Levitical Families and Their Heads
1 Chronicles 23:7-11
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
Jude
Revelation
1 C.23.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לגרשני: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לעדן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושמעי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 3:23–24 (thematic): Genesis narrates the expulsion from Eden (banishment from the garden); parallels the motif of Eden and banishment implicit in the phrase לְגָרְשֵׁנִי/עֵדֶן (drive me/from/to Eden).
- Ezekiel 28:13–15 (allusion): Ezekiel uses Edenic language to describe a primeval, paradisal state (“in Eden, the garden of God”), an image that echoes any reference to Eden and its loss or condition.
- Isaiah 51:3 (thematic): Isaiah promises the LORD will restore Zion like the garden of Eden—a thematic counterpoint to texts about exile from Eden, reflecting hope for return/restoration to paradisal conditions.
- Psalm 86:6 (verbal): A direct petitionary formula (“Hear me, O Lord”/שְׁמַע־נָא קוֹלִי) parallels the שְׁמַעִי element of the verse, linking it to biblical prayers calling for God’s attentive hearing.
Alternative generated candidates
- The sons of Gershon: Laadan and Shimei.
- To Gershon: Laadan and Shimei.
1 C.23.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- לעדן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יחיאל: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וזתם: CONJ+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויואל: VERB,qal,part,3,m,sg
- שלשה: NUM,m
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 23:1-7 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter listing the other Levitical family heads and introducing David’s reorganization of the Levites; shows the same genealogical/organizational sweep of names and divisions.
- 1 Chronicles 6:1-66 (structural): Extended Levitical genealogy elsewhere in Chronicles that records the ancestry and descendants of Levi’s lines—many of the same family names and offices appear, providing a parallel register of Levitical households.
- Numbers 3:17 (verbal): Pentateuchal genealogy that lists the sons of Gershon (and other Levitical families); parallels the Chronicler’s practice of giving family lists of Levites and preserves overlapping names and tribal divisions.
- Numbers 4:1-33 (thematic): Description of the organization and assigned duties of the Levite clans (Kohath, Gershon, Merari); thematically parallels David’s later assignment of duties and divisions among Levitical sons in 1 Chronicles 23.
- Ezra 2:61 / Nehemiah 7:63 (thematic): Postexilic lists mentioning Levites/priestly families (including problems of missing genealogies); thematically related to the Chronicler’s concern to register and legitimize Levitical families and offices.
Alternative generated candidates
- The sons of Laadan were Jehiel the chief, Zetham, and Joel—three.
- The sons of Laadan, the chief: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel—three.
1 C.23.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- שמעי: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- שלומית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחזיאל: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והרן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלשה: NUM,m
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- האבות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ללעדן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 3:27-32 (thematic): Lists the chiefs/families of the Levites in the census—parallel theme of naming heads of Levitical families (organizational genealogy) to which 1 Chr 23:9 belongs.
- 1 Chronicles 6:16-30 (structural): Extended Levite genealogies that enumerate clans and heads among Gershon, Kohath, and Merari—provides the broader genealogical background for the family‑heads named in 1 Chr 23:9.
- 1 Chronicles 23:6-11 (verbal): Immediate context: the same section listing the sons and family‑heads of the Levite branch (Ladan/Laadan, etc.); 23:9 is part of this contiguous verbal list.
- 1 Chronicles 24:1-5 (structural): Describes the organization/divisions of priests and heads of fathers’ houses for service—parallels the administrative purpose behind naming family heads in 1 Chr 23:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Jehaziel, and Haran—three. These were the heads of the ancestral households of Laadan.
- The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three. These were the heads of the fathers' households of Gershon.
1 C.23.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- שמעי: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- יחת: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- זינא: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ויעוש: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובריעה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- שמעי: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ארבעה: NUM,card,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Chronicles 26:25 (verbal): An almost identical verbal repetition of the names—Jahat, Ziza, Jeush and Beriah—repeating the genealogy of the sons of Shimei.
- 1 Chronicles 23:7-11 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter that lists the families and sons of the Levite clans; verse 10 is part of this larger structural genealogy and organization of Levites.
- 1 Chronicles 24:1-6 (thematic): Parallel theme of organizing priestly/Levitical families into divisions for service; while 24 treats priestly courses, both passages deal with ordering Levitical households for cultic duties.
- 1 Chronicles 6:1-15 (thematic): Earlier Levite genealogies in Chronicles (chap. 6) cover the lineages and families of Levi; thematically parallels the chronicler’s concern to record Levitical descendants like the sons of Shimei.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the sons of Shimei were Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah—these are the sons of Shimei, four.
- And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah—these are the sons of Shimei, four.
1 C.23.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- יחת: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וזיזה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- השני: ADJ,m,sg,def
- ויעוש: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובריעה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- הרבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cns
- אב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לפקדה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 1:2 (thematic): Both passages concern taking an official enrollment/census by families/clans for service or organization—here the Levite households are being reckoned for assignment.
- 1 Chronicles 23:6 (verbal): Uses the same familial/’heads of fathers’ language (בית־אב / heads of the fathers’ houses) and the framing of households for official assignment—an immediate internal parallel in the Chronicler’s census material.
- 1 Chronicles 24:3–5 (structural): Like 1 Chr 23:11, these verses organize priests and Levites into numbered divisions and fathers’ houses for service, showing the same concern with grouping families for official registration.
- Ezra 2:62–63 (allusion): Both passages deal with genealogical/household registration for religious function: Ezra records problems proving priestly descent and the consequences for being counted among the proper families.
- Nehemiah 7:63–65 (thematic): Nehemiah’s list and handling of those who could not prove their ancestry parallels the administrative concern in 1 Chr 23:11 with how small or indistinct households are counted and assigned in official rolls.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jahath was the chief, Zizah the second; Jeush and Beriah did not multiply, and they were reckoned to the house of their father as one enrolled unit.
- Jahath was the chief, Zizah the second; Jeush and Beriah did not become many in sons, and they were reckoned as one father's house for a single registration.
The sons of Gershon were Laadan and Shimei.
The sons of Laadan—chiefs: Jehiel, Zetham, and Joel; three.
The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran—three; these were the heads of the fathers' houses of Laadan. And the sons of Shelomoth: Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah—four.
Jahath was the first, Zizah the second; Jeush and Beriah were few in number, and they were reckoned as one father's house for the enrollment.