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1 Crônicas 23

BLIVRE · Chapter 23/29

1Sendo, pois, Davi já velho e farto de dias, fez a Salomão seu filho rei sobre Israel.

2E juntando a todos os principais de Israel, e a os sacerdotes e levitas,

3Foram contados os levitas de trinta anos acima; e foi o número deles por suas cabeças, contados um a um, trinta e oito mil.

4Destes, vinte e quatro mil para dar pressa à obra da casa do SENHOR; e governadores e juízes, seis mil;

5Ademais quatro mil porteiros; e quatro mil para louvar a o SENHOR, disse Davi, com os instrumentos que fiz para render louvores.

6E repartiu-os Davi em ordens conforme a os filhos de Levi, Gérson e Coate e Merari.

7Os filhos de Gérson: Ladã, e Simei.

8Os filhos de Ladã, três: Jeiel o primeiro, depois Zetã e Joel.

9Os filhos de Simei, três: Selomote, Haziel, e Harã. Estes foram os príncipes das famílias de Ladã.

10E os filhos de Simei: Jaate, Zina, Jeus, e Berias. Estes quatro foram os filhos de Simei.

11Jaate era o primeiro, Zina o segundo; mas Jeus e Berias não multiplicaram em filhos, por o qual foram contados por uma família.

12Os filhos de Coate: Anrão, Izar, Hebrom, e Uziel, eles quatro.

13Os filhos de Anrão: Arão e Moisés. E Arão foi apartado para ser dedicado às mais santas coisas, ele e seus filhos para sempre, para que queimassem perfumes diante do SENHOR, e lhe ministrassem, e bendisessem em seu nome, para sempre.

14E os filhos de Moisés, homem de Deus, foram contados na tribo de Levi.

15Os filhos de Moisés foram Gérson e Eliézer.

16Filho de Gérson foi Sebuel o primeiro.

17E filho de Eliézer foi Reabias o primeiro. E Eliézer não teve outros filhos; mas os filhos de Reabias foram muitos.

18Filho de Izar foi Selomite o primeiro.

19Os filhos de Hebrom: Jería o primeiro, Amarias o segundo, Jaaziel o terceiro, e Jecameão o quarto.

20Os filhos de Uziel: Mica o primeiro, e Issias o segundo.

21Os filhos de Merari: Mali e Musi. Os filhos de Mali: Eleazar e Quis.

22E morreu Eleazar sem filhos, mas teve filhas; e os filhos de Quis, seus irmãos, as tomaram por mulheres.

23Os filhos de Musi: Mali, Éder e Jeremote, eles três.

24Estes são os filhos de Levi nas famílias de seus pais, cabeceiras de famílias em suas linhagens, contados por seus nomes, por suas cabeças, os quais faziam obra no ministério da casa do SENHOR, de vinte anos acima.

25Porque Davi disse: o SENHOR Deus de Israel há dado repouso a seu povo Israel, e o habitar em Jerusalém para sempre.

26E também os levitas não levarão mais o tabernáculo, e todos seus vasos para seu ministério.

27Assim que, conforme as últimas palavras de Davi, foi a contagem dos filhos de Levi de vinte anos acima.

28E estavam sob a mão dos filhos de Arão, para ministrar na casa do SENHOR, nos átrios e nas câmaras, e na purificação de toda coisa santificada, e na demais obra do ministério da casa de Deus;

29Assim para os pães da proposição, e para a flor da farinha para o sacrifício, e para os pães sem levedura, e para as coisas postas em panelas, e para o tostado, e para toda medida e conta;

30E para que assistissem cada manhã todos os dias a confessar e louvar a o SENHOR, e assim à tarde;

31E para oferecer todos os holocaustos a o SENHOR os sábados, novas luas, e solenidades, por a conta e forma que tinham, continuamente diante do SENHOR.

32E para que tivessem a guarda do tabernáculo do testemunho, e a guarda do santuário, e as ordens dos filhos de Arão seus irmãos, no ministério da casa do SENHOR.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Now elderly, David organizes the Levites into divisions of work for the different services of the temple that would be built: administration, judgment, gatekeeping, and music, counting those who were thirty years old or more for service.

Explanation

This chapter shows David acting as a careful administrator in the final years of his life, organizing the Levites — who received no territory of their own but served in specific religious tasks — into clear categories of responsibility. This reorganization also reflects a shift in expectations: since the permanent temple would replace the portable tabernacle used in the wilderness, the Levites would no longer need to physically carry the sacred structure from place to place, freeing them for other roles such as music, teaching, and administration. The meticulous attention to organizational detail shows that good practical management is also part of serving God with excellence.

