The sons of Levi Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
The chapter opens by naming Levi's three sons in the order they were born, and that short list starts the longest tribal record in Chronicles. Two questions follow: why does this one tribe fill a whole chapter, and why does the priesthood pass to the second son and not the first?
The verse lists the sons by birth. Verse 2 breaks that order.
In verse 1, following the principle often mentioned, we first find the sons of Levi in natural order, the order of birth: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Then in verse 2 comes Kohath — and not Gershon — chosen by grace as the stock of the Aaronic priesthood. Verse 3 names Aaron before Moses: "Aaron, Moses, and Miriam." This order matches the subject of Chronicles, which deals with Judah's kingship according to God's counsels, and with the priesthood in its relation to that kingship.
The same pattern repeats one generation later, inside Aaron's own family.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. And so in the priestly family we see it again: the history of the natural man comes first, and then it is set aside completely.
Chronicles has already traced David's family in detail. Levi now receives the matching treatment.
The inspired writer begins again with the sons of Levi (1 Chron. 6:16). The special line of the priesthood, the sons of Aaron, is as prominent in Levi as the line of kings, the sons of David, is in Judah. Here are the three branches of the tribe, Gershom, Kohath, and Merari, the sons of each, and the appointment of one from each family to be a leader in the service of song.
The two lines do not end the same way.
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as the line of David does (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
Each name became a working division of the tribe. Each division had its own load when Israel moved through the wilderness.
Eldest son of Levi, born before the children of Israel entered Egypt, and his descendants. At the count of the Israelites in the wilderness there were 7,500 Gershonites, one branch of the Levites. Their charge was the framework of the tabernacle and the tent, with the hangings and curtains.
Kohath's branch handled the innermost furniture — under strict limits.
The Kohathites carried the "most holy things" of the tabernacle — the ark, the table of showbread, the golden altar, and so on. But they were not allowed to touch them, or even to look at them.
Levi's name and the tribe's beginnings both feed into this list. A sentence of scattering fell on Levi for violence, and it came true — yet it ended in blessing.
The children of Levi came, as we know, from the third son of Jacob. From him came Aaron and Moses too, the double type of Christ. His name, "joined," suits perfectly with the history of the tribe. Their first father joined Simeon in deeds of violence. This brought on them the punishment spoken in the words, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." But the result is true blessing. Levi, in whom this is more fully carried out than in Simeon, is only thereby more fully blessed. He is joined to the Lord, and the Lord becomes his portion. And if he is scattered in Israel, it is as a spiritual seed, to bear fruit for God all over the land.
Nothing in the tribe's record earned the position it holds in this chapter.
The supremacy of the tribe of Levi shows the sovereignty of God. God fully reveals His grace in His choice of this tribe. This tribe could not be chosen for any merit in its character... Yet out of this tribe Jehovah took Moses to lead His people. He took Aaron and his sons as priests. And He took the whole tribe, in place of all the firstborn, for the special ministry.
One writer carries the meaning of Levi's name over to believers today.
Levi means "joined." The grace of God had joined them to the Lord and His ministry. Christian believers are joined to the Lord. They are both priests and Levites, having priesthood and ministry. Our priesthood consists in the ministry of the sanctuary, in worship and intercession. Our Levite ministry is many sided.
- Joined. Levi means "joined," and the tribe's whole story is God joining to Himself the people least entitled to it.
- Scattered. The sentence "I will divide them in Jacob" came true — and that very scattering spread them through the land for God.
- Chosen. Verse 1 lists the sons by birth. Verse 2 passes over the eldest and settles the priesthood on Kohath: grace decides, not birth order.
- Set apart. Each branch had its own load. Gershon carried the framework and curtains. Kohath carried the ark and the holy vessels, but could not touch them.
- Outlasted. The priestly line here stops at the captivity, while David's runs past it: a service that ends beside a kingship that does not.
And the sons of Kohath Amram, Jizhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.
This short list of four names sits inside the long record of Levi's family. Kohath was Levi's second son, not his first, so why does Chronicles follow his branch, and what became of the four families that came from him?
Verse 1 lists Levi's three sons by birth. Verse 2 follows just one of them.
In verse 1, following the principle we have often mentioned, we first find the sons of Levi in natural order, the order of birth: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Then in verse 2 we find Kohath — and not Gershon — chosen by grace as the stock of the Aaronic priesthood. Verse 3 names Aaron before Moses: "Aaron, Moses, and Miriam." That order matches what Chronicles is about. It deals with Judah's kingship according to God's counsels, and with the priesthood in its relation to that kingship. These three names, Aaron, Moses and Miriam, stand for the priesthood, the law, and prophecy. But as soon as the question is the counsels of grace about the kingship, the law — Moses — gives place to the priesthood.
His line runs from Egypt down to the priesthood.
Son of Levi, and his descendants. He was the grandfather of Moses and Aaron. We know little about Kohath himself: he went into Egypt with the rest of his brothers and died at the age of 133. The Kohathites carried the "most holy things" of the tabernacle — the ark, the table of showbread, the golden altar and so on — but they were not allowed to touch them or even look at them. In the first census the male descendants of Kohath between thirty and fifty years of age numbered 2,750. Their descendants included several important families, including the priesthood. Amram's sons were Aaron and Moses, and the priests came from Aaron; Izhar's son was Korah, whose line became the Korahites; Hebron's line became the Hebronites, and Uzziel's the Uzzielites.
Each name in this list carries a meaning:
Kohath — Congregation, Assembly. Hebron — Association, communion. Amram — Exalted people, of the exalted One. Izhar — Oil. Uzziel — The strength of God.
Israel's leaders gave wagons and oxen for moving the tabernacle. Kohath's four families got none of it.
When we looked at Numbers 3 and 4, we saw that the sons of Kohath had the privilege of carrying the most precious of the instruments and furniture of the sanctuary. So they did not receive any part of the leaders' offering. Their high and holy service was to carry these things on their shoulders, and not to use wagons or oxen. The closer we look at the things put into the care and charge of the Kohathites, the more we shall see that they picture the deeper and fuller ways God has made Himself known in Christ.
Their work also looked less impressive than it was:
This was the highest form of service; it was what brought the service closest to Christ. On the outside it did not look so impressive, as we shall see later. It does not follow at all that the service which makes the greatest show or noise among people is the most honourable in God's eyes.
Izhar, the second name on the list, fathered Korah. Korah led the rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
Notice that in Numbers 16 nothing says that the sons of Korah went down with their father. And in Numbers 26:11 we read that the children of Korah did not die. Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace God saved them from going down alive into the pit. And this was not all. As part of the family of Kohath they had given to them the cities of refuge, of which Hebron is named first. (1 Chron. 6:54-67.) Oh, how our God delights in mercy! Grace spares them from the pit, and gives them the place of Abraham; for Abraham dwelt in Hebron.
