Levi
The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses and Miriam.
The sons of Aaron: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Eleazar was the father of Phinehas, Phinehas the father of Abishua, Abishua the father of Bukki, Bukki the father of Uzzi, Uzzi the father of Zerahiah, Zerahiah the father of Meraioth, Meraioth the father of Amariah, Amariah the father of Ahitub, Ahitub the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Ahimaaz, Ahimaaz the father of Azariah, Azariah the father of Johanan, Johanan the father of Azariah (it was he who served as priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem), Azariah the father of Amariah, Amariah the father of Ahitub, Ahitub the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Shallum, Shallum the father of Hilkiah, Hilkiah the father of Azariah, Azariah the father of Seraiah, and Seraiah the father of Jozadak.
Jozadak was deported when the Lord sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
The sons of Levi: Gershon,Kohath and Merari.
These are the names of the sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei.
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.
The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi.
These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:
Of Gershon:
Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son and Jeatherai his son.
The descendants of Kohath:
Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, Elkanah his son, Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son, Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son and Shaul his son.
The descendants of Elkanah:
Amasai, Ahimoth, Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son, and Samuel his son.
The sons of Samuel: Joel the firstborn and Abijah the second son.
The descendants of Merari:
Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, Shimea his son, Haggiah his son and Asaiah his son.
The Temple Musicians
These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the Lord after the ark came to rest there. They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.
Here are the men who served, together with their sons:
From the Kohathites:
Heman, the musician, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Heman’s associate Asaph, who served at his right hand:
Asaph son of Berekiah, the son of Shimea, the son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malkijah, the son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, the son of Jahath, the son of Gershon, the son of Levi; and from their associates, the Merarites, at his left hand:
Ethan son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluk, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, the son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shemer, the son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.
Their fellow Levites were assigned to all the other duties of the tabernacle, the house of God. But Aaron and his descendants were the ones who presented offerings on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense in connection with all that was done in the Most Holy Place, making atonement for Israel, in accordance with all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
These were the descendants of Aaron:
Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.
These were the locations of their settlements allotted as their territory (they were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clan, because the first lot was for them):
They were given Hebron in Judah with its surrounding pasturelands. But the fields and villages around the city were given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.
So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), and Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Hilen, Debir, Ashan, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands. And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands.
The total number of towns distributed among the Kohathite clans came to thirteen.
The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of half the tribe of Manasseh.
The descendants of Gershon, clan by clan, were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher and Naphtali, and from the part of the tribe of Manasseh that is in Bashan.
The descendants of Merari, clan by clan, were allotted twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and their pasturelands. From the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin they allotted the previously named towns.
Some of the Kohathite clans were given as their territory towns from the tribe of Ephraim.
In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge), and Gezer, Jokmeam, Beth Horon, Aijalon and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands.
And from half the tribe of Manasseh the Israelites gave Aner and Bileam, together with their pasturelands, to the rest of the Kohathite clans.
The Gershonites received the following:
From the clan of the half-tribe of Manasseh, they received Golan in Bashan and also Ashtaroth, together with their pasturelands; from the tribe of Issachar, they received Kedesh, Daberath, Ramoth and Anem, together with their pasturelands; from the tribe of Asher, they received Mashal, Abdon, Hukok and Rehob, together with their pasturelands; and from the tribe of Naphtali, they received Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.
The Merarites (the rest of the Levites) received the following:
From the tribe of Zebulun, they received Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmono and Tabor, together with their pasturelands; from the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan east of Jericho, they received Bezer in the wilderness, Jahzah, Kedemoth and Mephaath, together with their pasturelands; and from the tribe of Gad
they received Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands.
1 Chronicles 6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles consist of genealogical lists, not exactly the most enthralling reading in the Bible. I mean, when was the last time you had someone come up to you excited about something they had read in 1 Chronicles? I don’t think I can remember anyone who has even mentioned the book to me in my more than 20 years of ministry work.
This herein was the challenge when I set out to write from this book. How could I write about the genealogies to make them interesting?
It was in this time of thought that the Lord helped me see the way, as He always does. For He showed me that there are gems within the genealogies, items of interest we can extract, expound upon, and examine. Today, we look at what gems within 1 Chronicles, Chapter 6. I hope you enjoy them.
GEM 1
I think everyone who has even a basic Bible knowledge has heard of Moses. We know he was chosen by God to lead the Israelites from their oppression in Egypt to the Canaan, the land that God had promised to His people.
The first introduction to Moses comes in the second chapter of Exodus. Look at this scripture excerpt:
Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
Note that we don’t know the names of any of Moses’ Hebrew family here. No name for the father or mother or sister. We only know that his father was of the tribe of Levi and his mother was a Levite woman.
