ?μָ ?δ, “on high;” comp. 1 Chronicles 22:5, 1 Chronicles 23:17, 1 Chronicles 29:3-25. But perhaps, as in 2 Samuel 5:12, the perf. Pielπִ ?ωֵּׂ ?ΰ is to be read, and Jehovah taken as the subject: “and that He had exalted his kingdom.” For ξַ ?ξְ ?μַ ?λְ ?ϊּ ?εֹ, 2 Samuel 5, our text presents the later (occurring also 1 Chronicles 17:11; 1 Chronicles 17:14) form ξַ ?μְ ?λεּ ?ϊεֹ, perhaps merely by a slip of the pen; see Wellh. p. 164. 1 Chronicles 14:3. And David took more wives in Jerusalem. Before πָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν in 2 Samuel stands τμβωׁ ?ιν, which may have fallen accidentally out of our passage, as the concubines of David are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:9. Comp. on 1 Chronicles 3:5-9, where the names of the thirteen sons of David born in Jerusalem, and the partly different spelling here and there, are fully handled. 2. The First War with the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 14:8-12 (comp. 2 Samuel 5:17-21).—To seek David, to attack, μְ ?αַ ?χֵּ ?ωׁ, sensu hostili, as in 1 Samuel 23:15; 1 Samuel 23:25; 1 Samuel 24:3; 1 Samuel 26:2.—And David heard it, and went out against them, properly, “before them;” comp. 1 Chronicles 12:17. Into this general and indefinite expression our author has changed the more concrete, but also more obscure, statement of Samuel: “and went down to the hold” (the hold of Zion), perhaps designedly. 1 Chronicles 14:9. And spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim; comp. on 1 Chronicles 11:15, 2 Samuel 5:18 : “sat down in the valley of Rephaim.” The perhaps more original εַ ?ιִּ ?πָּֽ ?θְ ?ωׁ ?εּ, 2 Samuel 5:18; 2 Samuel 5:22, the Chronist has here and 1 Chronicles 14:13 exchanged for the simpler and more intelligible εַ ?ιִּ ?τְ ?ωְׁ ?θεּ. 1 Chronicles 14:11. Like the breaking of waters, like an outburst of water (αְּ ?τֶ ?ψֶ ?υξַ ?ιν). We may think of the rending or outbursting of enclosing dams by rapid floods, perhaps after a water-spout. The situation of Baal-perazim cannot be exactly ascertained. Mount Perazim, Isaiah 28:21, is not essentially different from it. 1 Chronicles 14:12. And they left their gods there. 2 Samuel 5 : “their idols” (ςφαιδν). The present phrase is the stronger; it yields, along with the following statement regarding the burning of these gods, a bitterly sarcastic sense. The burning took place, moreover, on the ground of the divine command in Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 7:25. The text of Samuel weakens the statement in a strange way: “and David and his men took them away.” If the more concrete and stronger statement of our author is a traditional expansion of that text, the tradition on which it rests is at all events credible; comp. Movers, p. 224. By this victory, David wiped out the old disgrace of Israel, which rested on the people since Eli’s time. “As then Israel lost the ark, 1 Samuel 4:11, so now the sacred things of the Philistines fell into the hands of the Israelites” (Berth.). 3. The Second War with the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 14:13-17 (comp. 2 Samuel 5:22-25).—And spread themselves in the valley, that is, as the parallel text (so as the Sept. and Syr.; see Crit. Note) shows, in the same valley as above, 1 Chronicles 14:9, scarcely in another at Gibeon, as Movers, p. 243, thinks. 1 Chronicles 14:14. Go not up after them, that is, as Samuel shows: “go not directly towards them; seek not to drive them before thee by a direct attack.” Perhaps also our text is somewhat faulty, and to be amended, according to 2 Samuel 5:23 : μֹ ?ΰϊַֽ ?ςֲ ?μֶ֑ ?δδָ ?ρֵ ?αΰֶ ?μΰַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν, by the change of ΰηψιδν in ςֲ ?μֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν (Berth.).—And come uponthem by the bacas, literally, over against the bacas. These we must suppose, as the divine command implies a going round the Philistine army, to be behind them. The baca, mentioned only here and 2 Samuel 5, and perhaps Psalms 84:7, is, according to Abulfadi (in Celsius, Hierobot. i. 339), a plant related to the balsam tree, and resembling it, which, when cut, discharges a white, sharp, and warm resin in the manner of tears, and appears to have received its name from αλΰ, flare. The older expositors, wavering uncertainly, render the term variously: Sept. ἄπιος, Vulg. pyrus; Luther, after the Jewish expositors, mulberry tree. 1 Chronicles 14:15. The sound going on the tops of the bacas, namely, the rustling of their leaves in the wind (Sept.: τὴνφωνὴντοῦσυσσεισμοῦαὐτῶν), not the sound occasioned by the entrance of God (supernatural, as in Genesis 3:8). As the baca has much larger leaves than the ordinary balsam, the rustling of them may occasion a sufficiently loud sound; the rendering “baca trees ” (Kamph.) is therefore unnecessary. 1 Chronicles 14:16. And they smote the camp of the Philistines, from Gibeon even unto Gezer. Two places of this name lie to the north-west of Jerusalem, the former (now el Jib) 2½, the latter 4½, hours distant from it. If the battle-field is to be sought between the two, in the region of Upper and Nether Beth-horon, the valley, 1 Chronicles 14:13, may still be the valley of Rephaim; only the site of it should be sought not so far south, as Thenius and Bertheau suppose (who also read for Gibeon in our passage, “ Geba,” according to 2 Samuel 5:25), and the battle must be regarded as moving in a north-westerly direction from its starting-point (comp. Wellh. on 2 Samuel 5:25, also Ew. Gesch. d. V. Isr. ii. 610). 1 Chronicles 14:17. And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the Lord brought his fear upon all nation, literally, “ gave his fear upon all nations;” comp. Esther 8:17. A pragmatic reflection of our author added to the original text, as its absence in 2 Samuel 5:25 shows. Comp. the similar reflections in 2 Chronicles 17:10; 2 Chronicles 20:29. On εַ ?ιֵּ ?φֵ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ν especially, comp. 2 Chronicles 24:15. Footnotes: Kethib: ηִ ?ιψָ ?ν. Keri: ηεּ ?ψָ ?ν, as always in Chronicles (Sept. Χειράμ, as ever). For αςξχ the Sept. and Syr. read αςξχψτΰιν, which is perhaps original; comp. 2 Samuel 5:22. η. The Removal of the Ark to Jerusalem, with the Solemn Hymn sung on this occasion: 1 Chronicles 15, 161 Chronicles 15:1 And he made him houses in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. 2Then David said, None should carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the Lord hath chosen them to carry the ark of God, and to minister to Him for ever 3And David gathered all Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord unto its place which he had prepared for it. 4And David assembled the sons of Aaron, and the Levites. 5Of the sons of Kohath: Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty. 6Of the sons of Merari: Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty. 7Of the sons of Gershom: Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty. 8Of the sons of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred. 9Of the sons of Hebron: Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty. 10Of the sons of Uzziel: Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve. 11And David called Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab. 12And said unto them, Ye chiefs of the Levites, sanctify yourselves with your brethren, and bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. 13For because ye were not at the first, the 14Lord our God broke out upon us, because we sought Him not aright. And the priests and Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of 15Israel. And the sons of the Levites bare the ark of God, as Moses commanded by the word of the Lord, upon their shoulders, with staves upon them.16And David said to the chiefs of the Levites, to appoint their brethren the singers with instruments, psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, sounding, to lift up 17the sound with gladness. And the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah. 18And with them their brethren of the second degree: Zechariah , 2 and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, 19and Jeiel, the porters. And the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, with cymbals of brass to sound aloud. 20And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries, in the way of maidens. 21And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps after the octave to lead. 22And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites; for he instructed in bearing, for he was skilful. 23And Berechiah and Elkanah were door-keepers for the ark 24And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nathaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, blew with the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-edom and Jehiah were door-keepers for the ark. 25And David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains of thousands, were going to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the house of Obededom 26with gladness. And when God helped the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord, then they offered seven bullocks and seven rams. 27And David was clothed with a robe of byssus, and all the Levites bearing the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the bearing [the singers]; and upon 28David was a linen ephod. And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of cornet, and with trumpets, and with 29cymbals sounding, with psalteries and harps. And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, then Michal, daughter of Saul, looked out from the window, and saw King David leaping and playing; and she despised him in her heart. 1 Chronicles 16:1.And they brought the ark of God, and set it in the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God. 2And David made an end of offering burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the name of the Lord. 3And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a measure [of wine], and a grape cake. 4And he appointed before the ark of the Lord ministers of the Levites, to record, and to thank and to praise the Lord God of Israel. 5Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and harps; and 6Asaph sounding with cymbals. And Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with 7trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. On that day then David ordered for the first time to thank the Lord by Asaph and his brethren.8    Thank ye the Lord, call on His name, Make known His deed among the peoples. 9    Sing ye to Him, play ye to Him; Muse on all His wonders. 10    Glory ye in His holy name; Let the heart of them that seek the Lord be glad. 11    Seek ye the Lord and His strength, Seek ye His face continually. 12    Remember His wonders that He hath done, His signs, and the judgments of His mouth. 13    O ye seed of Israel His servant, Ye sons of Jacob, His chosen. 14    He the Lord is our God, His judgments are in all the earth. 15    Remember His covenant for ever— The word He commanded to a thousand ages. 16    Which He made with Abraham, And His oath unto Isaac. 17    And appointed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant. 18    Saying, To thee I give the land of Canaan, The line of your inheritance. 19    When ye were small in number, Few, and strangers in it. 20    And they went from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people. 21    He let no man do them wrong, And reproved kings for their sake. 22    “Touch not mine anointed, And do my prophets no harm.” 23    Sing ye to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim from day to day His salvation. 24    Tell ye among the nations His glory, His wonders among all the peoples. 25    For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And He is to be feared above all gods. 26    For all the gods of the peoples are idols; But the Lord made the heavens. 27    Majesty and honour are before Him, Strength and gladness are in His place. 28    Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. 29    Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; Bring an oblation, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 30    Tremble before Him, all the earth: The world will also stand fast without moving. 31    Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them sing among the nations, The Lord reigneth. 32    Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field rejoice, and all that is therein. 33    Then shall the trees of the wood sing out Before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth. 34    Thank ye the Lord; for He is good; For His mercy endureth for ever. 35    And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us and deliver us from the heathen, To thank Thy holy name, To glory in Thy praise. 36    Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, For ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord. 37And he left there, before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, for the day’s work in its day. 38And Obed-edom and their brethren sixty and eight; and Obed-edom, son of Jedithun, and Hosah, to be porters. 39And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord, in the high place that was at Gibeon. 40To offer burnt-offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt-offering continually morning and evening, and for all that is written in the law of the Lord, which He commanded Israel. 41And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to thank the Lord, that His mercy endureth for ever. 42And with them, Heman and Jeduthun, were trumpets and cymbals for loud sounding, and [other] instruments of God; and the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate. 43And all the people went every man to his house; and David turned in to bless his house. Preliminary Remark.—Instead of the brief description of the parallel text 2 Samuel 6:11-23, our author gives a detailed account: 1. Of the preparations for the solemn act of transferring the ark into its new sanctuary in Jerusalem,1 Chronicles 15:1-24, including a. The erection of the tent for the reception of the ark, 1 Chronicles 15:1; b. a conference of the king with the priests and Levites, 1 Chronicles 15:2-16; and c. the selection of the Levites appointed for the chief part in the solemnity (and therefore designated by name), 1 Chronicles 15:16 to 1 Chronicles 24:2. Then follows the execution of the so prepared holy act itself, 1 Chronicles 15:25 to 1 Chronicles 16:3; at the close of which comes the description of the first solemn service before the ark in its new sanctuary on Zion, 1 Chronicles 16:4-43, in-cluding the psalm of praise and thanks then sung, 1 Chronicles 15:8-29. This long closing section is (except the last verse) peculiar to the Chronist. On its credibility, and especially on the genuineness and age of the psalm of praise and thanks, see at the close of these expositions. 1. The Preparation for the Removal; and first, a. The erection of the tent on Zion: 1 Chronicles 15:1.—And he made him houses in the city of David. This may be understood of the building of other houses besides the palace built with the aid of Hiram of Tyre, 1 Chronicles 14:1 (Berth., Kamph.); but as the verb used is ςωׂ ?δ, not απδ, it appears rather to refer to the internal finishing of a palace for the abode of the king and his wives.—And he prepared a place for the ark of God. This was probably in the immediate neighbourhood of the king’s house adjoining it; for here the one of the two existing high priests, Abiathar the Ithamaride, who, since the massacre at Nob, was constantly about David (as it were his court or domestic priest, while Zadok of the house of Eleazar officiated at Gibeon), was to exercise his functions.—And pitched for it a tent, we may suppose, after the model of the old tabernacle still existing at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39 f., 1 Chronicles 21:29; 1 Kings 3:4 ff.), but only as a provisional sanctuary. 2. Continuation. b. The conference with the priests and Levites: 1 Chronicles 15:2-15.—Then David said, namely, at the end of the three months, 1 Chronicles 13:14.—None should carry, properly, “it is not to carry.” With this confession of the sole right of the Levites to carry the ark (comp. Numbers 1:50; Numbers 4:15; Numbers 7:9; Numbers 10:17), David acknowledges that it was unlawful to convey it on a waggon, 1 Chronicles 13:7. 1 Chronicles 15:3. And David gathered all Israel, by its natural representatives, the elders and captains of thousands; see 1 Chronicles 15:25, and comp. 2 Samuel 6:15 : “ all the house of Israel.” Of this summons to a previous consultation in Jerusalem nothing further is reported, 2 Samuel 6 : 1 Chronicles 15:4. And David assembled the sons of Aaron, and the Levites; he formed of these representatives of the priesthood an inner circle in the assembly of the people, to hear their counsel regarding the order of the solemnities. “ The sons of Aaron” are the high priests Zadok and Abiathar, 1 Chronicles 15:11; the “Levites ” are the six chiefs named in 1 Chronicles 15:5-10, with their brethren. 1 Chronicles 15:5. Of the sons of Kohath: Uriel the chief; see 1 Chronicles 6:9. The Kohathite chief is named first, because the ministry of the most holy, the carrying of the most holy vessels of the tabernacle, belonged to the Kohathites, the family from which Aaron the high priest sprang, Numbers 4:4; Numbers 4:15; Numbers 7:9 (Keil).—On the Merarite chief Asaiah, comp. 1 Chronicles 4:15; on Joel, the chief of the sons of Gershom, 1 Chronicles 6:21. 1 Chronicles 15:8-10 name the chiefs of three other Kohathite families, those of Elizaphan (= Elzaphan son of Uzziel, Exodus 6:22), of Hebron (son of Kohath, Exodus 6:18; comp. 5:28), and of Uzziel. The last named is probably not different from the Kohathite Uzziel, father of Elizaphan, Exodus 6:22; there are thus formed of the sons of this two houses, of which one is named after Elizaphan, the other after Uzziel himself, and not any of his other sons. There are then in all four Kohathite houses, with one Merarite and one Gershomite, here represented: a strong preference of the house of Kohath, which is not surprising, because the conveyance of the ark specially belonged to them. 1 Chronicles 15:11. And David called Zadok (of Eleazar, 1 Chronicles 5:27 ff.) and Abiathar (of Ithamar), the high priests, who then acted together; see above on 1 Chronicles 15:1, and comp. 1 Chronicles 24:3; 2 Samuel 15:24 ff; 2 Samuel 20:25. 1 Chronicles 15:12. Ye chiefs of the Levites, literally, “ ye chiefs of the fathers of the Levites;” comp. 1 Chronicles 8:6; 1 Chronicles 8:10.—Sanctify yourselves with your brethren, properly, “ye and your brethren.” The “sanctifying” consisted in keeping from their wives, from contact with unclean things, and also in washing the body and the clothes; comp. Genesis 35:2 with Exodus 19:10; Exodus 19:15, also 2 Chronicles 30:3—To (the place) I have prepared for it,ΰֶ ?μΞδֲ ?λִ ?ιπεֹ ?ϊִ ?ιμεֹ. The same elliptical construction (with omitted ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψ, or immediate connection of the relative sentence with the preposition) see in 2 Chronicles 1:4; comp. 1 Chronicles 29:3; 2 Chronicles 16:9; 2 Chronicles 30:18; Nehemiah 8:10 (Ew. § 333, b). 1 Chronicles 15:13. For because ye were not at the beginning, or “ye were not those who bare the ark.” “At the beginning,” on the former occasion, when three months before the ark was brought from Kiriath-jearim, 13. On the peculiar construction μְ ?ξַ ?αָּ ?ψִ ?ΰωׁ ?εֹ ?πָ ?δ (from μְ ?ξָ ?δ and αָּ ?ψִ ?ΰωׁ ?εֹ ?πָ ?δ), comp. ξַ ?δΞϊְּ ?μָ ?ΰָ ?δ = ξַ ?ϊְּ ?μָ ?ΰָ ?δMalachi 1:13, and Ew. § 91, d. μְ ?ξָ ?δ in this compound signifies “for this, that,” “because;” comp. Ew. § 222, a, 353, a.—The Lord our God broke out upon us (1 Chronicles 13:11), because we sought Him not aright, because we approached Him not in the manner prescribed by law, had neglected to testify our reverence to Him by keeping the legal regulation, that only Levites should bear the holy things 1 Chronicles 15:15. And the sons of the Levites bear the ark of God. An anticipation, occasioned by that which was said in the verse before of the immediate execution of the order for the purification of the Levites. See the particulars, 1 Chronicles 15:25 ff.—Upon their shoulders, with staves upon them, upon their shoulders. On ξεֹ ?θָ ?δ (from ξεֹ ?θ, “waver”), the pole, comp. Numbers 13:23 (also Leviticus 25:13; Ezekiel 34:27). In the Pentat. the poles are besides called αַּ ?γִּ ?ινExodus 25:13 ff., etc. 3. Close. c. The appointment of the Levitical singers for the solemnity: 1 Chronicles 15:16-24.—To appoint their brethren the singers with instruments, properly, “with instruments of song,” that is, to accompany the singing. Such λְּ ?μֵ ?ιωִׁ ?ιψ (comp. Nehemiah 12:36) are now named in three classes: 1. πְ ?αָ ?μִ ?ιν, ψαλτήρια (Sept.), or nablia (Vulg.), guitarlike instruments, consisting of an oblong chest with flat bottom and convex sounding board, over which strings of wire were stretched, called by Luther, in accordance with the Sept. (and the Arab, santir), psalteries, by others “harps” or nablia; 2. αִּ ?πֹּ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ (Sept. κίνυραι, Vulg. lyr�), harps or lute-like instruments, rendered by Luther not unsuitably, “harps,” though lutes would perhaps be more correct [rather should the former be called lutes]; 3. ξְ ?φִ ?μְ ?ϊַּ ?ιִ ?ν (equivalent to the older. term φֶ ?μְ ?φְ ?μִ ?ιν2 Samuel 6:5; Psalms 150:5), here more fully defined by the epithet ξַ ?ωְׁ ?ξִ ?ιςִ ?ιν, “clear-sounding” (making to hear), which belongs neither to all the three instruments (Berth.), nor to the too remote “their brethren the singers” (Kamph.), but, as in 1 Chronicles 15:19; 1 Chronicles 15:28; 1 Chronicles 16:5; 1 Chronicles 16:42, only to ξְ ?φִ ?μְ ?ϊַּ ?ιִ ?ν; comp. Bφttch. Neue exeg.-krit. Aehrenl. iii. 223 f. (who, however, assigns to the term the unsuitable meaning, “beating time”).—To lift up the sound with gladness, to express or signify joy; comp. 1 Chronicles 15:25; 2 Chronicles 23:18; 2 Chronicles 29:30. This telic clause refers not merely to the clear-sounding cymbals, but to the chief sentence. 1 Chronicles 15:17. And the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel. That this Heman was of the family of the Kohathites, and Asaph of the Gershonites (comp. 1 Chronicles 5:18; 1 Chronicles 5:24), is not here stated; only of the third song-master Ethan is his family, or his descent from Merari, expressly mentioned. On the name of Ethan’s father, Kushaiah, see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 15:18. And with them their brethren of the second degree. On δַ ?ξִּ ?ωְׁ ?πִ ?ιν, “the second in rank,” comp. the sing.δַ ?ξִּ ?ωְׁ ?πֶ ?δ, 2 Kings 23:4 and 1 Chronicles 16:5.—Zechariah and Jaaziel. For the certainly spurious αֵּ ?ο after ζְ ?λַ ?ψְ ?ιָ ?δεּ, see Crit. Note. The here named Jaaziel is certainly identical with the Aziel, 1 Chronicles 15:20, and with the Jeiel, 1 Chronicles 16:5, or rather these names are to be changed into the present one.—And Obed-edom and Jeiel the porters. The office of doorkeeper does not exclude their acting also as musicians, as 1 Chronicles 15:21 shows. After Jeiel, as the same verse teaches, the name Azaziah must have fallen out, so that originally there were not thirteen but fourteen persons named as musicians of the second order. After these singers and musicians have been mentioned by name (and in two orders or ranks, 1 Chronicles 15:17-18), they are again brought forward, 1 Chronicles 15:19-21, divided into three choirs, after the musical instruments or. which they played. 1 Chronicles 15:19. The Cymbal Players: Heman, Asaph, and Ethan.—With cymbals of brass to sound aloud, they were bound, had this to do. The cymbals were wholly of brass; comp. 1 Corinthians 13:1 : χαλκὸςἠχῶν, and Joseph. Antiq.vii. 12. 1 Chronicles 3 :κύμβαλάτεἦνπλατέακαὶμεγάλαχάλκεα. The “loud-sounding” (δַ ?ωְׁ ?ξִ ?ιςַ) of the three cymbal players was designed to beat time or direct; for in 1 Chronicles 15:17 they are placed before as leaders. 1 Chronicles 15:20. The Players on Psalteries or Nablia: Zechariah and Seven Others. Of these, who are here repeated with slight changes from 1 Chronicles 15:18 (instead of Jaaziel, the second is here called Aziel; and at the end of the first series stands here Maaseiah before Benaiah, there inversely), it is here stated that they played with psalteries in the way of maidens.ςַ ?μΞςֲ ?μָ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ is certainly the name of that tone, which sounds in a high, clear voice, that is, the soprano, as the following ςַ ?μΞδַ ?ωְּׁ ?ξִ ?ιπִ ?ιϊ, “after (or on) the octave,” is equivalent to “on the bass,” al ottava bassa. Comp. Del. on Psalms 6:1; Psalms 46:1. 1 Chronicles 15:21. The Harp or Lute Players: Mattaniah and Five Others.—With harps after the octave to lead. How this leading or directing expressed by πφη is distinct from that which is expressed, 1 Chronicles 15:19, by δωׁ ?ξις, we can no longer define; at all events, it was not such directing as could belong only to the music-master. Comp. Delitzsch on Psalms 4:1. 1 Chronicles 15:22-24 bring forward the other Levites engaged in the solemn procession.—And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, for bearing.αְּ ?ξַ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ (or as perhaps is to be read, with R. Norzi, αַּ ?ξַּ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ) is scarcely to be understood of any presiding or overseeing action of Chenaniah (as the Sept. ὁἄρχωντῶνᾠδῶν, Vulg. propheti� pr�erat ad pr�cinendam melodiam; Luth. “to instruct in singing;” L. Lavater, supremus musicus; Kamph. and others, “the leader in execution,” etc.). The phrase is rather to be referred to the bearing of the ark, which, according to 1 Chronicles 15:23 f., is here in question (comp. also ξַ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ in 2 Chronicles 35:3 and Numbers 4:19).With this agrees, rightly conceived, 1 Chronicles 15:27, as well as the later mention of Chenaniah in 1 Chronicles 26:29, where he is placed over the outward business of the Levites (rightly Berth. and Keil; undecided Kamph.).—Instructed in bearing; for he was skilful, acquainted with the ritual, experienced in the ceremonial relative to the bearing of the ark. Whether we take ιָ ?ρֹ ?ψ as inf. abs. Kal in the sense of the verb.-fin.ιρψ, “instruct” (J. H. Mich., Gesen., etc.), or as imperf. of ωָׂ ?ψַ ?ψ = ρψψ, “be chief, command” (Berth., etc.), or as a subst. in the sense of “instructor” (Keil), the meaning of presiding, directing, leading, is at all events expressed by the word. 1 Chronicles 15:23. And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark, who were to guard not so much the doors of the ark itself as those of the tent that gave access to it; thus, in general, to guard the ark. As these two at first, and then at the close of the following verse, Obed-edom and Jehiah also, are named as doorkeepers of the ark, we must regard the former two as going before the ark during the solemn procession, and the latter two as following after. Close by the ark, however, either immediately before it or on the two sides, the seven priests blowing trumpets, 1 Chronicles 15:24, may be supposed to go. 1 Chronicles 15:24. And Shebaniah … blew with trumpets before the ark of God. Whether the Kethibξַ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ηֲ ?φֹ ?φְ ?ψִ ?ιν (denom. from ηֲ ?φֹ ?φְ ?ψָ ?δ) or the Keriξַ ?ηְ ?φְ ?ψִ ?ιν (Hiph. of ηφψ) is read does’ not affect the sense. The blowing of trumpets here is according to the prescription, Numbers 10:1-10, and the example of the compassing of Jericho, Joshua 6:4-6.—And Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark. Of these, Obed-edom was a son of Jeduthun, 1 Chronicles 16:38, and so perhaps different from him of the same name among the singers, 1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:21 (though he also, 1 Chronicles 15:18, is called a doorkeeper). Perhaps also the Jehiah named with him is not to be identified with Jehiel there (1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:21) named with Obed-edom (against Raschi, Berth., etc.). It is plain that according to all this the whole procession included the following divisions:—1. The singers arranged in three choirs; 2. Chenaniah the captain of the bearers (as it were marshal); 3. Two doorkeepers; 4. Seven priests blowing trumpets close by the ark; 5. Two doorkeepers. After these followed, 1 Chronicles 15:25, the king, with the elders and captains of thousands. 4. The Execution of that which was resolved in the Assembly: 1 Chronicles 15:25 to 1 Chronicles 16:3.—And David and the elders of Israel, and the captains of thousands (commanders over the thousands, chiliarchs).εַֽ ?ιְ ?δִ ?ιγָ ?εִ ?ιγεβεΧ connects this with 1 Chronicles 15:3, after the details concerning the preparations have intervened. The parallel 2 Samuel 6:12 wants this connecting ειδι, and does not mention the elders and chiliarchs along with David. 1 Chronicles 15:26. And when God helped the Levites, permitted them without danger or harm to convey the ark, thus to escape the fate of Uzza. The offering of seven bullocks and seven rams seems to have been made at the close of the procession, after the conveyance had been successfully conducted. Otherwise 2 Samuel 6:13, where (at least in the Masoretic text) David, after the bearers of the ark had made the first six steps, offered a sacrifice. It is probable that both accounts are original, and that the two must be harmonized and combined. 1 Chronicles 15:27. And David was clothed with a robe of byssus. Instead of these words (εְ ?γָ ?εִ ?ιγξְ ?λֻ ?ψְ ?αָּ ?μαִּ ?ξְ ?ςִ ?ιμαּ ?εּ ?υ), 2 Samuel 6:14 presents εְ ?γָ ?εִ ?ιγξְ ?λַ ?ψְ ?λֵּ ?ψαְּ ?λָ ?μΞςζֹ (with the addition μִ ?τְ ?πֵ ?ιιְ ?δεָֹ ?δ). That ξλψαμ is corrupted from ξλψλψ, and αξςιμαευ from αλμΞςζ (Berth., etc.; also Bφttcher, Neue Aehrenlese, iii. 224), might be assumed, if the μτπιιδεδ, wanting in our text, did not create a difficulty. For this assumption, according to which the Chronist shall have thought it unbecoming to speak of David (and, with Berth., the Levites also) dancing, though in15:29 and 1 Chronicles 13:8 he states, or at least implies, this fact quite freely, it is at all events easier to regard both texts as abbreviations of one and the same narrative contained in the common sources of our author, which, besides the dancing of David (which the Chronist merely presupposes, while the author of 2 Samuel gives it prominence), contained full reports of the clothing of David, and of the Levites around him. It is accordingly to be supposed that the Chronist has taken only these latter reports in full, “because the statement concerning the clothing of the king and the Levites appeared more important for the purpose of describing fully the religious aspect of the procession, as this import of it was more conspicuous here; for the dress which the king wore had a priestly character” (Keil; comp. Movers, p. 168). That the verb λּ ?ψαμ, “to be wrapt up,” belongs to the later usage of speech, or rather, is properly Chaldaic (Daniel 3:21), can scarcely bring into question the justice of this harmonistic assumption (against Bφttch.).—And all the Levites … and the singers, and Chenaniah. To these also obviously applies the being “clothed with a robe of byssus,” which is first said of David. All these, who are here in apposition with David, are described as adorned with priestly attire, with the meοl of byssus (comp. the byssus attire of the Levites and singers in the dedication of the temple by Solomon, 2 Chronicles 5:12, and for the meοl, the upper garment of distinguished persons, 1 Samuel 2:19; 1 Samuel 15:27; 1 Samuel 18:4; 1 Samuel 24:5; Ezra 9:3; Job 29:14). The closing sentence, “and upon David was a linen ephod,” first names the distinguishing part of the clothing of the king as the sovereign of the priestly people (comp. 2 Samuel 6:14). The designation of Chenaniah as “the master of the bearing” (δַ ?ωַּׂ ?ψδַ ?ξַּ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ with the double article; comp. Ew. § 290, d) is to be understood according to 1 Chronicles 15:22; the unmeaning: “the singers,” after δַ ?ξַּ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ, appears spurious (see Crit. Note); even if we understood ξַ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ of musical performance, this addition would be disturbing. 1 Chronicles 15:28. With shouting, and with sound of cornet, etc. Shorter and simpler 2 Samuel 6:15, without naming the several instruments. 1 Chronicles 15:29. Then Michal … saw King David leaping and playing. Instead of ξψχγεξωδχ2 Samuel 6:16 has ξְ ?τַ ?ζֵּ ?ζεּ ?ξְ ?λַ ?ψְ ?λֵּ ?ψ. This brief reference to the well-known history, fully reported in 2 Samuel 6:16; 2 Samuel 6:20-23, of the dispute between David and Michal, shows sufficiently that the Chronist did not wish to be silent concerning this matter from dogmatic or ζsthetic considerations. Moreover, 1 Chronicles 15:29 to 1 Chronicles 16:3 agrees in all essentials with 2 Samuel 6:16-19 a.—1 Chronicles 16:3. To every one a loaf of bread (λִּ ?λַּ ?ψμֶ ?ηֶ ?ν, the more usual phrase for the rarer ηַ ?μַּ ?ϊμΧ used in 2 Samuel 6, 19), and a measure (of wine), and a grape cake. The ΰֶ ?ωְׁ ?τַּ ?ψ, occurring only here and 2 Samuel, is explained by the Vulg., Chald., and Syr., and by several Rabbis and moderns (Ew., Berth., Kamph.), as “a piece of flesh” (roast), as if from τַּ ?ψ, ox, and ΰֵ ?ωׁ, or rather from ωׁ ?ψσ = ωׁ ?τψ, “ to burn.” But the reference of the word to ωׁ ?τψ, in the sense of the Aethiopic safara = metiri, “to measure,” is better ascertained, according to which, ΰωׁ ?τψ (with ΰprosthet.) signifies a portion of drink, a measure of wine (de Dieu, Gesen., Rφdiger, Keil, etc.). On ΰֲ ?ωִׁ ?ιωָׁ ?δ, “grape or raisin cake” (from ΰωׁ ?ωׁ, to make firm, press), comp. Son 2:5, Hosea 3:1, and the equivalent φξεχιν, 1 Chronicles 12:40. 5. The First Solemn Service before the Ark in Jerusalem, and the Institution of Divine Service in general: 1 Chronicles 16:4-43.—a. The Levite appointed for service by David: 1 Chronicles 16:4-6.—And he appointed (properly, “gave;” comp. 1 Chronicles 16:7) before the ark of the Lord ministers of the Levites, namely, as the addition “to record, etc.” shows, singers and players for the purpose of sacred singing, Levitical ministers (λειτουργοῦντας, Sept.).—To record, and to thank, and to praise.μְ ?δַ ?ζְ ?λִּ ?ιψ, literally, “to bring to remembrance, to pray at the ΰַ ?ζְ ?λָּ ?ψָ ?δ of the meat-offering” (Leviticus 2:2; comp. Psalms 38:1; Psalms 60:1, and Del. on the first passage). μְ ?δεֹ ?γεֹ ?ϊ, properly, “to confess” (Sept., ἐξομολογεῖσθαι), refers to the singing of psalms that prominently confess and express thanks to God, as μְ ?δַ ?μֵּ ?μ refers to the praises of the hallelujah songs. 1 Chronicles 16:5.Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, literally, “and as his second, his next man (follower);” comp. Esther 10:3. Of the three song-masters and fourteen musicians named in the list 1 Chronicles 15:19-21, a part only are named again: of the song-masters only Asaph, and of the musicians only nine (namely, six of the eight nebel-players and three of the six kinnor-players), and also, 1 Chronicles 16:6, of the seven trumpet-blowers, only two, Benaiah and Jahaziel, the latter of whom did not appear in 1 Chronicles 15:24. As we possess no parallel report to compare with the contents of our section, nothing definite can be conjectured of the relation of the present names to those of the longer series, and it must be left uncertain’ whether Jahaziel be identical with the Eliezer named, 1 Chronicles 16:24, along with Benaiah. 6. Continuation. b. The song of praise and thanks by Asaph and his brethren: 1 Chronicles 16:7-36. On that day then David ordered for the first time . . . by Asaph, etc. Properly, “then David gave over . . . by the hand of Asaph;” πָ ?ϊַ ?οαְּ ?ιַ ?γ, here “to hand over, arrange.” αָּ ?ψֹ ?ΰωׁ not “by the chief, by Asaph,” but “ first, for the first time;” comp. ξֵ ?ψֹ ?ΰωׁ, Isaiah 40:21. This is the first introduction of the new cultus. Along with Asaph are named “his brethren,” the Levites arranged with (and under) him, enumerated in 1 Chronicles 16:5-6. We may observe, moreover, how clearly this verse, especially by its αָּ ?ψֹ ?ΰωׁ, announces the following song as an ideal composition, characterizing only in general that which was to be sung by the musicians, but not expressing a stereotype form. Had the author wished to convey the sense that the song was sung for all time so as he communicated it, and not otherwise, he would have added, “and he commanded them thus to sing,” or, “to sing this song.” 1 Chronicles 16:8 ff. Thank ye the Lord, call on His name, etc. Of the eight strophes of the song, the first four (1 Chronicles 16:8-22) correspond to the opening of Psalms 105 (1 Chronicles 16:1-15); the next three (1 Chronicles 16:23-33) to Psalms 96; the last (1 Chronicles 16:34-36) to the first and last two verses of Psalms 106, with some unimportant variations which are here to be noted.—First Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 ( = Psalms 105:1-4): Summons to sing praise to the Lord and to seek His face.—Second Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:12-14 ( = Psalms 105:5-7): Summons to think of the wonders of the Lord and His judgments. Here are the first variants, namely, 1 Chronicles 16:12, τִּ ?ιδεּ instead of τִּ ?ιε, and, 1 Chronicles 16:13, ζֶ ?ψַ ?ςιִ ?ωְׂ ?ψָ ?ΰֵ ?μ instead of ζΧΰַ ?αְ ?ψָ ?δָ ?ν of which the latter only is of any consequence. On account of the parallelism with the “sons of Jacob,” the “seed of Israel” appears the better reading.—Third Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:15-18 ( = Psalms 105:8-11): Summons to think of the covenant made by the Lord with the fathers.—Remember His-covenant for ever.Psalms 105 rather: “He remembereth, etc.” (ζָ ?λַ ?ψ for ζִ ?λְ ?ψεּ). Our reading, corresponding better with the application of the song to the end proposed in 1 Chronicles 16:7, appears to be substituted for the more original one of the Psalm. 1 Chronicles 16:16. And His oath unto Isaac. For μְ ?ιִ ?φְ ?ηָ ?χPsalms 105:9 presents the weaker form μְ ?ιִ ?ωְׂ ?ηָ ?χ (found also in Amos 7:9; Jeremiah 33:26), a critically unimportant variant, like that in 1 Chronicles 16:18 a, where ΰֶ ?