Fun facts

  • The minimum age for Levitical service is given here as thirty, but in later chapters and other books the age of twenty also appears — a difference scholars attribute to changes over time, as the practical needs of the temple evolved.
  • Moses, despite being the most important leader in Israel's history up to that point, is described here only briefly within the Levitical genealogy, showing how the chronicler prioritizes institutional organization over individual achievements, even those of the greatest leaders of the past.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Crônicas 23:1Now old, David makes Solomon king over Israel while he is still alive — a period of joint rule that guarantees a smooth transfer of power, with no dispute over the throne after his father’s death.
  2. 1 Crônicas 23:2David gathers all the leaders of Israel, the priests, and the Levites — a great national assembly to organize the kingdom’s structure before he dies for good.
  3. 1 Crônicas 23:3Thirty-eight thousand Levites are counted and divided by function: one part oversees the temple work, another serves as officers and judges, another as gatekeepers, and four thousand are musicians alone. It is a complete reorganization of Levite work now that the ark has a fixed home.
  4. 1 Crônicas 23:4Of the thirty-eight thousand Levites counted, twenty-four thousand are put in charge of the work of the house of the LORD, and six thousand become a kind of officers and judges — the Levites also carried out civil duties, not only religious ones.
  5. 1 Crônicas 23:5Another four thousand serve as gatekeepers, and yet another four thousand are dedicated purely to music — using instruments David himself had made specifically for that purpose.
  6. 1 Crônicas 23:6David organizes all these Levites into shifts, following the natural division of Levi’s three families: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari — the same genealogical structure from chapter 6 now becomes a practical work organization.
  7. 1 Crônicas 23:7The detailed listing of the Gershonites begins: Laadan and Shimei are the two main names in this family.
  8. 1 Crônicas 23:8The three sons of Laadan, with Jehiel as chief — one more layer of organization within the already detailed Gershonite branch.
  9. 1 Crônicas 23:9Three more names tied to this family, described as heads of Laadan’s household — the organization of the Levites is every bit as detailed as any tribal genealogy from the start of the book.
  10. 1 Crônicas 23:10The four sons of Shimei close out this part of the Gershonite family — Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah.
  11. 1 Crônicas 23:11The text explains a practical detail: since Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, the two families were counted as one — an administrative adjustment for lists that do not grow evenly.
  12. 1 Crônicas 23:12It moves on to the Kohathites: the four sons of Kohath — Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel — the same names already seen in chapter 6.
  13. 1 Crônicas 23:13From Amram come Aaron and Moses, but only Aaron and his descendants are set apart for the most sacred priestly service — burning incense before the LORD and blessing the people in His name, an exclusive, permanent role.
  14. 1 Crônicas 23:14Even though Moses is called ‘the man of God,’ his sons receive no special priestly status — they are counted simply as ordinary Levites, showing that not even the Bible’s greatest prophet secured hereditary privilege for his family.
  15. 1 Crônicas 23:15Moses’ two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, carry on his line within the tribe of Levi, even without the priestly prominence Aaron’s family received.
  16. 1 Crônicas 23:16Shebuel leads the descendants of Gershom, son of Moses — one more small branch within the great Levite family tree.
  17. 1 Crônicas 23:17Rehabiah leads the descendants of Eliezer, and the text notes something curious: even though Eliezer had no other sons besides him, Rehabiah’s line grew enormously — a single branch that multiplied on its own.
  18. 1 Crônicas 23:18Shelomith leads the descendants of Izhar, one more family within the great structure organized by David.
  19. 1 Crônicas 23:19The four sons of Hebron round out another Kohathite branch, each with a defined position in the family hierarchy.
  20. 1 Crônicas 23:20The two sons of Uzziel close out the list of Kohath’s four families, each already detailed with its own leaders.
  21. 1 Crônicas 23:21Now the Merarites: Mahli and Mushi, and Mahli’s two sons, Eleazar and Kish — one more branch within the third great family of Levi.
  22. 1 Crônicas 23:22Eleazar dies with only daughters, no sons, and the solution is the same one seen before with Zelophehad: the cousins, Kish’s sons, marry these daughters to keep the line within the family itself.
  23. 1 Crônicas 23:23The three sons of Mushi close out the Merarite genealogy, completing the detailed organization of Levi’s three families before the final summary.
  24. 1 Crônicas 23:24The minimum age for Levite service drops from thirty to twenty in this reorganization, because the heavy work of carrying the tabernacle from place to place will no longer exist once the temple is fixed — leaving room for younger Levites to take on other roles.
  25. 1 Crônicas 23:25David explains the reason for changing the rules: now that the LORD has given the people rest and will dwell in Jerusalem forever, the heavy work of carrying the tabernacle from place to place simply no longer exists.
  26. 1 Crônicas 23:26That is why the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or its furnishings on their backs — the shift in role that Jerusalem’s stability brought to their daily work.
  27. 1 Crônicas 23:27According to David’s last decisions, the minimum age for counting the Levites drops from thirty to twenty — since the work became physically lighter, more people can serve earlier.
  28. 1 Crônicas 23:28The Levites’ new main function is to directly assist the priests descended from Aaron — caring for the courts, the chambers, and the purification of everything considered holy.
  29. 1 Crônicas 23:29The specific tasks include tending the showbread, the flour for the offerings, the ritual cakes and fried offerings, and even the exact measurements used for each offering — a very detailed job of religious logistics.
  30. 1 Crônicas 23:30It also fell to the Levites to stand every morning and every evening to thank and praise the LORD — a fixed routine of worship, not just occasional tasks.
  31. 1 Crônicas 23:31Besides that, they tended every burnt offering on the sabbaths, new moons, and appointed feasts — keeping Israel’s religious calendar running smoothly.
  32. 1 Crônicas 23:32A summary closes the chapter: the Levites were responsible for keeping watch over the tent of the congregation, the sanctuary, and supporting the priests — the supporting role that would define their function from then on.

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