1 Chronicles Study Notes

1:1 Even though the Chronicler was specifically writing for the Jews of his day, he began with this brief reminder that all people are creatures who are descended from the first man, Adam. Sheth (Seth) represented the ongoing hope after failure (Gen. 4:25).

1:2-4 The line of ancient patriarchs moves quickly to Noah. Each of the men in this line had a son comparatively early in life, but he lived for many centuries afterwards. Henoch (Enoch) never actually died but was taken to heaven (Gen. 5:24). Methuselah lived the longest with a total age of 969 years; he died after 1,650 years had elapsed since the birth of Adam. This is also the exact year in which Noah's flood occurred. Before going on with the main line of descent, the Chronicler frequently pursued a minor or alternative branch first, such as when he detailed the descendants of Japheth and Ham before returning to Shem.

1:5 Japheth's offspring moved to a more northern region than those of his brothers.

1:8-16 Many of Ham's sons lent their names to various nations, several of which became the chief opponents of Israel in the promised land.

1:17 The line of Shem was the most important one for the Chronicler because it includes Abraham.

1:18 Some scholars conjecture that Eber's name led to the designation "Hebrews," but this inference is not certain.

1:19 The line of Shem divides with the brothers Peleg and Joktan. "Peleg" means "division." During his time the episode of the tower of Babel took place, and the entire human race was divided by the languages they spoke.

1:20 Again following a minor branch first, we read of the descendants of Joktan.

1:24-27 Here is a quick overview of the links between Shem and Abraham, based on the descendants of Peleg.

1:28 Although Isaac is mentioned here, the sons of Ishmael will be named first.

1:32-33 Abraham spent an entire century waiting to have a single son with Sarah. Then, after Sarah's death, Keturah endowed him with many more sons.

1:34 Again Isaac is mentioned, along with Jacob, or Israel, but for the moment the Chronicler focuses on Esau, again an alternative branch.

1:35 We only have this list of names for Esau's sons and grandsons, but we know that this clan eventually led to the emergence of several large nations such as the Edomites.

1:38 Seir could be a proper name referring to an ancestor of the Edomites. It is also the name of a mountain in Edomite territory. The Edomites lived on the eastern side of the Jordan River in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. "Seirites" and "Meunites" are sometimes used as synonyms.

1:43-51a Little is known about these kings in Edom. They apparently lived around the time of the judges in Israel.

1:51b-54 The chapter concludes with a list of Edom's dukes. The book of 1 Chronicles has now covered several minor lines in contrast to its major purpose of leading up to the kings of Judah. We have seen alternatives to Shem (Ham and Japheth), to Abraham (Ishmael and the sons of Keturah), and to Isaac (Esau and the Edomites), now we are ready for the main line of interest, the descendants of Jacob.

2:1 The Chronicler initially lists all the sons of Israel (Jacob). Judah became the most prominent, although the oldest chronologically was Reuben, who forfeited the privilege of the firstborn (5:1-2).

2:2 As the first son of Jacob's favorite wife, Joseph could have carried the honors as the tribe of the firstborn, but his descendants are divided into the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

2:3 We see God's grace in action as He selects the line that would lead to the kings and ultimately to the Messiah. All three of Judah's first sons had a Canaanite mother.

2:4 After Judah's first two sons were slain, he had two more sons by his daughter-in-law Tamar, another Canaanite woman, who had disguised herself as a prostitute (Gen. 38). These were Pharez and Zerah.

2:5 Pharez continues the main line through Hezron. Hamul's line is the secondary alternative.

2:6 Zerah's sons constitute another alternative. This does not mean that they were unimportant—they may be the wise men of 1 Kings 4:31 and the musicians in the titles of Psalms 88 and 89—only that they were not ancestors of the line of kings.

2:7 Carmi must be a person of a later generation. He is mentioned only because he is the father of Achar, another bearer of scandal (aka Achan; Josh. 7). Thus, the alternative branch goes: Zerah to Zabdi to Carmi to Achar.

2:9 Returning to the main line: Pharez had Hezron (see note at v. 5). Now the line splits three ways based on Hezron's three sons: Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. Of these, Ram's line is the main one, and this time it gets mentioned first. Chelubai is another version of the name Caleb. There are many different men named Caleb in the list that follows.

2:10-12 Ram's line of descent connects through Boaz to Jesse, the father of David.

2:13-17 In this passage we are given the names of David's six older brothers and his two much older sisters Zeruiah and Abigail. These two were probably from an earlier marriage since according to 2 Sam. 17:25, their father was Nahash. So presumably Jesse married Nahash's widow. Zeruiah had three sons—Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel—who were roughly David's age, and who would later become leaders in David's army. Abigail married an Ishmaelite named Jether and gave birth to Amasa, who would become the leader of Absalom's army against David. These four were David's half nephews.

2:18-24 We go back to Hezron, son of Pharez, who left a sizeable number of descendants—one of them even after his own death. His son Caleb (called Chelubai in v. 9) also had a number of sons.

2:25 The third line of descent coming from Hezron, joining those of Ram and Caleb, is that of Jerahmeel. His son Ram was the nephew of Hezron's brother, Ram.

2:34-35 Sheshan had been mentioned in verse 31, the sixth generation descendant of Jerahmeel. He did not have a male heir, but a daughter named Ahlai. Jarha, his Egyptian servant, provided him with a grandson named Attai to carry on the family name.

2:36-41 The list of Jerahmeel's descendants continues from Attai onward.

2:42-55 We have already had a list of the descendants of Caleb (Chelubai), the son of Pharez. This time the descendants mentioned are not individual people but the populations of towns that could trace themselves back to him in direct and indirect ways.

3:1 This chapter completes the line of Judah. We find the people who are most important for Chronicles: David and his descendants. David's sons are divided into two groups—those born in Hebron where David was king for seven years and those who were born in Jerusalem, David's capital for 33 years. This is a list of tragedy. Amnon, the firstborn, raped his sister Tamar and was eventually killed by Absalom (2 Sam. 13).

3:2 Absalom revolted against David and lost his life in the process (2 Sam. 15–18). Adonijah survived David's death, but then was killed in the struggle with Solomon over the throne (1 Kings 1–2).

3:5 Bath-shua is more familiar to us as Bath-sheba. Solomon carried the house of David forward.

3:10-16 These verses contain a quick overview of most of 2 Chronicles, the line of descendants of David who were kings of Judah. The significance is that David's descendants retained the throne.

3:17 The line continues after the Babylonian exile, even though there was not an official king of Judah from that point on.

3:19 Zerubbabel was the leader of the Jews when they returned from the exile. Under other circumstances, he would have been king. The list ends at a time that is perfectly matched for Ezra to have been the Chronicler.

4:1 In this verse the word sons refers loosely to "descendants," as happens frequently in biblical genealogies. Skipping several generations, the Chronicler emphasizes certain individuals in the line of Judah. Adding to Pharez and Hezron, he focuses on Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. Carmi may be the same person mentioned in 2:7.

4:9 We are not told in which way Jabez's brethren were dishonorable. He obviously took his walk with God seriously. Jabez also labored under the stigma of a name with negative connotations because it means sorrow. People often thought that having a negative name would produce negative consequences in the person's life.

4:10 Jabez prayed a personal prayer, asking God for His blessing. He wanted more land, he wanted God's hand to be with him, and he wanted God to keep him from evil, which also included that he did not want to bring harm to others. Nothing in this passage indicates that we should pray these same words, let alone that we should pray them as if they represented a formula for blessing, but Jabez's prayer is an example for us in its honesty and fervency.

4:13 Othniel was the first judge (Judg. 2), and he must have been significantly younger than his uncle Caleb.

4:15 This Caleb is the spy of Numbers 13 who, along with Joshua, trusted God.

4:17-18 Once again a Gentile is part of the line, this time a daughter of a Pharaoh named Bithiah.

4:21-23 Shelah was Judah's third son (2:3). His older brothers Er and Onan had been killed, and he should have become the husband of Tamar, but Judah prevented this (Gen. 38:11-14). Shelah's descendants distinguished themselves as craftsmen.

4:24-37 Because Simeon was violent and cruel, his father Jacob predicted that his tribe would be dispersed in the land (Gen. 49:7). At the time of the conquest, the tribe of Simeon received a territory that was adjacent to and intermingled with Judah. The parts that belonged to Simeon alone were mostly desert. As a consequence, Simeon became increasingly absorbed into Judah and Benjamin, and its identity faded. Despite numerous offspring, particularly from Shimei, the tribe as a whole remained undistinguished.

4:38-41 Some Simeonites retained their identity into the time of Hezekiah, when they took some fertile land from a group of Hamites. This accomplishment is particularly noteworthy since they went on this military adventure to acquire further pasture land while the Assyrians were rampaging throughout the country.

4:42-43 Another group of Simeonites distinguished themselves by an excursion to mount Seir (Edom), where they finally eliminated the Amalekites who were hiding out in that area. The Amalekites had frequently caused trouble for Israel (Exod. 17; Num. 14:45; Judg. 3:13). They had been brought close to extinction by King Saul (1 Sam. 15:1-35) and defeated by David (1 Sam. 30:17), though a few escaped. These Simeonites finally finished the job.

5:1-5 The tribes that settled on the eastern side of the Jordan River (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh) asked for this land when Moses and the Israelites first came to the promised land. They received this territory after their men had helped Joshua conquer the land on the river's western side. The tribes are discussed in this chapter, going south to north. Reuben was located by the Dead Sea, a rough location that suited the status of Reuben. He lost his honor as the firstborn among the 12 sons of Jacob when he committed incest with Bilhah, one of Jacob's concubines and the mother of two of Reuben's brothers (Gen. 35:25).

5:6 A quick and abbreviated genealogy of the tribe of Reuben leads us to Beerah, who had the bad fortune of being tribal leader when Tilgath-pilneser (Tiglath-pileser), king of Assyria, carried the tribe into exile. The following Assyrian kings are important for the OT: Shalmaneser III (858–824 b.c.) is not mentioned in the Bible, but he fought against the northern kingdom of Israel and subjugated King Jehu. Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 b.c.) deported the tribes east of the Jordan River and conquered much of the northern kingdom. King Ahaz of Judah paid him tribute (2 Chron. 28:1-27). Shalmanezer V (726–722 b.c.) began the destruction of Israel's capital, Samaria (2 Kings 17:6), which was completed by Sargon II (722–705 b.c.), who then deported the northern tribes. Sennacherib (704–681 b.c.) conquered Judah but was brought up short by God during the reign of Hezekiah when he attempted to vanquish Jerusalem (2 Chron. 32:1-23). Esar-haddon (681–669 b.c.) counted King Manasseh of Judah among his friends and supporters but then turned against him. Ashurbanipal (668–627 b.c.) was the last major king of Assyria. Maintaining his alliance with Judah, he was successful in subduing Egypt, but toward the end of his reign the balance of power shifted from Assyria to Babylon.

