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1 Chronicles24:20–31

The Rest of the Levites

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1 Chronicles 24:20–31 — The Rest of the Levites. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

20

Now these were the rest of the descendants of Levi: From the sons of Amram: Shubael; from the sons of Shubael: Jehdeiah.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

han·nō·w·ṯā·rîm wə·liḇ·nê lê·wî liḇ·nê ‘am·rām šū·ḇā·’êl liḇ·nê šū·ḇā·’êl yeḥ·də·yā·hū

Word by word9 · parsed
הַנּוֹתָרִ֑יםhan·nō·w·ṯā·rîmNow [these were] the rest of theH3498
√ yâthar — to jut over or exceedArticleVerbNifalParticiplemasculine plural
yâthar: to jut over, be left over (Nifal participle) The whole pericope hangs on this one participle. It defines the men who follow purely by subtraction: what remains of Levi once the twenty-four priestly houses of vv. 1 to 19 have been drawn off. K&D presses the boundary further, arguing from the subscription in v. 31 that "our passage treats only of the classes of the Levites who were employed about the worship," not of every non-Aaronic Levite, since singers, doorkeepers and treasurers get their own catalogues in chapters 25 and 26.
וְלִבְנֵ֥יwə·liḇ·nêdescendantsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
bên: son, builder of the family name bᵉnê in construct carries the freight of this whole unit: it means literal son, grandson, clan, and official class, sometimes in the same verse. K&D and Pulpit both insist the names here are class heads rather than sons in the narrow sense, which is why a man can appear as his own father's contemporary in the parallel list.
לֵוִ֖יlê·wîof LeviH3878
√ Lêvîy — Levi, a son of JacobNounpropermasculine singular
Proper name in apposition: Levi the patriarch.
לִבְנֵ֤יliḇ·nêFrom the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
עַמְרָם֙‘am·rāmof AmramH6019
√ ʻAmrâm — Amram, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
ʼAmrâm: Amram Amram is Moses' father (Exodus 6:20) and the first of Kohath's four sons. Cambridge marks the structure: "The four Kohathite families are now noticed in order, viz. Amram, Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel." The list is therefore not random; it walks Kohath's sons in birth order, which makes the total silence about Gershon all the louder.
שֽׁוּבָאֵ֔לšū·ḇā·’êlShubaelH7619
√ Shᵉbûwʼêl — Shebuel or Shubael, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Shᵉbûwʼêl: Shebuel or Shubael Grandson of Moses through Gershom (1 Chronicles 23:16). The lawgiver's own descendants appear in this catalogue not as rulers but as one duty roster among twenty-odd, listed after a participle meaning "left over." Ellicott notes that here "the name represents a Levitical house or class."
לִבְנֵ֥יliḇ·nêfrom the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
שׁוּבָאֵ֖לšū·ḇā·’êlof ShubaelH7619
√ Shᵉbûwʼêl — Shebuel or Shubael, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
יֶחְדְּיָֽהוּ׃yeḥ·də·yā·hūJehdeiahH3165
√ Yechdîyâhûw — Jechdijah, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Yechdîyâhûw: Jehdeiah, Jah gladdens Ellicott glosses the name "Jah gladdens" and states it "occurs again in 1Chronicles 26:30, and nowhere else in the Old Testament," comparing "Jahdiel," "God gladdens" (1 Chronicles 5:24). Benson and Poole agree on why he is listed apart from his father: he was "an eminent person, or having a very numerous family." Note that the Verifier's index locates the other occurrence of H3165 at 1 Chronicles 27:30; that discrepancy is flagged in the threads.
21

As for Rehabiah, from his sons: The first was Isshiah.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lir·ḥaḇ·yā·hū liḇ·nê rə·ḥaḇ·yā·hū hā·rōš yiš·šî·yāh

Word by word5 · parsed
לִרְחַבְיָ֑הוּlir·ḥaḇ·yā·hūAs for RehabiahH7345
√ Rᵉchabyâh — Rechabjah, an IsraelitePreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
Rᵉchabyâh: Rechabjah A rare name, in only three verses of the Hebrew Bible. Cambridge: "He (like Shubael) was descended from Moses; 1 Chronicles 23:15-17." K&D specifies the branch: "connected with Eliezer the second son of Moses." So vv. 20 and 21 together give Moses' two lines, Gershom's and Eliezer's, as two ordinary entries on a work roster.
לִבְנֵ֣יliḇ·nêfrom his sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
רְחַבְיָ֔הוּrə·ḥaḇ·yā·hū. . .H7345
√ Rᵉchabyâh — Rechabjah, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
הָרֹ֖אשׁhā·rōšThe firstH7218
√ rôʼsh — the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itcArticleNounmasculine singular
rôʼsh: the head, whether literal or figurative, of place, time or rank The pivot word of the unit. Where the chronicler writes hārōʼš he means the man who represents and answers for a class, and 1 Chronicles 23:17 had said only that Rehabiah's sons were numerous, as Ellicott observes. K&D builds his whole case on this: the heads named in vv. 20 to 22 do not appear in chapter 23, which he calls "a clear proof" that chapter 23 lists fathers' houses and this section lists serving classes.
יִשִּׁיָּֽה׃yiš·šî·yāh[was] IsshiahH3449
√ Yishshîyâh — Jishshijah, the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Yishshîyâh: Jishshijah A rare name (six verses). Poole notes the ambiguity honestly: "The first was Jeshiah, by birth or place," that is, we cannot tell from the Hebrew whether primacy here is age or rank.
22

From the Izharites: Shelomoth; from the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lay·yiṣ·hā·rî šə·lō·mō·wṯ liḇ·nê šə·lō·mō·wṯ yā·ḥaṯ