ψֶ ?υαְּ ?πָ ?ςַ ?ο stands for ΰֶ ?ϊΞΰγυΞλ.—Fourth Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:19-22 ( = Psalms 105:12-15): Reason of the summons to remember the covenant of the Lord with the fathers, because the Lord has so truly and mightily protected them according to His promise.—When ye were small in number. Instead of αִּ ?δְ ?ιεֹ ?ϊְ ?λֶ ?νPsalms 105:12 presents αְּ ?δִ ?ιεֹ ?ϊָ ?ν. To address the children of Israel again corresponds better with the aim of the Psalm; this variant is thus similar to that in 1 Chronicles 16:15, but affords no presumption in favour of the priority of this or that reading. 1 Chronicles 16:20. And from one kingdom.Psalms 105 omits the “and” (εְ before ξִ ?ξַּ ?ξְ ?μָ ?λָ ?δ); critically unimportant, as also the two following variants (1 Chronicles 16:21,μְ ?ΰִ ?ιωׁ for ΰָ ?γָ ?ν, and, 1 Chronicles 16:22, εּ ?αִ ?πְ ?αִ ?ιΰַ ?ι for εְ ?μִ ?πְ ?αִ ?ιΰַ ?ι).—Fifth Strophe: vers, 23–27 ( = Psalms 96:1-6): All the world shall concur in praise of the greatness and glory of God.—The first verse of this passage seems compounded of the first two verses of Psalms 96, the first members being omitted. Whether this be an abbreviating process of the Chronist, or an amplifying one of the Psalmist, it is hard to determine; much may be said for each of the two assumptions (see Keil). 1 Chronicles 16:27. Strength and gladness are in His place (εְ ?ηֶ ?γְ ?εָ ?δαִּ ?ξְ ?χֹ ?ξεֹ; comp. for this late, but in Aram, frequent, ηֶ ?γְ ?εָ ?δ, Ezra 6:16; Nehemiah 8:10). On the contrary, Psalms 46:6 : “strength and beauty in His sanctuary” (εְ ?ϊִ ?τְ ?ΰֶ ?ψֶ ?ϊαְּ ?ξִ ?χְ ?γָ ?ωׁ ?εֹ)—Sixth Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:28-30 (= Psalms 96:7-9): All nations shall worship God with offerings and confessions. 1 Chronicles 16:29. Give, to the Lord the glory due to His name, etc. Instead of two, this verse has, to our surprise, three members: the first two correspond to Psalms 96:8; 1 Chronicles 16:9 there to our 1 Chronicles 16:29 c and 1 Chronicles 16:30 a. The disturbance of the parallel in our verse rests on this, that after 1 Chronicles 16:31 a ( = Psalms 96:11 a) the verse-member Psalms 96:10 a is placed, but Psalms 96:10 c is altogether omitted. Thus, in our text, the verse beginning with “give to the Lord the glory;” on the contrary, in Psalms 96, that beginning with “say among the heathen” (1 Chronicles 16:10), forms the exception to the otherwise constant bipartition of the verse. It is impossible, however, to arrive at a certain result on which side the priority lies (see on 1 Chronicles 16:31).—Bring an oblation, and come before Him.Psalms 96:8 b: “and come to His courts” (μְ ?ηַ ?φְ ?ψεֹ ?ϊָ ?ιεfor μְ ?τָ ?πָ ?ιε). This variant is similar to that in 1 Chronicles 16:27, where “in His sanctuary” of the Psalm is changed into the more general “in His place,” because the mention of the “sanctuary” (as here of the “courts”) does not seem to comport well with the time and aim of the present song, which was sung before the erection of the temple. 1 Chronicles 16:30. Tremble before Him, all the earth. For ξִ ?μְּ ?τָ ?πָ ?ιεPsalms 96:9 has ξִ ?τָּ ?πָ ?ιε, an unimportant difference,—Seventh Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:31-33 ( = Psalms 96:10-13): Even the inanimate creation will exult before the Lord of all nations coming to judgment. 1 Chronicles 16:31 a corresponds to Psalms 96:11 a, but 1 Chronicles 16:31 b to Psalms 96:10 a.—And let them say among the nations, etc., is in Psalms 96:10 a: “say among the nations” (ΰִ ?ξְ ?ψεּ instead of εְ ?ιֹ ?ΰξְ ?ψεּ). it is too much to say that this summons, addressed to the Israelites after the words “tremble before Him, all the earth” (which there go immediately before, as 1 Chronicles 16:9 b), yields a “rather tame thought,” and speaks for the priority of the text of Chronicles (Keil). The position of the present summons among mere appeals to the representatives of inanimate nature, as the heavens, the earth, the sea, the field, may appear surprising and disturbing. There is something excited and wavering in the line of thought and mode of expression, there as well as here. 1 Chronicles 16:32 b. Let the field rejoice, etc. For ιַֽ ?ςֲ ?μֹ ?υδַ ?ωּׂ ?ψֶ ?δPsalms 90:12 a presents ιַֽ ?ςֲ ?μֹ ?ζωָׂ ?γַ ?ι, in which the poetic and archaic ωָׂ ?γַ ?ι, instead of the prosaic δַ ?ωָּׂ ?γֶ ?δ seems not without significance. 1 Chronicles 16:33. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out. For this Psalms 96:12 b has “all trees of the wood.” The second member of this verse corresponds to the first in Psalms 96:13, as far as the repetition of “for He cometh” λִּ ?ιαָ ?ΰ, which occurs only once here. Psalms 96:13 b, the close of the whole Psalm, is wanting in our text, which the defenders of the priority of the latter explain thus: that when the contents of our verses 23–33 were made a distinct Psalm, it was found necessary to make at the close a suitable addition; whereas the matter may as well be explained by the abbreviating habit of our author (as the later compiler of the present song).—Eighth Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 ( = Psalms 106:1; Psalms 106:47-48): Repeated summons to thank God, and to pray for His further help, with the closing doxology.—Thank ye the Lord: for He is good, etc. This verse is found not merely at the head of Psalms 106, but also of Psalms 107, 118, 136. (comp. also Psalms 118, 29 and Jeremiah 33:11); as an old and favourite liturgical form, it is not necessarily to be regarded as taken from Psalms 106 in particular. 1 Chronicles 16:35. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation. Similar, but not verbally so,Psalms 106:47, where “and say ye” is wanting, and for “God of our salvation” stands “the Lord our God.”—And gather us and deliver us from the heathen. For this Psalms 106:47 has: “and gather us from the heathen.” The two following members agree verbally with the parallel verse of the Psalm.—Blessed be the Lord, etc. This closing doxology, which recurs exactly in Psalms 106:48, forms there the close of the fourth, book of the Psalter, together with the words: “and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord,” which are here changed into the historical notice: “and all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord” (εַ ?ιֹּ ?ΰξְ ?ψεּ for the jussive εְ ?ΰָ ?ξַ ?ψ, and εְ ?δַ ?μֵּ ?μιְ ?δεָֹ ?δ for δַ ?μְּ ?μεּ ιָ ?δּ). Even in these last deviations from the similar passages of the Psalter there is nothing that could prove with certainty the priority of our text, and a partly imitative, partly devious, procedure of the Psalmist. With regard to the doxology αψεκְ ιδεδεβεΧ which was originally nothing else than the liturgical close of the fourth book (analogous to those at the close of Psalms 41, 72, , 89), it is much more probable that our author changed, for his own purpose, this doxologincal formula, which may have been attached to Psalms 106. long ago, from liturgical use. And the more probable this must appear to the unprejudiced mind, the more clearly all the other differences between our text and that of the corresponding Psalms appear as alterations, occasioned by the revising and compiling habit of the Chronist, of that which was before him in the Psalter. Comp. the closing remarks. 7. Division of the Levites and Priests for Divine Service (as continuation and close of the list of Levitical singers and players in 1 Chronicles 16:4-6): 1 Chronicles 16:37-43.—Asaph and his brethren. The μְ before the accus. of the object, according to later usage.—For the day’s work in its day, literally, “for the matter of the day on its day,” that is, according to the service required for every day; comp. 2 Chronicles 8:14; 2 Chronicles 31:16. 1 Chronicles 16:38. And Obed-edom and their brethren sixty and eight. That here should be read, according to what follows: “and Obed-edom and Hosah and their brethren,” see Crit. Note. If, indeed, in the next clause of our verse: “and Obed-edom … and Hosah to be porters,” another Obed-edom were meant, as the distinction of this as “son of Jedithun” (possibly, 1 Chronicles 26:4, a Korhite Jedithun, and not the Merarite singer Jeduthun) appears to indicate, some other name than that of Hosah must be supplied along with the former Obed-edom. Even in 1 Chronicles 15:21; 1 Chronicles 15:24 there seem to be two different Obed-edoms, a singer, 1 Chronicles 16:21, and a porter, 1 Chronicles 16:24. Yet the diversity of the two named in our verse is by no means certain; for in 1 Chronicles 26:4-8, of Obed-edom with his sons and brothers, sixty-two men are mentioned as porters, which nearly agrees with the present number sixty-eight, and seems to point to the identity of the first-mentioned and the second Obed-edom. 1 Chronicles 16:42 of our chapter also shows clearly enough the identity of the present Jedithun with Jeduthun. In the notorious defectiveness of the text, besides, we cannot attain to a certain decision. 1 Chronicles 16:39. And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priestsειςζα, 1 Chronicles 16:37, still acts as the governing verb. For the continued religious use of the sanctuary at Gibeon under David, see on 1 Chronicles 15:1. It is to be remarked that Zadok is designated only as priest, not as high priest, as he was made first by Solomon; see 1 Kings 2:27; 1 Kings 2:35. 1 Chronicles 16:40. To offer burnt-offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt-offering. The mention here of burnt-offerings only at Gibeon proves nothing against the assumption that they were also offered in the sanctuary at Jerusalem; and 1 Chronicles 21:26; 1 Chronicles 21:30 shows directly and expressly that these offerings were made here also, no doubt under the direction of Abiathar (comp. 1 Chronicles 18:16).—Continually morning and evening. Comp. the prescriptions of the law, Exodus 29:38; Numbers 28:3; Numbers 28:6.—And for all (that was prescribed besides the daily burnt-offering; comp. Numbers 28) that is written.μְ ?λָ ?μΞδַ ?αָּ ?ϊεּ ?α, briefly for μַֽ ?ςֲ ?ωׂ ?εֹ ?ϊαָּ ?μΞδλΧ. 1 Chronicles 16:41. And with them, etc., with Zadok and his brethren. This refers to the singers at the sanctuary in Gibeon, where Heman, Jeduthun (Ethan), and a number of subordinates were appointed. The Chronist points indeed to a list before him, in which the Gibeonite singers were named (on πִ ?χְּ ?αεּ αְּ ?ωֵׁ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ, comp. 1 Chronicles 12:31), but does not specify them, because the singers under Asaph at Jerusalem, who are enumerated 1 Chronicles 16:4-6, interested him most. 1 Chronicles 16:42.And with them, Heman and Jeduthun, were trumpets and cymbals. So, according to the Masoretic reading, which, however, appears suspicious, from the absence of the names Heman and Jeduthun in the Sept. (comp. Crit. Note), and gives no very suitable sense. If we erase the two names, the sense comes out: “and with them were, that is, they had trumpets and cymbals,” a phrase somewhat strange, but still affording a suitable sense, which is at all events to be preferred to the artificial and forced emendation of Bertheau (“And Heman and Jeduthun were playing aloud with trumpets and cymbals, and with them the others chosen, with song-instruments of God”).—For loud sounding,μְ ?ξַ ?ωְׁ ?ξִ ?ιςִ ?ιν. This epithet belonging to the ξְ ?φִ ?μְ ?ϊַּ ?ιִ ?ν defines the cymbals as giving the tone, or intoning the melody, and thus being a means of leading the song for the song-masters Heman and Jeduthun; comp. on 1 Chronicles 15:16; 1 Chronicles 15:19.—And (other) instruments of God, other instruments of religious music besides those named, especially psalteries and harps.—And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate; they were appointed to guard the entrance of the Gibeonite tabernacle. These are obviously Obed-edom, Hosah, and their brethren, who had been designated, 1 Chronicles 16:38, as doorkeepers. 1 Chronicles 16:43. And all the people went every man to his house; essentially as in 2 Samuel 6:19-20, where this closing verse of our chapter has its parallel in an otherwise much more concise report. The narrative there added, of David’s altercation with Michal (comp. 1 Chronicles 15:29), our author omits as a scene of a purely domestic character, unsuitable to his purpose.—And David turned in to bless his house, on this festive day, as he had before (1 Chronicles 16:2) blessed the whole people in the name of the Lord. Appendix: On the Credibility of the Contents of 1 Chronicles 16 As 1 Chronicles 12, notwithstanding its exclusive transmission by our author, makes the impression of the highest credibility, the statistical data and registers also of our section, just because they are mostly of a concrete and detailed kind, afford the warrant of a true rendering of the historical facts. Important there as well as here is the reference to greater and richer registers, that must have served the Chronist as sources, without being exhausted by him; comp. the characteristic ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψΞπִ ?χְּ ?αεּ αְּ ?ωֵׁ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ 1 Chronicles 12:31, 1 Chronicles 16:41, and such specifications of names as 1 Chronicles 16:4-6 and 1 Chronicles 16:38 ff., which clearly indicate in the author a process of abstracting and contracting more copious lists. It is manifest enough that he was in a position, as belonging himself to the corps of Levitical singers after the exile (Introd. § 3), to draw these statements from the full fountains, and to depend on copious written and oral traditions. Only with respect to the song given in 1 Chronicles 16:8-36, at the dedication, the assumption of strict historical accuracy appears to be given up on account of its relation to several parallel Psalms; and an ideal composing process of the writer, similar to that of Livy and Thucydides in their speeches, is assumed as necessary. We know not, in fact, what could stand against the admissibility of this assumption, defended by Bertheau, Kamph., Dillmann, Davidson, Ewald (Bibl. Jahrb. vi. 24), Delitzsch (Komm. zum Psalter, ii. p. 93 f.), A. Kφhler (Zeitschr. fόr luth. Theol. 1867, p. 295 ff.), C. Ehrt (Abfassungszeit und Schlvss des Ps., Leipzig 1869, p. 41 ff.), Hupfeld, and others. If, of recent scholars, on the one hand Hitzig (Die Psalmen, 2 Bd. 1865, p. 8. ff.), on the other Keil (Komm. p. 155 ff.),—the former impelled by a hypercritical zeal to show the Maccabean origin of those Psalms to be probable, the latter by an apologetic motive in favour of the Chronist,—have endeavoured to prove our form to be original, and the passages of the Psalms 105:1-15; Psalms 96:1-13; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 106:47-48, to be mere fragments of the original song, against this the following considerations remain still in force:— 1. The constitution of both the texts, even if the greater number of defects and corruptions occur in the Psalms, and the text of Chronicles be comparatively older and better, admits of no certain conclusion with respect to the greater or less age of the one or the other recension. For, irrespective of the many cases in which Chronicles most probably contains the later readings (for example, 1 Chronicles 16:27, ηֶ ?γְ ?εָ ?δ; 1 Chronicles 16:32, δַ ?ωָּׂ ?γֶ ?δ 1 Chronicles 16:29, μְ ?τָ ?πָ ?ιε for μְ ?ηַ ?φְ ?ψεֹ ?ϊָ ?ιε; and again, 1 Chronicles 16:27, αִּ ?ξְ ?χֹ ?ξεֹ for αְּ ?ξִ ?χְ ?γָּ ?ωׁ ?εֹ), the more archaic form of the text cannot of itself decide in favour of priority, as younger mss., and certainly Hebrew as well as Greek and Latin, often enough present a more original text than older ones, and the text of the passages in the Psalms are not to be judged according to their external written form. For “the text of the Psalms, while they were in liturgical use, was more exposed to alterations from the influence of the later speech than that of a historical book; and on this ground, more ancient turns and phrases in Chronicles could not be at once maintained as proofs that Chronicles was original and the Psalms an imitation” (Berth.). 2. If we consider the matter and line of thought in our song, and compare it with the corresponding Psalms, the latter appear simple, well connected, and well-ordered wholes in a higher degree than the former. The transition from strophe four to strophe five of our song (see 1 Chronicles 16:22; 1 Chronicles 16:28) is abrupt and sudden. We expect that after 1 Chronicles 16:22, either the agency of Jehovah in the early time of Israel will be further depicted, as is done in Psalms 105, where complete connection and unity of thought prevails, or at least, by a description of His agency in the heathen world or in inanimate nature (comp. Psalms 104), the way will be prepared for the summonses contained in 1 Chronicles 16:23-33. A similar hiatus again appears between 1 Chronicles 16:33-34 (or between strophes seven and eight), and also after the section parallel with Psalms 96. For the summons of 1 Chronicles 16:34, as appears undeniable from 1 Chronicles 16:35, is to be regarded as specially directed to Israel; but Israel is not spoken of either in 1 Chronicles 16:34 or in the whole preceding paragraph, 1 Chronicles 16:23-33. If Hitzig thinks that here the end of the song only returns to its beginning, he has not sufficiently considered that petitions such as those contained in 1 Chronicles 16:35, for the deliverance and gathering of Israel from the heathen, do not occur at the beginning of the song, and that these petitions come in here quite unexpectedly after the previous line of thought in 1 Chronicles 16:8-33; whereas they are very well introduced in Psalms 106:47, after 1 Chronicles 16:40-43. 3. Decisive for the priority of the Psalter is the transference of the closing doxology of the fourth book of Psalms (Psalms 106:48) by the redactor of our song; see on this passage, and comp. Delitzsch on the Psalm. 4. The manner in which the song is introduced (see on 1 Chronicles 16:7) points also to an ideal composing activity of the author of it. 5. Our combining of a number of passages from the Psalms into one whole should not be regarded as a product of mere trifling and insipid compilation, like the Homeric or Virgilian cantos of the declining old classical poetry, because it applies to a festal song to be used for a definite liturgical purpose, and because nothing certain can be opposed to the assumption, that not the Chronist in the times after the exile, but the writer of his source, the older report (certainly before the exile) which he follows throughout the section 1 Chronicles 16:4-42, is to be regarded as the author of the present composition. 6. Whether the present attempt to exhibit the opening of the worship on Zion in Davidic strains is to be considered older than the composition of our book, or contemporary with it, we are not to find an offence against the obligation of historical fidelity in this ideal composition, which seeks to reproduce the fundamental tone of the song sung on that occasion. The author knew that in the religious festivals of his people songs were sung of the tone of Psalms 96, 105, 106, from the oldest times; hence he puts in the mouth of the Levitical singers in David’s time a song formed out of these Psalms as a probable expression of the spiritual thanksgiving presented to the Lord by the community of that day, without in the least making himself guilty of a falsehood. He appears on this ground as little a falsifier as the author of the song of Mary, of Zacharias, or of Simeon in the introductory chapter of Luke’s Gospel, the verbal recitation of which, according to the form there given, need scarcely be insisted on, and the harmony of which with so many characteristic phrases of the Psalms and Prophets, has its historical precedent in the relations of our song to the Psalms in question. [Psalms 96, 105, , 106 are anonymous in the Hebrew; but on examination, there is no convincing reason why they may not have been composed by David. Psalms 96 is actually ascribed to him in the Sept., with the following remarkable addition: “when the house was built after the captivity.” Here the captivity seems to refer to the captivity of the ark when far from the sanctuary, 1 Samuel 4, and the house to the tabernacle which David erected on Zion. The other two Psalms may be as old as David; and there is therefore no reason to doubt the historical veracity of the statement made by the Chronist, that David selected from these Psalms the piece that was actually sung at the dedication of the tabernacle on Zion.—J. G. M.] Footnotes: χεּ ?ωָׁ ?ιָ ?δεּ, without variation, while in 1 Chronicles 6:29 the name is χִ ?εּ ?ωַׁ ?ι, and so the Sept. read here Κισαίου (Vulg. Casajζ). αֵּ ?ο after ζְ ?λַ ?ψְ ?ιָ ?δεּ has come into the text by a mistake of the pen, as the ε before the next name shows. on the contrary, the name ςֲ ?ζַ ?ζְ ?ιָ ?ηִ ?εּ seems to have fallen out at the close of 1 Chronicles 15:18 (see Exeg.). αְּ ?ξַ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ. So most editions, in the first place; whereas R. Norzi has αְּ ?ξַּ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰ even the first time. Kethib: ξַֽ ?ηֲ ?φֹ ?φְ ?ψִ ?ιν. Keri: ξַ ?ηְ ?φְ ?ψִ ?ιν (partic. Hiph.). The same variation recurs 2 Chronicles 5:13, where, however, the Keri is to be read as partic. Pi. (μַ ?ξְּ ?ηַ ?φְּ ?ψִ ?ιν). The words εּ ?λְ ?πַ ?πְ ?ιָ ?δδַ ?ωַּׂ ?ψַ δַ ?ξַּ ?ωָּׂ ?ΰδַ ?ξְֹּ ?ωׂ ?ψְ ?ψִ ?ιν are wanting in the Pesh. At least, δַ ?ξְּ ?ωֹׁ ?ψְ ?ψִ ?ιν should apparently be erased as unmeaning (comp. Exeg.), though the Sept. and Vulg. have it. Instead of ιְ ?ηִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ after 1 Chronicles 15:18 is certainly to be read here, in the first place (After ωְׁ ?ξִ ?ιψָ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ), ιַֽ ?ςֲ ?ζִ ?ιΰֵ ?μ. The variants in this song, from its parallel in the psalter (Psalms 105, 96, 106, see in Exeg. After ςαγΰγν, as the plur. suff. in εΰηιδν shows, must at least one name, probably εְ ?ηֹ ?ρָ ?δ (See the following), have fallen out. The names δֵ ?ιξָ ?οεִ ?ιγεּ ?ϊεּ ?ο were not read by the Sept. (καὶμετ’ αὐτῶνσάλπιγγεςκαὶκύμβαλατοῦτοῦἀναφωνεῖν, κ.τ.λ.), and appear to be repeated by mistake from the preceding verse, which also begins with εְ ?ςִ ?ξָּ ?δֶ ?ν. For the picture of the benign sway of God over Abraham, in 1 Chronicles 16:10-15 of this Psalm, forms only the beginning of that which is said in the further course of the same picture, of Jacob, of Joseph and his brethren, of Moses, and of the whole of God’s people in the patriarchal and Mosaic times. θ. The Purpose of David to build a Temple, and the Objection raised by the Prophet Nathan: 1 Chronicles 17 1 Chronicles 17:1 And it came to pass, as David sat in his house, he said unto Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of the 2Lord is under curtains. And Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. 3And it came to pass in that night, that the word of 4the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and say unto David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in. 5For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but I was 6from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. As long as I have walked in all Israel have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I com 7manded to feed my people, Why have ye not built me a house of cedars ? And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the common, from behind the sheep, to be ruler over my people 8Israel. And I was with thee, whithersoever thou wentest; and I cut off all thy enemies from before thee, and made thee a name like the name of the great on 9the earth. And I ordained a place for my people Israel, and planted them, and they dwelt in it, and were no more troubled; and the sons of evil no more wasted them as before. 10And since the days that I appointed judges over my people Israel: and I subdue all thy enemies; and I tell thee that the Lord will build thee a house. 11And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled to go unto thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12He shall build me a house, and I will establish his house for ever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; and I will not take my mercy from him, as I took it from him who was before thee. 14But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever. 15According to all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spake unto David. 16And King David went and sat before the Lord, and said, Who am I, O Lord 17God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was a small thing in Thine eyes, O God; and Thou hast spoken of the house of Thy servant for a great while to come, and regardest me after the way of man that 18raiseth up, O Lord God. What shall David add to Thee of the glory of Thy 19servant? and Thou knowest Thy servant. O Lord, for Thy servant’s sake, and after Thy heart, hast Thou done all this greatness, to make known all these great 20things. O Lord, there is none like Thee, and no God besides Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21And what one nation in the earth is like Thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to Himself as a people, to make Thee a name of great and terrible deeds, to drive out nations before Thy people, 22whom Thou didst redeem from Egypt? And madest Thy people Israel a people 23to Thee for ever; and Thou, Lord, becamest their God. And now, Lord, let the word which Thou hast spoken of Thy servant and of his house be maintained for 24ever, and do as Thou hast said. Yea, let it be maintained, and let Thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, is God to Israel; and the house of David Thy servant is established before Thee. 25For Thou, O my God, hast opened the ear of Thy servant, that Thou wilt build him a house; there 26fore Thy servant hath found [courage] to pray before Thee. And now, Lord,27Thou art God, and hast spoken this goodness concerning Thy servant. And now Thou art pleased to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may be before Thee for ever; for Thou, Lord, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever. Preliminary Remark.—After the history of the transplanting of the ark to Jerusalem, the author of the books of Samuel has given the account of David’s purpose to build a temple, and of the word of God communicated to him by Nathan, 2 Samuel 7, and, indeed, in a form substantially agreeing with the present text, though occasionally deviating from it in words. Besides the expositors of Chronicles are therefore here to be compared also those of the corresponding parts of the books of Samuel, namely, C. A. Crusius (Hypomnemata, ii. pp. 190–219), Thenius, Keil, Hengstenberg (Christol. 2d edit, i. 143 ff.), L. Reinke (Die Weissagung des Propheten Nathan, in his contributions to the explanation of the O. T., vol. iv. p. 427 ff.), and, in a critical respect, Wellhausen (p. 170). 1. David’s Purpose, and Nathan’s Consent at first to it: 1 Chronicles 17:1-2.—As David sat in his house, in that cedar palace described in 1 Chronicles 14:1, 1 Chronicles 15:1 ff. Alter αְּ ?αֵ ?ιϊεֹ ?2 Samuel 7:1 has the further chronological determination: and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies.” Our author leaves out this determination intentionally, to avoid the apparent contradiction with the circumstance that the severest wars of David are introduced afterwards, and so, according to his arrangement of the material, following the order of thought rather than of time. 1 Chronicles 17:2. Do all … for God is with thee. In 2 Sam.: “Go and do … for the Lord is with thee.” The omission of μֵ ?κְ before ςֲ ?ωֵׂ ?δ rests on the strong abbreviating and simplifying tendency of our author; the substitution of ΰֱ ?μֹ ?δִ ?ιν for ιְ ?δεָֹ ?δ on his aim to choose the current expressions of his day. The older practical expositors justly designate this preliminary consent of Nathan as proceeding “from his merely human judgment” (bona intentione et sincero animo, non tamen ex divina revelatione, J. H. Mich.).—Luth.: “The prophets themselves occasionally err and sin, as Nathan when he says to David of his own spirit that he shall build a house to the Lord, which is soon after altered by a divine revelation.” 2. God’s Revelation to Nathan: 1 Chronicles 17:3-15.—On the night as the time of divine revelations by dreams, visions, etc., comp. our remarks on Job 4:13 (pp. 75, 84).—Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in. In 2 Samuel this prohibition is put in the form of a question: “Shalt thou build me a house?” 1 Chronicles 17:5. But I was from tent to tent, and from tabernacle; that is, from one tabernacle to another. For this sentence, which is obscure from its pregnant brevity, 2 Samuel gives: “but have walked (have been walking) in a tent and in a tabernacle.” The tabernacle (ξωׁ ?λο) is presented along with the tent (ΰδμ) as the more comprehensive notion, including court, altar of burnt-offering, etc. 1 Chronicles 17:6. With any of the judges of Israel. 2 Samuel: “with any of the tribes of Israel” (ωִׁ ?αְ ?θֵ ?ι for ωֹׁ ?τְ ?θֵ ?ι). Our reading is perhaps the older; comp. Berth. and Wellh. 1 Chronicles 17:7 ff. give the proper contents of the divine revelation, as far as it concerns David’s relation to the building of the temple. 1 Chronicles 17:8. And made thee a name, like the name of the great on the earth, referring to the kings of the heathen monarchies. These words (1 Chronicles 17:8 b) formed the text of the memorial sermon preached in all the churches of the Prussian state on the death of Frederick II. (1786). 1 Chronicles 17:9. And I ordained a place for my people Israel. The perfects (with εconsec.) εּ ?πְ ?θַ ?ςְ ?ϊִּ ?ιδεּ ,εְ ?ωַׂ ?ξְ ?ϊִּ ?ι etc may be taken as future statements of that which God will further show to His people. Yet it seems better to make these promises of future salvation begin with 1 Chronicles 17:11.—And the sons of evil no more wasted them as before. The Egyptians are no doubt chiefly intended; comp. 1 Chronicles 16:20. On αִּ ?μָּ ?δ in the sense of wasting (= ςִ ?πָּ ?δ in 2 Samuel), comp. Daniel 7:25. 1 Chronicles 17:10. And since the days that I appointed judges over my people Israel. εּ ?μְ ?ξִ ?ιָּ ?ξִ ?ιν, “and until the days” (Ew. § 218, b); comp. the still more definite phrase: εּ ?μְ ?ξִ ?οΞδַ ?εּ ?εֹ ?ν, 2 Samuel 7:11. The whole time from Joshua to Saul is here included.—And I subdue all thy enemies.2 Samuel: “and I give thee rest from all thy enemies” (εַ ?‍ ?ֽ ?δֲ ?πִ ?ιηֹ ?ϊִ ?ιμְ ?κָ for εְ ?δִ ?λְ ?πַ ?ςְ ?ϊִּ ?ι), perhaps more original. The change of the suffix of the 2d pers. into that of the 3d (Berth., Ew.) is not necessary, either in our passage or there, as the enumeration of the divine benefits extends to the present, and even to that which was experienced by David himself.—And I tell thee that the Lord will build thee a house, and not inversely: thou build Him a house. The building of the house is here naturally figurative of the bestowment of a blessed posterity, etc. There is no allusion to David’s house of cedar (1 Chronicles 17:1; 1 Chronicles 14:1). Inadmissible is the past meaning of εְ ?ΰַ ?βִּ ?ιγ, “and I have told them,” etc. (Berth., Wellh.); for we cannot discover that such an announcement was made before, as our historical books nowhere mention it. Even 2 Sam. (εְ ?δִ ?βִּ ?ιγ) speaks of an announcement in the present or immediate future. 1 Chronicles 17:11. To go unto thy fathers.2 Samuel 7.: “to lie with thy fathers.” For the phrase, comp. Deuteronomy 31:16; 1 Kings 2:2.—Thy seed … which shall be of thy sons. Instead of this somewhat pleonastic reference to Solomon, 2 Samuel presents perhaps the original: “ which shall proceed out of thy bowels” (ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψιֵ ?φֵ ?ΰξִ ?ξֵּ ?ςֶ ?ικָ; comp.1 Samuel 16:11; Genesis 15:4). Probably the chronological difficulty contained in this phrase, according to which Solomon appeared to be not yet born at the time of this promise, led our author to choose the more general expression, as he had in 1 Chronicles 17:1 altered the text for a chronological reason by means of an omission. That here, as in the two following verses, he meant to designate not so much Solomon as the Messiah, is asserted by the older orthodox exegesis (for example, L. Lavater: “Si tantum de Salomone h. l. intelligendus esset, non dizisset semen quod erit de filiis tuis, sed quod erit de te;” and so Starke and others), and recently still by Keil. But the very next prediction: “He shall build me a house” (1 Chronicles 17:12), applies clearly to Solomon only, as in 2 Chronicles 7:18 his person, and not that of soma future Messianic descendant, is manifestly designated. Accordingly, as in 2 Samuel, so also in Chronicles the Messianic element is limited essentially to the eternal duration that is promised (1 Chronicles 17:12-14) to the kingdom of Solomon; comp. Hengstenb. Christol. i. 152 ff. 1 Chronicles 17:13. And he shall be my son. The words following this promise: “whom I will chasten with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the sons of men,” the Chronist has designedly omitted, to bring out more sharply the thought of the everlasting divine favour, in harmony with his usual practice to set the iight before the shade of the house of David.—From him who was before thee, from Saul, whose name is added, 2 Samuel 7, perhaps by the hand of a glossator. The present text is certainly more original, even with respect to the foregoing μֹ ?ΰΰָ ?ρεּ ?ψ (for μֹ ?ΰιָ ?ρεּ ?ψ), as Bertheau and Wellh. justly assert against Thenius. 1 Chronicles 17:14. But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; δֶֽ ?ςֱ ?ξִ ?ιγμְ ?ςεֹ ?μָ ?ν, as in 2 Chronicles 9:8, 1 Kings 15:4, of enduring foundation or preservation, causing perpetual existence. The “house” or “kingdom” of God, in which this preservation or confirming of the seed of David is to take place, is first the Old Testament theocracy, then the Messianic kingdom of the new covenant. The text of Samuel differs: “and thy house and thy kingdom shall endure for ever before thee, and thy throne shall be established for ever,” of which form it can scarcely be so absolutely asserted, as is done by Bertheau and others, that it is the more original. Moreover, the sense of the one as of the other form is Messianic. 1 Chronicles 17:15. According to all these words and all this vision. A hendiadyoin, by which the words addressed by Jehrovah to Nathan are characterized as spoken, αְּ ?ηָ ?ζεֹ ?ο (comp. 1 Samuel 3:1) or αְּ ?ηִ ?ζָּ ?ιεֹ ?ο (2 Samuel 7:17), as a divine revelation or prophetic message from God. It is to be observed also that this prophetic message is communicated not as it was related by Nathan before the king, but as it was revealed to him of the Lord by night, which is a plain indication that we are to hold by the matter rather than the form of the words in question. The case is the same as in 1 Samuel 3:10-14 (the disclosure made to the young Samuel concerning the fate of Eli) and in 1 Samuel 8:7-9 (God’s word to Samuel on the introduction of the kingdom in Israel). 3. David’s Thanksgiving for the Promise made to him through Nathan: 1 Chronicles 17:16-27.—And King David went, into the sanctuary erected by him, as the following words: “and sat before the Lord,” show.—Who am I, O Lord God? 2 Samuel: “my Lord God,” a difference actually not existing for the Masoretic reader, as our ιδεδ is to be read by ΰֲ ?γπָ ?ι. 1 Chronicles 17:17. And this was a ssmall thing in Thine eyes. This is the literal rendering.—And Thou hast spoken of the house of Thy servant for a great while to come, literally, “hast spoken that which points far away;” μְ ?ξֵ ?ψָ ?ηεֹ ?χ is an accusative depending on ϊγαψ, of the same force as in Proverbs 7:19, Job 39:29; comp. 1 Chronicles 17:14.—And regardest me after the way of man that raiseth up. So should the obscure εּ ?ψְ ?ΰִ ?ιϊַ ?πִ ?ιλְּ ?ϊεֹ ?ψδָ ?ΰָ ?γָ ?νδַ ?ξַּֽ ?ςֲ ?μָ ?δ perhaps be rendered; “the way of man leading upwards” (ϊּ ?εֹ ?ψ, abbreviated from ϊּ ?εֹ ?ψָ ?δ) would then be the gracious and upholding (thus not merely condescending, but positively furthering and improving) disposition and conduct of human benefactors, with which the gracious procedure of God towards David is here compared. Nearly so Keil, who makes δַ ?ξַּ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ςֲ ?μָ ?δ correspond to the parallel μְ ?ξֵ ?ψָ ?ηεֹ ?χ, whereas Hengstenberg, like many ancients, conceives the phrase to be an address to God: “Thou highest Lord God;” and other expositors take it as an adverb of place equivalent to αַּ ?ξָּ ?ψεֹ ?ν (et me intuitus es more hominum in c�lis). It is natural enough to assume some corruption of the text here, as in the parallel reading of Samuel: εְ ?ζΰֹ ?ϊϊּ ?εֹ ?ψַ ?ϊδָ ?ΰָ ?γָ ?ν, though none of the proposed emendations give satisfaction, neither Ewald’s and Bertheau’s change of the Kal Hiph.ψΰιϊπι into the δψΰιϊπι, and of δξςμδ into μξςμδ (resulting in the sense: “and hast caused me to see, as it were, the order of men upwards”), nor Bφtteher’s reading εּ ?ψְ ?ΰִ ?ιϊִ ?ιπִ ?ι, “so that I saw myself as the order of men that is upwards” (saw myself as the after-age at the head of a ruling race), nor Well-hausen’s conjecture that εַ ?ϊַּ ?ψְ ?ΰֵ ?πִ ?ιγֹ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ (at least in 2 Samuel) should be read. That the αְּ ?ϊεֹ ?κְ of some Heb. mss. affords no sufficient help, see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 17:18. What shall David add to Thee of the glory of Thy servant, of the honour pertaining to Thy servant, of the high honour which Thou hast vouchsafed to Thy servant (me, David). So conceived, ΰֶ ?ϊΞςַ ?αְ ?γְ ?κָ gives a tolerable sense, and need not be … erased, with the modern critics, though its absence in the Sept. and in 2 Samuel (where there is merely: “what shall David say further to Thee ?”) is fitted to create suspicion. 1 Chronicles 17:19. O Lord, for Thy servant’s sake.2 Samuel 7:21 : “for Thy word’s sake.” The original reading is not necessarily to be sought in the text of Samuel (see Wellh.). In b our author has contracted the longer form of the other text. 1 Chronicles 17:21. Whom God went to redeem to Himself as a people. After this certainly correct reading (δμκְ δΰμδιν) is that in 2 Samuel (ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψδָֽ ?μְ ?λεּ ΰμδιν) to be altered.