📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 16:39
What does 1 Chronicles 16:39 mean?
"and Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before Yahweh’s tabernacle in the high place that was at Gibeon,"
— 1 Chronicles 16:39 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, “Amen,” and praised Yahweh.
So he left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required;
and Obed-Edom with their brothers, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be doorkeepers;
and Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before Yahweh’s tabernacle in the high place that was at Gibeon,
to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh on the altar of burnt offering continually morning and evening, even according to all that is written in Yahweh’s law, which he commanded to Israel;
and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen, who were mentioned by name, to give thanks to Yahweh, because his loving kindness endures forever;
and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud, and with instruments for the songs of God; and the sons of Jeduthun to be at the gate.
Explanation
This verse describes a specific arrangement David made in Israel's worship life: while the Ark of the Covenant had been brought into Jerusalem, the original tabernacle that Moses had built — along with its altar of burnt offering — remained at Gibeon, a town north of Jerusalem. David assigned Zadok the priest and his fellow priests to continue serving there, maintaining the sacrifices according to the Law of Moses, even as new worship centered on the Ark took shape in Jerusalem under Asaph and the Levitical singers. So for a time, Israel had two legitimate worship sites operating simult
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