Word by word5 · parsed
לַיִּצְהָרִ֣יlay·yiṣ·hā·rîFrom the IzharitesH3325
√ Yitshârîy — a Jitsharite or descendant of JitsharPreposition-l, ArticleNounpropermasculine singular
Yitshârîy: a Jitsharite, descendant of Jitshar Izhar is Kohath's second son and Amram's brother, as Gill notes ("so called from Izhar, the brother of Amram"). The gentilic tells us the chronicler is thinking in clans, not in individuals, even where he writes a single man's name.
שְׁלֹמ֔וֹתšə·lō·mō·wṯShelomothH8013
√ Shᵉlômôwth — Shelomoth, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Shᵉlômôwth: Shelomoth A rare name (four verses). The same Izharite house reappears over the treasuries in 1 Chronicles 26:25, alongside Rehabiah of v. 21; the two rare lexemes together make that link a real one, and it is threaded below.
לִבְנֵ֥יliḇ·nêfrom the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
שְׁלֹמ֖וֹתšə·lō·mō·wṯof ShelomothH8013
√ Shᵉlômôwth — Shelomoth, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
יָֽחַת׃yā·ḥaṯJahathH3189
√ Yachath — Jachath, the name of four IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Yachath: Jachath Jahath is the third of only five Kohathite heads the chapter actually names, and he is absent from chapter 23. K&D treats that absence as evidence, not as damage: the two lists are doing two different jobs.
23

From the sons of Hebron: Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇə·nāy yə·rî·yā·hū ’ă·mar·yā·hū haš·šê·nî ya·ḥă·zî·’êl haš·šə·lî·šî yə·qam·‘ām hā·rə·ḇî·‘î

Word by word8 · parsed
וּבְנָ֖יū·ḇə·nāyFrom the sons [of Hebron]H1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct
bên: son (construct plural, object missing) The verse opens with a construct that has lost its governing noun. K&D: "Bertheau would therefore interpolate the name חברון after וּבני," and he calls the interpolation "probably correct, but... not quite beyond doubt." Cambridge and Barnes both accept the restoration from 23:19. This is the single place in the pericope where the reader is reading a translator's reconstruction rather than the Masoretic consonants.
יְרִיָּ֑הוּyə·rî·yā·hūJeriah [was the first]H3404
√ Yᵉrîyâh — Jerijah, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
אֲמַרְיָ֙הוּ֙’ă·mar·yā·hūAmariahH568
√ ʼĂmaryâh — Amarjah, the name of nine IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
הַשֵּׁנִ֔יhaš·šê·nîthe secondH8145
√ shênîy — properly, double, iArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
shênîy: properly double, i.e. second Function word carrying real weight here: the ordinals are what survive of the verse's structure when the head names do not. K&D notes that "the names of the heads of the classes formed by the Hebronites are wanting," and that it cannot be decided whether a copyist dropped them or the chronicler never had them.
יַחֲזִיאֵל֙ya·ḥă·zî·’êlJahazielH3166
√ Yachăzîyʼêl — Jachaziel, the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔יhaš·šə·lî·šîthe thirdH7992
√ shᵉlîyshîy — thirdArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
Ordinal, third.
יְקַמְעָ֖םyə·qam·‘ām[and] JekameamH3360
√ Yᵉqamʻâm — Jekamam, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
הָרְבִיעִֽי׃hā·rə·ḇî·‘îthe fourthH7243
√ rᵉbîyʻîy — fourthArticleNumberordinal masculine singular
rᵉbîyʻîy: fourth The series stops at four, matching the four Hebronite houses of 1 Chronicles 23:19, which is the strongest internal warrant for the restoration of "Hebron" at the head of the verse.
24

From the sons of Uzziel: Micah; from the sons of Micah: Shamir.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

bə·nê ‘uz·zî·’êl mî·ḵāh liḇ·nê mî·ḵāh šå̄·mūr

Word by word6 · parsed
בְּנֵ֤יbə·nê[From] the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
עֻזִּיאֵל֙‘uz·zî·’êlof UzzielH5816
√ ʻUzzîyʼêl — Uzziel, the name of six IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
ʻUzzîyʼêl: Uzziel, God is my strength Kohath's fourth and last son, closing the sequence Cambridge laid out at v. 20. With him the Kohathite section ends, and Pulpit tallies the result: "In all these fourteen heads were drawn from the four sons of Kohath." Ellicott counts differently, naming only five actual heads out of nine Kohathite houses; both counts are in the sources and they do not agree.
מִיכָ֔הmî·ḵāhMicahH4318
√ Mîykâh — Micah, the name of seven IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Mîykâh: Micah, who is like Jah A common name (twenty-nine verses), and here not a serving officer but the label of a house: Ellicott states that "Shamir and Zechariah are the heads of the bnê Micah and bnê Isshiah," so Micah and his brother in v. 25 name the two Uzzielite classes whose heads follow them. Cambridge records the spelling correction, "Michah ] R.V. Micah (as 1 Chronicles 23:20)," and Pulpit warns that these Uzzielites are "presumably not intended for immediate sons (Exodus 6:22)." A name that asks who is like Jah survives in Scripture only as a column heading on a duty roster.
לִבְנֵ֥יliḇ·nêfrom the sons ofH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
מִיכָ֖הmî·ḵāhMicahH4318
√ Mîykâh — Micah, the name of seven IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
שָׁמוּר׃šå̄·mūrShamirH8053
√ Shâmûwr — Shamur, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Shâmûwr: Shamur, an Israelite Strong's lemma preserves the Hebrew pointing Shâmûwr, while the English line reads "Shamir." A one-vowel divergence, sourced and visible, worth naming rather than smoothing.
25

The brother of Micah: Isshiah; from the sons of Isshiah: Zechariah.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

’ă·ḥî mî·ḵāh yiš·šî·yāh liḇ·nê yiš·šî·yāh zə·ḵar·yā·hū

Word by word6 · parsed
אֲחִ֤י’ă·ḥîThe brotherH251
√ ʼâch — a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like father))Nounmasculine singular construct
ʼâch: a brother, in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity The lateral link. Where the rest of the catalogue descends by bᵉnê, this entry moves across to a brother's house, because the roster needs classes, not a family tree. The same word is the hinge of v. 31, where the non-priestly Levites cast lots "like their brethren the sons of Aaron" (K&D's rendering of the subscription), so that brother is both the humblest and the most theologically loaded term in the unit.
מִיכָה֙mî·ḵāhof MicahH4318
√ Mîykâh — Micah, the name of seven IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
יִשִּׁיָּ֔הyiš·šî·yāhIsshiahH3449
√ Yishshîyâh — Jishshijah, the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Yishshîyâh: Jishshijah Ellicott flags the spelling problem across the parallel: "“Jesiah” there is the same Hebrew name as is here spelt “Isshiah;” it should be Yishshîyah in both places." Cambridge agrees that the form here is the correct one.
לִבְנֵ֥יliḇ·nêfrom the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine plural construct
יִשִּׁיָּ֖הyiš·šî·yāhof IsshiahH3449
√ Yishshîyâh — Jishshijah, the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
זְכַרְיָֽהוּ׃zə·ḵar·yā·hūZechariahH2148
√ Zᵉkaryâh — Zecarjah, the name of twenty-nine IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Zᵉkaryâh: Zecarjah, Jah has remembered A name of remembrance at the end of a list whose whole purpose is to be remembered. That resonance is our own reading, not a claim from the sources.
26