—To make Thee a name of great and terrible deeds. The words βְּ ?γֻ ?μּ ?εֹ ?ϊεְ ?πεֹ ?ψָ ?ΰεֹ ?ϊ appear to be loosely annexed to ωֵׁ ?ν, to define the way in which God made him a name (comp. Ew. § 283). If this construction seem too harsh, μַ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ςֲ ?ωׂ ?εֹ ?ϊ must be inserted (as in 2 Samuel 7:23) after ωֵׁ ?ν: “that Thou makest Thee a name, and doest great and terrible things.”—To drive out nations before Thy people. The here much deviating text in 2 Samuel should be altered partly according to the present text, namely, by inserting the certainly original μְ ?βָ ?ψֵ ?ωׁ; see Geiger, Urschrift und Uebersetzung des A. T., and Wellh., who follows him. 1 Chronicles 17:24. Yea, let it be maintained, etc. This εְ ?ιֵ ?ΰָ ?ξֵ ?ο is wanting in 2 Samuel, and is perhaps repeated from 1 Chronicles 17:23, to set forth more clearly the connection with the following: “and let Thy name be magnified.” On the copula εְ, in the sense of our “yea,” comp. Daniel 10:19. 1 Chronicles 17:25. For Thou, O my God, hast opened the ear of Thy servant, revealed, disclosed, made known to him; comp. 1 Samuel 9:15.—That Thou wilt build him a house, figuratively, by the increase of his posterity and the prosperity of his dynasty; comp. 1 Chronicles 17:10.—Therefore Thy servant hath found to pray before Thee, namely, “the courage, the heart to do so” (ΰֶ ?ϊΞμִ ?αּ ?εֹ, 2 Samuel 7:28), which is, at all events, here to be supplied, if not necessarily inserted in the text. 1 Chronicles 17:27. For Thou, Lord, hast blessed, and it is blessed for ever; comp., for the sentence and the expression, Psalms 33:9. On the credibility of the thanksgiving of David given here and 2 Samuel 7:18 ff., Thenius and Bertheau express themselves very favourably. They refer its main elements to David, on account of its many properties harmonizing with other genuine Davidic documents. In particular the last words of David (2 Samuel 23:5 ff.), in which the joyful confidence founded on the divine promises in the happy continuance of his house has found a quite similar expression, count with them as a proof that our verses rest on a definite recollection of the utterance of David, and that exact reports of important expressions concerning the history of salvation, as they were him, must have been contained in the sources of handed down partly by David, partly concerning the books of Samuel and of Chronicles. Footnotes: For αְּ ?ϊεֹ ?ψ a good many mss. read αְּ ?ϊεֹ ?κְ, which is as unsatisfactory as the obscure αְּ ?ϊεֹ ?ψ, or as ϊּ ?εֹ ?ψַ ?ϊ, 2 Samuel 7:19, or as the reading of the Sept.: καὶἐπεῖδεςμεὡςὅρασιςἀνθρώπου, καὶὕψωσάςμε, or that of the Vulg.: et fecisti me spectabilem super omnes homines. ΰֶ ?ϊΞςַ ?αְ ?γֶּ ?κָ, Wanting in the Sept. and in 2 Samuel 7:21, is perhaps spurious. But see Exeg. Expl. ι.David’s Wars and Officers of State, especially his Victorious Battles with the Ammonites and the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 18-20 1 Chronicles 18:1 And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and her daughters out of the hand of the Philistines. 2And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts. 3And David smote Hadadezer king of Zobah towards Hamath, as he went to set up his sign at the river Euphrates. 4And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and 5David lamed all the teams, but reserved of them a hundred teams. And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah; and David slew 6of the Syrians twenty and two thousand men. And David put [men] in Syria Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought gifts: and the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 7And David took the arms of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8And from Tibhath and from Chun, cities of Hadadezer, David took very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the brazen vessels. 9And Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer king of Zobah. And 10he sent Hadoram his son to King David, to greet him and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him; for Tou was at war with Hadadezer; and [with him] all manner11of vessels of gold, and silver, and brass. These also King David dedicated unto the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he had taken from all the nations, from Edom, and from Moab, and from the sons of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek. 12And Abshai the son of Zeruiah slew of Edom in the valley of salt eighteen thousand. 13And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became servants of David: and the Lord preserved David wherever he went. 14And David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice for all his people. 15And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder. 16And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe. 17And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethi and Pelethi; and David’s sons were the chief beside the king. 1 Chronicles 19:1 And it came to pass after this, that Nahash king of the sons of Ammondied, and his son reigned in his stead. 2And David said, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me; and David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father: and the servants of 3David came to the land of the sons of Ammon, to Hanun, to comfort him. And the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun: Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee ? are not his servants come to thee to search and to turn over, and to spy out the land? 4And Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off half their 5garments by the breech, and sent them away. And they went, and they told David about the men, and he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beard be grown, and then return. 6And the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves stink with David: and Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and7out of Zobah. And they hired them thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people; and they came and pitched before Medeba: and the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities, and came to battle. 8, 9And David heard,, and sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. And the sons of Amnion came out, and set the battle in array at the gate of the city; and the kings that were come stood by themselves in the field. 10And Joab saw that the battle was directed against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice in Israel, and drew up against the Syrians. 11And the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abshai his brother, and they drew up against the sons of Ammon. 12And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt come to my help; and if the sons of Ammon be 13too strong for thee, then I will help thee. Be courageous, and let us do valiantly for our people and for the cities of our God; and the Lord do that which is good 14in His sight. And Joab, and the people that were with him, drew nigh before 15the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him. And the sons of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, and they also fled before Abshai his brother, and went into the city; and Joab went to Jerusalem. 16And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and Shophach, captain of the host of Hadadezer, went before them. 17And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed the Jordan, and came to them, and drew up against them; and David drew up against the Syrians for battle, 18and they fought with him. And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand teams, and forty thousand footmen; and he killed Shophach, captain of the host. 19And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with David, and served him; and the Syrians would not help the sons of Ammon any more. 1 Chronicles 20:1.And it came to pass, when the year was ended, at the time when the kings go out, that Joab led forth the strength of the host, and wasted the land of the sons of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah; but David tarried in Jerusalem; and Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it. 2And David took the crown of their king from his head, and found it in weight a talent of gold, and set with precious stones; and it was put upon David’s head, and he brought very much spoil out of the city. 3And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and iron threshing-carts and saws; and so David did to all the cities of the sons of Ammon; and David returned with all the people to Jerusalem. 4And it came to pass after this, that a war arose at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, one of the sons of Rapha; and they were subdued. 5And there was a war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lachmi, brother of Goliath the Gittite; and his 6spear’s staff was like a weaver’s beam. And again there was war in Gath, where was a man of [great] stature, and his fingers were six and six, twenty and four 7[in all]; and he also was born to Rapha. And he reproached Israel; and Jonathan the son of Shima, David’s brother, slew him. 8These were born to Rapha in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. Preliminary Remark.—The present group of war reports runs parallel to four sections of 2 Samuel, separated from one another by other accounts. To the present summary accounts of the victorious warfare of David with all surrounding enemies in general, in 1 Chronicles 18, corresponds 2 Samuel 8; to the more copious description of the peculiarly difficult war with Ammon, in 1 Chronicles 19, corresponds 2 Samuel 10; the close of this war, described in 1 Chronicles 20:1-3, by the taking of Rabbah, has its parallel in 2 Samuel 12:26-31; the shorter reports of the several heroic acts of David’s warriors in conflict with giants from the land of the Philistines, 1 Chronicles 20:4-8, corresponds with the section 2 Samuel 21:18-22. The statements of 2 Samuel coming between these sections (namely 1 Chronicles 9 and 1 Chronicles 11:1-12; 1 Chronicles 11:25; but also 1 Chronicles 13, 14-18) are particulars from the private life and domestic history of David, which the Chronist, in conformity with his plan, neither could nor would take up. 1. General Report of David’s Victorious Wars with his Neighbours: 1 Chronicles 18:1-13. 1 Chronicles 18:1 treats of the victories over the Philistines.—And took Gath and her daughters out of the hand of the Philistines. This statement is surprising, because 2 Samuel 8:1 has the more general and withal poetical expression: “and David took the arm-bridle from the hand of the Philistines”( ξֶ ?ϊֶ ?βδָ ?ΰַ ?ξָּ ?δ for βַּ ?ϊεּ ?αְ ?πֹ ?ϊֶ ?ιδָ). To assume a purely arbitrary change of text on the part of ourauthor is questionable; and against, at least, a passing seizure of the metropolis Gath with its daughter towns (1 Chronicles 7:28) by David, it can scarcely be maintained that in Solomon’s time Gath was again an independent city under its own king. 1 Chronicles 18:2. And the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts, in short, became tributary subjects (1 Chronicles 18:6). Why our author has omitted the notice, following here in 2 Samuel 8:2, of the severe handling of the Moabites by David, is uncertain. It scarcely rests on an apologetic tendency in favour of David; comp. in 1 Chronicles 20:3 the account of the cruel punishment of Rabbath Ammon. Moreover, this war of David with Moab seems to be that in which Benaiah slew the two sons of the king of Moab, 1 Chronicles 11:22. 1 Chronicles 18:3-8. The War with Hadadezer of Zobah.—King of Zobah towards Hamath. This closer determination of the situation of Zobah (ηֲ ?ξָ ?ϊָ ?δ), which is peculiar to our text, places it pretty far north, not far from Hamath, the later Epiphania, on the Orontes; scarcely Haleb or Nisibis, both of which lay farther north than Hamath, and can scarcely, from an Israelitish point of view, be described as lying “towards Hamath” (against the Rabbis of the middle ages on the one hand, and J. D. Mich on the other). Zobah is perhaps = Zabe of Ptolemy; at all events, it is to be sought north or north-east of Damascus (with Ew., Then., Berth., etc.). On the spelling peculiar to Chronicles and 2 Samuel 10:16-19, Hadarezer (Sept. ’Αδρααζάρ) see Crit. Note.—As he went to set up his sign at the river Euphrates, to establish his power (properly “hand”) there; comp. 1 Samuel 15:12. Whether these words refer to David or Hadadezer is doubtful; the latter (which J. H. Mich., Ew., Berth., etc., assume) may be the more probable, on account of the mention of David as subject at the beginning of the following verse. The various reading in 2 Samuel 8:3 : μְ ?δָ ?ωִׁ ?ιαιָ ?γεֹ, “to turn his hand,” is perhaps to be amended from our passage, as it gives a less suitable sense. 1 Chronicles 18:4. And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen. For this 2 Samuel 8:4 has “1700 horsemen and 20,000 footmen,” perhaps defectively; after ΰֶ ?μֶ ?σ, and before εּ ?ωְׁ ?αַ ?ςΞξְ ?ΰεֹ ?ϊ, it appears necessary to insert ψֶ ?λֶ ?α there, for which also the Sept. speaks. Yet comp. Wellh. on this passage, who questions the insertion of ψֶ ?λֶ ?α, on account of the close of the verse.—And David lamed all the teams, but reserved of them a thousand teams, for his own use; in fact, therefore, he lamed only 900. For this custom of laming (ςִ ?χֵּ ?ψ) war-horses, comp. Joshua 11:6; Joshua 11:9. 1 Chronicles 18:6. And David put in Syria Damascus, men, soldiers, garrison troops. From 2 Samuel 8:6 and 1 Chronicles 18:13 of our chapter the word πְ ?φִ ?ιαִ ?ιν appears to have fallen out after εַ ?ιָּ ?ωֶׂ ?νγָּ ?εִ ?ιγ; comp. also 1 Chronicles 13:3; 1 Samuel 10:5. 1 Chronicles 18:7. And David took the arms (or equipments) of gold,ωִׁ ?μְ ?θֵ ?ιΞδַ ?ζָּ ?δָ ?α; so rightly the moderns, instead of the golden collars (κλοιοί) of the Sept., the quivers (pharetr�) of the Vulg., and the golden shields of the Chald., of some Rabbis, and of Luther.—Which were on the servants of Hadadezer, his military servants, soldiers. On the addition of the Sept., in 2 Samuel 8:7 relative to the later capture and carrying away of these golden arms by Shishak of Egypt, under Rehoboam, comp. the expositors of that passage. 1 Chronicles 18:8. And from Tibhath and from Chun, etc. Tibhath (θִ ?αְ ?ηַ ?ϊ), or, as it is perhaps to be read, Tebah (θֶ ?αַ ?η, for which, 2 Samuel 8, stands erroneously αֶּ ?θַ ?η), appears to be identical with the family mentioned, Genesis 22:24, among the descendants of Nahor; whether it be the present Taibeh, on the caravan road between Aleppo and the Euphrates, is questionable. In place of αּ ?εּ ?ο 2 Samuel gives αֵּ ?ψֹ ?ϊַ ?ι(= Barathena, Ptol. v. 19? or αְּ ?ψֹ ?ϊָ ?δ, Ezekiel 47:16?). On what this diversity of name rests, whether on the corruption of the original αֵּ ?ψֹ ?ϊַ ?ι into λּ ?εּ ?ο, as Berth. thinks, or on a double name of the place in question, must remain doubtful.—Of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the brazen vessels. These words, wanting in 2 Samuel 8:8 in the Masoretic text, are perhaps to be restored according to our passage, and according to the Sept. and Vulg. 1 Chronicles 18:9-11. Embassy and Present of Tou King of Hamath to David. In the parallel account, 2 Samuel 8:9-12, this Tou is called Toi (ϊֹּ ?ςִ ?ι) 1 Chronicles 18:10. And he sent Hadoram his son. 2 Samuel: “Joram,” at all events incorrect, as a name compounded with ιְ ?δεָֹ ?δ would scarcely have suited a member of a Syrian royal house; and the Sept. gives there ’Ιεδδουράμ(here’Αδουράμ)—To greet him, to wish him health. So is μִ ?ωְׁ ?ΰָ ?μΞμεֹ μְ ?ωָׁ ?μεֹ ?ν to be taken, according to the parallel passages, as Genesis 43:27, not, with the Sept. and Vulg., in the sense of a prayer for peace (ut postulant ab eo pacem).—For Ton was at war with Hadadezer, literally, “For Hadadezer was a man of wars of Tou,” a constant assailant and adversary to him; comp. 1 Chronicles 28:3; Isaiah 42:13. After these words, which form a parenthetical explanation to the foregoing, follows the wider object of εַ ?ιִּ ?ωְׁ ?μַ ?η: “and all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass,” which Luther erroneously refers to 1 Chronicles 18:11. 1 Chronicles 18:11. With the silver and the gold that he had taken. For ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψπָ ?ωָׂ ?ΰ 2 Samuel presents ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψδִ ?χְ ?γִּ ?ιωׁ, perhaps the original form.—From all the nations . . . and from Amalek. In 2 Samuel a more complete and probable text is found (in which, besides, ξֵ ?ΰֱ ?γֹ ?ν is to be read for ξֵ ?ΰֲ ?ψָ ?ν. 1 Chronicles 18:12-13. Abshai’s Victory over the Edomites in the Valley of Salt.—And Abshai . . . slew of Edom (literally, “slew Edom”) in the valley of salt, 18,000 men. In Bertheau’s combination of the very different reading in 2 Samuel 8:13 with our passage, for “Abshai son of Zeruiah” would have to be read “Joab, etc.,” and after “slew of Edom” would have fallen out the words “when he (Joab) returned from the conquest of Aram.” Otherwise Ew., Then., Wellh., Keil, etc., the latter of whom upholds the statement of Chronicles, that Abshai gained this victory, by reference to 1 Chronicles 10:10 ff. of our book (where Abshai appears as commander under his brother Joab), and declares it consistent as well with Psalms 60:2 as with 1 Kings 11:15. 1 Chronicles 18:14. And all the Edomites became servants of David. For this 2 Samuel has more fully, and perhaps originally: “and in all Edom he appointed officers; and all the Edomites became David’s servants.” 2. David’s Officers of State: 1 Chronicles 18:14-17,—a list in 2 Samuel 8 also appended to the above summary war reports ( = 2 Samuel 8:15-18), that was certainly found here in the old common sources of both authors, introduced by the general remark on the ability and excellence of the government of David (1 Chronicles 18:14). 1 Chronicles 18:15. For Joab, comp. on 1 Chronicles 2:16.—Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder.ξַ ?ζְ ?λִּ ?ιψ, properly “remembrancer,” that is, not annalist (Sept. ὁἐπὶτῶνὑπομνημάτων Vulg. a commentariis), but chancellor, who makes to the king a report of all that takes place in the kingdom, and conveys his commands; comp. the magister memori� of the later Romans, and the Waka Nuvis in the Persian court (Chardin, Voyages, v. p. 258). 1 Chronicles 18:16. For Zadok, comp. on 1 Chronicles 5:30 ff.—Abimelech the son of Abiathar. For ΰαιξμκְ is certainly to be read, with the Sept., Vulg., and 2 Samuel 8:17, ΰηιξμκְ; for so is this priest called in 1 Chronicles 24:3; 1 Chronicles 24:6; 1 Chronicles 24:31, where he is likewise named as the representative of Ithamar with Zadok of Eleazar, and where he appears as the son of Abiathar. That Abiathar’s father was also called Ahimelech, 1 Samuel 22:20, does not warrant the assumption that in our passage, as in 24, there is an exchange of the father and the son; and thus a transposition of the names into “Abiathar the son of Ahimelech” is necessary (as Movers, Then., Ew., Wellh. think). Rather is our Ahimelech to be regarded as a son of the same name with his grandfather, according to the known Hebrew custom, who, even during his father’s lifetime, acted in the priestly office. Comp. the frequent recurrence of the grandfather’s name in the grandson in 1 Chronicles 5:30–41.—And Shavsha was scribe, that is, secretary of state. This Shavsha (Luth. “Sausa”) is called in 1 Kings 4:3 Shisha (ωִׁ ?ιωָׁ ?ΰ, differing only in spelling from ωִׁ ?εְ ?ωָׁ ?ΰ), but in 2 Samuel 20:25ωְׁ ?εָ ?ΰ (ωְׁ ?ιָ ?ΰ) If 2 Samuel 8:17 exhibits ωְׂ ?ψָ ?ιָ ?δ, this is to be considered, perhaps, an error of the pen. 1 Chronicles 18:17. And Benaiah . . . was over the Cherethi and the Pelethi. So also 2 Samuel 8:18, with the more correct reading ςַ ?μδַ ?λְּ ?ψֵ ?ϊι for εְ ?δַ ?λְּ ?ψֵ ?Χ, as in 2 Samuel 20:23. That “Cherethi and Pelethi” denote the two divisions of the royal guard (the σωματοφύλακες, Joseph. Antiq.vii. 5. 4) is undoubted, though, with Gesen., Then., Bδhr (on 1 Kings 1:36), Keil, etc., the former name be explained by confossores, lictores, executioners, the latter by celeres, ἄγγαροι, runners (couriers), and thus both appellatively, for which the passages 1 Kings 2:25, 2 Kings 11:1 appear to speak, or though (with Lakemacher, Movers, Ew., Berth., Hitz., etc.) they be regarded as the nationalities of the Cretans (Carians) and the Philistines. Comp. the latest discussion of this controversy by J. G. Mόller (Die Semiten in ihrem Verhaltniss zu Chamiten und Japhetiten, 1872, p. 263 ff.), who decides for the latter interpretation. For Benaiah, comp. also 1 Chronicles 11:22 ff.—And David’s sons were the chief beside the king, the next to him. In 2 Samuel 8:18 the ancient term λֹּ ?δֲ ?πִ ?ιν, privy counsellors, is chosen to designate the high rank of the royal princes (comp. 1 Kings 4:5). 3. The War with Ammon and Syria: 1 Chronicles 19:1 to 1 Chronicles 20:3; comp. 2 Samuel 10.—And it came to pass after this. The loose form of connection εַֽ ?ιְ ?δִ ?ιΰַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψֵ ?ιλֵ ?ο serves sometimes to introduce new reports, even if there be no strict chronological order, or if, as here (comp. 1 Chronicles 18:3-5 with 1 Chronicles 19:16 ff.), that which is to be related has been partly mentioned before. Comp. for example, 2 Samuel 8:1; 2 Samuel 10:1; 2 Samuel 13:1. For the Ammonite king Nahash, and his war with Saul, see 1 Samuel 11.—And his son reigned in his stead. The following certainly shows that this son was called Hanun; yet the name ηָ ?πεּ ?ο, from 2 Samuel 10:1, appears to have originally stood in the text after αְּ ?πεֹ, as inversely there, the omitted name πָ ?ηָ ?ωׁ must apparently be supplied from our passage. 1 Chronicles 19:3. Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father? literally, “Does David honour thy father in thine eyes?” The emphasis in this question rests on the notion of honouring, of which the questioners doubt whether it really forms the object of David’s embassy.—To search and to turn over (turn up side down, examine thoroughly), and to spy out the land. This sentence is also in Hebrew a question, but, as an affirmative answer is expected, introduced, not with δֲ, but with Σδֲ ?μֹ ?ΰ “Are they not come to search, etc.?” In 2 Samuel 10:3, the sentence runs somewhat different, so that riot the land (δΰψυ), but the city (δָ ?ςִ ?ιψ), is the object of the verbs, and the δָ ?τַ ?κְ removed to the end has the sense, not of turning over, but of destroying. But it is scarcely necessary to change our text accordingly (against Berth.). 1 Chronicles 19:4. And shaved them. 2 Samuel more exactly: “shaved off the half (the one side) of their beard.”—And cut off half their garments by the breech.δַ ?ξִּ ?τְ ?ωָׂ ?ςָ ?δ, properly, “the step, the step-region in the middle of the body,” here euphemistic for ωְׁ ?ϊεֹ ?ϊ, nates, which is used in 2 Samuel. 1 Chronicles 19:5. And they went. This is wanting in 2 Samuel, but not therefore to be erased as superfluous (against Berth.).—And the king said, Tarry at Jericho. So far they were then come on their way to Jerusalem. The following “then return” is naturally completed by adding “to Jerusalem” or “hither.” 1 Chronicles 19:6. That they had made themselves stink with David, had drawn his hatred on them. For the Hithp. δϊαΰωׁ ?ε 2 Samuel has the Niph. of the same verb, in the same reflexive sense.—Hanun . . . sent a thousand talents of silver to hire, etc. The statement that this hiring of auxiliaries took place is wanting in 2 Samuel, but is certainly genuine.—For Mesopotamia = Aram-naharaim, 2 Samuel names, as the first of the countries from which Hanun hired his auxiliaries, Aram-beth-rehob, which can scarcely be only another name of Mesopotamia (as some ancients have assumed, identifying the city Beth-rehob with Rehobath, now Rahabe, on the Euphrates, Genesis 36:37), but the kingdom or territory of Beth-rehob, a Syrian city, Numbers 13:21, Judges 18:28, lying south of Hamath. For the following name, Aram-Maachah, 2 Samuel 10. (as 1 Chronicles 19:7 of our ch.) has only Maachah (on which region, bordering northward on the trans-jordanic Palestine, comp. Deuteronomy 3:14; Joshua 12:5; Joshua 13:11). On the contrary, Zobah is there called more fully: Aram-Zobah (comp. on 1 Chronicles 18:3). 1 Chronicles 19:7. And they hired them 32,000 chariots, that is, chariots with riders, ψֶּ ?λֶ ?αεּ ?τָ ?ψָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν, as the foregoing verse shows. The number 32,000 agrees substantially with the deviating statement in 2 Samuel, in which these auxiliaries appear rather as footmen, and, indeed, consisting of 20,000 footmen from Aram and Aram-beth-rehob, 1000 men from Maachah, and 12,000 men from the kingdom of Tob (Judges 11:3), which latter our author has left undistinguished.—And they came and pitched before Medeba, the city of the tribe of Reuben mentioned Joshua 13:16, two miles (about nine English miles) south-east of Heshbon. This statement as well as the following, relative to the simultaneous assembling of the Ammonite troops, is wanting in 2 Samuel 10, but was found no doubt in the old sources used by our writer, in common with the author of the books of Samuel. 1 Chronicles 19:8. And all the host of the mighty. Different, but merely in expression, from 2 Samuel: “the whole host, the mighty men.” 1 Chronicles 19:9. And the sons of Ammon . . . at the gate of the city, before the gates of Rabbah, their capital. This reading: τֶּ ?ϊַ ?ηδָ ?ςִ ?ιψ, is to be preferred, as clearer than that in 2 Samuel 10:1τֶּ ?ϊַ ?ηδַ ?ωַּׁ ?ςַ ?ψ, “at the gate, outside the gate.” 1 Chronicles 19:10. And Joab saw that the battle was directed against him before and behind, literally, “that the face of the battle ( = the front of the line) was before and behind him:” that before him stood the Ammonites, and in his rear the Syrians. Opposite the latter, as the stronger foe, Joab took his ground, while, 1 Chronicles 19:11, he entrusted the engagement with the Ammonites to his brother Abshai. 1 Chronicles 19:13. For our people, and for the city of our God: that these may not fall into the hands of the heathen, and from cities of the Lord become cities of idols. 1 Chronicles 19:15. And went into the city, fled into their capital Rabbah, while Joab first returned to Jerusalem, reserving the siege and capture of this strong fortress for the following campaign. 1 Chronicles 19:16-19. The Conquest of the Syrians allied with the Ammonites.—They sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river Euphrates, the Mesopotamians, who must have been somehow subject to Hadadezer, and laid under tribute; comp. 2 Samuel 10:16. 1 Chronicles 19:17. And came to them. Instead of this notice, which is superfluous, along with the following words: “and drew up against them,” should be read, with 2 Samuel 10:16 (see Crit. Note): “and he came to Helam.” This elsewhere not occurring local name ηֵ ?ιμָ ?ν or ηֵ ?μָ ?ΰν (Sept.Αἰλάμ, Vulg. Helam) the Chronist quite omits in its first place (in 2 Samuel 10, 16 = 1 Chronicles 19:16 of our ch.), and changes it the second time, whether intentionally or not, into ΰμιδν. Comp. Joseph. Antiq.vii. 6, 3, where the name is regarded as a proper name of a king beyond the Euphrates, the master of the general Shophach (Sabekos). It is, moreover, not impossible that the local name Helam corresponds to the Alamatha on the Euphrates in Ptolem. 1 Chronicles 15:5, in which case 1 Chronicles 18:3 might be combined with our passage, if the same war with Hadadezer and the Syrians be spoken of there as here. 1 Chronicles 19:18. And David slew of the Syrians 7000 teams (chariot horses) and 40,000 footmen. On the contrary, 2 Samuel has 700 teams and 40,000 horsemen. Perhaps the smaller number of teams in 2 Samuel and the designation of the 40,000 as footmen in our text deserve the preference; comp. Wellh. p. 180. 1 Chronicles 19:19. And when the servants of Hadadezer, here not his warriors, but his allies or subject kings (vassals); comp. 2 Samuel 10:19 : λָּ ?μδַ ?ξְּ ?μָ ?λִ ?ινςַ ?αְ ?γֵ ?ιδֲ ?γַ ?γְ ?ςֶ ?ζֶ ?ε.— 1 Chronicles 20:1-3. The Siege and Conquest of Rabbah, here more briefly related than in 2 Samuel 11:1; 2 Samuel 12:26-31, and therefore without any reference to the death of Uriah.—When the year was ended, at the time when the kings go out, in the spring, as most suitable for re-opening the campaign. The last described battle with the Syrians appears accordingly to have fallen in the autumn of the previous year.—Joab led forth the strength of the host; more circumstantially 2 Samuel 11:1 : “David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel.” On ηֵ ?ιμδַ ?φָּ ?αָ ?ΰ, comp. the similar ηֵ ?ιμφָ ?αָ ?ΰ, 2 Chronicles 26:13.—And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it, properly, pulled it down; comp. Ezekiel 16:39; Ezekiel 26:4; Ezekiel 26:12; Lamentations 2:2; Lamentations 2:17. Compared with 2 Samuel 12:26 ff, where it is reported that Joab first only took the so-called city of waters, but called King David to the taking of the proper fortress (citadel, acropolis), that the honour of completing the conquest and destruction of the city might be his, the present report appears brief and summary. 1 Chronicles 20:3. And cut them with saws, and iron threshing-carts and saws.εַ ?ιָּ ?ωַׂ ?ψ, ἅπ. λεγ., from the root ωׂ ?εּ ?ψ, “cut”; comp. ξַ ?ωּׂ ?εֹ ?ψ “saw,” from the cognate root πωׂ ?ψ. In 2 Samuel 12:31, εַ ?ιָּ ?ωֶׂ ?ν is perhaps only an error of the pen for εַ ?ιָּ ?ωַׂ ?ψ or εַֽ ?ιְ ?ωׂ ?ψֵ ?ν (Bφttcher).—For εּ ?αַ ?ξְּ ?βֵ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ, as in 2 Samuel, εּ ?αְ ?ξַ ?βְ ?ζְ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ, “and with scythes” (or like iron-cutting instruments, scarcely “wedges,” as Luther, or “axes,” as Kamph., thinks), is perhaps to be read. A twofold mention of saws, first in the sing., then in plur., would be an intolerable tautology. Moreover, this cutting and grinding of the vanquished Ammonites with iron saws, threshing sledges, and the like, is in itself horrible and barbarous enough (comp. Proverbs 20:26; Amos 1:3); and we need not assume that the Chronist intentionally, and from an apologetic tendency, passed over a still more horrid kind of punishment then inflicted on the vanquished Ammonites, burning in tile-kilns (2 Samuel 12:31); comp. on 1 Chronicles 18:2. 4. Appendix: Briefer Report of the Heroic Deeds of some of David’s Warriors in the Conflict with Philistine Giants: 1 Chronicles 20:4-8.—This report is also treated as an appendix in 2 Samuel, where it is found quite at the end of the history of David, 1 Chronicles 21:15-22, and, indeed, enlarged by a fourth heroic deed (1 Chronicles 21:15-17), there related in the first place, but here wanting—the dangerous conflict of David with the giant Ishbi-benob, whom Abshai at length slew. It appears as if the Chronist had omitted this story intentionally, because it might have lessened the military fame of David. Comp. Lightfoot, Chronol. V. T. p. 1Chr 68: lllud pr�lium, in quo David in periculum venit et unde decore et ill�sus prodire non potuit, omissum est; as Starke: “The dangerous combat of David with Ishbi is not mentioned here, as the book of Chronicles, as some remark, conceals or passes over the shame of the saints; whence also nothing occurs here of the adultery and murder by David, or of the idolatry of Solomon.” 1 Chronicles 20:4. And it came to pass after this. This formula stood here originally not so unconnected as in 1 Chronicles 19:1; but the event to which it referred, 2 Samuel 21:18, was that history of the combat with Ishbi which is intentionally omitted by our author, on which account the formula does not now appear very suitable.—A war arose at Gezer.εַ ?ϊַּֽ ?ςֲ ?ξֹ ?γ (perhaps arising out of εַ ?ϊְּ ?δִ ?ιςεֹ ?γ, 2 Samuel 21:18), here = εַ ?ϊָּ ?χָ ?ν, according to later usage. For Gezer (in the tribe of Ephraim, to the south-west, near the north border of the Philistines), sec 1 Chronicles 7:28. For αְּ ?βֶ ?ζֶ ?ψ, moreover, we should apparently (2 Samuel 21:18) read αְּ ?βֹ ?α, or perhaps αְּ ?πֹ ?α; that passage is not inversely to be amended from ours (against Berth.).—Then Sibbecai the, Hushathite (one of David’s Gibborim; see 1 Chronicles 11:29 and 1 Chronicles 27:11) slew Sippai, one of the sons of Rapha, one of the Rephaites or descendants of Rapha, that gigantic tribe that before the invasion of the Philistines inhabited the south-west of Canaan, and of which several families of gigantic size still lived among the Philistines; comp. Joshua 11:22; Deuteronomy 2:6; Deuteronomy 2:23.—And they were subdued, namely, by the conquest of this giant; comp. Judges 11:33; 1 Samuel 7:13. The absence of this remark in 2 Samuel does not make its originality suspicious. 1 Chronicles 20:5. And there was a war again with the Philistines, namely, 2 Samuel 21:19, at Gob (or Nob), and so at the same place as the former.—Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lachmi, brother of Goliath the Gittite. According to this certainly original reading is the defective text, 2 Samuel 21:19 : “Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite,” to be amended (with Piscat., Cleric, Mich., Mov., Then., Keil, Wellh.). “The form ιςψι, instead of ιָ ?ςִ ?ψι of Chronicles, would be caused by the following ΰψβιν, the accidental insertion of which from the line underneath is easily understood” (Wellh.). Besides, the here quite unexplained mention of the celebrated captain of David, Elhanan of Bethlehem (1 Chronicles 11:26), will have occasioned a change of ΰֶ ?ϊΞμַ ?ηְ ?ξִ ?ι into αιϊδμξι. Accordingly, the question started by Berth., as defender of the originality of the text of Samuel: “Have there been two Goliaths?” falls to the ground as an idle one. 1 Chronicles 20:6 ff. The Last of the Four Heroic Deeds.—Where was a man of (great) stature:ΰִ ?ιωׁ ξִ ?γָּ ?δ = the ΰִ ?ιωׁ ξִ ?γִּ ?ιο, vir mensurarum, in 2 Samuel.—And his fingers were, six and six (namely, on the hands and the feet, therefore in all), twenty and four. Comp. the sedigiti mentioned by Plin. . H. N. xi. 43; also Trusen, Sitten, Gebrδuche, and Krankheiten der alten Hebrδer, p. 198 f.; Carlisle, “An account of a family having hands and feet with supernumerary fingers and toes” (in Philos. Transac. 1814, part 1, p. 94); Rosbach, Diss, de numiero digitorum adaucto, Bonn 1838; Blasius, Fall von Ueberzahl der Zehen, in Siebold’s Journ. fόr Geburtshόlfe, vol. xiii. Art. 1; also Lond. Medic. Gaz. vol. xiv. Apr. 1834, and Friedrich, Zur Bibel, i. p. 298 f. Recently the well-known Arabian traveller F. v. Maltzan, in the Berlin Anthropological Society, reported as follows: “Among the Himyarites (in South Arabia), in the dynasty of Forli, the six fingers are hereditary, and the pride of the ruler and the people. Indeed, this property of six fingers, a sign of bodily or, if not bodily, of mental strength among the Arabs, is still kept up artificially, as the six-fingered princes of the reigning house are allowed to marry only six-fingered members of the family, to avoid as much as possible the appearance of five fingers. In short, the twenty-four fingers and toes of the ruler are the pride of the country; and any one out of the country might prove his nearer or further connection with the ruling house by a greater or smaller superfluity of fingers” (Correspondence Sheet of the German Society for Anthropology, Ethnol., etc., 1872, No. 8, p. 60). 1 Chronicles 20:7. Jonathan the son of Shima, David’s brother, Slew him. Comp., on this Shima, 1 Chronicles 2:13. 1 Chronicles 20:8. These were born.ΰֵ ?μ for ΰֵ ?μֶּ ?δ is an archaism, that occurs eight times in the Pentateuch, but always with the article (δָ ?ΰֵ ?μ), and stands only here without it, for which reason it appears suspicious; the following πεּ ?μְּ ?γεּ also probably contains an error; comp. the regular ΰֵ ?μֶ ?διֻ ?μְּ ?γεּ in 2 Samuel 21:22, Where it is preceded by the number “four” (Which is naturally omitted by the Chronist).—And they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants, namely, by David’s hand in a mediate way, as he was the supreme commander and military chief of the victorious Israelites, but immediately by the hand of his so-called servants or heroes. The whole remark forms a concluding subscription, that appears no less suitable in our passage than in 2 Samuel 21:22 (against Berth.). Footnotes: δֲ ?γַ ?γְ ?ιςְ ?ζֶ ?ψ is the Kethib in all passages of our chapter, but the Keri: δֲ ?γַ ?ψְ ?ςֶ ?ζֶ ?ψ (so in 2 Samuel 10:16-19). The first form, the more usual in the books of Samuel and Kings, is also the more original, because δֲ ?γַ ?γ, a Syrian idol name, occurs in other Syrian proper names. Properly Darmascus (γַּ ?ψְ ?ξֶ ?ωֶׂ ?χ—so here and 1 Chronicles 18:6, also 2 Chronicles 16:2; 2 Chronicles 24:23, without variation; elsewhere always γַּ ?ξֶּ ?ωֶׂ ?χ). After εַ ?ιָּ ?ωֶׂ ?νγָּ ?εִ ?ιγ there seems to have fallen out πְ ?φִ ?ιαִ ?ιν; comp. Sept. (φρουράν) and Vulg. (milites), and see Exeg. Expl. For ΰαιξμκ read rather (with the Sept., Vulg., and 1 Chronicles 24:3; 1 Chronicles 24:6) ΰֲ ?ηִ ?ιξֶ ?μֶ ?κְ. For εַ ?ιָּ ?αֹ ?ΰΰֲ ?μֵ ?δֶ ?ν the text in Samuel (2 Samuel 10:17) has εַ ?ιָּ ?αֹ ?ΰηֶ ?μָ ?ΰξָ ?δ, “and went to Helam,” perhaps more correct and original (comp. Exeg. Expl.), though all translations and mss. conform the ΰֲ ?μֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν of our passage. Rather, perhaps, “and scythes,” as for εּ ?αַ ?ξְּ ?βֵ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ is (with 2 Samuel 12:31) no doubt εּ ?αְ ?ξַ ?βְ ?ζְ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ to be read. Recently Th. Bischoff (Das Ausland, 1873, p. 136) thinks he has found the ruins of Zobah south-east of Aleppo, near the salt lake Jabul. He appears to mean the same ruins which J. W. Helfer (Helfer’s Reisen in Vorderasien, by Countess Pauline Nostitz, Leipz. 1873, i. p. 174 ff.) saw in 1830. κ. The Census and the Plague: 1 Chronicles 21 1 Chronicles 21:1.And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. 2And David said unto Joab, and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring it to me, that I may 3know their number. And Joab said, The Lord add to His people an hundredfold as many as they are. Are they not, my lord the king, all my lord’s servants? Why doth my lord require this thing? Why shall it be a trespass 4to Israel? But the word of the king prevailed against Joab; and Joab de parted, and went through all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. 