Of the sons of Hebron ,.... A third son of Kohath, 1 Chronicles 23:12 , Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth: of the sons of Uzziel ; another son of Kohath, 1 Chronicles 23:12 , Micah the first, Jesiah the second: the sons of Merari, Mahli and Mushi , Exodus 6:19 , the sons of Mahli, Eleazar and Kish : of whom see 1 Chronicles 24:28 . read more
And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters ,.... And so none to succeed him in his office and service: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them ; married them, their uncle's sons, their own cousins. read more
Their brethren the sons of Kish took them - This was according to the law made Numbers 27:1 , etc., and Numbers 36:5-9 , in favor of the daughters of Zelophehad, that women who were heiresses should marry in the family of the tribe of their father, and that their estates should not be alienated from them. read more
This and the following two verses give the houses of Merari , contributing four houses, and, with the nine Gershonite and eleven Kohathite, adding up to twenty-four. Merari is the third son of Levi ( Genesis 46:11 ). The Mahli and Mushi of this verse were possibly grandson and son of Merari, if we follow the guidance of 1 Chronicles 6:47 . Yet it would seem far more natural to explain this last-quoted passage by our 1 Chronicles 6:23 , which would then parallel it. Otherwise we... read more
Their brethren… took them ; i.e. their kinsmen, as margin, "took them" to wife ( Numbers 36:5-12 ). (For the sons of Kish, see 1 Chronicles 24:29 .) 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
brethren: or kinsmen. took: i.e. by lot. read more
THE SONS OF MERARI"The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them to wife. The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three." read more
21-23. The sons of Merari—They comprised six fathers' houses. Summing them together, Gershon founded nine fathers houses, Kohath nine, and Merari six: total, twenty-four. :-. OFFICE OF THE LEVITES. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 23:1-23
Here we have, I. The crown entailed, according to the divine appointment, 1 Chron. 23:1. David made Solomon king, not to reign with him, or reign under him, but only to reign after him. This he did, 1. When he was old and full of days. He was but seventy years old when he died, and yet he was full of days, satur dierum?satisfied with living in this world. When he found himself going off, he made provision for the welfare of the kingdom after his decease, and pleased himself with the hopeful... read more