1 Chronicles 9 Study Notes: The Resettled Community of Jerusalem
The genealogies close by explaining that Judah went into exile for unfaithfulness, then list those who returned to live in Jerusalem. Priests, Levites, and gatekeepers are described at their duties guarding and serving God’s house, and Saul’s family line is repeated.
General
True or False: The people who settled in Jerusalem included some descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, not only people from Judah and Benjamin (1 Chronicles 9:3).
Answer: True
This is true. The first to move back onto their own land were ordinary Israelites together with priests, Levites (the tribe set apart to serve at God’s house), and temple servants (9:2). Those who lived in Jerusalem included people from four tribes, among them Ephraim and Manasseh from the north (9:3). Though Judah had gone into exile (9:1), God had promised through Jeremiah to bring His people back to the land (Jeremiah 29:10), and the returning community was made up of the same kinds of people listed in Ezra (Ezra 2:70). The list shows people from across Israel, not just one tribe, back in their towns and in Jerusalem.
- 1 Chronicles 9:2-3 (BSB)“Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants. Some of the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem:”The first to resettle are named by group, and Jerusalem’s settlers by tribe.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.”God promised to restore His people to the land after Babylon’s seventy years.
- Ezra 2:70 (BSB)“So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, along with some of the people, settled in their own towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.”The returned community settles in its towns with the same groups named here.
- Nehemiah 11:1 (BSB)“Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.”Leaders and a share of the people settle in Jerusalem after the return.
Theological
True or False: According to 9:3, the resettled population of Jerusalem included members of Ephraim and Manasseh as well as Judah and Benjamin.
Answer: True
This is true. The first returnees to their holdings include laymen of Israel along with priests, Levites and those who served at the temple (9:2), and the Jerusalem settlers include men of Ephraim and Manasseh alongside Judah and Benjamin (9:3). The resettlement fulfills the LORD’s promise to restore His people after the exile (Jeremiah 29:10), the same groups appear in the returned community of Ezra 2:70, and Nehemiah 11:1 records the peopling of Jerusalem after the return. The restored city holds people from more than Judah alone.
- 1 Chronicles 9:2-3 (BSB)“Now the first to resettle their own property in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants. Some of the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem:”The first to resettle are named by group, and Jerusalem’s settlers by tribe.
- Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.”God promised to restore His people to the land after Babylon’s seventy years.
- Ezra 2:70 (BSB)“So the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants, along with some of the people, settled in their own towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.”The returned community settles in its towns with the same groups named here.
- Nehemiah 11:1 (BSB)“Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.”Leaders and a share of the people settle in Jerusalem after the return.
General
According to 1 Chronicles 9:22, who had first placed the gatekeepers in their trusted posts?
Answer: David, along with Samuel the seer
The gatekeepers guarded the entrances of God’s house. Their work was not a new idea: the text traces their posts back to David together with Samuel the seer (9:22). A seer was an older name for a prophet (1 Samuel 9:9). One family of them kept watch at the Tent’s doorways, as their forefathers had once guarded the doorway of the LORD’s dwelling place (9:19), and 212 were chosen and listed by family in their villages (9:22). The restored community ordered its worship along lines set long before. Guarding God’s house may seem a humble job, but a psalm counts it better to keep the door of God’s house than to live among the wicked (Psalm 84:10).
- 1 Chronicles 9:22 (BSB)“The number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust.”The chosen gatekeepers number 212, and their posts go back to David and Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 9:9 (BSB)“(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)”Seer is explained as the older word for a prophet, the title given Samuel here.
- 1 Chronicles 6:31-32 (BSB)“These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.”David also appointed the singers, showing his ordering of worship roles.
- Psalm 84:10 (BSB)“For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”The psalmist prizes even a doorkeeper’s place in God’s house.
Theological
To whom does 9:22 trace the appointment of the gatekeepers to their trusted offices?