5And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David; and all Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword; and Judah was four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword. 6But Levi and Benjamin he counted not among them; for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. 7And God was displeased with this thing; and He smote Israel. 8And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now take away the iniquity of Thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 9And the Lord spake unto Gad, David’s seer, saying, 10Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Three things I lay before thee; choose thee one 11of them, that I may do it unto thee. And Gad came to David, and said unto 12him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee either three years of famine; or three months to be driven before thy foes, and the sword of thy enemies to overtake thee; or three days the sword of the Lord and pestilence in the land, that the angel of the Lord may destroy in all the border of Israel; and now consider what word I shall return to Him that sent me. 13 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me now fall into the hand of the Lord; for very great are His mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. 14And the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. 15And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and repented of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough now, stay thy hand: and the angel of the Lord stood by the floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord standing between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched over Jerusalem; and David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17And David said unto God, Have not I commanded to number the people? it is I that have sinned, and done evil indeed; and these sheep, what have they done O Lord my God, let Thy hand now be on me and on my father’s house, and not on Thy people to smite. 18And the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say unto David, that David should go up and set up an altar unto the Lord in the floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19And David went up at the word of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord. 20And Ornan turned, and saw the angel; and his four 21sons with him hid themselves: and ornan was threshing wheat. And David went to ornan; and ornan looked, and saw David, and came out of the floor, 22and bowed to David with his face to the ground. And David said unto ornan, Give me the place of this floor, that I may build therein an altar unto the Lord: thou shalt give it me for the full price, that the plague be stayed from the people. 23And ornan said unto David, Take thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen for burnt-offerings, and the threshing-rollers for wood, and the wheat for the meat-offering: I give all. 24And King David said unto ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price; for I will not take that which is thine for the 25Lord, nor offer burnt-offerings without cost. And David gave to ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 26And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings; and he called upon the Lord, and He answered him by fire from heaven on the 27altar of burnt-offering. And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put his sword again into its sheath. 28At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the floor of ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at 30that time in the high place at Gibeon. And David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid before the sword of the angel of the Lord.Preliminary Remark. Relation of the Foregoing Account of Chronicles to 2 Samuel 24.—As clearly as the mostly verbal agreement of our account with the parallel text of Samuel points to one common source of both, so numerous and important are also their deviations from one another. They chiefly consist of the following:—a. The position of the history of the census in 2 Samuel is that of an appendix to the history of David’s reign already in the main completed. In our book, on the contrary, it closes only that section of the history of this king which refers to the external security and enlargement of his power by wars, buildings, etc.; but it thereby leads (in connection with the following description of his preparation for the building of the temple, 22.) to a new section, that by means of full details of his temple, state and war officers, is fitted to present a picture of the inner character of his government, b. The event is so introduced in 2 Samuel, that reference is made to a former plague, a famine (2 Samuel 21:1-14) which God had brought on the kingdom, so that David’s pernicious project of a census is represented as the direct effect of the divine anger (“And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel; and He moved David, etc.”), but, in our account, so that the whole is referred to a tempting influence of Satan on David, and connected neither with that famine nor any former visitation of Israel under David (not, for example, with the insurrections of Absalom and Shebna, which, like the famine, are entirely unnoticed by our author). For the question, whether the representation of Satan as the moral originator of the census rests on the influence of the religious ideas of a later time, see on 1 Chronicles 21:1. c. The census executed by Joab at the command of David is described pretty fully in 2 Samuel 24:4-9, but only summarily in our chapter, with the chief emphasis on the numerical result, and the notice of a special circumstance unmentioned in 2 Samuel, namely, that Joab, because the royal commission was repugnant to him, neglected to enumerate the tribes of Levi and Benjamin (1 Chronicles 21:4-6). d. On the purchase of ornan’s (or, as the Keri is in 2 Samuel, Araunah’s) floor and the sacrifice by David, our text (1 Chronicles 21:19-27) is more full than 2 Samuel 24:19-25. e. The statement, forming the close of our account and its connection with what follows, regarding the selection of the floor of ornan for the constant place of sacrifice by David (and for the site of the temple), in 1 Chronicles 21:28-30, is wholly wanting in 2 Samuel 24, as, indeed, an express reference to the fact that that place attained a special sacredness under David by the angelic appearance and the sacrifice during the plague is absent there, while the whole occurrence is presented under the prevailing view of such a judicial punishment as the rebellions of Absalom and Shebna, and the famine already reported there, but by our author entirely omitted. That the most of these deviations are occasioned by the peculiar pragmatism and the special tendency of the author of the books of Samuel on the one hand and of the Chronist on the other, is already apparent from this brief survey, and will receive further confirmation from the following exposition. 1. The Census, its Occasion and Effect: 1 Chronicles 21:1-6.—And Satan stood up against Israel. That, instead of the divine anger, here Satan, the personal evil principle (see on Job 1:6; Job 2:1), is named as the hostile power that occasioned the pernicious expedient of the census, is now usually explained (even by Keil) as a later idea of the Israelites, and accordingly reckoned among the proofs that our book was composed after the exile. That this view is at least hasty, if it does not involve an error, is plain when we reflect—1. That the way in which the prologue of the book of Job presupposes the idea of Satan, as long naturalized in the belief of Israel, speaks for the origin of this idea, not only before the exile, but before the time of Solomon; 2. That passages such as Genesis 3:1 ff. and 1 Kings 22:19 ff., though the name ωׂ ?θο does not occur in them, show that the materials of this idea arose from that early time; and 3. That to the parallel passage 2 Samuel 24, though not using the name, the notion of an intervention of Satan in the temptation of David is by no means foreign; indeed, even a positive hint of this is implied in it. ew. and Wellh. justly assume that in the verb used, 2 Samuel 24:1, ειρϊ, “provoked,” lies an allusion to a personal tempting power, which cannot be God or the divine anger; that, indeed, according to the original, now mutilated, text of Samuel, probably δַ ?ωָּׂ ?θָ ?ο was the subject of ειρϊ.—And provoked David to number Israel. The injury of the census, indicated by this expression, rests on this, that such an undertaking in and of itself counted as an act exciting the anger of God, and therefore demanding propitiation (comp. the expiatory customs in the enumerations of the Romans, according to Valerius, Maximus, Varro, and Livius, as also that census instituted by Moses, Exodus 30:11-16., which did not provoke God, only because the money collected by it as a gift to the tabernacle had a holy purpose, and therefore an expiating significance in itself). But a special wrong and blame was attached to the census of David, because it was a work of proud boastfulness and wicked haughtiness, not valuing, but over-valuing, his own power and greatness (comp. Joab’s warning, 1 Chronicles 21:3). The measure can scarcely be regarded as an expression of despotic wilfulness and tyrannic oppression of the people, or as a preparation for the imposition of an oppressive war tax or other tribute (Berth., etc.), or even as expressive of a lust for warlike conquest in the king (J. D. Mich.; comp. Kurtz in Herzog’s Real-Encyl. iii. 306); at least the text in nowise indicates that blame was attached to it on any of these grounds. 1 Chronicles 21:2. Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, the usual formula to designate the land of Israel in all its length; comp. Judges 20:1; 1 Samuel 3:20; 1 Kings 4:25, etc. The plain customary phrases: “Go, number” (μְ ?λεּ ρִ ?τְ ?ψεּ), are simplifying and explanatory for those selected in 2 Samuel: ωׁ ?εּ ?θΞπָ ?ΰ (specially addressed to Joab) and τִּ ?χְ ?γεּ (including the assistants of Joab in the enumeration, the captains or commanders of the army).—And bring it to me, that I may know their number, the number of the Israelites. 1 Chronicles 21:3. Joab’s Warning.—The Lord add to His people a hundredfold as many as they are. In 2 Samuel stands, in accordance with the preference of this author for repetitions of the same phrase (comp. 1 Samuel 12:8), a double λָּ ?δֶ ?ν, “so many as they are, so many as they are, a hundredfold,” or more briefly: “so and so many as they are a hundredfold.” For the present simpler expression, comp. Deuteronomy 1:11.—Are they not all . . . my lord’s servants? Does any one doubt that this great multitude of people is subject to thee? Will any one check thy joy in the greatness and power of thy kingdom? This question is wanting in the often deviating text of Samuel, in place of which are the words: “that the eyes of my lord the king may see it” (the hundredfold increase of the people).—Why shall it be a trespass to Israel?—a trespass (ΰַ ?ωְׁ ?ξָ ?δ) that brings divine punishment on the people instead of thee, the king, who art guilty of this wicked haughtiness. 1 Chronicles 21:4. But the word of the king prevailed against Joab, literally, “was strong above Joab” (which form ηζχςμ is perhaps to be restored in 2 Samuel in place of the present ηΧΰֶ ?μ), overcame his resistance (Luth.: “succeeded against Joab”); comp. 2 Chronicles 8:3; 2 Chronicles 27:5. 1 Chronicles 21:5. And all Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword, literally, “that bare the sword;” comp. Judges 8:10; Judges 20:2; Judges 20:15; Judges 20:17; Judges 20:46, etc. The number 1,100,000, compared with the 800,000 menatarms in 2 Samuel 24:9, involves an actual deviation, which either depends on an ancient variety in the traditions concerning the numerical result of the census, or what is more probable, must be derived from a confusion of the numbers; comp. the cases of this kind cited in the Introd. § 6, No. 5. The difference in the number of the Jewish men-at-arms is smaller, in which the 500,000 in 2 Samuel is merely a round number, for the more exact one, 470,000, contained in our text. Moreover, differences in the later traditions might the more easily arise in this Davidic census, because it was merely oral, as, according to 1 Chronicles 27:24, the result was not entered in the annals of the kingdom. The general correctness of the account, that Israel then numbered about a million, and Judah about half a million warriors, is warranted by the communications of the author, which attest even for much later times the extraordinary density of the population in the formerly so fruitful land of promise. And that the actual army of David, 1 Chronicles 27:1 ff., amounted only to 288,000 men, by no means contradicts the present statement relative to the total number of men fit to bear arms; comp. our remark on 1 Chronicles 4:18. 1 Chronicles 21:6. But Levi and Benjamin he counted not among them; for the king’s word was abominable to Joab; on account of the reluctance with which he obeyed the command of the king, the numbering was not quite completed: it was stopped, perhaps at the king’s command, before Benjamin, the last of the tribes to be numbered, was taken in hand; comp. the more exact statements in 2 Samuel 24:5 ff. concerning the order pursued by the commission under Joab, that, starting from the southern tribes east of Jordan, went round over the north of the land to the south of Judah, and thence arrived at Jerusalem. As no time remained for the numbering of Benjamin (comp. 1 Chronicles 27:23 f.—the express statement that the numbering was not completed; also Josephus, Antiq.vii 13. 1 Chronicles 1 : χωρὶςτῆςβενιαμίτιδοςφυλῆς. ἐξαριθμῆσαιγὰραὐτὴνοὐκἔφθασεν) so the tribe of Levi was omitted on account of its legal exemption from numerations for political or military objects (comp. Numbers 1:47-54). In the present statement, therefore, there is nothing incredible; and neither its absence in 2 Samuel, nor the circumstance that the Chronist, instead of the unfinished state of the census, puts forward in his subjective pragmatism the reluctance of Joab as the cause of the omission of those tribes, justifies the suspicions entertained by de Wette and Gramberg against it. Comp. Keil, Apologet. Versuch, p. 349 ff. 2. The Divine Displeasure with the Numbering of the People by the Voice of the Seer Gad: 1 Chronicles 21:7-13.—And God was displeased with this thing, literally, “and it was evil (εַ ?ιֵּ ?ψַ ?ς) in God’s eyes for this thing:” the same construction appears in Genesis 21:22; usually without ςַ ?μ before the displeasing object, Genesis 38:10; 2 Samuel 11:27, etc.—And He smote Israel. This is not so much an anticipation of that which is narrated 1 Chronicles 21:14 ff., as a generalizing description of the mode in which God’s anger took effect on Israel. It does not appear that the words are to be amended (Berth.), according to 2 Samuel 24:10 : εַ ?ιַּ ?κְ μֶ ?αΞγָּ ?εִ ?γΰֹ ?ϊεֹ, “and the heart of David smote him.” We have here simply two modes of narrative, one of which regards more the human thought and deed, the other more the divine. 1 Chronicles 21:10. Three things I lay before thee, concerning thee, with thee, laying the choice before thee. Wellh. justly declares, not the strange πθμ of Samuel, but our πθδ to be original (against Berth.). 1 Chronicles 21:12. Either three years of famine. This time is certainly the original, not the seven years of the text in Samuel, which has arisen by the easy change of the letters (ωׁ ?ας for ωׁ ?μωׁ), and finds its emendation in the Sept.—Or three months to be driven before thy foes. What is here original, whether πִ ?ρְ ?τֶּ ?δ of our text (nom. particip. Niph.: “to perish, be swept away”) or πֻ ?ρְ ?κָ in 2 Samuel, must remain doubtful. On the contrary, the following εηψαΰειαικָ μξωׂ ?βϊ “and the sword of thy foes to overtake” (=so that the sword of thy foes overtake thee), is certainly to be preferred to the reading εְ ?δεּ ?ΰψֹ ?γְ ?τֶ ?κָ in 2 Samuel.—That the angel of the Lord destroy in all the border of Israel. This enforcing addition to the third question is wanting in 2 Samuel, but must be no less original than that parallel addition to the second question. And the hendiadyoin: “the sword of the Lord and pestilence,” for the simple pestilence (γֶּ ?αֶ ?ψ) in 2 Samuel, can scarcely be regarded as an arbitrary addition of the Chronist. Comp., moreover, with respect to the triad of divine judgments—famine, sword, and pestilence—the parallels, Leviticus 26:25 f.; 1 Kings 8:37; 2 Chronicles 20:9; Jeremiah 14:12 ff; Jeremiah 21:7-9; Jeremiah 24:10; Jeremiah 27:8; Jeremiah 27:13; Jeremiah 29:17 f., Jeremiah 32:24-36, Jeremiah 34:17, Jeremiah 38:2, Jeremiah 42:17; Jeremiah 42:22, Jeremiah 44:13; Ezekiel 5:12; Ezekiel 6:11 f., 1 Chronicles 7:15, 1 Chronicles 12:16; also Ezekiel 21:19, where this woful triad is indicated by the figure of three swords; likewise Ezekiel 5:17; Ezekiel 14:13-19, Revelation 6:8, where the triad is extended to a quatrain by the addition of beasts of prey (comp. still other appropriate parallels in my Theol. naturalis, i. p. 637). 3. The Judgment, and David’s Repentant Entreaty for its Removal: 1 Chronicles 21:14-17.—And the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel. That this pestilence continued “from the morning even to the time appointed” is stated in the precise account in 2 Samuel; likewise that it affected all the people “from Dan even to Beersheba.” Wellh. (p. 220) defends, perhaps not unjustly, the extended form of our first verse-member, which the Sept. presents, as original: “And David chose the pestilence; and when the days of wheat harvest came (comp. 1 Chronicles 21:20), the plague began among the people.” 1 Chronicles 21:15. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem. The ξַ ?μְ ?ΰָ ?κְ without the article, “an angel,” is strange, as the angel in question, 1 Chronicles 21:12, was named before. Berth. gives the preference to the text 2 Samuel 24:16 : “And the angel stretched out his hand to Jerusalem,” whereas Movers (p. 91) defends our text as original. Perhaps neither text now contains exactly and fully the original, whether we amend, with Keil: “And the angel of God stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem,” or declare the restoration of the original now impossible (with Wellh.).—And as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and repented of the evil; that is, as soon as the angel had begun to destroy, Jehovah considered, and repented that He had decreed the heavy stroke. On this repentance of God, comp. Genesis 6:16; Exodus 32:14; Jeremiah 42:10; Jonah 3:10; Psalms 106:23.—It is enough now, stay thy hand. Notwithstanding the acc. distinct. over ψַ ?α, this word is to be connected with the following ςַ ?ϊָּ ?δ, and taken in the sense of “enough” (sufficit); comp. Deuteronomy 1:6; 1 Kings 19:4. Against Berth., who in 2 Samuel 24:16 connects ψα with αָּ ?ςָ ?ν, and regards this “a great mass of people” as the original reading, see not only Keil, but also Wellh.—And the angel of the Lord stood by the floor of ornan the Jebusite. That this ornan (or Araunah, as the Keri writes his name in 2 Samuel; comp. Crit. Note here) had been king of the Jebusites cannot be inferred from 2 Samuel 24:23, as the word δξμκְ there is either to be erased, with Then., or (with Bφttcher and Wellh.) to be referred by emendation to David (there addressed by Araunah). That the floor of ornan was on Mount Moriah, the subsequent site of the temple, north-east of Zion, is stated in the sequel; see 1 Chronicles 21:28 ff. 1 Chronicles 21:16. And David . . . saw the angel of the Lord standing between the earth and the heavens. This whole verse, as also 1 Chronicles 21:20, with the statement of the hiding of ornan and his four sons before the angel, and 1 Chronicles 21:26, with the mention of the fire coming down from God on David’s offering, are wanting in the shorter and simpler account in 2 Samuel. These may be called embellishments of tradition, but they are not to be regarded as inventions of our historian (against Berth., etc.).—And David and the elders . . .fell on their faces. The mention of the elders is wanting in 2 Samuel, but is not the least strange, as it was a solemn act of expiation and penitence on behalf of the whole nation. Comp. also the mention, 2 Samuel 24:20, of the retinue of servants accompanying the king when he went to ornan. 1 Chronicles 21:17. Have not I commanded to number the people? In 2 Samuel the prayer of David is much briefer. But for this very reason the attempt of Bertheau to show that our text here and in the sequel arises from the effort to explain and improve the other text is altogether unjustified. Neither are the present words δμΰΰπιΰξψϊιμξπεϊαςν corrupted from those in Samuel: αψΰϊεΰϊΞδξμΰκδξλδαςν, nor is εְ ?δָ ?ψֵ ?ςַ δֲ ?ψֵ ?ςεֹ ?ϊִ ?ι to be changed into a supposed originalεְ ?ΰָ ?πֹ ?λִ ?ιδָ ?ψֹ ?ςֶ ?δδֲ ?ψֵ ?ςεֹ ?ϊִ ?ι, “and I, the shepherd, have done wrong;” for the question: “but these sheep, what have they done?” is easily understood without the previous mention of the shepherd; comp. Psalms 95:7, c. 3, etc. 4. The Purchase of Ornan’s Floor, and the Offering of the Burnt-Sacrifice there: 1 Chronicles 21:18-27. 1 Chronicles 21:20. And ornan turned. So εַ ?ιָּ ?ωָׁ ?α is certainly to be translated (comp. 2 Kings 20:5; Isaiah 38:5; and such New Testament passages as Luke 22:61, etc.), not “returned,” as Bertheau does against the context, at the same time defending the conjecture that ειωα is corrupted from εַ ?ιַּ ?ωְׁ ?χֵ ?σ.—And ornan was threshing wheat, a clause wanting in 2 Samuel, but certainly original, which is confirmed by the notice of the Sept. already mentioned on 1 Chronicles 21:15 concerning the wheat harvest as the time when the pestilence began. 1 Chronicles 21:22. Give me the place of this floor. So it is to be translated, not as in Luther: “Give me space in this floor.” The whole floor was necessary for the king’s object; it is also all bought by him. The history of this purchase recalls in general the similar incident in the life of Abraham, Genesis 23, but does not necessitate the assumption that the recollection of Gen 23:9 affected the forms of the text, nor in particular that the twofold αλρσξμΰ was taken thence. 1 Chronicles 21:23. Lo, I give the oxen for burnt-offerings. Along with εְ ?δַ ?ξּ ?εֹ ?ψִ ?ιβִ ?ιν stands also 2 Samuel: ελμιδαχψ, “and the harness of the oxen,” their wooden yokes, a certainly original phrase, that has only fallen out of our text by a mistake. The other text also requires the mention of “the wheat for the meat offering,” which can be no late addition. 1 Chronicles 21:24. Nor offer burnt-offerings without cost, that is, without having paid the full price for them. The infin. εְ ?δַֽ ?ςֲ ?μεֹ ?ϊ after the finite verb as a continuation is not surprising; comp. Ew. § 351, c. Here also Bertheau’s emendations are superfluous. 1 Chronicles 21:25. And David gave to ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. Otherwise 2 Samuel 24:24, where David purchases the floor with the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. The one of these two contradictory statements is certainly corrupt, and more probably that in 2 Samuel, as fifty shekels of silver is too low a price; comp. Abraham’s 400 shekels of silver for the cave of Machpelah, Genesis 23:15. The sum of 600 shekels of gold appears, indeed, too high; but an over-payment corresponds better with the crisis than a much smaller price, which might have been interpreted as an act of mean covetousness. That the Chronist has “intentionally exaggerated” (Then.) is a conjecture as little to be justified as the different harmonizing attempts of the ancients; for example, that each of the twelve tribes must have given fifty shekels, whereby the 600 shekels mentioned by the Chronist were raised (Raschi), or that the 600 shekels are to be reckoned as silver, but to be paid in gold, and with fifty pieces of gold, of which each was = twelve silver shekels (Noldius, ad concord. Part. not. 719), etc. 1 Chronicles 21:26. And David . . . offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. After the sentence corresponding to these words in 2 Samuel 24:25 is found in the Sept. an addition that anticipates in brief the contents of 1 Chronicles 22:1-6.—And he called upon the Lord, and He answered him by fire (or heard him with fire) from heaven on the altar of burnt-offering. For these words, to be understood according to Leviticus 9:24, 1 Kings 18:24; 1 Kings 18:38, 2 Kings 1:12, and 2 Chronicles 7:1, 2 Samuel has simply: “and the Lord was entreated for the land” (comp. on 1 Chronicles 21:16); likewise for our 1 Chronicles 21:27, with its mention of the angel’s sword returned into its sheath, the plainer and less poetical: “and the plague was stayed from Israel.” 5. David’s repeated Offering on the Floor of ornan, with the Reason: 1 Chronicles 21:28-30.—At that time . . . he sacrificed there; that is, repeatedly, frequently; Luther rightly: “was wont to offer there.” Only this sense of ειζαρωׁ ?ν agrees with the sequel, especially with 1 Chronicles 22:1. 1 Chronicles 21:29-30 explain this selection of ornan’s floor for the regular place of sacrifice for the king more precisely, by referring to the older sanctuary at Gibeon, and to the apparent neglect of it; comp. on 1 Chronicles 15:1; 1 Chronicles 16:39 f.—And David could not go before it, the tabernacle at Gibeon, and the altar there; comp. for μִ ?τְ ?πֵ ?ι in this connection, 1 Chronicles 16:4; 1 Chronicles 16:37; 1 Chronicles 16:39.—For he was afraid before the sword of the angel of the Lord; the appearance of the angel, with its desolating effects, had left in his mind an awfully strong impression of the holiness of the place, so that he did not venture to sacrifice in any other place. This interpretation only (comp. Berth.) suits the fact and the context, not that of various recent expositors, who wish to extract strange motives out of the words; for example, J. H. Mich. “quia ex terrore visionis angelic�: infirmitatem corporis contraxerat,” or O. v. Gerlach: “because Gibeon was too far away,” or Keil: “because Gibeon, notwithstanding the sanctuary existing there with the Mosaic altar, was not spared by the plague,” etc. Comp., moreover, for the various details of the present account, the evangelical and ethical reflections at the close of the exposition of this book. Footnotes: According to the parallel text 2 Samuel 24:13 (πֻ ?ρְ ?κָ for πִ ?ρְ ?τֶּ ?δ), rather “flight.” So the Sept., Vulg., and Luther. ΰָ ?ψְ ?πָ ?ο the Sept. renders here and in the whole chapter by ’Ορνά, as it conforms to ΰεֹ ?ψְ ?πָ ?δ, the Kethib in 2 Samuel 24:16 (for which elsewhere there the Keri ΰֲ ?ψַ ?εְ ?πδ always stands). Our text has throughout invariably ΰָ ?ψְ ?πָ ?ο, which the Vulg. gives rightly Ornan, Luther wrongly “Arnan.” Comp. Volck, De summa carminis Jobi sententia, p. 33 sqq.: Hoc si tenes, Deum non sine causa populo suo atque ejus reui, suoerhienti illi quidem, succensuisse, Satanumque eumesse, qui, ut homines peopter delicta apud Deum accuest eorum p�nas repetiturus, ita hoc efficiat, ut peccati pullulantis vis erumpat: difficultatem ita expedies, ut Davidem, quia Deus iratus pravitatis p�nam irrogare voluerit ad infelix illud consilium adductum fuisse dicas diaboli divinζ voluntati inservientis impulsu, etc.—Comp. also Hofmann, Schriftbew, ii. p. 437 ff., and Schlottmann, Das Buch Hiob, p. 38 ff. c. David’s Arrangements for the Building of the Temple; other Spiritual and Temporal Regulations; last Will and Death.—Ch. 22–29 α. Provisions for the Building of the Temple: 1 Chronicles 22 1 Chronicles 22:1 And David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel. 2And David commanded to gather the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to hew square stones to build the house of God. 3And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of 4the gates, and for braces; and brass in abundance without weight. And cedar-trees without number; for the Zidonians and Tyrians brought much cedar-wood to David. 5And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house to be builded for the Lord must be highly magnifical for name and glory in all countries: I will now prepare for it: and David prepared abundantly before his death. 6And he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house forthe Lord God of Israel. 7And David said to Solomon, My Song of Solomon , 1 had it in mind to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God. 8But the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Thou hast shed much blood, and made great wars; thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies around; for Solomon shall be his name, and I will give peace and rest unto Israel in his days. 10He shall build a house to my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. 11Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper 12thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as He hath said of thee. Also the Lord will give thee wisdom and understanding, and ordain thee over Israel, that thou may est keep the law of the Lord thy God. 13Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel: be firm and strong; fear not, nor 14be dismayed. And, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver, and of brass and of iron without weight; for it is in abundance: and I have prepared timber and stone, and thou shalt add thereto. 15And with thee are workers in abundance, hewers and carvers of stone and of timber, and all skilful men in all work. 16Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron there is no number: arise and do, and the Lord be with thee. 17And David commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son: 18Is not the Lord your God with you? and hath He not given you rest on every side? For He hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand; 19and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before His people. Now give your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; and arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.1. Connection with the Foregoing Section: 1 Chronicles 22:1.—The present chapter, which opens the second half of David’s history referring to the inner side of his government, is, by its introductory verse, closely connected with the foregoing account of the pestilence, and the consequent elevation of the floor of Oman to be the place of sacrifice for the king. The further accounts, relating directly or indirectly to the security of David’s kingdom for his successor, to the end of the book, are thus in a suitable way connected with the last-mentioned important event in the external history of the government of David.—This is the house of the Lord God, or: “shall be a house of the Lord God.” David gives this determination to the former threshing-floor on the same ground that moved Jacob to consecrate his resting-place at Luz to be a Bethel (Genesis 28:17), because Jehovah had there revealed to him His saving presence. 2. The Preparation of Materials for the future Temple: 1 Chronicles 22:2-5.—And David commanded to gather the strangers that were in the land of Israel, the descendants of the Canaanites subdued in the conquest of the land, who lived as bondmen under his government; comp. 2 Chronicles 8:7-10 and 1 Chronicles 2:16-17, where the number of these bondmen under Solomon is stated to be 150,000, whom he employed as bearers and workmen in building the temple.—Masons to hew square stones. Comp. 1 Kings 5:17, 31; also the simple βָּ ?ζִ ?ιϊ, square stones, 1 Kings 6:36; 1 Kings 7:9 ff.; Exodus 20:25; Isaiah 9:9. 1 Chronicles 22:3. For the nails for the doors of the gates, and for braces. μַֽ ?ξְ ?ηַ ?αְּ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ, properly, “for joining things” (Sept. στροφεῖς; more correctly Vulg. commissur� atque junctur�); comp. 2 Chronicles 34:11, where, however, braces of wood are meant. 1 Chronicles 22:4. For the Zidonians and Tyrians (= Phenicians; comp. Ezra 3:7) brought much cedar-wood to David; this at first naturally, as an article of trade for the exports of Palestine, corn, wine, fruit, etc., not yet by a contract of supply for building the temple, such as Solomon afterwards made with Hiram, 1 Kings 5:15 if. 1 Chronicles 22:5. Solomon my son is young and tender. So (πַ ?ςַ ?ψεָ ?ψָ ?κְ, parvulus et delicatus, Vulg.) David names Solomon also, 1 Chronicles 29:1, in one of his last speeches to the people, although, born shortly after the Syrian Ammonite wars (2 Samuel 12:24), he must have been at this time, shortly before David’s end, above twenty years of age. But even shortly after the beginning of his reign, Solomon calls himself πַ ?ςַ ?ψχָ ?θεֹ ?ο, 1 Kings 3:7; comp., for example, also Benjamin, Gen. 43:44; Joshua, Exodus 33:11; Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 13:7, etc.—And the house to be builded for the Lord must be highly magnifical (properly, “great to make”). μְ ?ξַ ?ςְ ?μָ ?δ, properly, “upward,” “above measure great;” comp. on 14:2.—For name and glory in all countries, that it tend to the glory of the Lord in all countries; comp. 14:17.—I will now prepare for it. The meaning of this cheerful offering is somewhat weakened, if, with the Vulg. (pr�parabo ergo, etc.) and Luther (“therefore will I make preparation”), we take πָ ?ΰ as a particle of inference. 3. The Charge to Solomon to build the Temple: 1 Chronicles 22:6-16. This charge is obviously to be regarded as given to Solomon shortly before the death of David; see the μִ ?τְ ?πֵ ?ιξεֹ ?ϊεֹ at the close of 1 Chronicles 22:5. The whole address on to 1 Chronicles 22:16, besides being a legacy of the predecessor to his successor, is therefore to be regarded in some measure as parallel to 1 Kings 2:2-9, and as essentially contemporary with the contents of 1 Chronicles 28, 24 of our book. On its perhaps not strictly historical but ideal character, which is common to it with those addresses of David in 1 Chronicles 28, 29, see Introd. § 6, No. 6. 1 Chronicles 22:7. On the Keriαְּ ?πִ ?ι to be preferred to the Kethibαְּ ?πεֹ, see Crit. Note.—I had it in mind, literally, “I, it was in my heart;” quite so (with the same emphatic position of ΰֲ ?πִ ?ι before ςִ ?νμְ ?αָ ?αִ ?ι) also 1 Chronicles 28:2. The phrase: “it is or was in my heart,” for: “I have (had) in mind,” appears also in 2 Chronicles 1:11; 2 Chronicles 6:7 f., 9:1, 24:4, 29:10, as in other historical books, Joshua 14:7; 1 Kings 8:17 f., 10:2. 1 Chronicles 22:8. But the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. What was a historical necessity in the course of David’s government is by this concrete description referred to a definite word of the Lord communicated somewhere and sometime to David, as in 1 Chronicles 28:3 (comp. 1 Kings 5:17). It is not necessary to seek a definite place, where such a divine command was at least intimated to him. What Nathan says, 17:4 ff., of David’s wars, concerns only the help which God gave him in these, but does not give prominence to the circumstance that he was by those frequent wars unfitted for building the temple. Comp. also Hengstenb. Gesch. des Reiches Gottes, 3:124. 1 Chronicles 22:9. Behold, a son shall be born to thee. The participle (πεֹ ?μָ ?γ) is here in the sense of the future; comp. 1 Chronicles 22:19 and 1 Kings 13:2.—Who shall be a man of rest, not a man who makes rest (Jeremiah 51:59; comp. Hitzig on this passage), but, as the sequel shows, a man who enjoys rest, who has the blessings of peace, and therefore rightly bears his name ωְׁ ?μֹ ?ξֹ ?δ. Comp. the description of the profound peace during the reign of Solomon, 1 Kings 5:4 f.—On 1 Chronicles 22:10, comp. 1 Chronicles 17:12 f., which prediction of Nathan is briefly repeated in our passage. 1 Chronicles 22:11. The Lord be with thee (comp. 1 Chronicles 22:16; 1 Chronicles 22:18); and prosper thou; comp. 1 Chronicles 22:13; Joshua 1:8; and lastly, on γִּ ?αֶּ ?ψςַ ?μ, to charge any one, 1 Chronicles 22:8 (ςָ ?μַ ?ι) and 11:10. 1 Chronicles 22:12. Also the Lord will give thee wisdom and understanding; the same terms are so connected in 2 Chronicles 2:11. The fulfilment of this prophecy, as of the similar one of Nathan (2 Samuel 7:11), see in 1 Kings 3:5 ff.—That thou mayest keep the law of the Lord, properly, “and to keep the law,” etc. Comp., on this continuation of the verb fin. by the infin. with μְ, Ew. § 351, c. 1 Chronicles 22:13. If thou takest heed to fulfil (“to do”) the statutes and judgments. The language here frequently coincides with the prescriptions and promises of Deuteronomy; comp. Deuteronomy 4:1; Deuteronomy 5:1; Deuteronomy 7:4; Deuteronomy 7:11; Deuteronomy 11:32; and respecting the closing admonition: “be firm and strong,” Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:7, etc. 1 Chronicles 22:14. And behold, in my trouble, etc. So is αְּ ?ςָ ?πְ ?ιִ ?ι to be taken here (comp. Genesis 31:42, and the parallel meaning, Genesis 39:2), not “in my labour,” as the Sept., Vulg., and Luther have misunderstood the phrase. The following Numbers , 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, are only free from the suspicion of wilful exaggeration by the Chronist or an error of transcription, if we are permitted to introduce a reckoning according to other, that is, smaller units than those customary in the O. T. (comp. Introd. § 6, No. 5). If we reckon the talent (λִּ ?λַּ ?ψ) of silver at 3000 shekels of silver, according to the usual Mosaic or sacred value of about 2s. 33/8d. each, it would amount to £342, and therefore 1,000,000 such silver talents would make the large sum of £342,000,000; and 100,000 talents of gold, if the gold shekel be sixteen times that of silver, would reach the still higher sum of £547,500,000. The gold and silver thus gathered by David would amount to £889,500,000, a sum incredibly high for the requirements of worship at that time. On the contrary, if we assume, with Keil, that the present shekel is not the sacred (Mosaic) but the civil so-called shekel, after the king’s weight, and that these royal shekels were only half as weighty as the others, and so equal in weight and value to the bekah or Mosaic half-shekel (Exodus 38:26),—an assumption that seems to be corroborated by the comparison of 1 Kings 10:17 with 2 Chronicles 9:16; 2 Chronicles 9:3 the sum named is reduced by at least a half. That so large a sum gathered and saved by David is not inconceivable, but has its parallel in other high sums of oriental antiquity, Movers (Die Phφnizier, ii. 3, p. 45 ff.) and Keil (p. 182 f. of his Comment.) have rendered probable by examples from the history of Persia and Syria, those exceedingly rich countries adjacent to the kingdom of David; comp. the £34,000 of gold and 500,000 talents of silver which Cyrus seized in the conquest of Athens (Varro, in Plin. Hist. Nat. xxxii. 