1 Chronicles 9:13

And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(13) And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers.—We can hardly suppose so many as 1,760 priestly clans dwelling in the holy city. Either the phrase “heads of their father-houses” belongs to the last verse, and has been accidentally brought into its present position; or in this instance it means simply “heads of single families;” or “their brethren, heads of their (respective) clans,” refers to other father-houses not mentioned by name, and the number 1,760 refers to all the guilds and clans of 1Chronicles 9:10-13, and should be separated from the preceding phrase by a semicolon. This last explanation is probably right. The total number given in Nehemiah 11:10-14 for the priests is 1,192. (See Note on 1Chronicles 9:9.)

Very able men.—See Margin, and 1Chronicles 7:9.

For the work.—“For” is wanting in the Hebrew. Perhaps “doers of” (Nehemiah 11:13) has Mien out.

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 9:13. Able men — Hebrew, mighty men of valour; which is here mentioned as an excellent qualification for their place; because the priests might meet with great opposition in the discharge of their office, in the execution of the censures upon all impure persons without exception, and in preserving sacred things from violation by the touch of forbidden hands.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

9:1-44 Genealogies. - This chapter expresses that one end of recording all these genealogies was, to direct the Jews, when they returned out of captivity, with whom to unite, and where to reside. Here is an account of the good state into which the affairs of religion were put, on the return from Babylon. Every one knew his charge. Work is likely to be done well when every one knows the duty of his place, and makes a business of it. God is the God of order. Thus was the temple a figure of the heavenly one, where they rest not day nor night from praising God, Re 4:8. Blessed be His name, believers there shall, not in turn, but all together, without interruption, praise him night and day: may the Lord make each of us fit for the inheritance of the saints in light.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

"Jedaiah," "Jehoiarib," and "Jachin," are not here names of individuals but of priestly families. From 1 Chronicles 24:7-17, it appears that Jehoiarib was the original head of the first "course," Jedaiah of the second shift, and Jachin of the twenty-first shift.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions—This chapter relates wholly to the first returned exiles. Almost all the names recur in Nehemiah (Ne 11:1-36), although there are differences which will be explained there. The same division of the people into four classes was continued after, as before the captivity; namely, the priests, Levites, natives, who now were called by the common name of Israelites, and the Nethinims (Jos 9:27; Ezr 2:43; 8:20). When the historian speaks of "the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions," he implies that there were others who afterwards returned and settled in possessions not occupied by the first. Accordingly, we read of a great number returning successively under Ezra, Nehemiah, and at a later period. And some of those who returned to the ancient inheritance of their fathers, had lived before the time of the captivity (Ezr 3:12; Hag 2:4, 10).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Very able men, Heb. mighty men of valour; which is here noted as an excellent qualification for their place; because the priests might meet with great opposition and difficulty in the faithful discharge of their office, in the execution of the censures upon all impure persons without exception, and in preserving sacred things from violation by the touch of forbidden hands; of which see an eminent instance in Azariah, 2 Chronicles 26:17, &c.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, one thousand and seven hundred and threescore. These, with other priests, made up this number, which was greater than those of Judah and Benjamin, that dwelt in Jerusalem, put together:

very able men for the work of the service of the house of God: men that had not only strength of body, which some part of the work of the priests required; but had courage and fortitude of mind to set about the service of God with cheerfulness, and to preserve it from corruption.

Geneva Study Bible

And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the {d} work of the service of the house of God.

(d) To serve in the temple, every one according to his office.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

13. heads of the house of their fathers] R.V. heads of their fathers’ houses.

a thousand and seven hundred and threescore] Only the five ‘courses’ of priests mentioned above (viz., Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin, 1 Chronicles 9:10, and Malchijah and Immer, 1 Chronicles 9:12) seem to be included in this reckoning. Some commentators however regard Azariah (= Seraiah) in 1 Chronicles 9:11 as the name of a new course, which after the Exile took the place of one of the old courses reckoned in 1 Chronicles 24:7-18. If this be right we have here the sum of six courses.

In Nehemiah 11:12-14 the number of the priests is given on a different plan; eight hundred and twenty-two “did the work of the house”; two hundred and forty-two were “chiefs of fathers’ houses”; an hundred and twenty-eight were “mighty men of valour.” The total falls far short of the thousand and seven hundred and threescore of Chron. We have not sufficient data on which to base any attempt at reconciling the two totals.

very able men] Render, mighty men of valour. The Heb. is the same as in Nehemiah 11:14. Cp. 2 Chronicles 26:17.

1 Chronicles 9:13

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The priests. - The three names Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin (1 Chronicles 9:10) denote three classes of priests (cf. 1 Chronicles 24:7, 1 Chronicles 24:17), who accordingly dwelt in Jerusalem. There also dwelt there (1 Chronicles 9:11) Azariah the son of Hilkiah, etc., the prince of the house of God; cf. 2 Chronicles 31:13. This is the Azariah mentioned in 1 Chronicles 6:13, the son of Hilkiah, etc., the grandfather of the Jehozadak who was led captive into Babylon. then in 1 Chronicles 9:12 we have two other heads of the priestly fathers'-houses, with an enumeration of their ancestors, through whom they are traced back to the classes of priests to which they belonged respectively, viz., Adaiah to the class Malchijah (1 Chronicles 24:9), and Maasiai to the class Immer (1 Chronicles 24:14). According to this, therefore, there dwelt at Jerusalem, of the priesthood, the three classes Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin, Azariah the prince of the temple, and of the classes Malchijah and Immer, the fathers'-houses Adaiah and Maasiai. In 1 Chronicles 9:13 the whole number is estimated at 1760. A difficulty is raised by the first words of this verse, "And their brethren, heads of their fathers'-houses, 1760," which can hardly be taken in any other sense than as denoting that the number of the heads of the fathers'-houses amounted to 1760. This, however, is not conceivable, as "fathers'-houses" are not single households, but larger groups of related families. Moreover, אחיהם, which is co-ordinate with the heads of the fathers'-houses, can only denote, as in 1 Chronicles 9:6, 1 Chronicles 9:9, the heads of the families which belonged to or constituted the fathers'-houses. To arrive at this meaning, however, we must transpose the words ואחיהם and לבית־אבותם ראשׁים, connecting לבית־אבותם ר with 1 Chronicles 9:12, and אחיהם with the number, thus: heads of fathers'-houses, etc., were those mentioned in 1 Chronicles 9:12, and their brethren 1760 (men), valiant heroes in the work of the service of the house of God. Before מלאכת one would expect the word עשׁי, as in 1 Chronicles 23:24 and Nehemiah 11:12, but its presence is not so absolutely necessary as to warrant us in supposing that it has been dropped out, and in inserting it. מלאכת may be also taken as an accusative of relation, "valiant heroes in reference to the work;" or at most a ל a tso may be supplied before מלאכת, as it might easily have been omitted by a clerical error after the immediately preceding חיל. On comparing our passage with Nehemiah 11:10-14, we find there, if בּן־יויריב in 1 Chronicles 9:10 be altered into יהויריב, the same three classes of priests; but instead of Azariah, Seraiah is prince of the house of God, 1 Chronicles 9:11 : thereafter we have 822 brethren, performing the work of the house (of God). Then follows Adaiah of the class Malchijah (as in the Chronicles), but with the addition, "his brethren 242;" and then Amashai of the class Immer, but with other ancestors than those of the Maasiai of the Chronicles, and with the addition, "and their brethren, valiant heroes, 128;" and finally, Zabdiel Ben Hagdolim as overseer (president over them).

The sum of the three numbers is 1192, as contrasted with the 1760 of the Chronicle.