'So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies... and Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their transgression.' Then the return: 'Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.' The chapter walks through restored Jerusalem post by post: priests, 'very able men for the work of the service of the house of God'; the gatekeepers 'whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office,' who 'lodged round about the house of God... and the opening of it pertained to them morning by morning'; the keepers of the vessels, the fine flour and wine and oil, 'the things that were baked on griddles'; and the singers, 'who dwelt in the chambers and were free from other service; for they were employed in their work day and night.' Then Saul’s genealogy is set down once more — the bridge to the story that begins with the next verse.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel; and Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their transgression.
verse value 3312
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "and·Judah" (וִיהוּדָ֛ה) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 3312 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·behold·they" (וְהִנָּ֣ם, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·all·Israel" (וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·behold·they" (וְהִנָּ֣ם), "in·book·of" (עַל־סֵ֖פֶר), "kings·of" (מַלְכֵ֣י). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 94x in I Chronicles); "kings·of" (root מלך, 91x in I Chronicles); "and·all·Israel" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root הן ("and·behold·they") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [and·all·Israel] (597) + הִתְיַחְשׂ֔וּ [were·reckoned] (729) + וְהִנָּ֣ם [and·behold·they] (101) + כְּתוּבִ֔ים [written] (478) + עַל־סֵ֖פֶר [in·book·of] (440) + מַלְכֵ֣י [kings·of] (100) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + וִיהוּדָ֛ה [and·Judah] (36) + הׇגְל֥וּ [were·exiled] (44) + לְבָבֶ֖ל [to·Babylon] (64) + בְּמַעֲלָֽם [in·their·transgression] (182) = 3312.
Rashi
And all Israel traced their genealogy I related to you part of their genealogy, which I found, but the greater part of their genealogy is in the Book of the Kings of Israel, but the Judeans, who were exiled to Babylon because of their treachery, with whom I, Ezra, was - I found their genealogy written, and I recorded it.
Ralbag
'So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies,' etc. - It appears that this took place in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, or in the days of Jeroboam the son of Nebat; for it was already mentioned earlier that they were reckoned by genealogy in the days of Jotham king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel, without specifying whether that was the son of Nebat or the son of Joash. 'And Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their transgression' - Most of this took place in the days of Zedekiah, and part of it in the days of Jehoiakim and of Jeconiah his son.
Metzudat David
'So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies,' etc. — it is as though it said: even though I have not recorded the genealogy of all Israel myself, all of it has nonetheless been researched, and, behold, it is written in the book of the kings of Israel; but that book went into exile together with them, and it is not in my possession, so I cannot copy out their full genealogy from it. 'And Judah' — but Judah was carried into exile to Babylon because of their transgression, and the record of their genealogy was with them there; and whatever I found in it I copied out, since I myself was found among them.
Metzudat Zion
And, behold, they (vehinam) - [Meaning] "behold, they [are]."
Malbim
'So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies' — After finishing writing some of the genealogies of the tribes, [the text] now comes to explain that it skipped the genealogy of several tribes and did not mention them at all — such as Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali — and that even for the tribes it did record, it wrote the genealogy of only some of their families. Therefore it says that in truth all Israel were reckoned by genealogies, and their genealogy in full detail is written in the book of the kings of Israel — there you will find every particular. 'and Judah' — meaning, and likewise, you will find the genealogy of Judah, who were exiled to Babylon, in the book of the kings of Judah, for at that time the genealogical records still existed.
Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
verse value 3604
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·dwellers" (וְהַיּֽוֹשְׁבִים֙, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·the·dwellers" (וְהַיּֽוֹשְׁבִים֙), "in·their·possession" (בַּאֲחֻזָּתָ֖ם), "in·their·cities" (בְּעָרֵיהֶ֑ם). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 94x in I Chronicles); "that" (root אשר, 77x in I Chronicles); "the·Levites" (root לוי, 46x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ראשון ("the·first") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·their·cities', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְהַיּֽוֹשְׁבִים֙ [and·the·dwellers] (379) + הָרִ֣אשֹׁנִ֔ים [the·first] (606) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + בַּאֲחֻזָּתָ֖ם [in·their·possession] (458) + בְּעָרֵיהֶ֑ם [in·their·cities] (327) + יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [Israel] (541) + הַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים [the·priests] (130) + הַלְוִיִּ֖ם [the·Levites] (91) + וְהַנְּתִינִֽים [and·the·Nethinim] (571) = 3604.
Ralbag
'Now the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities' - That is, after the Babylonian exile. It mentions that among them were some of the sons of Ephraim and Manasseh, for it is known that in the days of the kings of Judah, both after the exile of Samaria and even before it, some members of the other tribes had joined together with Judah and Benjamin; and they, too, were exiled to Babylon, and some of them returned to Jerusalem in the days of Zerubbabel, and of Ezra and Nehemiah the Tirshatha.
Metzudat David
'Now the first inhabitants' — the children of the exile who first went up with Zerubbabel, before Ezra and his men went up, and who were the first to settle in the cities they took possession of, but not in Jerusalem; these were drawn from all the tribes of Israel who returned from Babylon (for even though the ten tribes had been exiled to Assyria, still many of them remained in their land and were later exiled to Babylon together with the people of Judah and Benjamin, and returned along with them). 'The priests' — some of them, too, dwelt in the cities of their possession; and in Nehemiah the descendants of Solomon's servants are counted as well.
Metzudat Zion
The Nethinim - These are the Gibeonites, so called because it says of them, "And Joshua made them [vayitnem]... hewers of wood..." (Joshua 9:27).
Malbim
'Now the first inhabitants who dwelt' — [Scripture] now goes on to write about the descendants of Israel who returned to the Land of Israel from the Babylonian exile by the permission of Cyrus. It states that these first settlers, upon their return, settled each one in the town that had been his fathers’ possession, where they had dwelt before their exile; and it now goes on to tell who settled in Jerusalem in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, as stated in Nehemiah (11:1), that they cast lots to bring one of every ten to dwell in Jerusalem. Now, what is stated here through verse 18 is also stated in Nehemiah (chapter 11, through verse 25); however, between what is related here and what is related there, there are many contradictions, variations, and discrepancies — in the names of the people, in the names of their ancestries, in their numbers, and in every other detail — so much so that when our Sages, of blessed memory, said in Pesachim (62b) that between ‘Azel’ and ‘Azel’ they had four hundred camel-loads of homiletical interpretations [to reconcile the two accounts], this is no wonder at all. For from the end of verse 38 of the preceding section, which concludes ‘all these were the sons of Azel,’ until the end of this section, which likewise ends with ‘the sons of Azel,’ there are so many puzzles, difficulties, and contradictions that plain-sense commentators have piled up their own four hundred camel-loads of forced explanations, equating differing names and interpreting them homiletically as though they were the same — in ways that, frankly, provoke laughter, even granting that in such matters one may resort to a homiletical approach. However, in my commentary on the Book of Nehemiah I explained that what Ezra states in Chronicles is not [meant to be reconciled word-for-word with] what Nehemiah writes in his own book; rather, Nehemiah comes to add to, clarify, and explain Ezra’s words, supplying details that Ezra had omitted — so that he completed what Ezra had stated concisely, and the two accounts, properly understood, fit together perfectly, hand in glove. I will not repeat all of this here, but will simply note, at each point, a reference to my commentary there, since that is where the matter is dealt with fully.
And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh:
verse value 2294
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "they·dwelt" (יָֽשְׁב֔וּ, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·in·Jerusalem" (וּבִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 158: and·from·sons·of, and·from·sons·of. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Manasseh" (וּמְנַשֶּֽׁה). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "they·dwelt" (root ישב, 44x in I Chronicles); "and·in·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 24x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ [and·in·Jerusalem] (594) + יָֽשְׁב֔וּ [they·dwelt] (318) + מִן־בְּנֵ֥י [from·sons·of] (152) + יְהוּדָ֖ה [Judah] (30) + וּמִן־בְּנֵ֣י [and·from·sons·of] (158) + בִנְיָמִ֑ן [Benjamin] (152) + וּמִן־בְּנֵ֥י [and·from·sons·of] (158) + אֶפְרַ֖יִם [Ephraim] (331) + וּמְנַשֶּֽׁה [and·Manasseh] (401) = 2294.
Metzudat David
'And in Jerusalem' — but in Jerusalem, not all the tribes of Israel settled, only the children of Judah, etc.; and in Nehemiah the children of Ephraim and Manasseh are not mentioned, because there were only a few of them who dwelt in Jerusalem.
Malbim
'Ephraim and Manasseh' — This is not mentioned in Nehemiah; and where it says [further on], ‘Uthai the son of Ammihud,’ etc., different, altered names are recorded there. I have explained the reason for this in my commentary there, on verse 4.
Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Perez the son of Judah.
verse value 2218
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "Uthai" (עוּתַ֨י, 4 letters) and the longest is "son·of·(ketiv)·Bani" (בֶן־(בנימן)־בָּנִ֔י, 10 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Uthai" (עוּתַ֨י), "son·of·Ammihud" (בֶּן־עַמִּיה֤וּד), "son·of·Omri" (בֶּן־עׇמְרִי֙). The root בן appears 5 times in this verse. 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Ammihud" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). 5 of the verse's 7 words begin with the letter ב. Full calculation: עוּתַ֨י [Uthai] (486) + בֶּן־עַמִּיה֤וּד [son·of·Ammihud] (187) + בֶּן־עׇמְרִי֙ [son·of·Omri] (372) + בֶּן־אִמְרִ֣י [son·of·Imri] (303) + בֶן־(בנימן)־בָּנִ֔י [son·of·(ketiv)·Bani] (266) + מִן־בְּנֵי־פֶ֖רֶץ [from·sons·of·Perez] (522) + בֶּן־יְהוּדָֽה [son·of·Judah] (82) = 2218.
Ralbag
'Uthai the son of Ammihud,' etc. - Meaning, he was among the descendants of Perez the son of Judah. It is mentioned in the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:4) that his name was Athaiah, the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah.
Metzudat David
'Uthai' — in Nehemiah he is called Athaiah, and he is one and the same, for the two names are close to one another in sound. As for the difference in the names of the ancestors and in their number, it is because both here and in Nehemiah not all the ancestors are listed in order back to the first father; rather, they are listed with gaps, and different ones are listed here than are listed in Nehemiah.
And of the Shilonites: Asaiah the first-born and his sons.
verse value 1199
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 24 letters. The shortest word is "Asaiah" (עֲשָׂיָ֥ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·from·the·Shilonites" (וּמִן־הַשִּׁ֣ילוֹנִ֔י, 10 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·from·the·Shilonites" (וּמִן־הַשִּׁ֣ילוֹנִ֔י). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·his·sons" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·firstborn" (root בכור, 24x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וּמִן־הַשִּׁ֣ילוֹנִ֔י [and·from·the·Shilonites] (507) + עֲשָׂיָ֥ה [Asaiah] (385) + הַבְּכ֖וֹר [the·firstborn] (233) + וּבָנָֽיו [and·his·sons] (74) = 1199.
Ralbag
'Asaiah' - In the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:5) he is called by the name Maaseiah.
Metzudat David
'And of the Shilonites' — from the descendants of Shelah son of Judah. 'Asaiah' — this is the same as Maaseiah mentioned in Nehemiah. 'The first-born' — meaning, he was the firstborn among his brothers.
Malbim
'Asaiah' — There [in Nehemiah] his genealogy is traced at length through six generations, and I have explained this there, on verse 5.
And of the sons of Zerah: Jeuel, and their brethren, six hundred and ninety.
verse value 2433
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "Jeuel" (יְעוּאֵ֑ל, 5 letters) and the longest is "and·from·sons·of·Zerah" (וּמִן־בְּנֵי־זֶ֖רַח, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·from·sons·of·Zerah" (וּמִן־בְּנֵי־זֶ֖רַח), "six·hundred" (שֵׁשׁ־מֵא֥וֹת), "and·ninety" (וְתִשְׁעִֽים). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·brethren" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "six·hundred" (root מאה, 40x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jeuel', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּמִן־בְּנֵי־זֶ֖רַח [and·from·sons·of·Zerah] (373) + יְעוּאֵ֑ל [Jeuel] (117) + וַאֲחֵיהֶ֖ם [and·their·brethren] (70) + שֵׁשׁ־מֵא֥וֹת [six·hundred] (1047) + וְתִשְׁעִֽים [and·ninety] (826) = 2433.
Ralbag
'And of the sons of Zerah,' etc. - This is not mentioned in the Book of Ezra.
Metzudat David
'And their brethren' — the brethren of Jeuel and Asaiah. 'Six hundred and ninety' — this refers back to the sons of Shelah together with the sons of Zerah; and the number of the sons of Perez is stated in Nehemiah.
Malbim
'And of the sons of Zerah' — This is not found in Nehemiah at all; there it gives only the total number of the sons of Perez, four hundred and sixty-eight, and I have explained this there, on verse 6.
And of the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah,
verse value 1130
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "Sallu" (סַלּוּא֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Hodaviah" (בֶּן־הוֹדַוְיָ֖ה, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Sallu" (סַלּוּא֙), "son·of·Hodaviah" (בֶּן־הוֹדַוְיָ֖ה), "son·of·Hassenuah" (בֶּן־הַסְּנֻאָֽה). The root בן appears 4 times in this verse. 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·from·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּמִן־בְּנֵ֖י [and·from·sons·of] (158) + בִּנְיָמִ֑ן [Benjamin] (152) + סַלּוּא֙ [Sallu] (97) + בֶּן־מְשֻׁלָּ֔ם [son·of·Meshullam] (462) + בֶּן־הוֹדַוְיָ֖ה [son·of·Hodaviah] (88) + בֶּן־הַסְּנֻאָֽה [son·of·Hassenuah] (173) = 1130.
Ralbag
'Sallu the son of Meshullam' - This is already mentioned in the Book of Ezra, but the ancestors of Meshullam are given there (Nehemiah 11:7) under different names - either because they were also known by those other names besides these named here, or because in this book [Chronicles] a son is sometimes traced to ancestors many generations removed from him; and that is why it is listed this way in this place.
Malbim
'Sallu' — In Nehemiah his genealogy is written through seven generations, with names different from those stated here, and none of those listed in verse 8 [of this chapter] appear there at all. There it further adds, 'Gabbai, Sallai: nine hundred and twenty-eight' — names not found here — and this is explained there, on verse 7. It also adds further details there that are not mentioned here at all, and this is explained there, on verse 9.
and Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibneiah;
verse value 2256
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "and·Elah" (וְאֵלָ֥ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Shephatiah" (בֶּן־שְׁפַטְיָ֔ה, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Ibneiah" (וְיִבְנְיָה֙), "son·of·Uzzi" (בֶן־עֻזִּ֖י), "son·of·Michri" (בֶּן־מִכְרִ֑י). The root בן appears 6 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Jeroham" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·Elah" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'son·of·Michri', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. 6 of the verse's 9 words begin with the letter ב. Full calculation: וְיִבְנְיָה֙ [and·Ibneiah] (83) + בֶּן־יְרֹחָ֔ם [son·of·Jeroham] (310) + וְאֵלָ֥ה [and·Elah] (42) + בֶן־עֻזִּ֖י [son·of·Uzzi] (139) + בֶּן־מִכְרִ֑י [son·of·Michri] (322) + וּמְשֻׁלָּם֙ [and·Meshullam] (416) + בֶּן־שְׁפַטְיָ֔ה [son·of·Shephatiah] (456) + בֶּן־רְעוּאֵ֖ל [son·of·Reuel] (359) + בֶּן־יִבְנִיָּֽה [son·of·Ibneiah] (129) = 2256.
Ralbag
'Ibneiah, Elah, and Meshullam' — In place of these names, the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:8) mentions Gabbai and Sallai.
and their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were heads of fathers’ houses by their fathers’ houses.
verse value 5519
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 58 letters. Notable word values: "all·these" (כׇּל־אֵ֣לֶּה) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "nine" (תְּשַׁ֥ע, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·their·generations" (לְתֹ֣לְדוֹתָ֔ם, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "nine" (תְּשַׁ֥ע). The root אב appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "and·their·brothers" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·six', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַֽאֲחֵיהֶם֙ [and·their·brothers] (70) + לְתֹ֣לְדוֹתָ֔ם [to·their·generations] (910) + תְּשַׁ֥ע [nine] (770) + מֵא֖וֹת [hundred] (447) + וַחֲמִשִּׁ֣ים [and·fifty] (404) + וְשִׁשָּׁ֑ה [and·six] (611) + כׇּל־אֵ֣לֶּה [all·these] (86) + אֲנָשִׁ֔ים [men] (401) + רָאשֵׁ֥י [heads·of] (511) + אָב֖וֹת [fathers] (409) + לְבֵ֥ית [to·house·of] (442) + אֲבֹתֵיהֶֽם [their·fathers] (458) = 5519.
Metzudat David
'According to their generations' — from the generations of their fathers mentioned above. 'Nine hundred,' etc. — in Nehemiah a smaller number is stated; it may be that there he counted only the men of Gabbai and Sallai mentioned there, whereas here he counted the men of Sallu and his companions as well. 'Men' — meaning, prominent men, as the word 'men' denotes throughout Scripture. 'By their fathers' houses' — this restates the same idea for the sake of further clarification, for it already said 'heads of fathers,' and the two phrases mean the same thing.
And of the priests: Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin;
verse value 670
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "Jedaiah" (יְדַעְיָ֥ה, 5 letters) and the longest is "and·from·the·priests" (וּמִן־הַֽכֹּהֲנִ֑ים, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·from·the·priests" (וּמִן־הַֽכֹּהֲנִ֑ים), "Jedaiah" (יְדַעְיָ֥ה), "and·Jehoiarib" (וִיהוֹיָרִ֖יב). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·from·the·priests" (root כהן, 21x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·from·the·priests', dividing the verse into phrases of 1 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּמִן־הַֽכֹּהֲנִ֑ים [and·from·the·priests] (226) + יְדַעְיָ֥ה [Jedaiah] (99) + וִיהוֹיָרִ֖יב [and·Jehoiarib] (249) + וְיָכִֽין [and·Jachin] (96) = 670.