15), the 40,000 talents of uncoined gold and silver and 9000 talents of coined silver which Alexander seized in Susa alone, the 120,000 talents which the same conqueror acquired in Persepolis; likewise the colossal treasures of Syria, with its numerous great idols of solid gold, its gold shields for the servants of Hadadezer, 2 Samuel 8:7 ff., its gold pins as ornaments of the boots of the common soldiers of an Antiochus the Great, etc. At all events, it is hasty in Bertheau, who, besides, commits a great error in asserting that 5000 millions of thalers (about £750,000,000) would suffice to pay off the debt of all European states, to deny the credibility of the present high numbers, and suppose that they could be “nothing but the first circumlocution of the notion, ‘great, exceedingly great,’—a circumlocution that may still be heard in the mouth of those who have not reflected on the value and import of the numbers, and therefore deal quite freely with thousands and hundred thousands.” Neither the fact that Solomon’s annual revenue amounted only to 666 talents of gold, nor that the queen of Sheba made him a present of 120 talents of gold (comp. 1 Kings 10:10; 1 Kings 10:14; 2 Chronicles 9:9), is sufficient to confirm this suspicion of a boastful exaggeration as the ground of the present statements. For, besides the 666 talents in gold expressly mentioned in those passages, Solomon must have had still other revenues considerably higher in their total amount (especially from tolls and tributes of the subject nations); but the value of a single gift in money and precious metals cannot in itself be compared with that of a great treasure amassed during several years. And should not David have actually contemplated the foundation of a temple treasure, of which the surplus remaining after defraying the cost of building should be kept in the sanctuary, and saved for covering the future expenses of it (as Solomon actually did after the building was finished with the money remaining over, 2 Chronicles 5:1; 1 Kings 7:51), and therefore have accumulated so vast a sum? Comp. that which is expressly reported to this effect, and see Keil’s full discussion of all questions and opinions on this matter (pp. 181–184).—And thou shalt add thereto. That Solomon followed this advice of his father, to add to the building materials, is clear from 2 Chronicles 2, where also the activity of the here (1 Chronicles 22:15, and in 1 Chronicles 22:2) mentioned workers in stone and wood, as well as the “skilful men in all work” (ηָ ?λָ ?ν, to denote the ingenious mastery in the crafts of building and figuring, as in Bezaleel, Exodus 31:3), is again mentioned. 1 Chronicles 22:16. Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number, properly, “for gold,” etc. The μְ before the several words serves to make more prominent that which is hitherto enumerated (Ew. § 310, a). On the following χεּ ?νεַ ?ςֲ ?ωֵׂ ?δ, “arise and do,” comp. Ezra 10:4. 4. Invitation to the Princes of Israel to aid in the building of the Temple: 1 Chronicles 22:17-19.—Is not the Lord your God with you? The remembrance of God’s former grace toward the people is a ground for the invitation. That the words communicated here and in 1 Chronicles 22:19 are David’s words to the princes, is sufficiently clear even without μֵֹ ?ΰξֹ ?ψfrom the foregoing εַֽ ?ιְ ?φַ ?ε; comp. the same immediate introduction of the address in 23:4. He hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, the Canaanites, Jebusites, Philistines; comp. 14:10f., Joshua 2:24, as on the following: “the land is subdued,” Joshua 18:1, Numbers 32:22; Numbers 32:29. 1 Chronicles 22:19. Now give your heart and soul to seek the Lord your God; comp. 2 Chronicles 17:4, Ezra 4:2, where the same construction of γψωׁ with μְ is found, whereas elsewhere it usually has the simple acc. of the object after it (16:12, 21:30, etc.).—To bring the ark of the covenant (15:1; 2 Chronicles 5:2). . . into the house, etc. μְ in μַ ?αַּ ?ιִ ?ϊ stands (as in Joshua 4:5) for ΰֶ ?μ, and is not perhaps nota accusativi (Berth.), as δֵ ?αִ ?ιΰ is never constructed with the acc. loci, but with ΰֶ ?μ, or with the acc. and δ local. For the future sense of δַ ?πּ ?αְ ?πֶ ?δ, comp. on 1 Chronicles 22:9. Footnotes: αְּ ?πִ ?ι, according to the Keri; the Kethib has αְּ ?πεֹ, “unto Solomon his son;” but it scarcely deserves the preference, as αְּ ?πεֹ might easily arise from μִ ?ωְׁ ?μֹ ?ξֹ ?δαְ ?πεֹ, 1 Chronicles 22:6. So the Masoretic text and a part of the mss. of the Sept. (A2 F X: ἐνχειρίμου). But the Sept. cod. Vat, Vulg., Luther, etc.: “into your hands.” See Mosis Maimon. Constitutiones de siclis,—quas illustravit, Jo. Esgers, Lugd. Bat. 1718, p. 19, and comp. the remarks on 2 Chronicles 3:3 concerning the relation of the older (sacred or Mosaic) cubit to the shorter civil cubit of later times. [In the text, English money has been substituted for foreign.] β. Distribution of the Levites and Priests, and Order of their Service: Ch. 23–261 Chronicles 23:1 And David was old and full of days, and he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 1. Enumeration of the Levites, and Arrangement of their Work: 1 Chronicles 23:2-52 And he gathered all the princes of Israel, and the priests and the Levites. 3And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upwards; 4and their number by their polls in men was thirty and eight thousand. Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of the 5Lord, and six thousand were to be officers and judges. And four thousand porters; and four thousand praising the Lord with instruments which I have made for praise. 2. The Twenty-four Houses of the Levites: 1 Chronicles 23:6-236 And David divided them into courses for the sons of Levi, for Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7Of the Gershonites were Ladan and Shimi. 8The sons of Ladan were the chief Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9The sons of Shimi were Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three: these were the chiefs of the fathers for Ladan. 10And the sons of Shimi were Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah: these four were Shimi’s sons. 11And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; and Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; and they formed one father-house and one class. 12The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to 14minister to Him, and to bless in His name for ever. And Moses, the man of God, his sons were called after the tribe of Levi. 15The sons of Moses were 16Gershom and Eliezer. Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief. 17And the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief: and Eliezer had no other sons; 18but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. The sons of Izhar, Shelomith the 19chief. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel 20the third, Jekamam the fourth. The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first, and Jesiah the second. 21The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their brethren, 23the sons of Kish, took them. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three. 3. Closing Remarks on the Levites: 1 Chronicles 23:24-3224 These are the sons of Levi after their father-houses; the chief of the fathers for those mustered by the number of the names for their polls, doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord from twenty years old and upwards. 25For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest to His 26people, and He dwelleth in Jerusalem for ever. And also the Levites have 27no more to carry the tabernacle, with all its vessels for its service. For, by the last words of David, these were the number of the Levites from twenty 28years old and upward. For their post was at the hand of the sons of Aaron, for the service of the house of the Lord, for the courts, and for the chambers, and for the purifying of everything holy, and the work of the service of the 29house of God. And for the shew-bread, and the fine flour for meat-offering, and the unleavened cakes, and pancakes, and that which is fried, and all measures of capacity and length. 30And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and so in the evening. 31And to offer all burnt-offerings to the Lord for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, and the set feasts by number, 32after the order of them, continually before the Lord. And they shall keep the charge of the tent of meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, for the service of the house of the Lord. 4. The Twenty-four Classes of Priests: 1 Chronicles 24:1-191 Ch 24:1 And for the sons of Aaron, these are the divisions: the sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2But Nadab and Abihu died before their fathers, and had no sons; and Eleazar and Ithamar became priests. 3And David distributed them, so that Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech 4of the sons of Ithamar were for their office in their service. And the sons of Eleazar were found more numerous in chief men than the sons of Ithamar; and they were thus divided: for the sons of Eleazar sixteen chiefs of father-houses; 5and eight of father-houses for the sons of Ithamar. And they divided them by lot, one with the other; for the holy princes and the princes 6of God were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. And Shemaiah son of Nethaneel, the scribe of the Levites, wrote them before the king and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the chiefs of the fathers for the priests and for the Levites: one father-house being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar. 7, 8And the first lot came out to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah. The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim. 9The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to 10Mijamin. The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah. 11The ninth to Jeshuah, the tenth to Shecaniah. 12The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to 13, 14Jakim. The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebab. The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer. 15The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Hapizez. 16The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel. 17The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul. 18The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah. 19These are their offices for their service, to go into the house of the Lord according to their order by Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him. 5. The Classes of the Levite: 1 Chronicles 24:20-3120 And for the remaining sons of Levi: for the sons of Amram, Shubael; for 21the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. For Rehabiah: for the sons of Rehabiah, the 22chief was Isshiah. For the Izharites, Shelomoth; for the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. 23And the sons [of Hebron]1 Chronicles 5 : Jesiah [the first], Amariah the second, 24Jahaziel the third, Jekamam the fourth. The sons of Uzziel, Micah; for the sons of Micah, Shamir. 25The brother of Micah was Isshiah; for the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. 26The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi: the sons of Jazziah, Beno. 27The sons of Merari, by Jaaziah his son: Shoham, and 28, 29Zaccur, and Ibri. To Mahli belonged Eleazar; and he had no sons. Concerning 30Kish, the sons of Kish, Jerahmeel. And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth: these were the sons of the Levites after their 31father-houses. And these also cast lots like their brethren the sons of Aaron, before David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the chiefs of the fathers for the priests and for the Levites: the fathers, the chief like his younger brother. 6. The Twenty-four Classes of Singer: 1 Chronicles 25 1 Chronicles 25:1 And David and the captains of the host separated for service the sons of Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun, who prophesied with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen for the service 2was. For the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and 3Asharelah; sons of Asaph, under Asaph, who prophesied under the king. For Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun were Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under their father Jeduthun, on the harp who 4prophesied to thank and praise the Lord. For Heman: the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. 5All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn: and God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 6All these were under their father for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps for the service of the house of God 7under the king, with Asaph, and Jeduthun, and Heman. And their number with their brethren that were instructed in singing to the Lord, all that were cunning were two hundred eighty and eight. 8And they cast lots for the charge, the small as the great, the teacher with the scholar. 9And the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah; he and his sons and his brethren were twelve. 10The third to Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 11The fourth to Izri, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 12The fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren,13, 14twelve. The sixth to Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. The seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 15The eighth toJeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 16The ninth to Mattaniah, hissons and his brethren, twelve. 17The tenth to Shimei, his sons and hisbrethren, twelve. 18The eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 19, 20The twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. The thirteenth to Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 21The fourteenth to Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 22The fifteenth to Jerimoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 23The sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 24The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 25, 26The eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve. The nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 27The twentieth to Eliathah,his sons and his brethren, twelve. 28The one and twentieth to Hothir, his sonsand his brethren, twelve. 29The two and twentieth to Giddalti, his sons andhis brethren, twelve. 30The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, his sons andhis brethren, twelve. 31The four and twentieth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve. 7. The Classes of Porters: 1 Chronicles 26:1-191 Ch 26:1 Concerning the divisions of the porters: to the Korhites was Meshelemiah 2son of Korah, of the sons of Asaph. And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the first-born, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the 3, 4fourth. Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh. And Obed-edom had sons: Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joahthe third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nathaneel the fifth. 5Ammiel the sixth,6Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him. And to Shemaiah his son were born sons, that ruled in the house of their father; for they were valiant men. 7The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad,—his brethren, strong men,—Elihu, and Semachiah. 8All these of the sons of Obed-edom, they and their sons and their brethren, strong men9of ability for service, were sixty and two of Obed-edom. And Meshelemiah10had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen. And Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief; for he was not the first-born, but his father made him chief. 11Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. 12To these divisions of the porters, to the chiefs of the men, were the wardslike their brethren, to minister in the house of the Lord. 13And they castlots, the small as the great, after their father-houses, for every gate. 14And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah: and for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, 15they cast lots, and his lot came out northward. To Obed-edom southward; 16and to his sons the house of Asuppim. To Shuppim and to Hosah westward, at the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of ascent, one ward likeanother. 17Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and towards Asuppim two and two. 18At Parbar westward, four on19the causeway, and two at Parbar. These were the divisions of the porters for the sons of Kore, and for the sons of Merari. 8. The Administrators of the Treasures of the Sanctuary, with the Officers for the External Business: 1 Chronicles 23:20-3220 And the Levites their brethren were over the treasures of the house of 21God, and over the treasures of the holy things. The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonite of Ladan, chiefs of the Father-houses of Ladan the Gershonite, Jehieli. 22The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over thetreasures of the house of the Lord. 23Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the24Hebronites, and the Uzzielites. Shebuel son of Gershom, the son of Moses,was ruler of the treasures. 25And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelo-26moth his son. This Shelomoth and his brethren were over the treasures of the holy things, which David the king had dedicated, and the chiefs of the fathers, and the captains of thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host. 27Out of the wars and of the spoil they dedicated to maintain the house of the Lord. 28And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated; everything dedicated was under Shelomoth and his brethren. 29Of the Izharites was Chenaniah with his sons, for the outer business over30Israel, for officers and judges. Of the Hebronites were Hashabiah and his brethren, valiant men, a thousand and seven hundred, for the oversight of Israel on this side Jordan westward, for all the business of the Lord, and for 31the service of the king. Of the Hebronites was Jeriah the chief; for the Hebronites, in their generations for the fathers, in the fortieth year of the reign of David, they were sought, and there were found among them men of valour in Jazer of Gilead. 32And his brethren, valiant men, two thousand and seven hundred fathers of families; and David the king appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter of God, and of the king. Preliminary Remark, especially regarding the introductory notice, 1 Chronicles 23:1.—The connected survey of the condition, distribution, and ministerial functions of the tribe of Levi at the end of the reign of David, which fills the four 1 Chronicles 23-26 (and falls into eight subdivisions, as is noted in the superscriptions of the above translation), is introduced by the statement, 1 Chronicles 23:1, that the aged and life-weary King David appointed his son Solomon to be king over Israel, formally appointed him his successor on the throne, and regularly delivered over the kingdom to him. The numbering and classification of the Levites, and the order of their service in the sanctuary, appears accordingly to be the principal measure by which David introduces the transference of the kingdom to his successor. A survey of the state of his army and of his military and civil officers (1 Chronicles 27) is appended as the second of these measures, after which the final arrangements committed in solemn assembly to Solomon and the heads of the people, referring chiefly to the building of the temple (1 Chronicles 28, 29), form the close of these measures, and the immediate transition to the death of the king (1 Chronicles 29:26 ff). As sources in communicating these accounts of the order of the Levites and their service, the Chronist had no doubt liturgical precepts and statistical notes proceeding (mediately or immediately) from David, that λְּ ?ϊָ ?αγָּ ?εִ ?γ, which he mentions, 2 Chronicles 35:4, along with a ξִ ?λְ ?ϊַּ ?αωְׁ ?μֹ ?ξֹ ?δ, and which we may regard either as part of the royal annals of this king or as an independent document. Comp. Introd. § 5.—And David was old and full of days. ζָ ?χֵ ?ο is here not an adjective, but 3d p. perf. of the verb, as in Genesis 18:12; and so ωָׂ ?αַ ?ς with its accusative of restriction ιָ ?ξִ ?ιν, for which elsewhere usually the adj. ωְׂ ?αַ ?ςιָ ?ξִ ?ιν (Genesis 35:29; Job 12:17), or even ωָׂ ?αֵ ?ςַ alone (Genesis 25:8).—He made his son Solomon king over Israel. This notice does not perhaps forestall the more precise and definite statement of the appointment of Solomon to be king in 1 Chronicles 29:22 (which reports also the mode of appointment, by the anointing of the successor), but forms a general introduction to all that follows to the end of our book (comp. the similar general but not forestalling statement in 1 Chronicles 22:7), and serves to place all that is here related of the Levites, the military and civil officers, under the head of the last will and concluding acts of the king. A statement in many respects similar occurs in John 13:1, which characterizes all that follows to the end of this Gospel as a “loving of his own unto the end.” Against the opinion of Bertheau, that the Chronist has in our verse given briefly the contents of the narrative 1 Kings 1, the remarks of Keil suffice; comp. also our exegetical exposition of 1 Chronicles 29:22. 1. Enumeration of the Levites, and Arrangement of their Work: 1 Chronicles 23:2-5.—And he gathered all the princes of Israel. These, the representatives of the tribes, had to co-operate in this mustering and regulation of the Levites, because this was a general concern of the kingdom. The present account concerning the holding of a great census Levitarum in a solemn assembly of the spiritual and temporal chiefs of the people, shortly before the end of David, is confirmed by the passage 1 Chronicles 26:30 f., which speaks specially of the result of this muster “in the fortieth year of the reign of David” with regard to the family of Hebronites in Gilead. 1 Chronicles 23:3. And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upwards. This accords with the proceeding of Moses, who, Numbers 4:3; Numbers 4:23; Numbers 4:30; Numbers 4:39 ff., likewise numbers the Levites from thirty years of age (to fifty) for service in the sanctuary. But as he had already included younger men, namely, from twenty-five years of age (Numbers 8:23-26), David’s muster may also have extended not merely to those of thirty years and upwards, but rather, according to the express statement of 1 Chronicles 23:24, reached the Levites of twenty years and upwards. That this later statement does not contradict the present one, and that it is not necessary to amend our passage by inserting ςֶ ?ωְׂ ?ψִ ?ιν for ωְׁ ?μωִׁ ?ιν (Keil), see on 1 Chronicles 23:24.—By their polls in men, thus excluding women and children; the μִ ?βְ ?αָ ?ψִ ?ιν defining more exactly the μβμβμϊν. 1 Chronicles 23:4 f. contain the words of the king, as appears from the 1st perf. ςָ ?ωִׂ ?ιϊִ ?ι at the end of 1 Chronicles 23:5, for which the Sept. and Vulg. have unnecessarily, and only from ignorance of the true state of the matter, substituted the third person.—Of these, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of the Lord, the duties of the Levitical temple service in general, to which belonged not—a. the proper priestly functions (1 Chronicles 24:1-19); b. those of the Levitical civil and judicial officers (the ωׁ ?θψιν and ωׁ ?τθια, 1 Chronicles 23:4 b; comp. 1 Chronicles 26:29-32); c. those of the porters (1 Chronicles 23:5 a; comp. 26); d. those of the singers and musicians (1 Chronicles 23:5; comp. 25).—With instruments, which I have made for praise, which I have introduced to accompany the sacred singing in the service of God; comp. 2 Chronicles 29:26; Nehemiah 12:36; also Amos 6:5, where David is mentioned as inventor of sacred musical instruments. 2. The Twenty-four Houses of the Levites: 1 Chronicles 23:6-23.—And David divided them into courses for the sons of Levi. In his new muster and order of the Levitical houses he thus founded upon the three old well-known branches of this tribe (comp. 1 Chronicles 5:27–6:15). εַ ?ιֵּ ?ηָֽ ?μְ ?χֵ ?ν, for which, here and 1 Chronicles 24:3, R. D. Kimchi would read rather εַ ?ιֶּ ?ηֽ ?μְ ?χֵ ?ν (see Crit. Note), stands for εַ ?ιַּ ?ηְ ?μְ ?χֵ ?ν (comp. 1 Chronicles 24:4-5), and is merely a by-form of the imperf. Kal, not Piel, as Ges. and Ew. think. Bertheau asserts that not all the Levites, but only the 24,000 specially appointed for the service in the house of the Lord, are to be regarded as the object of ειημχν; and, in fact, 1 Chronicles 23:24 appears to favour this, as well as the circumstance that a great part of the names here enumerated recur in 1 Chronicles 24:20-31 and 1 Chronicles 26:20-28; whereas in the enumeration of the twenty-four classes of singers (25), porters (1 Chronicles 26:1-19), and officers, and judges (1 Chronicles 26:29-32), quite other names occur. What Keil adduces against this (p. 188) is by no means sufficient to invalidate it.—a. The Houses of the Gershonites: 1 Chronicles 23:7-11.—Of the Gershonites were Ladan and Shimi. In 1 Chronicles 6:2, as already in Exodus 6:17, Numbers 3:18, these two sons and founders of the two chief branches of the Gershonites are called Libni and Shimi. Our Ladan appears not to be identical with Libni, but rather to have been a descendant of this son of Gershon, after whom, in David’s time, a greater branch of the family was named. 1 Chronicles 23:8-9 analyze this branch of the Ladanites as falling into the two chief stems of the sons of Ladan and the sons of Shimi, a descendant of Libni, by name Shimi, not the brother of Ladan or Libni named in 1 Chronicles 23:7, whose branch is more fully described in 1 Chronicles 23:10-11. Those belonging to the branch of Ladan fall altogether into six houses, namely, three of the sons of Ladan (1 Chronicles 23:8) and three of the sons of Shimi (1 Chronicles 23:9). On the contrary, the descendants of the other Shimi (brother of Ladan, 1 Chronicles 23:10) form only four, or rather only three, houses, as the two youngest of the families belonging to them, Jeush and Beriah, from their numerical weakness, are included in one house, and also in one class (τְּ ?χֻ ?γָ ?δ, 1 Chronicles 23:11). The Gershonites, therefore, in David’s time counted in all nine houses.—b. The Houses of the Kohathites: 1 Chronicles 23:12-20.—Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. So are the four sons of Kohath named also in 1 Chronicles 5:28, 1 Chronicles 6:3, and previously in Exodus 6:18; Numbers 3:27.—Aaron was separated to sanctify him as most holy. So is μְ ?δַ ?χְ ?γִּ ?ιωׁ ?εֹ χֹ ?γֶ ?ωׁ χֳ ?γָ ?ωִׁ ?ιν to be understood of Aaron’s choice and anointment to be the most holy person of a high priest, not from his ministering in the most holy place (Vulg. ut ministraret in sancto sanctorum; likewise the Peschito), nor from his appointment to consecrate the most holy utensils (Clericus, against which see Hengsten. Christol. ii. 50, and Keil on the passage).—And to bless in His name for ever, in Jehovah’s name, to pronounce the blessing on the community (after the prescription of Moses, Numbers 6:23; Numbers 16:2; Deuteronomy 21:5); not to bless the name of Jehovah, or call upon Him, as Ges. and Berth, think. 1 Chronicles 23:14. And Moses the man of God, his sons were called after the tribe of Levi, were reckoned among the simple Levites, and not among the priests. On πִ ?χְ ?ψִ ?ΰςַ ?μ, comp. Genesis 48:6; Ezra 2:61; Nehemiah 7:63. 1 Chronicles 23:15. Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief, properly, “Gershom’s sons, Shebuel the chief;” comp. the numerous cases in which “sons” are announced, and yet only one follows, as 1 Chronicles 2:31, etc. That, moreover, Gershom had other sons, who were reckoned with the house of Shebuel (or Shubael, as he is called in 1 Chronicles 24:20), appears to follow from 1 Chronicles 23:17, where it is expressly said of Eliezer that he had no sons besides Rehabiah. Shebuel and Rehabiah therefore were the names of the houses of the family of Amram that sprang from Moses. To these two non-sacerdotal houses of the Kohathites are to be added, according to 1 Chronicles 23:18-20, of the family of Izhar, the house of Shelomith (or Shelomoth, 1 Chronicles 24:22); of the family of Hebron four houses, Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekamam; of the family of Uzziel two, Micah and Jesiah,—in all, nine Levitical houses of Kohathite origin.—c. The Houses of the Merarites: 1 Chronicles 23:21-23—The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. So are called the two sons of Merari also, 1 Chronicles 6:4; Exodus 6:19; Numbers 3:33; whereas in 1 Chronicles 24:27 a third son of Merari is named, Jaaziah, the founder of the three houses of Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri. The conjecture is obvious, that the name of this Jaaziah with his three sons has fallen out of our passage by an old oversight, as Bertheau assumes when he supplements the text of our passage from 1 Chronicles 24:26-27. But, 1. The Sept., Vulg., and Syr. present our text, that gives only two sons of Merari; 2. The books of Moses, and indeed the whole of the Old Testament elsewhere, know nothing of a third son of Merari and his descendants; 3. The passage 1 Chronicles 24:26-27 bears manifest traces of an interpolation in itself, by which the name Jaaziah must have come into the text; 4. The names of the supposed sons of Jaaziah occur nowhere else, with the exception of Zaccur alone (see 1 Chronicles 25:2); 5. The only gain that the assumption of the names in question into our text could be,—that, namely, the number of the Merarite houses should be brought up to six, and so a total of twenty-four houses of Levites should be shown in our section (nine Gershonite, nine Kohathite, and six Merarite), analogous to the number of twenty-four houses and classes of priests (1 Chronicles 24), and of twenty-four classes of singers (1 Chronicles 25), and corresponding with the express assertion of Josephus (Antiq. vii. 14. 7), that David divided the Levites into twenty-four classes,—this single gain is lost by this, that there should be not twenty-four but twenty-five houses resulting from the addition of the three sons of Jaaziah, as our passage (1 Chronicles 23:21-23) derives not three but four houses from Merari: one from Mahli (named after Eleazar the father of the heiress, or after his brother Kish, and then after Jerahmeel, chief son of this Kish; see 1 Chronicles 24:29), and three from Mushi, namely, Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth. Now of these three sons of Mushi, Bertheau will certainly exclude from the text the first, Mahli, on account of his identity of name with Mahli the brother of Mushi, to obtain the desired result of six Merarite houses; but the arbitrariness of this procedure is obviously greater and more unjustifiable than the boldness of our condemnation of the 1 Chronicles 23:26-27 in 1 Chronicles 24 as interpolated, that has sufficient ground in the clearly corrupt text of this verse. It necessarily follows that our section yields only four Merarite, and therefore in all only twenty-two Levitical houses. 3. Closing Remarks respecting the Levites: 1 Chronicles 23:24-32.—These are the sons of Levi. . .for those mustered, μִ ?τְ ?χεּ ?γֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν (comp. Exodus 30:14, Numbers 1:21 ff., as on the following words: “by the number of the names,” Numbers 1:18; Numbers 3:43).—Doing the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ςωֶֹׁ ?δδַ ?ξְּ ?μָ ?ΰλָ ?δ is, as also in 2 Chronicles 34:10; 2 Chronicles 34:13, Ezra 3:9, Nehemiah 2:16, not sing, but plur.=ςωֵֹׁ ?ιδַ ?ξְּ ?μΧ, and differing only in writing from this regular form (that occurs, for example, 2 Chronicles 24:13); comp. Ew. § 16, b.—From twenty years old and upwards. This statement, that the twentieth year is fixed as the starting-point for the entrance of the Levites on their official duties, is more exactly explained in the following words, by reference to the lighter labour which fell upon the Levites when the wandering life of the wilderness ceased,—a conclusion that is not fully expressed, but indicated clearly enough by 1 Chronicles 23:25-26. 1 Chronicles 23:27. For by the last words of David these were, etc. Thus it is obvious we are to understand the orders of David issued shortly before his end by the words αְּ ?γִ ?αְ ?ψֵ ?ιγָ ?εγδָ ?ΰַֽ ?ηֲ ?ψεֹ ?πִ ?ιν (with the Vulg.: juxta pr�cepta David novissima, and so Clericus, J. H. Mich., Keil, etc.), not “in the later histories of David” (Kimchi, Berth.),—a conception which imports into the text a thought quite foreign to the context, and by no means justified by referring to 1 Chronicles 29:29. Even because a last arrangement of David is now expressly named as the ground of the introduction of Levites of twenty years into the sacred service, it is to be assumed that that statement in 1 Chronicles 23:3 respecting the entrants at the age of thirty years refers to an earlier numeration, in which David had adhered to the legal determination in Numbers 3:23; Numbers 3:30 (so Kimchi, J. H. Mich., and others), though the words and the connection of that passage, especially the circumstance that there the number 38,000 is given as the result of the muster, and that here no greater number takes its place, may not appear to favour such a distinction between an earlier and a later muster. It is conceivable, though not indicated by our author, that David may have established a distinction of classes, in such a way that he introduced the Levites of twenty years to the lower and easier duties, and those of thirty years to the higher and holier functions. At all events, any mode of harmonizing the two accounts appears more reasonable than the expedient of Bertheau, that the Chronist placed side by side two different accounts, the one giving twenty, the other thirty, years, without explanation as they were found in his sources, or than the emendation of Keil, who changes ωְׁ ?μωִׁ ?ιν, 1 Chronicles 23:3, into ςֶ ?ωְׂ ?ψִ ?ιν. 1 Chronicles 23:28-31. Here follows an enumeration of the duties to be performed by the Levites, rising from the lower and more external (referring to the court and its chambers, to purification and the like) to the higher, and closing with the assistance given in the sacrifices of the great feasts.—And for the shew - bread, that is, the preparation, not the presentation of it, which belonged exclusively to the priests (Leviticus 24:8 ff.).—And pancakes, properly, “the pan,” comp. Leviticus 2:5.—And that which is fried (Leviticus 6:14), and all measures of capacity and length, for measuring flour, oil, and wine, which were added to the sacrifices, which the Levites had to clean and keep (comp. Exodus 29:40; Exodus 30:24; Leviticus 19:35).—And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. This naturally refers to the duties of the 4000 Levitical singers and musicians (1 Chronicles 23:5; comp. 1 Chronicles 25); for here are enumerated the offices of all classes of the Levites, not merely of the 24,000 (against Berth.).—And to offer all burnt-offerings to the Lord. “Hereby the Levites were obliged to prepare the requisite number of victims, to examine the fitness of them, to slay the animals, to flay them, etc.” (Keil.)—By number after the order of them continually before the Lord, that is, by number as they are to be presented continually before the Lord, according to the prescriptions of the law regarding them. The ϊָּ ?ξִ ?ιγ continually refers to “the offering” (δַֽ ?ςֲ ?μεֹ ?ϊςֹ ?μεֹ ?ϊ) as a business recurring regularly on the appointed day; comp. ςֹ ?μεֹ ?ϊϊָּ ?ξִ ?ιγ, Numbers 27:6, etc. 1 Chronicles 23:32. And they shall keep the charge of the tent of meeting (“the temple,” comp. Numbers 18:4), and the charge of the sanctuary (of all holy things connected with worship, Numbers 18:5), and the charge of the sons of Aaron (the care of all that the priests enjoin upon them, all the help given to the priests). On this particular recapitulation of all the functions of the Levites, comp. the similar passage, Numbers 18:3 ff. Footnotes: For ςָ ?ωִׂ ?ιϊִ ?ι the Sept. (ἐποίησεν) and Vulg. (fecerat) have the 3rd person. But see Exeg. Expl. For εַ ?ιֵּ ?ηָֽ ?μְ ?χֵ ?ν read (here and 1 Chronicles 24:3) εַ ?ιֶּ ?ηָֽ ?μְ ?χֵ ?ν. See Exeg. Expl. So the Keri: in the Kethib the name is Shelomoth. The same difference appears in another Shelomith, 1 Chronicles 26:25. For εְ ?ΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζ is perhaps to be read εְ ?ΰֶ ?ηָ ?γ (with L. Cappell., H. Grotius, Gesen., etc.), as some late and unimportant mss. in de Rossi exhibit in the var. lect. The insertion of ηֶ ?αְ ?ψεֹ ?ο after αְּ ?πֵ ?ι (Luther., Bert., and most moderns) is certainly confirmed neither by the Hebrew Cod. nor by the old translations (Sept., Vulg., etc.). but appears necessary from 1 Chronicles 23:19. So the Keri the Kethib has Shamur: the old Vers. (Sept. Σαμήρ, Vulg. Samir) as the Keri. Before αְּ ?πι a name seems to have fallen out. The text in 1 Chronicles 23:26-27 is corrupt. See the Exeg. Expl. Properly, “and Shoham” (εְ ?ωֹׁ ?δָ ?ν). After the name of Eleazar the Sept. (cod. Vat.) adds καὶ ’Ιθάμαρ, καὶἀπέθανεν ’Ελεάζαρ, a gloss which is wanting in A E F X. The Kethib δπαιΰιν is an error of transcription for the certainly correct Keri δַ ?πִּ ?αָּ ?ΰִ ?ιν (Partic. Niph.); comp. the sing. δַ ?πִּ ?αָּ ?ΰ in 1 Chronicles 25:2-3, and see Exeg. Expl. After μְ ?ιεֹ ?ρֵ ?σ, the notice constantly recurring in the following verses: “his sons and his brethren, twelve,” appears to have fallen out by an oversight. Yet it is to be observed that this notice in 1 Chronicles 25:9 b, after πְּ ?