And he gathered together all the princes of Israel ,.... Ordered them to be assembled, partly to acquaint them with his will and pleasure, that Solomon should succeed him in the kingdom; and partly to settle the order of the work and service of the temple; and therefore these were convened with the priests and Levites ; to assign to them their respective places and offices. read more
EXPOSITION This chapter is the first of four employed on the subject of the Levites and the services distributed among them. The twenty-four orders of priests, sons of Aaron, occupy 1 Chronicles 24:1-31 . The twenty-four orders of the singers and musicians occupy the contents of 1 Chronicles 25:1-31 . And the divisions of the porters, with their gates; and of those Levites who had the keeping of the treasures of the house of God; and the officers and judges, fill up 1 Chronicles... read more
He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. As on an occasion of supreme importance, David, in view of his own death and of his son's succession at the present time, calls together the full council, and the highest possible representative council of the nation. So 1 Chronicles 22:17 ; 1 Chronicles 24:6 ; 1 Chronicles 25:1 ; in which last passage the word "captains" should have have been rendered "princes" ( שׂרִי ). The arrangement of the... read more
1 Chronicles 23:2. He gathered together all the princes, &c. Partly to declare God’s will, and his own desire, that Solomon should be his successor; and so to cut off the claims and pretences which others of his sons might have made to the crown; and partly to acquaint them with those directions which he had received from God, by the Spirit, as appears from 1 Chronicles 28:11, &c., concerning the establishment of a new order and method in the ministration of the priests and Levites... 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
2. he gathered together all the princes of Israel—All important measures relating to the public interest were submitted for consideration to a general assembly of the representatives of the tribes (1 Chronicles 13:1; 1 Chronicles 15:25; 1 Chronicles 22:17; 1 Chronicles 26:1-32). read more
Preparations for temple service chs. 23-26Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 23 (1 Chronicles 23:1-2) provide an outline for what follows in chapters 23-27 but in reverse order. After David appointed Solomon as his coregent in 973 B.C., he began the preparations the writer described here.David adapted the service of the Levites, who assisted the priests, to the new temple ritual. This form of worship was a combination of tabernacle and divinely approved revised worship (1 Chronicles 23:3-32; Numbers 3).... read more
David makes Solomon King. Particulars relating to the LevitesThis and the following three chapters (supplementing the earlier history) describe the arrangements made by David for the organisation of the Temple service after Solomon had been appointed his successor. The incidents relating to this last event, which are recorded in 1 Kings 1, are omitted by the writer, who passes over all David’s domestic troubles.3. From the age of thirty years] This limit is given in Numbers 4:3, but... read more
(2) And he gathered together all the princes of Israel.—The form of the verb (the imperfect with waw conversive) implies that this was done in connection with the transfer of the kingdom to Solomon. The following chapters, therefore, relate to arrangements made by David towards the close of his life. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 26:30, “the fortieth year of the reign of David.”)The princes of Israel.—Comp. 1 Chronicles 13:1; 1 Chronicles 15:25; 1 Chronicles 22:17. “The princes and the priests and the... 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