The same chapter shows how far that mercy reached:
1 Chronicles 6:33, 38 establishes plainly that Heman was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. Heman was the middle one of the three leading singers of Israel (compare verses 33, 39, 44). And both men were descendants of that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness.
These four names are a selection, not a full count.
Kohath had another son, Hebron, who for all we know may have had ten times as many descendants. In a word, the genealogies name those there was some special reason to name, and leave out the rest.
- Chosen. Kohath was not Levi's firstborn. Yet Aaron's priesthood came from him. Grace, not birth order, set the line.
- Charged. God trusted his four families with the most holy things of the tabernacle, yet they could not touch them or even look at them.
- Carried. They got no wagons. The holiest load went on the shoulder. That plain-looking work was the service nearest to Christ.
- Spared. Korah came out of Izhar, the second name in this list. His children did not die. Mercy kept this branch of Kohath alive and gave it Hebron.
- Crowned. From that spared line came Samuel and his grandson Heman, one of Israel's three leading singers. A rebel's family became the voice of praise.
And the children of Amram Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. And the sons of Aaron Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
This one verse names the three children of Amram, then the four sons of Aaron. The order of the names is not random, and commentators read in it both God's choice and man's failure.
One writer links the order of these names to the purpose of the whole book. He reads the three names as three offices:
Aaron, not Moses, is named first in verse 3: "Aaron, Moses, and Miriam." This order matches what Chronicles is about. The book deals with Judah's kingship according to God's purpose, and with the priesthood in its relation to that kingship. These three names — Aaron, Moses and Miriam — stand for the priesthood, the law, and prophecy. But as soon as God's purposes of grace about the kingship come in, the law, Moses, gives place to the priesthood.
The same writer traces God's choice further back. Levi's sons come first in birth order. Then Kohath, not the firstborn Gershon, is "chosen by grace as the stock of the Aaronic priesthood."
Miriam is the one daughter named here. A dictionary entry gives the reason her name is kept:
Sister of Aaron and Moses: she is called, with emphasis, "Miriam the prophetess." She was probably the sister who watched the basket in which her brother Moses was laid. Later she led the women in procession. With tambourines and dancing they answered the song of Moses, when God delivered them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.
The same entry also records her fall. She joined Aaron in speaking against Moses, and God struck her with leprosy. Moses prayed for her, and she was restored. Her name still stands beside her brothers'.
The verse names Aaron's four sons without comment. The story behind the first two is dark:
Last of all, we see what is sadly always the case with man. On the first day the priesthood is set up, it falls short of the glory of God. Nadab and Abihu offer strange fire. In their dealings with God they act as natural men. They do not build their service on the altar of sacrifice, and they die.
Another writer sees a pattern running through the list. What is natural comes first. What God chooses by grace comes after:
Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. So in the priestly family we again see that the history of the natural man comes first, and is then set aside completely. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar is the priest according to the election of grace. Ithamar is the responsible priest, set aside to make room for Eleazar.
The last two names are not interchangeable. One writer draws out what each son pictures, and what happens when they trade places:
Eleazar, Aaron's third son — in whom the priesthood revives after the death of Nadab and Abihu — is a clear picture of Christ as a risen Priest, whose place of intercession is the fruit of His finished work. His resurrection means God has accepted His atoning death… As long as Eleazar held the high priesthood, Ithamar could serve well in his lower place. But that service depends entirely on the one propitiatory sacrifice which Eleazar, the risen priest, reminds us of. Let Ithamar displace Eleazar, and Ithamar himself is utterly lost. Eli, "the exalted," Hophni, "my fist," and quite another Phinehas, "mouth of brass," are enough to show what the history became. But the line of Eleazar, when it revives, revives in Zadok, "the righteous one."
People who came back from exile used lists like this to prove who they were. But was it worth keeping such a record through the captivity?
These genealogies were imperfect. Israel's condition bore the mark of the ruin that had come on them. But it also bore the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had preserved all that was needed to place them on the record of His people. These genealogies served as a way to recognise the people… Happy is the one who had kept his own, and who prized the heritage of the LORD so highly! It was a proof of faith. Someone might have said, "What use are these genealogies in Babylon?"
- Chosen. God took the priestly line through Kohath, not the firstborn Gershon. The choice was His, not birth order's.
- Ordered. Aaron stands before Moses here. Chronicles is about kingship, and about the priesthood tied to it. So law gives place to priesthood.
- Named. Miriam is kept in the list as a prophetess. She led Israel's women in song after the Red Sea — honoured here, humbled elsewhere.
- Judged. The priesthood fell short on its first day. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and died. What is natural is always set aside first.
- Preserved. Eleazar's line, not Ithamar's, carries the promise. That anyone still held these names after Babylon was itself a proof of faith.
Eleazar begot Phinehas; Phinehas begot Abishua,
One verse holds three generations of Aaron's priestly family: Eleazar, then Phinehas, then Abishua. Why does the record run through this branch, and what became of the promise God attached to it?
Aaron had four sons, and this line runs through the third. What happened to the first two explains why.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. And so in the priestly family we again see that the history of the natural man comes first and is then set aside completely. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar is the priest chosen by grace. Ithamar is the responsible priest, set aside to make room for Eleazar.
The line does not stop with the son named here. One writer follows it down to the last high priest Chronicles names.
Eleazar begets Phinehas, a man of energy, who like Caleb added virtue to his faith and was chosen by God to continue the priestly line. This line continues unbroken down to Azariah (v. 9). He served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles.
Phinehas holds his place in this list because of what he did in one crisis.
God's glory and Israel's good were what ruled the conduct of faithful Phinehas on this occasion. It was a critical moment. He felt that the sternest action was needed. It was no time for false tenderness. There are moments in the history of God's people when tenderness to a man becomes unfaithfulness to God. It is vitally important to be able to recognise such moments. Phinehas acted at once. That saved the whole congregation, glorified Jehovah among His people, and wrecked the enemy's plan.
His name fits the man, and one writer ties it to what his action won.
The name Phinehas, "a mouth of brass," fits a man who was so unbendingly faithful to God. By his relentless judgment of sin he secured a lasting priesthood for himself and his family.
Eleazar's priesthood came by grace; his son's was kept up by judgment. One writer holds the two together.
The priesthood of Phinehas springs from the priesthood of Eleazar and continues it. Yet judgment keeps it alive and holds it up. Strange as it may seem, atonement itself is made by judgment: "Phinehas has turned away My wrath from over the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace. It shall be to him, and to his descendants after him, a covenant of everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel.'"
For long stretches of Israel's history, the men serving as high priest did not come from this line at all.
