1 Chronicles 15:17 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Chronicles 15:17
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;
a Levite or descendant of Levi · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
appointed
וַיַּעֲמִ֣ידוּvai.ya.'a.Mi.du
H5975
to stand · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Heman
הֵימָ֣ןhei.Man
H1968
Heman · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Joel
יוֹאֵ֔לyo.'El
H3100
Joel · proper noun, a man's name
brethren
אֶחָ֔יו'e.Chav
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Asaph
אָסָ֖ף'a.Saf
H623
Asaph · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Berechiah
בֶּֽרֶכְיָ֑הוּbe.rekh.Ya.hu
H1296
Berekjah · proper noun, a man's name
sons
בְּנֵ֤יbe.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Merari
מְרָרִי֙me.ra.Ri
H4847
Merari · proper noun, a man's name
brethren
אֲחֵיהֶ֔ם'a.chei.Hem
H251
a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Ethan
אֵיתָ֖ן'ei.Tan
H387
Ethan · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Kushaiah
קֽוּשָׁיָֽהוּKu.sha.Ya.hu
H6984
Kushajah · proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Chronicles 6:33 And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,
1 Chronicles 6:39 And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,
1 Chronicles 6:44 And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,
1 Samuel 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
1 Chronicles 15:19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;
1 Chronicles 25:1-5 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophes…
Psalms 73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
Psalms 83:1 Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Chronicles 15:1-24
Preparation is here made for the bringing of the ark home to the city of David from the house of Obed-edom. It is here owned that in the former attempt, though it was a very good work and in it they sought God, yet they sought him, not after the due order, Ch1 15:13. "We did not go about our work considerately; and therefore we sped so ill." Note, It is not enough that we do that which is good, but we must do it well - not enough that we seek God in a due ordinance, but we must seek after him, in a due order. Note, also, When we have suffered for our irregularities we must learn thereby to be more regular; then we answer the end of chastisement. Let us see how the matter was mended. 1. David…
David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint . . . the singers with instruments--These eminent Levites were instructed to train the musicians and singers who were under them, for the solemn procession. The performers were ranged in three choirs or bands, and the names of the principal leaders are given (Ch1 15:17-18, Ch1 15:21), with the instruments respectively used by each. "Ben" (Ch1 15:18) is omitted (Ch1 15:20). Either it was used merely as a common noun, to intimate that Zechariah was the son of Jaaziel or Aziel, or Ben is the same as Azaziah [Ch1 15:21].
Adam Clarke on 1 Chronicles 15:17
- Heman - Asaph - Ethan - These were the three chief musicians in the time of David; see Ch1 6:31.
John Gill on 1 Chronicles 15:17
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel,.... The grandson of Samuel the prophet, 1 Chronicles 6:33.
and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; a famous singer, often mentioned in the Psalms, 1 Chronicles 6:39.
and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; the same with the son of Kishi, 1 Chronicles 6:44, these were the chief of the singers.
Keil & Delitzsch
Dictionary and topics
Berechiah — Blessed by Jehovah. (1.) Son of Shimea, and father of Asaph the musician (1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17). (2.) One of the seven Ephraimite chieftains, son of Meshillemoth (2 Chr. 28:12). (3.) The fourth of the…
Chronicles, Books of — The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., “Acts of the Days.” This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version “Chronicon,” and hence…
Ethan — Firm. (1.) “The Ezrahite,” distinguished for his wisdom (1 Kings 4:31). He is named as the author of the 89th Psalm. He was of the tribe of Levi. (2.) A Levite of the family of Merari, one of the…
Heman — Faithful. (1.) 1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chr. 2:6, a son of Zerah, noted for his wisdom. (2.) Grandson of Samuel (1 Chr. 6:33; 15:17), to whom the 88th Psalm probably was inscribed. He was one of the “seers”…
Jeduthun — Lauder; praising, a Levite of the family of Merari, and one of the three masters of music appointed by David (1 Chr. 16:41, 42; 25:1-6). He is called in 2 Chr. 35:15 “the king’s seer.” His…
Joel — Jehovah is his God. (1.) The oldest of Samuel’s two sons appointed by him as judges in Beersheba (1 Sam. 8:2). (See VASHNI.) (2.) A descendant of Reuben (1 Chr. 5:4, 8). (3.) One of David’s famous…
Kirjath-jearim — City of jaars; i.e., of woods or forests, a Gibeonite town (Josh. 9:17) on the border of Benjamin, to which tribe it was assigned (18:15, 28). The ark was brought to this place (1 Sam. 7:1, 2) from…
Kushaiah — (bow of Jehovah), the same as Kish or Kishi, the father of Ethan the Merarite. (1 Chronicles 15:17)
Music — Jubal was the inventor of musical instruments (Gen. 4:21). The Hebrews were much given to the cultivation of music. Their whole history and literature afford abundant evidence of this. After the…
Asaph · organization of the tabernacle service — organization of the tabernacle service
on 1 Chronicles 15:17
So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel,.... The grandson of Samuel the prophet, Ch1 6:33.
and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; a famous singer, often mentioned in the Psalms, Ch1 6:39.
and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; the same with the son of Kishi, Ch1 6:44, these were the chief of the singers.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Chronicles 15:16-18
This is the first of three lists of Levitical musicians (see 15:19-22; 16:4-6). This list gave the names of the three leaders (Heman, Asaph, and Ethan; see 6:33-47) along with their assistants.
Rashi on 1 Chronicles 15:15
according to the word of the Lord, on their shoulders to carry it, not actually on their shoulders, but with staves upon them.
Berechiah · 1. Fatber of Asaph — 1. Fatber of Asaph
Ethan · .Two Levites — .Two Levites
Heman · 2. “The singer,” a chief Levite, and musician — 2. “The singer,” a chief Levite, and musician
Jeduthun · General references — General references
Joel · 1. — 1.
Kishi · Father of Ethan, a chief assistant in the temple music — Father of Ethan, a chief assistant in the temple music
Tact · .In organizing the temple music — .In organizing the temple music
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