The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The son of Jaaziah: Beno.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

bə·nê mə·rā·rî maḥ·lî ū·mū·šî bə·nê ya·‘ă·zî·yā·hū ḇə·nōw

Word by word7 · parsed
בְּנֵ֤יbə·nêThe sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
bên: son, in the widest sense The verse uses bᵉnê twice, and the second is a plural construct governing Jaaziah followed by a single word. If that word is the name "Beno," the plural has exactly one referent; if it is bᵉnô, "his son," the plural has none until v. 27 supplies Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri, which is precisely how Ellicott rejoins the two verses. The text-critical problem of the whole Merarite section turns on this number clash, and Strong's own range for bên ("grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition") is why the lexicon alone cannot settle it.
מְרָרִי֙mə·rā·rîof MerariH4847
√ Mᵉrârîy — Merari, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Mᵉrârîy: Merari Levi's third son. With Merari the catalogue leaves Kohath, and the two ancient names that follow, Mahli and Mushi, are the same pair recorded in the wilderness censuses of Exodus 6:19 and Numbers 3:20, as Pulpit observes: "they belonged to the time of Moses."
מַחְלִ֣יmaḥ·lîMahliH4249
√ Machlîy — Machli, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
וּמוּשִׁ֔יū·mū·šîand MushiH4187
√ Mûwshîy — Mushi, a LeviteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
בְּנֵ֖יbə·nêThe sonH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
יַעֲזִיָּ֥הֽוּya·‘ă·zî·yā·hūof JaaziahH3269
√ Yaʻăzîyâhûw — Jaazijah, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
Yaʻăzîyâhûw: Jaazijah, an Israelite The most disputed name in the unit. Cambridge takes the longer text as the better one: "Probably the fuller text is right." Pulpit accepts it with visible reluctance, noting that to do so requires obliterating the conjunction before Shoham in v. 27. Ellicott suggests what the name may actually record: a group of Merarite houses in David's day "calling themselves “sons of Jaaziah.”"
בְנֽוֹ׃ḇə·nōwBenoH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular construct
bên: son (singular construct with suffix) Read as a noun, bᵉnô is "his son" and identifies Jaaziah as Merari's; read as a name it is a twenty-fifth family that nobody can account for. Barnes, Ellicott and Cambridge all read the noun. We follow them, and mark it as a translator's decision rather than a settled fact.
27

The descendants of Merari from Jaaziah: Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

bə·nê mə·rā·rî lə·ya·‘ă·zî·yā·hū ḇə·nōw wə·šō·ham wə·zak·kūr wə·‘iḇ·rî

Word by word7 · parsed
בְּנֵ֖יbə·nêThe descendantsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
מְרָרִ֑יmə·rā·rîof MerariH4847
√ Mᵉrârîy — Merari, an IsraeliteNounpropermasculine singular
לְיַֽעֲזִיָּ֣הֽוּlə·ya·‘ă·zî·yā·hūfrom JaaziahH3269
√ Yaʻăzîyâhûw — Jaazijah, an IsraelitePreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
Yaʻăzîyâhûw: Jaazijah (with preposition l-) The assigning l- returns for the disputed branch, which is itself an argument that the verse is of a piece with the rest of the catalogue rather than an intrusion. K&D nevertheless treats the Jaaziah material as needing explanation from 1 Chronicles 23, and Ellicott reports that "Some commentators pronounce 1Chronicles 24:26-27, spurious, against the evidence of the ancient versions."
בְנ֔וֹḇə·nōwBenoH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
bên: his son The second "Beno." Poole is the one voice who defends it as a name, arguing he was "the first-born and head of the rest." That is a minority reading, and we record it as such against Barnes, Ellicott and Cambridge.
וְשֹׁ֥הַםwə·šō·hamShohamH7719
√ Shôham — Shoham, an IsraeliteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Shôham: Shoham, onyx Named nowhere else in Scripture. The onyx is one of the stones set in the high priest's ephod and breastpiece (Exodus 28), so a Levite assisting the priests bears the name of a stone worn on the priest's shoulders. That juxtaposition is our own observation, not a claim from the sources.
וְזַכּ֖וּרwə·zak·kūrZaccurH2139
√ Zakkûwr — Zakkur, the name of seven IsraelitesConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
Zakkûwr: Zakkur Strong's: the name of seven Israelites. Nothing further is recorded of this one.
וְעִבְרִֽי׃wə·‘iḇ·rîand IbriH5681
√ ʻIbrîy — Ibri, an IsraeliteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
ʻIbrîy: Ibri, Hebrew A man called simply "the Hebrew," the ethnic name of Abraham's line (Genesis 14:13) borne by one otherwise unknown Merarite on a temple duty list.
28

From Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lə·maḥ·lî ’el·‘ā·zār hā·yāh wə·lō- lōw bā·nîm

Word by word6 · parsed
לְמַחְלִי֙lə·maḥ·lîFrom MahliH4249
√ Machlîy — Machli, the name of two IsraelitesPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
אֶלְעָזָ֔ר’el·‘ā·zārEleazarH499
√ ʼElʻâzâr — Elazar, the name of seven IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
ʼElʻâzâr: Elazar, God has helped Strong's notes the name belongs to seven Israelites. This Eleazar is a Merarite through Mahli, not the Aaronite of vv. 1 to 6, and his branch stops here.
הָ֥יָהhā·yāhwho hadH1961
√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular
hâyâh: to exist, to come to be (Qal perfect) The only finite verb in vv. 20 to 30, and it is used to record an absence. Ellicott explains the administrative consequence: "The clan Eleazar did not branch out into new clans, but, being few in number, amalgamated with that of Kish-Jerahmeel." Pulpit adds from 1 Chronicles 23:22 that Kish's sons married Eleazar's daughters, so that "only one house surviving" remained. A dead end in the male line is absorbed rather than erased, and the name still stands in the register.
וְלֹא־wə·lō-noH3808
√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absConjunctive wawAdverbNegative particle
lôʼ: not, the simple or absolute negative One word of denial in a list built entirely of affirmations.
ל֖וֹlōw
Prepositionthird person masculine singular
בָּנִֽים׃bā·nîmsonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural
bên: sons (absolute plural) The failure of bᵉnê in the one place it would have mattered most to a man counting his house.
29