5:9-10 Reuben's earlier successes had allowed this tribe to stretch all the way to the Euphrates River and to defeat the Hagarites. These were the Ishmaelites, the descendants of Hagar.

5:11-17 The tribe of Gad was located north of Reuben. The Chronicler's frequent reference to other written documents such as genealogies and historical records indicates that biblical writers had at their disposal written sources, and their use of such sources of information underscores the nature of the Bible as both human writing and the inspired Word of God (cp. 29:29-30; Num. 21:14; Luke 1:1-4).

5:18-22 The eastern tribes combined forces in a number of military victories, and they accumulated a large amount of plunder. A constant theme in Chronicles is that when people attempt to fight in their own strength, God will not bless them, but, when He fights the war, His people see miraculous victories beyond human expectation. Thus, when they cried to God, He rewarded them.

5:23 There was no tribe of Joseph. Instead, Joseph's sons became the ancestors of two separate tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribe of Manasseh occupied territory on both sides of the Jordan River.

5:25 This is the first reference to idolatry in Chronicles. Even though this part of the tribe of Manasseh contained some outstanding people, they deviated from God and adopted the idolatry of the people around them.

5:26 Tiglath-pileser was a cruel and vicious king of Assyria, but God used him to punish His people for their idolatry. Long before the other tribes were captured by Assyria, the three eastern tribes fell into the hands of the Assyrians and were carried off into exile. The Chronicler leaves no doubt that this happened because of their idolatry.

6:1 We now switch to the sons of Levi, the tribe of priests. These are important for the Chronicler because after the exile, the time at which he was writing, reestablishing the proper priesthood was crucial. Anyone who wanted to serve as a priest in the rebuilt temple had to have a clear genealogy within the tribe of Levi. Levi had three sons, Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. Each of these three lines performed distinctive duties in the worship of God (Num. 4:1-33). The most crucial line was the one that led to Aaron and, thus, to the priests. This is the line that stemmed from Levi's son Kohath. But not every descendant of Kohath got to be a priest—only those who could trace their lineage back to Aaron. Everyone else went into the larger pool of people who fulfilled general temple duties.

6:2 Most genealogies in Chronicles skip some links, and frequently the time that the Israelites spent in Egypt is either shortened or skipped altogether. This is the case here.

6:3-4 The descendants of Aaron who are mentioned here were priests. Nadab and Abihu lost their lives when they violated the sanctity of their duties (Lev. 10:1-3), so Eleazar became Aaron's true successor, followed by Phinehas.

6:5-15 This list of priests is not complete. It does not mention Eli, the priest who raised Samuel (1 Sam. 1:3).

6:16-21 The second major list in this chapter includes Levites who were not of the priestly line.

6:22-28 We return to the descendants of Kohath. This list contains four men named Elkanah. The one mentioned in verse 27 is the father of Samuel since Samuel is mentioned in the next verse. In 1 Samuel 1:1 Elkanah is referred to as being from Ephraim, whereas here we see him as belonging to the tribe of Levi. That verse in 1 Samuel refers to the location where he and his family had lived for many generations since Levi did not have its own territory. Chronicles gives us the actual bloodline, which places him in one of the privileged lines of Levi.

6:31 The Chronicler emphasizes the presence of music in the temple, as it was instituted by David and revived in later years.

6:33-47 There are three main musicians: Heman (Ps. 88), Asaph (Ps. 50; 73–83), and Ethan (also called Jeduthun at times; Ps. 89). These three men represent the three branches of the sons of Levi, coming from Kohath, Gershom, and Merari, respectively. Heman was a descendant of Kohath, but not through Aaron, so he was not eligible for the priesthood.

6:48-53 Emphasizing the distinction between the descendants of Aaron and the other branches derived from Levi, the Chronicler once more lists those who were priests, but states that everyone else was also engaged in the service of the tabernacle.

6:54 The Levites worked in the tabernacle and later the temple, but they did not all live clustered around the sacred location. One reason for this is that before the building of the temple, there was no restriction on where sacrifices could be performed. Furthermore, once there was a temple and the restriction was in place, it would not have been economically feasible. At the time of the conquest, they were allocated territories and cities scattered throughout the tribes.

6:55-57 The Kohathites got a share of the important city of Hebron. The main inheritor of this location was Caleb, and it would also serve later for a time as capital city under David's monarchy.

6:61-81 A noticeable feature of this long list is that the Levites were given dwelling space among the eastern tribes of Manasseh . . . Gad, and Reuben, as well as in the main territory on the west. Even though eventually this arrangement would remove them far from the temple, it also allowed them to be distributed throughout the land so they could teach all the people.

7:1-5 The tribe of Issachar is mentioned primarily for the number of soldiers it supplied and its meticulous genealogies.

7:6-12 The first of several listings for Benjamin emphasizes the number of soldiers in this tribe. This was the tribe to which Saul, the first king of the Hebrews, belonged.

7:13 Naphtali is mentioned in only one short verse. Apparently his genealogy was not important in the Chronicler's day because after the exile there seems to be no large contingent from Naphtali among those who returned to Judah (9:3).

7:14 Manasseh's wife was an Aramitess, thus another Gentile was included in the lines of descent.

7:15 Zelophehad and his daughters made an important contribution to the culture of Israel. In Numbers 27:1-6, Zelophehad's five daughters asked Moses to give them their inheritance in the land, and Moses granted their request. This event set a precedent that women could inherit property, something that most surrounding cultures did not allow.

7:20-29 Ephraim was one of the leading tribes, a consistent rival to Judah. When the kingdom split, Ephraim was foremost among the 10 northern tribes so that "Ephraim" is often synonymous with the entire northern kingdom. The deaths of Ezer and Elead must have happened while the Israelites were in Egypt, so that these men had ventured north to Gaza. But the Chronicler often does not mention that geographical and historical setting, even though he was clearly aware of it (2 Chron. 9:28). Several of the towns inhabited by the Ephraimites, such as Beth-shean and Megiddo, were important because they were heavily fortified.

7:30-40 Asher, located in the north on the coast, was of secondary importance. However, a descendant—the prophetess Anna—praised God in the temple for the birth of Jesus.

8:1-2 A second listing for the tribe of Benjamin provides more detail than the first list (7:6-12). This chapter leads up to the tragic end of Saul's kingship (chap. 10). Saul was from Benjamin, but the throne had been promised to Judah (Gen. 49:10). Benjamin, the twelfth son of Jacob, had five sons who established their own large clans.

8:5 Gera was the father of Ehud, the left-handed judge who killed Eglon, king of the Amalekites (Judg. 3:15).

8:8-9 Shaharaim had at least three wives: Hushim and Baara—who presumably were Israelites—and Hodesh, who was a Moabite.

8:32 Not until David's reign as king did Jerusalem belong entirely to Israel. At the time referred to here, Benjamites were living around Jerusalem, but the highest fortified part of the city was home to the Jebusites.

8:33 At this point the Chronicler casually mentions Saul, but without calling any special attention to him. Esh-baal (Ishbosheth) was Saul's son and a younger brother of Jonathan. In 2 Samuel 2–3 we find Esh-baal attempting to continue Saul's monarchy against David's claim. Joab eliminated virtually the entire clan.

8:34 Merib-baal (Mephibosheth), Jonathan's crippled son, was the only one who escaped the purge. Saul's line eventually did make a comeback. The tribe of Benjamin became strongly allied with David's and Solomon's unified kingdom and then with the kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem, the eventual capital, was located at the border of Judah and Benjamin.

9:1 Accurate genealogies were essential because so much was dependent on a person's tribal affiliation (Ezra 2:62). The northern kingdom of Israel was deported in 722 b.c. by the Assyrians. Judah went into exile in several stages, with the final deportation carried out by the Babylonians in 587 b.c. However, the exiles from Judah were allowed to return to their homeland approximately 40 years later.

9:2 The decree to return, issued by Cyrus of Persia, directed that they should rebuild the temple (2 Chron. 36:23). It was natural that most of these people would be directly associated with the temple: the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims (temple servants).

9:3 Among those returning to Judah were also some people of the northern tribes, including Ephraim and Manasseh. Not everyone from the so-called 10 lost tribes was lost. Still, the subsequent passage does not list anyone from the northern tribes by name.

9:4 The descendants of Pharez listed here could be related to the royal line, but there was no more kingdom.

9:7 A large contingent of those returning to Judah were members of the tribe of Benjamin. This tribe had remained loyal to the southern kingdom of Judah, and they escaped the earlier deportation by Assyria and profited from the edict to return to their homeland.

9:10-13 The list of priests is significant. This listing indicates the accurate continuation of the genealogies and shows that the priests must have maintained their knowledge so they could take up their duties as soon as they returned to Judah.

9:14-16 The Levites were also ready to take up their duties again.

9:17-18 Shallum was a veteran, having been in charge of a gate some 40 years earlier before the temple's destruction. Now he led the entire crew of porters (gatekeepers).

9:19 Because of the makeshift nature of the rebuilt temple, guarding the entrance was similar to guarding the tabernacle (cp. v. 23), a duty with a long and proud tradition.

9:22 We get a brief glimpse here of Samuel as administrator of the tabernacle, setting a precedent that was resumed by David. The idea that guard duty was distributed among people from villages all over the country must have promoted a feeling of ownership among all Israelites.

9:28-29 The temple performed many functions, including many different types of sacrifices, all of which required vessels . . . instruments, and supplies. Trustworthy people were needed to look after them.

9:30 A priest could not perform official religious duties until he turned 30 years old. The sons of many priests, while learning their profession, would also be involved in mixing the spices used in the sacrificial system.

9:31 This Shallum was the veteran gatekeeper (v v. 17-18).

9:33 The singers were expected to be ready at a moment's notice whenever a ceremony or sacrifice called for musical accompaniment.

9:35-44 The genealogy of Benjamin in these verses is the same as that in 8:29-38. In chapter 8 the emphasis was on their residence in Jerusalem (8:28,32); here the genealogy sets up the story of Saul in chapter 10.

10:1 Without going into any of the details leading up to this event, the Chronicler takes us right to the death of Saul and his sons. The Philistines had come upon Saul's army from the north, trapping Saul's men on mount Gilboa and killing those who could not escape.

10:2 Jonathan and his two brothers were able warriors, but they could not hold out once the Israelite army had fled.

10:3 Because the battle was going so well for the Philistines, the archers were in the middle of the fight and were able to deal Saul a mortal blow.

10:4-5 Saul knew the Philistines would torture him, but this did not give him the right to take his own life, let alone to ask his armourbearer to do it for him. Only when the boy refused did Saul kill himself, and then his armourbearer also committed suicide.

10:6 Not every member of Saul's house died at that time, but the family unit, in the sense of Saul's dynasty (all his house), came to a halt.

10:7 Having defeated Saul's army, the Philistines moved into the abandoned houses of the nearby villages, enjoying a false sense of security. They did not realize that David and his followers were already on their way.

