📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 26:32
What does 1 Chronicles 26:32 mean?
"His brothers, men of valor, were two thousand seven hundred, heads of fathers’ households, whom king David made overseers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, and for the affairs of the king."
— 1 Chronicles 26:32 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges.
Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brothers, men of valor, one thousand seven hundred, had the oversight of Israel beyond the Jordan westward, for all the business of Yahweh, and for the service of the king.
Of the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even of the Hebronites, according to their generations by fathers’ households. They were sought for in the fortieth year of the reign of David, and mighty men of valor were found among them at Jazer of Gilead.
His brothers, men of valor, were two thousand seven hundred, heads of fathers’ households, whom king David made overseers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, and for the affairs of the king.
Explanation
This verse comes at the close of a long section in 1 Chronicles 26 that lists how King David organized the Levites for administrative service. Specifically, it refers to the descendants of Hebron, a Kohathite Levite family, and one of their leaders—identified earlier in the chapter as Jerijah—who was found to have 2,700 capable kinsmen among his household. David assigned this large group of men not to Temple gatekeeping duties (which is the main subject of most of chapter 26) but to civil and religious oversight of the tribes living east of the Jordan River: Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
The book of 1 Chronicles was written after the Babylonian exile, likely by a priestly or Levitical author, for a Jewish community that had returned to the land and needed to reconnect with its identity, worship practices, and the legitimacy of Davidic and Levitical institutions. The Chron
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