For hundreds of years the wrong line had usurped the high-priesthood. Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. That branch seized the high-priesthood unlawfully, despite Jehovah's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But restoration came in Zadok, in David and Solomon's time, for Jehovah is faithful despite man's failure and hostility.
The verse ends with a third name, Abishua. A reference work gathers the little that is recorded about him.
Abishua. Son of Phinehas (son of Eleazar), and father of Bukki. 1 Chr. 6:4-5, 50; Ezra 7:5. Josephus says that Abishua was high priest after Phinehas.
- Chosen — God judged Aaron's first two sons and set them aside. Eleazar stands here as the priest of God's choice, not the eldest by birth.
- Zealous — Phinehas won his place in this line by acting for God's glory. Tenderness to a man that day would have been unfaithfulness to God.
- Covenanted — His priesthood grew out of Eleazar's, yet judgment sustained it. God answered his zeal with a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood for his descendants.
- Interrupted — For centuries a younger branch of Aaron's family held the high-priesthood, against that promise.
- Restored — In Zadok the rightful line revived, proving God faithful to His word despite human failure.
and Abishua begot Bukki, and Bukki begot Uzzi,
Verse 5 adds two more links to a chain of priests: Abishua to Bukki, Bukki to Uzzi. Neither Bukki nor Uzzi has a story anywhere in Scripture, so why does a list like this belong in the Bible at all?
The chain that verse 5 belongs to did not start with the eldest or the obvious. Aaron's first two sons were struck down, and the succession passed to a son God picked out.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. And so in the priestly family we again see the same order. The history of the natural man comes first, and then it is set aside completely. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar is the priest according to the election of grace. Ithamar is the responsible priest, set aside to make room for Eleazar.
Verse 5 sits inside a run of names with no gaps. It reaches from one man of energy down to the priest who went into exile.
Eleazar fathered Phinehas, a man of energy. Like Caleb he added virtue to his faith, and God chose him to continue the priestly line. This line continues without interruption down to Azariah (v. 9), who "served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15).
An unbroken list of descendants is not the same as an unbroken run of men in office.
This was the branch of Aaron's line that came forward in the day of David (1 Chron. 12:28). For hundreds of years the wrong line had usurped the high priesthood. Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. That branch took the high priesthood for themselves unlawfully, despite the LORD's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But restoration came in the person of Zadok in David and Solomon's time, for the LORD is faithful despite man's failure and hostility. And in the last days that Ezekiel speaks of, the sons of Zadok will reappear in the priestly line, and the LORD's original "covenant of peace" with Phinehas will be kept (Ezek. 40:44-46).
The records that came back from exile were damaged. What survived was still enough, and holding on to it in Babylon took faith.
These genealogies were imperfect. Israel's condition bore the mark of the ruin that had come on them. But it also bore the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had kept everything needed to place the people of that remnant in the record of His people... Happy the man who had preserved his own, and who thought so much of the LORD's inheritance that he treasured it! It was a proof of faith; for it might have been said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
The list also says something about lives that history forgets.
There is something deeply sobering to the soul in being allowed to go over a record of names long since forgotten by man. God has remembered every one of them, with every detail of their journey through this world. One day our names will likewise be lost to mankind, but neither we nor our ways will be forgotten by God.
These same names reappear centuries later in Ezra's own family tree. His descent gave him a standing he had not earned — but it did not give him everything he needed.
The genealogy of Ezra is traced back to Aaron (vv. 1-5). He was therefore entitled to all the rights and privileges of the priesthood (see Ezra 2:62)... He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he only became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given" by personal study of the Word. So inherited office, even among the Jews, could not supply the qualifications for doing the work. Those could only come from a person's own dealings with God in the Scriptures.
- Chosen. God set aside the natural order and picked Eleazar, then Phinehas, by grace.
- Kept. From Phinehas the line runs unbroken down to the priest who went into exile.
- Hidden. For hundreds of years another branch of Aaron's family held the office. God's promise to Phinehas still stood, and it surfaced again in Zadok.
- Recorded. Names no one remembers are names God remembers, with every detail of the life behind them.
- Received. Ezra inherited the line and its title. His usefulness came from studying the Word himself, and no ancestry could hand him that.
and Uzzi begot Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begot Meraioth;
This verse names three men — Uzzi, Zerahiah and Meraioth — in a line of priests that runs from Aaron down to the captivity. Scripture tells us almost nothing else about them, so why does God take the trouble to record a chain of names?
These three names sit inside a list that runs from Eleazar and Phinehas down to the exile. One commentator traces the whole span:
Eleazar fathered Phinehas, a man of energy, who like Caleb added virtue to his faith. God chose him to continue the priestly line. This line continues without a break down to Azariah (v. 9), who "served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest named in Chronicles. He "went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15). Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about the high priests who served after the return from captivity. Their line breaks off about 330 years before Christ (Neh. 12:10-11), just as the royal line of descent stops in 1 Chronicles 3, a few generations after Zerubbabel.
Chronicles has already given David's family in detail. This chapter answers it with the priests — and the two lines do not end the same way:
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as with the line of David (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
The succession mattered because the priest served before a King:
The genealogies were also important because they established the line of succession in the priesthood of Aaron's family. That priesthood was meant to walk always before the true King, the LORD's Anointed.
For a man of Aaron's family this record was everything. Without it he could not serve:
If a priest could not prove his genealogy, he was not allowed to serve. We know this from the book of Ezra, which follows Chronicles as the natural sequel to these books. The priests were not allowed to serve at all unless they could prove their genealogy, however truly they were sons of Aaron.
In Babylon a family register looked useless. That is what made keeping one an act of faith:
These genealogies were imperfect. The state of Israel bore the mark of the ruin which had come upon them. But it also bore the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had preserved all that was needed to place those who formed it in the record of His people. These genealogies served as a means to recognise the people. Happy the man who had preserved his own, and who valued the LORD's inheritance enough to care about it! It was a proof of faith; for someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Later, an unbroken record marked out the man God chose for a mission:
Ezra was remarkable in every way as the man God chose to carry out this mission. First (vv. 1-5) we find his genealogy, which has no gap. He was of the priestly line. Through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — he traced his origin back to "Aaron the chief priest."
Yet his birth alone was not enough for the work:
He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he only became "a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given" by personal study of the Word. So even among the Jews, an inherited office could not give a man the qualifications to carry it out. Those could only come from his own dealings with God in the Scriptures.
Each new name in this verse means the priest before him had died. That is the weakness of the whole arrangement:
Under law, the men appointed as priests could not stay in office, because death removed them. A priest could sympathise with those he served, and help them as far as he was able. But death cut him off, and the next priest was a stranger to the sorrows of the people who had come to the one before him. With Christ how different! He has triumphed over death, and He continues for ever in an unchangeable priesthood.
