📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 24:15
What does 1 Chronicles 24:15 mean?
"the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,"
— 1 Chronicles 24:15 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim,
the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab,
the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezkel,
the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul,
the twenty-third to Delaiah, and the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.
Explanation
1 Chronicles 24:15 simply names two men, Hezir and Happizzez, and tells us which numbered division of priests each was assigned to lead—the seventeenth and eighteenth respectively. On its surface, this is a small piece of a much longer administrative list, one line among many recording how the descendants of Aaron were organized for their duties in worship.
The context is important for understanding why such a verse exists at all. In 1 Chronicles 23–26, King David, near the end of his life, organizes the various groups who will serve in the temple that his son Solomon is going to build. Since the priesthood had grown large—descended from Aaron through his sons Eleazar and Ithamar—David divided all the priests into twenty-four groups, so that each group could take its turn serving at the temple throughout the year. This chapter records how those twenty-four divisions were determined, largely by casting lots (a method of decision-making the Israelites trusted as a way of allowing God to guide the outcome, since "the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD," as Proverbs 16:33 says). The list here, then, is essentially David's organizational chart for ongoing worship at the temple, ensuring order, fairness, and continuity in Israel's religious life.
Theologically, this verse—modest as it seems
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