1 And David and the captains of the host separated for the service those of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun who were to prophesy with harps and lutes and cymbals; and the number of the men employed according to their service was:
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, they set the priests in their apparel, with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Jehovah according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang alternately together in praising and giving thanks to Jehovah: For he is good, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout to the praise of Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.
And I saw as a glass sea, mingled with fire, and those that had gained the victory over the beast, and over its image, and over the number of its name, standing upon the glass sea, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses bondman of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and wonderful [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true [are] thy ways, O King of nations. Who shall not fear [thee], O Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy; for all nations shall come and do homage before thee; for thy righteousnesses have been made manifest.
But if all prophesy, and some unbeliever or simple [person] come in, he is convicted of all, he is judged of all; the secrets of his heart are manifested; and thus, falling upon [his] face, he will do homage to God, reporting that God is indeed amongst you. What is it then, brethren? whenever ye come together, each [of you] has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to edification.
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet; praise him with lute and harp; Praise him with the tambour and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and the pipe; Praise him with loud cymbals; praise him with high sounding cymbals.
{A Psalm, a Song, for the Sabbath day.} It is good to give thanks unto Jehovah, and to sing psalms unto thy name, O Most High; To declare thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness in the nights, Upon an instrument of ten strings and upon the lute; upon the Higgaion with the harp.
And that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and also the women and the children rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. And at that time men were appointed over the chambers of the treasures for the heave-offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, out of the fields of the cities, the portions assigned by the law for the priests and the Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests, and over the Levites that waited. And, with the singers and the doorkeepers, they kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David [and] of Solomon his son. For of old, in the days of David and Asaph, there were the chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgivings to God.
And he set the Levites in the house of Jehovah with cymbals, with lutes, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the commandment was of Jehovah through his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
And they were divided by lot, one with another; for the princes of the sanctuary and the princes of God were of the sons of Eleazar and of the sons of Ithamar. And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, [one] of the Levites, inscribed them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the chief fathers of the priests and Levites: one father's house was drawn for Eleazar, and one drawn for Ithamar.
and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Jehovah with the instruments which I made, [said David,] to praise [therewith]. And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Of the Gershonites: Laadan and Shimei.
and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; and with them, [with] Heman and Jeduthun, trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud; and the musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate.
And he appointed certain of the Levites to do the service before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate, and to thank and praise Jehovah the God of Israel: Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of lutes and with harps; and Asaph sounding with cymbals;
And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren, the singers, with instruments of music, lutes, and harps, and cymbals, that they should sound aloud, lifting up the voice with joy. And the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; and with them their brethren of the second [rank], Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers; and the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, to sound aloud with cymbals of brass; and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with lutes on Alamoth; and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-Edom and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to lead [the singing].
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 25
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 25 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 25
This chapter relates the appointment of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, to be singers in the temple, 1 Chronicles 25:1 the distribution of them by lot into twenty four classes, twelve in each class, 1 Chronicles 25:8.
Moreover, David and the captains of the host separated to the service,.... Of singing the praises of God; this was done by the princes of the people, and the chief of the priests, who were gathered together, and before whom the lots were cast, both for priests and Levites, and now here for the singers, see 1 Chronicles 22:2 and those that were separated were
of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun; or Ethan, the three precentors, or chief of the singers:
who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals; sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, endited by the Holy Spirit of God; which contained in them prophecies concerning things to come, particularly relating to the Messiah, of which there are many in the book of Psalms; and to the tunes of these they played on the above instruments of music:
and the number of the workmen, according to their service, was; as follows.
Of the sons of Asaph,.... Who were separated, and by lot appointed, to the service of singers in the temple:
Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah; called Jesharelah, 1 Chronicles 25:14, these had the third fourth, fifth, and seventh lots, 1 Chronicles 25:9,
under the hands of Asaph; under his instruction and authority:
which prophesied according to the order of the king; which Asaph composed psalms under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, and was ordered by King David to sing them, and by whose command they were inserted in the book of Psalms, where they now stand with his name to them.
Of Jeduthun,.... Or Ethan, the sons of Jeduthun:
Gedaliah and Zeri; called Izri, 1 Chronicles 25:11,
and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six; whereas five only are mentioned; it may be thought that Shimei, 1 Chronicles 25:17 is the sixth, he not being mentioned elsewhere; it is a tradition of the Jews, that his mother was now with child of him, and it being foreseen by the Holy Spirit that he would be the chief of a course, the number six is given, as Jarchi observes; but rather, as Kimchi, he was young, and not fit to sing, yet was chosen the head of a course, until he was grown up and fit for it; to these six came up the second, fourth, eighth, twelfth, fourteenth, and tenth lots, 1 Chronicles 25:9 and these
were under the hands of their father Jeduthun; to instruct and direct them, and appoint their service to them:
who prophesied with a harp; or sung a prophetic psalm or hymn on that:
to give thanks, and to praise the Lord; for what he had done and promised, and foretold he would do for his people.
Of Heman: the sons of Heman,.... The third chief singer:
Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel; the same with Azareel, 1 Chronicles 25:18.
Shebuel; called Shubael, 1 Chronicles 25:20.
and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth; in all fourteen, to whom came the sixth, ninth, eleventh, fifteenth, sixteenth, eighteenth, twentieth, twenty second, twenty fourth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty third lots, 1 Chronicles 25:13.
All these were the sons of Heman, the king's seer,.... The prophet of the king, as the Targum, who was frequently with him, assisting him
in the words of God: in divine things:
to lift up the horn; to blow with the hornpipe or trumpet, and to magnify and set forth the greatness of the kingdom of Israel, and especially of the King Messiah, the horn of salvation, that would be raised up in the house of David:
and God gave to Heman fourteen sons; whose names are before mentioned:
and three daughters; of whom we have no more account, only may observe, that both are the gifts of God, and an heritage from him, Psalm 127:3.
All these were under the hands of their father, for song in the house of the Lord,.... Instructed and directed by him in the performance of the service in the temple:
with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God; which were the three principal instruments of music used in the temple service:
according to the king's order, to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman; who ordered and directed them what to sing, what tunes to make use of, and what instruments to play upon to those tunes.
So the number of them, with their brethren,.... Who each of them had twelve with them, as after reckoned:
that were instructed in the songs of the Lord; taught how to sing them:
even all that were cunning; expert and well skilled in the science of singing:
was two hundred and eighty eight; for there being twenty four classes answerable to those of the priests, and twelve in each class, twelve times twenty four makes two hundred and eighty eight.
And they cast lots, ward against ward,.... That is, which ward or course of the singers should answer to and attend on the first ward or course of the priests in their weekly service, and which the second, and so on:
as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar; no regard was had to the age of a person, his being the firstborn or a younger brother, or to his office and station, whether as a teacher or a learner in the science of singing; he was made the head of a course, as the lot came up; and it may easily be observed, by comparing the lots in the following verses with the sons of the chief singers, according to the order of them in 1 Chronicles 25:2 that the younger are often preferred in the courses by lot to the elder, of which even the first lot is an instance.
Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph,.... His second son to the preference of the firstborn, 1 Chronicles 25:2,
the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve: and which must also be understood of Joseph, and supplied to him; for those being both in one verse, as Jarchi observes, it is but once mentioned, but must be supplied, or otherwise the number of two hundred and eighty eight could not be made up; the same is observed of all the other lots and courses to the end of the chapter as here, and therefore need no more remarks.