From Kish: Jerahmeel the son of Kish.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lə·qîš yə·raḥ·mə·’êl bə·nê- qîš

Word by word4 · parsed
לְקִ֖ישׁlə·qîšFrom KishH7027
√ Qîysh — Kish, the name of five IsraelitesPreposition-lNounpropermasculine singular
Qîysh: Kish Mahli's second son (1 Chronicles 23:21, as Poole notes), through whom the line that failed in Eleazar continues.
יְרַחְמְאֵֽל׃yə·raḥ·mə·’êlJerahmeelH3396
√ Yᵉrachmᵉʼêl — Jerachmeel, the name of three IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
Yᵉrachmᵉʼêl: Jerachmeel, God will have compassion Built on râcham, the verb of a mother's or father's pity. Pulpit makes him the terminus of the Mahli material: "This would seem to complete all that needs to be said of the Mahli line." That the one heir of a house threatened with extinction is named "God will have compassion" is a resonance we point out as our own reading, not as a claim by any commentator here.
בְּנֵי־bə·nê-the sonH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
bên: sons (plural construct, one name following) A plural with a single referent, twice in Chronicles. Ellicott records it without repairing it, which is the honest course.
קִ֥ישׁqîšof KishH7027
√ Qîysh — Kish, the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
30

And the sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites, according to their families.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

ū·ḇə·nê mū·šî maḥ·lî wə·‘ê·ḏer wî·rî·mō·wṯ ’êl·leh bə·nê hal·wî·yim ’ă·ḇō·ṯê·hem lə·ḇêṯ

Word by word10 · parsed
וּבְנֵ֣יū·ḇə·nêAnd the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct
מוּשִׁ֔יmū·šîof MushiH4187
√ Mûwshîy — Mushi, a LeviteNounpropermasculine singular
Mûwshîy: Mushi, a Levite A rare name (eight verses), always paired with Mahli, from Exodus 6:19 and Numbers 3:20 onward. Geneva's marginal note identifies him: "Who was the second son of Merari."
מַחְלִ֥יmaḥ·lîMahliH4249
√ Machlîy — Machli, the name of two IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular
וְעֵ֖דֶרwə·‘ê·ḏerEderH5740
√ ʻÊder — Eder, the name of an Israelite and of two places in PalestineConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
וִירִימ֑וֹתwî·rî·mō·wṯand JerimothH3406
√ Yᵉrîymôwth — Jerimoth or Jeremoth, the name of twelve IsraelitesConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
אֵ֛לֶּה’êl·lehTheseH428
√ ʼêl-leh — these or thosePronouncommon plural
ʼêl-leh: these or those Function word doing structural work: it seals the catalogue.
בְּנֵ֥יbə·nêwere the sonsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
הַלְוִיִּ֖םhal·wî·yimof the LevitesH3881
√ Lêvîyîy — a Levite or descendant of LeviArticleNounpropermasculine plural
Lêvîyîy: a Levite, descendant of Levi The shift from patriarch to order. Pulpit had already argued from this verse that the men listed are those "who were not of the sons of Aaron, not priests," whose office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD.
אֲבֹתֵיהֶֽם׃’ă·ḇō·ṯê·hemaccording to their familiesH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural
ʼâb: father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote application Strong's own gloss names the ambiguity that runs through the chapter: ʼâb is at once the man who begot and the clan he stands for. In bêth-ʼâbôth it is entirely the latter, an organizational term. Ellicott admits what cannot be settled: how far the defects of the present Hebrew text belong to its archetype "and how far they are due to errors of transcription, cannot now be decided."
לְבֵ֥יתlə·ḇêṯ. . .H1004
√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcPreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct
bayith: a house, in the greatest variation of applications, especially family The word for a building serving as the word for a lineage, in a chapter about who serves in a building not yet built.
31

As their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, they also cast lots in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family heads and their younger brothers alike.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lə·‘um·maṯ ’ă·ḥê·hem bə·nê- ’a·hă·rōn hêm ḡam- way·yap·pî·lū gō·w·rā·lō·wṯ lip̄·nê ham·me·leḵ ḏā·wîḏ wə·ṣā·ḏō·wq wa·’ă·ḥî·me·leḵ wə·rā·šê hā·’ā·ḇō·wṯ lak·kō·hă·nîm wə·lal·wî·yim ’ā·ḇō·wṯ hā·rōš haq·qā·ṭān ’ā·ḥîw lə·‘um·maṯ

