The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Chronicles — Section 387

EXPOSITION. in their servioe (cn,::iJ)_ll). And the evident CHAPTER XXIV. purport of it is that \lie-three, David, Zadok, Vere. 1-19.-The twenty-four cl.assea of and Ahimclech, conjointly made the ammgc- priests. ments. 'fhis is virtually repeated in vers. 6, Ver. 1.-The Hebrew of this verse reads, 31 (see also eh. ][XV. I for an analogous case). And to the sons of Aaron, their divisions For the "Ahimelech" of this verse nud oi;,ip~~); the sons of Aaron: Nada.b and vers. 6, 31, should be read" Abinthar," as shown in eh. xviii. 16, by comparison of I Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. The word Sam. xxii. 20;; 2 Sam. x:.x. 25; I Kings i. 7, " di visions " is the same word that is trans- 8 ; Mark ii. 26. lated "courses" in ver. 6, and which verse Ver. 4.-The simpler tro.nslo.tion of this also would read literally, " And David di- verse might run thus: And there were found vided them divisions to the sons of Levi, ( of) sons of Eleazar, more for ohief men, tho.n to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari." Our ( of) son& of lthamar, and they divided them- present verse evidently continues both the to sons of Eleazar, sixteen ohiefs of fathers' subject and construction of that verse. Of houses ; and to sons of Ithamar, eight. the four sons (Exod. vi. 23), two died with- Ver. 5.- Translate, And they divided them out issue, viz. Nadab and AbiLu (ver. 2); by lots, these with those ; i.e. as there was no and the other two have to supply tLe "cLief ground of choice between the two families, meu of the house," viz. Eleazar sizteen, and which differed only in number, and as the lthamar eight (ver. 4). highest ecclesio.stical plo.ces had been filleil Ver. 2.-(Comp. Lev. ][. I, 2, for the already by both of them, the impartiality of -:ieath of these ; and for their being child- the " lot" was resorted to, for the settling of 1ess, Numb. iii. 2-4; xxvi. 60, 61.) the order in which they would t11ke the Ver. 3.-The Hebrew of this verse reads, services now in question (eh. xxv. 8). The And David divided them, and Zadok of the govemor1; read rather, the princes. The sona of Eleazar, and A.hi.meleoh of the sone of distinction intended between "the holy hhe.me.r, e.ocording to their 011loe1 (□1;l:'(.1 ~, princes," or "princes of the sanctuary," 011 en, xnv, 1~31.] THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES. 889