10:9 The Philistines sent messengers out not only to inform the people but also to tell their idols about what had transpired. The irony of idolatry is that people entrust their lives to that which has no power. This is thoroughly satirized in Isaiah 44 and Jeremiah 10.

10:10 Saul's armour—perhaps the very armour that David once refused to wear in his confrontation with Goliath—became decoration pieces in the Philistines' temple. A special place was reserved for Saul's skull in the temple of their main god, Dagon.

10:11-12 The inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead owed their lives to Saul (1 Sam. 11). Now they risked their lives to protect Saul's body from further desecration.

10:13-14 Saul was not as evil as many of the idolatrous kings who came after him, but a king who outwardly followed God but inwardly went his own way was worse than a king who did not make any pretense of following God. Saul's apparent piety combined with his blatant disobedience (1 Sam. 13:7-14; 15:1-9) was unacceptable to God and served as a destructive example for onlookers. Saul did make a show of inquiring of the Lord (1 Sam. 28:6), but this was purely fortune telling; he dashed off immediately to speak to the now-departed Samuel. Not even the king was allowed to treat God as though He were a daily horoscope. The Chronicler also reminds us that it was God who led things in this direction and that the goal was for David to be placed on the throne.

Mount Gilboa where Saul and his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua died at the hands of the Philistines.

11:1-2 The Chronicler skips over a lengthy series of events and takes us directly to the time of David's coronation. David was not accepted immediately as king of Israel by everyone. He had opposition from Jonathan's surviving brother Esh-baal, and it took warfare and bloodshed before David emerged as the undisputed victor (2 Sam. 1–2). Thus, this peaceful assertion by all Israel of blood relationship with David and his entitlement to the throne was as pragmatic as it was firm. The people even quoted the Lord's approval of David, even though some of them had fought against him not too long ago.

11:3 David's initial coronation took place at Hebron, a city from which he ruled for seven years.

11:4-9 The last stronghold of the Canaanites in the promised land was the citadel of Jebus at the peak of mount Zion in Jerusalem. This was considered virtually impregnable. Despite the defiance declared by the Jebusites, David motivated his troops to capture this prize, and his half nephew Joab succeeded. He used the water shaft to gain entry into the compound (2 Sam. 5:8). Joab was rewarded by being designated captain of David's army, an office that he had held de facto all along. David moved the capital from Hebron to Jerusalem.

11:10-47 The list of David's major mighty men and heroes covers both individual exploits and victories of larger armies. It covers several decades, from the time that David was fleeing Saul until the end of David's 40-year reign. Not everyone on this list was around all that time. For example, Asahel was killed in the civil war against Esh-baal (2 Sam. 2:23), and Uriah the Hittite was sent to his death by David (2 Sam. 11:17). For this reason the list of the thirty (v. 15) actually includes more than 30 people. It is best to think of "the thirty" as an elite company of warriors, the number of which was not fixed. See note at verse 47.

11:11-14 Other English Bible versions set apart a special group of "three" in addition to the thirty, but the manuscripts in the original language do not support this distinction. Chronicles mentions only two men in the supposed group of "three." A parallel list in 2 Samuel 23 adds a man named Shammah.

11:15-19 This anecdote illustrates the respect that David had for his heroes. When David complained of thirst, three of his men risked their lives to brake through the Philistine camp and make off with some water from the city of Beth-lehem for the king. But David would not drink it. He poured it to the ground as an offering to God, stating that if he drank it, it would be as though he were drinking the blood of these three heroes.

11:20-21 It may seem a little confusing that Abishai, Joab's brother, was the commander of the three but was not actually one of them. Again, the manuscripts allow for greater flexibility in the translation. He may have been a commander of the "thirty," but not a part of the most distinguished "three." It also makes sense that the person in charge of an elite outfit would not necessarily be a participant in the mission of the group. Much the same occurs in modern militaries.

11:22-25 Another commander was Benaiah, whom David put in charge of his bodyguards. Benaiah's exploits included the killing of a giant. Victories over giants are mentioned several times in Chronicles (see 20:5 and note there), though the story of David and Goliath occurs only in 1 Samuel 17.

11:26 Asahel, brother of Joab and Abishai and half nephew of David, was also counted among the "thirty." But he lost his life early on in the civil war against Esh-baal's supporters (2 Sam. 2:23).

11:34 Several sets of brothers are included in this list. We don't know how many sons of Hashem there were, but pairs of brothers are mentioned in verses 44, 45, and 46.

11:42 We see how flexible the designation of the "thirty" was because Adina from Reuben was a part of this group, together with his own thirty supporters.

11:47 Assuming that there were only two sons of Hashem (and not counting Adina's 30 followers), the list adds up to 45 people, quite an expansive interpretation of the "thirty." However, this is a problem only if one mistakenly takes approximations or figures of speech as exact numbers. A baseball team is called "nine," but the roster consists of 25 people, and that number would be higher still if it listed all who had been on the team over a 40-year period.

12:1 This chapter covers a long time span, encompassing the years from David's early days hiding from Saul in the desert to his coronation in Hebron. People were coming to him on their own, knowing that he would supersede the house of Saul. At the beginning of this chapter, Saul was still king. No one would have thought about Esh-baal's attempt to succeed his father because Jonathan was the obvious heir to the throne.

12:2-7 These ambidextrous archers and experts with the sling were some of Saul's own relatives from Benjamin who were already distancing themselves from him. David not only accumulated a sizeable number of supporters, but many of them were excellent warriors.

12:8-15 A group of hardened desert warriors from the tribe of Gad crossed the Jordan River to join David. They had the physical attributes and equipment necessary for being effective soldiers, and they were willing to endure hardship to join the effort.

12:16-18 David was not ready to trust all of these people, particularly those from the tribe of Benjamin. When he warned them of the dangers of betrayal, Amasai, the leader, confirmed his commitment under the inspiration of God. The Chronicler wants us to recognize divine guidance in David's cause.

12:19-22 Men from as far away as Manasseh signed up to support David. The Philistines balked at having David and his men fighting among them against Israel, fearing that David would suddenly turn on them and side with Saul.

12:23-38 Shifting now to the time of David's coronation at Hebron, an army totaling more than 300,000 gathered to follow David's command.

12:26-28 Not only did the Levites allow themselves to be conscripted, but even Zadok—soon to assume duty as high priest—let himself be counted.

12:29 Even though there had been some supporters from Benjamin early on (v. 16), at this point the entire tribe became loyal to David, though the number of their soldiers was still the smallest of the tribes.

12:32 The Chronicler specifically mentions the tribe of Issachar. He declares that they understood the times, showing their conviction that David should be made king over all Israel. A total of 200 heads would have been in charge of a large number of soldiers.

12:37 The enrollment of tribes from the eastern side of the Jordan River underscores the unity of this army.

12:38-40 These warriors were official representatives of their tribes. The times were not yet prosperous, so David could not feed all of them. They brought their own food, prepared by brethren, and others sent caravans of provisions from as far away as the most northern tribes.

13:1 David consulted with all his captains, but not the Levites, who could have kept him from the mistake he was about to make.

13:5-8 At this point the ark was at Kirjath-jearim, north of Jerusalem. It had rested there for several decades after it had been returned by the Philistines, largely ignored. Abinadab, the owner of the property on which the ark had settled, had prospered because of its presence (1 Sam. 7:1). In their eagerness to move the ark to Jerusalem, David's officials made sure that the procession was as grandiose as possible. They got a new cart, the best of oxen, and undoubtedly two of the most experienced oxen drivers in the area. With much pomp and circumstance, accompanied by an impressive band, the procession set out in high spirits.

13:9 Uzza, fearing that the ark might slide off the cart, reached out to hold it steady.

13:10 Good intentions aside, Uzza was violating the sacredness of the ark by touching an object that the Lord had declared untouchable. Lest there be any doubt about it, the Chronicler insists that it was the Lord who struck Uzza dead.

13:11-12 David was displeased that the Lord had interfered with his plans for giving the ark such triumphal treatment. Then his anger turned to fear. The display of the holiness and power of God made David doubt whether he was able or worthy to bring the ark to his city.

13:13-14 While David pondered what to do, the ark of God was parked at the home of Obed-edom. Obed-edom's family—just as Abinadab's in Kirjath-jearim had done—enjoyed special blessings from the Lord because they were hosting the ark.

14:1 Hiram king of Tyre is a consistent presence throughout the reigns of David and Solomon. Even if he worshipped the Phoenician gods outwardly, inwardly he worshipped nothing as fervently as profit and material wealth. He initiated a possible sale of building materials to David for a huge palace.

14:2 David saw this international recognition as confirmation from the Lord that his kingdom was approved by God.

14:3-7 The Chronicler lists further wives whom David acquired after his capital was moved to Jerusalem. First Chronicles does not recount his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and Bath-sheba is not invoked by name here, though she had been mentioned earlier (3:5), and her children are included in this list.

14:8 The Philistines had been held in check by David, but they still lived in Israelite territory, trying to maintain their power. When it became clear to them that David's kingdom was growing stronger, they joined forces to wage war against Israel.

14:9 The valley of Rephaim, just south of Jerusalem, was a natural path up to the capital city, but it was also an easy place for an army to get locked in.

14:10-11 David must have learned his lesson from the disasters that beset Saul. He made sure that it was the Lord's will to battle the Philistines in a direct attack. The Lord gave him permission, and David caught the Philistines unawares.

14:12 The Philistines were routed so thoroughly that they left their idols on the battlefield. Many ancient kings would have picked up these idols and either desecrated them or tried to gain some spiritual strength from them. David did not play any such spiritual games; he ordered that they be burned.

14:13-16 The Philistines must have thought that attacking through the same valley was the last thing anyone would expect, but if they were caught again they would be ready. This time the Lord commanded David to use a different strategy—to come from behind. God would give David a signal when it was time to attack. By following God's orders, he eliminated the threat of the Philistines for a long time to come.

14:17 At this time Mesopotamia and Egypt were suffering from internal struggles. The Phoenicians were more interested in growth by trade than by military might. The Philistines had been put in their place; even though they were not eliminated, they were in no position to reestablish their military strength. David's kingdom was the strongest empire of the day. For the time being threats would not come from the traditional superpowers but from his neighbors who were trying to take advantage of the political vacuum.

15:1-3 Three months elapsed between the time of David's first attempt to move the ark and this renewed effort. The king prepared a tent in Jerusalem as its official resting place. He followed the instructions given to him by the Levites on how the ark should be carried. Numbers 4:15 states that the ark should be carried only by Levites, and only by two long poles inserted through rings in the ark. These poles should rest on the shoulders of the transporting Levites (1 Chron. 15:15).

15:11 The last-minute council of the leaders among the Levites and priests included two priests, Zadok and Abiathar. The official tabernacle stood at Gibeon, with Zadok working as priest there, even though the ark had not been there for about a hundred years. Because David had no regular access to the tabernacle during Saul's reign, a Kohathite named Abiathar had become David's personal friend and priest (1 Sam. 22:20-23).

