1 Chronicles 26:26

Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(26) Which Shelomith and his brethen.—He, viz., Shelomoth and his kinsmen.

Chief of fathers.—Heads of the clans.

The captains over thousands.—Heb., to the captains; a scribe’s error.

Captains of the host.—Two are mentioned in 1Chronicles 26:28, viz., Abner and Joab (see 2Samuel 8:16; 1Chronicles 18:15; 1Chronicles 27:34).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

26:1-32 The offices of the Levites. - The porters and treasurers of the temple, had occasion for strength and valour to oppose those who wrongly attempted to enter the sanctuary, and to guard the sacred treasures. Much was expended daily upon the altar; flour, wine, oil, salt, fuel, beside the lamps; quantities of these were kept beforehand, besides the sacred vestments and utensils. These were the treasures of the house of God. These treasures typified the plenty there is in our heavenly Father's house, enough and to spare. From those sacred treasuries, the unsearchable riches of Christ, all our wants are supplied; and receiving from his fulness, we must give him the glory, and endeavour to dispose of our abilities and substance according to his will. We have an account of those employed as officers and judges. The magistracy is an ordinance of God for the good of the church, as truly as the ministry, and must not be neglected. None of the Levites who were employed in the service of the sanctuary, none of the singers or porters, were concerned in this outward business; one duty was enough to engage the whole man. Wisdom, courage, strength of faith, holy affections, and constancy of mind in doing our duty, are requisite or useful for every station.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The divisions of the porters - The account of the porters here given makes them only twenty-four in number at any one time; 1 Chronicles 23:5 states that the duty was discharged by 4,000 persons. Perhaps of the 93 chief porters here spoken of 1 Chronicles 26:8-9, 1 Chronicles 26:11, 1 Chronicles 26:24 were always on guard as officers, while of the remaining 3,907, a certain proportion were each day on duty as their subordinates.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ch 26:20-28. Levites That Had Charge of the Treasures.

20. of the Levites, Ahijah—The heading of this section is altogether strange as it stands, for it looks as if the sacred historian were going to commence a new subject different from the preceding. Besides, "Ahijah, whose name occurs after" the Levites, is not mentioned in the previous lists. It is totally unknown and is introduced abruptly without further information; and lastly, Ahijah must have united in his own person those very offices of which the occupants are named in the verses that follow. The reading is incorrect. The Septuagint has this very suitable heading, "And their Levitical brethren over the treasures," &c. [Bertheau]. The names of those who had charge of the treasure chambers at their respective wards are given, with a general description of the precious things committed to their trust. Those treasures were immense, consisting of the accumulated spoils of Israelitish victories, as well as of voluntary contributions made by David and the representatives of the people.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Which Shelomith,.... The last mentioned in the lineage from Eliezer, the younger son of Moses:

and his brethren; or kinsmen:

were over all the treasures of the dedicated things; which had been devoted for the service of God, and of the temple particularly:

which David the king had dedicated; out of the spoils he took in war, see 2 Samuel 8:11,

the chief fathers; princes of tribes, and heads of families:

the captains over thousands and hundreds; in the several tribes of the kingdom, and were concerned in the administration of justice to the people:

and the captains of the host, had dedicated; of the army, out of the spoils in victory that came to their share, see Numbers 31:48 as follows.

Geneva Study Bible

Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had {m} dedicated.

(m) According as the Lord commanded, Nu 31:28.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

26. David the king] Cp. 1 Chronicles 18:11.

the chief fathers] R.V. the heads of the fathers’ houses.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 26. - The treasures. The very first use of this word to signify a place where treasures were kept is in Joshua 6:19, 24. The same word is used for either the place or the treasures kept in it. Not found in the Books of Samuel, the word often occurs in the two Books of Kings and of Chronicles, once in Ezra, several times in Nehemiah, etc. In our next chapter (1 Chronicles 27:25, 27, 28) it appears in the Authorized Version as "storehouses" and "cellars." Captains over thousands and hundreds (so see Exodus 18:21, 25; Numbers 31:14, etc.; Deuteronomy 1:15; 1 Samuel 8:12, etc.). Captains of the host (so Deuteronomy 20:9; Joshua 5:14, 15; Judges 4:2; 1 Samuel 17:55, etc.). 1 Chronicles 26:26