Word by word22 · parsed
לְעֻמַּ֣ת׀lə·‘um·maṯAsH5980
√ ʻummâh — conjunction, iPreposition-l
ʻummâh: conjunction, i.e. corresponding with A rare preposition, found only in the construct, and it appears twice in this single verse: once to bind the Levites' lot to the priests' lot, once to bind the senior house to the junior. Ellicott notes the same compound recurs at 1 Chronicles 26:12 and 26:16, and that at 2 Samuel 16:13 it means "over against, or parallel with." Parity is not a moral drawn from the verse; it is the verse's main grammatical fact.
אֲחֵיהֶ֣ם’ă·ḥê·hemtheir brothersH251
√ ʼâch — a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like father))Nounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural
ʼâch: a brother The Levites who assist are called the brothers of the priests they assist. The word refuses the hierarchy the duties assume, and Henry builds his whole reading of the chapter on it.
בְּנֵֽי־bə·nê-the descendantsH1121
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct
אַהֲרֹ֗ן’a·hă·rōnof Aaron didH175
√ ʼAhărôwn — Aharon, the brother of MosesNounpropermasculine singular
ʼAhărôwn: Aharon, the brother of Moses Strong's defines Aaron by his brotherhood with Moses; this verse defines the Levites by their brotherhood with Aaron. Moses' own descendants, Shubael and Rehabiah in vv. 20 and 21, stand on the Levite side of that line.
הֵ֨םhêmtheyH1992
√ hêm — they (only used when emphatic)Pronounthird person masculine plural
גַם־ḡam-alsoH1571
√ gam — properly, assemblageConjunction
וַיַּפִּילוּ֩way·yap·pî·lūcastH5307
√ nâphal — to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
nâphal: to fall, in a great variety of applications (Hifil) The decisive act of the pericope, and it is a deliberate refusal to decide: the elders make the lot fall and accept what falls. Poole spells out the consequence: the lots "were promiscuously put together, and the order was settled as the lots came forth, without any regard to the age, or dignity, or number of the persons or families." Geneva's gloss is shorter: "every one had that honour which fell to him by lot."
גּוֹרָל֜וֹתgō·w·rā·lō·wṯlotsH1486
√ gôwrâl — properly, a pebble, iNounmasculine plural
gôwrâl: properly, a pebble, i.e. a lot Strong's keeps the physical object in view: a pebble. Israel's holiest rosters were set by stones shaken out before witnesses, which is exactly why JFB stresses that the casting was done "in a deliberate and solemn manner" before the king, the princes, the two high priests and the family chiefs. The procedure is public precisely because its outcome is not human.
לִפְנֵ֨יlip̄·nêin the presenceH6440
√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct
pânîym: the face, as the part that turns lip̄nê, "before the face of." The lot falls in front of David, Zadok and Ahimelech, so that no one can later claim the roster was arranged in private.
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ham·me·leḵof KingH4428
√ melek — a kingArticleNounmasculine singular
melek: a king David acts here as the organizer of worship, not as a warrior; the whole apparatus of chapters 23 to 26 is a king building an order he will not live to see used.
דָוִ֤ידḏā·wîḏDavidH1732
√ Dâvid — David, the youngest son of JesseNounpropermasculine singular
וְצָד֣וֹקwə·ṣā·ḏō·wqand of ZadokH6659
√ Tsâdôwq — Tsadok, the name of eight or nine IsraelitesConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
וַאֲחִימֶ֔לֶךְwa·’ă·ḥî·me·leḵAhimelechH288
√ ʼĂchîymelek — Achimelek, the name of an Israelite and of a HittiteConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular
ʼĂchîymelek: Achimelek Cambridge raises a real difficulty: "and Ahimelech ] We expect and Abiathar; cp. 1 Chronicles 24:3; 1 Chronicles 15:11; 1 Chronicles 18:16." The name in this verse may be the son standing for his father, or a confusion in the tradition. We do not resolve it.
וְרָאשֵׁי֙wə·rā·šêand the headsH7218
√ rôʼsh — the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural construct
הָֽאָב֔וֹתhā·’ā·ḇō·wṯof the familiesH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationArticleNounmasculine plural
ʼâb: father, i.e. father-house Ellicott: "The word “fathers” (ābôth) is a brief form of “father-houses” (bêth-ābôth)." The abbreviation is why the verse's last clause is so hard in English.
לַכֹּהֲנִ֖יםlak·kō·hă·nîmof the priestsH3548
√ kôhên — literally one officiating, a priestPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine plural
kôhên: literally one officiating, a priest Strong's gloss is functional, one who officiates. The verse sets kôhănîm and Lᵉviyyim side by side under a single casting of lots, distinguishing their work while equalizing their claim on the calendar.
וְלַלְוִיִּ֑םwə·lal·wî·yimand LevitesH3881
√ Lêvîyîy — a Levite or descendant of LeviConjunctive waw, Preposition-lNounpropermasculine plural
אָב֣וֹת’ā·ḇō·wṯthe familyH1
√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine plural
הָרֹ֔אשׁhā·rōšheadsH7218
√ rôʼsh — the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itcArticleNounmasculine singular
הַקָּטָֽן׃סhaq·qā·ṭānand their youngerH6996
√ qâṭân — abbreviated, iArticleAdjectivemasculine singular
qâṭân: abbreviated, i.e. small, little Not primarily "younger" but "small": the lesser house. Benson relays Bishop Patrick's reading: "both elder and younger had their places by lot, not by seniority of houses." Henry draws the line the chapter finally lands on: "The younger brethren, if faithful and sincere, shall be no less acceptable to Christ than the fathers."
אָחִ֥יו’ā·ḥîwbrothersH251
√ ʼâch — a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance (like father))Nounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular
ʼâch: his brother (singular with suffix) Singular, face to face. The last word of the Levitical catalogue is a brother.
לְעֻמַּ֖תlə·‘um·maṯalikeH5980
√ ʻummâh — conjunction, iPreposition-l
ʻummâh: corresponding with The second occurrence, closing the verse as it opened: correspondence, not rank.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. A list that begins with a subtraction — 24:20-25

The pericope opens on a Nifal participle, הַנּוֹתָרִים (yâthar, H3498), "the ones left over." Ellicott renders it "for the sons of Levi that were left over" and supplies the reason: "after the priests had been separately dealt with." These men are defined by what they are not. Cambridge then shows the order that follows: "The four Kohathite families are now noticed in order, viz. Amram, Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel." Two things are startling in that order. First, Moses' own descendants appear in it, twice: Pulpit notes that Shubael "marks the line of Moses" through Gershom, and Cambridge that Rehabiah "(like Shubael) was descended from Moses." The lawgiver's grandsons are entries on a duty roster, and one of them, Jehdeiah, is a man Ellicott can find "nowhere else in the Old Testament." Second, Gershon, Levi's eldest son, is missing entirely. Ellicott blames "a lacuna in the chronicler's MS. authority"; Barnes calls the omission "curious" and supposes "the author did not find any account of their heads in his authorities"; Pulpit suggests the Gershonites simply belong to the later chapters, where they appear over the treasuries; K&D argues at length that nothing has dropped out at all, since the passage "treats only of the classes of the Levites who were employed about the worship." ⚙ Four competent readers, four different accounts of one silence. What none of them can do is produce the missing names. The honest reading of vv. 20 to 25 is that a list meant to be complete has reached us with a hole in it, and that the hole falls exactly where the firstborn should stand.