15:16-22 David also put the Levites in charge of the music, playing various musical instruments. The three main musicians—Heman, Asaph, and Ethan—took charge. Among the secondary musicians were Obed-edom, the last host of the ark, who would soon become one of the official gatekeepers.

15:23-24 The list flows on, from those who were a part of the procession to the organization that would be implemented after the ark arrived in Jerusalem. Berechiah and Elkanah . . . Obed-edom and Jehiah would become doorkeepers, and permanent trumpet players would also be designated.

15:26 When the ark reached Jerusalem, the Levites performed a sacrifice consisting of seven bullocks and seven rams. This number would be eclipsed by the huge sacrifices of Solomon a generation later, and it was echoed much later when King Hezekiah reopened the temple (2 Chron. 29:21).

15:27-29 When Michal, David's first wife, saw the king dancing before the ark in public (v. 25), she despised him in her heart. This moment finalized their estrangement. Of all David's wives, Michal never bore him any children.

16:1 This tent was a special place for the ark where priests could offer sacrifices. The company offered burnt sacrifices, signifying total commitment to the Lord, and peace offerings, indicating the covenant between God and His people.

16:2-3 David's coronation banquet had been a carry-in dinner, but now when David blessed the people and sent them home, each person received a small packet of food.

16:4-6 The site of the ark was not the main place for worship, which continued to be the tabernacle in Gibeon. As a symbol of the presence of God in their midst, the ark needed to be surrounded by people who praised the Lord. David appointed permanent musicians for this task. This group included Asaph on the cymbals, a string ensemble featuring Obed-edom, and the trumpeting priests Benaiah and Jahaziel.

16:7 Music had probably been a part of Israelite culture and worship for some time, but David made it an integral part of worship before the ark and at the tabernacle. In Jerusalem, he instructed Asaph to lead in thanksgiving songs, and he composed a psalm for the occasion. It had three parts that were later incorporated into the book of Psalms. Verses 8-22 constitute Ps. 105:1-15; verses 23-33 are Ps. 96:1-13; and verses 34-36 are Ps. 106:1,47-48. The entire psalm as represented in 1 Chronicles comprises four segments exhorting the people to praise God, interspersed with three segments describing God's faithfulness, glory, and creatorship.

16:8-13 The first exhortation to praise is a call to remember what God had done and to make known His deeds. In the Bible the praise of God often involves recalling and proclaiming what God has done in the past.

16:14-22 The first intermediate segment of David's psalm is a reminder of God's covenant with Abraham and how God had kept the covenant by bringing His people into the land of Canaan.

16:23-24 These verses repeat Israel's obligation to praise God. They add the dimension that this praise should be done among all nations. The people who had not directly experienced God's guidance would learn about it from the Israelites.

16:25-27 This second segment describes the difference between God and idols. Because idols are man-made they do not have the glory and strength of the Lord.

16:28:30a To give something to God, in this context, is to acknowledge He has that attribute. This exhortation to praise connects praising God with worshipping Him with offerings. Just as praise of God is connected with His works, praise from the worshipper is connected with active service.

16:30b-33 In this segment of the psalm, the power of God is recognized by the firmness of the world, the witness of the heavens, the proclamation of the sea, and the shouts of joy of the trees. The created order gives testimony to the Creator's glory.

16:34-36 The fourth and final exhortation to praise combines another reminder of God's glory with the need to rely on the Lord for salvation.

16:37-42 The Chronicler once more focuses on the service at the ark in Jerusalem and the service at the tabernacle in Gibeon. The ambiguity caused by having two sacred sites shows that a temple that unified worship was badly needed. Zadok, with the assistance of the musicians Heman and Jeduthun (Ethan), continued the sacrifices that were commanded by the law at the tabernacle. Just as David had instituted a more consistent regimen surrounding the ark, he ordered similar provisions for the tabernacle.

17:1-2 Both David and Nathan the prophet were committed to the idea of building a temple. David felt that he was shortchanging the ark of the covenant by housing it in a tent. Nathan, who knew David's motives were pure, had no reason at this point to think that David should not proceed with his plans to build a temple.

17:3-14 God's message to David by way of Nathan about the temple was positive because that is how David took it. Eventually there would be a temple because God had promised Moses a central place of worship, which would become the exclusive place for sacrifices (Deut. 12:5-7). David would not be allowed to build this house for God to dwell in, but God would give the king a far greater promise. The Lord declared that he would build David's house—a dynasty, a succession of kings that would last many generations (v v. 10-12). One of his sons would become the next king and would be the one to build the temple, and he would also continue the lineage of David for all eternity.

17:16 David understood the promise that his son would build the temple, even if he himself was not allowed to, as a positive affirmation from God.

17:21 In the fashion of biblical praise (16:8-36), David praised the Lord by referring to what He had done.

17:23-26 It may seem odd that David repeated what God had promised as though it were a petition directed to God, but there were three important points in this last half of David's prayer. First, he showed submission to what the Lord had planned for him. Second, he showed God that what he desired was whatever God wanted for him. Third, David tells us that it is never wrong to express our thoughts and desires to the Lord. Whether we are joyfully accepting what God has already said or struggling with trying to accept something He is making clear to us, God always knows what is on our hearts. We have the privilege of voicing our thoughts and feelings to Him.

17:27 The chapter ends with David's affirmation that God's blessing is irrevocable.

18:1 This chapter summarizes a number of military victories by David and the spoils that he collected. He defeated the Philistines, this time not by repelling their attack, but by taking control of one of the five principal cities and its outlying towns.

18:2 The same thing happened with the Moabites. Conquered by David, they contributed to his growing treasury.

18:3 The Syrians were a confederation of various kingdoms east of the Jordan River, ranging all the way from Damascus to the banks of the Euphrates River. Hadarezer (Hadadezer) king of Zobah ruled over one of the most easterly regions. By taking over his territory at the Euphrates and by controlling Philistine territory to the south, David fulfilled the promise God had given to Abraham—that his descendants would eventually occupy the land all the way from the Euphrates River to the Brook of Egypt (Gen. 15:8).

18:4 Today's readers may find the cutting of the tendons (houghed) of thousands of horses objectionable, but in David's time this was a standard method of crippling an enemy force. Without their horses, the soldiers were rendered immobile. The alternative to hamstringing the horses would have been to kill rather than immobilize the soldiers.

18:5-8 The Syrians of Damascus attempted to come to the rescue of Hadadezer, but this move led them into subjection by David. Now the rich trade city of Damascus belonged to the king. Even though he would never build the temple, David accumulated much of the materials for the building and for the utensils that would be put to use by Solomon later on.

18:9-10 Tou king of Hamath decided that diplomacy was a better option than warfare. Because he had been at odds with Hadadezer, he considered the enemy of his enemy to be his ally, but he still needed to pay a tribute of numerous objects of precious metal.

18:11 David did not add all of these things to his personal wealth, but he placed them into a treasury that was dedicated unto the Lord. Later on, much of it would go into the building of the temple.

18:12-13 Abishai was Joab's brother and a general in his army. Even though Abishai was the leader of the battle against the Edomites, David was the king, so this section reiterates David's unbroken record of victories.

18:14 A glorious time is depicted in this short verse. David looked after his people by making sure that judgment and justice prevailed for everyone. No greater compliment can be paid to any ruler.

18:15-16 A quick overview of the most important people surrounding David starts with Joab, still his commander in chief. Jehoshaphat, the recorder, and Shavsha, the scribe, kept records of what happened in the palace. There were still two high priests, Zadok and Abimelech (or Ahimelech), because there were still two main places of worship.

18:17 The Cherethites and the Pelethites, who reported to Benaiah, apparently were Philistine groups who were loyal to David and who may have been his bodyguards (cp. 11:24-25). David didn't need bodyguards against open, obvious enemies, but against people who might work their way into his presence. Thus, bodyguards of a different ethnic origin were well-suited for this task.

19:1-2 King Nahash of the Ammonites was a consistent presence in the time of Saul and David. Unless this is a successor with the same name, it was he who had first given Saul the occasion to rise to the responsibilities of being king of Israel. He had besieged the town of Jabesh-gilead and agreed to a truce with the citizens of this village on the condition that he could gouge out each person's eye (1 Sam. 11:2). This threat had enabled Saul to rally the Israelites in a united war against the Ammonites, in which he roundly defeated them. The Bible does not disclose the details of the occasion when Nahash had treated David kindly, but when Nahash died, David sent a delegation to the new king Hanun to express his condolences.

19:3-4 Hanun's advisers persuaded him that David's ambassadors were spies looking for a way to conquer the Ammonites. Hanun gave the order that David's delegates should be humiliated and sent home. The Chronicler does not indicate why Hanun thought he could get away with this rash act.

19:5-7 The ashamed men did not return directly to David. Instead they hid in Jericho, where David told them to stay. It then dawned on the Ammonites that they had made a serious mistake. Still, rather than making amends, they gathered a large army to ward off David's inevitable retribution. Hanun mobilized various people who were friendly to him and acquired a huge mercenary force of Syrians, complete with many chariots. With this impressive force, the Ammonites thought they were ready to go against the Israelite army.

19:8-9 David delegated the responsibility for taking on the Ammonites to Joab as his commander in chief. By the time Joab arrived on the field and took stock of the situation, he found himself wedged between the Ammonites, who had their backs protected by the walls of the town of Medeba, and their Syrian allies on the other side. Israel's defeat seemed inevitable.

19:10-13 Joab decided to have his army fight on two fronts at the same time. If Joab had any anxiety, he did not show it as he encouraged his brother and expressed reliance on the Lord.

19:14-15 Apparently the Syrians had not expected this aggressive response from Joab and his brother, and they fled. This was enough for the Ammonites to lose heart as well. They barricaded themselves behind the walls of Medeba.

19:16 Now it was the Syrians' turn to make an error in judgment. Even though they had already been defeated once by David, they decided to take advantage of the situation and turn back on David's forces. While Joab returned victoriously to Jerusalem (v. 15), the Syrians made another alliance, this time with their kinsman all the way on the eastern side of the Euphrates river, in order to take revenge against David.

19:17-18 This time David himself took charge of the Israelite army. With an even greater force than before, he defeated the combined Syrian army.

19:19 Being defeated by David was nothing new to Hadadezer (see 18:3 and note there). Twice now, this king's attempts to establish superiority among the Syrians had been thwarted by David. Regardless of their king's ambitions, his subjects had seen enough. They submitted to David—and blamed it all on the Ammonites.

20:1 The ideal time to go out to battle in ancient times was the end of the calendar year, the spring, because the ground is not too wet or muddy, and the weather is not too cold or hot for soldiers to exert themselves. In addition, for food the army could plunder crops growing in the invaded territory. Joab, once again in command, crossed into the territory of Ammon to finish the job started the previous year. He besieged Rabbah, the capital. David did not accompany his troops, but he remained in Jerusalem. This is the time when David had his affair with Bath-sheba, and this is the military campaign in which he sent her husband, Uriah, to his death (2 Sam. 11:2–12:25). The Chronicler omits this entire episode.

