📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 26:7
What does 1 Chronicles 26:7 mean?
"The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah."
— 1 Chronicles 26:7 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Obed-Edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth,
Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him.
Sons were also born to Shemaiah his son, who ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor.
The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah.
All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom: they and their sons and their brothers, able men in strength for the service; sixty-two of Obed-Edom.
Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, valiant men, eighteen.
Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief),
Explanation
This verse comes from a genealogical list identifying the sons of Shemaiah, who himself was a son of Obed-Edom, one of the chief gatekeepers appointed to serve at the tabernacle and later the temple. In plain terms, the text names Shemaiah's sons — Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad — and then notes that their kinsmen Elihu and Semachiah were also "valiant men," meaning capable, strong, and dependable individuals fit for responsible service.
The verse sits within 1 Chronicles 26, a chapter cataloging the divisions of gatekeepers whom King David organized for orderly service at the sanctuary. The Chronicler, writing after the Babylonian exile (likely composed by a priestly or Levitical author, possibly Ezra or someone in his circle), was concerned with reestablishing Israel
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