📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 23:26
What does 1 Chronicles 23:26 mean?
"Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.”"
— 1 Chronicles 23:26 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
These were the sons of Levi after their fathers’ houses, even the heads of the fathers’ houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of Yahweh’s house, from twenty years old and upward.
For David said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.
Also the Levites will no longer need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.”
For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were counted, from twenty years old and upward.
For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house, in the courts, and in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house;
for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size;
Explanation
This verse comes from a section of 1 Chronicles in which King David, near the end of his reign, reorganizes the Levites in preparation for the building of the temple by his son Solomon. In plain language, the verse states that the Levites' traditional job of physically transporting the tabernacle (the portable tent-sanctuary) and its sacred furnishings—things like the ark, the altar, the lampstands, and other vessels used in worship—was coming to an end. This had been one of their primary responsibilities since the days of Moses, when Israel was a wandering nation and the tabernacle had to be disassembled, carried, and reassembled at each new campsite.
The historical context is important. First Chronicles was likely written after the Babylonian exile, compiled from earlier records, to help the returning Jewish community understand their identity and worship heritage. But the events described here occurred centuries earlier, at the close of David's reign (roughly 1000 BC). David had brought the ark to Jerusalem, secured the kingd
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