Answer: David, along with Samuel the seer
The gatekeepers’ offices are traced to David together with Samuel the seer (9:22; a seer being the earlier term for a prophet, 1 Samuel 9:9), and their families’ charge goes back still further to guarding the entrance of the LORD’s dwelling (9:19). The resettled gatekeepers thus stand in continuity with the ordering of worship under David, as do the singers he appointed (6:31-32). Psalm 84:10 shows how highly even the doorkeeper’s post in God’s house could be prized.
- 1 Chronicles 9:22 (BSB)“The number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust.”The chosen gatekeepers number 212, and their posts go back to David and Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 9:9 (BSB)“(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)”Seer is explained as the older word for a prophet, the title given Samuel here.
- 1 Chronicles 6:31-32 (BSB)“These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.”David also appointed the singers, showing his ordering of worship roles.
- Psalm 84:10 (BSB)“For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”The psalmist prizes even a doorkeeper’s place in God’s house.
General
Why did the four leading gatekeepers stay overnight all around God’s house (1 Chronicles 9:26-27)?
Answer: They had to keep watch over it and unlock it at dawn
The four leading gatekeepers were Levites (members of the tribe set apart to serve at God’s house) who were trusted with its storerooms and treasuries (9:26). They stayed overnight around the house because keeping it safe was their duty, and each morning they were the ones who opened it (9:27). Their faithful watch made each day’s worship possible. God’s law had given the Levites the care of His dwelling place and its furnishings (Numbers 3:6-8), and a psalm calls those who minister through the night in the LORD’s house to bless Him (Psalm 134:1).
- 1 Chronicles 9:26-27 (BSB)“But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God. They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they were responsible for guarding it and opening it every morning.”The chief gatekeepers are trusted with the treasuries and stay overnight to guard and open the house.
- Numbers 3:6-8 (BSB)““Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle. They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle.”The Levites are assigned to care for the Tent of Meeting and its furnishings.
- Psalm 134:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!”The LORD’s servants who serve by night in His house are called to bless Him.
Theological
What reason does 9:27 give for the four leading gatekeepers lodging overnight all around God’s house?
Answer: They had to keep watch over it and unlock it at dawn
The four leading gatekeepers, all Levites, held a position of trust over the chambers and treasuries (9:26) and lodged around the house overnight because its guarding and its daily opening were their charge (9:27). This continues the Levitical custody of the sanctuary laid down in Numbers 3:6-8, and Psalm 134:1 summons precisely such night-serving ministers in the LORD’s house to bless Him.
- 1 Chronicles 9:26-27 (BSB)“But the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the rooms and the treasuries of the house of God. They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they were responsible for guarding it and opening it every morning.”The chief gatekeepers are trusted with the treasuries and stay overnight to guard and open the house.
- Numbers 3:6-8 (BSB)““Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, attending to the service of the tabernacle. They shall take care of all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting and fulfill obligations for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle.”The Levites are assigned to care for the Tent of Meeting and its furnishings.
- Psalm 134:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!”The LORD’s servants who serve by night in His house are called to bless Him.
General
According to 1 Chronicles 9:1, why was Judah taken into exile in Babylon?
Answer: Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD
After saying that all Israel had been recorded by genealogy (9:1), the text names the reason for the exile: unfaithfulness. Judah was carried off to Babylon not simply because Babylon was strong, but because the people had broken faith with God. The LORD had warned them again and again through His messengers out of compassion, but they mocked them until His anger could no longer be turned back (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). Chronicles gives the same verdict for the tribes east of the Jordan, who were exiled after being unfaithful (5:25-26), and for King Saul (10:13).
- 1 Chronicles 9:1 (BSB)“So all Israel was recorded in the genealogies written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.”After the genealogies of all Israel, the text explains why Judah went into exile.
- 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 (BSB)“Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.”The LORD warned His people repeatedly, but they scorned His prophets until His wrath came.
- 1 Chronicles 5:25-26 (BSB)“But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.”The eastern tribes are exiled for the same sin of unfaithfulness.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13 (BSB)“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,”Saul’s death is explained with the same verdict of unfaithfulness to the LORD.
Theological
What reason does 1 Chronicles 9:1 give for Judah’s exile to Babylon?
