ζ. David’s House-Building, Family, and Victories over the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 14

1 Chronicles 14:1And Hiram1 king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar-wood, and masons, and carpenters, to build him a house. 2And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel; for his kingdom was lift up on high, because of his people Israel.

3And David took more wives in Jerusalem; and David begat more sons 4and daughters. And these are the names of those born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua and Shobab, Nathan and Solomon. 5And Ibhar, and Elishua, and 6Elpelet. And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia. 7And Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphelet.

8And the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel; and all the Philistines went up to seek David: and David heard it, and went out against them. 9And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the 10valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines, and wilt Thou give them into my hand? And the LORD said 11unto him, Go up, and I will give them into thy hand. And they went up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there: and David said, God hath broken my enemies by my hand, like the breaking of waters; therefore they 12called the name of that place Baal-perazim. And they left their gods there; and David ordered, and they were burnt with fire.

13, 14And the Philistines came again and spread themselves in the valley.2 And David inquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them by the bacas. 15And it shall be, when thou hearest the sound going on the tops of the bacas, then go out to the battle; for God is gone out before thee to smite the camp of the Philistines. 16And David did as God commanded him: and they smote the camp of the 17Philistines, from Gibeon even unto Gezer. And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the LORD brought his fear upon all nations.

EXEGETICAL

PRELIMINARY REMARK.—On the different position of this section in 2 Sam. 5:11–25, namely, before the history of the removal of the ark from Kiriath-jearim, comp. the Preliminary Remark on 1 Chronicles 13. The motive of the Chronist for the transposition is evidently the wish to represent the preparations for the removal of the national sanctuary to Jerusalem as the first undertaking of the king after the taking of the capital, to exhibit the building of his own palace as a work certainly taken in hand soon after, but still standing behind that all-important concern. To the history of the beginning of the palace-building is attached in the sources common to both historians a description of the blessing which attended David as a father and a captain in the battles with the Philistines; Our author took this description, in the main unaltered, along with the notice of the beginning of the palace-building, over into his narrative, undeterred by the appearance thence arising of the events in question, especially the two successful battles with the Philistines, having fallen in the three months between the removal of the ark to the house of Obed-edom and its introduction into Jerusalem. This grouping is here, as often in his representation of the history of David, determined by the order of thought rather than of time.

1. David’s Palace-building and Family: 1 Chronicles 14:1–7.—The text of the older parallel, 2 Sam. 5:11–16, agrees in the main with the present, only here and there more precise.—And cedar-wood, and masons, and carpenters, literally, “and timbers (beams) of cedars, and craftsmen of walls, and craftsmen of timbers” (Vulg. artifices parietum lignorumque).

1 Chronicles 14:2. And David perceived (concluded from the high honour which was conferred upon him by this message from the Phenician king) that the Lord had confirmed him king over Israel, definitely transferred the kingdom to him, established (“bestätigt,” Luther) him as king.—For his kingdom was lift up on high. נִשֵּׂאת, if genuine, would be an irregularly formed 3 fem. perf. Niph. (not, as 2 Sam. 14:43, an inf. abs. Niph.) from נשׂא, intensified by the לְמַעְלָה, “on high;” comp. 22:5, 23:17, 29:3–25. But perhaps, as in 2 Sam. 5:12, the perf. Pielנִשֵּׂא is to be read, and Jehovah taken as the subject: “and that He had exalted his kingdom.” For מַמְלַכְתּוֹ, 2 Sam. 5, our text presents the later (occurring also 17:11, 14) form מַלְכוּתוֹ, perhaps merely by a slip of the pen; see Wellh. p. 164.

1 Chronicles 14:3. And David took more wives in Jerusalem. Before נָשִׁים in 2 Samuel stands פלגשׁים, which may have fallen accidentally out of our passage, as the concubines of David are mentioned in 3:9. Comp. on 3:5–9, where the names of the thirteen sons of David born in Jerusalem, and the partly different spelling here and there, are fully handled.

2. The First War with the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 14:8–12 (comp. 2 Sam. 5:17–21).—To seek David, to attack, לְבַקֵּשׁ, sensu hostili, as in 1 Sam. 23:15, 25, 24:3, 26:2.—And David heard it, and went out against them, properly, “before them;” comp. 12:17. Into this general and indefinite expression our author has changed the more concrete, but also more obscure, statement of Samuel: “and went down to the hold” (the hold of Zion), perhaps designedly.

1 Chronicles 14:9. And spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim; comp. on 11:15, 2 Sam. 5:18: “sat down in the valley of Rephaim.” The perhaps more original וַיִּנָּֽטְשׁוּ, 2 Sam. 5:18, 22, the Chronist has here and 1 Chronicles 14:13 exchanged for the simpler and more intelligible וַיִּפְשְׁטוּ.

1 Chronicles 14:11. Like the breaking of waters, like an outburst of water (בְּפֶרֶץ מַים). We may think of the rending or outbursting of enclosing dams by rapid floods, perhaps after a water-spout. The situation of Baal-perazim cannot be exactly ascertained. Mount Perazim, Isa. 28:21, is not essentially different from it.

1 Chronicles 14:12. And they left their gods there. 2 Sam. 5: “their idols” (עצביהם). The present phrase is the stronger; it yields, along with the following statement regarding the burning of these gods, a bitterly sarcastic sense. The burning took place, moreover, on the ground of the divine command in Deut. 7:5, 25. The text of Samuel weakens the statement in a strange way: “and David and his men took them away.” If the more concrete and stronger statement of our author is a traditional expansion of that text, the tradition on which it rests is at all events credible; comp. Movers, p. 224. By this victory, David wiped out the old disgrace of Israel, which rested on the people since Eli’s time. “As then Israel lost the ark, 1 Sam. 4:11, so now the sacred things of the Philistines fell into the hands of the Israelites” (Berth.).

3. The Second War with the Philistines: 1 Chronicles 14:13–17 (comp. 2 Sam. 5:22–25).—And spread themselves in the valley, that is, as the parallel text (so as the Sept. and Syr.; see Crit. Note) shows, in the same valley as above, 1 Chronicles 14:9, scarcely in another at Gibeon, as Movers, p. 243, thinks.

1 Chronicles 14:14. Go not up after them, that is, as Samuel shows: “go not directly towards them; seek not to drive them before thee by a direct attack.” Perhaps also our text is somewhat faulty, and to be amended, according to 2 Sam. 5:23: לֹא תַֽעֲלֶ֑ה הָסֵב אֶל אַֽחֲרֵיהֶם, by the change of אחריהם in עֲלֵיהֶם (Berth.).—And come uponthem by the bacas, literally, over against the bacas. These we must suppose, as the divine command implies a going round the Philistine army, to be behind them. The baca, mentioned only here and 2 Sam. 5, and perhaps Ps. 84;7, is, according to Abulfadi (in Celsius, Hierobot. i. 339), a plant related to the balsam tree, and resembling it, which, when cut, discharges a white, sharp, and warm resin in the manner of tears, and appears to have received its name from בכא, flare. The older expositors, wavering uncertainly, render the term variously: Sept. ἄπιος, Vulg. pyrus; Luther, after the Jewish expositors, mulberry tree.