20:2-3 After Joab had destroyed the city, David was crowned with the Ammonites' crown. His men carried away anything of value. Then he may have commanded the inhabitants of the city to destroy their own buildings (them) with the tools at hand. To have them destroy their houses, which could be rebuilt, was an effective way to keep them under control without taking their lives or carrying them into slavery.

20:4 Further conflict with the Philistines was inevitable. The occasions mentioned here may have happened over a longer period of time; they are brought together here by the Chronicler to report on the various Philistine giants. The first giant mentioned was Sippai, referred to as a descendant of the giant. The Hebrew word is rephaim, which refers to a race of giants, of whom we know nothing more than that they were larger than normal men. Apparently the rephaim had left a genetic heritage, even though the last pure member of their race was Og, king of Bashan, whose bed was 13 feet long and six feet wide (Deut. 3:11). Earlier in 1 Chronicles we learned of an Egyptian giant who was killed by Benaiah (11:23). In the case of Sippai, his killer was Sibbecai the Hushathite.

20:5 Goliath had a brother named Lahmi, who may have been as tall as Goliath (1 Sam. 17:4). Elhanan the son of Jair is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

20:6-7 Another giant, whose name is not given, copied Goliath by taunting Israel. In addition to his extraordinary stature, he had an extra finger and toe on each hand and foot. This time the killing of a giant remained in David's family when his nephew Jonathan took care of the matter.

20:8 The elimination of giants is an important aspect of how David finally took possession of the entire promised land. Assuming the spies were giving an accurate report rather than an exaggerated report born of fear and faithlessness, giants were spotted in the promised land. This report initially deterred the Israelites from invading Canaan (Num. 13:33–14:9). Those giants would have been Anakites, descended from the Nephilim. They were destroyed in Noah's flood (Gen. 6:4), but their genes must have been carried recessively by Noah's son Ham or his wife, among the eight survivors of the flood. About 40 years after the aborted invasion of the promised land Caleb had the opportunity to demonstrate his faith in God by eliminating the Anakites who lived around his new hometown of Hebron (Judg. 1:20). The defeat of these giants was a sign that the land had finally been completely conquered.

21:1 Satan is not mentioned often in the OT. When he does appear, he is the adversary of someone beloved by God (Job 1:6; 2:7; Zech. 3:1-2). The parallel passage in 2 Samuel makes it clear that Satan would not have been able to cause trouble for David if God had not let him (2 Sam. 24:1). The census itself was not an infraction of God's law (Num. 1:2; 26:2). David succumbed to the sin of pride. This could have included thinking that the men of Israel were his to enumerate, not God's, and that he could take refuge in military strength rather than God's sovereignty. He also violated rules that God had given for carrying out a legitimate census. The law stipulated that each man who was counted had to donate a half-shekel to the temple treasury (Exod. 30:11-16). God had decreed that a census taken without these provisions would be punished by a plague.

21:2 David placed Joab in charge of this project, reinforcing the idea that the purpose of the census was to evaluate military capability. The expression from Beer-sheba even to Dan signifies the entire country from south to north.

21:3 Joab knew that what David was proposing would bring harm to everyone, so he objected strongly.

21:5 The number that Joab came up with was astounding—over one million swordsmen from Israel and close to half a million swordsmen from Judah. This is one of the cases in which the numbers in Chronicles are different than those in 2 Samuel 24. In 2 Samuel "valiant" men are counted, while Chronicles reports on the total number of swordsmen. We do not know to what extent those two descriptions overlap. If they do overlap, it would account significantly for the large numbers. Given that we do not have fuller information, it would be presumptuous to claim that the Chronicler has contradicted earlier accounts or sought to supply misleading numbers.

21:6 Joab refused to include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin. Perhaps he did not want God's judgment to fall on the tribe of priests or the tribe in whose territory the tabernacle stood.

21:7 Exactly as God had foretold in Exod. 30:12, He punished this illegitimate census with a plague.

21:8 Even before the effects of the punishment were apparent, David realized he had done wrong.

21:9-13 Gad and Nathan were the two prophets associated with David. Both of them had the unpleasant duty of announcing divine punishment on the king they served (2 Sam. 12:7). Gad presented David with three options for punishment. David chose the pestilence, reasoning that it most directly involved the hand of God and therefore had the most potential for mercies.

21:14 David had wanted to know how many men he had at his disposal. By divine retribution he wound up with 70,000 fewer than he had before the census was taken.

21:15-17 The spread of the plague is attributed to an angel from God (2 Chron. 32:21). The angel was about to inflict the plague on Jerusalem. He was fully visible, hovering above the threshingfloor of Ornan. David and the elders of Israel saw the angel floating in a menacing posture with his drawn sword. David pleaded with God to spare the innocent people and let him suffer God's punishment.

21:20-24 Ornan and his four sons received two shocks: they saw the hovering angel, then the king himself showed up on their property. David asked Ornan to sell him this location at its full price—without receiving a king's discount—because he was afraid the Lord might not stop the plague if he did not pay the full amount.

21:25 The price for the plot of land mentioned here amounts to 15 pounds of gold, while in 2 Samuel 24:24 it is said to have been 50 ounces of silver. This difference can be explained if David purchased the properties in simultaneous but distinct transactions. Perhaps the silver was the price for "the threshingfloor" (2 Sam. 24:21) while the gold purchased suitable surrounding property for the future construction of the temple ("the place of this threshingfloor"; 1 Chron. 21:22). Ornan may very naturally have priced these items apart from one another.

21:26-27 While the setting for the sacrifice was being prepared, the angel apparently continued to hover over the scene. God signaled His acceptance of the sacrifice by sending fire from heaven. The angel stopped threatening Jerusalem.

21:28-30 At the end of this episode, the basic arrangement of sacred locations changed. The ark was still in Jerusalem, and the tabernacle continued in Gibeon, but from here on, David no longer used the tabernacle. He performed his sacrifices on this threshingfloor. Perhaps he was afraid the angel might come back if he left this site.

22:1 Since the threshingfloor of Ornan had become the place where David worshipped the Lord, he declared that on this exact site the temple would be built. This temporary altar would mark the location of the permanent altar.

22:2-4 The temple would require stones, metal, and wood for its construction. David conscripted the foreigners living in the land to work as slaves to do the heavy labor of cutting stones for the temple and the foundation walls.

22:5 This is the first time we learn that Solomon would succeed David and build the temple.

22:6-10 In a private conversation, David told Solomon his own personal history of how shed blood and wars disqualified him from being the temple builder. By contrast, Solomon would enjoy rest and peace. His name meant "man of peace."

22:16 David encouraged Solomon not to delay in completing the project.

22:18-19 David emphasized that after all the wars he had fought, there would now be a period of rest. The time was right for the leaders to help Solomon build a permanent sanctuary.

23:1 David intended for Solomon to be king after him. He had made this known to Solomon and to his advisers. Now he acted on this declaration and officially made Solomon co-regent alongside him. Despite David's public acclaim of Solomon, there would be vigorous dispute of this decision (1 Kings 1–2). David reiterated his will on the matter several times (1 Kings 1:38-39).

23:2-3 David called a meeting of the country's leaders and the priests and Levites. The first part of this chapter is directed to those Levites thirty years or older who would be ready to step into their roles as soon as the temple was built. Later on (v. 24) the minimum age is lowered to 20 years to include those in training and not yet eligible for actual service, but who needed to be listed in their applicable categories. With 38,000 men, everyone would be able to lead a normal life at home for most of the year and be required to spend just a short time in Jerusalem pursuing temple duties.

23:4-5 The Levites were divided along several lines. The largest number (24,000) consisted of those who were actually doing temple work. Six thousand men were given the job of prescreening individuals and their potential sacrifices to make sure that neither the persons nor what they brought as offerings were unclean, and that everything proceeded in accordance with the law. The porters were the guards. In keeping with David's vision for worship in the future, a large corps of musicians were available.

23:6 Having established the broad, professional divisions, the same large group also was allocated into the three lines of descent from Levi's sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

23:7 The Chronicler assumes his usual method with genealogies in following a specific line and then backtracking.

23:9 This Shimei must have been a fourth son of Laadan, named after his uncle, whose descendants are named according to his three sons. Laadan was also called "Libni" (6:17).

23:11 Jeush and Beriah were counted as one clan because they had few sons.

23:12 Kohath's clan included the priestly line of Aaron. Other members of this clan challenged Aaron's exclusive right to the priesthood, only to find themselves swallowed up by the earth as God's punishment (Num. 16).

23:13-14 For the Chronicler, the descendants of Aaron were far more important at this point than those of Moses.

23:21-22 The line of Eleazar continued by virtue of his daughters and their cousins the sons of Kish marrying one another. In 24:29 we learn that one of Kish's sons was Jerahmeel. The other supplementary information from 24:26-27 is that Merari had a third son, Jaaziah, who also had three sons.

23:24 The Chronicler was not obsessed with names for their own sake. Their significance lay in the fact that on the basis of this information, Levites during his own time would be reminded of where they fit in with the general program of service to the house of the Lord. On twenty years, see note at v v. 2-3.

23:25 Anticipating what would not be reality until the time of Solomon, David declared that rest had come to Israel because there would now be a permanent place for the ark and for worship.

23:26-29 There was no longer any reason for the tabernacle to be carried. Those Levites who had this as their main duty would receive new assignments. The matter of moving the ark would not come up again until hundreds of years later (2 Chron. 35:2).

23:30-31 The Chronicler again emphasizes David's institution of regular temple music. The musicians must perform on a daily basis as well as at the major sacrifices and on special occasions.

24:1 Among all the divisions established at this time, the most important one was for the priests, who were divided into 24 segments. These 24 groupings were based on the two surviving sons of Aaron: Eleazar and Ithamar.

24:2 The Chronicler does not mention that Nadab and Abihu died prematurely because they defiled the tabernacle (Lev. 10:1-2). It was more important to him that since they died with no children, they had no descendants to include in the priestly divisions.

24:3 Two men were serving as high priest during the time of David: Zadok who officiated at the tabernacle, and Ahimelech who was in charge of the ark in Jerusalem. Ahimelech was the son of Abiathar and grandson of the Ahimelech who was slaughtered at the tabernacle by King Saul's troops. Both men had a legitimate claim to the priesthood, representing the lines of Eleazar and Ithamar, respectively, so both of their descendants were included in this list.

24:4 Since Eleazar's descendants outnumbered those of Ithamar by a ratio of two to one, it made sense that of the 24 divisions, Eleazar should get sixteen shifts, and Ithamar only eight.

24:6 An official scribe kept a record, and there were overseers from both family lines as well as dignitaries who did not have a vested interest in how this matter was handled.

24:7-19 Since there were about 24 divisions within a pool numbering in the tens of thousands, the list of 24 divisions was not necessarily permanent, if even David envisioned it that way (Ezra 2:36-39; Neh. 12:1-7). Still, some priestly divisions such as that of Abijah survived almost a thousand years ("Abia" in Luke 1:5).