Answer: Because they had been unfaithful to the LORD
Having recorded all Israel by genealogy, the text traces Judah’s exile to Babylon to one cause, unfaithfulness (9:1). The exile is covenant judgment, not merely geopolitical misfortune: the LORD sent His messengers persistently out of compassion, and the people scorned them until wrath was beyond remedy (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). The same verdict explains the Transjordan tribes’ exile (5:25-26) and Saul’s death (10:13), making faithfulness to the LORD a controlling theme of the book.
- 1 Chronicles 9:1 (BSB)“So all Israel was recorded in the genealogies written in the Book of the Kings of Israel. But Judah was exiled to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.”After the genealogies of all Israel, the text explains why Judah went into exile.
- 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 (BSB)“Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.”The LORD warned His people repeatedly, but they scorned His prophets until His wrath came.
- 1 Chronicles 5:25-26 (BSB)“But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and they prostituted themselves with the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria) to take the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. And he brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan, where they remain to this day.”The eastern tribes are exiled for the same sin of unfaithfulness.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13 (BSB)“So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,”Saul’s death is explained with the same verdict of unfaithfulness to the LORD.
General
Why were the musicians who led Levite families free from other duties (1 Chronicles 9:33)?
Answer: They were busy with their own service around the clock
Chapter 9 describes many tasks at God’s house: counting the vessels for worship, looking after supplies such as flour, oil and incense, mixing the spices, baking bread, and preparing the showbread (bread set out before God in rows) each Sabbath (9:28-32). God’s law required that bread to be placed before Him every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8). The musicians lived in rooms at the temple and were released from other jobs because they served day and night (9:33). David had earlier made such men leaders of music at the LORD’s house (6:31-32). Every task, from counting utensils to leading praise, was part of serving God.
- 1 Chronicles 9:32-33 (BSB)“Some of their Kohathite relatives were responsible for preparing the rows of the showbread every Sabbath. Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.”Kohathites prepare the showbread each Sabbath, and the musicians serve day and night.
- Leviticus 24:8 (BSB)“Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.”The law required the bread to be set before the LORD every Sabbath.
- 1 Chronicles 6:31-32 (BSB)“These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.”David put these singers in charge of the music in the LORD’s house.
- Psalm 135:1-2 (BSB)“Hallelujah! Praise the name of the LORD. Give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.”Those who stand in the LORD’s house are called to praise Him.
Theological
What reason does 9:33 give for the Levitical musicians’ exemption from other duties?
Answer: They were busy with their own service around the clock
The Levitical duties of 9:28-32 range from inventory of the sacred vessels and custody of the flour, oil, incense and other supplies, to baking and the weekly arrangement of the showbread, as the law required each Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8). The musicians, as leaders of Levite households, lodged in the rooms of the temple and were freed from other work because their ministry continued day and night (9:33), carrying on the order of praise David had established (6:31-32). Psalm 135:1-2 likewise summons those serving in the LORD’s house to praise Him.
- 1 Chronicles 9:32-33 (BSB)“Some of their Kohathite relatives were responsible for preparing the rows of the showbread every Sabbath. Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.”Kohathites prepare the showbread each Sabbath, and the musicians serve day and night.
- Leviticus 24:8 (BSB)“Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.”The law required the bread to be set before the LORD every Sabbath.
- 1 Chronicles 6:31-32 (BSB)“These are the men David put in charge of the music in the house of the LORD after the ark rested there. They ministered with song before the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, until Solomon built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. And they performed their duties according to the regulations given them.”David put these singers in charge of the music in the LORD’s house.
- Psalm 135:1-2 (BSB)“Hallelujah! Praise the name of the LORD. Give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God.”Those who stand in the LORD’s house are called to praise Him.
General
What does 1 Chronicles 9:20 say about Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, who in earlier times oversaw the gatekeepers?