- The line. Uzzi, Zerahiah and Meraioth stand in an unbroken chain. It runs from Eleazar and Phinehas down to Jehozadak, who went into exile under Nebuchadnezzar.
- The purpose. This line of priests matches David's line of kings. The succession held so that a priest would always walk before the true King, the LORD's Anointed.
- The proof. A son of Aaron who could not produce his genealogy could not serve, however real his descent.
- The faith. Keeping such a record in Babylon, when everything looked lost, was itself a proof of faith.
- The end of the line. The chain exists only because each priest died. Christ triumphed over death, so His priesthood never passes to anyone else.
Meraioth begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub,
This verse carries three names and nothing more: Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub. Each name is a link in a chain that runs from Aaron down to the exile. Why did God keep such a list at all, and what was the chain carrying?
Chronicles has already traced the kings. Here it turns to the priests.
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as with the line of David.
Another writer sets the two lines side by side.
The special line of the priesthood, the sons of Aaron, stands out in Levi just as the line of kings, the sons of David, stands out in Judah.
Aaron had four sons. This verse belongs to the branch of only one of them, and the chapter shows why.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. So in the priestly family we again see that the history of the natural man comes first and is then set aside completely. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar is the priest according to the election of grace. Ithamar is the responsible priest, set aside to make room for Eleazar.
Meraioth, Amariah and Ahitub sit in the middle of this line. It moves on generation by generation, and then it stops.
Eleazar fathered Phinehas, a man of energy. Like Caleb, he added virtue to his faith, and God chose him to continue the priestly line. The line runs on without a break down to Azariah (v. 9), who "exercised the priesthood in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went away when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15).
For a priest, a name in a list was not sentiment. It was his licence to serve.
It was important then to keep the genealogies, because the law said that every Israelite should enjoy the inheritance of his fathers... Since only the sons of Aaron could be priests, they had to keep their family record. When they came back from exile, some could not show their descent from Aaron, and they lost their place in the priesthood.
In Babylon such a record could look worthless.
Happy is the man who kept his own genealogy, and who prized the LORD's inheritance so much that he valued that record! It was a proof of faith. Someone might have said, "What use are these genealogies in Babylon?"
The chain in this chapter reads smoothly, but Israel's actual history did not. Ahitub's son is Zadok, and the name marks a recovery.
For hundreds of years the wrong line had seized the high-priesthood. Eli came from the younger branch of Aaron's family. That branch took the high-priesthood for itself with no right to it, despite the LORD's solemn promise to Phinehas. But restoration came in Zadok, in the days of David and Solomon, for the LORD is faithful despite man's failure and hostility.
Chronicles records the priesthood as God intended it to be. Writing on a later chapter, Rossier notes that Solomon's removal of Abiathar "is not mentioned in Chronicles, where we find the priesthood as well as the kingship established according to the counsels of God" (H. L. Rossier).
- Chosen — the line that reaches Meraioth, Amariah and Ahitub runs through Eleazar. God kept him when Nadab and Abihu were judged. He is "the priest according to the election of grace."
- Carried — it runs unbroken from Phinehas to Jehozadak. It ends only when Nebuchadnezzar carries Judah to Babylon.
- Paired — the priestly list is the counterpart to the royal list. The sons of Aaron stand out in Levi as the sons of David do in Judah.
- Proved — only a proven son of Aaron could serve. After the exile, men who could not show their descent lost their place as priests.
- Kept — men guarded these names in Babylon, when the names looked useless. God stayed faithful and restored the rightful line in Zadok.
and Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Ahimaaz,
Chronicles lists a long chain of fathers and sons between Aaron and the exile. In this verse one of the greatest names in Israel's priesthood slips past almost without comment: Zadok, son of Ahitub, father of Ahimaaz. This is the line God chose to carry the priesthood after the house that held it failed.
One writer follows the chain our verse sits in. It runs from Eleazar down to the last high priest Chronicles names:
Eleazar fathers Phinehas, a man of energy. Like Caleb, he added virtue to his faith, and God chose him to continue the priestly line. This line continues without a break down to Azariah (v. 9). He served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles.
Which Zadok is this, and what do his name and his father's mean? One writer answers both questions:
There are eight or nine men called Zadok in the Old Testament. But there can be little doubt that the Zadok that Ezekiel speaks of is the priest who lived in David's time. He was a descendant of Aaron, Eleazar and Phinehas (1 Chr. 6:50–53). His name comes from the verb 'to justify'. His father was called Ahitub, which means 'brother of goodness'.
Zadok did not inherit an office running smoothly. The wrong branch of Aaron's family had held it for generations. One writer sees his rise as God keeping an old promise:
For hundreds of years the wrong line had usurped the high-priesthood. Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. They took the high-priesthood for themselves unlawfully, despite the LORD's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But there was a restoration in the person of Zadok in David and Solomon's time, for the LORD is faithful despite man's failure and hostility. And in the later day Ezekiel speaks of, we find the sons of Zadok back in the priestly line, and the LORD's original "covenant of peace" with Phinehas kept (Ezek. 40:44-46).
Zadok's faithfulness was not a one-off. Abiathar stood beside him at the start, but not at the end:
Zadok, who with Abiathar bore the ark before David, and like Abiathar was faithful to David in the rebellion of Absalom, remained with David and with Solomon, and was established in the priesthood. Abiathar should have known that, if it was wrong to follow Absalom, it was also wrong to follow his brother Adonijah. It is not enough for us to be faithful in one crisis: we ought to be faithful in every crisis, yes, at all times and in all things.
Why does Chronicles put Eleazar's line first, when Zadok did not gain that place until later? One writer answers:
Eleazar's line is given the first place in Zadok. That fact shows the ideal picture given to us here. Zadok only gained the first place at the beginning of Solomon's reign, after Abiathar had joined the conspiracy of Adonijah. Yet for the picture Zadok had to come first. As the "righteous" one, he reminds us from this side of the Melchizedek character of priesthood in Christ.
Chronicles also passes over Abiathar's disgrace. It shows the priesthood and the kingship as God means them to be, with Zadok founding "the faithful priesthood which will walk forever before the true Solomon in His kingdom" (H. L. Rossier).
The son named here made his mark by running. Joab's politics could not hold him back from the king:
It matters little to Ahimaaz whether this may hurt him personally or hinder his career; he does not share Joab's politics. Whatever may come of it, he desires to be the first, bowed before the king, to acknowledge the dignity that again is his. All his energy goes into this, for he belongs to David with his whole heart... One thing is certain: he has only David's glory in view. May we run like Ahimaaz! May we run to be the first at the feet of our victorious Lord, and let no one outrun us!
