1 Chronicles 16:39

And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 16:39. Zadok the priest — Not the high-priest, but the second, and the chief priest at Gibeon, where the tabernacle and altar made by Moses still were, where also the ordinary sacrifices were offered, and the stated worship of God was performed, as the extraordinary worship was before the ark upon great occasions, as when God was consulted, which was to be done before the ark, and by the high-priest, who now was Abiathar, and who therefore abode with the ark, when Zadok was left at Gibeon.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

16:37-43 The worship of God ought to be the work of every day. David put it into order. At Jerusalem, where the ark was, Asaph and his brethren were to minister before the ark continually, with songs of praise. No sacrifices were offered there, nor incense burnt, because the altars were not there; but David's prayers were directed as incense, and the lifting up of his hands as the evening sacrifice. So early did spiritual worship take place of ceremonial. Yet the ceremonial worship, being of Divine institution, must by no means be omitted; therefore at Gibeon, at the altars, the priests attended; for their work was to sacrifice and burn incense; and that they did continually, morning and evening, according to the law of Moses. As the ceremonies were types of the mediation of Christ, the observance of them was of great consequence. The attendance of his appointed ministers is right in itself, and encourages the people.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This is the first mention that we have of Gibeon as the place at which the tabernacle of the congregation now rested. Previously it had been at Nob 1 Samuel 21:1-6, from where it was removed probably at the time of the slaughter of the priests by Doeg 1 Samuel 22:18-19. It is uncertain whether Gibeon was regarded as a "high place" before the transfer to it of the tabernacle: hut thenceforth, until the completion of Solomon's Temple, it was the "great high place" 1 Kings 3:4 - a second center of the national worship which for above 50 years was divided between Gibeon and Jerusalem.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

39, 40. And Zadok … before the tabernacle … at Gibeon—While the above-mentioned officers under the superintendence of Abiathar, were appointed to officiate in Jerusalem, whither the ark had been brought, Zadok and the priests subordinate to him were stationed at Gibeon to perform the sacred service before the ancient tabernacle which still remained there.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Zadok the priest; not the high priest, but the second and the chief priest at Gibeon, where the famous tabernacle and altar made by Moses still were, 1 Chronicles 21:29 2 Chronicles 1:3; where also the ordinary sacrifices were offered, and the stated and public worship of God was performed, as it here follows, for which the priests were placed there; as the extraordinary worship was before the ark upon great occasions, as when God was consulted, which was to be done before the ark and by the high priest, Exodus 28:12,20,21,22, who now was Abiathar; who therefore abode here with the ark, when Zadok was left at Gibeon.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests,.... These he left, having appointed them

to be before the tabernacle of the Lord, in the high place that was at Gibeon; namely, the tabernacle of Moses, which was removed from Nob thither in the days of Saul, and continued there to the times of Solomon, 1 Chronicles 21:28.

Geneva Study Bible

And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

39. the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon] See prefatory note to ch. 13.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 39. - While those above-mentioned were to officiate before the ark on Zion, those mentioned in this and following verses are the officiating staff at Gibson. It is now brought into prominence that the ark and the tabernacle are in two separate places. The great ordinary sacrifices and services, "all that is written in the Law of the Lord," are carefully observed on the original altar (Exodus 38:2) in the tabernacle. Other and special sacrifices evidently were offered in the presence of the ark. The tabernacle erected in the wilderness was first stationed at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1; 1 Samuel 4:3, 4). The occasion of its removal to Nob (1 Samuel 21:1; 1 Samuel 22:19) is not narrated. The present passage first tells us where it had been since the slaughter of the priests at Saul's command by Doeg the Edomite. Some distinct statement, like that of 1 Chronicles 21:29 and 2 Chronicles 1:3, might have been expected here. Zadok the priest is given (1 Chronicles 6:4-9) as in the line of Eleazar. 1 Chronicles 16:39

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

צדוק ואת is still dependent on the ויּעזב in 1 Chronicles 16:37. The priest Zadok with his brethren he left before the tent of Jahve, i.e., the tabernacle at the Bamah in Gibeon. For בּמה see on 2 Chronicles 1:13, and for Zadok on 2 Chronicles 6:12. It is surprising here that no priest is named as superintendent or overseer of the sacrificial worship in the tent of the ark of the covenant. But the omission is accounted for by the fact that our chapter treats properly only of the arrangement of the sacred music connected with the worship, and Zadok is mentioned as overseer of the sanctuary of the tabernacle at Gibeon only in order to introduce the statement as to the Levitic singers and players assigned to that sanctuary. Without doubt Abiathar as high priest had the oversight of the sacrificial worship in the sanctuary of the tabernacle: see on 1 Chronicles 18:16; with 1 Chronicles 16:40 cf. Exodus 29:38; Numbers 28:3, Numbers 28:6. לכל־הכּתוּב corresponds to להעלות: and in reference to all, i.e., to look after all, which was written. This refers not only to the bringing of the sacrifices prescribed, in addition to the daily burnt-offering, but in general to everything that it was the priests' duty to do in the sanctuary.