37
So David left Asaph and his associates there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to minister there regularly according to the daily requirements,
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·ya·‘ă·zāḇ- lə·’ā·sāp̄ ū·lə·’e·ḥāw šām lip̄·nê ’ă·rō·wn bə·rîṯ- Yah·weh lə·šā·rêṯ lip̄·nê hā·’ā·rō·wn tā·mîḏ yō·wm bə·yō·w·mōw liḏ·ḇar-
Word by word15 · parsed
√ ʻâzab — to loosen, iConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
ʻâzab: to loosen, to leave, to forsake The consecutive imperfect drives the narrative forward from the psalm of vv. 8 to 36. Ellicott judges the unnamed subject odd enough to be evidence of a source seam: he says that if the chronicler had composed the ode himself, “he might better have written, ‘And David left.’” The verse is thus both a liturgical appointment and, on Ellicott's reading, a visible join in the book.
√ ʼÂçâph — Asaph, the name of three Israelites, and of the family of the firstPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
√ ʼâch — a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like father))Conjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
√ ʼârôwn — a boxNouncommon singular construct
ʼârôwn: a box, a chest The bare noun is domestic furniture. Everything sacred about it comes from the genitive that follows, not from the object itself, which is exactly why Israel's disasters with this box (1 Samuel 4 to 6, and 1 Chronicles 13) turned on treating the container as power in itself.
√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Nounfeminine singular
bᵉrîyth: a compact, cut by passing between pieces The construct chain ark of the covenant of YHWH stacks three nouns so that the box is defined by the pact and the pact by the Name. The singers minister before a treaty document, not before an image; there is nothing in the tent to look at, which is why the service there can only be voice.
√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular
√ shârath — to attend as a menial or worshipperPreposition-lVerbPielInfinitive construct
shârath: to attend as a menial or worshipper Piel infinitive of purpose. Gill fixes the content of the ministry precisely: “in singing the praises of God.” Henry and Benson both press the consequence, that at this tent there was neither altar nor incense, so that praise itself had to carry what elsewhere was carried by smoke.
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
√ ʼârôwn — a boxArticleNouncommon singular
√ tâmîyd — properly, continuance (as indefinite extension)Adverb
tâmîyd: continuance, perpetuity This adverb is the unit's spine. It governs song at Zion in v. 37 and burnt offering at Gibeon in v. 40, binding two sanctuaries into one unbroken day. Where the Law had attached tāmîḏ to the lamb (Exodus 29:38), David attaches it also to the choir, and the chronicler records the innovation without apology.
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Nounmasculine singular
√ yôwm — a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)Preposition-bNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
√ dâbâr — a wordPreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct
dâbâr: a word, a matter, a thing required In construct with yôwm it means the day's due business. The idiom is administrative before it is devotional, and that is the point: worship here is placed on a roster.