γַ ?μְ ?ιָ ?δεּ δַ ?ωֵּׁ ?πִ ?ι, is different from that in all subsequent cases, namely, “he and his brethren and his sons” (ΰֶ ?ηָ ?ιε before, not αָּ ?πָ ?ιε, as afterwards), whence it is probable that the writer did not mention with the first singer the eleven companions, whom he preceded as the twelfth. For ΰρσ, according to 1 Chronicles 9:19, ΰֶ ?αְ ?ιָ ?ρָ ?σ appears to have been read, though no external evidence confirms this conjecture. μְ ?ωֻׁ ?τִּ ?ιν (Sept. τῷΣεφιείν; but cod. Vat. εἰςδεύτερον) appears to have come into the text by the repetition of the last two syllables of the foregoing δָ ?ΰֲ ?ρֻ ?τִּ ?ιν, which was perhaps aided by an obscure remembrance of the root ωֻׁ ?τִּ ?ιν, 1 Chronicles 7:12. So according to the Sept. (ΚαὶοἱΛευῖταιἀδελφοὶαὐτῶν), which has here certainly the right text; comp. δַֽ ?μְ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?νΰֲ ?ηֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν, 2 Chronicles 29:34. If the ΰֲ ?ηִ ?ιִּ ?δ of the Masoretic text be original, ξֵ ?δַֽ ?μְ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?ν must have stood in place of εְ ?δַֽ ?μְ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?ν (comp. the Vulg., which has wholly omitted that εδμειν). Kethib: ωְׁ ?μֹ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ; Keri: ωְׁ ?μֹ ?ξִ ?ιϊ (comp. 1 Chronicles 23:9). The Kethib is proved by 1 Chronicles 23:26 to be more correct, though the name recurs, 1 Chronicles 23:28, as ωְׁ ?μֹ ?ξִ ?ιϊ without variation. For μְ ?ωָׂ ?ψֵ ?ιΞδָֽ ?ΰֲ ?μָ ?τִ ?ιν should apparently be read εְ ?ωָׂ ?ψֵ ?ιΞδΧ; comp. 1 Chronicles 29:6. For the Chapter 24 passage and footnotes, see 1 Chronicles 23:1 ff.4. The Twenty-four Classes of Priests: 1 Chronicles 24:1-19.—The enumeration of these follows quite suitably after the foregoing passage, particularly after 1 Chronicles 23:32; comp. the “sons of Aaron” with that in 1 Chronicles 24:1 of our chapter.—The sons of Aaron: Nadab and Abihu, etc. Comp. on this introduction to the Davidic regulations referring to the Mosaic time in 1 Chronicles 24:1-2, 1 Chronicles 5:29, and Exodus 6:23; Leviticus 10:1; Numbers 3:4. 1 Chronicles 24:3. And David distributed them, so that Zadok of the sons of Eleazar. For ειημχν, comp. on 1 Chronicles 23:6; for Zadok and Abiathar, on 1 Chronicles 5:30, 1 Chronicles 16:39, 1 Chronicles 18:16; for τְּ ?χֻ ?γָּ ?δ, official class, on 1 Chronicles 23:11. 1 Chronicles 24:4. And the sons of Eleazar were found more numerous in chief men. These “men” (βְּ ?αָ ?ψִ ?ιν), of whom Eleazar had twice as many in heads or chiefs (ψָ ?ΰωִׁ ?ιν) as Ithamar, are the chiefs, not of the great complex of families or houses (Berth.), but of the several families, the fathers, chiefs of the several priestly homes. 1 Chronicles 24:5. And they divided them. The subject is David, Zadok, and Ahimelech, to whom naturally this matter belonged.—One with the other, literally, “ these with those,” those of Eleazar with those of Ithamar; comp. 1 Chronicles 25:8.—For the holy princes and the princes of God. On the former phrase, comp. Isaiah 43:28, and the parallel phrase: “princes of the priests,” ωָׂ ?ψֵ ?ιδַ ?λֹּ ?δֲ ?πִ ?ιν, 2 Chronicles 36:14; on the second (Sept. ἄρχοντεςκυρίου) the equivalent: “high priests, upper priests.” For the princes of priests and high priests from Ithamar, who were far behind those of the line of Eleazar in number and importance, comp. on 2 Chronicles 5:30. 1 Chronicles 24:6. Wrote them, namely, the classes, as the lot determined.—One father-house being taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar, that is, alternately, from the urn containing the lots for Eleazar, and then from that containing the lots for Ithamar (so ΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζ signifies; comp. Numbers 31:30; Numbers 31:47), that none might seem preferred before the other. And, indeed, this alternation in drawing the lots might have been so managed, that, on account of the double number of the families of Eleazar, two lots for Eleazar might be drawn for every one for Ithamar (comp. Berth.). Whether this mode of drawing lots be indicated by the doubling of the ΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζ in the second place(εְ ?ΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζμְ ?ΰִ ?ιϊָ ?ξָ ?ψ), as Berth, thinks, is more than doubtful. Notwithstanding the almost universal agreement of the mss. respecting this double ΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζ, and the fact that the old translators and the Rabbis did not understand the passage, the alteration of the first ΰָ ?ηֻ ?ζ into ΰֶ ?ηָ ?γ (see Crit. Note) appears to be the only means of obtaining a correct conception of these otherwise dark words. 1 Chronicles 24:7 ff. The names of the twenty-four classes are now given in order, as they were settled by lot.—And the first lot came out of the urn; comp. for ιφΰ in this sense, Joshua 16:1; Joshua 19:1. Jehoiarib and Jedaiah, the names of the first two classes, are so named together in 1 Chronicles 9:10. For Jedaiah, comp., besides Ezra 2:36, Nehemiah 7:39; for Jehoiarib, as the class from which Mattathias and the Maccabees sprang, 1Ma 2:1; for Abijah, as the class of Zacharias the father of John the Baptist, Luke 1:5; for the classes of Immer (1 Chronicles 24:14) and Jachin (1 Chronicles 24:17), 1 Chronicles 9:10; 1 Chronicles 9:12. Some of the twenty-four classes never occur again, namely, Seorim (1 Chronicles 24:8), Jeshehah (1 Chronicles 24:13), and Hapizez (1 Chronicles 24:15), some at least not among the priests, as Mijamin (1 Chronicles 24:9), Huppah (1 Chronicles 24:13), and Gamul (1 Chronicles 24:17). With respect to the name Pethahiah (1 Chronicles 24:16), Holzhausen (Die Weissagungen des Joel όbers. und erklδrt, Gφtt. 1829) has propounded the quite arbitrary conjecture that it is identical with Pethuel (τְּ ?ϊεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ = τְּ ?ϊַ ?ηְ ?ιָ ?δ) the father of the prophet Joel,—a conjecture which is of almost as much value as that of Raschi, who would identify Pethuel the father of Joel with Samuel (comp. R. Wόnsche, Die Weissagungen des Joel, 1872, p. 1). 1 Chronicles 24:19. According to their order by Aaron their father, as the Lord … had commanded him. Comp. the words occurring so often in the law: “And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron” (for example, Numbers 4:1; Numbers 4:17), and similar Pentateuchic testimonies for the regulation of the priestly service according to the divine command.—The credibility of the present statements of the Chronist regarding the origin of the twenty-four classes of priests, and their order in the service by David, is attested by Ezekiel 8:16-18 (see the exposition of the passage), Nehemiah 12:1-7; Nehemiah 12:12-21, and by Josephus, Antiq. vii. 14. 1 Chronicles 7 : διέμεινενοὗτοςὁμερισμὸςἄχριτῆςσήμερονἡμέρας, Against the assertion made by de Wette and Gramberg, and defended by Herzberg (Gesch. des v. Israel, i. 381 ff.), that the twenty-four classes originated after the exile, see Movers, Chronik, p. 279 ff., and Oehler in Herzog’s Real Encycl. xii. 185 ff. 5. The Classes of the Levites: 1 Chronicles 24:20-31.—And for the remaining sons of Levi, after the enumeration of the priests. By this might be understood all the Levites except the family of Aaron or the priests; but as in the two following chapters the twenty-four orders of singers and the divisions of the porters and of those charged with external duties are enumerated apart, it seems necessary to suppose that the present section speaks only of the Levites employed in worship, and not of the whole body. They are “the brethren of Aaron,” the Levites specially assigned to the priests as assistants in divine service, whose division into classes is here described. Only on this assumption is explained the otherwise very surprising, indeed inconceivable, incompleteness of the present list of Levitical classes, compared with that of the Levitical houses named in 1 Chronicles 23:6-23, which embraces all the three families, the Kohathites, the Merarites, and the Gershonites, whereas the Gershonites are wholly excluded from the present list. This exclusion seems to have its ground in this, that, 1 Chronicles 26:20 ff., several Gershonite houses had the charge over the treasures of the sanctuary, and also the duties of officers and judges (although this is not expressly stated) were partly discharged by the Gershonites. So at least Keil, whereas others certainly, as Berth., regard our list as laid out for a full enumeration of all the Levitical classes or houses, but from some cause (perhaps “because the author was not able to make out all the names of the classes”) no longer fully preserved. The list, for the at least often defective character of which the elucidation of the details will afford more than one proof, begins after omitting the Gershonites, 1 Chronicles 24:20, at once with the classes of the Kohathites.—For the sons of Amram, Shubael was the chief or head of a class; obviously the son of Gershom son of Moses, therefore grandson of Amram, who is called Shebuel 1 Chronicles 23:16. The same double spelling of this name is found also 1 Chronicles 25:4; 1 Chronicles 25:20, in a family of singers of the house of Heman. As chief of the class springing from Shubael was, in David’s time, Jehdeiah, a person otherwise unknown, whose name, 1 Chronicles 27:30, is also borne by an officer of David. 1 Chronicles 24:21 ff. Other chiefs of classes are now named—1. For the Amramite class, Isshiah (different from the one named 1 Chronicles 24:25). 2. For the Izharite class, Jahath (1 Chronicles 24:22). 3. For the Uzzielite class of Micah, Shamir (1 Chronicles 24:24). 4. For the Uzzielite class of Isshiah, Zechariah (1 Chronicles 24:25). In this kind of enumeration, it is strange that in 1 Chronicles 24:23, where we should expect to find the chiefs of some classes of the great Hebronite family (1 Chronicles 23:19), only the names of the four chiefs or founders of the Hebronite houses, Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekamam, are mentioned, quite as in 1 Chronicles 23:19, and indeed introduced by a mere εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι before the name of the first ιְ ?ψִ ?ιָּ ?δεּ. There can be no doubt that the text is here defective. It is probable that not merely the name ηֶ ?αְ ?ψεֹ ?ο is to be inserted after εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ι (see Crit. Note), but that also the names of the four chiefs in David’s time have fallen out after those of the four classes. 1 Chronicles 24:26-27 bear still clearer marks of the corruption of the present text, perhaps even of its complete spuriousness, than 1 Chronicles 24:23 (comp. partly the Crit. Notes and partly the Exeg. Expl. of 1 Chronicles 23:21-23). Especially strange is—1. The αְּ ?πֵ ?ιιַ ?‍ ?ֽ ?ςֲ ?ζִ ?ιָּ ?δεּ in 1 Chronicles 24:26 b, detached from that which goes before (instead of ‬ ?εּ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ιιΨ). 2. The αְּ ?πεֹ in the same place, that cannot possibly be taken for a proper name (with some older exegetes), but rather indicates that a proper name had fallen out before it. 3. The repetition of αְּ ?πֵ ?ιξְ ?ψָ ?ψִ ?ι at the beginning of 1 Chronicles 24:27, which appears to presume a wholly different mode of enumeration from that which is usual from 1 Chronicles 24:20 on. 4. The copula εְ before ωֹׁ ?δַ ?ν, as first of the sons of Jaaziah, in 1 Chronicles 24:27 b. To all this are to be added the reasons which make improbable the existence of a Jaaziah as third son of Merari along with Mahli and Mushi; see on 1 Chronicles 23:21 f. The spurious character of the two verses appears therefore almost certain, though they are attested by the Sept., Syr., and the Vulg.—For 1 Chronicles 24:28-29, comp. likewise the remark on 1 Chronicles 23:21 ff. 1 Chronicles 24:30. And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. As in 1 Chronicles 24:23, so here it is strange to name the houses without stating the chiefs of the classes taken from them. The text appears here also to be defective. 1 Chronicles 24:31. And these also cast lots like their brethren the sons of Aaron. From this manifestation of the quite analogous character of the allotment of the Levites and the priests (1 Chronicles 24:1-19), it is highly probable that the number of the Levitical classes (as also that of the singers in the following chapter) was likewise twenty-four, although in the present text, the partial defectiveness of which is obvious, and needs no further proof, only fifteen chiefs of classes are expressly named.—The fathers, the chief like his younger brother; that is, the eldest brother representing the house, as well as his younger brother (for δָ ?ψֹ ?ΰωׁ, in apposition with the father-house, comp. on 1 Chronicles 23:17-18). Quite correct in sense the Vulg.: “tam minores, quam majores; omnes sors ζqualiter dividebat.” That nothing is communicated to us of the order of the several classes, as they were settled by lot, completes the impression of the great defectiveness which characterizes this section. For the Chapter 25 passage and footnotes, see 1 Chronicles 23:1 ff.6. The Twenty-four Classes of Singers: 1 Chronicles 25.—And David and the captains of the host separated. “Captains of the host”(ωׂ ?ψιδφαΰ) are those partakers in the legislative and judicial government of David who were designated, 1 Chronicles 24:6, merely as “princes,” 1 Chronicles 23:2, as “princes of Israel.” The designation explains itself from the conception of Israel as the host of the Lord (Exodus 12:17; Exodus 12:41), not from that of the Levites as an army, or their doings as a military service (Numbers 4:23).—The sons of Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun. The μְ before ΰָ ?ρָ ?σ is here nota accusativi; comp. Ezra 8:24. For the genealogy of the three song-masters, of whom Asaph was a Gershonite, Heman a Kohathite, and Jeduthun a Merarite, see 1 Chronicles 6:18; 1 Chronicles 6:24; 1 Chronicles 6:29 ff.—Who prophesied with harps, or showed themselves inspired with harps; for “the really artificial play is, like every art, an expression of inspiration or enthusiasm ” (Berth.); comp. Exodus 31:3, and for the Keriδַ ?πִּ ?αָּ ?ΰִ ?ιν as alone admissible, the Crit. Note.—And the number of the workmen for the service was. For the position of the genitive ΰַ ?πְ ?ωֵׁ ?ιεβεΧ after the governing ξִ ?ρְ ?τָ ?ψ with suffix, comp. the similar construction πַ ?τְ ?ωׁ ?εֹ ςָ ?φֵ ?μ, “his the sluggard’s soul,” Proverbs 13:4 (Ew. § 309, c). That statements are actually made in the sequel concerning the number of the Levitical musicians appears from 1 Chronicles 25:3-5, where the families of them are referred to: four sons of Asaph (1 Chronicles 25:2, without express mention of the number four), six sons of Jeduthun, and fourteen sons of Heman; and also from 1 Chronicles 25:7, where the sum of all the singers of these families is stated to be 288. 1 Chronicles 25:2. Sons of Asaph under Asaph, literally, “by the hand,” or “at the hand,” of Asaph, that is, led by him. ςַ ?μΞιַ ?γ here means the same as in the 1 Chronicles 25:3; 1 Chronicles 25:6, ςַ ?μΞιγֵ ?ι, “at the hands,” under the guidance or order. 1 Chronicles 25:3. For Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun were Gedaliah, or, “as to Jeduthun (the family of Jeduthun), the sons of Jeduthun,” etc. As the number of these “sons of Jeduthun” (perhaps disciples trained by him; comp., for this figurative import of the term’ “sons” in our section, on 1 Chronicles 25:7) is expressly stated to be six, and yet only five are here named, hence one name must have fallen out, and, indeed, according to 1 Chronicles 25:17, that of Shimi, the only one that is wanting in our verses, while all the other twenty-three names recur (1 Chronicles 25:9-31).—Under their father Jeduthun on the harp, or “under the guidance of their father Jeduthun on the harp;” αַּ ?λִּ ?πּ ?εֹ ?ψ belongs to ιְ ?γεּ ?ϊεּ ?ο. For the following: “ who prophesied (or ‘ was inspired”) to thank and praise the Lord,’ comp. 1 Chronicles 14:4; 2 Chronicles 5:13. 1 Chronicles 25:4. Giddalti and Romamti-ezer. The genitive ςֶ ?ζֶ ?ψ probably belongs also to βִּ ?γַּ ?μְ ?ϊִּ ?ι, so that the full name of this son of Heman is Giddalti-ezer (though in 1 Chronicles 25:9 this is not expressly stated). 1 Chronicles 25:5. All these were the sons of Heman, the king’s seer m the words of God. Heman is so called as mediator of divine revelations for the king; comp. 2 Chronicles 35:15, where the same predicate is applied to Jeduthun, and 1 Chronicles 21:9, where Gad is introduced as David’s seer.—To lift up the horn; and God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. The rich blessing of descendants is here, as elsewhere (for example, Job 42:13; Psalms 127:3 f.; also 1 Chronicles 26:5), represented as a lifting up of the horn, that is, the might and consequence of the person concerned; comp. for δֵ ?ψִ ?ινχֶ ?ψֶ ?ο (which does not mean to “sound the horn,” as Berth., misled by the certainly erroneous Masoretic accentuation, supposes) in this figurative sense, for example, 1 Samuel 2:10 (Luke 1:78); Lamentations 2:17; Psalms 89:18; Psalms 92:11; Psalms 148:14. 1 Chronicles 25:6. All these were under their father, literally, “ under the guidance of their father.” The genitive ΰֲ ?αִ ?ιδֶ ?ν is distributive, and does not refer specially to Heman (Berth.); for by “all these” our verse clearly points to all enumerated from 1 Chronicles 25:2, and not merely to Heman’s sons, 1 Chronicles 25:4-5.—Under the king, with Asaph, and jeduthun, and Heman. That here, by the ςַ ?μΞιְ ?γֵ ?ι referring to δַ ?ξֶּ ?μֶ ?κְ and the three following names, David appears co-ordinated with the three song-masters, is explained by his having co-operated With them in the first arrangement and institution of the service of song. 1 Chronicles 25:7. And their number…all that were cunning, were two hundred eighty and eight. This total of 288, or 24 x 12, as the sequel (1 Chronicles 25:9 ff.) shows, is explained by this, that each of the twenty-four (4 + 6 + 14) sons of Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman, with, his eleven “brethren,” not his nearest kindred, but rather his companions in calling, was incorporated into one class or choir of twelve musicians, so that thus there were twenty-four such dodecades. These 288 musicians were designated “all the cunning” (λָּ ?μΞδַ ?ξֵּ ?αִ ?ιο), as by instruction and practice they were entrusted with the art of sacred singing, and were able to train the great body of singers (the 4000 who, 1 Chronicles 25:8, are distinguished from them as “scholars,” ϊַּ ?μְ ?ξִ ?ιγִ ?ιν). 1 Chronicles 25:8. And they cast lots for the charge, βּ ?εֹ ?ψָ ?μεֹ ?ϊξִ ?ωְׁ ?ξֶ ?ψֶ ?ϊ, properly, “lots of service” (κλήρουςἐφημεριῶν, Sept.).—The small as the great, the teacher with the scholar. To μְ ?ςֻ ?ξַּ ?ϊ belongs λַּ ?χָּ ?θֹ ?ολַּ ?βָּ ?γεֹ ?μ as genitive: “ in the way of as the small so the great” (comp. Ecclesiastes 5:15 and Ew. § 360, a.). The repetition of a ξִ ?ωְׁ ?ξֶ ?ψֶ ?ϊ after μְ ?ςֻ ?ξַּ ?ϊ, which some mss. present, and some Rabbinical expositors, as Raschi and Kimchi, demand, is an unnecessary attempt to amend and interpret. The passage says that the whole of the Levites destined for the service of song, the leaders as well as the choristers, the 288 ξֵ ?αִ ?ιπִ ?ιν as well as the 3712 ϊַּ ?μְ ?ξִ ?ιγִ ?ιν, were chosen by lot; and so the regularly exchanging classes, or ἐφημερίαι, included both kinds of singers. 1 Chronicles 25:9-31. The Result of the Lot.—And the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, literally, “for Asaph, (namely) for Joseph” his son. The μְ “for” or “on,” is usually omitted in the following. For the question whether the words “his son and his brethren twelve” (or, “he and his sons and his brethren”—together—“twelve”), which stand after the following twenty-three names, have fallen out after μְ ?ιεֹ ?ρֵ ?σ, or were intentionally omitted, see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 25:11. The fourth to Izri, his sons. This Izri is called Zeri in 1 Chronicles 25:3, as several other names in this list vary in spelling and form from those in 1 Chronicles 25:2-4,—namely, Nethanjahu and Hananjahu, 1 Chronicles 25:12; 1 Chronicles 25:23 (for Nethaniah, Hananiah, 1 Chronicles 25:2; 1 Chronicles 25:4); Hashabiah, 1 Chronicles 25:19 (for Hashabjahu, 1 Chronicles 25:3); Jesharelah, 1 Chronicles 25:14 (for Asharelah, 1 Chronicles 25:2); Azarel, 1 Chronicles 25:18 (for Uzziel, 1 Chronicles 25:4; comp. the various forms of the royal name Uzziah-Azariah, 1 Chronicles 3:12; 2 Chronicles 26:1); Shubael, 1 Chronicles 25:20 (for Shebuel, 1 Chronicles 25:4); Jeremoth, 1 Chronicles 25:22 (for Jerimoth, 1 Chronicles 25:4); Elijathah, 1 Chronicles 25:27 (for Eliathah, 1 Chronicles 25:4). For the absence of Shimi, 1 Chronicles 25:17, in the former list, see on 1 Chronicles 25:3. The various deviations in the spelling and formation of the names deepen the impression of the historical character, for which the whole account of singing-classes vouches. That of the twenty-four names of the leaders only one, that of Mattithiah, 1 Chronicles 25:21, occurs elsewhere (1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:21, in the account of the removal of the ark), proves nothing against the credibility of the present double list, the arbitrary invention of which would be far more difficult to conceive than the assumption of its resting on ancient and genuine documents. With regard to the series of names in 1 Chronicles 25:9-31, what is remarked by Keil suffices for its explanation :—“The series is so determined by lot, that the four sons of Asaph hold the first, third, fifth, and seventh places; the six sons of Jeduthun, the second, fourth, eighth, tenth, twelfth, and fourteenth places; lastly, the four sons of Heman mentioned in 1 Chronicles 25:4, the sixth, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth places; and the remaining places, 15–24, fall to the remaining sons of Heman. Hence it follows that the lots of the sons of the three song-masters were not put in separate urns, and one lot drawn from each urn in succession, but all the lots were united in one urn, and, in drawing, the lots of Asaph and Jeduthun so came out, that after the fourteenth drawing only the sons of Heman remained.” This simple explanation of the order of the names is certainly preferable to the artificial assumption of Bertheau, that “two series of seven each were first put in the urns, and one drawn from each of these alternately, and then the remaining ten sons of Heman were put in.” For the Chapter 26 passage and footnotes, see 1 Chronicles 23:1 ff.7. The Classes of Porters: 1 Chronicles 26:1-19.—To the Korhites was Meshelemiah. Comp. 1 Chronicles 26:14, where the name is Shelemiah. On the patronymic δַ ?χֹּ ?ψָ ?ηִ ?ιν, “the Korhites,” comp. 1 Chronicles 9:19, where also the names Kore and Abiasaph occurred. That “Asaph” is a slip of the pen appears from this, that, 1 Chronicles 6:24 ff., Asaph belongs to the descendants of Gershon, not, as the Korhites, to that of Kohath. 1 Chronicles 26:2. Zechariah the firstborn. This son of Meshelemiah occurs also 1 Chronicles 9:21 and in 1 Chronicles 26:14. 1 Chronicles 26:4-8. Obed-edom and his Descendants.—And Obed-edom had sons. This Obed-edom, already occurring 1 Chronicles 15:18; 1 Chronicles 15:24, and 1 Chronicles 16:38, is called in the latter place a son of Jeduthun, not of the well-known song-master of the house of Merari, for the account of the Merarite porters begins in 1 Chronicles 26:10, but of some other unknown Korhite of the same name, as appears from 1 Chronicles 26:1 comp. with 1 Chronicles 26:19. 1 Chronicles 26:6. And to Shemaiah … were born sons that ruled in the house of their father, properly, “the lordships (δַ ?ξִּ ?ξְ ?ωָׁ ?μִ ?ιν, abstr. pro concr. for δַ ?ξִּ ?ωְׁ ?μִ ?ιν; comp. Ew. § 160, b) of the house of their father.” 1 Chronicles 26:7. And Obed, Elzabad, his brethren. The missing copula εְ is to be supplied before ΰֶ ?μְ ?ζָ ?αָ ?γ as before ΰֶ ?ηָ ?ιε. Then the strong men, Elihu and Semachiah, are named as Elzabad’s brethren. That the names of the brethren are not stated (Berth.) is less probable. 1 Chronicles 26:8. Strong men of ability for service. The sing. ΰִ ?ιωׁ ?Ξηַ ?ιִ ?μ is in apposition with the λָּ ?μ standing at the beginning of the verse (or such a λָּ ?μ is to be supplied before it). 1 Chronicles 26:9. And Meshelemiah … eighteen. By this appended statement of the number of Meshelemiah’s family, the sum of the Korhite porters is fixed at eighty. 1 Chronicles 26:10-11. And Hosah, of the sons of Merari. This Hosah occurred before, 1 Chronicles 16:38, along with Obededom as porter.—Shimri the chief; for he was not the first-born, that is, because none of the families springing from Hosah possessed the birthright (perhaps because the eldest son had died without male heirs), the father named Shimri, the strongest and cleverest of his sons, chief of the family. 1 Chronicles 26:11. All the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. Hence the whole number of all the porters here named is ninety-three (62 + 18 + 13). On the relation of this number to the statement in 1 Chronicles 9:22, that the porters were in all 212, see on the passage; comp. also 1 Chronicles 16:38. 1 Chronicles 26:12-19. The Division of Porters according to the several Stations at which they were to serve.—To these divisions of the porters, to the chiefs of the men. For this explicative μְ ?ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ιδַ ?βְּ ?αָ ?ψִ ?ιν, comp. on 1 Chronicles 24:4; for the following statement respecting the division of the stations by lot, 1 Chronicles 25:8.—For every gate, literally, “for gate and gate.” These are the gates of the four-sided temple, facing the four quarters of heaven. 1 Chronicles 26:14. And for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, literally, “one counselling with prudence;” on what this strange predicate rests is unknown. Before ζְ ?λַ ?ψְ ?ιָ ?δεּ we are to repeat μְ. 1 Chronicles 26:15. To Obed-edom … and to his sons the house of Asuppim, namely, to guard. This αֵּ ?ιϊΞδָ ?ΰֲ ?ρֻ ?τִּ ?ιν, “house of collections” (comp. Nehemiah 12:25), must have been a place for keeping the sacred stores for the temple service, a temple magazine, situated in the court near the south gate, and, as appears from 1 Chronicles 26:17, had two entrances to guard. No particulars of it are known. “The translation of the Vulg.: in qua parte erat seniorum concilium, appears to rest upon the explanation of the word ΰρτιν by ‘assembly of men’ ”(Berth.). 1 Chronicles 26:16. To Shuppim and to Hosah. On the probable spuriousness of “Shuppim,” see Crit. Note. The “gate Shallecheth by the causeway of ascent,” the keeping of which was committed to Hosah, is to be regarded as turned, because toward the west, also to the lower city (east of which lay the temple mount). Thus, “the causeway of ascent,” by this gate is the way that led from the lower city up to the higher temple mount. The name “gate Shallecheth” is perhaps to be explained, with Bφttcher and Thenius, by “refuse gate.”—One ward like another, literally, “ward beside ward” (μְ ?ςֻ ?ξַּ ?ϊ as in 1 Chronicles 26:12; 1 Chronicles 25:8), not “ward over against ward,” as Berth. thinks, who, on the ground of this precarious interpretation, assumes a diversity of the west gate and the Shallecheth gate as two entrances placed over against each other. Even 1 Chronicles 26:18 does not confirm this interpretation, as here the guard stationed on the west side is represented certainly as double, consisting of four guards standing at “Parbar,” and two on the causeway, but not as a guard divided between two gates. Far-fetched and contrary to the Masoretic division is the attempt of Clericus to refer the words ξִ ?ωְׁ ?ξָ ?ψμְ ?ςֻ ?ξַּ ?ϊξִ ?ωְׁ ?ξָ ?ψ to all the stations, and so to the contraposition of the four temple gates. 1 Chronicles 26:17. Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day. These (6 + 4) ten daily guards the house of Meshelemiah (with his eighteen sons and brothers), 1 Chronicles 26:14, had to set, as the (4 + 2 + 2) eight guards stationed southward, 1 Chronicles 26:15, belonged to the house of Obed-edom (with his sixty-two sons and brothers), and on Hosah (with his thirteen sons and brothers) was imposed the setting of the (4 + 2) six guards for the west side; comp. 1 Chronicles 26:16 with 1 Chronicles 26:18. A uniform and systematic division we cannot discover; probably it was arranged by lot. Moreover, not (6 + 4 + 8 + 6) twenty-four single men are meant, but so many leaders or guarding officers; for the strength of the several stations was certainly greater, as the sum total of all the porters is said in 1 Chronicles 23:6 to be 4000 men. There is nothing in the text to show that the number twenty-four points to a division of the whole body of porters into twenty-four classes, analogous to the twenty-four classes of priests and singers. 1 Chronicles 26:18. At Parbar westward, four on the causeway, and two at Parbar. This τַּ ?ψְ ?αָּ ?ψ (= τַּ ?ψְ ?εָ ?ψִ ?ιν, 2 Kings 23:11) is, as the statement of its situation to the west shows, to be regarded as a part of the temple buildings, near the Shallecheth gate, an addition with cells for depositing the stores and utensils of the temple, similar to the house of Asuppim, 1 Chronicles 26:15, on the south side. The “causeway” is naturally the “causeway of ascent,” 1 Chronicles 26:16. 8. The Administrators of the Treasures of the Sanctuary, with the Officers for the External Business: 1 Chronicles 26:20-32. a. The Lord Treasurers (Stewards): 1 Chronicles 26:20-28.—And the Levites their brethren. That instead of the unmeaning εְ ?δַ ?μְּ ?εִ ?ιִּ ?νΰֲ ?ηִ ?ιָּ ?δ of the Masoretes we are to read thus (after the Sept. and the analogy of such passages as 1 Chronicles 6:29, 2 Chronicles 29:34), is maintained by most modern expositors since J. D. Mich.—Were over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the holy things.—This general statement is specialized by the following passage in this way, that the sons of the Gershonite Ladan were placed over the treasures of the house of God, that is, in a strict sense the temple treasures (1 Chronicles 26:22 ff.), but the sons of Shelomoth over the treasures of the holy things, that is, the spoils consecrated by David (1 Chronicles 26:26 ff.). 1 Chronicles 26:22. Jehieli, the sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother. The sense is, as appears from 1 Chronicles 23:7 f., that Zetham and Joel, the heads of the house of Jehieli (or Jehiel), belonging to the Gershonite line of Ladan, had to administer the treasures of the house of God (the proper treasures of the temple, 1 Chronicles 26:20). 1 Chronicles 26:23 f. Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites, the four branches of the family of the Kohathites, 1 Chronicles 23:15 ff.—Shebuel … ruler over the treasures (εְ before ωְׁ ?αεּ ?ΰֵ ?μ continuing the sentence). As “son of Gershom son of Moses,” this Shebuel (or Shubael, as in 1 Chronicles 24:20) belongs to the Amramites. And indeed this Amramite Shebuel appears, as the general phrase: “ruler (πָ ?βִ ?ιγ) of the treasures,” shows, to be chief superintendent or administrator of all the sacred treasures, the president or administrator of the two departments of these treasures mentioned in 1 Chronicles 26:20 (not merely as superintendent of such sums as flowed regularly into the sanctuary, as Berth., limiting the word ΰεֹ ?φָ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ,thinks). 1 Chronicles 26:25. And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son (Eliezer’s), and Jeshaiah his son, etc. These are called brethren of Shebuel, because they sprang from Moses by Eliezer, as this by his brother Gershom (1 Chronicles 23:16). 1 Chronicles 26:26. This Shelomoth and his brethren. As a descendant of Eliezer, and therefore an Amramite, this Shelomoth (or Shelomith; see Crit. Note) is different from the two Shelomiths of 1 Chronicles 23, the Gershonite (1 Chronicles 26:9) and the Izharite (1 Chronicles 26:18; comp. 1 Chronicles 24:22). As he with his brethren has charge over the treasures of the holy things of David (that is, over the consecrated gifts from the spoils of the wars of this king), he appears co-ordinate with the Jehielites Zetham and Joel, but subordinate to the ruler Shebuel.—And the captains. These last-named ωָׂ ?ψֵ ?ιδַ ?φָּ ?αָ ?ΰ are the field-officers or generals of David’s army, as Joab, Amasa, as distinct from the before-mentioned captains of thousands and hundreds, or officers in general. 1 Chronicles 26:27. Out of the wars and of the spoil they dedicated to maintain the home of the Lord, not to keep it in good condition or to repair it (according to the meaning which δַ ?ζֵּ ?χ has in 2 Kings 12:7; Nehemiah 3:7 ff.), but “to make it great” (comp. 1 Chronicles 29:12, where ηַ ?ζֵּ ?χ, stands by βַּ ?γֵּ ?μ and is synonymous with it). Only this view agrees with the circumstance that the temple, at the time now in question, was not built, but only about to be built. For μְ in μְ ?αֵ ?ιϊ as nota accus. comp. 1 Chronicles 29:12. 1 Chronicles 26:28 a belongs still to the parenthetical explication of the dedicated gifts which began with 1 Chronicles 26:27.—And all that Samuel … had dedicated. The article in δַ ?δִ ?χְ ?γִּ ?ιωׁ stands for the relative ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψ, as in 1 Chronicles 29:17; 2 Chronicles 29:36; Ezra 8:25; Ezra 10:14; Ezra 10:17.—Everything, dedicated, literally, every one who had dedicated (αָּ ?μΞδַ ?ξַּ ?χְ ?γִּ ?ιωׁ), who placed that which was dedicated by him under Shelomoth and his brethren. The enumeration of the several gifts derived from war, which began with 1 Chronicles 26:27, or properly with 1 Chronicles 26:26 b, is here concluded, and referred to 1 Chronicles 26:26 a.ςַ ?μΞιַ ?γ, properly, “on the hand,” entrusted for keeping, committed to the charge of any one.—b. Officers for the External Business: 1 Chronicles 26:29-32. Only one Izharite and two Hebronite families are mentioned in this category, consequently only those belonging to two lines of the family of Kohath, and no Gershonites or Merarites (as also, 1 Chronicles 26:20-28, to the treasurers belong no Merarites, and the Gershonites play only a subordinate part).—Of the Izharites was chenaniah … for the outer business. In what this outer business consisted the more definite addition shows: “for officers (scribes) and judges.” Although, 1 Chronicles 23:4, the whole number of the Levites assigned to these functions is stated to be 6000, a number so high that all the situations of this kind in Israel might apparently be filled by them, yet we should include, according to Nehemiah 11:16, the administration of the external business specially for the temple and its servants, the exaction of the taxes for the temple, the collection of tithes, etc. 1 Chronicles 26:30. Of the Hebronites … for the oversight of Israel on this side the Jordan westward, of the west-land of Israel; comp. Joshua 5:1; Joshua 22:7. ςַ ?μτְּ ?χֻ ?γַּ ?ϊ the Sept. correctly renders: ἐπὶτῆςἐπισκέψεωςτοῦ ’Ισραήλ (ad inspectionem Israel). The view of Berth.: “were over the gifts,” that is, the taxes, is unsupported by the usage, and scarcely reconcilable with the explanation of the contents of the foregoing verses on such taxes. Comp. also δִ ?τְ ?χִ ?ιγςַ ?μ in ver 32, which signifies nothing but “appoint as overseers,” give the oversight. 1 Chronicles 26:31. Of the Hebronites was Jeriah the chief. This Jeriah occurred in 1 Chronicles 23:19, but not in his present character as chief of the Hebronite family appointed over the land east of the Jordan.—For the Hebronites. This parenthesis, extending to the end of the verse, explains the surprising circumstance that the oversight of both sides of the Jordan was committed to the Hebronites. Why Jazer of Gilead, according to Joshua 21:39, a Merarite city, served as a chief residence to these Hebronites, remains obscure in the brevity of the present notice. 1 Chronicles 26:32. And his brethren, valiant men, two thousand and seven hundred fathers of families. So in the sense of house or family fathers is ψָ ?ΰωֵׁ ?ιδָ ?ΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ here without doubt to be understood, as the very great number 2700 teaches (not “heads of father-houses ”). The phrase is essentially equivalent to the shorter ΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ, “fathers,” in 1 Chronicles 26:31. Moreover, the conjecture is natural, that as the Hebronite family of Hashabiah numbered 1700, and the Hebronite family of Jeriah 2700, housefathers, so to the Izharite family of Chenaniah (1 Chronicles 26:29) belonged the 1600 still wanting to the sum total of 6000 (1 Chronicles 23:4), and that this number has fallen out by some oversight. The present list of officers for the outer business appears not to have been preserved entire (comp. Keil, p. 209). γ. Division of the Military Officers; Order of the Service and of the Royal Househould: 1 Chronicles 27 1. The Twelve Divisions of the Army: 1 Chronicles 27:1-151 Ch 27:1 And the sons of Israel after their number, the heads of the houses and the captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, that which came in and that which went out month by month for all the months of the year, the one course was twenty and four thousand. 2Over the first course, for the first month, was Jashobam son of Zabdiel; and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 3Of the sons of Perez, the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month. 