1 Chronicles 9 - Introduction

1 Chronicles 9:1-17 (cp. Nehemiah 11:1-19). The Heads of the Families which dwelt in Jerusalem

1 Chronicles 9:2-17 contain the list of the heads of families of Judah (1 Chronicles 9:3-6), of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 9:7-9), of the priests (1 Chronicles 9:10-13), of the Levites (1 Chronicles 9:14-16), and of the porters (1 Chronicles 9:17), who dwelt in Jerusalem at some period after the Return (cp. note on 1 Chronicles 9:1). A similar list (with some variations which are recorded in their places in the following notes) occurs in Nehemiah 11:3-19. The theory which best explains the partial agreement coupled with the partial divergence of the two lists, is that both are extracts independently made from the same document, which the Chronicler has inserted, one in Chron., the other in Neh., lest the peculiarities of either list should be lost. We may conclude from Nehemiah 11:1-2 that the two lists represent the population of Jerusalem, after Nehemiah had taken measures for increasing it. Cp. Ryle on Nehemiah 11:3.