The families of the Levites and their work
23
📚So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 2 📚And he assembled all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. 3 📚Now the Levites were counted from the age of thirty years and over; and their number in the census, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.
23:3 Compare Num 4:1-4. David was concerned for more than mere materials and builders for the temple. He wanted prepared men for the work of the temple after it was built. He was a man of much foresight and careful planning.⚜
4 📚Of these twenty-four thousand were to supervise the work of the house of the LORD, and six thousand were officials and judges, 5 📚and four thousand were doorkeepers, and four thousand praised the LORD with “the instruments which I made”, said David, “to praise with”.
6 📚And David divided them into sections according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 📚Of the Gershonites were Laadan and Shimei. 8 📚The sons of Laadan: the chief was Jehiel, and Zetam and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomith and Haziel and Haran, three. These were the chiefs of the fathers’ households of Laadan. 10 And the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zina and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were reckoned as one household of their fathers.
12 📚The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 📚The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was permanently set apart, he and his sons, to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name forever. 14 📚Now as for Moses, the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
15 📚The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer.
16 📚Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief. 17 📚And the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had no other sons, but there were very many sons of Rehabiah. 18 📚Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the chief. 19 📚Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel was Micah the first, and Jesiah the second.
21 📚The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. 22 📚And Eleazar died, and had no sons, only daughters; and their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, took them. 23 📚The sons of Mushi: Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth, three.
24 📚These were the sons of Levi in accordance with the house of their fathers, the chief of the fathers’ households, as they were counted by the number of names in their census, who did the work of the service for the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and above.
23:24 At first only those 30 years and over were counted (v 30). This was changed to 20 years and over (v 27), possibly because there were not enough men 30 and above for all the various works of the temple, or because David thought it a good thing to introduce young men to the work.⚜
25 📚For David said, “The LORD God of Israel has given rest to his people, so that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever, 26 📚and also to the Levites. They will no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of its articles for its service”.
27 📚For according to the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and over; 28 📚because their responsibility was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courtyards and in the rooms, and in purifying all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God; 29 📚for the Showbread, and for the fine flour for the grain offering, and for the cakes made without yeast, and for what is baked in a pan, and for what is fried, and for all measurements of quantity and size; 30 📚and to stand every morning to thank 📖 and praise the LORD, and also at evening 📖; 31 📚and to offer all the burnt sacrifices to the LORD on the Sabbaths, in the new moons and on the appointed festivals 📖, in the proper number, in accordance with the ordinance commanded them, regularly, before the LORD; 32 📚and to keep charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and to have charge of the Holy Place, and to have charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.
23:28-32 1 Chron 9:28-34. The Levites were assistants to the priests and under their authority.⚜