4And over the course of the second month was Dodai the Ahohite, and his course, and Mikloth the commander; and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 5The third captain of the host, for the third month, was Benaiah son of Jehoiada the priest as chief; and in his course were twenty 6and four thousand. This is Benaiah the hero of the thirty, and above the 7thirty; and his course was for Ammizabad his son. The fourth, for the fourth month, was Asahel Joab’s brother, and Zebadiah his son after him; and in 8his course were twenty and four thousand. The fifth, for the fifth month, was the captain Shamhuth the Izharite; and in his course were twenty and four 9thousand. The sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; 10and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The seventh, for the seventh month, was Helez the Pelonite, of the sons of Ephraim; and in his 11course were twenty and four thousand. And the eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; and in his course were twenty 12and four thousand. And the ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer the Anthothite, of the Benjamites; and in his course were twenty and four13thousand. The tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai the Netophathite, of 14the Zarhites; and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the sons of Ephraim; 15and in his course were twenty and four thousand. The twelfth, for the twelfth month, Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; and in his course were twenty and four thousand. 2. The Princes of the Twelve Tribes: 1 Chronicles 27:16-2416 And over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites, Eliezer son of Zichri was 17ruler: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah son of Maachah. Of Levi, Hashabiah son of Kemuel: of Aaron, Zadok. 18Of Judah, Elihu. of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri son of Michael. 19Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah son of 20Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth son of Azriel. Of the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Azariah: of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel son of Pedaiah. 21Of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, 22Jaasiel son of Abner. Of Dan, Azarel son of Jeroham: these are the princes of the tribes of Israel. 23But David took not their number from twenty years old and under, because the Lord had promised to increase Israel as the stars of heaven. 24Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but did not finish, because for this there was wrath against Israel; and the number was not put in the account of the chronicles of King David. 3. The Lords of the Treasures and Possessions of David: 1 Chronicles 27:25-3125 And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth son of Adiel: and over the stores in the country, in the cities, and the villages, and the towers, was26Jonathan son of Uzziah. And over the field-labourers for tillage of the ground was Ezri son of Chelub. 27And over the vineyards was Shimi the Ramathite; and over that which was in the vineyards of stores in wine was Zabdi the Shiphmite. 28And over the olive-trees and the sycamores which were in the Shephelah was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash. 29And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat son of Adlai. And 30over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite. 31And over the flocks Jaziz the Hagrite: all these were rulers of the substance which belonged to King David. 4. The State Counsellors of David: 1 Chronicles 27:32-3432 And Jonathan, David’s kinsman, was a counsellor, a wise man, and a cribe; and Jehiel son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons. 33And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor; and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend. 34And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada son of Benaiah, and Abiathar; and the general of the king’s army was Joab. Preliminary Remark.—In this list of the military and civil officers of David, the collocation of ministers and associates of the army, domains, and Kingdom of this king is connected with the survey contained in 1 Chronicles 23-26 of the Levites and priests in his reign, and also with the account of the census of the people in 1 Chronicles 21 to the latter 1 Chronicles 27:23-24 distinctly refer, which show the fore-mentioned captains of the military divisions and princes of the tribes as included in that census, and thereby indicate the political and military import of that measure (comp. on 1 Chronicles 21:1; 1 Chronicles 21:6). With the registers of Levites and priests in 1 Chronicles 23-26, however, our section is connected partly by its position and the similarity of its contents, partly by the circumstance that both, the spiritual (Levitical) and the temporal hierarchy of officers had obtained their more permanent regulation and organization in the last year of his government, and, indeed, in connection with the census of the people, as appears again from 1 Chronicles 27:23. 1. The Twelve Divisions of the Army: vers.1–15.—And the sons of Israel after their number. 1 Chronicles 27:1 forms the full superscription to the following list. As this contains only the twelve divisions of the army of 24,000 men each, with the names of their commanders, this circumstantial superscription seems to promise too much; the detailed description of the army divisions announced in it, and of their officers, appears in 1 Chronicles 27:2-15 to be no longer complete, but only preserved in the form of an abstract (Berth.). But the chief stress rests on “after their number” (μְ ?ξִ ?ρְ ?τָּ ?ψָ ?ν), as the determination of the monthly changing military courses at the strength of 24,000 each, immediately after the close of this superscription, clearly shows. Hence all else that is here indicated, the mention of the captains of the thousands and hundreds, the officers, etc., is to be regarded as of mere secondary account.—That which came in and that which went out month by month, properly, “the coming in and outgoing,” namely, the course going in and out of service at the beinning of every month; comp. 2 Kings 11:5; 2 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 11:9, and 2 Chronicles 23:4; 2 Chronicles 23:8. Here naturally only the monthly attendance of each of the twelve divisions or corps is spoken of, not that they had changed places every month, and were stationed one after another in Jerusalem, which would have been quite impossible for so large a corps.—The one course;δָ ?ΰַ ?ηַ ?ϊ taken distributively, as Num. 17:18;Judges 8:18. 1 Chronicles 27:2. Over the first course… Jashobam. Concerning this Jashobam (perhaps “Ishbosheth”) son of Zabdiel, see on 1 Chronicles 11:11.—And in his course were twenty and four thousand, literally, “on (ςַ ?μ) his course went 24,000 men.” 1 Chronicles 27:3. Of the sons of perez: he was descended from that distiguished Jewish family from which David sprang; comp. 1 Chronicles 2:4 ff.—The chief of all the captains of the host for the first month, stood as first in the series of twelve commanders relieving each other monthly, but was still subordinate to the commander of the whole army (generalissimo), namely, to Joab (1 Chronicles 27:34). 1 Chronicles 27:4. Dodai the Ahohite. On the omission of “Eleazar son of” before Dodai, see the Crit. Note.—And his course, and Mikloth the commander.ε before ξִ ?χְ ?μεֹ ?ϊ appears to introduce the consequent, and seems to be superfluous, as it is wanting before ςַ ?ξִּ ?ιζָ ?αָ ?γ, 1 Chronicles 27:6, in a similar connection. At all events, Mikloth is a proper name, as 1 Chronicles 8:32, 1 Chronicles 9:37 f. prove; whether the there named Benjamite be identical with the present Mikloth must remain doubtful. 1 Chronicles 27:5. The third captain … was Benaiah ... as chief.ψֹ ?ΰωׁ, predicate to Benaiah, not attribute to δַ ?λֹּ ?δֵ ?ο. Concerning this Benaiah and his distinguished position as “hero of the thirty, and above the thirty” (more honoured than all of them), see 1 Chronicles 11:22; 1 Chronicles 11:25; 2 Samuel 23:23. For the constuction in 1 Chronicles 27:6 b,comp. on 1 Chronicles 27:4 b1 Chronicles 27:7. Asahel … and Zebadiah his son after him. This from of expression contains a plain reference to the early death of Asahel (1 Chronicles 11:26), his tragic end, which Abner prepared for him, 2 Samuel 2:18-23. The Fourth course would thus, at least for the late time now in question, have to be designated properly after Asahel’s son Zebadiah, its than living leader. But it is called (honoris causa) de patris defuncti nomine, as Clericus well remarks, just as the family of the Maccabees is distinguished by the name Asmonζans. 1 Chronicles 27:8 ff. The following names shamhuth (earlier, 1 Chronicles 11:27, Shammoth; 2 Samuel 23:11, Shammah), Ira, Helez, Sibbechai, Abiezer, Maharai, Benaiah, and Heldai occurred together already, though in a somewhat different order, in the list of heroes in 1 Chronicles 11:27-31.—Shamhuth the Izrahite, the descendant of Zerah son of Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:4; 1 Chronicles 2:6; δַ ?ιִּ ?ζְ ?ψָ ?η stands for δַ ?ιִּ ?ζְ ?ψָ ?ηִ ?ι, and this is equivalent to δַ ?ζַּ ?ψְ ?ηִ ?ι, 1 Chronicles 27:11; 1 Chronicles 27:13. 1 Chronicles 27:15.Heldai theNetophathite, of Othniel, belonging to the family of Othniel, incorporated by his connection with Caleb into the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:17; Judges 1:12-15. The name Heldai is besides in 1 Chronicles 11:30 Heleh, and in 2 Samuel 23:29, by an error of the pen, Heleb. 2. The Princes of the Twelve Tribes: 1 Chronicles 27:16-24.—In this list the twelve tribes are enumerated in quite a different order from that in Genesis, and even that in 1 Chronicles 4:7. of our book. A fundamental ground for the order here exhibited—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Dan—can the less be ascertained, because the names of two tribes (Gad and Asher) have fallen out probably by an old corruption of the text; and there is no means even of conjecturing what was their original place in the list. There remains, therefore, only an uncertain surmise that Dan has been assigned the last place on account of his fall into idolatry; comp. evangelical and ethical reflections on 1 Chronicles 1-9, No. 3. 1 Chronicles 27:17. Of Aaron, Zadok. Whether this naming of a prince of the Aaronites, namely, the high, priest Zadok, of the line of Eleazar, along with that of the Levite was to make amends for the omitted princes of Gad and Asher is uncertain. 1 Chronicles 27:18. Of Judah, Elihu. That “Eliab” (1 Chronicles 2:13) is to be read, with the Sept., for “Elihu” is most probable, even for this reason, that Eliab was the first-born of Jesse, to whom the dignity of prince must have naturally fallen. 1 Chronicles 27:21. Of the half … in Gilead, literally, “toward Gilead” (βִּ ?μְ ?ςָ ?γָ ?δ), a suitable designation of the east half of Manasseh. 1 Chronicles 27:23-24. Closing Remark on the Two Lists referring to the Army of Israel, 1 Chronicles 27:2-15 and 1 Chronicles 27:16-22.—But David took not their number from twenty years old and under; he had only those above twenty years numbered. On πָ ?ωָׂ ?ΰξִ ?ρְ ?τָּ ?ψ, to take, determine, a number, comp. Numbers 3:40, and Exodus 30:12; Numbers 1:49.—Because the Lord had promised to increase Israel as the stars of heaven. This ground for the remark that David included only those above twenty years in his census of the people obviously means that to number the whole mass of the people, which God’s promise to the patriarchs (Genesis 22:17, etc.) had designated as innumerable, was not intended by David; he had only wished to ascertain the number of those able to bear arms for the organization of his army. On 1 Chronicles 27:24 a, comp. 1 Chronicles 21:6.—And the number was not put in the account of the chronicles of King David,- literally, “and the number went not up,” etc.; comp. δςμδςμρτψ, 2 Chronicles 20:34, on account of which parallel, moreover, αְּ ?ρֵ ?τֶ ?ψ is not to be read for αְּ ?ξִ ?ρְ ?τָּ ?ψ, especially as the phrase ρτψγαψιδιξιν does not occur in Chronicles. The second ξִ ?ρְ ?τָּ ?ψ is rather to be understood in the sense of “reckoning, register of numbers,” and therefore we are to think of the statistical section of the annals of David’s reign (Berth., Kamph., etc.). In these the result of that great census of the people had no place according to our passage; and if, 1 Chronicles 21:5, a communication regarding this result is made, it must have been derived from some other source. 3. The Lords of the Treasures and Possessions of David: 1 Chronicles 27:25-31.—And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth. These first-mentioned treasures in general (ΰֹ ?φָ ?ψεֹ ?ϊ; comp. 1 Chronicles 26:20; Job 38:22) were perhaps, as the contrast with the “treasures in the country” teaches, the stores or spoils of war preserved in Jerusalem, so far as they were crown and not temple property (1 Chronicles 26:22); thus rightly Luther: “over the treasure of the king.”—And over the stores in the country, in the cities, and the villages, and the towers, that is, in the forts or keeps; comp. the notice of such towers in 2 Chronicles 26:10; Micah 4:8; Son 4:4. 1 Chronicles 27:26. And over the field-labourers for tillage of the ground was Ezri. Here begins the specification of the stores in the field, with the royal domains or fields (ωׂ ?γδ here in the strict or proper sense, not as in 1 Chronicles 27:25). 1 Chronicles 27:27. And over the vineyards was Shimi the Ramathite, of Ramah in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25. The next following officer, Zabdi, the manager of the wine-stores in the vineyards, is called δַ ?ωִּׁ ?τְ ?ξִ ?ι, “the Shiphmite,” coming perhaps from ωְׁ ?τָ ?ν, a place mentioned in Numbers 34:10 f., on the north border of Canaan. But perhaps it is more natural to refer to ωִׁ ?τְ ?ξεֹ ?ϊ, in the south of Judah (1 Samuel 30:28), as the south produced the most wine, and of course the most vineyards and vine cultivators. 1 Chronicles 27:28. And over the olive-trees and the sycamores in the Shephelah, in the lowlands of the fruitful plain, between the hills of Judah and the Mediterranean, Joshua 15:53. ζֵ ?ιϊִ ?ιν, olive plantations and gardens; comp. Deuteronomy 6:11,1 Kings 5:25; and so the following ωִׁ ?χְ ?ξִ ?ιν How important the produce of the sycamores must have been in the times of David and Solomon appears from the proverbial expression, 1 Kings 10:27, 2 Chronicles 1:15 : “Cedar-wood as plentiful as the sycamores that grew in the Shephelah.” Comp. C. Hoffmann, Blicke in die frόhere Geschichte des gelobten Landes, p. 171; “None of the plants adorning the country in that time is so fallen as those oft-mentioned sycamores, of which only a few still stand in the gardens of Jaffa as tokens of bygone beauty. On the coast, on the hot soil, moistened by under water, stood in broad plantations these mighty, shady, leafy crowns, the native land of which is Egypt. They are mentioned at Jericho in the time of Christ (Luke 19:4). Did they, as the herdsman Amos, who plucked their figs, intimates Amos 7:14, extend to the now so cool and dry valleys of Tekoa, about the Frank Mountains, that now bear among the Arabs the name of paradise, as a monument of vanished glories? At all events, they were proverbially common in Solomon’s time; and this leads to one of those numerous indications of a former abundance of water,” etc.—Baal-hanan the Gederite, of Geder or Gederah, situated in the lowlands south-east of Jabneh (comp. Joshua 12:13; Joshua 15:36, and our remark on Beth-geder, ii. 51); δַ ?βְּ ?γֵ ?ψִ ?ι is thus not really different from δַ ?βְּ ?γֵ ?ψָ ?ϊִ ?ι, 1 Chronicles 12:4. Keil would derive δַ ?βְּ ?γֵ ?ψִ ?ι rather from Gedor (βְּ ?γεֹ ?ψ), on the hills of Judah, Joshua 15:58; but the form of the Gentilicium is against this.—And over the herds in the valleys, namely, those in the hill country of Judah towards the Dead Sea and the Jordan; comp. 1 Chronicles 12:15. 1 Chronicles 27:30. And over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite. As the riches of the king consisted in camels (comp. Job 1:3; Judges 7:12) in the south country, where the Ishmaelites formerly wandered, a descendant of this race was appointed overseer of them. So it might be with the Hagarite Jaziz, who was placed over the flocks (comp. 1 Chronicles 5:10; 1 Chronicles 5:19; Psalms 83:7). For Jehdeiah the Meronothite, see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 27:31. All these were rulers of the property which belonged to King David.ψְ ?λεּ ?ωׁ, “property,” a wider notion than that of the “treasures of the king,” 1 Chronicles 27:25, including these (the treasures in Jerusalem) and “the treasures in the country.” The total number of the officers appointed to take charge of all this property, as they are named above, is twelve, namely, the two head officers, 1 Chronicles 27:25 (for the city, Azmaveth; for the country, Jonathan), and the ten overseers of the tillage and pasturage, the latter of whom were to give a yearly account of the produce of the stock under their charge to the former. The number twelve can scarcely be accidental here, though it is not expressly noticed. 4. The State Counsellors of David: 1 Chronicles 27:32-34; comp. the similar lists of the chief officers of state in 1 Chronicles 18:15-17 (2 Samuel 8:15-18) and in 2 Samuel 20:23-26, with which, however, the present has only Joab the commander-in-chief in common, whereas, otherwise, here partly other persons, partly other functions, appear; and, indeed, its chief aim is to name the counsellors (ιֹ ?ςֲ ?φִ ?ιν) of the king: it is a list of the chief counsellors of David (as it were his private council of state or cabinet).—And Jonathan David’s kinsman was a counsellor;γּ ?εֹ ?γ (properly favourite, friend, Son 1:13, etc.) may signify the father’s brother, Jeremiah 32:7, in which sense it appears to be taken by the Sept. (παράδελφος) and Vulg. (patruus). Yet it signifies also (Jeremiah 32:12) “kinsman, cousin” in general, and appears here also to convey this wider sense, where scarcely any other Jonathan than the son of Shima is meant, and therefore a nephew of David. On ιεֹ ?ςֵ ?υ, counsellor, comp. 1 Chronicles 26:14; on the following attribute, “wise,” 1 Chronicles 25:22; on a “scribe” (ρεֹ ?τֵ ?ψ, here not a name of office, as in 1 Chronicles 18:16), 1 Chronicles 2:55; Ezra 7:6.—And Jehiel .… was with the king’s sons, as their instructor or tutor, an office mentioned only here. Whether Hachmoni the father of this Jehiel be the same with the Hachmoni father of Jashobam mentioned 1 Chronicles 11:11 must remain uncertain. 1 Chronicles 27:33. And Ahithophel was counsellor of the king, without doubt the same who became notorious from the history of the revolt of Absalom—comp. 2 Samuel 15:31; 2 Samuel 16:23; 2 Samuel 17:1 ff; Psalms 41:10—as Hushai the Archite is the well-known opponent of this Ahithophel, 2 Samuel 15:32; 2 Samuel 15:37; 2 Samuel 16:16. 1 Chronicles 27:34. And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada son of Benaiah and Abiathar. That by the latter the well-known high priest of the family of Ithamar (1 Chronicles 5:27) is meant cannot well be doubted; whether with regard to the previous name we are to think of the Benaiah named 1 Chronicles 27:5, captain of the third division, son of Jehoiada the priest, so that here a transposition of the names has taken place (Berth.), appears doubtful. It is perhaps simpler to take the Jehoiada named as successor to Ahithophel in the privy council of the king for a son of that Benaiah who, after the well-known Hebrew custom, bore the name of his grandfather. We may observe, moreover, how clearly the Chronist here again (as in 1 Chronicles 27:7) betrays his acquaintance with certain episodes in the history of David, the special course of which it does not lie within the scope of his plan to narrate.—And the general of the king’s army was Joab; as such generalissimo, at the same time in some sense minister of war, and therefore eo ipso belonging to the rank of king’s counsellors. Accordingly he appears, 1 Chronicles 21:2 ff., in the exercise of his office of counsellor in regard to the census of the people. In an apologetic respect, it is worthy of remark, in regard to this list of the counsellors of David, that, with the exception of Jehiel, names of persons about David occurring also in the books of Samuel and elsewhere in our books are contained in it, but that it cannot be compiled by the Chronist from the other accounts of the history of this king, because it exhibits something peculiar, not elsewhere occurring, in its statements of the functions of these men. “We must therefore assume that this list comes from the same source from which our historian has drawn the previous lists (23–26 and 1 Chronicles 27:1-31)” (Berth.). Footnotes: For γּ ?εֹ ?γַ ?ι, according to 1 Chronicles 11:12, is to be read ΰֶ ?μְ ?ςָ ?ζָ ?ψαֶּ ?οΞγּ ?εֹ ?γַ ?ι. For ΰֱ ?μִ ?ιδεּ the Sept., in accordance with 1 Chronicles 2:13 and 1 Samuel 16:6; 1 Samuel 17:13, exhibits ’Ελιάβ. So the Kethib: the Keri has Shirtai (ωִׁ ?ψְ ?θַ ?ι). Sept. ὁἐχΜεραθών but ξְ ?ψֹ ?πεֹ ?ϊ occurs also, Nehemiah 3:17, as the name of a place near Mizpah; a ξֵ ?ψָ ?ϊεֹ ?ο nowhere. δ. The Last Directions of David concerning the building of the Temple and the Succession of Solomon, and his own Death: 1 Chronicles 28, 29 1. Directions to Solomon concerning the building of the Temple: 1 Chronicles 28 1 Chronicles 28:1 And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the divisions, that served the king, and the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, with the courtiers and the heroes, 2and all the valiant men in Jerusalem. And David the king stood up on his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God; and I made ready for the building. 3But God said to me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou hast been a 4man of war, and hast shed blood. And the Lord God of Israel chose me out of all my father’s house to be king over Israel for ever: for He hath chosen Judah to be the ruler, and in the house of Judah the house of my father; and among the sons of my father He liked me, to make me king over all Israel. 5And of all my sons—for the Lord hath given me many sons—He hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6And He said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts; for I have chosen him to be my son; and I will be his father. 7And I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be strong to do my 8commandments and my judgments as at this day. And now in the eyes of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, and in the ears of our God, keep and seek all the commandments of the Lord your God, that ye may possess the good land, and bequeath it to your sons after you for ever. 9And thou, Solomon my son, know the God of thy father, and serve Him with a whole heart, and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagination of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; and if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off for e1 Chronicles 1 Chronicles 28:10 Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it. 11And David gave Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of its buildings and its treasuries, and its upper rooms, and its inner parlours, and the house of the mercy-seat. 12And the pattern of all that his spirit had in thought for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the chambers around for the treasures of the house of God, and for the treasures of the 13holy things. And for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the vessels of 14the service of the house of the Lord. For gold by weight, for gold for all instruments of every service; and for all instruments of silver by weight, for 15all instruments of every service. And the weight for the golden candlesticks, and their lamps of gold; by the weight of every candlestick and its lamps; and for the silver candlesticks, by weight for the candlestick and its lamps, 16according to the use of each candlestick. And the gold by weight for the 17tables of shew-bread for every table; and silver for the tables of silver. And the forks, and the sprinkling bowls, and the cans of pure gold; and for the golden tankards by weight for every tankard, and for the silver tankards by weight for every tankard. 18And for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and for the pattern of the chariot; the cherubim of gold that spread out (their wings) and cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19“All this has He taught me in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, even all the works of the pattern.”20And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and active, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with thee, He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, till all the work of the service of the house of the Lord is completed. 21And, behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with thee is in every work every willing man of wisdom for all service; and the princes and all the people for all thy matters. 2. Contributions of the assembled Princes for building the Temple: 1 Chronicles 29:1-91 Ch 29:1 And David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is young and tender, and the work is great; 2for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God. And with all my might I have prepared for the house of my God, gold for golden things, and silver for silver, and brass for brazen, and iron for iron, and wood for wooden; onyx-stones and set stones, rubies and mottled stones, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. And, 3moreover, because I delight in the house of God, I have a treasure of gold and silver which I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for 4the holy house. Three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses. 5The gold for golden, and the silver for silver, and for all work by the hand of artificers; and who is willing to fill his hand this day unto the Lord? 6And the princes of the houses, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, 7showed themselves willing. And gave, for the service of the house of God, of gold, five thousand talents and ten thousand darics; and of silver, ten thousand talents; and of brass, eighteen thousand talents; and of iron, a hundred thousand talents. 8And they with whom stones were found gave them for the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the 9Gershonite. And the people were glad, because they were willing, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord; and David the king also was exceedingly glad. 3. David’s Thanksgiving: 1 Chronicles 29:10-1910 And David blessed the Lord in the eyes of all the congregation; and David said, Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and 11ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the beauty, and the lustre, and the majesty; for all in the heaven and in the earth is Thine: 12Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art exalted as head over all. And the riches and the glory come of Thee, and Thou rulest over all; and in Thy hand is might and power; and in Thy hand it is to make all great and strong. 13, 14And now, our God, we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. For who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly in this way? for all comes of Thee, and of Thy hand have we given Thee. 15For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as all our fathers: our days on 16the earth are as a shadow‚ and there is no hope. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build Thee a house for Thy holy name, it 17cometh of Thy hand, and is all Thine own. And I know‚ O my God, that Thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness: I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things: and now Thy people who 18are present I have seen with gladness to offer willingly unto Thee. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of Thy people, and stablish their 19heart unto Thee. And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep Thy commandments, Thy testimonies, and Thy statutes, and to do all, and to build the palace which I have prepared. 4. Close of the Public Assembly; Solomon’s Elevation to the Throne: 1 Chronicles 29:20-2520 And David said to all the congregation, Bless now the Lord your God: and all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers; and they 21bent and bowed down to the Lord, and to the king. And they killed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings unto the Lord, on the morrow of that day, a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with 22their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. And they ate and drank before the Lord on that day with great gladness, and the second time made Solomon the son of David king, and anointed him unto 23the Lord to be ruler, and Zadok to be priest. And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king, instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24And all the princes, and the heroes, and also all 25the sons of King David, submitted to Solomon the king. And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the eyes of all Israel, and bestowed on him the majesty of the kingdom, which had not been on any king over Israel before him. 5. Close of the History of David: 1 Chronicles 29:26-3026 And David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27And the time that he reigned over all Israel was forty years; in Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three. 28And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and glory; and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. 29“And the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Samuel the seer, and in the words of Nathan the prophet, and in the words of Gad the seer. 30With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries. 1. Directions to Solomon concerning the building of the Temple: 1 Chronicles 28:1-21.—These directions for building the temple David announces in a solemn assembly of the states or representatives of the people, or as they are designated in general: “all the princes of Israel” (ωָׂ ?ψִ ?ιν) The several classes of these representatives of the kingdom are there specified:—1. “the princes of the tribes” (see their enumeration in 1 Chronicles 27:16-22); 2. “the captains of the divisions that served the king;” see 1 Chronicles 27:1-15; 1 Chronicles 3. “the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,” the officers of the army, and those captains of divisions, the commanders and chiefs of the twelve corps of the army (1 Chronicles 27:1); 4. “the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons,” the officers of the royal domains (1 Chronicles 27:25-31), who are here extended by the addition (misunderstood by the Vulg.) εּ ?μְ ?αָ ?πָ ?ιε to the royal princes and their possessions; 5. “the courtiers,” ρָ ?ψִ ?ιρִ ?ιν, properly, eunuchs (so the Sept. and Vulg. in our passage), but here obviously in a wider sense, of officers of the royal court, or chamberlains in general; comp. 1 Samuel 8:15; 1 Kings 22:19; 1 Kings 6. the “heroes,” that is, the distinguished champions enumerated in 1 Chronicles 11:10 ff., so far as they not merely (as captains of the divisions or over the thousands, etc.) belonged to the active service, but perhaps as occasional counsellors of the king, or otherwise influential persons, were entitled to a prominent position in the kingdom (hence the Sept. not unsuitably: τοὺςδυνάστας); 7. all “the valiant men” (εּ ?μְ ?λָ ?μΞβִּ ?αּ ?εֹ ?ψηַ ?ιִ ?μ with μְ as nota acc), every other person of note or importance,—a wide phrase reverting to the general notion of the “princes of Israel.” 1 Chronicles 28:2. And David the king stood up on his feet, in order to speak; for before he was sitting from the weakness of age (not reclining, as the Rabbinical expositors would infer from 1 Kings 1). For the kindly humble address, “my brethren,” in the king’s mouth, comp. 1 Samuel 30:23; 2 Samuel 19:13.—I had it in my heart to build, literally, “I, in my heart it was to build;” comp. 1 Chronicles 22:7.—A house of rest, a house where the ark might abide at rest. Along with the ark, on account of its special holiness, is mentioned the mercy-seat (1 Chronicles 28:11), and, indeed, described in a figurative way as “the footstool of our God,” as Jehovah is regarded as sitting on the cherubim of the capporeth.—And I made ready for the building, I prepared workmen and materials for it; comp. 22:2 ff., 14 ff.; as for the following verse 1 Chronicles 22:8, and for 1 Chronicles 28:4, 1 Chronicles 11:2; 1 Chronicles 5:2. 1 Chronicles 28:5.To sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel, the theocratic kingdom; comp. the equivalent briefer phrase: “to sit on Jehovah’s throne,” 1 Chronicles 29:23 and Psalms 45:7, where the correctly interpreted λִּ ?ρְ ?ΰֲ ?κָ ΰֱ ?μֹ ?δִ ?ιν “thy God’s throne,” yields practically the same notion (see Moll, Der Psalter, p. 237). God is the proper king of Israel; but David, Solomon, etc., are only the earthly representatives of His royalty. 1 Chronicles 28:7. And I will establish His kingdom. Comp. in general 1 Chronicles 22:10 and 1 Chronicles 17:11 f., and for the condition: “if he be strong,” etc., the quite similar conditions which God, 1 Kings 3:14; 1 Kings 9:4, imposes on Solomon; also 1 Kings 8:61 (where also the λַּ ?ιּ ?εֹ ?νδַ ?ζֶּ ?δ). 1 Chronicles 28:8. Keep and seek all the commandments, keep them earnestly, seek to keep them with zeal.—That ye may possess the good land. Comp. Deuteronomy 4:21; Leviticus 25:46; Jeremiah 3:18. 1 Chronicles 28:9. And thou, Solomon my son, know the God of thy father, the God who so truly helped me, thy father, in all troubles; comp. the emphatic “my God,” 1 Chronicles 28:20 and Psalms 18:3, and similar passages.—And serve Him with a whole heart, with an undivided mind, without διψυχία; comp. 1 Chronicles 29:9; also 1 Chronicles 29:19 and 1 Kings 8:61.—Understandeth all the imagination of the thoughts. The phrase: “imagination of the thoughts,” as in Genesis 6:5; the reference to the omniscience of God, as in 1 Samuel 16, 7; Psalms 7:10; Psalms 139:1 ff.—If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; comp. Deuteronomy 4:29; Isaiah 4:6; Jeremiah 29:13 f. On the following strong expression: “He will cast thee off” (ιζπιηκָ), comp. 2 Chronicles 6:14; 2 Chronicles 29:19, and Lamentations 3:17. 1 Chronicles 28:10. Be strong, and do it. In essentially the same words, 1 Chronicles 28:20, David again addresses Solomon, after the interruption, 1 Chronicles 28:11-19, occasioned by delivering the draft and plan of the holy buildings. 1 Chronicles 28:11-19. The Details of the Outline and Plan for the Temple, as David laid it before his Son in the public Assembly. We may imagine the architects and other craftsmen, by whose help he had this outline and plan drawn out, present in the assembly, and explaining it at the king’s order.—And David gave . . . the pattern of the court. ϊַּ ?αְ ?πִ ?ιϊ, pattern, model, as Exodus 25:40; δָ ?ΰεּ ?μָ ?ν, the porch before the sanctuary, 2 Chronicles 3:4; 1 Kings 6:3.—And of its buildings, those of the temple. The suffix must refer, not to the ΰεּ ?μָ ?ν, but only to δαιϊ, “the temple, the house,” to be supplied from the context. The buildings of the house are the holy place and the most holy.—And its treasuries (βַּ ?πְ ?ζַ ?λִּ ?ιο, cognate with βְּ ?πָ ?ζִ ?ιο, Ezra 7:20, Esther 3:9; Esther 4:7, occurs only here), and its upper rooms (above the most holy place, 2 Chronicles 3:9), and its inner parlours, namely, the porch and the holy place; for only to these can the phrase refer, as immediately after follows the special mention of the most holy place, designated as the “house of the mercy-seat” or “abode of the capporeth.” 1 Chronicles 28:12. And the pattern of all that his spirit had in thought (or what was before his mind) for the courts . . . and all the chambers around, the cells or rooms on the four sides of the court, that served to keep “the treasures of the house of God,” that is, the treasure of the temple and the “treasures of holy things,” the stores of dedicated things collected from the spoils of war (the same distinction as in 1 Chronicles 26:20). 1 Chronicles 28:13 continues the statement of that for which the chambers or cells of the court were designed.—And for the courses of the priests and the Levites, for their sojourn during their service, likewise for the works belonging to this service (cooking of flesh, preparing of shew-bread, etc.), and for the keeping of the requisite utensils, which last are enumerated in detail from 1 Chronicles 28:14 on. 1 Chronicles 28:14. For gold. The μְ in μַ ?ζָּ ?δָ ?α corresponds to that in μְ ?λָ ?μΞδַ ?μְּ ?ωָׁ ?λεֹ ?ϊ, 1 Chronicles 28:12; the sentence begun in 1 Chronicles 28:11 thus extends to the close of this verse. A new construction begins first in 1 Chronicles 28:15, which may be regarded as a continuation of that begun in 1 Chronicles 28:11. As to the object εּ ?ξִ ?ωְׁ ?χָ ?μ, a εַ ?ιִּ ?ϊֵּ ?ο must be supplied from 1 Chronicles 28:11, but not certainly in the same sense of giving, but in that of stating or defining. Thus: “And (he stated) the weight for the golden candlesticks and their lamps of gold;” ζδα is freely subordinated to εְ ?πֵ ?ψεֹ ?ϊֵ ?ιδֶ ?ν (comp. 2 Chronicles 4:15). For the golden candlesticks of the sanctuary, comp. Exodus 25:31 f.; 2 Chronicles 4:7.—According to the use of each candlestick, according to its set service, its import for the holy service. for the var.: “for the service of every one” (λַּֽ ?ςֲ ?αεֹ ?γַ ?ϊ) see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 28:16. And the gold by weight;ξִ ?ωְׁ ?χָ ?μ, accus. of free subordination.—For the tables of shew-bread for every table; and silver for the tables of silver. Whereas elsewhere (Exodus 25:23 ff.; 1 Kings 7:48; and 2 Chronicles 29:18) only one table of shew-bread is spoken of, here several tables of this kind are mentioned. As also, 2 Chronicles 4:8, a greater number of golden tables, namely, ten, destined as it appears for the ten golden candlesticks, is spoken of, so in our passage (as in 2 Chronicles 4:19) a synecdoche appears to be used, and the one golden table of shew-bread to be included with the tables for the golden candlesticks. Silver tables (as silver candlesticks, 1 Chronicles 28:15) are only here expressly mentioned: such may be understood as included among the silver articles mentioned on the occasion of the repair of the temple by Joash (2 Chronicles 24:14; comp. also 2 Kings 25:15). The statements of the Rabbis, that the silver tables stood in the court, and the silver candlesticks in the chambers of the priests, may rest on an old tradition. 1 Chronicles 28:17. And (gave him in pattern: the same supplement as in 1 Chronicles 28:15) the forks, namely, the flesh-forks used in cooking the pieces of the sacrifices; comp. Exodus 27:3; 1 Kings 7:50. for the sprinkling-bowls (ξִ ?