Ralbag
'Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib' — Now it states in the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:10) that Jedaiah was the son of Jehoiarib, and it appears that the two of them went up together from Babylon.
Metzudat David
'And of the priests' — Jedaiah and Jehoiarib dwelt in Jerusalem; and in Nehemiah it says 'Jedaiah son of Joiarib,' and it may be that this is one and the same man, described there by reference to his son and made subordinate to him in the wording.
Malbim
'And of the priests... and Azariah,' etc. — There are many variations there [in Nehemiah] regarding this genealogy, and I have explained this there, on verses 10–11.
and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God;
verse value 2583
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "house·of" (בֵּ֥ית, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Ahitub" (בֶּן־אֲחִיט֔וּב, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "son·of·Zadok" (בֶּן־צָד֗וֹק), "son·of·Meraioth" (בֶּן־מְרָיוֹת֙). The root בן appears 5 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Hilkiah" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "God" (root אלהים, 117x in I Chronicles); "house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles). 6 of the verse's 9 words begin with the letter ב. Full calculation: וַעֲזַרְיָ֨ה [and·Azariah] (298) + בֶן־חִלְקִיָּ֜ה [son·of·Hilkiah] (205) + בֶּן־מְשֻׁלָּ֣ם [son·of·Meshullam] (462) + בֶּן־צָד֗וֹק [son·of·Zadok] (252) + בֶּן־מְרָיוֹת֙ [son·of·Meraioth] (708) + בֶּן־אֲחִיט֔וּב [son·of·Ahitub] (88) + נְגִ֖יד [leader] (67) + בֵּ֥ית [house·of] (412) + הָאֱלֹהִֽים [God] (91) = 2583.
Ralbag
'And Azariah the son of Hilkiah' — He is [called] Seraiah the son of Hilkiah in the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:11).
Metzudat David
'And Azariah' — this is the same as Seraiah mentioned in Nehemiah. 'The ruler,' etc. — meaning, appointed over the house of God.
and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;
verse value 3710
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "and·Adaiah" (וַעֲדָיָה֙, 5 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Meshillemith" (בֶּן־מְשִׁלֵּמִ֖ית, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "son·of·Pashhur" (בֶּן־פַּשְׁח֖וּר), "and·Maasai" (וּמַעְשַׂ֨י), "son·of·Jahzerah" (בֶּן־יַחְזֵ֛רָה). The root בן appears 8 times in this verse. 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Jeroham" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'son·of·Malchijah', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. 8 of the verse's 10 words begin with the letter ב. Full calculation: וַעֲדָיָה֙ [and·Adaiah] (95) + בֶּן־יְרֹחָ֔ם [son·of·Jeroham] (310) + בֶּן־פַּשְׁח֖וּר [son·of·Pashhur] (646) + בֶּן־מַלְכִּיָּ֑ה [son·of·Malchijah] (157) + וּמַעְשַׂ֨י [and·Maasai] (426) + בֶּן־עֲדִיאֵ֧ל [son·of·Adiel] (167) + בֶּן־יַחְזֵ֛רָה [son·of·Jahzerah] (282) + בֶּן־מְשֻׁלָּ֥ם [son·of·Meshullam] (462) + בֶּן־מְשִׁלֵּמִ֖ית [son·of·Meshillemith] (872) + בֶּן־אִמֵּֽר [son·of·Immer] (293) = 3710.
Ralbag
'And Adaiah the son of Jeroham,' etc. — In the Book of Ezra, additional generations are listed between Jeroham and Pashhur, but here [Scripture] shortens the chain. And Maasai the son of Adiel is called, in the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:13), Amashsai the son of Azarel.
Metzudat David
'And Maasai' — this is the same as Amashsai mentioned in Nehemiah.
Malbim
'and Adaiah' — In Nehemiah there are several details about this that are not mentioned here at all, along with numbers that differ from and even contradict those given here, and I have explained this there, on verse 12.
and their brethren, heads of their fathers’ houses, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
verse value 4849
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 63 letters. Verse gematria: 4849 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "thousand" (אֶ֕לֶף, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·house·of·God" (בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִֽים, 9 letters). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·house·of·God" (root אלהים, 117x in I Chronicles); "to·house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "and·their·brothers" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·sixty', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַאֲחֵיהֶ֗ם [and·their·brothers] (70) + רָאשִׁים֙ [heads] (551) + לְבֵ֣ית [to·house·of] (442) + אֲבוֹתָ֔ם [their·fathers] (449) + אֶ֕לֶף [thousand] (111) + וּשְׁבַ֥ע [and·seven] (378) + מֵא֖וֹת [hundred] (447) + וְשִׁשִּׁ֑ים [and·sixty] (656) + גִּבּ֣וֹרֵי [mighty·of] (221) + חֵ֔יל [strength] (48) + מְלֶ֖אכֶת [work·of] (491) + עֲבוֹדַ֥ת [service·of] (482) + בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִֽים [the·house·of·God] (503) = 4849.
Ralbag
'And their brethren, heads of their fathers' houses,' etc. — In the Book of Ezra their number is given, and it comes to only one thousand and ninety-two (this should read: one thousand, one hundred and ninety-two); and it appears that in this place [Chronicles] the Levites are included in this count as well, since they too were mighty men for doing the work of the service of the House of God, for the Levites also share in this service. (Though it should be noted that even when the number of the Levites recorded in the Book of Nehemiah is added in, the total of them all comes to no more than one thousand, six hundred and forty-eight.)
Metzudat David
'And their brethren, heads,' etc. — and their brethren, who were heads of their fathers' houses, numbering a thousand seven hundred and threescore, also dwelt in Jerusalem together with their men; and in Nehemiah a smaller number is stated. It may be that there he counted only those who were under the authority of the officers mentioned there, whereas here Scripture includes all the priests, every one of them. 'The work,' etc. — meaning, to perform the work of the service of the house of God.
And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;
verse value 2438
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "Merari" (מְרָרִֽי, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·from·the·Levites" (וּמִֽן־הַלְוִיִּ֑ם, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·from·the·Levites" (וּמִֽן־הַלְוִיִּ֑ם), "son·of·Hasshub" (בֶן־חַשּׁ֛וּב), "son·of·Azrikam" (בֶּן־עַזְרִיקָ֥ם). The root בן appears 4 times in this verse. 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Hasshub" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·from·the·Levites" (root לוי, 46x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·from·the·Levites', dividing the verse into phrases of 1 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּמִֽן־הַלְוִיִּ֑ם [and·from·the·Levites] (187) + שְׁמַֽעְיָ֧ה [Shemaiah] (425) + בֶן־חַשּׁ֛וּב [son·of·Hasshub] (368) + בֶּן־עַזְרִיקָ֥ם [son·of·Azrikam] (479) + בֶּן־חֲשַׁבְיָ֖ה [son·of·Hashabiah] (377) + מִן־בְּנֵ֥י [from·sons·of] (152) + מְרָרִֽי [Merari] (450) = 2438.
Ralbag
'And of the Levites,' etc. — This has already been mentioned in the Book of Ezra.
Metzudat David
'And of the Levites' — and the number of their men is stated in Nehemiah.
Malbim
'And of the Levites' — Here and there [in Nehemiah] there are many variations and discrepancies, and I have explained them there, on verses 15–16 and on verses 17–18.
and Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph;
verse value 2103
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "Heresh" (חֶ֖רֶשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Bakbakkar" (וּבַקְבַּקַּ֥ר, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Bakbakkar" (וּבַקְבַּקַּ֥ר), "Heresh" (חֶ֖רֶשׁ), "and·Galal" (וְגָלָ֑ל). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Mica" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Galal', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּבַקְבַּקַּ֥ר [and·Bakbakkar] (410) + חֶ֖רֶשׁ [Heresh] (508) + וְגָלָ֑ל [and·Galal] (69) + וּמַתַּנְיָה֙ [and·Mattaniah] (511) + בֶּן־מִיכָ֔א [son·of·Mica] (123) + בֶּן־זִכְרִ֖י [son·of·Zichri] (289) + בֶּן־אָסָֽף [son·of·Asaph] (193) = 2103.
Ralbag
'And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal' — In place of Bakbakkar, the Book of Ezra (Nehemiah 11:17) names Bakbukiah, and Heresh and Galal are not mentioned there at all.
and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites.
verse value 3000
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 60 letters. Verse gematria: 3000 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "son·of·Galal" (בֶּן־גָּלָ֖ל, 5 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Jeduthun" (בֶּן־יְדוּת֑וּן, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "son·of·Galal" (בֶּן־גָּלָ֖ל), "son·of·Jeduthun" (בֶּן־יְדוּת֑וּן), "son·of·Asa" (בֶן־אָסָא֙). The root בן appears 5 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Shemaiah" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·dweller" (root ישב, 44x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'son·of·Jeduthun', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. 6 of the verse's 10 words begin with the letter ב. Full calculation: וְעֹֽבַדְיָה֙ [and·Obadiah] (97) + בֶּֽן־שְׁמַעְיָ֔ה [son·of·Shemaiah] (477) + בֶּן־גָּלָ֖ל [son·of·Galal] (115) + בֶּן־יְדוּת֑וּן [son·of·Jeduthun] (528) + וּבֶרֶכְיָ֤ה [and·Berechiah] (243) + בֶן־אָסָא֙ [son·of·Asa] (114) + בֶּן־אֶלְקָנָ֔ה [son·of·Elkanah] (238) + הַיּוֹשֵׁ֖ב [the·dweller] (323) + בְּחַצְרֵ֥י [in·villages·of] (310) + נְטוֹפָתִֽי [Netophathites] (555) = 3000.
