1 Chronicles 6:1-81

The Book of 1 Chronicles

God rules History

1 Chronicles

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 6

The *tribe of Levi – 1 Chronicles 6:1-81

The family of the chief priests – 1 Chronicles 6:1-15

v1 Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. v2 Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. v3 Amram’s children were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. Aaron’s sons were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. v4 Eleazar was the father of Phinehas. Phinehas was the father of Abishua. v5 Abishua was the father of Bukki. Bukki was the father of Uzzi. v6 Uzzi was the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah was the father of Meraioth. v7 Meraioth was the father of Amariah. Amariah was the father of Ahitub. v8 Ahitub was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz. v9 Ahimaaz was the father of Azariah. Azariah was the father of Johanan. v10 Johanan was the father of Azariah. Azariah was a priest in the *temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem. v11 Azariah was the father of Amariah. Amariah was the father of Ahitub. v12 Ahitub was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Shallum. v13 Shallum was the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah was the father of Azariah. v14 Azariah was the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah was the father of Jehozadak. v15 Jehozadak went into *exile when the *LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into *exile. The *LORD used Nebuchadnezzar to do this.

Verses 1-15 Levi had three sons Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Kohath had 4 sons including Amram. Amram was the father of Aaron, Moses and Miriam. All the priests came from the family of Aaron. Aaron was the first chief priest. His son Eleazar became the next chief priest. Then the role (job) of chief priest passed from father to son until the time of the *exile. But some of the chief priests came from the family of Ithamar who was a son of Aaron. So, this is not a complete list of the chief priests.

This is not a full list of the family of Levi. Levi went to Egypt with his father and brothers. His three sons were with him then. It was 400 years later that Moses led the *Israelites out of Egypt. Often in the Bible, the word ‘son’ means ‘from the family’. So, the ‘father’ could be an *ancestor rather than the actual father. Amram the father of Moses could not have been the son of Kohath.

The first two sons of Aaron were Nadab and Abihu. They died as a punishment. They did what was wrong. So the *LORD killed them (Leviticus 10:1-2). Because of this Eleazar, the third son, became the chief priest.

Zadok was the chief priest in the time of David (about 1000 *BC). The other chief priest at this time was Abiathar who belonged to the family of Ithamar.

Azariah son of Ahimaaz became the chief priest at the time of Solomon (about 970 *BC). Some time later Azariah the son of Johanan served in Solomon’s *temple.

Hilkiah discovered the book of the law that God had given to Moses (2 Kings 22:8). Because of this, King Josiah tried to turn the people back to their God.

Nebuchadnezzar ordered the death of Seraiah in Riblah town (2 Kings 25:18-21). But his son went into *exile. While in Babylon, Jehozadak had a son Jeshua. Jeshua came back to Jerusalem in about 538 *BC (Ezra 2:2). He was then the chief priest.

The three *clans of Levi – 1 Chronicles 6:16-30

v16 Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. v17 The names of Gershon’s sons were Libni and Shimei. v18 Kohath’s sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. v19 Merari’s sons were Mahli and Mushi.

These are the names of the *ancestors of the *clans of the *Levites.

v20 Gershon’s son was Libni. Libni’s son was Jehath. Jehath’s son was Zimmah. v21 Zimmah’s son was Joah. Joah’s son was Iddo. Iddo’s son was Zerah. And Zerah’s son was Jeatherai.

v22 Kohath’s son was Amminadab. Amminadab’s son was Korah. Korah’s son was Assir. v23 Assir’s son was Elkanah. Elkanah’s son was Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph’s son was Assir. v24 Assir’s son was Tahath. Tahath’s son was Uriel. Uriel’s son was Uzziah, and Uzziah’s son was Shaul. v25 Elkanah’s sons were Amasai and Ahimoth. v26 Ahimoth’s son was Elkanah. Elkanah’s son was Zophai. Zophai’s son was Nahath. v27 Nahath’s son was Eliab. Eliab’s son was Jeroham. Jeroham’s son was Elkanah, and Elkanah’s son was Samuel. v28 Samuel’s first son was Joel and his second son was Abijah.

v29 Merari’s son was Mahli. Mahli’s son was Libni. Libni’s son was Shimei. Shimei’s son was Uzzah. v30 Uzzah’s son was Shimea. Shimea’s son was Haggiah, and Haggiah’s son was Asaiah.