ii. The surplus, the emendation and the house that ended — 24:23, 24:26-30

Three seams open in the Merarite section, and the sources disagree about all three. (1) V. 23 begins וּבְנָי, "and the sons of," with no name after it; Ellicott states that "the Hebrew text is here mutilated" and that "our translators have emended it from 1Chronicles 23:19," and K&D adds the decisive detail that "even the lxx had our text," so the damage is ancient. (2) בְנוֹ is printed as the name "Beno" twice, and Barnes insists it "is not really a name. It is the Hebrew for “his son.”" Cambridge and Ellicott agree; Poole alone defends Beno as a person, "the first-born and head of the rest." (3) Jaaziah appears as a third son of Merari whom, as Pulpit says, "no anterior authority" supports, and Ellicott reports that "some commentators pronounce 1Chronicles 24:26-27, spurious, against the evidence of the ancient versions," while Cambridge judges that "probably the fuller text is right." The arithmetic that results is openly contested: Barnes counts twenty-five families where twenty-four are expected, Pulpit reports Bertheau reducing them by striking a Mahli, and K&D counts only fifteen heads and reasons that populous houses must have yielded more than one class each. Against all this accounting stands v. 28, the quietest verse in the unit and the only negative clause in it: וְלֹא הָיָה לוֹ בָּנִים, "and there was not to him sons." Ellicott explains the administrative outcome, that the clan of Eleazar "being few in number, amalgamated with that of Kish-Jerahmeel," and Pulpit traces from 1 Chronicles 23:22 how Kish's sons married Eleazar's daughters so that only one house survived. ⚙ A register whose numbers nobody can reconcile still keeps the name of the man whose line failed, and files the one heir of that line under a name that means God will have compassion.

iii. Twice corresponding: the lot that levels the house — 24:31

The subscription turns on one rare preposition used twice. לְעֻמַּת (ʻummâh, H5980) opens and closes the verse; Pulpit gives its root as "communion" and its sense as "equally with," or "correspondingly with," and Ellicott renders the first occurrence "Just like, in the same way as their brethren, the priests." The first lᵉʻummaṯ binds Levite to priest: Gill says these classes "cast lots, which class should answer to, attend upon, and serve the first course of the priests," and Poole that they were "answerable for number and order to those of the priests." The second binds house to house: הָרֹאשׁ הַקָּטָן אָחִיו, the head corresponding to his little brother, where K&D parses hārōʼš as standing "in apposition to בּית־אבות" and cites the Vulgate: "tam majores quam minores; omnes sors aequaliter dividebat." Benson relays Bishop Patrick's reading, that "both elder and younger had their places by lot, not by seniority of houses," and Poole that the order came out "without any regard to the age, or dignity, or number of the persons or families." Geneva's marginal f puts it in eight words: "every one had that honour which fell to him by lot." The Hebrew verb is causative, וַיַּפִּילוּ (nâphal, Hifil): they made the lot fall. And Strong's keeps the object concrete, גּוֹרָל as "properly, a pebble." ⚙ Israel's most consequential roster was set by pebbles shaken out in public, before David, Zadok, Ahimelech and the clan heads, precisely so that no living man could be credited with the arrangement. Henry, reading the whole chapter, draws the conclusion the grammar has already made: "In Christ, no difference is made between bond and free, elder and younger."

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ This is the tool's own fallible reading, offered to be tested against the text. Twelve verses of names, one of them with its subject torn off, another counting "sons" where only one man is named, a third repeating a common noun as though it were a person: this is what a genuine administrative archive looks like when it survives into Scripture rather than a legend tidied up afterward. The chapter does not read as invention. It reads as a ledger, with the wear a ledger gets.

Two things in it are doing theological work, and both are grammatical rather than homiletical. The first is הַנּוֹתָרִים, "the ones left over." Every man in vv. 20 to 30 is defined by subtraction from the priesthood. They will never burn incense. Their office, as Pulpit describes it from 1 Chronicles 23:28, was to wait on the sons of Aaron, and some of that work was "of the more menial character." The second is לְעֻמַּת, "corresponding to," used twice in v. 31: the leftovers draw their weeks exactly as the priests do, and within their own ranks the great house draws against the small one with no advantage. The text refuses, in one word used twice, the two hierarchies it has just spent eleven verses describing.

We will not claim more than that. We do not know why Gershon is missing, and the four explanations in our sources do not agree. We cannot say whether Jaaziah's houses are original or intrusive, or whether the Hebronite heads were lost by a copyist or never written. What the pericope does say, and says in its syntax, is that the men who were what remained after the priests were counted received their place by a falling pebble, in public, on the same terms as their brothers. If a register this battered still insists on that, the insistence is probably the point.

The line printed as this unit's pull quote below is our own sentence, not Scripture; test it against the Hebrew before you keep it.

These are the ones left over, and the lot fell for them exactly as it fell for their brothers.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The verse with its head torn off, and the verse it was repaired from verbal / quotation: confirmed

1 Chronicles 24:23 begins וּבְנָי, a construct "and the sons of" governing nothing, then names Jeriah, Amariah, Jahaziel and Jekameam with the ordinals second, third and fourth but no first. Every English Bible in our sources fills both gaps from 1 Chronicles 23:19. Ellicott: "The Hebrew text is here mutilated. Our translators have emended it from 1Chronicles 23:19." Cambridge and Barnes concur, Poole defends the restoration from the internal logic of the ordinals, and K&D reports that Bertheau's proposal to insert חברון is "probably correct, but is not quite beyond doubt," adding that "even the lxx had our text." The Verifier records the shared lexemes directly, including the rare name Jahaziel.

⚙ This is not an allusion. It is textual dependence running the other way: the reader's v. 23 exists in its present readable form because 23:19 does. Worth naming for exactly that reason.

1 Chronicles 23:19

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexemes H3166 Yachăzîyʼêl (rare, in 6 vv), H7243 rᵉbîyʻîy (in 54 vv), H8145 shênîy (in 151 vv). The rare shared name plus a four-name sequence in identical order establishes verbal identity between the two verses; Ellicott, Barnes and Cambridge all state that the English of 24:23 is restored from 23:19. No quotation of one book by another is claimed, only verbal dependence within Chronicles.

Mahli and Mushi: two names carried from the wilderness census to the temple roster structural / thematic: confirmed

The Merarite section names מַחְלִי (H4249) and מוּשִׁי (H4187), and Pulpit places them: "For the oft-repeated Mahli and Mushi, they belonged to the time of Moses (Exodus 6:19; Numbers 3:33)." The Verifier finds the same rare pair at Exodus 6:19, Numbers 3:20, 1 Chronicles 6:19 and 1 Chronicles 23:21, where Merari's sons are counted for the carriage of the tabernacle. Geneva's marginal note on v. 30 confirms Mushi "was the second son of Merari."

