Of Gershom Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,
Libni, Jahath, Zimmah — three names carry the line of Gershom, Levi's eldest son, through generations that left no recorded deeds. Why does God keep such a list, and what happens to the rights of a firstborn inside it?
The opening chapters of Chronicles had a job to do. They were working papers for people coming home from captivity, who had to prove who they were.
The first nine chapters contain divine genealogical records going back to Adam. These records let the remnants who returned from the Captivity prove their various Jewish claims.
Verse 16 restarts the list. This time the three sons of Levi stand in birth order, which puts Gershom at the head of verse 20. One writer traces what that order meant in practice.
In verse 16 the Spirit of God takes up the genealogy of the Levites again. This time He follows the order of birth, the order in which their families had been set up. The book of Numbers teaches us that their service was to carry the tabernacle and its vessels through the wilderness. The most precious load, including the ark, went to the Kohathites. But here we find that "after the ark rested" David appointed men from the three families of the Levites for "the service of song in the house of the LORD."
Gershom was born first, but the ark went to Kohath, the second son. Later the same chapter hands out the Levites' cities, and the order flips again.
Here again, Kohath comes first instead of Gershom (compare v. 20), for it is a matter of the Lord's free choice: "theirs was the lot" (v. 54).
Another writer names the principle at work, spelling the name Gershon.
And here the principle of election showed itself. Gershon was the eldest son of Levi, so his descendants might have expected to be chosen to carry the sacred vessels on their shoulders. Instead that work went to the descendants of Kohath, Levi's second son. How often we see in Scripture that blessing and privilege do not run in the order of nature.
The record gives nothing about Libni except his place in the chain. Yet one writer finds a message in what the names themselves mean.
"Gershon" means "exile." His two sons are Libni, "white," and Shimei, "my report" — names that are not hard to join into one meaning. For a true exile is someone who feels his exile from the home of his heart, even if it lasts only a while. And it is out of this spirit of being a stranger that power for purity and freedom from defilement springs. The last name may well speak of what has the fullest value for such a man: the "report" of things he cannot see now.
Gershom's family carried the tabernacle and its coverings. One writer refuses to call that a lowly job.
Here was Gershon's work: to carry the tabernacle and its coverings through the empty, howling wilderness. This was true Levite service, and it was most blessed service. What answers to it in the Church now is what we should seek after most, because that alone puts the Christian in his right place in the world — the place of a stranger. There were other services among the Levites of a very blessed kind. But surely it was the highest service to carry through the desert the thing that pictured the character of Christ so strikingly.
Libni, Jahath and Zimmah are not dead ends. Later in the chapter the writer traces this same line backwards again, and it ends at a singer.
The importance of song as part of the service to be given to God shows in the special care taken that the leaders of that choir should have a kind of double witness to their right to the name of Levi, and so to their fitness to lead the song. Of the sons of Kohath, Heman; of Gershom, Asaph; and of Merari, Ethan. These men were already included in the general list of descendants (verses 16-19); now the genealogy of each is traced backward to Levi. No such care is shown for any other branch of Levite service. Why such particular care about the singers? Because no one must be allowed to sing except those who have the right. And who now has the right to sing? Redemption gives the right.
- Recorded — the genealogies of Chronicles let the people returning from captivity prove their claims. Verse 20 is part of God keeping track of His own.
- Chosen — Gershom was the eldest, yet the ark went to Kohath, and Kohath comes first again when the cities are handed out. Privilege runs by the Lord's free choice, not by birth order.
- Exiled — one writer reads the names in this line as exile, white and "my report": a stranger far from home, kept pure by that sense of not belonging.
- Carrying — Gershom's family carried the tabernacle and its coverings through the desert. That work pictured the character of Christ, and the Christian's place as a stranger here.
- Singing — this same line reappears as Asaph's, listed twice so his right to lead the song is beyond question. Redemption gives the right to sing.
Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeathrai his son.
This verse closes the line of Gershom, Levi's eldest son. It gives four names and nothing else: no deeds, no dates, no explanation. So why did the Spirit of God keep such a list, and what place did this branch of Levi hold in Israel's worship?
The chapter lists Levi's sons twice, and the order changes. One writer shows what changes 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 (and not Gershon) is chosen by grace as the line from which Aaron's priesthood came.
