1 Chronicles 9:23
Ver. 23. So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the Lord,.... They that were appointed in David's time to watch the gates of the temple, their posterity succeeded them in that office; for it was hereditary:namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards; that which was at Gibeon in David's time, and now one was erected until the temple was built. 1 Chronicles 9:24Ver. 24. In four quarters were the porters,.... For, according to the Targum on 1Ch 9:22 there were twenty four wards:towards the east, west, north, and south; and, as the same paraphrase has it, six wards to the east, six to the west, six to the north, and six to the south. 1 Chronicles 9:25Ver. 25. And their brethren, which were in their villages,.... Assigned them to dwell in:were to come after seven days from time to time with them; there was a new course of them every week; the old ones went off of duty, and another course succeeded, which came out of the villages where they dwelt, and the old course retired to theirs. 1 Chronicles 9:26Ver. 26. For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office,.... The four chief porters who were over all the two hundred and twelve, and had one over them, 1Ch 9:17, these were never changed, nor went into the country villages; but were always upon the spot, and in their office, superintending the rest:and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God; see1Ch 26:20. 1 Chronicles 9:27Ver. 27. And they lodged round about the house of God,.... In chambers on the outward wall about it, that they might be near to do their office:because the charge was upon them; to guard the house:and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them; that is, the opening of the doors of the mountain of the house, and the court of women; for as for others, that appertained to the priests, as Dr. Lightfoot {u} observes; under the second temple, it is said {w}, Ben Geber was over the shutting of the gates in the evening, and so of opening in the morning.{u} Temple-Service, c. 7. sect. 1. {w} Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 1. 1 Chronicles 9:28Ver. 28. And certain of them had the charge of the ministering vessels, that they should bring them in and out by tale. Which the priests used in sacrificing, and which the Levites brought to them, and returned again to their proper places. 1 Chronicles 9:29Ver. 29. Some of them also were appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary,.... They were committed to their care; they delivered them out on occasion, and their business was to see that they were returned when they had done their use and service:and the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices; which were used in meat offerings, drink offerings, &c. see 1Ch 26:20 under the second temple, Ahiah was over the libations or drink offerings {x}.{x} Ibid. (Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 1.) 1 Chronicles 9:30Ver. 30. And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. For though the Levites had the care of the spices, they might not make the ointment with them, only the priests, see Ex 30:23. 1 Chronicles 9:31Ver. 31. And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite,.... Of whom see 1Ch 9:19,had the set office over the things that were made in the pans; the meat offerings that were made in pans; and so had the care of the fine flour, oil, and frankincense used in them, which he delivered to the priests when necessary, see Le 2:5, the Septuagint version is,"over the works of the sacrifice of the pan of the high priest;''as if it respected peculiarly his meat offering, Le 6:20, we read in the Misnah {y} of the offerings of the high priest, as expressed by this word, which it signifies, and not pans, but what was fried in them {z}; and Ben Melech on the place says, this man was an high priest who offered every day the tenth part of an ephah in a pan, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening, according to Le 6:20, but that cannot be, for certain it is he was a Levite, as the text expresses it.{y} Menachot, c. 11. sect. 3. & Tamid, c. 1. sect. 3. {z} Vid. Sheringham. in Misn. Yoma, c. 2. sect. 3. p. 16. 1 Chronicles 9:32Ver. 32. And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath,.... Twelve loaves of which were set every week before the ark upon the shewbread table, and the old ones taken away: now the work of these Levites was to make this shewbread, and get it ready every week to be set upon the table, and which was done not by them, but by priests; under the second temple, the family of Garmu was set over this work {a}.{a} Misn. Shekalim, ut supra. (c. 5. sect. 1.) 1 Chronicles 9:33Ver. 33. And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites,.... Others of them were employed in singing, and were masters of the song, and presided in that service, see 1Ch 6:31 who remainingin the chambers were free; from all other work and service; and there they abode, even in the chambers of the temple, that they might be near to perform their work, and not be defiled, and made unfit for it:for they were employed in that work day and night; some or other of them, either in composing or singing psalms and hymns, or teaching others how to sing them. 1 Chronicles 9:34Ver. 34. These chief fathers of the Levites were chief throughout their generations,.... Even all before made mention of in this chapter:these dwelt at Jerusalem; always resided there, and did not in turns go into the country villages, as the inferior Levites did; their office requiring them to be constantly there, being chief of the porters, singers, &c. who had the superintendency and direction of the rest. 1 Chronicles 9:35Ver. 35-44. And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon,.... Whose name is here mentioned, which is not in 1Ch 8:29. Jehiel,whose wife's name was Maachah; as there, but here called his sister, as a wife sometimes is, Ge 20:2. From hence to the end of the chapter is a repetition of the ancestors and posterity of Saul king of Israel; which is made to lead on to and connect the following history of the kings of Judah, begun in this book, and carried on in the next unto the Babylonish captivity, see 1Ch 8:29, and the notes there. 1 Chronicles 9:36Ver. 36. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:37Ver. 37. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:38Ver. 38. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:39Ver. 39. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:40Ver. 40. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:41Ver. 41. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:42Ver. 42. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:43Ver. 43. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35". 1 Chronicles 9:44Ver. 44. See Gill on "1Ch 9:35".
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