1 Chronicles 14:15. The sound going on the tops of the bacas, namely, the rustling of their leaves in the wind (Sept.: τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ συσσεισμοῦ αὐτῶν), not the sound occasioned by the entrance of God (supernatural, as in Gen. 3:8). As the baca has much larger leaves than the ordinary balsam, the rustling of them may occasion a sufficiently loud sound; the rendering “baca trees ” (Kamph.) is therefore unnecessary.

1 Chronicles 14:16. And they smote the camp of the Philistines, from Gibeon even unto Gezer. Two places of this name lie to the north-west of Jerusalem, the former (now el Jib) 2½, the latter 4½, hours distant from it. If the battle-field is to be sought between the two, in the region of Upper and Nether Beth-horon, the valley, 1 Chronicles 14:13, may still be the valley of Rephaim; only the site of it should be sought not so far south, as Thenius and Bertheau suppose (who also read for Gibeon in our passage, “ Geba,” according to 2 Sam. 5:25), and the battle must be regarded as moving in a north-westerly direction from its starting-point (comp. Wellh. on 2 Sam. 5:25, also Ew. Gesch. d. V. Isr. ii. 610).

1 Chronicles 14:17. And David’s fame went out into all lands; and the Lord brought his fear upon all nation, literally, “ gave his fear upon all nations;” comp. Esth. 8:17. A pragmatic reflection of our author added to the original text, as its absence in 2 Sam. 5:25 shows. Comp. the similar reflections in 2 Chron. 17:10, 20. 29. On וַיֵּצֵא שֵׁם especially, comp. 2 Chron. 24:15.

Footnotes: 

[1] Kethib: חִירָם. Keri: חוּרָם, as always in Chronicles (Sept. Χειράμ, as ever).

[2]For בעמק the Sept. and Syr. read בעמק רפאים, which is perhaps original; comp. 2 Sam. 5:22.

η. The Removal of the Ark to Jerusalem, with the Solemn Hymn sung on this occasion: 1 Chronicles 15, 16

1 Chronicles 15:1And he made him houses in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.

2Then David said, None should carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the LORD hath chosen them to carry the ark of God, and to minister to Him for e1 Chronicles 15:3And David gathered all Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto its place which he had prepared for it. 4And David assembled the sons of Aaron, and the Levites. 5Of the sons of Kohath: Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty. 6Of the sons of Merari: Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty. 7Of the sons of Gershom: Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty. 8Of the sons of Elizaphan: Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred. 9Of the sons of Hebron: Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty. 10Of the sons of Uzziel: Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve. 11And David called Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab. 12And said unto them, Ye chiefs of the Levites, sanctify yourselves with your brethren, and bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. 13For because ye were not at the first, the 14LORD our God broke out upon us, because we sought Him not aright. And the priests and Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of 15Israel. And the sons of the Levites bare the ark of God, as Moses commanded by the word of the LORD, upon their shoulders, with staves upon them.

16And David said to the chiefs of the Levites, to appoint their brethren the singers with instruments, psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, sounding, to lift up 17the sound with gladness. And the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan son of Kushaiah.1 18And with them their brethren of the second degree: Zechariah,2 and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, 19and Jeiel, the porters. And the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, with cymbals of brass to sound aloud. 20And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries, in the way of maidens. 21And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps after the octave to lead. 22And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites;3 for he instructed in bearing, for he was skilful. 23And Berechiah and Elkanah were door-keepers for the ark 24And Shebaniah, and Joshaphat, and Nathaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, blew4 with the trumpets before the ark of God; and Obed-edom and Jehiah were door-keepers for the ark.

25And David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains of thousands, were going to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obededom 26with gladness. And when God helped the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD, then they offered seven bullocks and seven rams. 27And David was clothed with a robe of byssus, and all the Levites bearing the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the bearing [the singers];5 and upon 28David was a linen ephod. And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of cornet, and with trumpets, and with 29cymbals sounding, with psalteries and harps. And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, then Michal, daughter of Saul, looked out from the window, and saw King David leaping and playing; and she despised him in her heart.

1 Chronicles 16:1.And they brought the ark of God, and set it in the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God. 2And David made an end of offering burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the name of the LORD. 3And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a measure [of wine], and a grape cake.

4And he appointed before the ark of the LORD ministers of the Levites, to record, and to thank and to praise the LORD God of Israel. 5Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel,6 and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with psalteries and harps; and 6Asaph sounding with cymbals. And Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with 7trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. On that day then David ordered for the first time to thank the LORD by Asaph and his brethren.7

8     Thank ye the LORD, call on His name,

Make known His deed among the peoples.

9     Sing ye to Him, play ye to Him;

Muse on all His wonders.

10     Glory ye in His holy name;

Let the heart of them that seek the LORD be glad.

11     Seek ye the LORD and His strength,

Seek ye His face continually.

12     Remember His wonders that He hath done,

His signs, and the judgments of His mouth.

13     O ye seed of Israel His servant,

Ye sons of Jacob, His chosen.

14     He the LORD is our God,

His judgments are in all the earth.

15     Remember His covenant for ever—

The word He commanded to a thousand ages.

16     Which He made with Abraham,

And His oath unto Isaac.

17     And appointed it to Jacob for a statute,

To Israel for an everlasting covenant.

18     Saying, To thee I give the land of Canaan,

The line of your inheritance.

19     When ye were small in number,

Few, and strangers in it.

20     And they went from nation to nation,

And from one kingdom to another people.

21     He let no man do them wrong,

And reproved kings for their sake.

22     “Touch not mine anointed,

And do my prophets no harm.”

23     Sing ye to the LORD, all the earth;

Proclaim from day to day His salvation.

24     Tell ye among the nations His glory,

His wonders among all the peoples.

25     For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

And He is to be feared above all gods.

26     For all the gods of the peoples are idols;

But the LORD made the heavens.

27     Majesty and honour are before Him,

Strength and gladness are in His place.

28     Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people,

Give unto the LORD glory and strength.

29     Give to the LORD the glory due to His name;

Bring an oblation, and come before Him;

Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

30     Tremble before Him, all the earth:

The world will also stand fast without moving.

31     Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

And let them sing among the nations, The LORD reigneth.

32     Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;

Let the field rejoice, and all that is therein.

33     Then shall the trees of the wood sing out

Before the LORD; for He cometh to judge the earth.

34     Thank ye the LORD; for He is good;

For His mercy endureth for ever.

35     And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation,

And gather us and deliver us from the heathen,

To thank Thy holy name,

To glory in Thy praise.

36     Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

For ever and ever.

And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

37And he left there, before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, for the day’s work in its day. 38And Obed-edom8 and their brethren sixty and eight; and Obed-edom, son of Jedithun, and Hosah, to be porters. 39And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD, in the high place that was at Gibeon. 40To offer burnt-offerings to the LORD on the altar of burnt-offering continually morning and evening, and for all that is written in the law of the LORD, which He commanded Israel. 41And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to thank the LORD, that His mercy endureth for e1 Chronicles 15:42And with them, Heman and Jeduthun,9 were trumpets and cymbals for loud sounding, and [other] instruments of God; and the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate. 43And all the people went every man to his house; and David turned in to bless his house.

EXEGETICAL

PRELIMINARY REMARK.—Instead of the brief description of the parallel text 2 Sam. 6:11–23, our author gives a detailed account: 1. Of the preparations for the solemn act of transferring the ark into its new sanctuary in Jerusalem,15:1–24, including a. The erection of the tent for the reception of the ark, 1 Chronicles 15:1; b. a conference of the king with the priests and Levites, 1 Chronicles 15:2–16; and c. the selection of the Levites appointed for the chief part in the solemnity (and therefore designated by name), 1 Chronicles 15:16–24. 2. Then follows the execution of the so prepared holy act itself, 15:25–16:3; at the close of which comes the description of the first solemn service before the ark in its new sanctuary on Zion, 16:4–43, in-cluding the psalm of praise and thanks then sung, 1 Chronicles 15:8–36. This long closing section is (except the last verse) peculiar to the Chronist. On its credibility, and especially on the genuineness and age of the psalm of praise and thanks, see at the close of these expositions.

1. The Preparation for the Removal; and first, a. The erection of the tent on Zion: 15:1.—And he made him houses in the city of David. This may be understood of the building of other houses besides the palace built with the aid of Hiram of Tyre, 14:1 (Berth., Kamph.); but as the verb used is עשׂה, not בנה, it appears rather to refer to the internal finishing of a palace for the abode of the king and his wives.—And he prepared a place for the ark of God. This was probably in the immediate neighbourhood of the king’s house adjoining it; for here the one of the two existing high priests, Abiathar the Ithamaride, who, since the massacre at Nob, was constantly about David (as it were his court or domestic priest, while Zadok of the house of Eleazar officiated at Gibeon), was to exercise his functions.—And pitched for it a tent, we may suppose, after the model of the old tabernacle still existing at Gibeon (16: 39 f., 21:29; 1 Kings 3:4 ff.), but only as a provisional sanctuary.

2. Continuation. b. The conference with the priests and Levites: 1 Chronicles 15:2–15.—Then David said, namely, at the end of the three months, 13:14.—None should carry, properly, “it is not to carry.” With this confession of the sole right of the Levites to carry the ark (comp. Num. 1:50, 4:15, 7:9, 10:17), David acknowledges that it was unlawful to convey it on a waggon, 13:7.

1 Chronicles 15:3. And David gathered all Israel, by its natural representatives, the elders and captains of thousands; see 1 Chronicles 15:25, and comp. 2 Sam. 6:15: “ all the house of Israel.” Of this summons to a previous consultation in Jerusalem nothing further is reported, 2 Sam. 6:

1 Chronicles 15:4. And David assembled the sons of Aaron, and the Levites; he formed of these representatives of the priesthood an inner circle in the assembly of the people, to hear their counsel regarding the order of the solemnities. “ The sons of Aaron” are the high priests Zadok and Abiathar, 1 Chronicles 15:11; the “Levites ” are the six chiefs named in 1 Chronicles 15:5–10, with their brethren.

1 Chronicles 15:5. Of the sons of Kohath: Uriel the chief; see 6:9. The Kohathite chief is named first, because the ministry of the most holy, the carrying of the most holy vessels of the tabernacle, belonged to the Kohathites, the family from which Aaron the high priest sprang, Num. 4:4, 15, 7:9 (Keil).—On the Merarite chief Asaiah, comp. 4:15; on Joel, the chief of the sons of Gershom, 6:21.

1 Chronicles 15:8–10 name the chiefs of three other Kohathite families, those of Elizaphan (= Elzaphan son of Uzziel, Ex. 6:22), of Hebron (son of Kohath, Ex. 6:18; comp. 1 Chron. 5:28), and of Uzziel. The last named is probably not different from the Kohathite Uzziel, father of Elizaphan, Ex. 6:22; there are thus formed of the sons of this two houses, of which one is named after Elizaphan, the other after Uzziel himself, and not any of his other sons. There are then in all four Kohathite houses, with one Merarite and one Gershomite, here represented: a strong preference of the house of Kohath, which is not surprising, because the conveyance of the ark specially belonged to them.

1 Chronicles 15:11. And David called Zadok (of Eleazar, 5:27 ff.) and Abiathar (of Ithamar), the high priests, who then acted together; see above on 1 Chronicles 15:1, and comp. 24:3; 2 Sam. 15:24 ff., 20:25.

1 Chronicles 15:12. Ye chiefs of the Levites, literally, “ ye chiefs of the fathers of the Levites;” comp. 8:6, 10.—Sanctify yourselves with your brethren, properly, “ye and your brethren.” The “sanctifying” consisted in keeping from their wives, from contact with unclean things, and also in washing the body and the clothes; comp. Gen. 35:2 with Ex.19:10, 15, also 2 Chron. 30:3—To (the place) I have prepared for it,אֶל־הֲכִינוֹתִי לוֹ. The same elliptical construction (with omitted אֲשֶׁר, or immediate connection of the relative sentence with the preposition) see in 2 Chron. 1:4; comp. 1 Chron. 29:3; 2 Chron. 16:9, 30:18; Neh. 8:10 (Ew. § 333, b).

1 Chronicles 15:13. For because ye were not at the beginning, or “ye were not those who bare the ark.” “At the beginning,” on the former occasion, when three months before the ark was brought from Kiriath-jearim, 13. On the peculiar construction לְמַבָּרִאשׁוֹנָה (from לְמָה and בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה), comp. מַה־תְּלָאָה = מַתְּלָאָהMal. 1:13, and Ew. § 91, d. לְמָה in this compound signifies “for this, that,” “because;” comp. EW. § 222, a, 353, a.—The Lord our God broke out upon us (13:11), because we sought Him not aright, because we approached Him not in the manner prescribed by law, had neglected to testify our reverence to Him by keeping the legal regulation, that only Levites should bear the holy things

1 Chronicles 15:15. And the sons of the Levites bear the ark of God. An anticipation, occasioned by that which was said in the verse before of the immediate execution of the order for the purification of the Levites. See the particulars, 1 Chronicles 15:25 ff.—Upon their shoulders, with staves upon them, upon their shoulders. On מוֹטָה (from מוֹט, “waver”), the pole, comp. Num. 13:23 (also Lev. 25:13; Ezek. 34:27). In the Pentat. the poles are besides called בַּדִּיםEX. 25:13 ff., etc.

3. Close. c. The appointment of the Levitical singers for the solemnity: 1 Chronicles 15:16–24.—To appoint their brethren the singers with instruments, properly, “with instruments of song,” that is, to accompany the singing. Such כְּלֵי שִׁיר (comp. Neh. 12:36) are now named in three classes: 1. נְבָלִים, ψαλτήρια (Sept.), or nablia (Vulg.), guitarlike instruments, consisting of an oblong chest with flat bottom and convex sounding board, over which strings of wire were stretched, called by Luther, in accordance with the Sept. (and the Arab, santir), psalteries, by others “harps” or nablia; 2. בִּנֹּרוֹת (Sept. κίνυραι, Vulg. lyrœ), harps or lute-like instruments, rendered by Luther not unsuitably, “harps,” though lutes would perhaps be more correct [rather should the former be called lutes]; 3. מְצִלְתַּיִם (equivalent to the older. term צֶלְצְלִים2 Sam. 6:5; Ps. 150:5), here more fully defined by the epithet מַשְׁמִיעִים, “clear-sounding” (making to hear), which belongs neither to all the three instruments (Berth.), nor to the too remote “their brethren the singers” (Kamph.), but, as in 1 Chronicles 15:19, 28, and 16:5, 42, only to מְצִלְתַּיִם; comp. Böttch. Neue exeg.-krit. Aehrenl. iii. 223 f. (who, however, assigns to the term the unsuitable meaning, “beating time”).—To lift up the sound with gladness, to express or signify joy; comp. 1 Chronicles 15:25; 2 Chron. 23:18, 29:30. This telic clause refers not merely to the clear-sounding cymbals, but to the chief sentence.

1 Chronicles 15:17. And the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel. That this Heman was of the family of the Kohathites, and Asaph of the Gershonites (comp. 5:18, 24), is not here stated; only of the third song-master Ethan is his family, or his descent from Merari, expressly mentioned. On the name of Ethan’s father, Kushaiah, see Crit. Note.

1 Chronicles 15:18. And with them their brethren of the second degree. On הַמִּשְׁנִים, “the second in rank,” comp. the sing.הַמִּשְׁנֶה, 2 Kings 23:4 and 1 Chron. 16:5.—Zechariah and Jaaziel. For the certainly spurious בֵּן after זְכַרְיָהוּ, see Crit. Note. The here named Jaaziel is certainly identical with the Aziel, 1 Chronicles 15:20, and with the Jeiel, 16:5, or rather these names are to be changed into the present one.—And Obed-edom and Jeiel the porters. The office of doorkeeper does not exclude their acting also as musicians, as 1 Chronicles 15:21 shows. After Jeiel, as the same verse teaches, the name Azaziah must have fallen out, so that originally there were not thirteen but fourteen persons named as musicians of the second order. After these singers and musicians have been mentioned by name (and in two orders or ranks, 1 Chronicles 15:17 and 18), they are again brought forward, 1 Chronicles 15:19–21, divided into three choirs, after the musical instruments or. which they played.

1 Chronicles 15:19. The Cymbal Players: Heman, Asaph, and Ethan.—With cymbals of brass to sound aloud, they were bound, had this to do. The cymbals were wholly of brass; comp. 1 Cor. 13:1: χαλκὸς ἠχῶν, and Joseph. Antiq.vii. 12. 3:κύμβαλά τε ἦν πλατέα καὶ μεγάλα χάλκεα. The “loud-sounding” (הַשְׁמִיעַ) of the three cymbal players was designed to beat time or direct; for in 1 Chronicles 15:17 they are placed before as leaders.

1 Chronicles 15:20. The Players on Psalteries or Nablia: Zechariah and Seven Others. Of these, who are here repeated with slight changes from 1 Chronicles 15:18 (instead of Jaaziel, the second is here called Aziel; and at the end of the first series stands here Maaseiah before Benaiah, there inversely), it is here stated that they played with psalteries in the way of maidens.עַל־עֲלָמוֹת is certainly the name of that tone, which sounds in a high, clear voice, that is, the soprano, as the following עַל־הַשְּׁמִינִית, “after (or on) the octave,” is equivalent to “on the bass,” al ottava bassa. Comp. Del. on Ps. 6:1, 46:1.

1 Chronicles 15:21. The Harp or Lute Players: Mattaniah and Five Others.—With harps after the octave to lead. How this leading or directing expressed by נצח is distinct from that which is expressed, 1 Chronicles 15:19, by השׁמיע, we can no longer define; at all events, it was not such directing as could belong only to the music-master. Comp. Delitzsch on Ps. 4:1.

1 Chronicles 15:22–24 bring forward the other Levites engaged in the solemn procession.—And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, for bearing.בְּמַשָּׂא (or as perhaps is to be read, with R. Norzi, בַּמַּשָּׂא) is scarcely to be understood of any presiding or overseeing action of Chenaniah (as the Sept. ὁ ἄρχων τῶν ᾠδῶν, Vulg. prophetiœ prœerat ad prœcinendam melodiam; Luth. “to instruct in singing;” L. Lavater, supremus musicus; Kamph. and others, “the leader in execution,” etc.). The phrase is rather to be referred to the bearing of the ark, which, according to 1 Chronicles 15:23 f., is here in question (comp. also מַשָּׂא in 2 Chron. 35:3 and Num. 4:19).With this agrees, rightly conceived, 1 Chronicles 15:27, as well as the later mention of Chenaniah in 26:29, where he is placed over the outward business of the Levites (rightly Berth. and Keil; undecided Kamph.).—Instructed in bearing; for he was skilful, acquainted with the ritual, experienced in the ceremonial relative to the bearing of the ark. Whether we take יָסֹר as inf. abs. Kal in the sense of the verb.-fin.יסר, “instruct” (J. H. Mich., Gesen., etc.), or as imperf. of שָׂרַר = סרר, “be chief, command” (Berth., etc.), or as a subst. in the sense of “instructor” (Keil), the meaning of presiding, directing, leading, is at all events expressed by the word.

1 Chronicles 15:23. And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark, who were to guard not so much the doors of the ark itself as those of the tent that gave access to it; thus, in general, to guard the ark. As these two at first, and then at the close of the following verse, Obed-edom and Jehiah also, are named as doorkeepers of the ark, we must regard the former two as going before the ark during the solemn procession, and the latter two as following after. Close by the ark, however, either immediately before it or on the two sides, the seven priests blowing trumpets, 1 Chronicles 15:24, may be supposed to go.

1 Chronicles 15:24. And Shebaniah … blew with trumpets before the ark of God. Whether the Kethibמַ‍ֽחֲצֹצְרִים (denom. from חֲצֹצְרָה) or the Keriמַחְצְרִים (Hiph. of חצר) is read does’ not affect the sense. The blowing of trumpets here is according to the prescription, Num. 10:1–10, and the example of the compassing of Jericho, Josh. 6:4–6.—And Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark. Of these, Obed-edom was a son of Jeduthun, 16:38, and so perhaps different from him of the same name among the singers, 1 Chronicles 15:18, 21 (though he also, 1 Chronicles 15:18, is called a doorkeeper). Perhaps also the Jehiah named with him is not to be identified with Jehiel there (1 Chronicles 15:18 and 21) named with Obed-edom (against Raschi, Berth., etc.). It is plain that according to all this the whole procession included the following divisions:—1. The singers arranged in three choirs; 2. Chenaniah the captain of the bearers (as it were marshal); 3. Two doorkeepers; 4. Seven priests blowing trumpets close by the ark; 5. Two doorkeepers. After these followed, 1 Chronicles 15:25, the king, with the elders and captains of thousands.

4. The Execution of that which was resolved in the Assembly: 15:25–16:3.—And David and the elders of Israel, and the captains of thousands (commanders over the thousands, chiliarchs).וַֽיְהִי דָוִיד וגו׳ connects this with 1 Chronicles 15:3, after the details concerning the preparations have intervened. The parallel 2 Sam. 6:12 wants this connecting ויהי, and does not mention the elders and chiliarchs along with David.

1 Chronicles 15:26. And when God helped the Levites, permitted them without danger or harm to convey the ark, thus to escape the fate of Uzza. The offering of seven bullocks and seven rams seems to have been made at the close of the procession, after the conveyance had been successfully conducted. Otherwise 2 Sam. 6:13, where (at least in the Masoretic text) David, after the bearers of the ark had made the first six steps, offered a sacrifice. It is probable that both accounts are original, and that the two must be harmonized and combined.

1 Chronicles 15:27. And David was clothed with a robe of byssus. Instead of these words (וְדָוִיד מְכֻרְבָּל בִּמְעִיל בּוּץ), 2 Sam. 6:14 presents וְדָוִיד מְכַרְכֵּר בְּכָל־עזֹ (with the addition לִפְנֵי יְהוָֹה). That מכרבל is corrupted from מכרכר, and במעיל בוץ from בכל־עז (Berth., etc.; also Böttcher, Neue Aehrenlese, iii. 224), might be assumed, if the לפני יהוה, wanting in our text, did not create a difficulty. For this assumption, according to which the Chronist shall have thought it unbecoming to speak of David (and, with Berth., the Levites also) dancing, though in15:29 and 13:8 he states, or at least implies, this fact quite freely, it is at all events easier to regard both texts as abbreviations of one and the same narrative contained in the common sources of our author, which, besides the dancing of David (which the Chronist merely presupposes, while the author of 2 Samuel gives it prominence), contained full reports of the clothing of David, and of the Levites around him. It is accordingly to be supposed that the Chronist has taken only these latter reports in full, “because the statement concerning the clothing of the king and the Levites appeared more important for the purpose of describing fully the religious aspect of the procession, as this import of it was more conspicuous here; for the dress which the king wore had a priestly character” (Keil; comp. Movers, p. 168). That the verb כּרבל, “to be wrapt up,” belongs to the later usage of speech, or rather, is properly Chaldaic (Dan. 3:21), can scarcely bring into question the justice of this harmonistic assumption (against Böttch.).—And all the Levites … and the singers, and Chenaniah. To these also obviously applies the being “clothed with a robe of byssus,” which is first said of David. All these, who are here in apposition with David, are described as adorned with priestly attire, with the meïl of byssus (comp. the byssus attire of the Levites and singers in the dedication of the temple by Solomon, 2 Chron. 5:12, and for the meïl, the upper garment of distinguished persons, 1 Sam. 2:19, 15:27, 18:4, 24:5; Ezra 9:3; Job 29:14). The closing sentence, “and upon David was a linen ephod,” first names the distinguishing part of the clothing of the king as the sovereign of the priestly people (comp. 2 Sam. 6:14). The designation of Chenaniah as “the master of the bearing” (הַשַּׂר הַמַּשָּׂא with the double article; comp. EW. § 290, d) is to be understood according to 1 Chronicles 15:22; the unmeaning: “the singers,” after הַמַּשָּׂא, appears spurious (see Crit. Note); even if we understood מַשָּׂא of musical performance, this addition would be disturbing.

1 Chronicles 15:28. With shouting, and with sound of cornet, etc. Shorter and simpler 2 Sam. 6:15, without naming the several instruments.

1 Chronicles 15:29. Then Michal … saw King David leaping and playing. Instead of מרקד ומשהק2 Sam. 6:16 has מְפַזֵּז וּמְכַרְכֵּר. This brief reference to the well-known history, fully reported in 2 Sam. 6:16, 20–23, of the dispute between David and Michal, shows sufficiently that the Chronist did not wish to be silent concerning this matter from dogmatic or æsthetic considerations. Moreover, 15:29–16:3 agrees in all essentials with 2 Sam. 6:16–19a.—1 Chronicles 16:3. To every one a loaf of bread (כִּכַּר לֶחֶם, the more usual phrase for the rarer חַלַּת ל׳ used in 2 Sam. 6, 19), and a measure (of wine), and a grape cake. The אֶשְׁפַּר, occurring only here and 2 Samuel, is explained by the Vulg., Chald., and Syr., and by several Rabbis and moderns (EW., Berth., Kamph.), as “a piece of flesh” (roast), as if from פַּר, ox, and אֵשׁ, or rather from שׁרף = שׁפר, “ to burn.” But the reference of the word to שׁפר, in the sense of the Aethiopic safara = metiri, “to measure,” is better ascertained, according to which, אשׁפר (with אprosthet.) signifies a portion of drink, a measure of wine (de Dieu, Gesen., Rödiger, Keil, etc.). On אֲשִׁישָׁה, “grape or raisin cake” (from אשׁשׁ, to make firm, press), comp. Song 2:5, Hos. 3:1, and the equivalent צמוקים, 12:40.

5. The First Solemn Service before the Ark in Jerusalem, and the Institution of Divine Service in general: 1 Chronicles 16:4–43.—a. The Levite appointed for service by David: 1 Chronicles 16:4–6.—And he appointed (properly, “gave;” comp. 1 Chronicles 16:7) before the ark of the Lord ministers of the Levites, namely, as the addition “to record, etc.” shows, singers and players for the purpose of sacred singing, Levitical ministers (λειτουργοῦντας, Sept.).—To record, and to thank, and to praise.לְהַזְכִּיר, literally, “to bring to remembrance, to pray at the אַזְכָּרָה of the meat-offering” (Lev. 2:2; comp. Ps. 38:1, 60:1, and Del. on the first passage). לְהוֹדוֹת, properly, “to confess” (Sept., ἐξομολογεῖσθαι), refers to the singing of psalms that prominently confess and express thanks to God, as לְהַלֵּל refers to the praises of the hallelujah songs.

1 Chronicles 16:5.Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, literally, “and as his second, his next man (follower);” comp. Esth. 10:3. Of the three song-masters and fourteen musicians named in the list 15:19–21, a part only are named again: of the song-masters only Asaph, and of the musicians only nine (namely, six of the eight nebel-players and three of the six kinnor-players), and also, 1 Chronicles 16:6, of the seven trumpet-blowers, only two, Benaiah and Jahaziel, the latter of whom did not appear in 15:24. As we possess no parallel report to compare with the contents of our section, nothing definite can be conjectured of the relation of the present names to those of the longer series, and it must be left uncertain’ whether Jahaziel be identical with the Eliezer named, 1 Chronicles 16:24, along with Benaiah.

6. Continuation. b. The song of praise and thanks by Asaph and his brethren: 1 Chronicles 16:7–36. On that day then David ordered for the first time . . . by Asaph, etc. Properly, “then David gave over . . . by the hand of Asaph;” נָתַן בְּיַד, here “to hand over, arrange.” בָּרֹאשׁ not “by the chief, by Asaph,” but “ first, for the first time;” comp. מֵרֹאשׁ, Isa. 40:21. This is the first introduction of the new cultus. Along with Asaph are named “his brethren,” the Levites arranged with (and under) him, enumerated in 1 Chronicles 16:5, 6. We may observe, moreover, how clearly this verse, especially by its בָּרֹאשׁ, announces the following song as an ideal composition, characterizing only in general that which was to be sung by the musicians, but not expressing a stereotype form. Had the author wished to convey the sense that the song was sung for all time so as he communicated it, and not otherwise, he would have added, “and he commanded them thus to sing,” or, “to sing this song.”

1 Chronicles 16:8 ff. Thank ye the Lord, call on His name, etc. Of the eight strophes of the song, the first four (1 Chronicles 16:8–22) correspond to the opening of Ps. 105 (1 Chronicles 16:1–15); the next three (1 Chronicles 16:23–33) to Ps. 96; the last (1 Chronicles 16:34–36) to the first and last two verses of Ps. 106, with some unimportant variations which are here to be noted.—First Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:8–11 ( = Ps. 105:1–4): Summons to sing praise to the Lord and to seek His face.—Second Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:12–14 ( = Ps. 105:5–7): Summons to think of the wonders of the Lord and His judgments. Here are the first variants, namely, 1 Chronicles 16:12, פִּיהוּ instead of פִּיו, and, 1 Chronicles 16:13, זֶרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל instead of ז׳ אַבְרָהָם of which the latter only is of any consequence. On account of the parallelism with the “sons of Jacob,” the “seed of Israel” appears the better reading.—Third Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:15–18 ( = Ps. 105:8–11): Summons to think of the covenant made by the Lord with the fathers.—Remember His-covenant for ever.Ps. 105 rather: “He remembereth, etc.” (זָכַר for זִכְרוּ). Our reading, corresponding better with the application of the song to the end proposed in 1 Chronicles 16:7, appears to be substituted for the more original one of the Psalm.

1 Chronicles 16:16. And His oath unto Isaac. For לְיִצְחָקPs. 105:9 presents the weaker form לְיִשְׂחָק (found also in Amos 7:9; Jer.33:26), a critically unimportant variant, like that in 1 Chronicles 16:18a, where אֶרֶץ בְּנָעַן stands for אֶת־אדץ־כ.—Fourth Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:19–22 ( = Ps. 105:12–15): Reason of the summons to remember the covenant of the Lord with the fathers, because the Lord has so truly and mightily protected them according to His promise.—When ye were small in number. Instead of בִּהְיוֹתְכֶםPs. 105:12 presents בְּהִיוֹתָם. To address the children of Israel again corresponds better with the aim of the Psalm; this variant is thus similar to that in 1 Chronicles 16:15, but affords no presumption in favour of the priority of this or that reading.

1 Chronicles 16:20. And from one kingdom.Ps. 105 omits the “and” (וְ before מִמַּמְלָכָה); critically unimportant, as also the two following variants (1 Chronicles 16:21,לְאִישׁ for אָדָם, and, 1 Chronicles 16:22, וּבִנְבִיאַי for וְלִנְבִיאַי).—Fifth Strophe: vers, 23–27 ( = Ps. 96:1–6): All the world shall concur in praise of the greatness and glory of God.—The first verse of this passage seems compounded of the first two verses of Ps. 96, the first members being omitted. Whether this be an abbreviating process of the Chronist, or an amplifying one of the Psalmist, it is hard to determine; much may be said for each of the two assumptions (see Keil).

1 Chronicles 16:27. Strength and gladness are in His place (וְחֶדְוָה בִּמְקֹמוֹ; comp. for this late, but in Aram, frequent, חֶדְוָה, Ezra 6:16; Neh. 8:10). On the contrary, Ps. 46:6: “strength and beauty in His sanctuary” (וְתִפְאֶרֶת בְּמִקְדָשׁוֹ)—Sixth Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:28–30 (= Ps. 96:7–9): All nations shall worship God with offerings and confessions.

1 Chronicles 16:29. Give, to the Lord the glory due to His name, etc. Instead of two, this verse has, to our surprise, three members: the first two correspond to Ps. 96:8; 1 Chronicles 16:9 there to our 1 Chronicles 16:29c and 1 Chronicles 16:30a. The disturbance of the parallel in our verse rests on this, that after 1 Chronicles 16:31a ( = Ps. 96:11a) the verse-member Ps. 96:10a is placed, but Ps. 96:10c is altogether omitted. Thus, in our text, the verse beginning with “give to the Lord the glory;” on the contrary, in Ps. 96, that beginning with “say among the heathen” (1 Chronicles 16:10), forms the exception to the otherwise constant bipartition of the verse. It is impossible, however, to arrive at a certain result on which side the priority lies (see on 1 Chronicles 16:31).—Bring an oblation, and come before Him.Ps. 96:8b: “and come to His courts” (לְחַצְרוֹתָיוfor לְפָנָיו). This variant is similar to that in 1 Chronicles 16:27, where “in His sanctuary” of the Psalm is changed into the more general “in His place,” because the mention of the “sanctuary” (as here of the “courts”) does not seem to comport well with the time and aim of the present song, which was sung before the erection of the temple.

1 Chronicles 16:30. Tremble before Him, all the earth. For מִלְּפָנָיוPs. 96:9 has מִפָּנָיו, an unimportant difference,—Seventh Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:31–33 ( = Ps. 96:10–13): Even the inanimate creation will exult before the Lord of all nations coming to judgment. 1 Chronicles 16:31a corresponds to Ps. 96:11a, but 1 Chronicles 16:31b to Ps. 96:10a.—And let them say among the nations, etc., is in Ps. 96:10a: “say among the nations” (אִמְרוּ instead of וְיֹאמְרוּ). it is too much to say that this summons, addressed to the Israelites after the words “tremble before Him, all the earth” (which there go immediately before, as 1 Chronicles 16:9b), yields a “rather tame thought,” and speaks for the priority of the text of Chronicles (Keil). The position of the present summons among mere appeals to the representatives of inanimate nature, as the heavens, the earth, the sea, the field, may appear surprising and disturbing. There is something excited and wavering in the line of thought and mode of expression, there as well as here.

1 Chronicles 16:32b. Let the field rejoice, etc. For יַֽעֲלֹץ הַשּׂרֶהPs 90:12a presents יַֽעֲלֹז שָׂדַי, in which the poetic and archaic שָׂדַי, instead of the prosaic הַשָּׂדֶה seems not without significance.

1 Chronicles 16:33. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out. For this Ps.96:12b has “all trees of the wood.” The second member of this verse corresponds to the first in Ps. 96:13, as far as the repetition of “for He cometh” כִּי בָא, which occurs only once here. Ps. 96:13b, the close of the whole Psalm, is wanting in our text, which the defenders of the priority of the latter explain thus: that when the contents of our verses 23–33 were made a distinct Psalm, it was found necessary to make at the close a suitable addition; whereas the matter may as well be explained by the abbreviating habit of our author (as the later compiler of the present song).—Eighth Strophe: 1 Chronicles 16:34–36 ( = Ps.106:1, 47, 48): Repeated summons to thank God, and to pray for His further help, with the closing doxology.—Thank ye the Lord: for He is good, etc. This verse is found not merely at the head of Ps.106, but also of Ps. 107, 118, 136. (comp. also Ps. 118, 29 and Jer. 33:11); as an old and favourite liturgical form, it is not necessarily to be regarded as taken from Ps. 106 in particular.

1 Chronicles 16:35. And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation. Similar, but not verbally SO,Ps. 106:47, where “and say ye” is wanting, and for “God of our salvation” stands “the Lord our God.”—And gather us and deliver us from the heathen. For this Ps. 106:47 has: “and gather us from the heathen.” The two following members agree verbally with the parallel verse of the Psalm.—Blessed be the Lord, etc. This closing doxology, which recurs exactly in Ps. 106:48, forms there the close of the fourth, book of the Psalter, together with the words: “and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord,” which are here changed into the historical notice: “and all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord” (וַיֹּאמְרוּ for the jussive וְאָמַר, and וְהַלֵּל יְהוָֹה for הַלְּלוּ יָהּ). Even in these last deviations from the similar passages of the Psalter there is nothing that could prove with certainty the priority of our text, and a partly imitative, partly devious, procedure of the Psalmist. With regard to the doxology ברוךְ יהוה וגו׳ which was originally nothing else than the liturgical close of the fourth book (analogous to those at the close of Ps. 41, 72, and 89), it is much more probable that our author changed, for his own purpose, this doxologincal formula, which may have been attached to Ps. 106. long ago, from liturgical use. And the more probable this must appear to the unprejudiced mind, the more clearly all the other differences between our text and that of the corresponding Psalms appear as alterations, occasioned by the revising and compiling habit of the Chronist, of that which was before him in the Psalter. Comp. the closing remarks.

7. Division of the Levites and Priests for Divine Service (as continuation and close of the list of Levitical singers and players in 1 Chronicles 16:4–6): 1 Chronicles 16:37–43.—Asaph and his brethren. The לְ before the accus. of the object, according to later usage.—For the day’s work in its day, literally, “for the matter of the day on its day,” that is, according to the service required for every day; comp. 2 Chron. 8:14, 31:16.

1 Chronicles 16:38. And Obed-edom and their brethren sixty and eight. That here should be read, according to what follows: “and Obed-edom and Hosah and their brethren,” see Crit. Note. If, indeed, in the next clause of our verse: “and Obed-edom … and Hosah to be porters,” another Obed-edom were meant, as the distinction of this as “son of Jedithun” (possibly, 26:4, a Korhite Jedithun, and not the Merarite singer Jeduthun) appears to indicate, some other name than that of Hosah must be supplied along with the former Obed-edom. Even in 15:21, 24 there seem to be two different Obed-edoms, a singer, 1 Chronicles 16:21, and a porter, 1 Chronicles 16:24. Yet the diversity of the two named in our verse is by no means certain; for in 26:4–8, of Obed-edom with his sons and brothers, sixty-two men are mentioned as porters, which nearly agrees with the present number sixty-eight, and seems to point to the identity of the first-mentioned and the second Obed-edom. 1 Chronicles 16:42 of our chapter also shows clearly enough the identity of the present Jedithun with Jeduthun. In the notorious defectiveness of the text, besides, we cannot attain to a certain decision.

1 Chronicles 16:39. And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priestsויעזב, 1 Chronicles 16:37, still acts as the governing verb. For the continued religious use of the sanctuary at Gibeon under David, see on 15:1. It is to be remarked that Zadok is designated only as priest, not as high priest, as he was made first by Solomon; see 1 Kings 2:27, 35.

1 Chronicles 16:40. To offer burnt-offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt-offering. The mention here of burnt-offerings only at Gibeon proves nothing against the assumption that they were also offered in the sanctuary at Jerusalem; and 1 Chronicles 21:26, 30 shows directly and expressly that these offerings were made here also, no doubt under the direction of Abiathar (comp. 18:16).—Continually morning and evening. Comp. the prescriptions of the law, Ex. 29:38; Num. 28:3, 6.—And for all (that was prescribed besides the daily burnt-offering; comp. Num. 28) that is written.לְכָל־הַבָּתוּב, briefly for לַֽעֲשׂוֹת בָּל־הכ׳.

1 Chronicles 16:41. And with them, etc., with Zadok and his brethren. This refers to the singers at the sanctuary in Gibeon, where Heman, Jeduthun (Ethan), and a number of subordinates were appointed. The Chronist points indeed to a list before him, in which the Gibeonite singers were named (on נִקְּבוּ בְּשֵׁמוֹת, comp. 12:31), but does not specify them, because the singers under Asaph at Jerusalem, who are enumerated 1 Chronicles 16:4–6, interested him most.

1 Chronicles 16:42.And with them, Heman and Jeduthun, were trumpets and cymbals. So, according to the Masoretic reading, which, however, appears suspicious, from the absence of the names Heman and Jeduthun in the Sept. (comp. Crit. Note), and gives no very suitable sense. If we erase the two names, the sense comes out: “and with them were, that is, they had trumpets and cymbals,” a phrase somewhat strange, but still affording a suitable sense, which is at all events to be preferred to the artificial and forced emendation of Bertheau (“And Heman and Jeduthun were playing aloud with trumpets and cymbals, and with them the others chosen, with song-instruments of God”).—For loud sounding,לְמַשְׁמִיעִים. This epithet belonging to the מְצִלְתַּיִם defines the cymbals as giving the tone, or intoning the melody, and thus being a means of leading the song for the song-masters Heman and Jeduthun; comp. on 15:16, 19.—And (other) instruments of God, other instruments of religious music besides those named, especially psalteries and harps.—And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate; they were appointed to guard the entrance of the Gibeonite tabernacle. These are obviously Obed-edom, Hosah, and their brethren, who had been designated, 1 Chronicles 16:38, as doorkeepers.

1 Chronicles 16:43. And all the people went every man to his house; essentially as in 2 Sam. 6:19, 20, where this closing verse of our chapter has its parallel in an otherwise much more concise report. The narrative there added, of David’s altercation with Michal (comp. 15:29), our author omits as a scene of a purely domestic character, unsuitable to his purpose.—And David turned in to bless his house, on this festive day, as he had before (1 Chronicles 16:2) blessed the whole people in the name of the Lord.

Appendix: On the Credibility of the Contents of 1 Chronicles 16

As 1 Chronicles 12, notwithstanding its exclusive transmission by our author, makes the impression of the highest credibility, the statistical data and registers also of our section, just because they are mostly of a concrete and detailed kind, afford the warrant of a true rendering of the historical facts. Important there as well as here is the reference to greater and richer registers, that must have served the Chronist as sources, without being exhausted by him; comp. the characteristic אֲשֶׁר־נִקְּבוּ בְּשֵׁמוֹת 12:31, 16:41, and such specifications of names as 1 Chronicles 16:4–6 and 1 Chronicles 16:38 ff., which clearly indicate in the author a process of abstracting and contracting more copious lists. It is manifest enough that he was in a position, as belonging himself to the corps of Levitical singers after the exile (Introd. § 3), to draw these statements from the full fountains, and to depend on copious written and oral traditions.