Verses 16-30 The previous section showed the list of the priests. This section shows the rest of the family of Levi. Levi had three sons. Their sons were the *ancestors of the *clans of the *Levites. This list shows the families of Gershon, Kohath and Merari. This list of names is not complete. Some names are not in this list and some are different in other lists.

The list of Kohath’s family is longer but it shows only one of his sons. Amminadab was another name for Izhar (Exodus 6:18). His son was Korah. Korah led a group of 250 men who opposed Moses. God punished Korah and the two men who were leaders with him (Numbers 16:1-33). The ground opened and it swallowed them. They went into their graves while they were still alive. And that was how they died. But God did not kill the sons of Korah.

The second Elkanah was the father of Samuel. Samuel was the *prophet who made Saul the first king of *Israel. Also, Samuel put oil on David’s head in order to appoint David king instead of Saul.

Joel and Abijah were the two sons of Samuel. Unlike their father, they were evil men. Because of this, the people wanted a king instead of them. God gave them their desire and Samuel made Saul their king.

The musicians – 1 Chronicles 6:31-48

v31 David brought God’s *ark into the *LORD’s house. Then he chose some men to be responsible for the music in that house. v32 They served the *LORD as they made music at the holy tent. This tent was where the *LORD met with the priests. They used that tent until Solomon built the *LORD’s *temple in Jerusalem. They followed the rules for their work.

v33 These are the musicians and their sons: from Kohath’s family there was Heman the singer. Heman was Joel’s son. Joel was Samuel’s son. v34 Samuel was Elkanah’s son. Elkanah was Jeroham’s son. Jeroham was Eliel’s son. Eliel was Toah’s son. v35 Toah was Zuph’s son. Zuph was Elkanah’s son. Elkanah was Mahath’s son. Mahath was Amasai’s son. v36 Amasai was Elkanah’s son. Elkanah was Joel’s son. Joel was Azariah’s son. Azariah was Zephaniah’s son. v37 Zephaniah was Tahath’s son. Tahath was Assir’s son. Assir was Ebiasaph’s son. Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. v38 Korah was Izhar’s son. Izhar was Kohath’s son. Kohath was Levi’s son. Levi was *Israel’s son.

v39 Heman’s brother (partner) Asaph stood on his right hand side. Asaph was Berekiah’s son. Berekiah was Shimea’s son. v40 Shimea was Michael’s son. Michael was Baaseiah’s son. Baaseiah was Malkijah’s son. v41 Malkijah was Ethni’s son. Ethni was Zerah’s son. Zerah was Adaiah’s son. v42 Adaiah was Ethan’s son. Ethan was Zimmah’s son. Zimmah was Shimei’s son. v43 Shimei was Jahath’s son. Jahath was Gershon’s son, and Gershon was Levi’s son.

v44 On the left of Heman and Asaph stood their companions, who were from Merari’s *clan. In this group of men was Ethan son of Kishi. Kishi was Abdi’s son. Abdi was Malluch’s son. v45 Malluch was Hashabiah’s son. Hashabiah was Amaziah’s son. Amaziah was Hilkiah’s son. v46 Hilkiah was Amzi’s son. Amzi was Bani’s son. Bani was Shemer’s son. v47 Shemer was Mahli’s son. Mahli was Mushi’s son. Mushi was Merari’s son, and Merari was Levi’s son.

v48 The rest of the *Levites had special tasks to do for the holy tent, the house of God.

Verses 31-48 King David brought God’s *ark from the house of Obed-Edom (2 Samuel 6:12). He brought it up to Jerusalem. He put it in a special tent. That tent was the *LORD’s house until Solomon built the *temple. It was the place where people would come to *worship. They brought their *sacrifices there and the priests burned them on the *altar outside. But only the priests would go inside the holy tent or the *temple building.

