Page:The Books of Chronicles (1916).djvu/130

66 according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty and six. All these men were heads of fathers' houses by their fathers' houses. And of the priests; Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin; and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; and their brethren, heads of their fathers' houses, a thousand and

9. nine hundred and fifty and six] 928 in Neh. xi. 8.

10—13 (cp. Neh. xi. 10—14).&emsp;

10. Jehoiarib] Spelt Joiarib in Neh. xi. 10. Jehoiarib and Jedaiah occur as names of the first and second courses of the priests in xxiv. 7; Neh. xii. 6, 19. The Maccabees were of the course of Joarib (= Jehoiarib); 1 Macc. ii. 1.

Jachin] The name of the twenty-first course; xxiv. 17.

11. Azariah] In Neh. xi. 11, Seraiah.

the ruler of the house of God] This title could perhaps be borne by the high-priest (2 Chr. xxxi. 10, 13), but in any case it was not confined to him (ib. xxxv. 8, where several such "rulers" are mentioned; cp. also Jer. xx. 1; Acts iv. 1).

12. Malchijah] The name of the fifth course; xxiv. 9.

Maasai] The reading of Neh. xi. 13 Amashsai is corrupt. The form given in Chron. is open to suspicion. Probably the true reading is lost.

Adiel] In Neh. Azareel.

Immer] The name of the sixteenth course; xxiv. 14.

13. a thousand and seven hundred and threescore] Only the five "courses" of priests mentioned above (viz. Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin, ver. 10, and Malchijah and Immer, ver. 12) seem to be included in this reckoning. Some commentators, however, regard Azariah (= Seraiah) in ver. 11 as the name of a new course, which took the place of one of the courses reckoned in xxiv. 7—18. If this be right we have here the sum of six courses.

In Neh. xi. 12—14 the number of the priests is given on a different plan; eight hundred and twenty-two "did the work of the house"; two hundred and forty-two were "chiefs of fathers' houses"; an hundred and twenty-eight were "mighty men of valour." The total falls far short of the thousand and seven hundred and threescore of Chron. We have not sufficient data on which to base any explanation of the different totals.