So Gershom's descendants, listed here down to Jeatherai, come from Levi's firstborn, yet the priesthood went through Kohath.
This part of the chapter ends with a new kind of Levite work. The same writer traces the change:
In verse 16, the Spirit of God takes up the genealogy of the Levites again. This time it follows the order of birth in which their families began. The book of Numbers teaches us that their service was to carry the tabernacle and its vessels through the wilderness. The most precious load, including the ark, fell to the Kohathites. But here we find that once the ark was at rest, David appointed men from the three families of the Levites for the service of song in the house of the LORD.
Later the chapter traces Gershom's line a second time, working upward from Asaph the singer. One writer asks why the singers, of all the Levites, get this double treatment:
The importance of song as part of the service given to God shows in the special care taken that the leaders of that choir should have something like a double witness, or proof, of their right to the name of Levi, and so of their fitness to lead the song. Of the sons of Kohath, Heman; of Gershom, Asaph; and of Merari, Ethan. These men had already appeared in the general list of descendants; now the chapter traces the line of each one back to Levi. No other branch of Levite service gets such care. Why this special care about the singers? Because no one must sing except those who have the right. And who now have the right to sing? Redemption gives the right. Should there be songs for slaves? Whether the slave is willing or groaning, deliverance must come first, and with it comes the appointment to sing.
Zerah, listed here as the son of Iddo, turns up again in the upward list that leads to Asaph, where his father's name takes a different form:
Zerah. Son of Iddo, or Adaiah, a Gershonite. 1 Chr. 6:21, 41.
The obscure man of verse 21 stands in the ancestry of the family that led Israel's praise.
Gershom's own name carries a meaning, and a commentator draws his service out of it:
Gershom means "a stranger there." It speaks of service for God that does not settle down in the world, but serves God without selfish, material motives. Gershom's service had to do with the curtains and coverings of the tabernacle, and the hangings for the door and for the court. So the spiritual meaning of Gershom's service is that it encourages a godly walk through a world where we are strangers, a walk that honours God, though the world does not understand.
A people just back from exile kept these registers, and keeping them took faith:
These genealogies were imperfect. Israel's condition carried the mark of the ruin that had come on them. But it also carried the mark of the goodness of God, who had brought back a remnant, and who had kept all that was needed to place them in the record of His people. Without that proof of title, people lost their proper privileges, and priests lost their priestly place... These lists were the means of recognising the people. Happy the man who had kept his own, and who valued the Lord's heritage enough to hold on to it! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Another writer felt the weight of reading such a list:
There is something deeply solemn about being allowed to go over such a record of names. People forgot these names long ago, yet God has remembered every one of them, with every detail of their pathway through this world. Some day the world will forget our names too, but God will forget neither us nor our ways.
- Passed over — Gershom came first by birth, but God chose Kohath, not Gershom, to carry the priesthood by grace.
- Stranger — Gershom's name means "a stranger there," and marks service that does not settle down in the world.
- Singing — once the ark came to rest, Gershom's line moved from carrying the tabernacle to leading the song in God's house.
- Right — only the singers had to prove their descent twice, because only redemption gives anyone the right to sing.
- Remembered — Joah, Iddo, Zerah and Jeatherai did nothing history recalls. Yet God has kept every name here, with every detail of their path, and He will not forget ours.
The sons of Kohath Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,
These names trace Levi's family through Kohath to Korah, the rebel whom the earth swallowed. Yet the same line later produced Samuel and Heman, Israel's chief singer — so why does God keep a rebel's name in the roll of His own servants?
The lists at the start of Chronicles had a practical job. They served people who had just come home from exile.
The first nine chapters contain divine genealogical records from Adam. These records enabled the remnants who returned from the Captivity to verify their various Jewish claims.
Kohath was not Levi's oldest son. Yet the priestly line runs through him, and not through his older brother.
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.
This verse sets Amminadab between Kohath and Korah. A dictionary entry on Izhar, Kohath's son, links that name to him.
Son of Kohath, and his descendants… Apparently once called AMMINADAB. 1 Chronicles 6:22.
The line does not skip over the rebel. It runs straight through him. It could only do so because his sons lived when he died.
