16 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah:
17 Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok:
18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:
19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel:
20 Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:
21 Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
22 Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
23 But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.
24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.
16 Furthermore over the tribes H7626 of Israel: H3478 the ruler H5057 of the Reubenites H7206 was Eliezer H461 the son H1121 of Zichri: H2147 of the Simeonites, H8099 Shephatiah H8203 the son H1121 of Maachah: H4601
17 Of the Levites, H3881 Hashabiah H2811 the son H1121 of Kemuel: H7055 of the Aaronites, H175 Zadok: H6659
18 Of Judah, H3063 Elihu, H453 one of the brethren H251 of David: H1732 of Issachar, H3485 Omri H6018 the son H1121 of Michael: H4317
19 Of Zebulun, H2074 Ishmaiah H3460 the son H1121 of Obadiah: H5662 of Naphtali, H5321 Jerimoth H3406 the son H1121 of Azriel: H5837
20 Of the children H1121 of Ephraim, H669 Hoshea H1954 the son H1121 of Azaziah: H5812 of the half H2677 tribe H7626 of Manasseh, H4519 Joel H3100 the son H1121 of Pedaiah: H6305
21 Of the half H2677 tribe of Manasseh H4519 in Gilead, H1568 Iddo H3035 the son H1121 of Zechariah: H2148 of Benjamin, H1144 Jaasiel H3300 the son H1121 of Abner: H74
22 Of Dan, H1835 Azareel H5832 the son H1121 of Jeroham. H3395 These were the princes H8269 of the tribes H7626 of Israel. H3478
23 But David H1732 took H5375 not the number H4557 of them from twenty H6242 years H8141 old H1121 and under: H4295 because the LORD H3068 had said H559 he would increase H7235 Israel H3478 like to the stars H3556 of the heavens. H8064
24 Joab H3097 the son H1121 of Zeruiah H6870 began H2490 to number, H4487 but he finished H3615 not, because there fell wrath H7110 for it H2063 against Israel; H3478 neither was the number H4557 put H5927 in the account H4557 of the chronicles H1697 H3117 of king H4428 David. H1732
16 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah:
17 of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of Aaron, Zadok:
18 of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:
19 of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel:
20 of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:
21 of the half -`tribe' of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
22 of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.
23 But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under, because Jehovah had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of heaven.
24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but finished not; and there came wrath for this upon Israel; neither was the number put into the account in the chronicles of king David.
16 And over the tribes of Israel: Of the Reubenite, a leader `is' Eliezer son of Zichri; of the Simeonite, Shephatiah son of Maachah;
17 of the Levite, Hashabiah son of Kemuel; of the Aaronite, Zadok;
18 of Judah, Elihu, of the brethren of David; of Issachar, Omri son of Michael;
19 of Zebulun, Ishmaiah son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jerimoth son of Azriel;
20 of the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Azaziah; of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, Joel son of Pedaiah;
21 of the half of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel son of Abner; of Dan, Azareel son of Jeroham:
22 these `are' heads of the tribes of Israel.
23 And David hath not taken up their number from a son of twenty years and under, for Jehovah said to multiply Israel as the stars of the heavens.
24 Joab son of Zeruiah hath begun to number -- and hath not finished -- and there is for this wrath against Israel, and the number hath not gone up in the account of the Chronicles of king David.
16 And over the tribes of Israel were: for the Reubenites Eliezer the son of Zichri was the prince; for the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah;
17 for the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok;
18 for Judah, Elihu of the brethren of David; for Issachar, Omri the son of Michael;
19 for Zebulun, Jishmaiah the son of Obadiah; for Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel;
20 for the children of Ephraim, Hosea the son of Azaziah; for the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;
21 for the half [tribe] of Manasseh in Gilead, Jiddo the son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;
22 for Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
23 And David took not their number from twenty years old and under; for Jehovah had said he would increase Israel as the stars of heaven.
24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he did not finish; and there fell wrath for it upon Israel; and the number was not put in the account of the chronicles of king David.
16 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah:
17 of Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of Aaron, Zadok:
18 of Judah, Elihu, one of the brothers of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:
19 of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel:
20 of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah:
21 of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
22 of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.
23 But David didn't take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because Yahweh had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the sky.
24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but didn't finish; and there came wrath for this on Israel; neither was the number put into the account in the chronicles of king David.
16 And over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer, the son of Zichri; of the Simeonites, Shephatiah, the son of Maacah;
17 Of Levi, Hashabiah, the son of Kemuel; of Aaron, Zadok;
18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brothers of David; of Issachar, Omri, the son of Michael;
19 Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah, the son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jerimoth, the son of Azriel;
20 Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea, the son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel, the son of Pedaiah;
21 Of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo, the son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel, the son of Abner;
22 Of Dan, Azarel, the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.
23 But David did not take the number of those who were under twenty years old, for the Lord had said that he would make Israel like the stars of heaven in number.
24 The numbering was started by Joab, the son of Zeruiah, but he did not go on to the end; and because of it, wrath came on Israel and the number was not recorded in the history of King David.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 27
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 27 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 27
1Ch 27:1-15. Twelve Captains for Every Month.
1. came in and went out month by month—Here is an account of the standing military force of Israel. A militia formed, it would seem, at the beginning of David's reign (see 1Ch 27:7) was raised in the following order: Twelve legions, corresponding to the number of tribes, were enlisted in the king's service. Each legion comprised a body of twenty-four thousand men, whose term of service was a month in rotation, and who were stationed either at Jerusalem or in any other place where they might be required. There was thus always a force sufficient for the ordinary purposes of state, as well as for resisting sudden attacks or popular tumults; and when extraordinary emergencies demanded a larger force, the whole standing army could easily be called to arms, amounting to two hundred eighty-eight thousand, or to three hundred thousand, including the twelve thousand officers that naturally attended on the twelve princes (1Ch 27:16-24). Such a military establishment would be burdensome neither to the country nor to the royal treasury; for attendance on this duty being a mark of honor and distinction, the expense of maintenance would be borne probably by the militiaman himself, or furnished out of the common fund of his tribe. Nor would the brief period of actual service produce any derangement of the usual course of affairs; for, on the expiry of the term, every soldier returned to the pursuits and duties of private life during the other eleven months of the year. Whether the same individuals were always enrolled, cannot be determined. The probability is, that provided the requisite number was furnished, no stricter scrutiny would be made. A change of men might, to a certain degree, be encouraged, as it was a part of David's policy to train all his subjects to skill in arms; and to have made the enlistment fall always on the same individuals would have defeated that purpose. To have confined each month's levy rigidly within the limits of one tribe might have fallen hard upon those tribes which were weak and small. The rotation system being established, each division knew its own month, as well as the name of the commander under whom it was to serve. These commanders are styled, "the chief fathers," that is, the hereditary heads of tribes who, like chieftains of clans, possessed great power and influence.
captains of thousands and hundreds—The legions of twenty-four thousand were divided into regiments of one thousand, and these again into companies of a hundred men, under the direction of their respective subalterns, there being, of course, twenty-four captains of thousands, and two hundred forty centurions.
and their officers—the Shoterim, who in the army performed the duty of the commissariat, keeping the muster-roll, &c.
2, 3. Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel—(See on 1Ch 11:11; 2Sa 23:8). Hachmoni was his father, Zabdiel probably one of his ancestors; or there might be different names of the same individual. In the rotation of the military courses, the dignity of precedence, not of authority, was given to the hero.
4. second month was Dodai—or, "Dodo." Here the text seems to require the supplement of "Eleazar the son of Dodo" (2Sa 23:9).
7. Asahel—This officer having been slain at the very beginning of David's reign [2Sa 2:23], his name was probably given to this division in honor of his memory, and his son was invested with the command.
1Ch 27:16-24. Princes of the Twelve Tribes.
16. over the tribes of Israel: the ruler—This is a list of the hereditary chiefs or rulers of tribes at the time of David's numbering the people. Gad and Asher are not included; for what reason is unknown. The tribe of Levi had a prince (1Ch 27:17), as well as the other tribes; and although it was ecclesiastically subject to the high priest, yet in all civil matters it had a chief or head, possessed of the same authority and power as in the other tribes, only his jurisdiction did not extend to the priests.
18. Elihu—probably the same as Eliab (1Sa 16:6).
23. But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under—The census which David ordered did not extend to all the Israelites; for to contemplate such an enumeration would have been to attempt an impossibility (Ge 28:14), and besides would have been a daring offense to God. The limitation to a certain age was what had probably quieted David's conscience as to the lawfulness of the measure, while its expediency was strongly pressed upon his mind by the army arrangements he had in view.
24. neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of King David—either because the undertaking was not completed, Levi and Benjamin not having been numbered (1Ch 21:6), or the full details in the hands of the enumerating officers were not reported to David, and, consequently, not registered in the public archives.
the chronicles—were the daily records or annals of the king's reign. No notice was taken of this census in the historical register, as from the public calamity with which it was associated it would have stood as a painful record of the divine judgment against the king and the nation.
25. over the king's treasures—Those treasures consisted of gold, silver, precious stones, cedar-wood, &c.; those which he had in Jerusalem as distinguished from others without the city.
the storehouses in the fields—Grain covered over with layers of straw is frequently preserved in the fields under little earthen mounds, like our potato pits.
27. the vineyards—These seem to have been in the vine growing districts of Judah, and were committed to two men of that quarter.
wine-cellars—The wine is deposited in jars sunk in the court of the house.
28. olive trees and the sycamore trees … in the low plains—that is, the Shephela, the rich, low-lying ground between the Mediterranean and the mountains of Judah.
29. herds that fed in Sharon—a fertile plain between Cæsarea and Joppa.
30. camels—These were probably in the countries east of the Jordan, and hence an Ishmaelite and Nazarite were appointed to take charge of them.
31. rulers of the substance that was king David's—How and when the king acquired these demesnes and this variety of property—whether it was partly by conquests, or partly by confiscation, or by his own active cultivation of waste lands—is not said. It was probably in all these ways. The management of the king's private possessions was divided into twelve parts, like his public affairs and the revenue derived from all these sources mentioned must have been very large.