1 Chronicles 24:4

And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) And there were more chief men found.—Literally, And the sons of Eleazar were found more numerous as regards the heads of the men than the sons of Ithamar. The basis of division was not the individual members of the different families, but the heads of them. There were more head men, or heads of households, deriving from Eleazar than from Ithamar.

Chief men.—Heb., heads of the men, i.e., heads of single families or households; just as “heads of the fathers “denotes heads of groups of fathers or clans. (Comp. Joshua 7:14; Joshua 7:16-18.) Of course, as the heads of households were more numerous, the total number of priests claiming descent from Eleazar must likewise have been more numerous than their kinsmen the Ithamarites.

And thus were they divided . . . fathers.—Rather, And they divided them: to the sons of Eleazar, heads of father-houses, sixteen, and to the sons of Ithamar, to their father-houses, eight (heads). They (i.e., David and the two high priests) divided them (1Chronicles 24:3.)

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 24:4. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen chief men, &c. — He appointed, therefore, sixteen courses of the sons of Eleazar, under as many heads of their families, and half as many of the posterity of Ithamar.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

24:1-31 The divisions of the priests and Levites. - When every one has, knows, and keeps his place and work, the more there are the better. In the mystical body of Christ, every member has its use, for the good of the whole. Christ is High Priest over the house of God, to whom all believers, being made priests, are to be in subjection. In Christ, no difference is made between bond and free, elder and younger. The younger brethren, if faithful and sincere, shall be no less acceptable to Christ than the fathers. May we all be children of the Lord, fitted to sing his praises for ever in his temple above.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Zadok and Ahimelech (rather Abiathar, see 1 Chronicles 24:6) assisted David in drawing up the priestly courses, as the "captains of the host" assisted him in making the divisions of the singers 1 Chronicles 25:1.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. there were more chief men found—The Hebrew may be translated, "There were more men as to heads of the sons of Eleazar." It is true, in point of fact, that by the census the number of individuals belonging to the family of Eleazar was found greater than in that of Ithamar. And this, of necessity, led to there being more fathers' houses, and consequently more chiefs or presidents in the former.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar,.... Or heads of men, heads of their fathers' houses and families:

and thus were they divided; among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar, according to the house of their fathers; in all twenty four, and into so many classes or courses did David divide them; Jarchi says at first when the tabernacle was at Shiloh, there were but sixteen courses, eight from Eleazar, and eight from Ithamar, as is explained in the treatise of fasting (n); but when David saw that there were more heads of men, or chief men of Eleazar's, he divided the courses of Eleazar into two parts, and fixed sixteen courses; and the courses of Ithamar he established as at first, eight courses; left them as they were, which he thinks appears from 1 Chronicles 24:6 but of the former number of courses, and when and by whom fixed, the Jews are divided (o); See Gill on Luke 1:5. Perhaps there were none before David's time.

(n) T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1.((o) T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 27. 1.

Geneva Study Bible

And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. moe] Cp. 1 Chronicles 14:3, note.

Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers] R.V. of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses.

and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers] R.V. and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - The simpler translation of this verse might run thus: And there were found (of) sons of Eleazar, more for chief men, than (of) sons of Ithamar, and they divided them - to sons of Eleazar, sixteen chiefs of fathers' houses; and to sons of Ithamar, eight. 1 Chronicles 24:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

As the sons of Eleazar proved to be more numerous in respect of the heads of the men than the sons of Ithamar, they (David, Zadok, and Ahimelech) divided them thus: "For the sons of Eleazar, heads of fathers'-houses, sixteen; and for the sons of Ithamar, (heads) of fathers'-houses, eight." הגּברים לראשׁי means neither in respect to the number of the men by the head (cf. 1 Chronicles 23:3), nor with respect to the chiefs of the men, divided according to their fathers'-houses (Berth.). The supplying of the words, "divided according to their fathers'-houses," is perfectly arbitrary. The expression הגּברים ראשׁי is rather to be explained by the fact that, according to the natural articulations of the people, the fathers'-houses, i.e., the groups of related families comprehended under the name בּית־אבות, divided themselves further into individual households, whose heads were called גּברים, as is clear from Joshua 7:16-18, because each household had in the man, הגּבר, its natural head. הגּברים ראשׁי are therefore the heads, not of the fathers'-houses, but of the individual households, considered in their relation to the men as heads of households. Just as בּית־אב sa tsuJ .s is a technical designation of the larger groups of households into which the great families fell, so הגּבר is the technical expression for the individual households into which the fathers'-houses fell.