ζְ ?ψָ ?χεֹ ?ϊ) comp. also 2 Chronicles 4:11; 2 Chronicles 4:22; for the “cans” or “cups” (χְ ?ωָׂ ?εֹ ?ϊ, σπονδεῖα) that were used in libations, Exodus 25:29; Exodus 37:16; Numbers 4:7—Of pure gold; accus. of free subordination, as in 1 Chronicles 28:15-16.—And for the golden tankards.λְּ ?τεֹ ?ψִ ?ιν, from λָּ ?τַ ?ψ cover, are covered vessels, and so tankards (not cups); comp. Ezra 1:10; Ezra 8:27, the only other passages in which it occurs. 1 Chronicles 28:18. The pattern of the chariot, the cherubim of gold, The term pattern, ϊַּ ?αְ ?πִ ?ιϊ, recurs here, near the close of the whole enumeration, from 1 Chronicles 28:11-12, but with μְ ?as nota accusat. The mercy-seat with its cherubim appears here symbolized as the chariot on which Jehovah sits or moves (comp. Exodus 25:22; Psalms 18:11; Psalms 99:1),—a very important passage for the, right understanding of Eze 1:15 ff. The cherubim themselves, though only two in number, according to the present description, which represents the older and simpler, idea, exhibit as it were a chariot (observe that δַ ?λְּ ?ψεּ ?αִ ?ιν is not subordinate to ξֶ ?ψְ ?λָּ ?αָ ?δ as a genitive, but co-ordinate with it, as in apposition); of a wheel-work connected with it, an external exhibition of the chariot idea, as Ezekiel depicts it, nothing is indicated in the passage; the Sept. and Vulg. only, by taking δַ ?λְּ ?ψεּ ?αִ ?ιν as a genitive (ἅρματῶνΧερουβίμ: quadriga cherubim), have introduced this foreign element.—That spread out (their wings) and cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord, literally, “for spreading and covering,” that is, they are represented spreading and covering with their wings. Comp. for this use of μְ in the sense of becoming something, or appearing as somewhat, 22:33 μְ ?ξֶ ?μֶ ?κְ, “as king”), also Genesis 9:5, Job 39:16, and other passages, in Ew. § 217, d (p. 553). The change of μְ ?τֹ ?ψְ ?ωִׂ ?ινεְ ?ρֹ ?λְ ?λִ ?ιν, into δַ ?τֹּ ?ψְ ?ωִׂ ?ινεְ ?δַ ?ρֹּ ?λְ ?λִ ?ιν (Sept., Vulg., and recent expositors, as Berth., Kamph., etc.) is therefore unnecessary. J. H. Mich, correctly: ut essent expandentes, etc To μְ ?τֹ ?ψְ ?ωִׂ ?ιν it is easy to supply δַ ?λְּ ?πָ ?τַ ?ιִ ?ν, “the wings,” as object; comp. Exodus 25:20, and 1 Kings 8:7; 2 Chronicles 5:8. 1 Chronicles 28:19 contains again words of David, as the ςָ ?μַ ?ι “upon me,” and the whole sense and contents teach.—All this has He taught me in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me. So it seems the difficult and perhaps corrupt words δַ ?λֹּ ?μαִּ ?λְ ?ϊָ ?αξִ ?ιַּ ?γιְ ?δεָֹ ?δςָ ?μַ ?ιδִ ?ωְׂ ?λִּ ?ιμ must be taken. To δִ ?ωְׂ ?λִּ ?ιμ we are to understand ιδεδ as subject, and “me”(or perhaps “us”) as object. Possibly also ςָ ?μַ ?ι might be connected with δִ ?ωְׂ ?λִּ ?ιμ (comp. Proverbs 22:11); but it is easier, on account of the collocation, to connect it either with ξιγιδεδ or with αּ ?λϊα. Now, as the grammatically (Psalms 40:8 : λָּ ?ϊεּ ?αςָ ?μַ ?ι) admissible connection of the words αִּ ?λְ ?ϊָ ?α—ςָ ?μַ ?ι into one notion, “by a writing from the hand of Jehovah given me as a rule” (Berth.), yields a very harsh and obscure sense, and as, moreover, the position of ξιγιδεδ between αλϊα and ςμι renders this connection extremely difficult, nothing remains but the connection of ξִ ?ιַּ ?γιְ ?δεָֹ ?δςָ ?μַ ?ι “a writing from the hand of Jehovah being or coming upon me,” by which is designated a writing springing from divine revelation, an immediate effect of divine inspiration (comp. the known phrase: “the hand of Jehovah came upon me,” 2 Kings 3:15; Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 3:14, etc.). This naturally refers, not to the law of Moses, as the Rabbinical expositors think, but to the proposed building plan, draft, etc., which David refers to divine teaching, in so far as he did not conceive it arbitrarily, but designed it under the influence of the Divine Spirit (which, however, must have been effected in this case not directly by vision, as with Moses on Sinai). Comp. moreover, on the transition into the address without an introductory formula, 1 Chronicles 22:18 f., 1 Chronicles 23:4 f. 1 Chronicles 28:20-21. Closing Admonition and Promise to Solomon.—Be strong and active; comp. 1 Chronicles 28:10 and 1 Chronicles 22:13.—For the Lord God, my God, is with thee; comp. on 1 Chronicles 28:9. For the following promise: “He will not fail thee (properly, ’ withdraw from thee,’ namely, His hand) nor forsake thee,” comp. Deuteronomy 31:6; Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalms 138:8; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5.—And behold the courses of the priests. Personal attendance of the priests and Levites, or only of a majority of representatives of their order in the public assembly, can scarcely be inferred from this εְ ?δִ ?πֵּ ?δεβεΧ, just as the εְ ?ςִ ?ξְּ ?κָ “and with thee,” does not necessitate the assumption that the willing craftsmen stood by Solomon, or were assembled around him.—Every willing man of wisdom for all service, properly, “with regard to every willing man.” The μְ here is not nota accus. (as 1 Chronicles 28:1; 1 Chronicles 26:26; 1 Chronicles 24:6), but yet serves to give emphasis to λָּ ?μΞπָ ?γִ ?ια (Ew. § 310, a), which, though it cannot be translated, is yet not to be erased (against Berth.). For the notion of free-will (πְ ?γִ ?ιαμֵ ?α = πָ ?γִ ?ια, 2 Chronicles 29:31), to designate the higher wisdom and skill of a craftsman, comp. Exodus 35:5; Exodus 35:22, and Latin phrases, as artes ingenu�, liberates. “We are to think, moreover, of the same craftsmen as those named, 1 Chronicles 22:15; 2 Chronicles 2:6.—For all thy matters: μְ ?λָ ?μΞγְּ ?αָ ?ψֶ ?ικָ to be explained according to 1 Chronicles 26:32 (concerns, matters), scarcely: “for all thy words or commands” (as J. H. Mich., Starke, Keil, etc., think). 2. Contributions of the assembled Princes for building the Temple: 1 Chronicles 29:1-9.—Unto all the congregation, which consisted, 1 Chronicles 28:1, merely of the “princes” or more eminent representatives (notables) of the people.—Solomon, my son, whom alone God hath chosen, properly a parenthesis: “as the one (ΰֶ ?ηָ ?γ) hath God chosen him.” For “young and tender,” comp. 1 Chronicles 22:5.—For the palace is not for man. Only here and 1 Chronicles 29:19 stands the later word δַ ?αִּ ?ιψָ ?δ, to denote the temple (with regard to its fort-like size and strength); elsewhere either of the Persian royal castle (Esther 1:2; Esther 1:5; Esther 2:3; Nehemiah 1:1) or of the castle in the temple at Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 29:2. On a, comp. 1 Chronicles 23:15.—Onyx-stones and set stones. For ωֹׁ ?δָ ?ν onyx (sardonyx, etc.), or perhaps beryl, comp. Genesis 2:12; Exodus 28:9; Exodus 28:20; Job 28:16; on ΰַ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ιξִ ?μּ ?εּ ?ΰִ ?ιν, “stones of settings,” Exodus 25:7; Exodus 35:9, where also onyx-stones, designed for the high priest’s ephod and hoshen, are mentioned.—Rubies and mottled stones, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.ΰַ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ιΞτεּ ?κְ, properly stones of paint or lead-glance (comp. 2 Kings 9:35; Isaiah 54:11), perhaps precious stones of very dark glancing colour, of dark purple, as carbuncle or ruby (πֹ ?τֶ ?κְ, perhaps radically connected with τּ ?εּ ?κְ). The ΰַ ?αְ ?πֵ ?ιψִ ?χְ ?ξָ ?δ, stones of various colours, striped with veins (agate?), as ΰֶ ?αֶ ?οιְ ?χָ ?γָ ?δ “precious costly stones,” in general, ΰΧωַׁ ?ιִ ?ωׁ, white marble (the Sept. and Vulg. explain it by an anachronism of Parian marble); comp. the contracted form ωֵׁ ?ωׁ, Son 5:15; Esther 1:6. 1 Chronicles 29:3. Over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, literally, “upwards of all, out above all.” On δֲ ?λִ ?ιπεֹ ?ϊִ ?ι, without a relative particle connecting it with the foregoing λָּ ?μ, comp. 1 Chronicles 15:12. 1 Chronicles 29:4. Three thousand talents of gold of the gold of Ophir, of the finest and. best gold; comp. the excursus after 2 Chronicles 9. Three thousand talents of gold, reckoned after the holy or Mosaic shekel, would amount to ninety million thalers (about £13,500,000), reckoned after the royal shekel to half as much; and the 7000 talents of silver would amount in the first case to fifteen million thalers (about £2,250,000), in the second case to half that sum. The greatness of this sum shows, at all events, that this includes the whole of David’s private property; comp. on 1 Chronicles 22:14 f.—To overlay the walls of the houses, the proper temple buildings (αָּ ?ϊִּ ?ιν as in 1 Chronicles 28:11), the holy place and the most holy, with the court and the upper chambers, the inner walls of which, 2 Chronicles 3:4-9, were all hung with gold. 1 Chronicles 29:5. The gold for golden, or literally, “for the gold, for the gold,” etc.; comp. 1 Chronicles 29:2.—And for all work by the hand of artificers, for all works to be made by the hand of craftsmen.—And who is willing (δִ ?ϊְ ?πַ ?γֵּ ?α show oneself willing, as 1 Chronicles 29:6; Ezra 2:68) to fill his hand this day unto the Lord, to provide himself with free-will offerings for Him ; comp. Exodus 28:41; Exodus 32:29, and 2 Chronicles 13:9.The infinitive ξַ ?μְּ ?ΰεֹ ?ϊ (along with ξַ ?μֵּ ?ΰ, 2 Chronicles 13:9), also Daniel 9:2; Exodus 31:5. 1 Chronicles 29:6. The princes of the houses, properly, “of the fathers;” δָ ?ΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ for αֵּ ?ιϊδָ ?ΰָ ?αεֹ ?ϊ; comp. 1 Chronicles 24:31, 1 Chronicles 27:1, etc.—With the rulers of the king’s work, literally, “and with regard to the rulers;” before ωָׂ ?ψֵ ?ιξְ ?μֶ ?ΰλֶ ?ϊδξΧ the same superfluous untranslatable μְ as in 1 Chronicles 28:21. These are “the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king,” 1 Chronicles 28:1, the officers of the royal domains. 1 Chronicles 29:7. And gave, for the service of the house of God, of gold five thousand talents. We must suppose a partial “signing” or guaranteeing of the sums named, not an immediate bare paying down, especially as the bulky contributions in the baser metals, the 18,000 talents of brass and the 100,000 talents of iron, could not possibly be present in natura. Even David’s gifts of 3000 talents of gold of Ophir and 7000 talents of silver may be regarded as not a proper direct delivery of these large quantities of metals. Moreover, what the princes, according to our passage, contributed was about a half more than that given by David from his private means, namely—1.5000 talents of gold = 150 million thalers (about £22,500,000), or by the other mode of reckoning, half that sum; 2.10,000 darics=75,000 thalers (about £11,250); 3.10,000 talents of silver = twenty -four million thalers (about £3,600,000); 4:18,000 talents of brass (copper), and 100,000 talents of iron; 5. Precious stones amounting to an indefinite sum. ΰַ ?γַ ?ψְ ?λּ ?εֹ ?ο, with ΰ prosthetic here and Ezra 8:27, along with γַּ ?ψְ ?λְּ ?ξεֹ ?οEzra 2:69, Nehemiah 7:70 ff., is not a Hebrew designation of the drachma (as Ew. Gesch. i. 254 still thinks), but of the daric, a Persian coin, containing 1½ ducats, or 7½ thalers (about 22s. 6d.); comp. Eckhell, Doctr. numm. i. Vol. 3. p. 551; J. Brandis, Das Mόnz-, Maass-, and Gewichtssystem in Vorderasien (1866), p. 244; see also Introd. § 3, a. In darics, the gold coin most current in his time (it is not meant by our author that it existed in David’s time), the Chronist states a smaller part of the sum contributed by the princes, and indeed that part which they gave in coined pieces, while he expresses the amount of uncoined gold that was offered in talents. 1 Chronicles 29:8. With whom stones were found, the present possessors of precious stones. Against Bertheau’s rendering: “and what was found therewith in precious stones,” is the fact that the sing. ΰִ ?ϊּ ?εֹ, that is certainly to be taken distributively (comp. Ew. § 319, a), cannot possibly refer to the sums or quantities in 1 Chronicles 29:6-7. For the Gershonite Jehiel, comp. 1 Chronicles 26:21 f., where the name is Jehieli. 1 Chronicles 29:9. Was exceedingly glad, literally, “was glad with a great gladness;” comp. Zechariah 1:14. 3. David’s Thanksgiving; 1 Chronicles 29:10-19.—Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our father. Among the partriarchs, as whose well-tried tutelary God and heavenly fountain of blessing Jehovah had now again proved Himself to David (by the operation of so highly joyful an act of faith as the free-will offering of the princes of the people), Israel is here specially set forth, because his life most resembled that of David, especially in this, that the cry, “Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies,” etc. (Genesis 32:10), might and must for him also (see 1 Chronicles 29:14) be the fundamental note of his prayer at the close of his fight of faith. At the end of his confession, where the expression is still more solemn, the address is more full: “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers.”—For ever and ever; comp. Psalms 103:17. 1 Chronicles 29:11. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness; comp. Psalms 144:8; and on “power” (here and 1 Chronicles 29:12), Ps. 21:14; on “beauty” (here and 1 Chronicles 29:13), Psalms 94:6; on “lustre” (πֵ ?φַ ?η, less suitably rendered “victory” by Luther), 1 Samuel 15:29; on “majesty” (δεֹ ?γ by Luther, against the text: “thanks”), 1 Samuel 16:27, Psalms 21:6. The whole doxology belongs to the apocalyptic in its main figures, as Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:12; Revelation 7:12, etc.—Thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and Thou art exalted as head over all.ξַ ?ξְ ?μָ ?λָ ?δ, “kingdom, sovereignty,” as Psalms 47:8 f.; comp. Matthew 6:13. ξִ ?ϊְ ?πַ ?ωֵּׂ ?δ is not the participle, before which ΰַ ?ϊָּ ?δ, “Thou art,” should be supplied (Berth.), but an infinitive noun, “the being exalted;” comp. 2 Kings 2:21; Ew. § 160, e. On “head over all,” comp. κεφαλὴνὑπὲρπάντα, Ephesians 1:22. 1 Chronicles 29:12. And the riches and the glory; the same connection, Proverbs 3:16; comp. also 1 Chronicles 29:28; 2 Chronicles 17:5; 1 Kings 3:13. 1 Chronicles 29:13. And now, our God, we thank Thee, properly, “now are we thanking and praising Thy name:” the participles express the constancy of the work; comp. 1 Chronicles 23:5.—Thy glorious name, literally, “the name of Thy glory,” as Luther here renders, while he has, 1 Chronicles 29:3, put “holy house” for “house of holiness.” 1 Chronicles 29:14. For (literally, “and for;” εְ ?λִ ?ι, as Judges 10:10) who am, I, and what is my people, that we should be able?ςָ ?φַ ?ψλֹּ ?ηַ, properly, “to hold or retain strength,” then valere, be able; comp, 2 Chronicles 13:20; Daniel 10:8; Daniel 10:16; Daniel 11:6.—In this way, as our just completed collection of free will offerings for the temple (1 Chronicles 29:3-8) has proved. On λַּ ?ζּ ?ΰֹ ?ϊ, comp. 2 Chronicles 32:15. 1 Chronicles 29:15. For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners; comp. Psalms 39:13; Hebrews 11:13; Hebrews 13:14. Even in this strong assertion of the vanity and uncertainty of earthly life (on b, comp. Job 8:9; Psalms 90:9 f., Psalms 102:12; and Jeremiah 14:8) appears, as in the foregoing verse, which recalls Genesis 32:10, an allusion to that which Jacob confessed at the end of his earthly career; comp. Genesis 47:9. 1 Chronicles 29:16. All this store,δָ ?ξεֹ ?ο heap of money, wealth, as Ecclesiastes 5:9. For the var. “it” (referring to “the heap”) for “her,” see Crit. Note. 1 Chronicles 29:17. In the integrity of my heart.ιωֶׁ ?ψμֵ ?αָ ?α as Deuteronomy 9:5; comp. the foregoing ξֵ ?ιωָׁ ?ψִ ?ιν, “uprightness,” Psalms 17:2.—Thy people who are present, “have found themselves here.” On δַ for ΰֲ ?ωֶׁ ?ψ, comp. 1 Chronicles 26:28 and 1 Chronicles 29:8; on finding oneself=being present, comp. 1 Chronicles 28:1; 2 Chronicles 5:11. 1 Chronicles 29:18. Keep this, the spirit of willingness, which expresses itself in these gifts.—Imagination of the thoughts, as 1 Chronicles 28:9.—Stablish their heart (or “prepare”), as 1 Samuel 7:3. 1 Chronicles 29:19. On a, comp. 1 Chronicles 29:9; on b (δַ ?αִּ ?ιψָ ?δ), 1 Chronicles 29:1. 4. Close of the public Assembly. Solomon’s Elevation to the Throne: 1 Chronicles 29:20-25.—And all the congregation blessed; αψκְ with μְ, as 1 Chronicles 29:13 : δγδ, and δμμ with μְ. And they …bowed down to the Lord, they did obeisance before God and the king as His earthly type and representative. For the combination of χγγ and δωׁ ?ϊηεδ, denoting now divine, now human, respect, comp. Genesis 24:26, Exodus 12:27; Exodus 34:8; 1 Kings 1:16; 1 Kings 1:31; and Psalms 95:6, etc. 1 Chronicles 29:21. And they killed sacrifices unto the Lord, and offered burnt-offerings. The same phrases are united, only in inverse order, 1 Samuel 6:15. ζְ ?αָ ?ηִ ?ιν denotes here animal sacrifices in general, but in b it signifies, in contrast with the before-mentioned burnt-offerings, peace-offerings (ωְׁ ?μָ ?ξִ ?ιν, Exodus 25:5) in connection with the proper joyful feasts.—On the morrow of that day; comp. Leviticus 23:11; Jonah 4:7. 1 Chronicles 29:22. And they ate and drank. This describes the joyful feast, as 1 Chronicles 12:39; 1 Kings 4:20; Deuteronomy 12:7; Deuteronomy 26:10.—And the second time made . . . king. ωֵׁ ?πִ ?ιϊ, distinct from 1 Chronicles 23:1, where a first solemn elevation (proclamation) of Solomon to be the successor of his father was reported, with which, however, the ceremony of anointing was not connected. To the present second elevation corresponds that reported 1 Kings 1:32 ff., as the mention there of Zadok as taking part in this solemn act of anointing shows.—Anointed him unto the Lord (according to the will of the Lord) to be ruler, μְ ?πָ ?βִ ?ιγ; this is here for the sharper contrast with the following μְ ?λֹ ?δֵ ?ο; comp. moreover, 1 Chronicles 28:4; 1 Kings 1:35.—And Zadok to be priest. “With this notice, peculiar to the Chronist, began the degradation of the other high priest, Abiathar, of the line of Ithamar, as Solomon formally completed it after his father’s death (1 Kings 2:26 ff.), already in the lifetime of David: it was prepared by Zadok alone being anointed in the presence of the states along with the young king. 1 Chronicles 29:23. And Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king. For the anticipatory nature of this notice, comp. on 1 Chronicles 23:1; for “the throne of the Lord,” on 1 Chronicles 28:5.—And he prospered; and all Israel obeyed him, according to the hope of David expressed before, 1 Chronicles 22:13, regarding him. For ωָׁ ?ξַ ?ςΰֶ ?μ = obeyed, comp. Deuteronomy 34:9. 1 Chronicles 29:24. Also all the sons of King David submitted to Solomon the king, literally, “gave hand under” (comp. 2 Chronicles 30:8; Lamentations 5:6). We may observe the slight allusion to the soon suppressed attempt of Adonijah (1 Kings 1:5 ff.) which is contained in this statement, quite after the manner of the Chronist (see Principles of History and Ethics, No. 1). 1 Chronicles 29:25. Magnified . . . exceedingly; comp. 1 Chronicles 22:5.—And bestowed upon him the majesty of the kingdom. πָ ?ϊַ ?οςַ ?μ, as Psalms 8:2; δεֹ ?ψ, as 1 Chronicles 29:11.—Which had not been on any king over Israel before him. The construction is as partly in Ecclesiastes 1:16, partly in 1 Kings 3:12. The phrase is somewhat hyperbolical, as there were only two kings of Israel before him (Ishbosheth our author is wont to ignore, as 1 Chronicles 29:27 shows). 5. Close of the History of David: 1 Chronicles 29:26-30.—And the time that he reigned over all Israel, inclusive of the seven years of his residence in Hebron (which is more exactly fixed, 2 Samuel 5:5, at seven and a half years). 1 Chronicles 29:28. In a good old age; comp. Genesis 15:15; Genesis 25:8.—Full (“satisfied”; comp. Job 42:17) of days, riches, and glory. For the combination ςωֶׁ ?ψεְ ?λָ ?αεֹ ?γ, see on 1 Chronicles 29:12. 1 Chronicles 29:29. And the acts . . . first and last. The author here indicates the simple order which he laid down for his now finished representation of the life of David; see Evangelical and Ethical Reflections, No. 2.—Behold, they are written in, properly “on”; comp. 1 Chronicles 9:1. For the sources now named, see Introd. § 5, II. 1 Chronicles 29:30. With all his reign and his might;βְּ ?αεּ ?ψָ ?ϊεֹ, here his “display of might,” the power shown by him, his brave deeds; comp. 1 Kings 16:5.—And the times that went over him, the events that befell him. δָ ?ςִ ?ϊִּ ?ιν, as Job 24:1; Psalms 31:16.—And over all the kingdoms of the countries, with which David came into friendly or hostile contact, as Ph�nicia, Philistia, Edom, Moab, etc. For the phrase, comp. 2 Chronicles 12:8; 2 Chronicles 17:10; 2 Chronicles 20:29. evangelical and ethical reflections, apologetic and homiletic notes on. 1 Chronicles 10-291. On the historical and practical point of view under which the Chronist regards the brief account of the downfall of Saul and his house, with which he opens his full description of the history of David, he explains himself very clearly in the two closing verses of 1 Chronicles 10 : Saul’s kingdom must, after a brief existence, make way for that of David, on the simple ground that it was not erected on the foundation of right faith in Jehovah the God of the covenant, and willing submission to Him; that its possessor had not once only, but constantly, cast to the winds that earnest warning voice of the prophet, “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” 1 Samuel 25:22, and neglected even in the last hour to return to such a course, which was alone pleasing to God. Comp. Bengel’s appropriate note on those two verses (p. 16 of the “Beitrδge zu J. A. Bengel’s Schrifterklδrung, aus handschriftl. Aufzeichnun gen mitgetheilt von Dr. Osk. Wδchter,” Leipz. 1865): “It is worthy of remark that Saul is not expressly charged, when he died in his sin, with his long hate of David, but rather with the unbelief in which he kept not the word of God, and sought counsel at Endor. David indeed is out of the country a considerable time before Saul’s death.… Even at the last Saul might have obtained pardon, if he had earnestly returned to God, and entreated Him. But he lost all.”—Comp. also Schlier, “Kφnig Saul” (Bibelstunden, Nφrdlingen 1867), towards the end, and the homiletic notes of Erdmann on 1 Samuel 31 (Bibelwerk, vi. 337). 2. That our author aimed at no exhaustive treatment of the history of David in its external and internal course—that he rather laboured as partly an excerptor, partly a supplementer, of earlier writers, and so wished to furnish something regarding the history of David contained in the present books of Samuel and Kings, similar in many respects to that which John the Evangelist did for the evangelical history presented by the synoptics,—this he himself indicates in the closing words just considered, when, 1 Chronicles 29:29-30, he points for that which he may have omitted to the historical works of the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad as his chief sources. But even before he repeatedly indicates his acquaintance with essential elements of the history of David, which, according to his plan, he does not report. Thus, in the notice prefixed as preface or introduction, concerning the downfall of Saul and his house, where he certainly alludes to the incident of the necromancer of Endor, but does not report it (1 Chronicles 10:13 f.), and 1 Chronicles 20:5, where he names Goliath, but presumes the history of the slaughter by the youthful shepherd David as known; likewise 1 Chronicles 12:1, where he mentions the times of the exile and proscription of David under Saul, without entering into the particulars at least of its well-known catastrophes and vicissitudes; 1 Chronicles 11:1 and 1 Chronicles 12:23, where he likewise points to the rival kingdom of Saul and Abner during the residence of David at Hebron; 1 Chronicles 20:1, where the proceedings at Jerusalem during the siege of Rabbath Ammon by Joab are slightly indicated; 1 Chronicles 27:23-24, where, by the mention of Ahithophel and Hushai, a similar reference is made to the rebellion of Absalom; and 1 Chronicles 29:24, where the attempt of Adonijah is in like manner touched upon. The omitted parts are, as must have been often manifest, almost always of such a nature as would have served, if brought into the field, to disturb and in some points obscure the lustre of the picture, and throw many a shadow on the otherwise almost uniform light. It is the first growing and youthful but arduously soaring aloft, further, the suffering and persecuted David, not less the despised and derided by all bystanders far and near (but comp. 1 Chronicles 15:29); lastly, the deeply guilty and penitent one, whose picture the Chronist avoids to draw, while all the more earnestly he collects all that appears fitted to represent the hero king in his greatness, and the activity of his reign as an uninterrupted chain of splendid theocratic events. To finish a picture that presents David in the meridian height of his glory and mighty achievements is the obvious aim of all that our author adds in the way of supplement on the ground of his sources to the life-picture of the great king as given in the books of Samuel. Such are the whole contents of 1 Chronicles 17 : (the brave men who stood by David even during the reign of Saul, and the number of the warriors out of all the tribes who made him king in Hebron); those of 1 Chronicles 15, 16 (the full delineation of the preparatory, accompanying, and concluding solemnities in the introduction of the ark into its new abode on Zion); finally, those of the closing 1 Chronicles 22-29, on the internal history of the kingdom and the preparations for the building of the temple, which coincide only in subordinate points with the much more summary parallel sections of Samuel and 1 Kings, but on the whole exhibit the peculiarity and special tendency of our author in full force, and in so far, notwithstanding their dry statistical character and tedious lists of names and numbers, are of special interest (comp. No. 2). The preference of our author for the exhibition of all the brilliant traits of the history of David, or, if you will, his panegyristic idealizing tendency and method, is shown also in the short remarks of a reflective kind at the close of the several sections, which almost always issue in the exhibition of some brilliant aspect of the reign of David, or of the state of the people and the theocracy under him; for example, passages such as these: “And David became greater and greater, and Jehovah Zebaoth was with him,” 1 Chronicles 9:9; “Day by day they came to David to help him, until the camp was great, like a camp of God,” 1 Chronicles 12:22; “His kingdom was lift up on high, because of His people Israel,” 1 Chronicles 14:2; “And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the Lord brought his fear upon all nations,” 1 Chronicles 14:17; “And David reigned over all Israel,: and executed judgment and justice for all his people,” 1 Chronicles 18:14; “Is not the Lord your God with you, and hath He not given you rest on “every side? For He hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and His people,” 1 Chronicles 22:18; But David took not . . . because the Lord had promised to increase as the stars of heaven,” 1 Chronicles 27:23; “And he died in a good old age,; full of days, riches, and glory,” 1 Chronicles 29:28; And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the eyes of all Israel, and bestowed on him the majesty of the kingdom, which had not been on any king over Israel before him,” 1 Chronicles 29:25. And the enumerations and arrangements of the names of David’s heroes, servants, spiritual and temporal officers (princes), counsellors, etc., subserve the same optimistic and idealizing tendency as presented by the author; and the ever-recurring preference in these enumerations for symbolic numbers, especially for three and thirty (see 1 Chronicles 12 :), seven (the supreme officers of the kingdom and the crown, 1 Chronicles 19:14 ff., and the counsellors of the king, 1 Chronicles 27:32 ff.), and twelve or twenty-four, which latter numbers appear as the principle regulating the whole spiritual (Levitical-priestly) and temporal hierarchy of officers in the kingdom of David (see especially 1 Chronicles 23-27). 3. Next to the selection of material, the arrangement of it, the order followed in the history of David, is characteristic for the author’s conception of this brilliant period of the history of salvation before the exile. This order, however, is, as the same closing remark, 1 Chronicles 29:29, to which we owe the above explanation of the choice of material by the author indicates, an extremely simple and elementary one. The author distinguishes “the first and last acts of David;” he divides his material between the two great heads of the earlier and later events of the reign of David (or of the entrance and exit of David). But among the first acts he does not understand David’s youth, with his persecutions by Saul, etc. (so that the last acts would embrace the period of his reign, as in the present division of the books of Samuel, the second of which treats of his reign), but the course of events till shortly before the end of his life, that is, until he took measures for the building of the temple, and the regular transference of the kingdom to his successor, which latter the author regards as the last acts. The point of division separating the last acts from the first is to be sought neither in 1 Chronicles 10:13 f., for the narrative of the downfall of Saul closing with these verses is merely the preface or introduction to the acts of David; nor in 1 Chronicles 12:40 or 1 Chronicles 13:1, for here, where the accounts of the elevation of David to the throne of all Israel, and the close of the seven years’ reign at Hebron, come to an end, the author clearly intends no deeper section (against Kamph.). In truth, the transition from the first to the last acts takes place in 1 Chronicles 22:1, where, after representing the glorious external (military and political) course of the forty years’ reign of the king, his provisions for transferring as well the sovereignty as the still unsolved problem of the building of the temple to his son Solomon begins to be described—where, accordingly, as it is said in the further course of the narrative, 1 Chronicles 23:1 : “David was old and full of days; and he made his son Solomon king over Israel” (comp. the remarks made, p. 142, on the generalizing import of those words). It is a peculiar trait of the Chronist, distinguishing in a characteristic way his view and method of history from that of the author of the books of Samuel, that he draws a sharp line between the evening of David’s life as his ἔσχατα, and the mid-day as his πρῶτα (or between the completion and continuance of his reign), and weaves into the representation of the evening of his life a full retrospect of the whole internal aspect of the royal household under David. The picture thus drawn of the Levitical and priestly, and of the military and civil, government and official hierarchy of the king (1 Chronicles 23:27), forms, together with its frame of reports concerning the collections and preparations of David, and the chiefs of the people for the temple to be built by Solomon (22 and 28, 29), as it were, the legacy of David to his son, the testament of one glorious king to his no less glorious (according to the peculiar Levitical and hierarchical conception of our author indeed, 1 Chronicles 29:25, still more glorious) heir and successor. It is on account of Solomon, the temple-builder, that the author dwells so long on this legacy of his father preparing and stipulating for the building, and that this part of his work rises to the importance of a second half of the history of his father, to an episode in the life of David, comparable with the so-called report of travels by Luke in the third Gospel, or the farewell addresses of our Lord in John 13-14, bearing in a still higher degree the character of a retrospect and legacy. Beside this very minute representation of the close of David’s life, that under the hands of our author, notwithstanding its comparatively brief duration, has assumed the form of an autumn almost equal in length with the preceding summer of life, the spring with its vicissitude of clear sunshine and rough storm is quite cast into the shade; it appears, indeed, by the merely occasional allusions to its incidents which are contained in 1 Chronicles 10-12, intentionally reduced to a vanishing point in the development of the whole. Yet, in the section relating to the catastrophe of Saul, 1 Chronicles 10, the author has furnished an independent preface or introduction to the chief object of his representation, and so has given to the whole a threefold arrangement, in which, however, by far the greatest importance belongs extensively and intensively to the second and third parts. 4. The statement of the Chronist has suffered nothing in credibility by this peculiar arrangement and distribution, especially by his dwelling so long on the preparations for building the temple, and the measures taken for transferring the kingdom to Solomon, which are so briefly handled in the introduction to the books of Kings. The solid walls of the old sources appear through the cover corresponding to his individual view and bent, which he has imparted to the building he has erected. This holds as well of the sections on the external government, peculiar to his statement, as of the closing accounts of the king setting his house in order and handing it over to his successor. It appears particularly fitted to awaken confidence in his statement, that no special preference for the wonderful is to be remarked in the sections peculiar to him; that, in fact, some of these sections—for example, 12, 23 ff., and 27 ff.—report only that which corresponds to the occurrences of every-day life, which might arise in the profane history of any kingdom or people. And even there, where his statement runs parallel with that of the older historical books, scarcely anywhere does any stronger preference appear for the wonderful or extraordinary than in those documents, except, perhaps, his account of the census and the plague, which has certainly a trace of the miraculous more than the older parallel text (1 Chronicles 21:26). At the most, the suspicion of unhistorical exaggeration might rest on some of the surprisingly high numbers, as they appear in the present text, 1 Chronicles 12:23-40; 1 Chronicles 12:22, and 1 Chronicles 29:4 ff., unless partly the obvious possibility of occasional corruption, partly the almost inevitable necessity of the assumption that smaller values than those usually assumed are to be admitted, served very much to diminish the ground which these passages present for critical assaults. Comp. that which is remarked on them in detail (1 Chronicles 12:23 ff., p. 106 f, and 1 Chronicles 22:14, p. 137 f.), and see, moreover, the Apologetic Remarks on 1 Chronicles 15:16, p. 119 ff. 5. Homiletic hints for the history of David in rich selection are to be found in Erdmann’s elaboration of the books of Samuel (vol. 6 of the Bibelw.), “With respect to the sections peculiar to the Chronist, a small gleaning may here be presented of some noteworthy practical hints from older expositors:— On 1 Chronicles 12:38-40, Starke, after Burmann, remarks: “What is here said of David is a fine figure (type) of the Messiah. . . . He also at first had only a small following; but after He came to His glory, the kingdom of God burst forth mightily, and subjects to Him were collected in all the world. ... To David come even those of the tribe of Benjamin, the brethren of Saul, the bitter enemy of David; so had Christ disciples from the Jews, even from the Pharisees, His deadly foes; and as we by nature are all His foes, He yet converts us to His love and to faith in Him.... At David’s anointing was great joy; on all sides was provided store of eating and drinking; even so believers rejoiced at and after Christ’s ascension, and because they had all things common. ” On 1 Chronicles 16:27, comp. the remark (suitable also to the contents of 23–26) of Bengel, p. 1 Chronicles 17 : “This is so fine in David; he has gone as nigh to the Levites as it was possible for him to do, as if he were one of them; and yet he has invaded no right. How finely devotion and valour are combined! Something quite peculiar has taken place in David’s heart.” On 1 Chronicles 29:30 he remarks: “How earnest is the dear David become in his old age! How he has come as nigh as possible to the building of the temple!” Comp., with regard to the credibility of the statement concerning David’s last directions to Solomon especially the giving of the instructions for the building of the temple, the remark of Bertheau on 1 Chronicles 28:11-19 : “The whole section thus shows that David not only made preparations for building the temple by providing materials, but also gave definite orders for the execution of the work and the making of the vessels to Solomon, and that he proceeded not according to his own invention and design, but was directed by divine revelation.… In the books of Kings, nothing of this occurs; but if we must gather from the accounts of Chronicles, that David not only thought of the temple, but made preparations for it, which could not have consisted in an uncertain collection of materials, we shall not be able to avoid assuming that a communication was made according to which, even in David’s time, the plan of the temple was fixed. To execute the buildings itself was not permitted to David; but he had completed the preparations so far, that Solomon in the fourth year of his reign was able to proceed with the building, and to finish it in the eleventh (1 Kings 6). The report of David’s preparation, which extended to the fixing of the plan for the building, is the historical foundation for the statement in our verses, in which the free handling of the historical material, according to modern views, is as obvious as in the remaining sections of the last two chapters of the first book of Chronicles.” Footnotes: For λַּֽ ?ςֲ ?αεֹ ?γַ ?ϊ a number of mss. and old editions read αַּ ?ςֲ ?αεֹ ?γַ ?ϊ (“for the service”). For μְ ?τֹ ?ψְ ?ωִׁ ?ινεְ ?ρֹ ?λְ ?λִ ?ιν the Sept. and Vulg. read δַ ?τֹּ ?ψְ ?ωִׁ ?ινεְ ?δַ ?ρֹּ ?λְ ?λִ ?ιν; comp. Exeg. Expl So the Kethib (δִ ?ιΰ); the Keri has δεּ ?ΰ, referring to δֶ ?δָ ?ξεֹ ?ο.