Chapter 6

1 The sons of Levi. 4 The line of the priests unto the captivity. 16 The families of Gershom, Merari, and Kohath. 49 The office of Aaron, and his line unto Ahimaaz. 54 The cities of the priests and Levites.

1. The sons of Levi. Chapter 6 deals with the tribe of Levi, its descendants and its cities. Verses 3 to 15 give the line of Aaron through Eleazar to Jehozadak and the Babylonian captivity. Beginning with Eleazar, 22 names are given for a period covering more than 8 centuries.

4. Eleazar. Eleazar was only one of the sons of Aaron, but it is his line that is here given. There were also personages of high-priestly rank in the line of Ithamar (see ch. 24:1–6).

6. Uzzi begat Zerahiah. This was probably near the time of Eli. The line of Eli is as follows: Eli, Phinehas, Ahitub, Ahimelech, Abiathar (see 1 Sam. 14:3; 22:20; 1 Kings 2:26, 27). The line of Eleazar through Uzzi and Zerahiah was no doubt serving as priests contemporaneously with the line of Ithamar-Eli. In 1 Chron. 24:3, Ahimelech of Eli’s line is called a descendant of Ithamar. See further on 2 Sam. 8:17.

8. Ahitub begat Zadok. Zadok was joint high priest with Abiathar under David (see 2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24).

10. Azariah. Compare 1 Kings 4:2. The name Azariah appears three times in the present list (1 Chron. 6:9, 10, 13). A priest by the name of Azariah withstood Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:17, 18), and another Azariah was priest during the time of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 31:10).

11. Amariah. Probably the high priest in office at the time of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 19:11).

12. Ahitub begat Zadok. The exact period when these men held priestly office is not known. It was probably about the time when Jehoiada, who made Joash king (2 Chron. 23), lived. The fact that Jehoiada is not cited in the present genealogy is evidence that the names of all priests do not appear in this present list. About a century later there was another priest, presumably a high priest, whose name does not appear in the present listing, Urijah of the time of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:10–16).

13. Hilkiah. Probably the Hilkiah who found the book of the law during the time of Josiah (2 Kings 22:8).

14. Seraiah. The high priest at the time when Jerusalem fell (2 Kings 25:18–21; Jer. 52:24).

15. Jehozadak went into captivity. He must have been very young at this time (586 b.c.), for his son (unless grandson or other descendant is meant, see on ch. 2:7) Joshua was high priest (Ezra 3:2) at the time of the return of the exiles during the reign of Cyrus (c. 553–530 b.c.), and as late as the second year of Darius (520/519 b.c.), when the work of completing the rebuilding of the Temple was begun (Haggai 1:1, 14).

16. The sons of Levi. After having given a list of the high priests from Levi to Jehozadak (vs. 1–15), the chronicler returns to the sons of Levi, to give an account of several branches of the house of Levi.

19. Families. That is, clans.

20. Of Gershom. Verses 20 and 21 list seven successive generations of Gershonites. This genealogy does not appear in the Pentateuch.

22. The sons of Kohath. With this list of the descendants of Kohath (vs. 22–28), compare that of the ancestors of Heman the singer (vs. 33–38; see on v. 33).

28. Samuel. The list of Kohathites concludes with the mention of Samuel and his sons.

Vashni. Heb. washni, probably to be translated “and the second.” The first-born son was Joel (see on 1 Sam. 8:2).

31. Whom David set. Verses 31 and 32 are a preclude to the pedigrees of Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, who were the leaders of David’s choir.

32. Tabernacle. After the entry into Canaan the tabernacle which Moses had made was set up at Shiloh and was still there in the days of Eli (Joshua 18:1; Judges 18:31; 1 Sam. 1:3). It was later moved to Nob, as is evident by the presence of the shewbread there (1 Sam. 21:1, 4, 6). In David’s time, even after the ark had been brought to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 13:5–14; 15:1 to 16:6), the tabernacle and the altar of burnt offering were at Gibeon (1 Chron. 21:29). The tabernacle seems to have remained there until the reign of Solomon (2 Chron. 1:3), who finally transferred it to the new Temple (2 Chron. 5:5).

Since v. 31 mentions the ark, it is not quite clear whether v. 32 refers to the original tabernacle (at Gibeon) or the tent erected to house the ark in Jerusalem (see PP 708).

33. Of the Kohathites: Heman. Verses 33–38 present the ancestry of Heman, a Kohathite, one of the tabernacle singers in the days of David, and his lineage parallels that of vs. 22–28. There are variations in the two lists. Twenty-one generations are listed from Levi to this contemporary of David, a period of about 650 years. Ruth 4:18–22 list ten generations in the line of Judah from Judah to David (see on Matt. 1:3–6). Not all genealogical tables give every link (see on ch. 2:7).

39. Asaph. Verses 39–43 trace the lineage of Asaph back to Gershom, the son of Levi, through 13 names. However, vs. 20, 21, list only 7 names for this period. The fact that such names as Zerah, Zimmah, and Jahath appear in both lists and in the same sequence, indicates that the two lists cover the same genealogy, with the first, however, giving an abbreviated form.

Right hand. That is, the Asaphites stood to the right of the Hemanites.

44. Sons of Merari. Verses 44–47 present the ancestry of Ethan the Merarite.

48. Their brethren. That is, the Levites who were not singers.

49. Aaron and his sons. As an introduction to the next section, which has to do with the Levitical cities, appears a partial recapitulation of the priestly line, terminating with Ahimaaz of the time of David and Solomon (vs. 50–53; cf. vs. 4–8).

54. Dwelling places. Compare Joshua 21:5–39.

55. Suburbs. That is, the surrounding pasturelands (see on Num. 35:2; Joshua 14:4).

58. Hilen. Called “Holon” in Joshua 21:15.

60. Thirteen cities. Only 11 cities have been named. The two not listed are Juttah and Gibeon (see Joshua 21:16, 17).

61. The half tribe. This verse is probably an incomplete form of the parallel passage in Joshua 21:5.

64. These cities. That is, the cities numbered in vs. 61–64 (see Joshua 21:4–8).

66. The residue. Compare Joshua 21:20. Verses 66–81 name the cities whose number was given in vs. 61–64. Compare Joshua 21:20–39. Many variations occur in the names of the cities in the two lists. Some nine centuries had elapsed between the writing of Joshua and Chronicles, and in this time many changes had taken place in local names.

67. Cities of refuge. Only Shechem was a city of refuge. For the cities of refuge, see on Num. 35:6; Deut. 19:2, 3.

69. Aijalon. Joshua 21:23, 24, lists Aijalon as a contribution of Dan, together with Eltekeh, Gibbethon, and Gath-rimmon.

71. Sons of Gershom. Verses 71–76 list the cities of the Gershonites. Compare Joshua 21:27–33.

Ashtaroth. The city had evidently been a seat of the worship of Ashtoreth.

77. Merari. Verses 77–81 list the cities of the Merarites. Compare Joshua 21:34–39.

Rimmon. Compare Joshua 21:34, 35.

78. By Jericho. These geographical facts are not found in Joshua 21:36, which mentions only that the cities were from the tribe of Reuben.

80. Ramoth. One of the cities of refuge (see on Joshua 20:8).

81. Heshbon. A city across the Jordan from Jericho, in the vicinity of Mt. Nebo and Medeba.