1 Chronicles 23 (NET)

David Organizes the Levites

1 When David was old and approaching the end of his life,1 he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

2 David2 assembled all the leaders of Israel, along with the priests and the Levites. 3 The Levites who were thirty years old and up were counted; there were 38,000 men.3 4 David said,4 “Of these, 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple; 6,000 are to be officials and judges; 5 4,000 are to be gatekeepers; and 4,000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship.”5 6 David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

7 The Gershonites included Ladan and Shimei.

8 The sons of Ladan:

Jehiel the oldest, Zetham, and Joel – three in all.

9 The sons of Shimei:

Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran – three in all.

These were the leaders of the family of Ladan.

10 The sons of Shimei:

Jahath, Zina,6 Jeush, and Beriah. These were Shimei’s sons – four in all.7 11 Jahath was the oldest and Zizah the second oldest. Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility.

12 The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel – four in all.

13 The sons of Amram:

Aaron and Moses.

Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the most holy items, to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to serve him, and to praise his name.8 14 The descendants of Moses the man of God were considered Levites.9

15 The sons of Moses:

Gershom and Eliezer.

16 The son10 of Gershom:

Shebuel11 the oldest.

17 The son of Eliezer was12 Rehabiah, the oldest. Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had many descendants.

18 The son13 of Izhar:

Shelomith the oldest.

19 The sons of Hebron:

Jeriah the oldest, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.

20 The sons of Uzziel:

Micah the oldest, and Isshiah the second.

21 The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

The sons of Mahli:

Eleazar and Kish.

22 Eleazar died without having sons; he had only daughters. The sons of Kish, their cousins, married them.14

23 The sons of Mushi:

Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth – three in all.

24 These were the descendants of Levi according to their families, that is, the leaders of families as counted and individually listed who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple and were twenty years old and up.15 25 For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest and has permanently settled in Jerusalem.16 26 So the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service.” 27 According to David’s final instructions, the Levites twenty years old and up were counted.17

28 Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple.18 29 They also took care of19 the bread that is displayed, the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring.20 30 They also stood in a designated place21 every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening 31 and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations.22 32 They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place, and helped their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, in the service of the Lord’s temple.23

1tn Heb “and full of years.” 2tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 3tn Heb “and their number by their heads, by men, was 38,000.” 4tn The words “David said” are supplied here in the translation for clarification. The appearance of the first person verb “I supplied” in v. 5 indicates that David is speaking here. 5tn Heb “made to [or “for”] praise.” 6tc The MT reads “Zina” here and “Zizah” in v. 11. One Hebrew ms, the LXX, and the Vulgate, harmonizing the form of the name to that found in v. 11, read “Zizah” here. 7sn Verses 8-10 are confusing. Two different lists of Shimei’s sons appear. In between these lists is the statement “these were the leaders of the family of Ladan,” suggesting that the list just before this includes the sons of Ladan, not Shimei. But verse 8 already lists Ladan’s sons. Apparently the text as it stands is a conflation of differing traditions. 8tn Heb “and Aaron was set apart to consecrate it, the most holy things, he and his sons, permanently, to sacrifice before the Lord, to serve him, and to bless his name permanently.” 9tn Heb “and Moses the man of God, his sons were called to the tribe of Levi.” 10tn The Hebrew text has the plural “sons,” but only one name appears after this. The attached phrase “the oldest” might indicate that Shebuel was not Gershom’s only son, but note v. 17. 11tc The LXX reads Σουβαηλ (Soubahl) here, a reading followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, CEV (“Shubael”); cf. 24:20. 12tn The Hebrew text has “the sons of Eliezer were,” but only one name appears after this in the verse, and we are specifically told that Eliezer had no other sons. 13tn The Hebrew text has the plural “sons,” but only one name appears after this. The attached phrase “the oldest” might indicate that Shelomith was not Izhar’s only son, but note v. 17. 14tn Heb “the sons of Kish, their brothers [i.e., relatives/cousins] lifted them up.” For other uses of נָאָשׂ (na’as, “lift up”) in the sense of “marry,” see BDB 671 s.v. Qal.3.d. 15tn Heb “these were the sons of Levi according to the house of their fathers, heads of the fathers, according to their numberings, by number of names, according to their heads, doer[s] of the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from a son of twenty years and upwards.” 16map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4. 17tn Heb “for by the final words of David, they were the number of the sons of Levi, from a son of twenty years and upward.” 18tn Heb “For their assignment was at the hand of the sons of Aaron for the work of the house of the Lord concerning the courtyards and concerning the rooms and concerning the purification of all holiness and the work of the service of the house of God.” 19tn Heb “with respect to.” 20tn The Hebrew terms מְשׂוּרָה (mÿsurah) and מִדָּה (middah) refer to different types of measurements. 21tn Heb “and to stand.” 22tn Heb “by number according to the manner upon them, regularly before the Lord.” 23tn Heb “and they kept the charge of the tent of meeting and the charge of the holy place and the charge of the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the service of the house of the Lord.”