📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 9:12
What does 1 Chronicles 9:12 mean?
"and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;"
— 1 Chronicles 9:12 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and their brothers, according to their generations, nine hundred fifty-six. All these men were heads of fathers’ households by their fathers’ houses.
Of the priests: Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jachin,
and Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of God’s house;
and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;
and their brothers, heads of their fathers’ houses, one thousand seven hundred sixty; very able men for the work of the service of God’s house.
Of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;
and Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Mica, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph,
Explanation
This verse is part of a long genealogical list found in 1 Chronicles 9, which names the priests who resettled in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. On its own, the verse simply traces two family lines: Adaiah, identified through his father Jeroham, grandfather Pashhur, and ancestor Malchijah; and Maasai, traced through Adiel, Jahzerah, Meshullam, Meshillemith, and back to Immer. These are not stories or teachings but names meant to establish identity and lineage—who these men were, which priestly family they belonged to, and therefore what role and responsibilities they carried in temple service.
The Chronicler wrote this account after the Babylonian exile, likely in the post-exilic period (perhaps 5th-4th century BC), addressing a Jewish community that had returned to the land and needed to reestablish its religious and civic order. Chapter 9 specifically lists the people who resettled Jerusalem—laypeople, priests, Levites, and gatekeepers—because after the devastation of exile, it mattered enormously who could legitimately serve in the temple. Priestly lineage was not incidental; it was the basis for who could offer sacrifices and minister before God, according to the law given through Moses (see Numbers 3
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