Ralbag
'And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah' — In the Book of Ezra [he is called] Abda the son of Shammua. Berechiah is not mentioned in the Book of Ezra.
Metzudat David
'Who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites' — this is said of Elkanah, for Berechiah himself dwelt in Jerusalem.
And the porters: Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brother Shallum the chief;
verse value 2393
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "Shallum" (שַׁלּ֣וּם, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·the·porters" (וְהַשֹּֽׁעֲרִים֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 376: Shallum, Shallum. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·the·porters" (וְהַשֹּֽׁעֲרִים֙), "and·Talmon" (וְטַלְמֹ֖ן), "and·Ahiman" (וַאֲחִימָ֑ן). The root שלום appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·brother" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "the·head" (root ראש, 73x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root שוער ("and·the·porters") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Ahiman', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. 5 of the verse's 8 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וְהַשֹּֽׁעֲרִים֙ [and·the·porters] (631) + שַׁלּ֣וּם [Shallum] (376) + וְעַקּ֔וּב [and·Akkub] (184) + וְטַלְמֹ֖ן [and·Talmon] (135) + וַאֲחִימָ֑ן [and·Ahiman] (115) + וַאֲחִיהֶ֥ם [and·their·brother] (70) + שַׁלּ֖וּם [Shallum] (376) + הָרֹֽאשׁ [the·head] (506) = 2393.
Ralbag
'Shallum' — In the Book of Ezra he is not named this way, nor is Ahiman mentioned there at all.
Metzudat David
'Shallum the chief' — this is said of the Shallum mentioned first, meaning that he was the chief over all of them.
Metzudat Zion
And the porters - Those appointed over the gates of the Temple, to guard, open, and lock them. And their brother - Meaning, their colleagues; and so throughout this entire book.
Malbim
'And the porters' — See what I wrote there [in Nehemiah], on verse 19; there many further additions appear that are not mentioned here at all, continuing through verse 25 there, and there everything is explained fully, each in its proper place. There is no real contradiction between the two books — ‘there is nothing crooked or perverse in them.’
who hitherto waited in the king’s gate eastward; they were the porters for the camp of the children of Levi.
verse value 2384
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "they" (הֵ֚מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·until·here" (וְֽעַד־הֵ֔נָּה, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·encampments·of" (לְמַחֲנ֖וֹת). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·king" (root מלך, 91x in I Chronicles); "Levi" (root לוי, 46x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root הנה ("and·until·here") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root שער ("in·gate·of") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'eastward', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְֽעַד־הֵ֔נָּה [and·until·here] (140) + בְּשַׁ֥עַר [in·gate·of] (572) + הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ [the·king] (95) + מִזְרָ֑חָה [eastward] (260) + הֵ֚מָּה [they] (50) + הַשֹּׁ֣עֲרִ֔ים [the·porters] (625) + לְמַחֲנ֖וֹת [to·encampments·of] (534) + בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (62) + לֵוִֽי [Levi] (46) = 2384.
Rashi
And from here until the king’s gate to the east The meaning of עַד is: from here until a gate named the King’s Gate to the east. they are the gate sentries Shallum and his brethren of the camps of the sons of Levi.
Ralbag
'Who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward,' etc. — Meaning, that until this time these gatekeepers stood at the eastern gate, through which the king would enter from his house into the Temple; and they were assigned to camps and to watches according to their villages.
Metzudat David
'Who hitherto' — meaning, just as David and Samuel had established the gatekeepers, so it remained throughout all the days the House stood, and even to this day, in the Second Temple. '[In the] gate' — meaning, to stand guard at the gate through which the king would enter, which faced eastward; this Shallum and his companions were gatekeepers at the gates of the Temple Mount, which is the camp of Levi.
Malbim
'who hitherto' — meaning, the porters just mentioned held this position as an inheritance from their fathers, for even in the days of David they served as porters at the king’s gate on the east side, as is stated further on (26:1): ‘Of the divisions of the porters: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph,’ and there (verse 14), ‘and the lot fell eastward to Shelemiah.’ This is also the meaning of ‘and Shallum the son of Kore,’ etc., ‘keepers of the thresholds of the Tent, that no man should enter the Tent of Meeting’ (for this was in the days of David, before the Temple had yet been built). 'and their fathers, [set] over the camp of Hashem' — for the sons of Kohath were in charge of the Ark, the Ark-cover, and the vessels of the Sanctuary, as stated in the Book of Numbers (ch. 4).
And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of his father’s house, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the Tent; and their fathers had been over the camp of Hashem, keepers of the entry;
verse value 4952
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "over" (עַ֚ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·house·of·his·father" (לְבֵית־אָבִ֣יו, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 550: keepers·of, keepers·of. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "son·of·Kore" (בֶּן־ק֠וֹרֵ֠א), "to·house·of·his·father" (לְבֵית־אָבִ֣יו), "the·thresholds" (הַסִּפִּ֖ים). The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Kore" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 175x in I Chronicles); "to·house·of·his·father" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root קרחי ("the·Korahites") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·the·Tent', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 5 words.
Rashi
the guards of the thresholds of the Tent Shallum the son of Kore and his brethren of his father’s house, the Korahites, were the guards of the thresholds of the Tent of Meeting and did not allow any person to enter the Tent of Meeting, except the priests in their service
Ralbag
'Keepers of the gates of the Tent' — Meaning, the guardian of the provisions of the Tent. 'And their fathers had been over the camp of Hashem, keepers of the entry' — Meaning, that the fathers of these [gatekeepers] were keepers of the entry over the camp of Hashem, so that no unfit person would enter there. And (v. 20) Pinchas the son of Elazar was chief officer and overseer of these watches in ancient days, and Hashem was with him. Now it is stated in the Torah that the priests were appointed over the families of Levi, to assign each man to his service and to his burden. And I believe that Pinchas lived a very long life, for the covenant of Hashem, blessed be He — the covenant of life and peace — was with him, because he was zealous with the zeal of Hashem, blessed be He, over the matter of Peor. He was chief officer for a certain time over this appointment, and this was in the days of David, when the watches were then selected. Now Pinchas was already the High Priest in the days of the concubine at Gibeah. And we have already noted, in the Book of Judges and the Book of Kings, what attests to the length of his life. And this is why it says, 'Hashem was with him in time past' — because he lived from a very ancient time, since, as it appears, Pinchas was born around the time Israel left Egypt, in the portion of Va'era.
Metzudat David
'Of his father's house' — meaning, the families of his father's house. 'Over the work' — they were appointed over the work of the service; and Scripture goes on to explain that they were the keepers of the doorposts of the entrances of the Tent, meaning, the Temple court. 'And their fathers,' etc. — meaning, and just as their fathers had been appointed over the camp of Hashem and stood guard so that no one would enter through the entrances of the court, which is the camp of the Divine Presence.
Metzudat Zion
The thresholds (hasapim) - The doorposts of the gates, as in "and the threshold of the gate" (Ezekiel 40). The entry - The openings through which one enters.
and Phinehas the son of Eleazar was ruler over them in time past, Hashem being with him.
verse value 1168
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "he·was" (הָיָ֧ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Eleazar" (בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֗ר, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Phinehas" (וּפִֽינְחָ֣ס), "son·of·Eleazar" (בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֗ר). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of·Eleazar" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 175x in I Chronicles); "he·was" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וּפִֽינְחָ֣ס [and·Phinehas] (214) + בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֗ר [son·of·Eleazar] (360) + נָגִ֨יד [leader] (67) + הָיָ֧ה [he·was] (20) + עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם [over·them] (155) + לְפָנִ֖ים [formerly] (210) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + עִמּֽוֹ [with·him] (116) = 1168.
Rashi
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, the Lord being with him [This means] that he prophesied in time past, and our Sages said that this is Phinehas the priest, and because he did not annul Jephthah’s vow, the Shechinah left him.
Metzudat David
'Was ruler,' etc. — he was appointed over their ancestors, the Korahites, in ancient days, for Hashem was with him, and this is why he was chosen as ruler.
Malbim
'and Phinehas' — At the time they entered the Land, Phinehas was the chief. 'Hashem being with him' — as it says (Numbers 25:12), ‘Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace.’ Our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded from this that afterward the Divine Presence departed from him, on account of the incident of Jephthah’s daughter — meaning, that the word ‘in time past’ [in this verse] attaches itself to ‘Hashem being with him’ [implying that Hashem was with him only formerly, but not afterward].
Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tent of meeting.
verse value 1963
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 27 letters. Verse gematria: 1963 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "son·of" (בֶּ֣ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "Meshelemiah" (מְשֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֔ה, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Meshelemiah" (מְשֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֔ה), "meeting" (מוֹעֵֽד). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root זכריה ("Zechariah") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: זְכַרְיָה֙ [Zechariah] (242) + בֶּ֣ן [son·of] (52) + מְשֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֔ה [Meshelemiah] (425) + שֹׁעֵ֥ר [porter·of] (570) + פֶּ֖תַח [opening·of] (488) + לְאֹ֥הֶל [to·tent] (66) + מוֹעֵֽד [meeting] (120) = 1963.
Metzudat David
'Porter of the door' — he too was a keeper of the door of the entrance of the Tent.
Malbim
'Zechariah' — It is explained further on (26:14) that he kept watch on the north side.
All these who were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their set office.
verse value 5311
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 77 letters. The shortest word is "all·of·them" (כֻּלָּ֤ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·chosen" (הַבְּרוּרִים֙, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 50: they, they. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "in·the·thresholds" (בַּסִּפִּ֔ים), "he·founded" (יִסַּ֥ד), "in·their·firmness" (בֶּאֱמוּנָתָֽם). The root המה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "David" (root דוד, 182x in I Chronicles); "all·of·them" (root כל, 81x in I Chronicles); "ten" (root עשר, 59x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ראה ("the·seer") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אמונה ("in·their·firmness") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ten', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Rashi
whom David and Samuel the seer established permanently - Heb. בֶּאֱמוּנָתָם, in their permanence.
Ralbag
'All these who were chosen to be porters,' etc. — All the Levites who were selected and chosen to be gatekeepers at the doorposts of the House numbered two hundred and twelve; and in the Book of Ezra it states that their number was one hundred and seventy-two. And it says, 'these were reckoned by genealogy in their villages,' because they had already built themselves villages around Jerusalem so that they would be close by. 'Whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain,' etc. — Meaning, that David and Samuel were the ones who laid the foundation for these watches to be arranged in this manner; because they were faithful to Hashem, blessed be He, they resolved to organize this service in a complete way. And it appears that Samuel — during the time David was with him, while fleeing from Saul — was stirred, together with David, to arrange this matter in this fashion. And when David became king, he put this plan into practice, and it was then that they established it.
Metzudat David
'All these who were chosen' — meaning, the total number of those chosen to be gatekeepers, to keep watch at the thresholds, was two hundred and twelve; and in Nehemiah a smaller number is stated, because there he counted only the guards at the camp of Levi, that is, the Temple Mount, whereas here Scripture includes all of them. 'These... in their villages' — these were among those who dwelt in their villages around Jerusalem, so as to be near enough to come to the Temple. 'Were reckoned by genealogy' — meaning, they had a book recording their genealogy. 'Did ordain' — meaning, David and Samuel the prophet established the gatekeepers at this number, so that it would remain a fixed enactment that they never fall short of two hundred and twelve gatekeepers.
Metzudat Zion
Chosen (haberurim) - An expression of selection. Ordained (yisad) - Meaning "established"; for an enactment stands in relation to its own endurance the way a foundation stands in relation to a building. The seer (haro'eh) - [A term for] a prophet, because he sees through the vision of prophecy. In their set office (be'emunatam) - An expression of steadfastness, as in "and the stability of your times" (Isaiah 33:6).
Malbim
'All these who were chosen' — who were selected to stand at the threshold to guard the gates. 'two hundred and twelve' — When you divide them among the seven days [of the week], there are thirty for each day: twenty-four of them corresponding to the twenty-four priestly watches, and six for the six offices placed over them: (1) over the chambers; (2) over the treasuries (verse 26); (3) over the vessels of service (verse 28); (4) over the vessels, the fine flour, the wine, etc. (verse 29); (5) over the making of the griddle-cakes (verse 31); (6) over the showbread (verse 32). Or, alternatively, one might explain that what is stated in verse 29 actually describes two separate appointees — one over the vessels, and one over the fine flour, the wine, etc. — in which case the office of preparing the griddle-cakes would then be excluded from the six. 'These were reckoned by genealogy in their villages' — their genealogical registration followed [the places of] their settlement in their towns. 'whom David... did ordain' — and they remained faithful to their office and steadfast in it, for they and their sons continued to serve at the gates of the House of Hashem even after the Temple was built. 'and for the house of the Tent' — [meaning] the time before the Temple was built, when [the sanctuary] was still the Tent of Meeting.
So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of Hashem, even the house of the Tent, by wards.
verse value 2856
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "and·they" (וְהֵ֨ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "over·the·gates" (עַל־הַשְּׁעָרִ֧ים, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "over·the·gates" (עַל־הַשְּׁעָרִ֧ים), "to·wards" (לְמִשְׁמָרֽוֹת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·sons" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "to·the·house·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 175x in I Chronicles); "to·house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root משמרת ("to·wards") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וְהֵ֨ם [and·they] (51) + וּבְנֵיהֶ֜ם [and·their·sons] (113) + עַל־הַשְּׁעָרִ֧ים [over·the·gates] (725) + לְבֵית־יְהֹוָ֛ה [to·the·house·of·Hashem] (468) + לְבֵ֥ית [to·house·of] (442) + הָאֹ֖הֶל [the·Tent] (41) + לְמִשְׁמָרֽוֹת [to·wards] (1016) = 2856.
Ralbag
'So they and their children' — Meaning, that those chosen for each watch — they and their children — were appointed over the gatekeepers stationed by the Tent according to their watches, that is, at the House of Hashem. And so they arranged it.
Metzudat David
'So they and their children' — those mentioned above, together with their children, were appointed over the gates, to keep watch at them, for the house of Hashem. 'Even the house of the Tent' — this restates what was already said, for the sake of further clarification. 'By wards' — meaning, not that all of them stood guard at all times, but rather they were divided into shifts, and each one stood guard in his own turn, in rotation.
Metzudat Zion
By wards (lemishmarot) - When a duty is placed upon many people, with each one responsible at his appointed time, it is called a "mishmar" (watch), because they must be careful not to let the time pass.
On the four sides were the porters, toward the east, west, north, and south.
verse value 2186
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "sea" (יָ֖מָּה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·porters" (הַשֹּׁעֲרִ֑ים, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·four" (לְאַרְבַּ֣ע), "winds" (רוּח֔וֹת), "they·were" (יִהְי֖וּ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles); "to·four" (root ארבע, 41x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root ים ("sea") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root צפון ("north·(of·direction)") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·porters', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: לְאַרְבַּ֣ע [to·four] (303) + רוּח֔וֹת [winds] (620) + יִהְי֖וּ [they·were] (31) + הַשֹּׁעֲרִ֑ים [the·porters] (625) + מִזְרָ֥ח [east] (255) + יָ֖מָּה [sea] (55) + צָפ֥וֹנָה [north·(of·direction)] (231) + וָנֶֽגְבָּה [and·south-country] (66) = 2186.
Ralbag
'On the four sides' — Meaning, that the gatekeepers were stationed all around the House, on its four sides.
Metzudat David
'On the four sides' — on all four sides the gatekeepers would stand guard; and it is a great honor for a house to have guards stationed at it.
Malbim
'On the four sides' — as will be explained further on (26:17–18).
And their brethren, in their villages, were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with them;
verse value 2528
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "from·time" (מֵעֵ֥ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·their·villages" (בְּחַצְרֵיהֶ֜ם, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "to·seven·of" (לְשִׁבְעַ֧ת), "the·days" (הַיָּמִ֛ים), "from·time" (מֵעֵ֥ת). The root עת appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·their·brothers" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "with·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles); "to·come" (root בוא, 62x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root עת ("from·time") in I Chronicles. Full calculation: וַאֲחֵיהֶ֨ם [and·their·brothers] (70) + בְּחַצְרֵיהֶ֜ם [in·their·villages] (355) + לָב֨וֹא [to·come] (39) + לְשִׁבְעַ֧ת [to·seven·of] (802) + הַיָּמִ֛ים [the·days] (105) + מֵעֵ֥ת [from·time] (510) + אֶל־עֵ֖ת [to·time] (501) + עִם־אֵֽלֶּה [with·these] (146) = 2528.
Rashi
for seven days at the end of the seven days. from time to time from seven to seven, each watch in its week.
Ralbag
'And their brethren, in their villages, were to come in every seven days, from time to time, to be with them' — Meaning, that one watch would perform its service for seven days, and after the seven days the next watch would come in after it, and so on in this manner through all the watches in turn, after which they would return to the cycle again.
Metzudat David
'And their brethren' — the colleagues of those mentioned above, who dwell in their villages; it was upon them to come to keep the watch for the seven days. 'From time to time' — when they arrived for duty, they would leave once the seven days were completed, and others would come to take their place. 'To be with them' — meaning, these too, mentioned above by name, would come when their turn arrived and would remain for seven days.
