1 Crônicas 15

ARC · Chapter 15/29

1Fez tambem casa para si na cidade de David; e preparou um logar para a arca de Deus, e armou-lhe uma tenda.

2Então disse David: Ninguem pode levar a arca de Deus, senão os levitas; porque o Senhor os elegeu, para levar a arca de Deus, e para o servirem eternamente.

3E David ajuntou a todo o Israel em Jerusalem, para fazerem subir a arca do Senhor ao seu logar, que lhe tinha preparado.

4E David ajuntou os filhos de Aarão e os levitas.

5Dos filhos de Kohath: Uriel, o principe, e de seus irmãos cento e vinte.

6Dos filhos de Merari: Asaias, o principe, e de seus irmãos duzentos e vinte.

7Dos filhos de Gersom: Joel, o principe, e de seus irmãos cento e trinta.

8Dos filhos de Elisaphan: Semaias o principe, e de seus irmãos duzentos.

9Dos filhos de Hebron: Eliel, o principe, e de seus irmãos oitenta.

10Dos filhos de Uziel: Amminadab, o principe, e de seus irmãos cento e doze.

11E chamou David os sacerdotes Zadok e Abiathar, e os levitas, Uriel, Asaias, Joel, Semaias, Eliel, e Amminadab;

12E disse-lhes: Vós sois os chefes dos paes entre os levitas: sanctificae-vos, vós e vossos irmãos, para que façaes subir a arca do Senhor, Deus de Israel, ao logar que lhe tenho preparado.

13Pois que, porquanto primeiro vós assim o não fizestes, o Senhor fez rotura em nós, porque o não buscámos segundo a ordenança.

14Sanctificaram-se pois os sacerdotes e levitas, para fazerem subir a arca do Senhor Deus de Israel.

15E os filhos dos levitas trouxeram a arca de Deus aos hombros, como Moysés tinha ordenado, conforme a palavra do Senhor, com as varas que tinham sobre si.

16E disse David aos principes dos levitas que constituissem a seus irmãos, os cantores, com instrumentos musicos, com alaudes, harpas e cymbalos, para que se fizessem ouvir, levantando a voz com alegria.

17Ordenaram pois os levitas a Heman, filho de Joel; e dos seus irmãos, a Asaph, filho de Berechias, e dos filhos de Merari, seus irmãos, a Ethan, filho de Kusaias.

18E com elles a seus irmãos da segunda ordem: a Zacharias, Ben, e Jaaziel, e Semiramoth, e Jehiel, e Uni, Eliab, e Benaias, e Maaseias, e Mattithias, e Eliphelehu, e Mikneias, e Obed-edom, e Jeiel, os porteiros.

19E os cantores, Heman, Asaph e Ethan, se faziam ouvir com cymbalos de metal;

20E Zacharias, e Aziel, e Semiramoth, e Jehiel, e Uni, e Eliab, e Maaseias, e Benaias, com alaudes, sobre Alamoth:

21E Mattithias e Eliphelehu, e Mikneias, e Obed-edom, e Jeiel, e Azazias, com harpas, sobre Seminith, para esforçar o tom.

22E Chenanias, principe dos levitas, tinha cargo de entoar o canto; ensinava-os a entoal-o, porque era entendido.

23E Berechias e Elkana eram porteiros da arca.

24E Sebanias, e Josaphat, e Nethaneel, e Amasai, e Zacharias, e Benaias, e Eliezer, os sacerdotes, tocavam as trombetas perante a arca de Deus: e Obed-edom e Jehias eram porteiros da arca.

25Succedeu pois que David e os anciãos d'Israel, e os capitães dos milhares, foram para fazer subir a arca do concerto do Senhor, da casa de Obed-edom, com alegria.

26E succedeu que, ajudando Deus os levitas que levavam a arca do concerto do Senhor, sacrificaram sete novilhos e sete carneiros.

27E David ia vestido de um roupão de linho fino, como tambem todos os levitas que levavam a arca, e os cantores, e Chenanias, chefe dos que levavam a arca e dos cantores; tambem David levava sobre si um ephod de linho.

28E todo o Israel fez subir a arca do concerto do Senhor, com jubilo, e com sonido de buzinas, e com trombetas, e com cymbalos, fazendo sonido com alaudes e com harpas.

29E succedeu que, chegando a arca do concerto do Senhor á cidade de David, Michal, a filha de Saul, olhou d'uma janella, e, vendo a David dançar e tocar, o desprezou no seu coração.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

This time David organizes the transport of the ark of the covenant correctly, following the instructions of the law: the Levites carry it on their shoulders. The ark arrives in Jerusalem amid great celebration with music, singing, and dancing, though Michal, David's wife, despises him for his public display of joy.

Explanation

After the tragic mistake of chapter 13, David completely corrects his approach, explicitly acknowledging that 'because we did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us.' He organizes the priests and Levites with precision, following the ancient instructions of Moses, and the celebration that follows is marked by genuine joy, with organized music and leadership from skilled singers. Michal's contempt for David's exuberant dancing, briefly mentioned here, is explored in greater detail in 2 Samuel 6, showing a tension between formal royal dignity and spontaneous, humble worship.

