1 Chronicles 6:77

"Unto the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs; and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them, out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah, and Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, and Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs."

By far the greater space was devoted to the genealogies of the Levites. "The reason for this, of course, was the importance of the priestly tribe in the religious life of Israel."[1]

An amazing feature of these is the use of the same names over and over from generation to generation. The time covered by these genealogies reaches all the way back to Israel (Jacob); and many of the names encountered here remind us of historical events centered around those names throughout the Old Testament. My comments on some of those occurrences are in Exodus 6; 1Sam. 1,1 Samuel 8, and in Joshua 21.

"Nadab and Abihu" (1 Chronicles 6:3). Their offering strange fire before Jehovah and their untimely death are recorded in Leviticus 20:1-2, and in Numbers 3:4. They left no children.

A most significant fact that appears in this chapter is that all of the services of the tabernacle are presented as reaching all the way back to the Exodus; and the Chronicler tells us that their ceremonies were observed, "According to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded." (1 Chronicles 6:49). Elmslie, speaking of this verse, declared it to be "emphatically stated."[2] The sacred author of Chronicles had evidently never heard of that fairy tale regarding that "D" Document allegedly discovered by Hilkiah in the days of Josiah. What is stated here could never have been written if that `discovery' had been anything other than the Pentateuch (every single word of it).

"All their cities were thirteen" (1 Chronicles 6:60). "Eleven of these are given here, and the other two are supplied in Joshua 21."[3]

The importance of these genealogies for the returning Israelites from their captivity in Babylon was stressed by Simmons: "It was important for them to realize that their captivity had been only an interruption of their religious and national life. These genealogies gave them a most significant link with their past. They created a continuity between the pre-exilic and post-exilic Israel."[4]