⚙ The men who carried the boards and sockets through the desert are the ancestors of men drawing weeks of service in a fixed house in Jerusalem. The same two names run the whole distance, from a census of porters to a rota of assistants. The link is real and lexical, but it is a shared roster tradition rather than one text citing another, so we tier it structurally.

Exodus 6:19 · Numbers 3:20 · 1 Chronicles 6:19 · 1 Chronicles 23:21

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexemes H4249 Machlîy (rare, in 11 vv) and H4187 Mûwshîy (rare, in 8 vv) across all four refs, with H4847 Mᵉrârîy (in 36 vv) at Numbers 3:20, 1 Chronicles 6:19 and 23:21, and H3878 Lêvîy (in 57 vv) at Exodus 6:19. Rare lexemes, but the relation is a shared Levitical census tradition, not a quotation, so the tier is structural rather than verbal.

Rehabiah and Shelomoth again, over the treasuries structural / thematic: confirmed

Two of the Kohathite houses named here, רְחַבְיָהוּ (H7345, v. 21) and שְׁלֹמוֹת (H8013, v. 22), reappear together at 1 Chronicles 26:25 among the Levites set over the treasures of the house of the LORD. Both names are rare: Rehabiah stands in three verses of the Hebrew Bible, Shelomoth in four. Cambridge and K&D both identify this Rehabiah as descended from Moses through Eliezer.

⚙ The same clans that draw weeks of attendance on the priests here are entrusted with the treasury two chapters later. That matters for K&D's argument that this catalogue lists only the Levites employed about the worship, since the treasury Levites are enumerated separately in chapter 26. The overlap suggests the two lists are not sealed off from each other as cleanly as the argument needs. We record that as a tension in the sources, not a refutation.

1 Chronicles 26:25 · 1 Chronicles 23:17

basis: Verifier: 1 Chronicles 26:25 shares H7345 Rᵉchabyâh (rare, in 3 vv) and H8013 Shᵉlômôwth (rare, in 4 vv); 1 Chronicles 23:17 shares H7345 Rᵉchabyâh (in 3 vv). Rare shared lexemes, but these are recurring clan names in one author's own administrative lists, so the relation is structural continuity rather than quotation.

Jeriah the Hebronite and the fortieth year of David structural / thematic: confirmed

יְרִיָּהוּ (H3404 Yᵉrîyâh) stands in only three verses of Scripture, and one of them is 1 Chronicles 26:31, where the Hebronites are sought out and numbered "in the fortieth year of the reign of David" for duties beyond the Jordan. Poole cites 26:31 as one warrant for supplying "the first" in v. 23; Barnes uses it to date the four Hebronite names to David's own lifetime ("the heads of the Hebronite houses in his time"); Pulpit says "the pointed allusion to the time of David, in 1 Chronicles 26:31, is deserving of especial notice."

⚙ Three of our commentators independently reach for the same cross-reference to anchor a mutilated verse in real chronology. That convergence is the strongest evidence in this unit that these lists record administration under David rather than later idealization.

1 Chronicles 26:31

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexeme H3404 Yᵉrîyâh (rare, in 3 vv). A real verbal link on a rare name, but the connection the commentators draw is chronological and administrative rather than a quotation, so the tier is structural.

Jehdeiah: where is the second occurrence? flagged: verify source

Ellicott states that the name יֶחְדְּיָהוּ (H3165, "Jah gladdens") "occurs again in 1Chronicles 26:30, and nowhere else in the Old Testament," comparing Jahdiel at 1 Chronicles 5:24. The Verifier's own index, however, locates the other occurrence of H3165 at 1 Chronicles 27:30, not 26:30, and reports the lexeme in just two verses of the Hebrew Bible.

⚙ Both statements are sourced, and they do not agree. We are not in a position to adjudicate an 1878 commentator's chapter-and-verse against a concordance index, and we will not quietly choose one. The rarity claim (two verses in all of Scripture) is common ground; the address is not. Flagged so the reader checks it rather than trusting us.

1 Chronicles 27:30

basis: Verifier: shared Hebrew lexeme H3165 Yechdîyâhûw (very rare, in 2 vv), placing the second occurrence at 1 Chronicles 27:30. Ellicott's note on 24:20 instead names 1 Chronicles 26:30 as the only other occurrence. The reference is contested between two sources of differing kinds, so the link is flagged rather than asserted.

The pebble and the upper room: an office filled by lot structural / thematic: confirmed

The unit's one decisive act is וַיַּפִּילוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת, "they caused lots to fall" (H5307 Hifil, H1486, which Strong's defines as "properly, a pebble"), done, JFB stresses, "in a deliberate and solemn manner" before king, princes, high priests and clan heads. Geneva's gloss states the theology of the procedure: "every one had that honour which fell to him by lot." In Luke 1:8-9 a priest of one of these same rotations is chosen by lot to burn incense, and in Acts 1:26 the apostles fill Judas' place the same way.

⚙ The institution is continuous: a public, deliberately blind procedure by which Israel assigned sacred office without crediting any man for the outcome. This is a cross-Testament link, Greek to Hebrew, so no shared Strong's number is possible and no verbal claim is made. What the texts share is a practice and its rationale. Whether Acts 1:26 is the last legitimate use of that practice is a question we leave open; Luke reports it without comment.

Luke 1:8-9 · Acts 1:26

basis: No shared Strong's lexeme is possible: the refs are Greek and the unit is Hebrew, so a verbal tier is excluded on principle. The recorded basis is a shared institution with a shared rationale, the assignment of sacred office by public lot, which JFB and Geneva both describe for this verse and which Luke 1:8-9 and Acts 1:26 narrate. Structural, not verbal.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Every member has its use: the leftovers of Levi and the body of Christ ancient/widely-held

The men of this pericope are defined by a participle meaning "left over" and employed, as Pulpit says from 1 Chronicles 23:28, to wait on the sons of Aaron in work "some of which was of the more menial character." Matthew Henry reads the whole chapter straight into the church: "When every one has, knows, and keeps his place and work, the more there are the better. In the mystical body of Christ, every member has its use, for the good of the whole." He then names the head: "Christ is High Priest over the house of God, to whom all believers, being made priests, are to be in subjection."