Did he ever hold his father's office? The record does not say: "We have no evidence of Ahimaaz succeeding to the priesthood. He may have died before his father" (Morrish Bible Dictionary).
- Chosen, not inherited. God chose the line that runs through Eleazar and Phinehas to Zadok. Chronicles traces it unbroken down to the last high priest before the exile.
- Named for righteousness. Zadok's name comes from the verb "to justify." His father Ahitub's name means "brother of goodness."
- Recovered after failure. Eli's branch held the office wrongly for generations. Zadok's rise shows God keeping His promise to Phinehas despite man's unfaithfulness.
- Faithful in every crisis. Zadok stood with David when Absalom rebelled, then with Solomon against Adonijah. Abiathar stood firm only once, and lost his place.
- Pointing beyond himself. Zadok "the righteous" pictures the priesthood of Christ. In the day Ezekiel speaks of, the sons of Zadok come back into the priestly line.
and Ahimaaz begot Azariah, and Azariah begot Johanan,
One name handed to the next — that is all this verse looks like. Yet it sits inside the list that carries Israel's priestly line from Aaron down to the exile. The questions it raises are simple: where is this chain going, and why did God trouble to write it down?
These names sit inside an unbroken line. It runs from Phinehas to the priest who served in Solomon's temple, and on to the last high priest before the captivity.
Eleazar fathered Phinehas, a man of energy. Like Caleb, he added virtue to his faith, and God chose him to continue the priestly line. This line continues without interruption down to Azariah (v. 9), who "served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went away when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15). Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about the high priests who served after the return from captivity. Their line is broken about 330 years before Christ (Neh. 12:10-11), just as the royal line of descent stops in 1 Chronicles 3, a few generations after Zerubbabel.
Chronicles has already traced the kings. This chapter sets the priests beside them — but the two lists do not end alike.
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as with the line of David (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
The men named here belong to one branch of Aaron's family: the line of Eleazar and Phinehas. God had made that branch a promise. Yet for long stretches of Israel's history another branch held its place.
In that day the sons of Zadok will be chosen to draw near to Jehovah in ministry (Ezek. 40:46; Ezek. 43:19; Ezek. 44:15; Ezek. 48:11). This was the branch of Aaron's line that came forward in the day of David (1 Chron. 12:28). For hundreds of years the wrong line had usurped the high-priesthood. Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. They seized the high priesthood unlawfully, despite Jehovah's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But restoration came in Zadok, in David and Solomon's time, because Jehovah is faithful despite man's failure and hostility.
These lists were compiled after the exile, by people who had almost lost everything. Holding on to a family record in Babylon looked pointless — and that is exactly what made it a test.
These genealogies were incomplete. Israel's condition carried the mark of the ruin that had come upon them. But it also carried the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had preserved everything needed to place those who made up that remnant in the record of His people. Where the proof needed for that title was missing, those of the people lost their proper privileges, and the priests lost their priestly place, until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim. These genealogies were the means of recognising the people. Happy was the man who had kept his own, and who valued the heritage of Jehovah enough to treasure it! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
The verse tells us nothing about Azariah or Johanan except that they lived and passed on the office. That silence speaks to anyone who wonders whether an ordinary life is noticed at all.
There is something deeply solemn about being allowed to go over a record of names like this. People forgot them long ago, but God has remembered every one of them, with every detail of their path through this world. One day our own names will be lost to mankind in the same way. But God will forget neither us nor our ways.
A list of priests is also a list of deaths. Each "fathered" marks a man who died, leaving the people with a successor who had not walked with them.
Under the law, men were appointed as priests, and they could not continue in office because death removed them. A priest could sympathise with the people he served, and help them as far as he was able. But death cut him off, and another priest took his place, a stranger to the sorrows of those who had come to the priests before him. With Christ it is completely different! He has triumphed over death, so He continues forever in a priesthood that never changes.
- Chosen: These names belong to Eleazar's branch of Aaron's family. God promised that line to Phinehas and restored it in Zadok, despite man's failure.
- Kept: In exile these records looked useless. Keeping one proved faith, and the record gave a priest his title to serve.
- Remembered: Azariah and Johanan are names men forgot and God did not — the same will be true of us.
- Broken: The priestly list is a chain of deaths. Death cut off each priest, and the next one was a stranger to the people's sorrows.
- Completed: The royal line ran past the captivity; the priestly line stopped there. The succession ends in One whose priesthood never changes hands.
and Johanan begot Azariah (he is it that exercised the priesthood in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem);
The roll-call of priests pauses for one man. Azariah gets a note of his own. Why single him out, and what does his service in Solomon's house say about the priesthood?
The chapter opens with Levi's three sons in birth order, then narrows. One writer traces the pattern. Birth order comes first, then grace overrules it:
In verse 1, following the principle often mentioned, we first find the sons of Levi in natural order, the order of birth: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Then in verse 2, Kohath — not Gershon — is chosen by grace as the stock of the Aaronic priesthood. Aaron, not Moses, is named first in verse 3: "Aaron, Moses, and Miriam." The order of this list matches the contents of Chronicles. That book deals with Judah's kingship according to God's counsels, and with the priesthood in its relationship to the kingship.
The same pattern runs on through Aaron's four sons:
Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. So in the priestly family we again see that the history of the natural man comes first and then is entirely set aside. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar: Eleazar, the priest according to the election of grace; Ithamar, the responsible priest, set aside in order to give place to the former.
Verse 10 sits inside a chain that starts with Phinehas and ends in exile:
Eleazar fathers Phinehas, a man of energy, who like Caleb added virtue to his faith and was chosen by God to continue the priestly line. This line continues without a break down to Azariah (v. 9). He is the one "who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15).
Solomon's list of officials puts a man of this name at its head. Chronicles gives the reason:
Azariah the son of Zadok heads the princes. He is the one "who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (1 Chr. 6:10). The very highest function falls to him. The temple is to become the centre of the whole order of Solomon's kingdom. It will hold that place on the earth again when Christ sets up the millennial kingdom (Ezek. 40–48).
Commentators differ on which Azariah this is. One reading places him in Solomon's court, as above. Another makes him the high priest who faced down King Uzziah, and reads verse 10 as praise:
But this list gives special mention to Azariah, the one "who served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (vi. 10). He was high priest when Uzziah was king… Despite the king's bold intrusion, Azariah stood firm and brave for God's truth and order. He resisted the king as he came forward with the censer in his hand to burn incense. A man out to please those in power would have given way to royalty. Not so Azariah… He goes in after the king. Without fear and with authority he says, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense… Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong." In the list of priests Azariah stands out. It is honourable mention of his unflinching courage where others might have given in.
