📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 27:22
What does 1 Chronicles 27:22 mean?
"of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel."
— 1 Chronicles 27:22 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; of Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel;
of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah;
of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner;
of Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the captains of the tribes of Israel.
But David didn’t take the number of them from twenty years old and under, because Yahweh had said he would increase Israel like the stars of the sky.
Joab the son of Zeruiah began to take a census, but didn’t finish; and wrath came on Israel for this. The number wasn’t put into the account in the chronicles of king David.
Over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the towers, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah;
Explanation
First Chronicles 27:22 is the closing line of a list that names the chief officer over each of the twelve tribes of Israel during King David's reign. In plain terms, it simply identifies the man who headed the tribe of Dan — Azarel, son of Jeroham — and then summarizes that everyone named in the preceding verses held this same kind of position: "captain" or leader over his respective tribe. It is a factual, administrative notice, not a narrative with drama or dialogue.
The book of 1 Chronicles was likely compiled after the Babylonian exile, drawing on royal records and genealogies, to help the returning Jewish community understand its identity and history, especially the reign of David as the high point of united, God-ordained kingship. Chapter 27 specifically catalogs the organizational structure of David's kingdom — military divisions by month (
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