God’s *ark was a wooden box. Gold covered the wood on both the inside and the outside of the box (Exodus 25:10). In it, there was the book of the law that God gave to Moses. Also in the box were Aaron’s stick and a gold jar with the bread that God gave to *Israel in the desert (Hebrews 9:4). The *ark was in the most holy place in the tent and later in the most holy place in the *temple. Only the chief priest would enter that room. And he would only enter it on one special day each year.

Then David chose the men who would lead the music at the tent. They were responsible for the music in the *worship of God. He chose some men to play instruments of music. He chose other men to praise the *LORD in song.

The three chief singers were Heman, Asaph and Ethan. Heman was a grandson of Samuel. Asaph was not a brother of Heman because he was not from the same family. But they both came from the same *ancestor Levi. The term ‘brother’ here means a partner as a singer (verse 39). Later in this book, Ethan has the name of Jeduthun. Their names appear in the titles of some Psalms (see Psalms 73:89).

The rest of the *Levites also served in and round the *LORD’s house. Some of them guarded the gates. Some of them took care of the equipment of the tent. Other *Levites helped the priests. They killed the animals and prepared them for the priests.

Aaron’s *descendants – 1 Chronicles 6:49-53

v49 Aaron and his *descendants gave the gifts to God on the *altar for *burnt *sacrifices. And they burned the *incense on the *altar for *incense. They gave the *sacrifices to God so that he would remove the *Israelites’ *sins. They alone were responsible for the work in the most holy place. They obeyed all the orders that God’s servant Moses had given to them. v50 These men were Aaron’s *descendants. Eleazar was Aaron’s son. Phinehas was Eleazar’s son. Abishua was Phinehas’ son. v51 Bukki was Abishua’s son. Uzzi was Bukki’s son. Zerahiah was Uzzi’s son. v52 Meraioth was Zerahiah’s son. Amariah was Meraioth’s son. Ahitub was Amariah’s son. v53 Zadok was Ahitub’s son, and Ahimaaz was Zadok’s son.

Verses 49-53 Aaron and his *descendants were the chief priests. The people brought to them the daily *sacrifices and their gifts. Then the priests took these *sacrifices and gifts and they burned them on the *altar. Also, they burned *incense each night and each morning on the *altar for *incense. These *sacrifices were for the *sins of the people.

The chief priest went into the most holy place once each year. He went in to meet with God. God can forgive *sin only when something has died. So the chief priest took the blood of an animal, which he had killed as a special *sacrifice. Nobody else could go into the most holy place.

The rules for this one day in the year are in Leviticus chapter 16. When Aaron died, the role (job) of chief priest went to his son Eleazar.

This list continues until the time of David and Solomon. During their rule, Zadok and then Ahimaaz were chief priests. Only the chief priest from the family of Zadok could go into the most holy place.

The cities of the *Levites – 1 Chronicles 6:54-81

v54 These are the places where Aaron’s *descendants lived. The Kohath *clan received the first share of the land. v55 They had the city called Hebron in Judah and the land round it. v56 But Caleb son of Jephunneh had the fields round the city and the villages near Hebron. v57-58 So the *descendants of Aaron lived in Hebron. Hebron was one of the cities of safety. Also, they lived in other towns. And they had the land round them. These towns were Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Hilen, Debir, v59 Ashan, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh. v60 Also, the *tribe of Benjamin gave to them towns with the surrounding land. These towns were Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth. This made 13 towns for all their families to live in.

v61 The *clans of half Manasseh gave 10 towns to the rest of the *clan of Kohath. They threw stones to choose the towns. v62 The *tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the part of Manasseh in Bashan gave 13 towns to the Gershon *clan. v63 The *tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun gave 12 towns to the Merari *clan. They threw stones to choose the towns. v64 So the *Israelites gave these towns with the surrounding land to the *Levites. v65 The *tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin gave certain towns. They threw stones to choose these towns.