24:20-31 The other Levites were also divided into 24 groups, though it is not easy to identify exactly 24 names in this list. The ancestral names of these 24 groups cover several generations, so their origin is uneven. It is clear that these groupings were based to a large degree on the head count of the descendants of the more prominent ancestors. The ability to supply a sufficient number of workers within their groups was a more important consideration than maintaining exact genealogical parallels.

25:1 Music was certainly a part of the worship of God before David's time, but he made it a regular part of everyday worship in the tabernacle and at the site of the ark and later in the temple. David, a man of war, was also a man of music. The Chronicler equates the musical ministry with prophecy.

25:2-5 This time the numbers work out smoothly. Asaph had four sons, Jeduthun had six (including Shimei, v. 17), and Heman had 14. Thus there were 24 natural divisions, and it turned out that the larger number of their relatives came to 288, thus creating 24 divisions of exactly 12 each. Lots were drawn to draft these Levites into their groups.

25:6-31 These 288 musicians were the leaders, who had a total of 4,000 men to draw on (23:5). The men of the 24 divisions reported to the 12 sons of the three head musicians, and they in turn took their directions directly from the king. For most other temple functions, the high priest was the final authority, but since the order of music was primarily David's innovation, he did not relinquish control over this part of the ministry.

26:1 The following list of porters (gatekeepers) is limited to the two Levitical clans of Kohath and Merari. Since Asaph the musician belonged to the clan of Gershom (6:39-43), the Asaph mentioned here is a different person. Possibly "Asaph" here is the same as "Ebiasaph" at 9:19.

26:4-8 Obed-edom was a gatekeeper by profession, though he joined the musicians during the transport of the ark to Jerusalem (15:21). Now that plans were being set up for permanent duties, he figured prominently among the guards, coming uniquely equipped with a clan of 62 family members. Shemaiah, his son, is a different person than Shemaiah the secretary whose father was Nethanel (24:6).

26:12 The Chronicler emphasizes that the service these porters performed was just as significant as the duties of those who led in worship. Without dedicated gatekeepers, the ministry of the temple could not proceed.

26:13 Rather than dividing the gatekeepers into 24 shifts, their assignments were based on which gate each was assigned to guard.

26:14-15 The selection of leaders for each gate was made in the context of family membership, but capability must have been an overriding consideration. In those cases where sons and fathers seemed to be equally qualified, they were not held back because they belonged to the same family. Both son and father were placed in command of their own gates. This was true for Shelemiah and his son Zechariah, as well as for Obed-edom and his sons.

26:16 The Shallecheth was the gate designated for disposal of refuse and materials left over from animal sacrifices.

26:17-18 Guard duty was not limited to the gates of the temple. Obviously the storehouses (Asuppim) needed protection, and guards were also installed in the courts (Parbar) outside the temple grounds and on the causeway leading to the temple. The external temple guards could deal with problems outside the temple compound, such as unacceptable sacrificial animals.

26:20-21 The gatekeepers came primarily from the clans of Merari and Kohath. The Gershonites were assigned to watch over the treasures of the temple. This included guarding temple resources from theft or vandalism, as well as accounting for them and keeping them stored. Ahijah supervised this work. The treasuries included long-term deposits, as well as the funds needed for day-to-day operation of the temple.

26:26-27 When all of these arrangements were made, there still was no temple. David dedicated money for the cause, and many of his high-ranking officials and military officers also gave to the temple fund. A large share of these contributions was derived from the spoils of various military victories.

26:28 Even before there was any talk of building the temple, the leaders of Israel were dedicating treasures to the tabernacle. The accumulated items went all the way back to the prophet Samuel, King Saul, his commander in chief Abner, David's general Joab, and David himself.

26:29 One other group of Levites needed to be organized. These were the officers and judges who would enforce the divine law in Israel.

26:32 The tribes on the eastern side of the Jordan River were already becoming isolated from the rest of Israel. Only at the very end of his reign was David able to provide a suitable teacher for these more remote tribes.

27:1 The Chronicler spends a lot of time on the various participants in the temple service but relatively little time on the secular officials and the army. The most important category of classification here is that there were 12 courses composed of 24,000 soldiers each. Each of those units was on duty for one month out of the year during times of peace. During times of war, obviously everyone would be mobilized. Many of the names here appear in the list of the "thirty" in chapter 11. Since David reigned for 40 years, this list is something of an abstraction, with different personnel probably in charge at various times. In many cases two names are mentioned (e.g., 27:4). In these cases the second person may have been the first one's adjutant early on, and then later his successor.

27:2-3 As a descendant of Perez, Jashobeam belonged to the expanded clan within Judah to which David was linked.

27:4 This is one of those instances with two names, where Mikloth may have reported to Dodai at first, and then may have replaced him later (see note at v. 1).

27:5-6 We have seen Benaiah several times already. He was the most honored of the thirty (11:22), and he was in charge of the Philistine mercenaries (18:17). Here we see him commanding one of the courses as well. His own son Ammizabad was second in command to him.

27:7 The idealized nature of this list is brought out by the fact that Asahel was killed during the civil war between David and Esh-baal (2 Sam. 2:23). So for all practical purposes, the command of this unit belonged to Zebadiah the entire time.

27:11 Sibbecai is familiar because he had killed one of the Philistine giants (19:4).

27:16 This verse begins a list of those who were over each tribe, like governors. Gad and Asher are left out, perhaps because they were governed by the leaders of another tribe. The number of men on the list comes to 12 because each of the two halves of Manasseh is represented separately (v v. 20-21) and Levi has two representatives (v. 17).

27:17 One person was in charge of the Levites at large, but the Aaronites—the priests—were represented separately by Zadok.

27:18 Elihu was one of David's brethren. He is not listed among David's six brothers in 2:13-15. This could mean that this name is a variation on Eliab, David's older brother, or that this is a seventh brother who is not mentioned earlier by the Chronicler. This second interpretation makes sense because 1 Samuel 16:10 refers to seven brothers of David.

27:23-24 A potential army would have been much larger than the 288,000 mentioned here, but the Chronicler reminds us that no exact total is available because the census that David had ordered was contrary to God's directions and was punished by the Lord (see chap. 21).

27:25-33 These verses tell us about David's cabinet. Azmaveth was secretary of the treasury. Under him, Jehonathan oversaw the various treasury locations around the nation. There were also cabinet posts for the oversight of agriculture and herding.

27:32 This verse describes the inner circle of David's advisers, though again this is not a permanent group. Jonathan, despite these accolades, makes his only appearance in the record at this point. Jehiel, who tended David's sons, must have had great skill at diplomacy and conflict resolution.

27:33 Ahithophel was so wise that his advice was considered almost like hearing from God himself (2 Sam. 16:23). Unfortunately, none of this wisdom prevented him from joining Absalom's rebellion and ending his life with suicide (2 Sam. 17:23). Hushai helped David by infiltrating Absalom's inner circle and frustrating Ahithophel's advice (2 Sam. 17:14).

27:34 Although this passage does not mention Ahithophel's death, it is implied by mentioning his successors. First came Jehoiada the son of Benaiah (not to be confused with the hero Benaiah son of Jehoiada); then came Abiathar, who may have been either the priest who was David's friend during the king's time in the wilderness, or his grandson.

28:1 For the Chronicler, the questions of who would be the next king and who would build the temple are synonymous. David called another meeting of all the princes of Israel (the first meeting occurred in chap. 22) in which he reiterated his answer to both questions.

28:2 This last speech, where David addresses his brethren, calls to mind the time many decades earlier when representatives of the tribes came to David and declared, "we are thy bone and thy flesh" (11:1). He reminded the people that he had wanted to build the temple for God's ark (17:1).

28:3 David disclosed to the people what he had already told Solomon(22:8; see note at 22:6-10).

28:4-5 David knew he was king only because God had willed it, and that by the same sovereign will God had now chosen Solomon as his successor.

28:6-7 David repeated the covenant that God had made with him—that through Solomon the house of David would continue on the throne (17:12). This was a blessing that Solomon should never take for granted. Having been called to be king by the Lord, Solomon must demonstrate his divine calling by keeping God's commandments and judgments.

28:8 For the first time since God had given the promise to Abraham (Gen. 15:8), the people were living in the entire territory that God had set aside for them. With a faithful king on the throne and the people following him, this state of affairs could last for ever. However, the people as well as the king must keep all of God's commandments.

28:9 David turned to Solomon and exhorted him to single-minded devotion to the Lord. He reminded Solomon that nothing else would do because God knows our motivations and intentions (Ps. 139:1-6). David directed Solomon's commitment not just to the law, but to the Lord. The covenant that God had made with David about the continuation of his house on the throne did not overrule Solomon's obligation to walk with the Lord.

28:10 David exhorted Solomon to be strong. Building the temple would bring about a revision of Israel's system of worship. For hundreds of years, sacrifices had been permitted anywhere in the country under the direction of many different priests. With the coming of the temple, sacrifices would be restricted to Jerusalem only and priests who had been specifically designated for this purpose (Deut. 12:5-7). Only a strong, powerful leader would be able to sell that idea to all 12 tribes. In fact, as soon as the leadership in Jerusalem became weak and the kingdom split, the sacrificial system fell apart as well (2 Chron. 13:9).

28:11-18 David made a public display of handing Solomon the information that is recorded in the previous six chapters.

28:20 The king pointed out that the Lord would be with Solomon for the entire building project and beyond. The Lord does not always guarantee success, even for those ministries to which He has called us, but He will always be present with us.

29:1 Turning again to the assembled people, David drew attention to Solomon's youth and lack of experience in the face of the immensity of the task. The temple must honor God, so it must reflect the greatness of God in its operation.

29:2 Since in verse 3 David refers to giving his own wealth, the donations mentioned in this verse must be a part of the spoils of war that David had collected.

29:3-4 After serving as king for 40 years, David had accumulated quite a personal treasure, out of which he contributed 100 tons of gold and 250 tons of silver.

29:5b David equated making an offering with consecrating oneself to the Lord. God is never as interested in the material substance we contribute as He is in our devotion to Him, of which our offering is an expression.

29:9 Obviously, not everyone had abundance to share, but everyone shared in the joy.

29:10 David's lengthy prayer began by focusing on God. He did not minimize the gifts of the people, but he knew that their generosity was a product of God's mercy.

29:11-13 David praised the Lord by declaring who He is and what He had done.

29:14-17 As David continued to focus on God, he acknowledged some important truths. It is not possible to offer anything to God because God owns everything. David also declared that it is not possible to deceive God. He knows exactly who is giving willingly out of true devotion to Him and who is giving just to be seen by others. The key is a heart that wants to please God.

