And with them ,.... That is, with Zadok, and the priests with him at Gibeon: he left Heman and Jeduthun : or Ethan, two principal singers: and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name ; see 1 Chronicles 16:18 . to give thanks to the Lord, because his mercy endureth for ever ; to praise him for his benefits, flowing from his grace and mercy continually. read more
These verses give the now new-ordained distribution of priests and Levites, to minister and to attend to the service of praise before the ark. And the first of them may be considered to mark an important step in advance in the crystallizing of the world's ecclesiastical institutions. Asaph and his brethren of song are left there before the ark of the covenant… to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required . A permanent local ministry and choir are thus established,... read more
Comparing these verses with 1 Chronicles 16:4-6 and 1 Chronicles 16:37-40 , it may be supposed that we are intended to understand that of all who were set apart and who had been expressed by name (as e.g. 1 Chronicles 15:4-24 ), some were now formally appointed to serve before the ark, and some in the tabernacle at Gibeon. The confusion existing in these verses by the repetition of the preposition with, and the proper names Heman and Jeduthun, betrays some corruptness of text. The... read more
This passage is interposed by the writer of Chronicles between two sentences of the parallel passage in Samuel. It contains a detailed account of the service which David instituted at this time, a service out of which grew the more elaborate service of the temple. The language of much of the passage is remarkably archaic, and there can be no reasonable doubt that it is in the main an extract from a record of the time of David.1 Chronicles 16:5The occurrence of the name “Jeiel” twice in this... read more
Plans for a permanent house (16:37-17:27)On being brought to Jerusalem, the ark had been placed in a tent that David prepared for it (see v. 1). David appointed temple servants to remain with the ark to guide the worship, apparently under the direction of the senior priest, Abiathar. The other chief priest, Zadok, was in charge of the worship at the tabernacle, which was still at Gibeon (37-43).One reason why David did not shift the tabernacle from Gibeon was that he was planning to build a... read more
Jeduthun. One of the three directors of the Temple-worship. Compare 1 Chronicles 25:1-6 ; 2 Chronicles 5:12 . A descendant of Merari (Compare 1 Chronicles 16:38 with 1 Chronicles 26:10 ). Called also "Ethan" (1 Chronicles 15:17 , 1 Chronicles 15:19 , and Compare 1 Chronicles 25:1 , 1Ch 25:3 , 1 Chronicles 25:6 ; 2 Chronicles 35:15 ). mercy = lovingkindness, or, grace. read more
37-42. So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, &c.—The sequel of the chapter describes the appointment of the sacred musicians and their respective duties. read more
D. David and the Ark chs. 13-16"In the Chronicler’s eyes David’s reign consisted of two great religious phases, his movement of the ark to Jerusalem (chs. 13-16) and his preparations for the building of the temple (chs. 17-19 or at least 17-22, 28, 29). The intent of the parallelism seems to be to mark the ends of these two phases with praise and prayer that both glorified Yahweh and spelled out his relationship to his people in theological terms appropriate to the Chronicler and his... read more
5. David’s concern for the universal worship of Yahweh 16:7-43This hymn (1 Chronicles 16:8-36) was probably one of many that the people sang on this occasion. It expressed the hopes and thoughts of the Israelites assembled that the returned exiles needed to emulate. This thanksgiving song is a medley of several psalms (Psalms 96:1-13; Psalms 105:1-15; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 106:47-48). It stresses that the intended result of Israel’s worship was the salvation of the nations so that they, too,... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Chronicles 16:37-43
The worship of God is not only to be the work of a solemn day now and then, brought in to grace a triumph; but it ought to be the work of every day. David therefore settles it here for a constancy, puts it into a method, which he obliged those that officiated to observe in their respective posts. In the tabernacle of Moses, and afterwards in the temple of Solomon, the ark and the altar were together; but, ever since Eli's time, they had been separated, and still continued so till the temple... read more