Now, look at the genealogy here in Chapter 6 of 1 Chronicles where we find this item:
The children of Amram: Aaron, Moses and Miriam.
Amram was a man of the tribe of Levi, his father being Kohath which also made Amram a Kohathite. We also know from this that Moses’ sister was named Miriam and he also had a brother Aaron.
But what about Moses’ mother?
Well, knowing that Amram was his father and that Aaron and Miriam were his siblings, we can do a quick search of the Bible to find that Jochebed was the name of the mother, a woman who was a descendant of Levi (Numbers 26:59).
So there you have it, Moses family is now known, thanks to the genealogy in Chapter 6.
GEM 2
The list of Amram’s children which included Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, is followed by a list of the sons of Aaron. We know he had four.
But what about Moses? You may look at the genealogy and assume he had no children. You would assume wrong.
For when we look at the life of Moses, we discover he had two sons.
The first son came after Moses had fled from the Pharaoh who wanted to kill him after he killed an Egyptian while trying to defend a fellow Hebrew.
Moses went to Midian and scripture tells us that Moses defended a group of daughters of a priest there from shepherds who were harassing them. When word was passed to the priest about what Moses had done, he invited Moses to come and dine with the family. This led to Moses deciding to stay with the family and the priest gave one of his daughters, Zipporah to Moses in marriage. They went on to have a son and named him Gershom saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land” (Exodus 2:11-22).
We would not hear about the other son until Moses and the Israelites were delivered from the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
Jethro, the Midianite priest who took Moses in, went to visit Moses with Zipporah, his wife, and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer who we know nothing about except Moses saying, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh” after his birth (Exodus 18:1-4).
So there you have it. Moses had two sons. Why the Chronicler didn’t mention them is a mystery to me. Perhaps I’ll add it to the long line of questions I will have for the Lord when we meet face-to-face one day.
GEM 3
As you read through Chapter 6, did you notice the mention of lands given to the Levitical clans?
Why did land have to be given to the Levites?
Because they didn’t get allotted territory like the rest of the Israelites. You have to go to back to the following command given to Moses from the Lord to see what they were given:
“Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns. Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.”
“The pasturelands around the towns that you give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the town wall. Outside the town, measure two thousand cubits on the east side, two thousand on the south side, two thousand on the west and two thousand on the north, with the town in the center. They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.”
“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns, together with their pasturelands. The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.” Numbers 35:1-8
As you can see, 48 towns were to be given to the Levites along with the associated pasturelands with the proportion of tribes equivalent to the size of each tribe’s inheritance. The larger the tribe and territory, the more towns that were expected to be allotted in order to fulfill the command of the Lord.
GEM 4
One last point to mention.
Two of the towns mentioned in the Levitical land allocation, Hebron and Shechem, are referred to as cities of refuge. As we saw from the Lord’s command in Numbers, six of the 48 towns that the Levites were given were to be cities of refuge. But what exactly were these cities and why were they give special designation.
Back to Numbers, chapter 35, and these words of the Lord:
“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly. These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.”
“‘If anyone strikes someone a fatal blow with an iron object, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. Or if anyone is holding a stone and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. Or if anyone is holding a wooden object and strikes someone a fatal blow with it, that person is a murderer; the murderer is to be put to death. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death; when the avenger comes upon the murderer, the avenger shall put the murderer to death. If anyone with malice aforethought shoves another or throws something at them intentionally so that they die or if out of enmity one person hits another with their fist so that the other dies, that person is to be put to death; that person is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when they meet.”
“‘But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended, the assembly must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send the accused back to the city of refuge to which they fled. The accused must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.”
“‘But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which they fled and the avenger of blood finds them outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.”
“This is to have the force of law for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.”
What were cities of refuge?
They were places that someone could go for asylum from harm if they happened to kill someone accidentally.
The eye-for-an-eye rule was definitely in effect during biblical times. If you killed a person, you can expect that there would be someone coming after you to exact revenge, referred to as an avenger of blood in the words of the Lord. And the Lord authorized the avengers of blood to kill anyone who murdered their kin intentionally.
However, if the killing was not intentional then the person who killed someone was to be protected within the city of refuge until a trial could be held to establish whether or not there was any malice involved. As you can read, safety was only ensured within the city. If the person being judged left the city and was found by the avenger of blood, then the avenger was permitted to kill the person, even if they had not yet been formally found guilty.
It’s interesting to see how justice was administered in biblical times.
Well, that puts a wrap on the gems from Chapter 6. We’ll examine Chapter 7 tomorrow. See you then!
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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