The First Book of the Chronicles

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- Chapter 23 -

David was a very old man when he appointed his son Solomon to be the next king.

David gathered the leaders of Israel and the priests and other descendants of Levi.

He commanded some of his officials to count the descendants of Levi who were at least thirty years old, and they found out that there were thirty-eight thousand of them.

Then David said, “From those thirty-eight thousand men, I want twenty-four thousand of them to supervise the work at the temple of Yahweh, and I want six thousand of them to be officials and judges.

I want four thousand to be guards at the gates, and four thousand to praise Yahweh, using the musical instruments that I have provided for them.”

David divided the descendants of Levi into three groups; each group consisted of men who were descendants of one of the three sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 3:21–26; Numbers 4:21–28)

The descendants of Gershon were Ladan and Shimei.

There were three sons of Ladan: Jehiel was the oldest, and his younger brothers Zetham and Joel.

There were three of the sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran. They were all leaders of the clans of Ladan.

There were four men who were sons of Shimei:

Jahath, who was his oldest son, and his younger brothers Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as though they were one family.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 3:27–32; Numbers 4:1–20)

Kohath had four sons: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

There were two sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart to dedicate to Yahweh the very holy things, to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, to serve in his presence, and to declare to the people what Yahweh would do to bless them. They were to do those things forever.

The sons of Moses, the man who served God well, were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. They are listed next.

The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.

The oldest son of Gershom was Shubael.

Rehabiah was the oldest son of Eliezer. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many sons.

The oldest son of Izhar was Shelomith.

Hebron had four sons. Jeriah was his oldest son, and his younger brothers were Amariah, Jahaziel, and Jekameam.

Uzziel had two sons. Micah was the oldest son, and his younger brother was Isshiah.

The Merarites

(Numbers 3:33–37; Numbers 4:29–33)

Merari had two sons: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish.

Eleazar had no sons; he had only daughters. So their cousins, the sons of Kish, married them.

The three sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth.

Levite Duties Revised

Those were the descendants of Levi, whose names were listed according to their families. They were chosen for special jobs by casting lots. Each person who was at least twenty years old was listed. They all worked in the temple of Yahweh.

David had said previously, “Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelite people belong, has enabled us to have peace, and he has come to live in Jerusalem forever.

Therefore, the descendants of Levi no longer need to carry the sacred tent and the items used in the work there.”

Obeying the final instructions of David before he died, instructions for doing this work at the temple, they counted only the descendants of Levi who were at least twenty years old.

The work of those descendants of Levi was to assist the descendants of Aaron in their work in Yahweh’s temple. They were to be in charge of the temple courtyards and the side rooms, the ceremonies for purifying all the sacred things, and to do other work at the temple.

They were also in charge of the loaves of bread on display before God, the loaves that were placed each week on the table in the temple, the flour for the flour offerings, and the wafers that were made without yeast. They also had to measure the ingredients, mix them, and bake the bread and wafers.

They were also told to stand every morning at the temple and thank Yahweh and praise him. They were also required to do the same thing every evening.

And they were to do the same thing whenever offerings that were to be completely burned on the altar were presented to Yahweh on Sabbath days and during the new moon celebrations and other religious festivals. They were told how many of them should be there and what they should do each time.

So the descendants of Levi did the work that was assigned to them by their fellow Israelites who were descendants of Aaron. They did that work at the sacred tent and in the holy place inside the tent, and later at the temple.

Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.

He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.

The Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.

David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the LORD’s house, six thousand were officers and judges,

four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made for giving praise.”

David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

The Gershonites

(Numbers 3:21–26; Numbers 4:21–28)

Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.

The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel, three.

The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ households of Ladan.

The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.

Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah didn’t have many sons; therefore they became a fathers’ house in one reckoning.

The Kohathites

(Numbers 3:27–32; Numbers 4:1–20)

The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.

The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name forever.

But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.

The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.

The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.

The son of Eliezer was Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.

The son of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.

The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.

The Merarites

(Numbers 3:33–37; Numbers 4:29–33)

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.

Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only; and their relatives, the sons of Kish, took them as wives.

The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.

Levite Duties Revised

These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the LORD’s house, from twenty years old and upward.

For David said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.

Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.”

For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and upward.

For their duty was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the LORD’s house—in the courts, in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house;

for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size;

and to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise in the evening;

and to offer all burnt offerings to the LORD on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before the LORD;

and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers for the service of the LORD’s house.