Fun facts

  • This is the first time the Bible mentions an organized, permanent group of musicians and singers for worship, a model that would shape the entire musical structure of the temple later built by Solomon.
  • The mistake of using an ox cart instead of carrying the ark on their shoulders, explicitly named here as the cause of the earlier failure, shows how the chroniclers valued obedience to the specific details of the Mosaic law, not merely the general intent behind it.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Crônicas 15:1Before the second attempt to bring the ark, David has already settled into houses in the City of David and prepares a specific place for it, pitching a tent — this time planning calmly, without repeating the haste of the first attempt.
  2. 1 Crônicas 15:2This time the Levites carry the ark the right way, on their shoulders, with staves, exactly as Moses’s law commanded — correcting the mistake from chapter 13 that cost Uzza his life. David is quite direct about the reason: the first time, “we sought him not after the due order.”
  3. 1 Crônicas 15:3David gathers all Israel together again in Jerusalem, now to bring the ark up to the place already carefully prepared — the same goal as in chapter 13, but with a very different approach.
  4. 1 Crônicas 15:4This time David specifically summons the priests and the Levites — the group that should have been called from the start, according to his own explanation later in the chapter.
  5. 1 Crônicas 15:5The careful count of the Levitical families begins: a hundred and twenty Kohathites, led by the chief Uriel — a detailed census showing just how seriously David took correcting the earlier mistake.
  6. 1 Crônicas 15:6Two hundred and twenty Merarites, with the chief Asaiah at the front — another Levitical family carefully counted before touching the ark.
  7. 1 Crônicas 15:7A hundred and thirty Gershonites, led by the chief Joel — the third of the three great families of Levi, all mobilized together this time.
  8. 1 Crônicas 15:8Two hundred of the sons of Elizaphan, with the chief Shemaiah — another Levitical subfamily gathered specifically for this task.
  9. 1 Crônicas 15:9Eighty of the sons of Hebron, with the chief Eliel — the smaller number doesn’t diminish the importance, it just reflects the real size of each family.
  10. 1 Crônicas 15:10A hundred and twelve of the sons of Uzziel, with the chief Amminadab — closing out the careful count of all the Levitical families summoned to carry the ark the right way.
  11. 1 Crônicas 15:11David personally calls for the priests Zadok and Abiathar, along with the six Levite chiefs already mentioned — a leadership meeting before the sacred task.
  12. 1 Crônicas 15:12David’s instruction is clear: they are to sanctify themselves, to prepare spiritually, before they even touch the ark — the complete opposite of the improvising that caused Uzza’s death before.
  13. 1 Crônicas 15:13Here David admits his own mistake without dodging it: the tragedy with Uzza happened because the first time they did not seek the ark “after the due order” — in other words, they didn’t follow God’s rules for how it was to be carried.
  14. 1 Crônicas 15:14The priests and Levites actually sanctify themselves, fulfilling David’s instruction before laying a hand on the ark — the step that was completely missing the first time.
  15. 1 Crônicas 15:15This time the Levites carry the ark on their own shoulders, using the staves, exactly as Moses had commanded — the definitive correction of the oxcart mistake made in chapter 13.
  16. 1 Crônicas 15:16David organizes a music team with specific instruments — psalteries, harps, cymbals — to accompany the ark going up to Jerusalem. It’s the first time worship gains an organized, professional body of musicians, not just priests offering sacrifice.
  17. 1 Crônicas 15:17The Levites choose three names to lead the singing: Heman, Asaph, and Ethan — the same three musicians whose full genealogy had already been detailed back in chapter 6.
  18. 1 Crônicas 15:18A second group of musicians and gatekeepers joins the three main ones, including Obed-edom — the same man whose house sheltered the ark for three months and was blessed because of it, now taking part directly in the procession.
  19. 1 Crônicas 15:19Heman, Asaph, and Ethan play cymbals of brass — the featured instrument reserved for the three lead musicians among all the Levites.
  20. 1 Crônicas 15:20Another group plays psalteries “on Alamoth” — an ancient musical term, probably indicating a higher pitch, perhaps imitating female or young voices.
  21. 1 Crônicas 15:21Yet another group plays harps “on the Sheminith,” a term that suggests a lower pitch, the two together forming a well-thought-out musical arrangement, not just the noise of celebration.
  22. 1 Crônicas 15:22Chenaniah, chief of the Levites for song, is put in charge of instructing and directing the singing — the position closest to a music director within this organization of worship.
  23. 1 Crônicas 15:23Berechiah and Elkanah are specifically appointed as doorkeepers for the ark — dedicated security assigned only to this sacred object, separate from the temple’s general guard.
  24. 1 Crônicas 15:24Seven priests blow trumpets before the ark — a symbolic number repeated in other biblical rituals — while two more men serve as its exclusive doorkeepers.
  25. 1 Crônicas 15:25At last the real procession begins: David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands go to bring up the ark from the house of Obed-edom, this time with joy, without the fear that marked the first attempt.
  26. 1 Crônicas 15:26Partway through, they sacrifice seven bullocks and seven rams — a ritual pause to mark that, this time, God was helping the Levites carry the ark without incident.
  27. 1 Crônicas 15:27David clothes himself in a robe of fine linen, like the Levites and the singers, and also wears a linen ephod over it — priestly attire, showing the king lowering himself to the level of God’s servants in the very celebration.
  28. 1 Crônicas 15:28All Israel accompanies the ark’s ascent with shouts of joy, the sound of trumpets, cymbals, psalteries, and harps — a full celebration that contrasts with the funereal silence of the first, failed attempt.
  29. 1 Crônicas 15:29Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, watches her husband dancing before the ark from the window and feels contempt, not joy. It’s a small detail that signals the growing distance between Saul’s old dynasty and David’s new way of ruling and worshiping.

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