Malbim
'And their brethren, in their villages, were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with them' — [this means] that each week different Levites would come to their post. From this it is clear, as stated above, that only twenty-four Levites were needed each day for the watches, while six more were appointed over other matters; accordingly, no more than one hundred sixty-eight gatekeepers would serve in a given week — for it is stated below (23:5) that there were four thousand gatekeepers, and the watches would rotate every twenty-four weeks, as is known. Twenty-four times one hundred sixty-eight comes to four thousand thirty-two, and indeed there really were four thousand thirty-two gatekeepers; Scripture is simply not exacting over so small a difference [when it rounds to four thousand]. The remainder, from one hundred sixty-eight up to two hundred twelve — that is, forty-four — which over twenty-four rotations comes to one thousand fifty-six, were from the rest of the Levites who were appointed over the House of Hashem. From this you can see that the count in our book matches the count found in Nehemiah (11:19), where the gatekeepers numbered one hundred seventy-two; and when you subtract from them the officers Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman, one hundred sixty-eight gatekeepers remain. There [in Nehemiah] the officers over the storehouses, the vessels, and the other matters counted here are not included, and therefore it counts only one hundred sixty-eight Levites; whereas here it counts the gatekeepers and the officers together, totaling two hundred twelve: one hundred sixty-eight for the gatekeepers, forty-two for the six officers needed each day [over the week], and two more — one officer in overall charge of the gatekeepers, and one officer over the [other] officers.
for the four chief porters were in a set office. These were the Levites. They were also over the chambers and over the treasuries in the house of God.
verse value 4032
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. Verse gematria: 4032 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "over·the·chambers" (עַל־הַלְּשָׁכ֔וֹת, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 91: the·Levites, God. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·they·were" (וְהָיוּ֙), "over·the·chambers" (עַל־הַלְּשָׁכ֔וֹת). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 117x in I Chronicles); "house·of" (root בית, 115x in I Chronicles); "and·they·were" (root היה, 104x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root לשכה ("over·the·chambers") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root אוצר ("the·treasuries") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Levites', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: כִּ֣י [for] (30) + בֶאֱמוּנָ֞ה [in·firmness] (104) + הֵ֗מָּה [they] (50) + אַרְבַּ֙עַת֙ [four·of] (673) + גִּבֹּרֵ֣י [mighty·of] (215) + הַשֹּׁעֲרִ֔ים [the·porters] (625) + הֵ֖ם [these] (45) + הַלְוִיִּ֑ם [the·Levites] (91) + וְהָיוּ֙ [and·they·were] (27) + עַל־הַלְּשָׁכ֔וֹת [over·the·chambers] (861) + וְעַ֥ל [and·over] (106) + הָאֹצְר֖וֹת [the·treasuries] (702) + בֵּ֥ית [house·of] (412) + הָאֱלֹהִֽים [God] (91) = 4032.
Ralbag
'For the four chief porters were in a set office' — [posted] at each and every side; and they were appointed to guard the chambers and the treasuries of the House of God, at night as well.
Metzudat David
'For…were in a set office' — this arrangement was a firm, enduring one, so that none of them would ever neglect his watch. 'These' — meaning, they too — the four chief gatekeepers, namely Shallum and his colleagues mentioned above — as well as the rest of the Levites: none of them neglected his watch. 'And they were' — the gatekeepers were also placed in charge of the chambers and the treasuries of the House of God.
Malbim
'For the four chief porters were in a set office' — [meaning] that they were trustworthy; and therefore they themselves were both the gatekeepers and also the officers over the chambers, etc., since for each [post] a single officer sufficed, because they were trustworthy.
And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge of it was upon them, and the opening of it pertained to them morning by morning.
verse value 3614
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 52 letters. Verse gematria: 3614 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·they" (וְהֵ֥ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·house·of·God" (בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים, 9 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·around" (וּסְבִיב֥וֹת), "they·lodged" (יָלִ֑ינוּ), "for·upon·them" (כִּֽי־עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם). The root בקר appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·house·of·God" (root אלהים, 117x in I Chronicles); "for·upon·them" (root כי, 69x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root בקר ("and·to·morning") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·lodged', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּסְבִיב֥וֹת [and·around] (486) + בֵּית־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים [the·house·of·God] (503) + יָלִ֑ינוּ [they·lodged] (106) + כִּֽי־עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם [for·upon·them] (185) + מִשְׁמֶ֔רֶת [a·charge] (980) + וְהֵ֥ם [and·they] (51) + עַל־הַמַּפְתֵּ֖חַ [over·the·key] (633) + וְלַבֹּ֥קֶר [and·to·morning] (338) + לַבֹּֽקֶר [to·morning] (332) = 3614.
Rashi
and they were [appointed] over the key[s] over the key[s] of the forecourt. and every morning to open.
Ralbag
'And they lodged' — They lodged all around the House of God to guard it, for the charge of it was upon them, as the Torah states in the portion of Bamidbar and in the portion of Naso; and they had charge of the opening of the gates, morning by morning.
Metzudat David
'And round about,' etc. — each one, when the time of his watch arrived. 'Because the charge of it was upon them' — it was incumbent upon them to guard the House. 'The key' — meaning, the opening of the gates. 'Morning by morning' — meaning, they would open [the gates] every morning.
Malbim
'Round about the house of God' — for the guard duty was kept at night, following the view of Rambam in Hilchot Beit HaBechirah, chapter 8 (see Mishneh LaMelech there). 'and [the charge of] the key was theirs, morning by morning' — meaning, it was their task to open [it] every morning.
And certain of them had charge of the vessels of service; for they were brought in by tale and were taken out by tale.
verse value 1375
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "and·from·them" (וּמֵהֶ֖ם, 4 letters) and the longest is "for·in·number" (כִּֽי־בְמִסְפָּ֣ר, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "over·vessels·of" (עַל־כְּלֵ֣י), "for·in·number" (כִּֽי־בְמִסְפָּ֣ר), "they·brought·them·in" (יְבִיא֔וּם). The root מספר appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "they·brought·them·in" (root בוא, 62x in I Chronicles); "the·service" (root עבדה, 28x in I Chronicles); "they·took·them·out" (root יצא, 24x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root כלי ("over·vessels·of") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·service', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּמֵהֶ֖ם [and·from·them] (91) + עַל־כְּלֵ֣י [over·vessels·of] (160) + הָעֲבוֹדָ֑ה [the·service] (92) + כִּֽי־בְמִסְפָּ֣ר [for·in·number] (412) + יְבִיא֔וּם [they·brought·them·in] (69) + וּבְמִסְפָּ֖ר [and·in·number] (388) + יוֹצִיאֽוּם [they·took·them·out] (163) = 1375.
Rashi
And some of them were in charge of the service vessels כְּלֵי הָעֲבוֹדָה, the service vessels - they would take them out by number and bring them by number.
Ralbag
'And certain of them' — Some of the Levites were appointed over the vessels of service, such as the sprinkling basins, the fire-pans, the shovels, and the like; and after the service they would bring them into the chamber set aside for them, by count, and by count they would take them out again from there in the morning to perform the service — after the manner of one appointed to keep watch over something. And some of them were appointed over all the vessels that were consecrated to the House of Hashem, and over all the sacred vessels, such as:
Metzudat David
'And certain of them' — of the gatekeepers were placed in charge of the vessels of service, such as basins, fire-pans, and the like; they would bring them from the vessel-chamber to the place of the altar. 'Were taken out' — from there back to the chambers, all of it done by their own hands.
Malbim
'over the vessels of service' — the sacred implements used in the [Temple] service. 'over the vessels' — such as the musical instruments. 'and over all the vessels of the sanctuary' — such as the weavers of the [Temple] curtain and the weavers of the priestly garments, as stated in the Mishnah, Shekalim (5:1), concerning the fifteen officers who served in the Temple.
Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, and over all the holy vessels, and over the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices.
verse value 2691
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 59 letters. Verse gematria: 2691 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·over" (וְעַ֖ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "over·the·furniture" (עַל־הַכֵּלִ֔ים, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "appointed" (מְמֻנִּים֙), "over·the·furniture" (עַל־הַכֵּלִ֔ים), "all·vessels·of" (כׇּל־כְּלֵ֣י). The root כלי appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·over" (root על, 59x in I Chronicles); "the·apartness" (root קדש, 25x in I Chronicles); "over·the·furniture" (root כלי, 22x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מנה ("appointed") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root יין ("and·the·wine") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·apartness', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. 7 of the verse's 11 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וּמֵהֶ֗ם [and·from·them] (91) + מְמֻנִּים֙ [appointed] (180) + עַל־הַכֵּלִ֔ים [over·the·furniture] (205) + וְעַ֖ל [and·over] (106) + כׇּל־כְּלֵ֣י [all·vessels·of] (110) + הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ [the·apartness] (409) + וְעַל־הַסֹּ֙לֶת֙ [and·over·the·fine·flour] (601) + וְהַיַּ֣יִן [and·the·wine] (81) + וְהַשֶּׁ֔מֶן [and·the·oil] (401) + וְהַלְּבוֹנָ֖ה [and·the·frankincense] (104) + וְהַבְּשָׂמִֽים [and·the·spices] (403) = 2691.
Ralbag
'Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, and over all the holy vessels' — the jars for libation and the like; and over the fine flour, the wine, and the oil that were purchased for the meal-offerings of the public sacrifices; and over the frankincense used for the showbread and for the omer meal-offering; and over the spices used in making the incense.