⚙ Henry's two moves are both apostolic commonplaces, not novelties. Hebrews 3:6 calls Christ a Son over God's house; 1 Peter 2:5 makes believers a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices; 1 Corinthians 12:22 says the members that seem weaker are necessary. Read that way, a roster of assistants nobody remembers is the Old Testament's picture of a body with no useless part, and the twenty-four courses become an argument about function rather than worth. We name Henry as the source of the reading in this form; the underlying exegesis is widely held.

Hebrews 3:6 · 1 Peter 2:5 · 1 Corinthians 12:22

The head corresponding to his little brother novel

The last clause of v. 31 sets הָרֹאשׁ (the head of the father's house) lᵉʻummaṯ אָחִיו הַקָּטָן, his little brother, and the Vulgate's summary, quoted by K&D, is "tam majores quam minores." Benson, following Bishop Patrick, says "both elder and younger had their places by lot, not by seniority of houses," and Poole that the order fell "without any regard to the age, or dignity, or number of the persons or families." Henry takes the step to Christ explicitly: "In Christ, no difference is made between bond and free, elder and younger. The younger brethren, if faithful and sincere, shall be no less acceptable to Christ than the fathers."

⚙ Henry's language is Paul's in Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11, and the levelling of firstborn privilege is a thread the Old Testament itself keeps pulling (Jacob over Esau, Ephraim over Manasseh, David the youngest of eight). Here it is done not by prophecy or preference but by a procedure: a pebble. ⚙ The further step, that an allotted rather than inherited place anticipates the New Testament klēros, the inheritance believers are said to obtain in Ephesians 1:11 and to share among the saints in Colossians 1:12, is our own extension. The lexical bridge cannot be proved across languages and we do not claim it; we offer the figure and mark it novel.

Galatians 3:28 · Ephesians 1:11 · Colossians 1:12

The course that was still serving when Gabriel came novel

The subscription binds the non-priestly Levites to the priestly rotations lᵉʻummaṯ, correspondingly: Gill, "which class should answer to, attend upon, and serve the first course of the priests, and which the second, and so on," and Poole, "answerable for number and order to those of the priests." Ellicott notes that the resulting order "is not communicated" in the text, and that even the number twenty-four for the Levites, though "highly probable," is never stated; K&D concedes that "in the whole Old Testament no information as to the order of succession of the Levites is anywhere to be found." Yet Luke 1:8-9 shows the system still running: a priest serving "in the order of his division," chosen by lot to burn incense, is the man told that the forerunner will be born.

⚙ The redemptive-historical point is modest and we will not inflate it. David's rota outlived David, the exile and the second temple's rebuilding, and the announcement of the gospel is set inside its machinery. A calendar drawn up by falling pebbles was still turning when the appointed time came. That the Levitical assistants of this pericope are part of that same machinery is what v. 31 asserts; that God kept the rota for the sake of one week in it is our reading, offered to be tested.

Luke 1:5 · Luke 1:8-9

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

Text. This pericope contains the most visibly damaged verse in the chapter. At 24:23 the Hebrew has וּבְנָי, "and the sons of," with no following name, and no word for "first" after Jeriah; "Hebron" and "the first" in the English are restorations from 1 Chronicles 23:19, as Ellicott, Barnes, Cambridge and Poole all state. K&D notes the defect is ancient, since "even the lxx had our text," and declines to decide whether the names were lost by a copyist or absent from the chronicler's source. At 24:26 and 24:27 בְנוֹ is printed as the personal name "Beno" although it is ordinary Hebrew for "his son"; Barnes, Ellicott and Cambridge read the noun and emend accordingly, while Poole alone defends it as a name. At 24:29 the Hebrew reads plural "the sons of Kish" with a single name following, and BSB silences the plural. At 24:24 the Hebrew is pointed Shamur (so Strong's H8053) while the English prints "Shamir."

What is missing. The Gershonites, Levi's eldest branch, do not appear at all. Our sources give four incompatible explanations: a lacuna in the chronicler's manuscript (Ellicott), missing data in his sources (Barnes), deliberate deferral to chapters 25 and 26 (Pulpit, and Ellicott secondarily), and no omission at all because the section covers only the Levites who assisted the priests (K&D, at length, against Bertheau). We have not chosen among them, and the reader should not take any of the four as settled.

Arithmetic. The number of Levitical families here is openly disputed: Barnes counts twenty-five where twenty-four courses are expected; Pulpit reports Bertheau reaching twenty-five and reducing it by striking the Mahli of v. 30 "without any adequate justificacation," and others reaching twenty-two by striking Shoham, Zaccur and Ibri; K&D counts only fifteen heads and supposes populous houses formed more than one class each. No source in the brief resolves this, and neither do we. That twenty-four Levitical courses existed is, in Ellicott's words, "highly probable" by analogy with the priests and the musicians, but it is nowhere stated in the text.

A name at 24:31. Cambridge objects that "we expect and Abiathar" where the Hebrew has Ahimelech, citing 1 Chronicles 24:3, 15:11 and 18:16. We record the objection without resolving it.

A flagged cross-reference. Ellicott places the only other occurrence of Jehdeiah (H3165) at 1 Chronicles 26:30; the Verifier's index places it at 1 Chronicles 27:30. The thread on that name is tiered "flagged: verify source" for this reason.

Voices. Two of the eleven commentators speak here only in general terms. Matthew Henry's note is a single comment on all of 24:1-31, so wherever he appears the reader should understand him as addressing the chapter, not the verse. JFB's note is written on 24:6 about the priests, and its application to the Levites rests on that commentary's own closing sentence; the procedural detail about secretaries and alternation belongs to the priestly casting and is inferred, not stated, for the Levites. Geneva's entries on most verses are only the verse text itself; we quote Geneva only where an actual marginal gloss exists (notes e and f, on vv. 30 and 31).

What is ours. Every tier, every note marked ⚙, the three movements, the sola reading and the pull quote are machine synthesis and fallible. The resonances we flagged as our own, Jerahmeel's name following the sonless Eleazar, Shoham as the priestly onyx, Zechariah's name closing a list made to be remembered, are observations, not claims by any commentator in this brief. The lot-to-inheritance figure in the second Christ note is marked novel because the lexical bridge across Hebrew and Greek cannot be demonstrated.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)