But who are these sons of Korah? Many of our readers will say, "Sons of Korah? Did not the sons of Korah go down alive into the pit when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed those wicked men Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their wives and children?" … In verse 25 there is no statement that the sons of Korah went down with their father. But in Numbers 26:11 we read, "But the sons of Korah did not die." Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace they were saved from going down alive into the pit. And this was not all. As part of the family of Kohath they were given the cities of refuge, and Hebron is named first. How our God delights in mercy! Grace spares them from the pit, and gives them the place of Abraham, for Abraham lived in Hebron.
(Older translations read, "Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not.")
Elkanah, Samuel's father, came later in this line. One writer reads his sacrifices in the light of where he came from.
This godly Israelite was a descendant of the rebellious Korah. … He was "a debtor to mercy alone," and he had good cause to worship. Others might go up merely to sacrifice, but Elkanah both worshipped and sacrificed. It was no formal or meaningless ceremony with him. He knew that he owed to Jehovah's distinguishing grace not only the blessings of his life, but his very existence as a descendant of one of the spared children of Korah. It is the knowledge, and acknowledgment, of grace that produces worship and obedience in the believer's life. … He prospered both in his soul and in his circumstances, as his generous offering of three bullocks at the presentation of Samuel to the service of the Lord shows.
The men who carried the ark also gave Israel its chief singer. His family history gave him his theme.
The Kohathites had the privilege of carrying on their shoulders the ark, the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden altar, and the golden lampstand. From among them Heman is chosen to be in the central place of praise to God. He is spoken of as "Heman a singer," and his genealogy is traced through Korah to Levi. As a descendant of Korah, he had good cause to praise God for His rich mercy. When Dathan and Abiram died with their children, and Korah shared their fate, it is recorded, "But the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11). They were spared in the sovereign mercy of God, so there were none more suited to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
- Record. The first nine chapters of names let people back from exile prove who they were.
- Choice. Kohath was not the firstborn. His branch holds the priesthood because grace chose it, so the line starts in grace before it reaches Korah.
- Judgment. The verse keeps Korah's name — the rebel the earth swallowed alive.
- Mercy. His sons did not die. Everything later in this family — Hebron, Samuel, Israel's songs — rests on that one exception.
- Song. Grace remembered turns into worship. Elkanah, a debtor to mercy, both worshipped and sacrificed. Heman, from the same spared family, stood at the centre of Israel's praise.
Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,
This verse adds three more names to a long list of Levites, each one just a link in a chain. Yet the family it traces is one of the most surprising in the Bible, and God kept the record for a reason.
So why does Chronicles open with pages of names? One writer finds God's purpose running through them:
In Chronicles the ruin is as clear as it is in the earlier books. But the point here is God's settled plan to bring in His Only-begotten through a human line — a human line, yet still His only begotten Son. That is to say, His purpose stands out more in Chronicles. The genealogy is proof of this, and gives the key to the book. The sin and rebellion of the kings brought ruin on the people, and God meets it with His purpose that His King shall reign.
Ebiasaph turns up in more than one list. Is this Korah's own son, or a later descendant?
A Levite, one of the sons of Korah, and the head of one of the Korahite families (Exodus 6:24). In 1 Chronicles 6:37 and 1 Chronicles 9:19 there is an Ebiasaph who is a son of Korah, and he is probably the same man. The Ebiasaph of 1 Chronicles 6:23 seems to be a great-grandson of Korah.
This is Korah's family. Korah led the revolt against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the earth swallowed the rebels. So why does his line go on at all?
The children of Dathan, Abiram, and the rest were all swallowed up. But, amazing to say, someone was spared. Who? Some especially faithful person, who had the misfortune of being closely tied to them? Not at all. The exception of grace was in the household of the very worst of them. As man would have thought, these were the people who deserved least of all to escape destruction. Yet they were exactly the ones for whom God kept this special grace — the sons of Korah! Korah, the leader and organiser of the revolt.
Follow the same family forward and you reach the prophet Samuel. One writer notes that Chronicles is what lets us see the link:
1 Chronicles 6:33, 38 settles one fact for us. Heman, the central one of the three leading singers of Israel, was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. And both of them descended from that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness. The children of Dathan and Abiram went down alive into the pit with their parents. "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11). These sons seem to have left their father alone in his wickedness. So from the sons of the very man who disputed the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness came the prophet who told Israel that it was the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron (1 Samuel 12:6).