Metzudat David
'Over the furniture' — the rest of the vessels that were not vessels of service, namely cooking vessels and the like. 'The holy vessels' — the tables, the menorahs, and the like. 'And over the fine flour,' etc. — the fine flour and the oil were for the meal-offerings, the wine for the libations, the frankincense to be placed in the dishes upon the row of showbread, and the spices for the incense.
And some of the sons of the priests prepared the confection of the spices.
verse value 1781
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 28 letters. Verse gematria: 1781 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "preparers·of" (רֹקְחֵ֥י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·from·sons·of" (וּמִן־בְּנֵי֙, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "preparers·of" (רֹקְחֵ֥י), "the·confection" (הַמִּרְקַ֖חַת), "of·the·spices" (לַבְּשָׂמִֽים). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·from·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·priests" (root כהן, 21x in I Chronicles). Full calculation: וּמִן־בְּנֵי֙ [and·from·sons·of] (158) + הַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔ים [the·priests] (130) + רֹקְחֵ֥י [preparers·of] (318) + הַמִּרְקַ֖חַת [the·confection] (753) + לַבְּשָׂמִֽים [of·the·spices] (422) = 1781.
Ralbag
'Prepared the confection of the spices' — Meaning, to compound the incense of spices in the manner that the Torah describes.
Metzudat David
'Prepared the confection,' etc. — they would mix and pound the spices of the incense.
Metzudat Zion
The confection (rikchei hamirkachat) - An expression of blending spices, as in "the work of a perfumer" (Exodus 30:25).
And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the set office over the things that were baked on griddles.
verse value 3094
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. Verse gematria: 3094 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "over" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·Levites" (מִן־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "of·Shallum" (לְשַׁלֻּ֣ם), "deed·of" (מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה), "the·flat·cakes" (הַחֲבִתִּֽים). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "over" (root על, 59x in I Chronicles); "he" (root הוא, 50x in I Chronicles); "from·the·Levites" (root לוי, 46x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Korahite', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וּמַתִּתְיָה֙ [and·Mattithiah] (861) + מִן־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם [from·the·Levites] (181) + ה֥וּא [he] (12) + הַבְּכ֖וֹר [the·firstborn] (233) + לְשַׁלֻּ֣ם [of·Shallum] (400) + הַקׇּרְחִ֑י [the·Korahite] (323) + בֶּאֱמוּנָ֕ה [in·faithfulness] (104) + עַ֖ל [over] (100) + מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה [deed·of] (415) + הַחֲבִתִּֽים [the·flat·cakes] (465) = 3094.
Ralbag
'Had the set office over the things that were baked on griddles' — Now the meal-offering of the High Priest was called the "griddle-cake offering," because it was made on a griddle with oil, as is mentioned in the portion of Tzav et Aharon.
Metzudat David
'Had the set office' — with firm constancy he was appointed over the making of the griddle-cakes — these being the meal-offering baked on a griddle, a tenth of an ephah, offered every day, half of it in the morning and half in the evening — and he was appointed over this, to remind and to urge that it be offered at its proper time.
Metzudat Zion
Griddle-cakes (hachavitim) - From the term "machavat" (griddle-pan); it is the name of a certain utensil.
Malbim
'the things that were baked on griddles' — that is, the product of a griddle-pan [machavat].
And some of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread, to prepare it every sabbath.
verse value 3264
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "sabbath" (שַׁבַּ֥ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·their·brothers" (מִן־אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 702: sabbath, sabbath. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "from·their·brothers" (מִן־אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם), "over·bread·of" (עַל־לֶ֣חֶם), "to·prepare" (לְהָכִ֖ין). The root שבת appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·from·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "from·their·brothers" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "to·prepare" (root כון, 25x in I Chronicles). First appearance of the root מערכת ("the·row") in I Chronicles. First appearance of the root כון ("to·prepare") in I Chronicles. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·row', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּמִן־בְּנֵ֧י [and·from·sons·of] (158) + הַקְּהָתִ֛י [the·Kohathites] (520) + מִן־אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם [from·their·brothers] (154) + עַל־לֶ֣חֶם [over·bread·of] (178) + הַֽמַּעֲרָ֑כֶת [the·row] (735) + לְהָכִ֖ין [to·prepare] (115) + שַׁבַּ֥ת [sabbath] (702) + שַׁבָּֽת [sabbath] (702) = 3264.
Ralbag
'And some of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the showbread' — Among the brethren of those appointed over the griddle-cake offering, some were appointed over the bread of the arrangement, which is the showbread, to prepare it every sabbath; it was baked before the sabbath, and on the sabbath day the priest would arrange it on the golden table, removing at that time the bread that had been on it beforehand.
Metzudat David
'Of their brethren' — of the sons of Korah mentioned above, who were also among the sons of Kohath. 'Over the showbread,' etc. — they were placed in charge of the showbread arranged on the table, to prepare it every Sabbath.
Metzudat Zion
The arrangement (hama'arechet) - A term meaning something arranged and set in order.
And these are the singers, heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites, who dwelt in the chambers and were free from other service; for they were employed in their work day and night.
verse value 3779
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 63 letters. The shortest word is "and·these" (וְאֵ֣לֶּה, 4 letters) and the longest is "the·singers" (הַ֠מְשֹׁרְרִ֠ים, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "in·the·chambers" (בַּלְּשָׁכֹ֖ת), "free" (פְּטוּרִ֑ים), "for·day" (כִּֽי־יוֹמָ֥ם). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "and·these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles); "heads·of" (root ראש, 73x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'free', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 4 words.
Rashi
And these are the singers, etc. who were exempt from any manner of work, except to sing a song
Ralbag
'And these are the singers,' etc. — In the chambers that were in the Temple they were exempt from other service, and they did not close the doors of the chambers, but left them open, since they were engaged in their work day and night. And some of the heads of the fathers' houses of the singers were already named earlier: Mattaniah the son of Mica, Bakbakkar, Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, and Berechiah the son of Asaph.
Metzudat David
'And these are the singers' — meaning: but these singers mentioned above, the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites — namely Shemaiah and his colleagues — dwelt permanently in the chambers to teach the craft of song, and were exempt from the rest of the service of the House of Hashem; for day and night they were obligated to be engaged in the work of song, and were not free, as the gatekeepers were, to engage in any other service besides.
Metzudat Zion
Free (peturim) - This is the opposite of being obligated; similarly, "for Jehoiada did not dismiss [lo fatar]" (II Chronicles 23).
Malbim
'in the chambers, exempt' — for they were exempted from all [other] labor. 'for they were employed in that work day and night' — [namely,] to study the art of song and music.
These were heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites, by their generations, chief men; these dwelt at Jerusalem.
verse value 3480
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. Notable word values: "these" (אֵ֩לֶּה֩) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "these" (אֵ֩לֶּה֩, 3 letters) and the longest is "by·their·generations" (לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֖ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 36: these, these. The root אלה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·fathers" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "these" (root אלה, 89x in I Chronicles); "heads·of" (root ראש, 73x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'chiefs', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: אֵ֩לֶּה֩ [these] (36) + רָאשֵׁ֨י [heads·of] (511) + הָאָב֧וֹת [the·fathers] (414) + לַלְוִיִּ֛ם [of·the·Levites] (116) + לְתֹלְדוֹתָ֖ם [by·their·generations] (910) + רָאשִׁ֑ים [chiefs] (551) + אֵ֖לֶּה [these] (36) + יָשְׁב֥וּ [they·dwelt] (318) + בִירוּשָׁלִָֽם [in·Jerusalem] (588) = 3480.
Ralbag
'These dwelt at Jerusalem' — Meaning, in the days of Nehemiah, at the beginning of the Second Temple period.
Metzudat David
'These' — those mentioned above. 'By their generations, chief men' — they were chiefs over the descendants of their fathers’ generations; the matter is stated twice for further clarification.
Malbim
'These were heads of fathers' houses' — for the headship passed by inheritance from father to son, and the heads dwelt in Jerusalem.
And in Gibeon there dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, whose wife’s name was Maacah;
verse value 2027
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "and·name·of" (וְשֵׁ֥ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "father·of·Gibeon" (אֲבִי־גִבְע֖וֹן, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "father·of·Gibeon" (אֲבִי־גִבְע֖וֹן). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "father·of·Gibeon" (root אב, 95x in I Chronicles); "and·name·of" (root שם, 67x in I Chronicles); "they·dwelt" (root ישב, 44x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jeiel', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words.
Ralbag
And in Gibeon there dwelt, etc. — It appears that this, too, took place in the days of Nehemiah; hence it says at the end, 'and they too, corresponding to their kinsmen, dwelt in Jerusalem with their kinsmen.' That is to say: just as their kinsmen did — of whom a tenth of the people dwelt in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7) — so too did the inhabitants of Gibeon do, setting apart a tenth of their own number to volunteer to dwell in Jerusalem.
