Wrote them before the king - i. e., “wrote down their names as the lots were drawn forth.”Ahimelech the son of Abiathar - A wrong reading. It should be “Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech.” See the 2 Samuel 8:17 note. read more
These were the orderings ... - i. e., “this was the numerical order fixed for their ministerial attendance in the house of the Lord - an attendance which was after the manner determined for them by their forefather Aaron, according to instructions which he received from God.” read more
1 Chronicles 24:3. And David distributed them, &c. To avoid all confusion, now that they were much increased, he distributed the priests, as he had done the Levites, into several courses, allotting to each of them the times wherein they should by turns have the government of holy ministrations. read more
1 Chronicles 24:4. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen chief men, &c. He appointed, therefore, sixteen courses of the sons of Eleazar, under as many heads of their families, and half as many of the posterity of Ithamar. read more
1 Chronicles 24:5. Thus were they divided by lot That the business being committed, in this way, to the Divine disposal, there might be no occasion for complaint, and so all contentions might be prevented, as no man could be charged with partiality, nor could any say they had wrong done them. Solomon says, the lot causes contention to cease. It is evident from the Scriptures, that it was a very ancient custom to refer matters of a doubtful nature to the decision of the lot; and, in... read more
1 Chronicles 24:6. Shemaiah, the scribe, wrote them before the king Their names were written and put into an urn, out of which the lots were to be drawn: which, that there might be no suspicion of fraud, were drawn before the king, the princes, the high-priest and his assistant, and before the several families of priests and Levites. One principal household being taken for Eleazar, &c. That is, one of the principal families of Eleazar was first taken, and then one of Ithamar’s, and... read more
1 Chronicles 24:19. These were the orderings of them In this order and method they were to come to perform the offices of the temple. To come into the house To come into the temple every sabbath day, and to continue there till the next sabbath, when they were relieved by others. Under Aaron Under the direction of the high-priest, whom he calls Aaron, because he represented Aaron’s person, and executed his office; and their father Because of the authority which, by God’s appointment,... read more
Arrangements for the Levites (23:1-26:32)Having appointed Solomon to be his successor, David made further arrangements for the service of the temple. First, he set out a plan to distribute duties among the Levites. A census showed that there were 38,000 Levites eligible for temple service. Of these, 14,000 were official record-keepers, judges, guards, singers and musicians. The remainder were to help in the general service of the temple (23:1-6). Clearly, there were far too many Levites to work... read more
distributed = divided into courses, as in 1 Chronicles 23:6 . read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Chronicles 24:5
One sort with another - i. e., “the assignment of their order in the courses was made by lot to the families belonging to Eleazar, and to the families belonging to Ithamar, equally.” Both houses had furnished functionaries of the highest class, and therefore no preference was now given to either over the other. read more