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This Shelomoth (a descendant of Eliezer, and so to be distinguished both from the Jisharite Shelomith 1 Chronicles 23:18 and 1 Chronicles 24:22, and the Gershonite of the same name 1 Chronicles 23:9), and his brethren were over the treasures of the consecrated things which David the king had consecrated, and the heads of the fathers'-houses, etc. Instead of לשׂרי we must read ושׁרי, according to 1 Chronicles 29:6. The princes over the thousands and hundreds are the war captains, and the הצּבא שׂרי are the commanders-in-chief, e.g., Abner, Joab, 1 Chronicles 27:34, 2 Samuel 8:16; 1 Chronicles 18:15. - The 27th verse is an explanatory parenthesis: "from the wars and from the booty," i.e., from the booty taken in war had they consecrated. לחזּק, to make strong, i.e., to preserve in strength and good condition the house of Jahve. חזּק elsewhere of the renovation of old buildings, 2 Kings 12:8., Nehemiah 3:2., here in a somewhat general signification. - In 1 Chronicles 26:28 the enumeration of those who had consecrated, thus interrupted, is resumed, but in the form of a new sentence, which concludes with a predicate of its own. In ההקדּישׁ the article represents אשׁר, as in 1 Chronicles 29:17; 2 Chronicles 29:36, and elsewhere; cf. Ew. 331, b. With המּקדּישׁ כּל, all who had consecrated, the enumeration is concluded, and the predicate, "was at the hand of Shelomith and his brethren," is then brought in. על־יד, laid upon the hand, i.e., entrusted to them for preservation; Germ. unter der Hand (under the hand).

If we glance back at the statements as to the stewards of the treasures (1 Chronicles 26:20-28), we find that the treasures of the house of Jahve were under the oversight of the Jehielites Zetham and Joel, with their brethren, a branch of the Gershonites (v. 22); and the treasures of the consecrated things under the oversight of the Kohathite Shelomith, who was of the family of Moses' second son Eliezer, with his brethren (v. 28). But in what relation does the statement in v. 24, that Shebuel, the descendant of Moses through Gershon, was על־האצרות נגיד, stand to this? Bertheau thinks "that three kinds of treasures are distinguished, the guarding of which was committed to different officials: (1) The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel, had the oversight of the treasures of the house of God, which, as we may conclude from 1 Chronicles 29:8, had been collected by voluntary gifts: (2) Shebuel was prince over the treasures, perhaps over the sums which resulted from regular assessment for the temple (Exodus 30:11-16), from redemption-money, e.g., for the first-born (Numbers 18:16.), or for vows (Lev); consequently over a part of the sums which are designated in 2 Kings 12:5 by the name הקדשים כסף: (3) Shelomith and his brothers had the oversight of all the הקדשים אוצרות, i.e., of the consecrated gifts which are called in 2 Kings 12:19 קדשים, and distinguished from the קדשים כסף in 2 Kings 12:5." But this view has no support in the text. Both in the superscription (1 Chronicles 26:20) and in the enumeration (1 Chronicles 26:22, 1 Chronicles 26:26) only two kinds of treasures-treasures of the house of God (of Jahve), and treasures of the קדשׁים - are mentioned. Neither by the facts nor by the language used are we justified in supposing that there was a third kind of treasures, viz., the sums resulting from the regular assessment for the holy place. For it is thoroughly arbitrary to confine the treasures of the house of God to the voluntary contributions and the consecrated gifts given from the war-booty; and it is still more arbitrary to limit the treasures over which Shebuel was prince to the sums flowing into the temple treasures from the regular assessment; for the reference to 2 Kings 12:19 and 2 Kings 12:5 is no proof of this, because, though two kinds of קדשׁים are there distinguished, yet both are further defined. The quite general expression האצרות, the treasures, can naturally be referred only to the two different kinds of treasures distinguished in 1 Chronicles 26:22. This reference is also demanded by the words נגיד...שׁבוּאל (1 Chronicles 26:24). Heads of fathers'-houses, with their brethren (אהיהם), are mentioned as guardians of the two kinds of treasures spoken of in 1 Chronicles 26:20; while here, on the contrary, we have Shebuel alone, without assistants. Further, the other guardians are not called נגיד, as Shebuel is. The word נגיד denotes not an overseer or steward, but only princes of kingdoms (kings), princes of tribes (1 Chronicles 12:27; 1 Chronicles 13:1; 1 Chronicles 27:16; 2 Chronicles 32:21), ministers of the palace and the temple, and commanders-in-chief (2 Chronicles 11:11; 2 Chronicles 28:7), and is consequently used in our section neither of Zetham and Joel, nor of Shelomoth. The calling of Shebuel נגיד consequently shows that he was the chief guardian of the sacred treasures, under whose oversight the guardians of the two different kinds of treasures were placed. This is stated in 1 Chronicles 26:23, 1 Chronicles 26:24; and the statement would not have been misunderstood if it had been placed at the beginning or the end of the enumeration; and its position in the middle between the Gershonites and the Kohathites is explained by the fact that this prince was, according to 1 Chronicles 23:16, the head of the four Levite families descended from Kohath.