Metzudat David
'And in Gibeon there dwelt' — this whole passage was already recorded above, where it mentioned which of the tribe of Benjamin dwelt in Jerusalem and which in Gibeon, and went on to list the priests and Levites who dwelt in Jerusalem. Now, since [Scripture] is about to relate David’s kingship, which came after Saul’s death, it therefore begins again to trace the genealogy of Saul, starting from the founder of Gibeon — the chief of Gibeon, whose name was Jeiel.
Malbim
'And in Gibeon there dwelt' — this was already mentioned above, in chapter 8, and we explained it there; and it is not known why it is repeated a second time, nor why here [the text] copies the list only as far as Azel, whereas above it also wrote, "and the sons of Eshek his brother." Of this it is said (Pesachim 62b) that [the genealogy] "from Azel to Azel" had four hundred camel-loads of midrashic expositions. The rest of the differences between this passage and the one above were explained above, and there is no need to repeat the matter.
and his first-born son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab;
verse value 1573
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. Verse gematria: 1573 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "and·Ner" (וְנֵ֖ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·firstborn" (הַבְּכ֖וֹר, 5 letters). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·his·son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "the·firstborn" (root בכור, 24x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abdon', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. 6 of the verse's 8 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וּבְנ֥וֹ [and·his·son] (64) + הַבְּכ֖וֹר [the·firstborn] (233) + עַבְדּ֑וֹן [Abdon] (132) + וְצ֣וּר [and·Zur] (302) + וְקִ֔ישׁ [and·Kish] (416) + וּבַ֥עַל [and·Baal] (108) + וְנֵ֖ר [and·Ner] (256) + וְנָדָֽב [and·Nadab] (62) = 1573.
Metzudat David
'And Zur,' etc. — they too were sons of the father of Gibeon, and dwelt with him in Gibeon.
Verse structure: 4 words, 22 letters. Verse gematria: 1080 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·Gedor" (וּגְד֣וֹר, 5 letters) and the longest is "and·Zechariah" (וּזְכַרְיָ֖ה, 6 letters). 4 unique roots are used. Full calculation: וּגְד֣וֹר [and·Gedor] (219) + וְאַחְי֔וֹ [and·Ahio] (31) + וּזְכַרְיָ֖ה [and·Zechariah] (248) + וּמִקְלֽוֹת [and·Mikloth] (582) = 1080.
And Mikloth begot Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against their brethren.
verse value 2752
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. Verse gematria: 2752 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "over·against" (נֶ֧גֶד, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·Jerusalem" (בִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Shimeam" (אֶת־שִׁמְאָ֑ם), "and·even·they" (וְאַף־הֵ֗ם). The root אח appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "their·brethren" (root אח, 95x in I Chronicles); "they·dwelt" (root ישב, 44x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Shimeam', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּמִקְל֖וֹת [and·Mikloth] (582) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־שִׁמְאָ֑ם [Shimeam] (782) + וְאַף־הֵ֗ם [and·even·they] (132) + נֶ֧גֶד [over·against] (57) + אֲחֵיהֶ֛ם [their·brethren] (64) + יָשְׁב֥וּ [they·dwelt] (318) + בִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם [in·Jerusalem] (588) + עִם־אֲחֵיהֶֽם [with·their·brethren] (174) = 2752.
Metzudat David
'And they also' — meaning, even though they dwelt in Gibeon, nevertheless they would at times dwell in Jerusalem alongside their brethren mentioned above, and were their equals. 'With their brethren' — this is a repetition of the matter for further clarification, for “with” here is used in the sense of “alongside.”
And Ner begot Kish; and Kish begot Saul; and Saul begot Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
verse value 5820
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "and·Ner" (וְנֵר֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Malchi-shua" (וְאֶת־מַלְכִּישׁ֔וּעַ, 10 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot, begot. The root ילד appears 3 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles); "Saul" (root שאול, 32x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Saul', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְנֵר֙ [and·Ner] (256) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־קִ֔ישׁ [Kish] (811) + וְקִ֖ישׁ [and·Kish] (416) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־שָׁא֑וּל [Saul] (738) + וְשָׁא֗וּל [and·Saul] (343) + הוֹלִ֤יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־יְהֽוֹנָתָן֙ [Jonathan] (922) + וְאֶת־מַלְכִּישׁ֔וּעַ [and·Malchi-shua] (883) + וְאֶת־אֲבִינָדָ֖ב [and·Abinadab] (476) + וְאֶת־אֶשְׁבָּֽעַל [and·Eshbaal] (810) = 5820.
Rashi
Eshbaal That is Ish Bosheth, and he is nicknamed “bosheth,” because “baal” is an expression of lordship, and he nicknamed him “bosheth,” an expression of disgrace.
Ralbag
And Ner begot Kish, etc. — He returns to mention this entire lineage in order to arrive at the matter of David's kingship, since this book is the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, and for that he needed to mention the death of Saul and his sons. And since he was about to mention their death, he wanted [first] to mention the descendants remaining from his [Saul's] line, until it concludes with Azel, whom Hashem, may He be blessed, blessed — him and his brothers — with many sons, as stated earlier.
Metzudat David
'Eshbaal' — this is Ish-bosheth, who reigned in Saul’s place, and he is the “Ishvi” mentioned in I Samuel.
And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal begot Micah.
verse value 1822
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "baal" (בָּ֑עַל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·son·of·Jonathan" (וּבֶן־יְהוֹנָתָ֖ן, 9 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "and·Merib-baal" (וּמְרִי־בַ֖עַל). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·son·of·Jonathan" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'baal', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבֶן־יְהוֹנָתָ֖ן [and·son·of·Jonathan] (579) + מְרִ֣יב [Merib-] (252) + בָּ֑עַל [baal] (102) + וּמְרִי־בַ֖עַל [and·Merib-baal] (358) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־מִיכָֽה [Micah] (476) = 1822.
Rashi
Merib-Baal That is Mephibosheth (II Sam 4:4). Said Rabbi Isaac the son of Samuel of Narbonne: From the time that Israel worshipped the Baal, the Baal was called by the name of Bosheth (shame), as it is written (Jer. 11:13): “altars for the shameful thing, etc.,” for the Baal is a shameful thing. Gideon was called Jerubaal, based on the expression (Jud. 6:32): “Let Baal contend with him.” He was also called Jerubesheth, for it is written concerning Abimelech: “who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubesheth, etc.” in the Book of Samuel (II 11: 21). He is called Jerubesheth and Jerubaal, because Baal and Bosheth are synonymous.
And the sons of Micah: Pithon, and Melech, and Taharea, and Ahaz.
verse value 1463
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 21 letters. The shortest word is "and·sons·of" (וּבְנֵ֖י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Taharea" (וְתַחְרֵֽעַ, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Pithon" (פִּיתֹ֥ן), "and·Taharea" (וְתַחְרֵֽעַ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·sons·of" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "and·Melech" (root מלך, 91x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Micah', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וּבְנֵ֖י [and·sons·of] (68) + מִיכָ֑ה [Micah] (75) + פִּיתֹ֥ן [Pithon] (540) + וָמֶ֖לֶךְ [and·Melech] (96) + וְתַחְרֵֽעַ [and·Taharea] (684) = 1463.
And Ahaz begot Jarah; and Jarah begot Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begot Moza.
verse value 4500
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 62 letters. Verse gematria: 4500 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "and·Ahaz" (וְאָחָז֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Azmaveth" (וְאֶת־עַזְמָ֖וֶת, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 55: begot, begot, begot. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in I Chronicles. Unique to this verse in I Chronicles (hapax): "Jarah" (אֶת־יַעְרָ֔ה), "and·Jarah" (וְיַעְרָ֗ה). The root ילד appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·Zimri', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאָחָז֙ [and·Ahaz] (22) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־יַעְרָ֔ה [Jarah] (686) + וְיַעְרָ֗ה [and·Jarah] (291) + הוֹלִ֛יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־עָלֶ֥מֶת [Alemeth] (941) + וְאֶת־עַזְמָ֖וֶת [and·Azmaveth] (930) + וְאֶת־זִמְרִ֑י [and·Zimri] (664) + וְזִמְרִ֖י [and·Zimri] (263) + הוֹלִ֥יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־מוֹצָֽא [Moza] (538) = 4500.
Metzudat David
'And Ahaz' — he too was a son of Micah, as was likewise stated above.
And Moza begot Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son.
verse value 1724
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "his·son" (בְנ֛וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Binea" (אֶת־בִּנְעָ֑א, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 58: his·son, his·son, his·son. The root בן appears 3 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·son" (root בן, 665x in I Chronicles); "begot" (root ילד, 117x in I Chronicles). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Binea', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּמוֹצָ֖א [and·Moza] (143) + הוֹלִ֣יד [begot] (55) + אֶת־בִּנְעָ֑א [Binea] (524) + וּרְפָיָ֥ה [and·Rephaiah] (301) + בְנ֛וֹ [his·son] (58) + אֶלְעָשָׂ֥ה [Eleasah] (406) + בְנ֖וֹ [his·son] (58) + אָצֵ֥ל [Azel] (121) + בְּנֽוֹ [his·son] (58) = 1724.
Metzudat David
'And Rephaiah his son' — that is, the son of Binea; and so it continues, each one the son of the one before.
Rashi
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim