Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 6:1-15

"The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the children of Amram: Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron: Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua, and Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi, and Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth, Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub, and Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz, and Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan, and Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest`s office in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem), and Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub, and Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum, and Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak; And Jehozadak went [into captivity], when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar." — 1 Chronicles 6:1-15 (ASV)

THE LINE OF AARON THROUGH ELEAZAR TO JEHOZADAK.

Aaron’s descent from Levi.

The sons of Levi; Gershon ... (1 Chronicles 6:1). —This is also found in Genesis 46:11, Exodus 6:16, and uniformly in the Pentateuch. In 1 Chronicles 6:16 we have the spelling Gershom, which perhaps indicates a difference of source.

The sons of Kohath (1 Chronicles 6:2). —The names are the same as in Exodus 6:18. Kŏhath, or Kĕhath, was the chief house of Levi. The name is put second in the series, perhaps for euphonic reasons. (Compare “Sheni, Ham, and Japhet” with Genesis 9:24; Genesis 10:21.)

And the children [of Amram] (1 Chronicles 6:3). —Hebrew: sons (bnê ‘mrâm).

Aaron, and Moses (1 Chronicles 6:3). —Exodus 6:20.

And Miriam (1 Chronicles 6:3). —See Numbers 26:59. She is called “the prophetess, the sister of Aaron” (Exodus 15:20).

The sons also of Aaron (1 Chronicles 6:4). —Hebrew: ‘Aharon; Arabic: Hârûn.Exodus 6:23 and Numbers 26:60 name the four sons of Aaron in the same order as here. “Nadab and Abihu died when they offered strange fire before the Lord” (Numbers 26:61). A fuller account is given in Leviticus 10:1-7.

The list presents twenty-two successors of Aaron, covering the interval between his death and the Babylonian exile (circa 588 B.C.). How many centuries this interval comprises is uncertain.

The Exodus has been placed at various dates, from 1648 B.C. (Hales), and 1491 B.C. (Usher), to circa 1330 B.C. (Lepsius and other modern scholars), and even as late as 1265 B.C. It is premature, therefore, to object, as some have done, that twenty-two generations are too few for the period they are supposed to cover.

If the later dates assigned for the Exodus are nearer the truth, an allowance of about thirty years per generation would justify the list. At least, we have no right to say that the list requires a reckoning of forty or fifty years to a generation. On the other hand, it may well be that some links in the chain are missing. Compare Ezra 7:1-7, where this list recurs in an abridged form, giving only fifteen names instead of twenty-two.

Eleazar begat Phinehas (1 Chronicles 6:4). —Numbers 20:22–28 tells how Moses, by Divine command, made Eleazar priest in Aaron’s place. Joshua 14:1 and Joshua 17:4 represent him as acting with Joshua in Canaan. Joshua 24:33 records his death and place of burial. For Phinehas, son of Eleazar, see Exodus 6:25; Numbers 25:7; Numbers 25:11; Judges 20:28 (as ministering before the Ark at Bethel).

The list before us appears to ignore the line of Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining son. However, 1 Chronicles 24:1–6 proves that the chronicler was well aware that there had been other individuals of high-priestly rank besides those registered here (see especially 1 Chronicles 6:5: “for there had been princes of the sanctuary and princes of God, of the sons of Eleazar and of the sons of Ithamar”). The line of Eleazar alone is recorded here as being at once the elder and legitimate, and also the permanent one from the time of Solomon onward.

Uzzi (1 Chronicles 6:6) is assumed to have been contemporary with Eli, whose immediate descendants to the fourth generation exercised the office of high priest, according to the data in the Books of Samuel and Kings. The line of Eli is as follows: Eli, Phinehas, Ahitub, Ahimelech, Abiathar. (See 1 Samuel 1:28; 1 Samuel 2:4; 1 Samuel 2:11; 1 Samuel 14:3; 1 Samuel 22:9; 1 Samuel 22:20; 1 Kings 2:26–27.)

Zerahiah begat Meraioth (1 Chronicles 6:6). —Scripture is silent regarding the six persons named in 1 Chronicles 6:6–7. That the line of Eleazar abstained from priestly functions during the ascendancy of the house of Ithamar-Eli is probably nothing more than a groundless guess on the part of Josephus (Antiquities 8.1.3).

The indications of the Scriptures point the other way. Zadok and Abiathar enjoyed coordinate authority in the time of David (1 Samuel 20:25), and proofs are not lacking for the existence of more than one recognized sanctuary, in which the representatives of both houses might each officiate. (See Note on 1 Chronicles 16:39.)

Zadok (1 Chronicles 6:8) was appointed sole high priest by Solomon, who deposed Abiathar (1 Kings 2:27; 1 Kings 2:35).

Ahimaaz (1 Chronicles 6:8). —See 2 Samuel 15:36; 2 Samuel 17:17; compare 2 Samuel 18:27. In all these passages, Ahimaaz appears as a young man and a fleet runner who served David during Absalom’s revolt. He nowhere appears as high priest.