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The order of Levi's sons in this chapter is not just the order of birth. Levi's second son takes the lead:
Following the principle already mentioned, verse 1 first gives the sons of Levi in natural order, the order of birth: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Then verse 2 gives Kohath — not Gershon — chosen by grace as the line of the Aaronic priesthood.
Later in the same chapter the list turns to the singers, and it traces their family lines with unusual care. One writer asks why:
Why such particular care about the singers? Because no one may sing except those who have the right. And who has the right to sing now? Redemption gives the right. Should there be songs for slaves? Whether the slave is willing or groaning, deliverance must come first, and with it comes the appointment to sing.
- Record. These lists are not filler. They are the key to Chronicles: God's purpose runs through a human line, even while kings and people fall into ruin.
- Rescue. This line comes from Korah. Grace spared the household of the worst rebel of all.
- Reach. From that spared line came Samuel. He told Israel that the LORD had appointed the very leaders his ancestor attacked.
- Song. The same line gave Israel Heman, the central one of its three leading singers and Samuel's own grandson.
- Right. No one sang without a proven right to. Redemption gives that right: deliverance first, then the song.
Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Saul his son.
This verse adds four more links to a long chain of fathers and sons in the family of Kohath. The names look like dead weight — yet this branch of Levi starts with a rebel swallowed by the earth and ends in Israel's song.
The chapter lists Levi's three sons in birth order, then doubles back to follow one of them. Commentators see grace behind which son the line follows:
Verse 1 follows the principle we have often mentioned. It first gives the sons of Levi in natural order, the order of birth: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Then in verse 2, grace chooses Kohath — not Gershon — as the stock from which the priesthood of Aaron comes.
Trace this list back a few verses and you reach Korah. He led the great rebellion in the wilderness, and the earth swallowed him alive. That raises a question about the people named here:
But who are these sons of Korah? Many of our readers will say, "Sons of Korah — didn't they go down alive into the pit when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed those wicked men Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and all their wives and children?" … In verse 25 there is no statement that the sons of Korah went down with their father; but in Numbers 26:11 we read, "But the sons of Korah did not die." Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace they were saved from going down alive into the pit. And that was not all. As part of the family of Kohath they were given the cities of refuge, with Hebron named first. How our God delights in mercy! Grace spares them from the pit and gives them the place of Abraham, for Abraham lived in Hebron.
So every name in this verse stands because God spared the sons of a rebel. Another writer ties that rescue to a mercy still to come:
It is enough here to recall the terrible crisis in Israel's history when Korah's sons were saved as though through fire. Mercy that day triumphed over judgment. It will do so again in the future, when the power of evil looks so overwhelming that judgment might seem the only possible outcome.
Follow the names forward and the line does not just survive. It reaches the top of Israel's worship:
1 Chronicles 6:33, 38 clearly establishes that Heman was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. Heman was the central one of Israel's three leading singers (compare verses 33, 39, 44). Both he and Samuel were descendants of that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness.
The family that carried the holy things also led the singing:
The Kohathites had the privilege of carrying the ark on their shoulders, with the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden altar, and the golden lampstand. From among them Heman is chosen for the central place of praise to God. He is spoken of as "Heman the singer," and his family line is traced through Korah to Levi. As a descendant of Korah, he had good reason to praise God for His rich mercy… so there were none more fitted to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
The singing began only when the wandering stopped:
In verse 16 the Spirit of God takes up the genealogy of the Levites again, this time in birth order. The book of Numbers teaches us that their service was to carry the tabernacle and its equipment through the wilderness. The Kohathites carried the most precious load, including the ark. But here we find that "after the ark rested there" David appointed men from all three Levite families for "the service of song in the house of the LORD."
These lists still mattered to people who had lived through exile in Babylon:
Happy is the man who had preserved his own record, and who valued the inheritance of the LORD so highly that he treated it as worth keeping! It was a proof of faith; for it might have been said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
The names also carry a promise for the reader today:
There is something deeply sobering in going over a record of names long forgotten by people. God remembers every one of them, with every detail of their path through this world. One day our names too will be lost to mankind — but neither we nor our ways will be forgotten by God.
- Chosen — Kohath was not the firstborn; he was taken up by grace, and this verse belongs to that chosen branch.
- Spared — the line runs back to Korah, yet his sons did not die. Mercy triumphed over judgment, and grace gave them the cities of refuge.
- Carried — the Kohathites bore the holiest things through the wilderness. Service came before song.
- Singing — the same rescued family gave Israel Samuel and Heman the singer. No one was better fitted to sing of God's mercy.
- Remembered — names the world forgot, God kept in writing, and keeping them was itself an act of faith.
And the sons of Elkanah Amasai and Ahimoth.
The verse gives just two names — the sons of one Elkanah in the tribe of Levi. Yet this short list belongs to a chain that runs from a notorious rebel down to the prophet Samuel, and on to the chief singer of David's choir. Why would God keep such a record at all?
One writer sets this chapter beside the chapters that trace David's family, and notes where each line stops:
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.
So Elkanah's family belongs to the second thread of Israel's story: the house that served, beside the house that reigned.
This Elkanah shares his name with the father of Samuel. One writer reads the whole run of names in that family for their meaning:
From 1 Chronicles 6:22-28 we learn that Elkanah was a Levite of the sons of Kohath. Four of his forebears are named, in order of descent: Zuph (meaning "observer"), Tohu ("low, sunk down"), Elihu ("my God is He"), Jeroham ("he is tenderly loved"). These lead to Elkanah ("God has purchased"). These meanings give some idea of how God was working to accomplish His own will, and the outcome was seen in His servant Samuel.
Trace this branch of Kohath back far enough and you reach a name that shocks. Two later figures in the same chapter make the point:
We owe to 1 Chron. 6:33, 38 the clear proof that Heman was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. Heman was the central one of the three leading singers of Israel (compare verses 33, 39, 44). Both men were descendants of that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness. The children of Dathan and Abiram went down with their parents alive into the pit. "But the sons of Korah did not die" (Num. 26:11). These sons appear to have left their father alone in his wickedness. And from the sons of the very man who disputed the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness came the prophet who told Israel that it was the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron (1 Sam. 12:6).
So every name in this part of the chapter goes back to sons who outlived their father's rebellion.
Rescue was only the start. The same chapter that lists these sons also names what they received:
Numbers 16 never says that the sons of Korah went down with their father. In Num. 26:11 we read, "But the sons of Korah did not die." Yes, in the riches of sovereign grace they were saved from going down alive into the pit. And this was not all. As part of the family of Kohath they received the cities of refuge, and Hebron is named first (1 Chr. 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 lived in Hebron. Saved from the lowest depths of the pit, these very sons of Korah were then over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the house of the Lord, and over its chambers and treasuries (1 Chr. 9:19-32). What a stewardship!
Names like Amasai and Ahimoth look like filler. Then you notice which Levites get this treatment — the ones who led the singing:
Song matters in the service given to God. You can see this in the special care taken that the leaders of that choir should have a kind of double witness, or proof, of their right to the name of Levi... No other branch of Levite service gets care like this. Why such particular care about the singers? Because no one must be allowed to sing except those who have the right. And who now has the right to sing? Redemption gives the right. The care with which God, through David, assigns the service of song to these three leaders has a meaning for the church now, where all are, or should be, singers, making melody in the heart.
Psalms in the Bible still carry the name of the sons of Korah. One writer finds that fitting:
The sons of Korah come first in the psalm titles, though there are many psalms of David, the most fruitful of singers. We need only recall the terrible crisis in Israel's history, when Korah's sons were saved as through fire. Compare Num. 16 with Num. 26:11. Mercy triumphed over judgment that day... and who is more suited to sing than the rescued sons of that rebel Levite?
- Spared. Korah led a rebellion and the earth swallowed him. His sons did not die with him, and this branch of Kohath lives on because of that.
- Purchased. The name Elkanah means "God has purchased." One writer reads this run of family names as a sign of God working toward Samuel.
- Placed. Grace did not stop at rescue. It gave this family the cities of refuge, