Deeper Commentary
1Ch 9:1 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies - they are written
in the book of the kings of Israel. Judah was carried away captive to
Babylon for their disobedience-
Ezra
2:62 records Judah being ‘reckoned by genealogies’, using the same Hebrew
word which is the hallmark of the Chronicles genealogies (1 Chron. 4:33;
5:1,7,17; 7:5,7,9,40; 9:1,22). And in this context, Is. 40:26 compares
God’s ‘bringing out’ of Judah from Babylon with His ‘bringing out’ the
stars by their individual names, all wonderfully known to Him. Ps. 87:6
had prophesied something similar about the restoration of Zion’s fortunes:
“The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was
born there”. The Kingdom of God was to be the restoration of Israel’s
Kingdom- but they had to actually get on and restore it rather than wait
for it to come.
1Ch 9:2 Now the first inhabitants who lived in their possessions in their
cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites and the Nethinim-
"First" here refers to importance rather than first chronologically.
The sense is as in Ezra 2:70 "Now those who first returned from Babylon to
dwell in Judaea, again, dwelt [not in Jerusalem, but] in their own cities;
this did they all whether they were laymen, priests, Levites; or
Nethinim". We note that the common "Israelites" are placed first rather
than last. The Levites were themselves but servants, and we see here the
importance God attaches to the rank and file.
1Ch 9:3 In Jerusalem lived of the children of Judah, of the children of
Benjamin and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh-
The fact some of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh also lived there is
omitted
by Nehemiah
(Neh.
11:4).
Perhaps Nehemiah recognized
in his edited version that the prophetic intention of Israel and Judah
reuniting in Zion hadn't come about as intended. There had been no
repentance, and most of them preferred to remain in exile. So he didn't
even want to give the impression that the intended restoration had
happened in this respect.
1Ch 9:4 Uthai the son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani,
of the children of Perez son of Judah-
From :4-6 we see (as in Num. 26:20) the threefold division of the tribe
of Judah (into the children of Perez, Shelah and Zerah).
1Ch 9:5 Of the Shilonites: Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons-
Related not to the town of Shiloh, but to the descendants of Shelah in the
line of Judah (Num. 26:20). Shelah had a very shady beginning and might
have seemed doomed to spiritual failure (Gen. 38:5,11,14); he was half
Canaanite. But from shaky spiritual beginnings, some do make good. And now
we are reading of his descendants as those living in Jerusalem as the
vanguard of the restoration of God's Kingdom.
1Ch 9:6 Of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brothers, six hundred and
ninety-
Neh.
11:6
says
that "All
the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight
valiant men".
At this point the list in 1
Chron. 9 gives the number of the sons of Zerah as 690. It is clear therefore that
neither list is complete.
1Ch 9:7 Of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of
Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah-
Better “and Hodaviah the son of Hasenuah”, the same person as “Judah
the son of Has-senuah” in Neh. 11:9.
1Ch 9:8 and Ibneiah son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, son of
Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah-
Neh.
11:8
adds: "After
him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight".
These are not mentioned
here
in the parallel 1 Chron. 9:8 where the chiefs of Benjamin inferior to
Sallu are Ibneiah, Elah and Meshullam. There is no contradiction; it's
simply that neither of the lists are exhaustive.
1Ch 9:9 and their brothers, according to their generations, nine hundred
and fifty-six. All these men were heads of fathers’ households by their
fathers’ houses-
"Brothers" is a vague term in Hebrew, and this would account for the
slight difference in numbers with Neh. 11:8.
1Ch 9:10 Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin-
Those three are names of the priestly orders in 1 Chron. 24:7.
1Ch 9:11 and Azariah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son
of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ruler of God’s house-
This might (2 Chron. 31:10,13) or might not (2 Chron. 35:8) refer to
the High Priest.
1Ch 9:12 and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah,
and Maasai son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of
Meshillemith, son of Immer-
Compare this with Neh. 11:13: "And his brothers, chiefs of fathers’ households, two hundred
and forty-two; and Amashsai the son of Azarel, the son of Ahzai, the son
of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer". AV: "Amashai (R.V. Amashsai) the son of Azareel (R.V.
Azarel), the son of Ahasai (R.V. Ahzai), the son of Meshillemoth]".
Compare the parallel in 1 Chron. 9:12, "Maasai the son of Adiel, the son
of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith". The same
person is in view. Comparing the names we see how the Biblical genealogies
omit some names and generations, and also how the same name is rendered
slightly differently. This is partly because of the difficulty of
transliterating letters from non-Latin languages, especially ancient ones.
But there are also substantive differences. Names in non-literate
societies were pronounced differently and spelt differently in different
contexts.
1Ch 9:13 and their brothers, heads of their fathers’ houses, one thousand
seven hundred and sixty; very able men for the work of the service of
God’s house-
Neh. 11:14 "mighty men of valour".
Their "valour" was in their ability to serve.
For this is the true bravery.
1Ch 9:14 Of the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of
Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari-
Hashabiah is called "the son of Bunni" in Neh. 11, but a man could be
the descendant of more than one person, understanding "son of" as
'descendant' rather than literally.
1Ch 9:15 and Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah son of Mica, son of
Zichri, son of Asaph-
The Hebrew words can be read differently, either as proper nouns with
meanings, or words; hence Neh. 11:17 "Bakbukiah the second among his
brethren".
1Ch 9:16 and Obadiah son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun, and
Berechiah son of Asa, son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the
Netophathites-
These villages were hamlets around Bethlehem (1 Chron. 2:54; Neh.
7:26). Perhaps because of the long term influence of David, who was from
there, this area became a source of faithful people (Ezra 2:22; 1 Chron.
27:13,15; Neh. 12:28).
1Ch 9:17 The porters: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon and Ahiman, and their brothers
(Shallum was the chief)-
The genealogy of the sons of Korah, the gatekeepers of the temple, is
recorded in 9:17-19. It can be shown from the genealogies that they were
brought up by their second cousin, Phinehas. They obeyed the command to
leave the tents of their father Korah when he was consumed in the
earthquake. Num. 16:27 mentions Dathan and Abiram's children standing
outside their tents at this time, but there is the pointed omission of
Korah's children; they had left the tents. We can therefore build up a
picture of Phinehas as a zealot for the purity of God's Truth (Num. 25),
yet mixed with compassion, as shown by the way he took those children of
Korah under his wing, and brought them up soundly in the Truth, with the
result that wrote at least 11 of the Psalms and protected the purity of
temple worship. It should be noted that Samuel was a Korahite (6:33-38).
1Ch 9:18 who previously served in the king’s gate eastward: they were the
porters for the camp of the children of Levi-
This was the gate specially built in the temple by which the king
entered (2 Kings 16:18; Ez. 46:1,2).
1Ch 9:19 Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
and his brothers, of his father’s house, the Korahites, were over the work
of the service, keepers of the thresholds of the tent. Their fathers had
been over the camp of Yahweh, keepers of the entry-
When Israel walked with God, “The hosts of the children of Levi”
were actually called “the host / camp of Yahweh” (1 Chron. 9:18,19 Heb.). If we
each have a guardian Angel, it makes sense that the hosts of God’s people
on earth are represented by Angelic hosts in the Heavens.
1Ch 9:20 Phinehas the son of Eleazar was ruler over them in time past, and
Yahweh was with him-
The allusion may be to how it was at the door of the tabernacle /
tent of the congregation that Phinehas stopped the apostasy of Israel. It
seems from Num. 25:6-8 that the Midianite woman and the Israelite were
having sex within "the tent", the tabernacle. Phinehas was remembered for
this by his descendants directing the guards at the door of the tent (1
Chron. 9:19). The actions of the couple were therefore intended to turn
the holy place into a place where Yahweh was supposedly worshipped through
sex with prostitutes, exactly the way of pagan religions, and which was a
problem in the churches at Corinth and Ephesus.
1Ch 9:21 Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the
Tent of Meeting-
The "porters and singers"
at the restoration
were Levites
(Neh. 7:1).
The use of Levites to guard the gates was a conscious attempt to restore
the situation in Solomon's temple (1 Chron. 9:17-22; 26:12-19). We should
also remember that the Levites and priests accounted for about half the
population of Jerusalem (Neh. 11:6-19 cp. 1 Chron. 9:9-22). According to
Ez. 44:11-14, the repentant Levites were to be the gatekeepers in the
restored temple. But there is no evidence they did repent, indeed the
record in Nehemiah shows they were on the side of the Samaritan
opposition, intermarrying with them; and so the Kingdom situation possible
at the restoration was precluded.
1Ch 9:22 All these who were chosen to be porters in the thresholds were
two hundred and twelve-
Compare
Neh.
11:19
"Moreover
the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the
gates, were one hundred and seventy-two".
1 Chron. 9:22 gives 212. It depends exactly what time 1 Chron. 9 refers
to. And guards of the gates may have included others who were not in this
particular list of "porters", for as noted several times, neither of the
lists are exhaustive.
These were reckoned by genealogy in their
villages, whom David and Samuel the prophet ordained-
This gives us an insight into David’s mind when he was fleeing from
Saul. The last time that Samuel and David are seen together is when
David fled for his life from his own house – before Saul was dead and
David on the throne.
In their office of
trust-
As
any employer soon learns, delegation is a risk. We have been “entrusted
with the Gospel” (Tit. 1:3 RV); and therefore the world God so wants to
love, the world God is appealing to, may never see Him; for He makes His
appeal through us, as Paul told the Corinthians. Those who did God’s work
in the Old Testament temple were similarly given a “trust”, they were
entrusted with God’s work.
1Ch 9:23 So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the
house of Yahweh, even the house of the tent, as guards-
This could imply that the holy and / or most holy place was still
beneath a tent; or that it was still called this in recognition of the
fact God didn't really want a house at all, but preferred to dwell in a
tent.
1Ch 9:24 On the four sides were the porters, toward the east, west, north,
and south-
Further details are in 1 Chron. 26:14-18.
1Ch 9:25 Their brothers, in their villages, were to come in every seven
days from time to time to be with them-
Perhaps it is the villages of the Netophathites which are in view
(:16; Neh. 12:28). These were in Bethlehem, not so far from the temple.
1Ch 9:26 for the four chief porters, who were Levites, were in an office
of trust, and were over the rooms and over the treasuries in God’s house-
See on :22. These chambers around the temple court were where the
holy vessels and tithes were stored (1 Chron. 28:12; 2 Chron. 31:5,11,12;
Neh. 13:4-9). It could be to these rooms which the Lord Jesus alludes when
He says that in God's house / temple, there are many such rooms and He
will go to die on the cross to prepare them for our use (Jn. 14:1-3). As
:33 shows, the Levites at times slept in them. He clearly has in view the
temple as a spiritual house, comprised of people not bricks. The idea is
that His death achieved for us not only salvation, but eternal service as
priests within God's "house", being about God's work and business for the
sake of others' salvation and implementing their relationship with God.
This is what eternity will be about. And it is in this life which we
develop our desire to do these things, so that the Kingdom will be a time
when all the frustrations and barriers to such service are removed.
1Ch 9:27 They lodged around God’s house, because that duty was theirs. To
them pertained its opening morning by morning-
"They" are the four chief porters of :26. We recall how Samuel as a
non-Levite was charged with this work.
1Ch 9:28 Certain of them were in charge of the vessels of service; for by
count were these brought in and by count were these taken out-
This could imply that things were at such a low ebb spiritually that
there was the possibility of them being stolen, as they would have been
made of precious metals.
1Ch 9:29 Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, and over all
the vessels of the sanctuary, and over the fine flour, the wine, the oil,
the frankincense and the spices-
These were specifically the things required for the daily sacrifices.
1Ch 9:30 Some of the sons of the priests prepared the mix of the spices-
This was forbidden to any others on pain of death (Ex. 30:33,35).
This refers to the careful preparation of the incense (Ex. 37:29), which
represents how the Lord Jesus fuses together so many different factors in
our prayers (Ps. 141:2). For "we know not how to pray as we ought" (Rom.
8:26), and He is the only priest who can put together all the surrounding
dimensions which are what God sees as 'prayer'. For prayer before God is
far more than the words we think or say.
1Ch 9:31 Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum
the Korahite, had the office of trust over the things that were baked in
pans-
Zechariah is the firstborn of Shallum in 1 Chron. 26:2. These may be
the same person, as people often had more than one name. Or "Shallum" may
refer not to an individual but to a family.
1Ch 9:32 Some of their brothers, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over
the show bread, to prepare it every Sabbath-
Literally, "the pile"; the cakes were piled in two rows on the table
of shewbread (Lev. 24:5-8).
1Ch 9:33 These are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the
Levites, who lived in the rooms and were free from other service; for they
were employed in their work day and night-
These rooms were storerooms but were lived in by the Levites when on
duty. As explained on :26, they were understood by the Lord Jesus to
symbolize our eternal place in God's purpose. We will therefore be
eternally as Levites on duty, "day and night". It is in this life that we
attain a taste for that work and a desire to be always about it. If we
approach the Lord's service from a minimalist perspective, then such
service being done eternally will not be something we really want.
1Ch 9:34 These were heads of fathers’ households of the Levites,
throughout their generations, chief men. They lived at Jerusalem-
This appears to draw to a conclusion the summary of the Jerusalem
Levites and their division of labour which began in 1 Chron. 8:28.
1Ch 9:35 In Gibeon there lived the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife’s
name was Maacah-
This genealogical information on Saul is to provide background for
the historical narrative which will begin with the death of Saul in 1
Chron. 10.
1Ch 9:36 His firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab-
When a passage is repeated twice, surely God wishes us to perceive
something. 1 Chron. 8:30-34 is repeated in 9:36-40. The reason seems to be
that the name 'Baal' was used by the leaders of Israel. Gibeon's children
included Kish and Baal , Kish's son was king Saul, Saul had a son
called Eshbaal as well as Jonathan, David's beloved friend;
and Jonathan had a son called Meribbaal . These are not the names
as recorded elsewhere; evidently the Chronicles record is highlighting the
fact that there was a strand of weakness for idols in the family of Saul,
including in Jonathan- who was a type of us in his friendship of David /
Jesus. Surely this helps us to better relate to him; his love of David,
his appreciation of David's righteousness, his belief that David would
have the future Kingdom, struggled against the fact that the worldly
influence of his father and great-grandfather still rubbed off upon him.
1Ch 9:37 Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah and Mikloth-
We note that none of the names of the sons of Kish feature the 'Yah'
prefix or suffix. Saul didn't come from a spiritual background, and yet
the Spirit of God was strong enough to change him and give him "another
heart". Just as it can transform secular, irreligious man today.
1Ch 9:38 Mikloth became the father of Shimeam. They also lived with their
brothers in Jerusalem, over against their brothers-
The idea is that some of the family lived in Jerusalem, 'opposite',
as it were, the family who remained in Gibeah. Jerusalem was originally in
Benjamin's territory. Mikloth may refer to another brother of Saul. For
the purpose of this genealogy is to introduce us to Saul.
1Ch 9:39 Ner became the father of Kish; and Kish became the father of
Saul; and Saul became the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab and
Eshbaal-
1 Sam. 31:2; 1 Chron. 10:2 read "Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua",
whereas 1 Sam. 14:49 has "Jonathan, Ishvi and Malchishua". "Ishvi" may be
another name for Abinadab; or we may note that the word means "and the
second...", which would make sense in 1 Sam. 14:49. The genealogies of 1
Chron. 8:33; 9:39 also mention Esh-Baal or Ishbosheth; perhaps his name
mentioning the "Baal" compound was the reason for its exclusion. Having
such a name reflects upon Saul's lack of total devotion to Yahweh.
1Ch 9:40 The son of Jonathan was Merib Baal; and Merib Baal became the
father of Micah-
Merib-baal (1 Chron. 8:34; 9:40) could mean 'the shame of Baal', but
there is evidence that Saul's daughter Michal had an idol and it is likely
that even Jonathan was not free of idolatry. Idolatry has always been a
besetting weakness amongst even the best of God's people.
Tragically, we so often read of Yahweh's people carrying the names of
Baal or other gods within their own names- e.g. Merib-baal (1 Chron. 8:34;
9:40); Ishbaal (1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39); Baal-yada (1 Chron. 14:7); and
perhaps worst of all, Baal-Yah (1 Chron. 12:5). Is our 'name' or
personality before God the same tragic mixture of flesh and spirit?
1Ch 9:41 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea and Ahaz-
Micah may refer to another brother or son of Saul. For the purpose of
this genealogy is to introduce us to Saul. "Melech", "king", may refer to
the son or relative whom Saul favoured to succeed him, as kings often
didn't choose their firstborn sons to succeed them. In this case, it
reflects his refusal to believe the reality of the fact that David was to
succeed him. Men are all the time in denial of God's word and all the
evidence that it is going to come true, and act and plan as if
sleepwalking or in amnesia, as if it will not.
1Ch 9:42 Ahaz became the father of Jarah; and Jarah became the father of
Alemeth, Azmaveth and Zimri; and Zimri became the father of Moza-
"Jarah" is the very same word for "honeycomb" used in the record of
how Jonathan ate of a honeycomb after his great victory over the
Philistines, and his father Saul sought to kill him for it (1 Sam. 14:27).
We are reading here of the relatives of Saul, so it may well be that this
child was named in favour of and respect for Jonathan rather than Saul.
1Ch 9:43 and Moza became the father of Binea, and Rephaiah his son,
Eleasah his son, Azel his son-
We may wonder this particular line of Saul's family is recorded. We
note that unlike the names of Saul's brothers, the names of this branch
generally speak of God or spiritual things. Perhaps the names carried
significance to those for whom these genealogies were first prepared. Or
maybe the idea is that those who are spiritually minded are the ones whose
name is preserved.
1Ch 9:44 Azel had six sons, whose names are: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael,
Sheariah, Obadiah and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel-
1 Chron. 8:38,39 says that Azel had a nephew called Ulam. Ulam is twelfth
from Saul, although generations are often skipped in these genealogies. So
seeing that Hezekiah was thirteenth from David, we can conclude that it
was Isaiah or Hezekiah who may have first ordered these genealogies to be
drawn up, although they were rewritten at the times of the exiles.
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