God kept names and duties on record because He cares about the arrangements of His own house:
God's care for His holy things is clear. He preserved the record of Levi's sons so exactly, and appointed to each his particular work… Aaron as high priest led the people in worship and stood before God for them. … Aaron had sons to succeed him in the priest's office, for that line of priesthood had to continue until the appointed time.
The same writer applies that time limit to our own day:
There is now no priestly order by natural birth or by man's choosing. Believers are children of God, are priests of God, and have access to the Father, because they have the Holy Spirit… The will of man is always contrary to God. It seeks to re-establish what God has set aside, and places a barrier between God the Father and His own children. Where is access to the Father if a self-appointed priest must come in between?
- Chosen — the priestly line runs through Kohath and Eleazar, not the firstborn. Grace, not nature, decides who serves.
- Kept — God preserved the record of Levi's sons and gave each his own work. The line ran unbroken from Aaron to the exile under Nebuchadnezzar.
- Centred — serving in the house Solomon built was the highest duty of all. That house stood at the centre of the kingdom's whole order.
- Courageous — one reading honours the Azariah who ordered a trespassing king out of the sanctuary. Commentators differ over which Azariah verse 10 means.
- Finished — that priesthood was to last only "until the appointed time." Believers are priests themselves now, so setting up a human priest between them and the Father only rebuilds a barrier.
and Azariah begot Amariah, and Amariah begot Ahitub,
Verse 11 takes the priestly line two short steps further, from Azariah, who served in Solomon's temple, through Amariah to Ahitub. A list of three names raises a fair question: why does God keep such records, and what did they protect?
These lists had a job to do.
The genealogies were also important to establish the succession of the priesthood of Aaron's line, which was appointed to walk always before the true King, the Lord's Anointed.
A missing name cost a man his place.
We know that at the time of the return from Babylon, the genealogies of Judah and of Benjamin were in many cases not enough. Members of the family of Levi who could not produce them were kept out of the priesthood (Ezra 2:62).
Chapter 6 runs beside the earlier chapters that traced David's family. Chronicles gives the two lines equal weight.
The special line of the priesthood, the sons of Aaron, stands out in Levi just as the line of kings, the sons of David, stands out in Judah.
But they do not end alike.
The priestly genealogy is the counterpart of the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3). But it ends here at the captivity. It does not run on past the captivity, as the line of David does (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
The Azariah at the head of this verse is the priest singled out just before for his service in Solomon's temple. One writer places him in the reign of King Uzziah:
He was high priest when Uzziah was king. The king pushed in where he had no right, censer in hand, ready to burn incense. Azariah, firm and brave for God's truth and order, stood against him. A man out to please those in power would have given way to royalty. Not so Azariah. He was faithful and eager to keep the order God had set, so he went in after the king, and eighty priests of the Lord went with him. In the list of priests Azariah stands out. The record honours his courage, which never gave way where others might have. Nothing else like it is on record — neither such a sin in a king nor such faithfulness in a priest. God's order in His own temple must be kept, even when everything else is in confusion.
Amariah and Ahitub already appeared earlier in this chapter, in verses 7 and 8. They are not the same men. One reference work lists the earlier Ahitub like this:
Son of Amariah, and father of Zadok. 2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chr. 6:7-8, 52; 1 Chr. 18:16.
The Ahitub of verse 11 is a later man with the same family names — and so is his son:
Son of another Amariah, and father of another Zadok, several generations later than No. 2. 1 Chr. 6:11-12; Ezra 7:2.
Verse 11 is one link in a chain that runs on into exile and past it.
This line continues without interruption down to Azariah (v. 9), who "exercised the priesthood in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went away when the Lord carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15). Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about the high priests who served after the return from captivity. Their line breaks off about 330 years before Christ (Neh. 12:10-11), just as the royal line of descent stops in 1 Chronicles 3, a few generations after Zerubbabel.
These same names appear again in Ezra's own family line (Ezra 7:2). Birth gave Ezra a place among the priests. It did not make him fit to fill it.
He became a priest by birth and consecration. But he became "a ready scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given" only by personal study of the Word. So an inherited office, even among the Jews, could not give a man what he needed to carry it out. That could come only from time alone with God in the Scriptures. It was neglect of this second part of their office that led to the failure and corruption of the priesthood.
- Recorded — the list fixed the succession of Aaron's priesthood. In every generation a priest had to stand before the Lord's Anointed.
- Required — after the exile, a man who could not produce his genealogy lost his place in the priesthood. A name in this register was his title to serve.
- Honoured — the Azariah of this verse refused to give way to a king who overstepped. God's order in His house holds even when everything else is in confusion.
- Interrupted — the priestly line stops at the captivity, where David's runs on. Jehozadak goes into exile, and the register closes.
- Inherited, yet not enough — Ezra stood in this same line and was a priest by birth. He became useful only by studying God's Word himself. Position comes by descent; fitness comes by time with God.
and Ahitub begot Zadok, and Zadok begot Shallum,
These names belong to the list of Israel's high priests, running from Aaron through Eleazar and Phinehas down to the exile in Babylon. So why does God fill a chapter with fathers and sons, and why do names like Ahitub and Zadok keep coming round?
Verse 12 is one link in a chain. Rossier follows it from Phinehas down to the priest who was serving when Jerusalem fell.
Eleazar fathered Phinehas, a man of energy. Like Caleb, he added virtue to his faith, and God chose him to continue the priestly line. The line continues unbroken down to Azariah (v. 9), who "served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15).
Rossier also sets this priestly list beside the record of Israel's kings.
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as with the line of David (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
Kelly traces Zadok's branch back to a promise and forward to a future ministry.
The sons of Zadok will be chosen in that day to come near to Jehovah in ministry (Ezek. 40:46; Ezek. 43:19; Ezek. 44:15; Ezek. 48:11). This was the branch of Aaron's line that came forward in David's day (1 Chron. 12:28). For hundreds of years the wrong line had seized the high priesthood. Eli belonged to the younger branch of Aaron's family. They took the high priesthood for themselves unlawfully, despite Jehovah's solemn promise to Phinehas (Num. 25:12-13). But restoration came in Zadok, in the time of David and Solomon, because Jehovah is faithful despite man's failure and hatred.
Rossier finds meaning in the order of Aaron's four sons earlier in the chapter.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. God judged Nadab and Abihu for their sin. So in the priestly family we again see that the story of the natural man comes first and is then set aside completely. After Nadab and Abihu come Eleazar and Ithamar. Eleazar is the priest by God's choice in grace. Ithamar is the responsible priest, set aside to make room for Eleazar.
Several men in the Old Testament share the name Zadok. Hardt identifies which one, and what both names mean.