29:22 After sacrifices and a feast, David made . . . Solomon . . . king for a second time. Commentators are divided on the reference to a first coronation and how to interpret 23:1, which states that David installed Solomon as king. Some interpreters see this verse as a general summary of the events that are amplified in this chapter, but this mention of a second coronation could be an understated reference to the turmoil we read about in 1 Kings 1. This turmoil resulted in David declaring Solomon to be king as an emergency measure in opposition to Adonijah's bid for the throne. In either case, the transfer of power from David to Solomon proceeded smoothly, and he was acclaimed by all Israel.

29:25 The statement that God bestowed on Solomon such royal majesty as had not been bestowed on any king before him in Israel may sound odd since Solomon was preceded on Israel's throne by only two men: Saul and David. See also 2 Chron. 1:12. But the point is that God established Solomon as the standard for grandeur which had never been attained before and which never would be reached again.

29:26-30 These verses summarize David's reign and give an assessment of his success. This formula was applied to every king after David in 2 Chronicles. In each case the Chronicler gives a bottom-line evaluation of each king. For David he has nothing but praise. David lived a long life, indicative of a blessing from God, and he enjoyed riches and honour. The Chronicler also mentions several additional sources of information about David. These ancient books are likely lost, but they could be reflected in our books of 1 and 2 Samuel, which record the ministry of Samuel . . . Nathan, and Gad during the reign of David (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 12:1; 24:11).

1 Chronicles Cross-References

a 1:1 Gen. 4:25-26; 5:3,9

b 1:5 Gen. 10:2, etc.

c 1:8 Gen. 10:6, etc.

d 1:10 Gen. 10:8,13, etc.

e 1:12 Deut. 2:23

f 1:13 Gen. 10:15, etc.

g 1:17 Gen. 10:22; 11:10

h 1:20 Gen. 10:26

i 1:24 Gen. 11:10, etc.; Luke 3:34, etc.

j 1:25 Gen. 11:15

k 1:27 Gen. 17:5

l 1:28 Gen. 21:2-3

mGen. 16:11,15

n 1:29 Gen. 25:13-16

o 1:32 Gen. 25:1-2

a 1:34 Gen. 21:2-3

bGen. 25:25-26

c 1:35 Gen. 36:9,10

d 1:38 Gen. 36:25

e 1:41 Gen. 36:31, etc.

f 1:43 Gen. 36:31, etc

g 1:48 Gen. 36:37

h 1:51 Gen. 36:40

i 2:1 Gen. 29:32; 30:5; 35:18,22; 46:8, etc.

j 2:3 Gen. 38:3; 46:12; Num. 26:19

kGen. 38:2

lGen. 38:7

m 2:4 Gen. 38:29,30; Matt. 1:3

n 2:5 Gen. 46:12; Ruth 4:18

a 2:6 1 Kings 4:31

b 2:7 See ch. 4:1

cJosh. 6:18; 7:1

d 2:10 Ruth 4:19-20; Matt. 1:4

eNum. 1:7; 2:3

f 2:13 2 Sam. 16:6

g 2:16 2 Sam. 2:18

h 2:17 2 Sam. 17:25

i 2:19 ver. 50

j 2:20 Exod. 31:2

k 2:21 Num. 27:1

l 2:23 Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14; Josh. 13:30

m 2:24 ch. 4:5

n 2:31 See ver. 34,35

a 2:36 ch. 11:41

b 2:49 Josh. 15:17

c 2:55 Judg. 1:16

dJer. 35:2

e 3:1 2 Sam. 3:2

fJosh. 15:56

g 3:3 2 Sam. 3:5

h 3:4 2 Sam. 2:11

i2 Sam. 5:5

j 3:5 ch. 14:4; 2 Sam. 5:14

k2 Sam. 12:24

a 3:8 See 2 Sam. 5:14-16

b 3:9 2 Sam. 13:1

c 3:10 1 Kings 11:43; 15:6

d 3:16 Matt. 1:11

e2 Kings 24:17, being his Uncle

f 3:17 Matt. 1:12

g 3:22 Ezra 8:2

h 4:1 Gen. 38:29; 46:12

i 4:4 ch. 2:50

j 4:5 ch. 2:24

k 4:9 Gen. 34:19

a 4:13 Josh. 15:17

b 4:14 Neh. 11:35

c 4:21 Gen. 38:1,5; 46:12

d 4:28 Josh. 19:2

a 4:41 2 Kings 18:8

b 4:43 See 1 Sam. 15:8; 30:17; 2 Sam. 8:12

c 5:1 Gen. 29:32; 49:3

dGen. 35:22; 49:4

eGen. 48:15,22

f 5:2 Gen. 49:8,10; Ps. 60:7; 108:8

gMic. 5:2; Matt. 2:6

h 5:3 Gen. 46:9; Exod. 6:14; Num. 26:5

i 5:7 See ver. 17

j 5:8 Josh. 13:15-16

k 5:9 Josh. 22:9

l 5:10 Gen. 25:12

m 5:11 Josh. 13:11,24

a 5:16 ch. 27:29

b 5:17 2 Kings 15:5,32

c2 Kings 14:16,28

d 5:19 ch. 1:31; Gen. 25:15

e 5:20 See ver. 22

fPs. 22:4-5

g 5:22 2 Kings 15:29; 17:6

h 5:25 2 Kings 17:7

i 5:26 2 Kings 15:19

j2 Kings 15:29

k2 Kings 17:6; 18:11

l 6:1 ch. 23:6; Gen. 46:11; Exod. 6:16; Num. 26:57

m 6:2 See ver. 22

n 6:3 Lev. 10:1

a 6:8 2 Sam. 8:17

b2 Sam. 15:27

c 6:10 See 2 Chron. 26:17-18

d1 Kings 6; 2 Chron. 3

e 6:11 See Ezra 7:3

f 6:14 Neh. 11:11

g 6:15 2 Kings 25:18

h 6:16 Exod. 6:16

i 6:20 ver. 42

j 6:25 See ver. 35-36

k 6:26 ver. 34, Toah

l 6:27 ver. 34, Ellel

m 6:31 ch. 16:1

n 6:37 Exod. 6:24

o 6:41 See ver. 21

a 6:49 Lev. 1:9

bExod. 30:7

c 6:54 Josh. 21

d 6:55 Josh. 21:11-12

e 6:56 Josh. 14:13; 15:13

f 6:57 Josh. 21:13

g 6:61 ver. 66

hJosh. 21:5

i 6:63 Josh. 21:7,34

j 6:66 ver. 61

k 6:67 Josh. 21:21

l 6:68 See Josh. 21:22-35, where many of these cities have other names

a 7:1 Gen. 46:13; Num. 26:23

b 7:2 ch. 27:1; 2 Sam. 24:1-2

c 7:6 ch. 8:1, etc.; Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38

d 7:12 Num. 26:39; Shupham, and Hupham

e 7:13 Gen. 46:24; Shillem

a 7:17 1 Sam. 12:11

b 7:18 Num. 26:30; Jezer

c 7:20 Num. 26:35

d 7:28 Josh. 16:7; Naarath

e 7:29 Josh. 17:7

fJosh. 17:11

g 7:30 Gen. 46:17; Num. 26:44

h 7:32 ver. 34, Shamer

i 7:34 ver. 32, Shomer

j 8:1 ch. 7:6; Gen. 46:21; Num. 26:38

a 8:6 ch. 2:52

b 8:13 ver. 21

c 8:29 ch. 9:35

d 8:33 1 Sam. 14:51

e1 Sam. 14:49; Ishui

f 8:34 2 Sam. 9:12

g 8:36 Jarah, ch. 9:42

h 8:37 ch. 9:43; Rephaiah

i 9:1 Ezra 2:59

j 9:2 Ezra 2:70; Neh. 7:73

a 9:2 Josh. 9:27; Ezra 2:43; 8:20

b 9:3 Neh. 11:1

c 9:10 Neh. 11:10, etc.

d 9:20 Num. 31:6

e 9:22 ch. 26:1-2

f1 Sam. 9:9

g 9:25 2 Kings 11:5

a 9:30 Exod. 30:23

b 9:31 Lev. 2:5; 6:21

c 9:32 Lev. 24:8

d 9:33 ch 6:31; 25:1

e 9:35 ch. 8:29

f 9:39 ch. 8:33

g 9:41 ch. 8:35

h 10:1 1 Sam. 31:1-2

a 10:10 1 Sam. 31:10

b 10:13 1 Sam. 13:13; 15:23

c1 Sam. 28:7

d 10:14 1 Sam. 15:28; 2 Sam. 3:9-19; 5:3

a 11:1 2 Sam. 5:1

b 11:2 Ps. 78:71

c 11:3 2 Sam. 5:3

d1 Sam. 16:1,12-13

e 11:4 2 Sam. 5:6

fJudg. 1:21; 19:10

g 11:10 2 Sam. 23:8

h1 Sam. 16:1,12

i 11:15 2 Sam. 23:13

jch. 14:9

a 11:20 2 Sam. 23:18, etc.

b 11:21 2 Sam. 23:19, etc.

c 11:22 2 Sam. 23:20

d 11:26 2 Sam. 23:24

a 12:1 1 Sam. 27:2

b1 Sam. 27:6

c 12:2 Judg. 20:16

d 12:8 2 Sam. 2:18

e 12:15 Josh. 3:15

f 12:18 2 Sam. 17:25

g 12:19 1 Sam. 29:2

h1 Sam. 29:4

i 12:21 1 Sam. 30:1,9-10

a 12:23 ch. 11:1; 2 Sam. 2:3-4; 5:1

bch. 10:14

c1 Sam. 16:1,3

d 12:28 2 Sam. 8:17

e 12:29 2 Sam. 2:8-9

f 12:32 Esther 1:13

g 13:2 1 Sam. 31:1; Isa. 37:4

h 13:3 1 Sam. 7:1-2

a 13:5 1 Sam. 7:1; 2 Sam. 6:1

bJosh. 13:3

c1 Sam. 6:21; 7:1

d 13:6 Josh. 15:9,60

e1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2

f 13:7 ch. 15:2,13; See Num. 4:15

g1 Sam. 7:1

h2 Sam. 6:5

i 13:8 2 Sam. 6:5

a 13:10 ch. 15:13, 15; Num. 4:15;

bLev. 10:2

c 13:14 2 Sam. 6:11

dch. 26:5; As Gen. 30:27

e 14:1 2 Sam. 5:11, etc.

f 14:4 ch. 3:5

g 14:8 2 Sam. 5:17

h 14:9 ch. 11:15

i 14:13 2 Sam. 5:22

a 14:14 2 Sam. 5:23

b 14:16 2 Sam. 5:25; Gebe

c 14:17 Josh. 6:27; 2 Chron. 26:8

dDeut. 2:25; 11:25

e 15:1 ch. 16:1

f 15:2 Num. 4:2,15; Deut. 10:8; 31:9

g 15:3 ch. 13:5; 1 Kings 8:1

h 15:8 Exod. 6:22

i 15:9 Exod. 6:18

j 15:13 ch. 13:7; 2 Sam. 6:3

kch 13:10-11

l 15:15 Exod. 25:14; Num. 4:15; 7:9

m 15:17 ch. 6:33

nch. 6:39

och. 6:44

a 15:20 Ps. 46, title

b 15:24 Num. 10:8; Ps. 81:3

c 15:25 2 Sam. 6:12-13, etc.; 1 Kings 8:1

d 15:28 ch. 13:8

e 15:29 2 Sam. 6:16

f 16:1 2 Sam. 6:17-19

g 16:4 Ps. 38; 70, title

h 16:7 See 2 Sam. 23:1

i 16:8 Ps. 105:1-15

a 16:16 Gen. 17:2; 26:3; 28:13; 35:11

b 16:19 Gen. 34:30

c 16:21 Gen. 12:17; 20:3; Exod. 7:15-18

d 16:22 Ps. 105:15

e 16:23 Ps. 96:1, etc.

f 16:26 Lev. 19:4

g 16:34 Ps. 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1

h 16:35 Ps. 106:47-48

i 16:36 1 Kings 8:15

jDeut. 27:15

k 16:39 ch. 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3

l1 Kings 3:4

a 16:40 Exod. 29:38; Num. 28:3

b 16:41 ver. 34; 2 Chron. 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Jer. 33:11

c 16:43 2 Sam. 6:19-20

d 17:1 2 Sam. 7:1, etc.

e 17:13 2 Sam. 7:14-15

f 17:14 Luke 1:33

g 17:16 2 Sam. 7:18

a 18:1 2 Sam. 8:1, etc.

b 18:4 2 Sam. 8:4, seven hundred

c 18:8 1 Kings 7:15,23; 2 Chron. 4:12,15-16

a 18:12 2 Sam. 8:13

b 18:13 2 Sam. 8:14, etc.

c 18:17 2 Sam. 8:18

d 19:1 2 Sam. 10:1, etc.

e 19:6 ch. 18:5,9

a 20:1 2 Sam. 11:1

a 20:1 2 Sam. 12:26

b 20:2 2 Sam. 12:30,31

c 20:4 2 Sam. 21:18

dch. 11:29

e 20:6 2 Sam. 21:20

f 21:1 2 Sam. 24:1, etc.

g 21:2 ch. 27:23

a 21:6 ch. 27:24

b 21:8 2 Sam. 24:10

c2 Sam. 12:13

d 21:9 See 1 Sam. 9:9

e 21:12 2 Sam. 24:13

f 21:15 2 Sam. 24:16

gSee Gen. 6:6

h 21:16 2 Chron. 3:1

i 21:18 2 Chron. 3:1

a 21:25 2 Sam. 24:24

b 21:26 Lev. 9:24; 2 Chron. 3:1; 7:1

c 21:29 ch. 16:39

dch. 16:39; 1 Kings 3:4; 2 Chron. 1-3

e 22:1 ch. 21:18-19,26,28; Deut. 12:5; 2 Sam. 24:18; 2 Chron. 3:1

f 22:2 1 Kings 9:21

g 22:3 ver. 14; 1 Kings 7:47

h 22:4 1 Kings 5:6

i 22:5 ch. 29:1

j 22:7 ch. 17:1; 28:2; 2 Sam. 7:2; 1 Kings 8:17

kDeut. 12:5,11

l 22:8 ch. 28:3; 1 Kings 5:3

m 22:9 ch. 28:5

n1 Kings 4:25; 5:4

o 22:10 ch. 17:12-13; 28:6; 2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Kings 5:5

pHeb. 1:5

q 22:11 ver. 16

a 22:12 1 Kings 3:9,12; Ps. 72:1

b 22:13 ch. 28:7; Josh. 1:7-8

cch. 28:20; Deut. 31:7-8; Josh. 1:6-7,9

d 22:14 As ver. 3

e 22:16 ver. 11

f 22:18 ch. 23:25; Deut. 12:10; Josh. 22:4; 2 Sam. 7:1

g 22:19 2 Chron. 20:3

h1 Kings 8:6,21; 2 Chron. 5:7; 6:11

iver. 7; 1 Kings 5:3

j 23:1 ch. 28:5; 1 Kings 1:33-39

a 23:3 Num. 4:3,47

b 23:4 ch. 26:29; Deut. 16:18; 2 Chron. 19:8

c 23:5 See 2 Chron. 29:25-26; Amos 6:5

d 23:6 ch. 6:1, etc.; Exod. 6:16; Num. 26:57; 2 Chron. 8:14; 29:25

e 23:7 ch. 26:21

f 23:12 Exod. 6:18

g 23:13 Exod. 6:20

hExod. 28:1; Heb. 5:4

iExod. 30:7; Num. 16:40; 1 Sam. 2:28

jDeut. 21:5

kNum. 6:23

l 23:14 See ch. 26:23-25

m 23:15 Exod. 2:22; 18:3-4

n 23:16 ch. 26:24

o 23:17 ch. 26:25

p 23:19 ch. 24:23

q 23:21 ch. 24:26

rch. 24:29

s 23:22 ch. 24:28

tSee Num. 36:6,8

u 23:23 ch. 24:30

v 23:24 Num. 10:17,21

a 23:24 ver. 27; See Num. 1:3; 4:3; 8:24; Ezra 3:8

b 23:25 ch. 22:18

c 23:26 Num. 4:5, etc.

d 23:29 Exod. 25:30

ech. 9:29, etc.; Lev. 6:20

fLev. 2:4

gLev. 2:5,7

hLev. 19:35

i 23:31 Num. 10:10; Ps. 81:3

jLev. 23:4

k 23:32 Num. 1:53

lNum. 3:6-9

m 24:1 Lev. 10:1,6; Num. 26:60

n 24:2 Num. 3:4; 26:61

a 24:10 Neh. 12:4,17; Luke 1:5

b 24:19 ch. 9:25

c 24:20 ch. 23:16; Shebuel

d 24:21 ch. 23:17

e 24:22 ch. 23:18; Shelomith

f 24:23 ch. 23:19; 26:31

g 24:26 ch. 23:21; Exod. 6:19

h 24:28 ch. 23:22

i 24:30 ch. 23:23

j 25:1 ch. 6:33,39,44

kch. 15:16; 16:4; Exod. 15:20; Num. 11:25; 1 Sam. 10:5; Ps. 150:3-5; 1 Cor. 14:1; Rev. 15:2-4

l 25:5 ch. 21:9; 26:28; 1 Sam. 9:9; 2 Sam. 24:11; Amos 7:12

mch. 28:5; Gen. 33:5; Ps. 127:3; Isa. 8:18

a 25:6 ver. 2

b 25:7 Ps. 150:1; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16

c 25:8 2 Chron. 23:13

d 25:31 Rev. 4:4; 5:8; 11:16

e 26:1 ch. 9:17; 15:18

fNum. 16:1-2; 26:9-11; Jude 11

gch. 6:39; 9:15; 16:37

h 26:10 ch. 16:38

a 26:20 ch. 28:12; Mal. 3:10

b 26:24 ch. 23:16

c 26:25 ch. 23:18

d 26:28 1 Sam. 9:9

e 26:29 ch. 23:4

f 26:31 ch. 23:19

gSee Josh. 21:39

a 26:32 2 Chron. 19:11

b 27:2 ch. 11:11; 2 Sam. 23:8

c 27:6 ch. 11:22, etc.; 2 Sam. 23:20,22-23

d 27:7 ch. 11:26; 2 Sam. 23:24

e 27:9 ch. 11:28

f 27:10 ch. 11:27

g 27:11 ch. 11:29; 2 Sam. 21:18

h 27:12 ch. 11:28

i 27:13 ch. 11:30; 2 Sam. 23:28

j 27:14 ch. 11:31

k 27:17 ch. 26:30

a 27:18 1 Sam. 16:6; Eliah

b 27:23 Gen. 15:5

c 27:24 ch. 21:7; 2 Sam. 24:15

d 27:33 2 Sam. 15:12

e2 Sam. 15:37;16:16

f 27:34 1 Kings 1:7

gch. 11:6

h 28:1 ch. 27:16

ich. 27:1-2

jch. 27:25

kch. 11:10

a 28:2 2 Sam. 7:2; Ps. 132:3,4,5

bPs. 99:5; 132:7

c 28:3 ch. 17:4; 22:8; 2 Sam 7:5,13; 1 Kings 5:3

d 28:4 1 Sam. 16:7-13

ech. 5:2; Gen. 49:8; Ps. 60:7; 78:68

f1 Sam. 26:1

g1 Sam. 16:12-13

h 28:5 ch. 3:1, etc.; 23:1

ich. 22:9

j 28:6 ch. 22:8, 10; 2 Sam. 7:13-14; 2 Chron. 1:9

k 28:7 ch. 22:13

l 28:9 Jer. 9:24; Hos. 4:1; John 17:3

m2 Kings 20:3; Ps. 101:2

nch. 29:17; 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; Ps. 7:9; 139:2; Prov. 17:3; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Rev. 2:23

o2 Chron. 15:2

p 28:10 ver. 6

q 28:11 ver. 19; See Exod. 25:40

r 28:12 ch. 26:20

a 28:18 Exod. 25:18:22; 1 Sam. 4:4; 1 Kings 6:23, etc.

b 28:19 ver. 11-12; See Exod. 25:40

c 28:20 ch. 22:13; Deut. 31:7-8; Josh. 1:6-7,9

dJosh. 1:5

e 28:21 ch. 24; 25; 26

fExod. 35:25-26; 36:1-2

g 29:1 ch. 22:5; 1 Kings 3:7; Prov. 4:3

h 29:2 See Isa. 54:11-12; Rev. 21:18, etc.

i 29:4 1 Kings 9:28

j 29:6 ch. 27:1

kch. 27:25, etc.

l 29:8 ch. 26:21

m 29:9 2 Cor. 9:7

n 29:11 Matt. 6:13; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 5:13

o 29:12 Rom. 11:36

a 29:15 ch. 39:12; Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11

bJob 14:2; Ps. 90:9; 102:11; 144:4

c 29:17 ch. 28:9; 1 Sam. 16:7

dProv. 11:20

e 29:19 Ps. 72:1

fver. 2; ch. 22:14

g 29:22 1 Kings 1:35,39

h 29:24 Eccl. 8:2

i 29:25 1 Kings 3:13; 2 Chron. 1:12; Eccl. 2:9

j 29:27 2 Sam. 5:4; 1 Kings 2:11

k2 Sam. 5:5

l 29:28 Gen. 25:8

mch. 23:1

n 29:30 Dan. 2:21

The First Book of the
Chronicles

Circumstances of Writing

Message and Purpose

Contribution to the Bible

Structure

Outline of 1 Chronicles

Timeline of 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles Study Notes

1 Chronicles Cross-References

The First Book of theChronicles

Circumstances of Writing

Message and Purpose

Contribution to the Bible

Structure

Outline of 1 Chronicles

Timeline of 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles Study Notes

1 Chronicles Cross-References

The First Book of the
Chronicles