The sons of Shimei ,.... Not him that was the son of Gershon, but a descendant of Laadan, his son, as Kimchi observes: Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, these were the chief of the fathers of Laadan ; of the families that sprang from him. read more
This verse purports to give the three sons of Shimei, but not the Shimei of 1 Chronicles 23:7 , but of a descendant of Laadan. This is made clear, not only by the remaining clause of this verse, which says, "These were the chief of the fathers of Landau," and again by the enumeration in 1 Chronicles 23:10 of sons of that Shimei who is coupled with Landau in 1 Chronicles 23:7 , but also by a comparison of 1 Chronicles 24:22 ; 1 Chronicles 26:21-26 . It is, of course, possible that the... 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
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
(6-23) The twenty-four houses of the Levites. read more
(9) These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.—Rather, heads of the father-houses to Laadan. The names seem to be at once those of the clans, or guilds, and of their existing chiefs. But perhaps we should render, These are the chief father-houses. To Laadan, then, pertained six houses, viz., Jehiel, Zetham, Joel, Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran. read more
2. The Numbering and Arrangement of the Levites CHAPTER 23 1. Solomon made king (1 Chronicles 23:1 ) 2. The number of the Levites (1 Chronicles 23:2-6 ) 3. The Gershonites (1 Chronicles 23:7-11 ) 4. The sons of Kohath (1 Chronicles 23:12-20 ) 5. The sons of Merari (1 Chronicles 23:21-23 ) 6. The service of the Levites (1 Chronicles 23:24-32 ) David, in his seventieth year, made Solomon king. It is the first time, and afterwards (1 Chronicles 29:22 ) he was made king the second... read more
DAVID ’S REIGN THE DOWNFALL OF SAUL (1 Chronicles 10:0 ) In reading this chapter with whose general contents we became familiar in 1 Samuel 31:0 , it is important to note the inspired comment at its close (1 Chronicles 10:13-14 ). DAVID’S HEROES (1 Chronicles 11-12) In the history of David in this book, the writer dwells chiefly on its prosperous side, passing over the rest as lightly as possible. His anointing at Hebron (1 Chronicles 11:1-3 ) reveals nothing of what we learned earlier of... 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