Only with respect to the song given in 1 Chronicles 16:8–36, at the dedication, the assumption of strict historical accuracy appears to be given up on account of its relation to several parallel Psalms; and an ideal composing process of the writer, similar to that of Livy and Thucydides in their speeches, is assumed as necessary. We know not, in fact, what could stand against the admissibility of this assumption, defended by Bertheau, Kamph., Dillmann, Davidson, Ewald (Bibl. Jahrb. vi. 24), Delitzsch (Komm. zum Psalter, ii. p. 93 f.), A. Köhler (Zeitschr. für luth. Theol. 1867, p. 295 ff.), C. Ehrt (Abfassungszeit und Schlvss des Ps., Leipzig 1869, p. 41 ff.), Hupfeld, and others. If, of recent scholars, on the one hand Hitzig (Die Psalmen, 2 Bd. 1865, p. 8. ff.), on the other Keil (Komm. p. 155 ff.),—the former impelled by a hypercritical zeal to show the Maccabean origin of those Psalms to be probable, the latter by an apologetic motive in favour of the Chronist,—have endeavoured to prove our form to be original, and the passages of the Psalms 105:1–15, 96:1–13, 106:1, 47, 48, to be mere fragments of the original song, against this the following considerations remain still in force:—

1. The constitution of both the texts, even if the greater number of defects and corruptions occur in the Psalms, and the text of Chronicles be comparatively older and better, admits of no certain conclusion with respect to the greater or less age of the one or the other recension. For, irrespective of the many cases in which Chronicles most probably contains the later readings (for example, 1 Chronicles 16:27, חֶדְוָה; 32, הַשָּׂדֶה 1 Chronicles 16:29, לְפָנָיו for לְחַצְרוֹתָיו; and again, 1 Chronicles 16:27, בִּמְקֹמוֹ for בְּמִקְדָּשׁוֹ), the more archaic form of the text cannot of itself decide in favour of priority, as younger MSS., and certainly Hebrew as well as Greek and Latin, often enough present a more original text than older ones, and the text of the passages in the Psalms are not to be judged according to their external written form. For “the text of the Psalms, while they were in liturgical use, was more exposed to alterations from the influence of the later speech than that of a historical book; and on this ground, more ancient turns and phrases in Chronicles could not be at once maintained as proofs that Chronicles was original and the Psalms an imitation” (Berth.).

2. If we consider the matter and line of thought in our song, and compare it with the corresponding Psalms, the latter appear simple, well connected, and well-ordered wholes in a higher degree than the former. The transition from strophe four to strophe five of our song (see 1 Chronicles 16:22, 28) is abrupt and sudden. We expect that after 1 Chronicles 16:22, either the agency of Jehovah in the early time of Israel will be further depicted, as is done in Ps. 105, where complete connection and unity of thought prevails10, or at least, by a description of His agency in the heathen world or in inanimate nature (comp. Ps. 104), the way will be prepared for the summonses contained in 1 Chronicles 16:23–33. A similar hiatus again appears between 1 Chronicles 16:33 and 34 (or between strophes seven and eight), and also after the section parallel with Ps. 96. For the summons of 1 Chronicles 16:34, as appears undeniable from 1 Chronicles 16:35, is to be regarded as specially directed to Israel; but Israel is not spoken of either in 1 Chronicles 16:34 or in the whole preceding paragraph, 1 Chronicles 16:23–33. If Hitzig thinks that here the end of the song only returns to its beginning, he has not sufficiently considered that petitions such as those contained in 1 Chronicles 16:35, for the deliverance and gathering of Israel from the heathen, do not occur at the beginning of the song, and that these petitions come in here quite unexpectedly after the previous line of thought in 1 Chronicles 16:8–33; whereas they are very well introduced in Ps. 106:47, after 1 Chronicles 16:40–46.

3. Decisive for the priority of the Psalter is the transference of the closing doxology of the fourth book of Psalms (Ps. 106:48) by the redactor of our song; see on this passage, and comp. Delitzsch on the Psalm.

4. The manner in which the song is introduced (see on 1 Chronicles 16:7) points also to an ideal composing activity of the author of it.

5. Our combining of a number of passages from the Psalms into one whole should not be regarded as a product of mere trifling and insipid compilation, like the Homeric or Virgilian cantos of the declining old classical poetry, because it applies to a festal song to be used for a definite liturgical purpose, and because nothing certain can be opposed to the assumption, that not the Chronist in the times after the exile, but the writer of his source, the older report (certainly before the exile) which he follows throughout the section 1 Chronicles 16:4–42, is to be regarded as the author of the present composition.

6. Whether the present attempt to exhibit the opening of the worship on Zion in Davidic strains is to be considered older than the composition of our book, or contemporary with it, we are not to find an offence against the obligation of historical fidelity in this ideal composition, which seeks to reproduce the fundamental tone of the song sung on that occasion. The author knew that in the religious festivals of his people songs were sung of the tone of Ps. 96, 105, 106, from the oldest times; hence he puts in the mouth of the Levitical singers in David’s time a song formed out of these Psalms as a probable expression of the spiritual thanksgiving presented to the Lord by the community of that day, without in the least making himself guilty of a falsehood. He appears on this ground as little a falsifier as the author of the song of Mary, of Zacharias, or of Simeon in the introductory chapter of Luke’s Gospel, the verbal recitation of which, according to the form there given, need scarcely be insisted on, and the harmony of which with so many characteristic phrases of the Psalms and Prophets, has its historical precedent in the relations of our song to the Psalms in question.

[Ps. 96, 105, and 106 are anonymous in the Hebrew; but on examination, there is no convincing reason why they may not have been composed by David. Ps. 96 is actually ascribed to him in the Sept., with the following remarkable addition: “when the house was built after the captivity.” Here the captivity seems to refer to the captivity of the ark when far from the sanctuary, 1 Sam. 4, and the house to the tabernacle which David erected on Zion. The other two Psalms may be as old as David; and there is therefore no reason to doubt the historical veracity of the statement made by the Chronist, that David selected from these Psalms the piece that was actually sung at the dedication of the tabernacle on Zion.—J. G. M.]

Footnotes: 

[1] קוּשָׁיָהוּ, without variation, while in 6:29 the name is קִוּשַׁי, and so the Sept. read here Κισαίου (Vulg. Casajæ).

[2] בֵּן after זְכַרְיָהוּ has come into the text by a mistake of the pen, as the ו before the next name shows. on the contrary, the name עֲזַזְיָחִוּ seems to have fallen out at the close of 1 Chron 15:18 (see Exeg.).

[3] בְּמַשָּׂא. So most editions, in the first place; whereas R. Norzi has בְּמַּשָּׂא even the first time.

[4] Kethib: מַֽחֲצֹצְרִים. Keri: מַחְצְרִים (partic. Hiph.). The same variation recurs 2 Chron. 5:13, where, however, the Keri is to be read as partic. Pi. (לַמְּחַצְּרִים).

[5]The words וּכְנַנְיָה הַשַּׂרַ הַמַּשָּׂא הַמְֹּשׂרְרִים are wanting in the Pesh. At least, הַמְּשֹׁרְרִים should apparently be erased as unmeaning (comp. Exeg.), though the Sept. and Vulg. have it.

[6]Instead of יְחִיאֵל after 15:18 is certainly to be read here, in the first place (After שְׁמִירָמוֹת), יַֽעֲזִיאֵל.

[7]The variants in this song, from its parallel in the psalter (Ps. 105, 96, 106, see in Exeg.

[8]After עבד אדם, as the plur. suff. in ואחיהם shows, must at least one name, probably וְחֹסָה (See the following), have fallen out.

[9]The names הֵימָן וִידוּתוּן were not read by the Sept. (καὶ μετ’ αὐτῶν σάλπιγγες καὶ κύμβαλα τοῦ τοῦ ἀναφωνεῖν, κ.τ.λ.), and appear to be repeated by mistake from the preceding verse, which also begins with וְעִמָּהֶם.

[10]For the picture of the benign sway of God over Abraham, in 1 Chron 16:10–15 of this Psalm, forms only the beginning of that which is said in the further course of the same picture, of Jacob, of Joseph and his brethren, of Moses, and of the whole of God’s people in the patriarchal and Mosaic times.