There are eight or nine men called Zadok in the Old Testament. But there can be little doubt that the Zadok Ezekiel speaks of is the priest who lived in the time of David. He was a descendant of Aaron, Eleazar and Phinehas (1 Chr. 6:50–53). His name comes from the verb "to justify", and his father was called Ahitub, which means "brother of goodness".
Commentators differ on whether the Zadok of verse 12 is the same man who served under David. One reference work treats him as a later namesake, born to a second Ahitub further down the list, and links him instead to the family Ezra came from.
Son of another Ahitub, a priest. 1 Chr. 6:12; Ezra 7:2.
Hardt follows Zadok's line forward past the captivity.
Ezra the scribe: In the time of King Artaxerxes, Ezra became a prepared and fitting instrument in God's hand for teaching and restoring the remnant of His people in Jerusalem. Ezra was a great-great-great-grandson of Zadok (Ezra 7:1–2). God, in His grace, raised up Ezra... no doubt as another gracious reward for Zadok's faithfulness.
Darby explains what these lists did for the people God brought back from exile.
These genealogies were incomplete. Israel's state carried the mark of the ruin that had come on them. But it also carried the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had preserved everything needed to place the members of that remnant in the record of His people... These genealogies served as a way to recognise the people. Happy is the man who had kept his own record, and who valued Jehovah's heritage so highly that he treasured it! It was a proof of faith. Someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
- Chosen — The priesthood did not pass down by age. God judged Nadab and Abihu, Ithamar gave way, and Eleazar's line carried on by God's choice.
- Kept — The line runs unbroken from Phinehas to Azariah, who served in Solomon's temple, and on to Jehozadak, who went into exile.
- Named — Zadok's name comes from the verb "to justify". Ahitub means "brother of goodness". Commentators differ over whether this Zadok is David's priest or a later namesake.
- Restored — For centuries the wrong branch held the high priesthood. Zadok's rise under David and Solomon shows God keeping His word despite human failure.
- Rewarded — The list stops at the captivity, but God's purpose does not. Ezekiel names Zadok's sons as priests in the coming kingdom.
and Shallum begot Hilkijah, and Hilkijah begot Azariah,
Three names stand in a row here, links in a chain of high priests that runs from Aaron down to the exile in Babylon. Two questions sit behind the bare list: why does Scripture keep such a record, and who was this Hilkiah?
Chronicles has already traced the family of David. Now it turns to the priests.
The priestly genealogy is the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chronicles 2, 3). But it ends here, at the captivity. It does not run on beyond that point, as the line of David does (1 Chronicles 3:19-24).
Aaron had four sons, and the line in this verse runs through only one of them. These names belong to a chain that ends in exile.
Aaron's sons are Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Nadab and Abihu were judged for their sin. After them come Eleazar and Ithamar: Eleazar, the priest chosen by grace; Ithamar, the responsible priest, set aside to make room for Eleazar. Eleazar fathers Phinehas, a man of energy. Like Caleb, he added virtue to his faith, and God chose him to continue the priestly line. This line continues without a break down to Azariah (v. 9), who "served as priest in the house that Solomon built in Jerusalem" (v. 10). The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went into exile when the LORD sent Judah and Jerusalem into exile by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15).
The middle name here belongs to a priest who served under King Josiah. Scripture returns to him again and again.
Son of Shallum, or Meshullam, and high priest in the time of Josiah king of Judah. He found a copy of the law in the temple, which caused great heart-searchings and repentance. 2 Kings 22:4-14; 2 Kings 23:4, 24; 1 Chronicles 6:13; 1 Chronicles 9:11; 2 Chronicles 34:9-22; 2 Chronicles 35:8; Ezra 7:1; Nehemiah 11:11.
The prophet Jeremiah was also the son of a Hilkiah. Were the two men the same? Commentators differ. One says no, because they come from different branches of Aaron's family:
Some have identified Jeremiah's father with the high priest Hilkiah, who had such influence in Josiah's great work of reform. This is incorrect. The high priest Hilkiah was of the line of Eleazar, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 6:4, 13. The first verse of Jeremiah tells us that the prophet's father was one of the priests at Anathoth. The priests who lived there were of the line of Ithamar. Anathoth, Jeremiah's home, was in Benjamin, about three miles northeast of Jerusalem.
Another writer leaves the question open, and adds where the high priest's own line leads:
Was Jeremiah's father the high priest often mentioned during the reign of Josiah, or was he another Hilkiah? We do not know for sure. Let us remember, however, the following points about Hilkiah the high priest. In 1 Chronicles 6:13 he is named in the list of Aaron's descendants… Ezra, the scribe, was one of his descendants.
Ezra the scribe came from this same priestly line. His family record was part of what marked him out for his work.
Ezra was, in every respect, remarkable as the man God chose to carry out this mission. In the first place (vv. 1-5), we find his genealogy, which presents no gap. He belonged to the priestly line. Through his ancestors and their virtues — the faithfulness of a Zadok, the zeal of a Phinehas — he traced his origin back to "Aaron the chief priest."
A list of names like this can look like dead weight. But the record itself is the point. These men went through the nation's collapse, and God kept their names.
He records at the same time the names of those who had gone through the trials mentioned in this history without being blotted out of the book.
- Line — Chronicles sets the priests' register beside the kings' register. Priesthood and kingship stand side by side.
- Chain — these three names sit inside an unbroken line. It runs from Phinehas, through the priest who served in Solomon's temple, down to Jehozadak.
- Book — Hilkiah, son of Shallum, was Josiah's high priest. He found the copy of the law in the temple, and deep repentance followed.
- Debate — was this Hilkiah the father of Jeremiah? One writer says no: this Hilkiah came from Eleazar's branch, Jeremiah's father from Ithamar's. Another says we cannot be sure.
- Continuation — the line runs on past the exile to Ezra, whose own record has no gap. The chain ends in a book of names God did not blot out.
and Azariah begot Seraiah, and Seraiah begot Jehozadak,
This verse names the last two links in a long chain of high priests, and the chain stops here. Babylon killed Seraiah and carried Jehozadak away — so did God's priesthood die with them?
The chapter follows the priestly family one generation at a time. This verse brings the list to its last name.
The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about the high priests who served after the return from captivity. Their line stops about 330 years before Christ (Neh. 12:10-11), just as the royal line of descent stops in 1 Chronicles 3, a few generations after Zerubbabel.
Seraiah held office when Jerusalem fell, and his son Jehozadak went into captivity. Jehozadak's own son appears all through the books written after the return.
Joshua is mentioned several times in Zechariah. He was the first high priest after the captivity. Ezra and Nehemiah call him Jeshua, which is the name Joshua written in Greek... Joshua was the son of Josedech (Jehozadak), the high priest whom the Babylonians took into captivity (1 Chron. 6:15). He was the grandson of Seraiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar put to death at Riblah after the capture of Jerusalem.
