54 And these are their dwelling-places according to their encampments, within their borders. For the sons of Aaron, of the family of the Kohathites, for theirs was the lot;
And Jehovah spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan of Jericho, saying, Command the children of Israel, that of the inheritance of their possession they give unto the Levites cities to dwell in; and a suburb for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites. And the cities shall they have to dwell in, and their suburbs shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. And the suburbs of the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites shall be from the walls of the city outward, a thousand cubits round about. And ye shall measure, without the city, the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and the west side two thousand cubits, and the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst: they shall have this as suburbs of the cities. And [among] the cities that ye shall give unto the Levites [shall be] the six cities of refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither, -- and besides them ye shall give forty-two cities: all the cities that ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, they and their suburbs. And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have much ye shall take much, and from them that have little ye shall take little; each one according to his inheritance which he will inherit shall give of his cities to the Levites.
And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the word of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs. And the lot came forth for the families of the Kohathites. And the children of Aaron the priest, of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities. And the children of Kohath that remained had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities. And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. The children of Merari according to their families had by lot out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. And the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities and their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded through Moses.
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Commentary on 1 Chronicles 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
1Ch 6:1-48. Line of the Priests.
5. Uzzi—It is supposed that, in his days, the high priesthood was, for unrecorded reasons, transferred from Eleazar's family to Ithamar's, in which it continued for several generations.
10. he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem—It is doubtful whether the person in favor of whom this testimony is borne be Johanan or Azariah. If the former, he is the same as Jehoiada, who rendered important public services (2Ki 11:1-20); if the latter, it refers to the worthy and independent part he acted in resisting the unwarrantable encroachments of Uzziah (2Ch 26:17).
in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem—described in this particular manner to distinguish it from the second temple, which was in existence at the time when this history was written.
14. Azariah begat Seraiah—He filled the supreme pontifical office at the destruction of Jerusalem, and, along with his deputy and others, he was executed by Nebuchadnezzar's orders at Riblah (2Ki 25:18, 21). The line of high priests, under the first temple, which from Zadok amounted to twelve, terminated with him.
16-48. The sons of Levi; Gershom, &c.—This repetition (see 1Ch 6:1) is made, as the historian here begins to trace the genealogy of the Levitical families who were not priests. The list is a long one, comprising the chiefs or heads of their several families until David's reign, who made a new and different classification of them by courses.
20. Zimmah his son—his grandson (1Ch 6:42).
24. Uriel—or Zephaniah (1Ch 6:36).
27. Elkanah—the father of the prophet Samuel (1Sa 1:1).
28. the sons of Samuel—The sons of Samuel are here named Vashni and Abiah. The first-born is called Joel (1Sa 8:2); and this name is given to him in 1Ch 6:33. It is now generally thought by the best critics that, through an error of the copyists, an omission has been made of the oldest son's name, and that Vashni, which is not the name of a person, merely signifies "and the second." This critical emendation of the text makes all clear, as well as consistent with other passages relating to the family of Samuel.
32. before the dwelling-place, &c.—that is, in the tent which David had erected for receiving the ark after it was removed from the house of Obed-edom [2Sa 6:17]. This was a considerable time before the temple was built.
they waited on their office according to their order—which David, doubtless by the direction of the Holy Spirit, had instituted for the better regulation of divine worship.
33. Shemuel—that is, Samuel. This is the exact representation of the Hebrew name.
39. his brother Asaph—They were brothers naturally, both being descended from Levi, as well as officially, both being of the Levitical order.
42. Ethan—or Jeduthun (1Ch 9:16; 2Ch 35:15).
48. Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service—Those of them who were endowed with musical tastes and talents were employed in various other departments of the temple service.
1Ch 6:49-81. Office of Aaron and His Sons.
49. But Aaron and his sons offered, &c.—The office and duties of the high priests having been already described, the names of those who successively filled that important office are recorded.
60. thirteen cities—No more than eleven are named here; but two additional ones are mentioned (Jos 21:16, 17), which makes up the thirteen.
61. unto the sons of Kohath, which were left—that is, in addition to the priests belonging to the same family and tribe of Levi.
by lot, ten cities—(Jos 21:26). The sacred historian gives an explanation (1Ch 6:66). Eight of these are mentioned, but only two of them are taken out of the half tribe of Manasseh (1Ch 6:70). The names of the other two are given (Jos 21:21), where full and detailed notices of these arrangements may be found.
62. to the sons of Gershom—Supply "the children of Israel gave."
67-81. they gave unto them of the cities of refuge—The names of the cities given here are considerably different from those applied to them (Jos 21:13-19). In the lapse of centuries, and from the revolutions of society, changes might have been expected to take place in the form or dialectic pronunciation of the names of those cities; and this will sufficiently account for the variations that are found in the lists as enumerated here and in an earlier book. As to these cities themselves that were assigned to the Levites, they were widely remote and separated—partly in fulfilment of Jacob's prophecy (Ge 49:7), and partly that the various districts of the country might obtain a competent supply of teachers who might instruct the people in the knowledge, and animate them to the observance, of a law which had so important a bearing on the promotion both of their private happiness and their national prosperity.