v66 The *tribe of Ephraim gave towns and land to some of the *clan of Kohath. v67-69 They gave to the *clan of Kohath the cities of safety. One of these was Shechem with its land in the hill country of Ephraim. The other cities were Gezer with its land, Jokmeam, Beth Horon, Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon. v70 The half *tribe of Manasseh gave to the Kohath *clan the towns called Aner and Bileam with the surrounding land.

v71 The other half of the *tribe of Manasseh gave towns to the Gershon *clan. These towns were Golan in Bashan and Ashtaroth with the surrounding land. v72-73 The *tribe of Issachar gave towns to the Gershon *clan. These towns were Kedesh, Daberath, Ramoth, and Anem with the surrounding land. v74-75 The *tribe of Asher gave towns to the Gershon *clan. These towns were Mashal, Abdon, Hukok, and Rehob with the surrounding land. v76 The *tribe of Naphtali gave towns to the Gershon *clan. These towns were Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim with the surrounding land.

v77 The *tribe of Zebulun gave towns to the Merari *clan, that is, to the rest of the *Levites. These towns were Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmono, and Tabor with the surrounding land. v78-79 The *tribe of Reuben gave towns to the Merari *clan. These towns were Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath with the surrounding land. The *tribe of Reuben lived east of the Jordan river, across from Jericho. v80-81 The *tribe of Gad gave towns to the Merari *clan. These towns were Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer with the surrounding land.

Verses 54-81 The *Levite families of Kohath, Gershon and Merari received 48 towns. As Jacob had said (Genesis 49:7), the *Levites did not have their own region. They lived among the other *tribes.

There were 6 cities of safety. These were Hebron, Shechem, Bezer, Ramoth, Golan and Kedesh. When a person killed someone, the nearest relative of the dead person had a duty to kill him. But if the person did not intend to kill (Joshua chapter 20), he could go to the city of safety. He would live there until a judge declared him guilty or innocent.

tribe ~ The Israelites originally consisted of the 12 large families of the sons of Jacob. These families became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. Or, a building for the worship of false gods. The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country, they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. The name probably means: ‘He is always God.’ This name has a relationship with God’s special promises to his people.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
clan ~ part of a tribe, a group of families.
tribe ~ The Israelites originally consisted of the 12 large families of the sons of Jacob. These families became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
Levite ~ a person who belongs to the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ The Israelites originally consisted of the 12 large families of the sons of Jacob. These families became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
prophet ~ a person who speaks for God. He can sometimes say what will happen in the future.
Israel ~ Israel is the special name that God gave to Jacob. His descendants were called Israel after him. So, Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it ‘the ark of God’s special promise’. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and inside. It had two models of gold cherubim on the top (see Exodus 25:10-22). The Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place; first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. The name probably means: ‘He is always God.’ This name has a relationship with God’s special promises to his people.
cherubim ~ special angels who were in the most holy place of the temple.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. Or, a building for the worship of false gods. The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
angel ~ one of God’s special servants from heaven. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal when people offered it as a gift to God. They burned all or part of it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. ‘To sacrifice’ means ‘to give a sacrifice’.
altar ~ the special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts to God (or to false gods).
sin ~ Sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because they are guilty of sin.
altar ~ the special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts to God (or to false gods).
descendant ~ a future member of a family or nation.'burnt (sacrifice) ~ a sacrifice that the priests burned completely on the altar.
sacrifice ~ The priests killed a special animal when people offered it as a gift to God. They burned all or part of it on an altar. That animal was called a sacrifice. They offered a sacrifice when they asked God to forgive sins. When Jesus died, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. ‘To sacrifice’ means ‘to give a sacrifice’.
altar ~ the special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts to God (or to false gods).
sin ~ Sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because they are guilty of sin.
incense ~ a substance that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God. Or, a building for the worship of false gods. The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ acts to show honour to God (or to a false god). When people praise and thank God.
Jews ~ another name for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the people whose ancestors are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
sin ~ Sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. People are called sinners because they are guilty of sin.