Azariah (1 Chronicles 6:9). —See 1 Kings 4:2, which mentions “Azariah son of Zadok the priest” in a list of Solomon’s leading officials. The remark in 1 Chronicles 6:10, “he who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem,” enigmatic where it stands, is intelligible if connected with Azariah son of Ahimaaz.

This connection contrasts him with his grandfather, Zadok, who had ministered at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39), and with the other high priests who were his namesakes, such as the first Azariah. Solomon reigned forty years. Azariah, therefore, may have succeeded to the priesthood before Solomon's death.

Johanan begat Azariah (1 Chronicles 6:9–10). —Johanan is unknown. The name Azariah occurs three times in the present list—namely, in 1 Chronicles 6:9–10 and 1 Chronicles 6:13. We have already identified the first with the son (or rather grandson) of Zadok, who is mentioned in 1 Kings 4:2.

A high priest (Azariah) withstood King Uzziah’s assumption of priestly privilege (2 Chronicles 26:17), circa 740 B.C. The Jewish exegetes Rashi and Kimchi supposed him to be identical with Azariah son of Johanan, fancifully explaining the remark, “he it is that executed the priest’s office in the temple,” etc. (1 Chronicles 6:10), as a reference to his bold defense of the priestly prerogative against the king himself.

If this were correct, several names would be omitted in 1 Chronicles 6:9–10. However, we have seen that the remark in question really belongs to a former Azariah and has been transposed from its original position in 1 Chronicles 6:9 through the inadvertence of some copyist.

Another Azariah is mentioned (2 Chronicles 31:10) as “chief priest of the house of Zadok” early in the reign of Hezekiah. Him, too, we fail to identify with either of the Azariahs in the present list. (See note on 1 Chronicles 6:13.)

Azariah begat Amariah (1 Chronicles 6:11). —Perhaps this is the Amariah of 2 Chronicles 19:11, who was high priest under Jehoshaphat.

And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum (1 Chronicles 6:12). —See 1 Chronicles 6:8: “And Ahitub begat Zadok.” The recurrence of names in the same families is almost too common to require notice, except where confusion of distinct persons has resulted or is likely to result, as in the instance of those among our Lord’s immediate followers who bore the names of Simon, Judas, and James.

Somewhere around this part of the list, we miss the name of Jehoiada, the famous kingmaker who deposed Athaliah and set up Joash (2 Chronicles 23:0). Similarly, Urijah, the overly compliant high priest of the reign of Ahaz, who flourished a generation or so later, is conspicuous here by his omission (2 Kings 16:10–16).

Urijah may have been omitted because of his unworthy connivance in an unlawful worship—not, however, as “an unimportant man,” as Keil thinks. (Compare Isaiah 8:2.) But if the list is a list of actual high priests, Jehoiada can only have been omitted by accident, unless indeed he is represented in it by an unrecognized alias. Double names are common in Scripture, from Jacob-Israel and Esau-Edom onward.

Hilkiah begat Azariah (1 Chronicles 6:13). —Hilkiah is probably the well-known high priest who “found the Book of the Law” which led to the great reformation of Josiah’s reign (2 Kings 22:8 and following). Azariah, his son, is not elsewhere mentioned. The Azariah of 2 Chronicles 31:10, who figures as high priest under Hezekiah at least eighty years earlier, is absent from this list.

Seraiah begat Jehozadak (1 Chronicles 6:14). —Seraiah was still high priest at the moment of the fall of Jerusalem (588 B.C.). Nebuchadnezzar had him put to death at Riblah (2 Kings 25:18–21; Jeremiah 52:24 and following).

From Azariah (1 Chronicles 6:10) to Seraiah, we find only ten names. In the list of the kings of Judah for about the same interval, eighteen names occur (see 1 Chronicles 3:10–16). This fact undoubtedly suggests the omission of some generations from the list before us.

The use of the word “begat” throughout the series should not be pressed to the contrary conclusion. Like the term “son” in Ezra 7:3 (“Azariah, son of Meraioth,” though six intermediate names are given in Chronicles), it is a somewhat elastic technical formula in these genealogies.

And Jehozadak went into captivity (1 Chronicles 6:15). —The Hebrew text is went away. Our version rightly supplies into captivity. (Compare Jeremiah 49:3.) Jehozadak was presumably a child at the time; half a century later, his son, the high priest Jeshua or Joshua, returned with Zerubbabel at the head of the first colony of restored exiles in 536 B.C. (Haggai 1:1; Ezra 3:2).

When the Lord carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar (1 Chronicles 6:15). —The chronicler is generally charged with a strong Levitical and priestly bias, in unfavorable contrast to the “prophetical tendency” of the writers of Samuel and Kings.

The sentiment of this verse, however, and of many other passages, is thoroughly consistent with the point of view of the greater prophets. Isaiah, for example, never tires of proclaiming that the Assyrian conquerors were mere instruments in the hands of Jehovah, unconsciously executing His foreordained purposes.

Nebuchadnezzar. —The name is spelled this way in Kings, Chronicles, and Daniel, but incorrectly. Jeremiah 24:2, etc., reads Nebuchadrezzar, which is nearer the true name, Nabium-kudurri-açur (Nebo protect the crown).