📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 9:31
What does 1 Chronicles 9:31 mean?
"Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the office of trust over the things that were baked in pans."
— 1 Chronicles 9:31 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Certain of them were in charge of the vessels of service; for these were brought in by count, and these were taken out by count.
Some of them also were appointed over the furniture, and over all the vessels of the sanctuary, over the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, and the spices.
Some of the sons of the priests prepared the mixing of the spices.
Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the firstborn of Shallum the Korahite, had the office of trust over the things that were baked in pans.
Some of their brothers, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the show bread, to prepare it every Sabbath.
These are the singers, heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, who lived in the rooms and were free from other service; for they were employed in their work day and night.
These were heads of fathers’ households of the Levites, throughout their generations, chief men. These lived at Jerusalem.
Explanation
1 Chronicles 9:31 gives a small but telling detail from a genealogical and administrative record of the Levites who served in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. The verse says that a man named Mattithiah, a Levite descended from Shallum of the Korahite clan, was entrusted with a specific responsibility: overseeing the baked goods, likely referring to the grain offerings that were prepared in pans or griddles as part of temple worship (compare Leviticus 2:5 and 6:21, which describe such offerings cooked on a flat pan). This was not a glamorous task, but it was one that required trust and precision, since it involved the sacred offerings brought before God.
The broader context of 1 Chronicles 9 is a list of those who resettled Jerusalem and served in the temple after the return from exile, compiled by the Chronicler, likely writing in the post-exilic period (perhaps around the 5th-4th century BC) to help the restored community understand its identity and continuity with pre-exilic Israel. The Chronicler is deeply interested in temple worship, priestly and Levitical order, and faithful service, and this chapter catalogs various families and their specific duties—gatekeepers, singers, treasurers, and those in charge of utensils, oil, incense, and baked offerings. Mattithiah's inclusion in this list, tracing his lineage to Korah (whose descendants had a complicated history, having rebelled against Moses in Numbers 16 yet later serving faithfully as temple functionaries), shows how God can restore
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