The priestly record ends because Judah's whole story ended. Riblah is where Babylon killed Judah's leaders. One writer sees both an ending and a promise in that ruin.
The people are carried away to Babylon; the priests and those who had helped with the resistance die a violent death at Riblah. The last traces of the power and prosperity of Judah disappear after this attack... So ends the history of man, placed under responsibility before God. God must give him up — but His promises do not change. He will re-establish the reign of His anointed... and this reign will be unshakeable.
Jehozadak's son is the man in Zechariah's vision. God deals with his guilt, not with his credentials.
In the next vision the high priest Joshua appears, clothed with filthy garments (v. 3) and standing before the angel of Jehovah (v. 1). Satan is there too (v. 2), to accuse the people represented by their high priest. But the angel's message is different: "Take away the filthy garments from off him... See, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I clothe you with festival robes" (v. 4). Iniquity taken away and festival robes supplied instead: this is God's answer.
Later Zechariah crowns this same Joshua. Crowns belonged to another tribe.
Zechariah is to make (with the offering) crowns of both gold and silver, an elaborate crown. He was to put this crown on the head of Joshua, the high priest, not on Zerubbabel, the governor. This was most unusual! Joshua was of the line of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. Priests came from this line, but never kings. Israel's king came from the tribe of Judah. But this occasion symbolises the fact that Christ will be both Priest and King. He is King, being of the tribe of Judah, and Priest, not of the Aaronic line, but of the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:20).
A list of priests is a list of funerals. One writer shows what that does to anyone leaning on such a priesthood.
The high priesthood passed from one to another; there was succession... This alone was enough to destroy all dependence on that priesthood. A priest might be merciful and faithful, but he would still die. The man after him might make people hate the offering of the Lord, as Eli's sons did. They used their office to take their dues, and more than their dues, and did not help the worshipper... "But Jesus, because He continues ever, has a priesthood that does not pass from one to another. Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God by Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
- The line named. Jehozadak is the last high priest Chronicles records. The list of priests stops at the captivity; the royal line runs on past it.
- The line broken. Babylon killed Seraiah at Riblah and carried his son away. With that ended the history of man placed under responsibility before God.
- The line kept. Jehozadak's son Joshua became the first high priest after the captivity. God took his iniquity away and clothed him in festival robes.
- The line crowned. The crown went on that priest's head, not on the governor's. It pictures Christ as both Priest and King, after the order of Melchizedek.
- The line closed. Every name here died and handed the office on. Christ continues for ever, so His priesthood passes to no one and saves to the uttermost.
and Jehozadak went away, when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
This chapter lists the high priests one by one, from Aaron down to a last man. There the record stops. Jehozadak goes into exile as Jerusalem falls. Why does the line of high priests end here, while the line of David in the same book keeps going?
Chronicles records two great family lines: the kings and the priests.
The priestly genealogy forms the counterpart to the royal genealogy (1 Chron. 2, 3), but it ends here at the captivity, without going beyond it as with the line of David (1 Chron. 3:19-24).
The same writer follows the line to its last name, and on past the exile. (He quotes an older translation, which has "Jehovah" where the ESV has "the LORD.")
The line goes on from Azariah to Jehozadak, the last high priest mentioned in Chronicles. He "went away when Jehovah carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (v. 15). Ezra and Nehemiah tell us about the high priests who served after the return from captivity. That line breaks off about 330 years before Christ (Neh. 12:10-11), just as the royal line stops in 1 Chronicles 3, a few generations after Zerubbabel.
Up to this last name, nothing is missing. One writer traces the unbroken chain, then stops to honour one man in it.
The priestly line runs without a break from Aaron to Jehozadak, who went into captivity when the Lord carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. But this list gives special mention to Azariah: he is the one who served as priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem (6:10). He was high priest when Uzziah was king… The king interfered where he had no right, but Azariah stood firm and brave for God's truth and order and resisted him as he came forward, censer in hand, to burn incense… Azariah stands out in the list of priests. It is an honourable mention of his unflinching courage, where others might have given in.
The verse does not say that Nebuchadnezzar took Judah away. It says the LORD sent them into exile, by Nebuchadnezzar's hand. And that day cost Israel far more than one priest. One writer lists what made Aaron's office worth anything, and says none of it was left.
Everything that gave Aaron's priesthood its value was now gone. The presence of Jehovah, whom he came near to; the ark, which was the throne of God; the sprinkling of the blood on the great day of atonement, which made propitiation; the Urim and Thummim, by which the high priest received God's answer for the people and guided all their affairs — all of it was gone.
Propitiation means the sacrifice that satisfies God about sin.
Jehozadak stands between two men worth knowing: his father and his son. Nebuchadnezzar killed the one. The other points forward to Christ.
Joshua is mentioned several times in Zechariah. He was the first high priest after the captivity. Ezra and Nehemiah call him Jeshua… He and Zerubbabel are prophetic pictures of our Lord as the King-Priest. Joshua was the son of Josedech (Jehozadak), the high priest whom the Babylonians took into captivity (1 Chron. 6:15). He was the grandson of Seraiah, whom Nebuchadnezzar put to death at Riblah after the capture of Jerusalem.
The verse speaks of the exile as something already over. That tells us when the book was written, and what its lists were for.
The end of the Babylonian captivity is pointed to more than once, and it is treated as a past historical fact (1 Chron. 6:15)… The first nine chapters contain God-given genealogical records going back to Adam. These records let those who came back from the captivity prove their various Jewish claims.
Holding on to a family record while in exile looked pointless. It was not. For priests especially, everything hung on it.
If the proof needed to give them a title to a place among God's people was missing, those of the people lost the privileges that were properly theirs, and the priests lost their priestly position, until a priest stood up with Urim and with Thummim. These genealogies were the means of recognising the people. Happy is the man who had kept his own record, and who valued the heritage of Jehovah enough to treasure it! It was a proof of faith. Someone might have said, "What use are these genealogies in Babylon?"
- Line — From Aaron to Jehozadak the record of high priests runs unbroken. Azariah stands out in it for resisting a king who came to burn incense.
- Loss — The exile took more than a man. Everything that gave his office value went too: God's presence, the ark, the blood of atonement, the Urim and Thummim.
- Limit — The priestly list stops at the captivity. David's line runs past it, though Rossier notes that both lines later break off.
- Link — Nebuchadnezzar put Jehozadak's father to death. His son Joshua became the first high priest after the return, a picture of Christ as King-Priest.
- Ledger — The verse looks back on the exile as over, which dates the book. And keeping a genealogy in Babylon took faith: without it, a priest could not prove his claim.