Answer: He served with the LORD’s presence beside him
In listing the gatekeepers, the text looks back to Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson, who had once overseen them, and adds that he had the LORD’s presence with him (9:20). Phinehas had earlier shown zeal for God’s honor, turning God’s anger away from Israel, and God gave him a covenant (a binding promise) of lasting priesthood (Numbers 25:11-13). Chronicles teaches that the LORD stays near those who stay near Him (2 Chronicles 15:2). The note links the gatekeepers’ humble duty to a faithful forefather whose service God blessed.
- 1 Chronicles 9:20 (BSB)“In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him.”Phinehas is remembered as the earlier overseer of the gatekeepers, with the LORD’s presence.
- Numbers 25:11-13 (BSB)““Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.””Phinehas’s zeal turned away God’s wrath and brought a covenant of lasting priesthood.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 (BSB)“So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”The LORD is said to be with those who are with Him, the pattern seen in Phinehas.
Theological
What does 9:20 record about Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, in his earlier charge over the gatekeepers?
Answer: He served with the LORD’s presence beside him
The gatekeepers’ history reaches back to Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, of whom the text says simply that the LORD’s presence was with him (9:20). His zeal had turned away wrath and secured God’s covenant of perpetual priesthood (Numbers 25:11-13). The divine presence with faithful servants is a recurring Chronicles theme (2 Chronicles 15:2), and the restored gatekeepers are set in that line of blessed service.
- 1 Chronicles 9:20 (BSB)“In earlier times Phinehas son of Eleazar had been in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with him.”Phinehas is remembered as the earlier overseer of the gatekeepers, with the LORD’s presence.
- Numbers 25:11-13 (BSB)““Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the Israelites; for he was zealous for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in My zeal. Declare, therefore, that I am granting him My covenant of peace. It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.””Phinehas’s zeal turned away God’s wrath and brought a covenant of lasting priesthood.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 (BSB)“So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”The LORD is said to be with those who are with Him, the pattern seen in Phinehas.
General
Chapter 9 ends by repeating a family line already given in chapter 8. Whose line is it, and what account follows directly after it (1 Chronicles 9:39; 10:1)?
Answer: Saul’s family, followed by the account of his death
The closing verses of chapter 9 repeat the family list of 8:29-38, running from Jeiel of Gibeon on to Kish, Saul, and Saul’s sons (9:35-39). Placed here, the list leads straight into chapter 10, where Saul and his sons die and the LORD hands the kingdom to David (10:6, 10:14). The long genealogies end, and the story begins again with the end of Saul’s house as Israel’s ruling family. Paul later summed up the same turning point: God removed Saul and made David king (Acts 13:21-22).
- 1 Chronicles 9:39 (BSB)“Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.”Saul’s family line is repeated just before the narrative of his death.
- 1 Chronicles 10:6 (BSB)“So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.”Saul dies together with his sons, the event the repeated genealogy leads into.
- 1 Chronicles 10:14 (BSB)“and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.”The LORD turns the kingdom over to David, the outcome of the chapter that follows.
- Acts 13:21-22 (BSB)“Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’”Paul summarizes God removing Saul and raising up David as king.
Theological
The genealogy of 9:35-44 repeats material from chapter 8. Whose house does it present, and what narrative does it introduce?
Answer: Saul’s family, followed by the account of his death
The repeated genealogy of Jeiel of Gibeon and of Saul’s house (9:35-44; compare 8:29-38) leads from the genealogies into the narrative. Saul’s house is introduced (9:39) only to fall in chapter 10, where Saul dies with his sons and the LORD transfers the kingdom to David (10:6, 10:14). Paul’s summary in Acts 13:21-22 traces the same divine removal of Saul and raising up of David.
- 1 Chronicles 9:39 (BSB)“Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.”Saul’s family line is repeated just before the narrative of his death.
- 1 Chronicles 10:6 (BSB)“So Saul died together with his three sons and all his house.”Saul dies together with his sons, the event the repeated genealogy leads into.
- 1 Chronicles 10:14 (BSB)“and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.”The LORD turns the kingdom over to David, the outcome of the chapter that follows.
- Acts 13:21-22 (BSB)“Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’”Paul summarizes God removing Saul and raising up David as king.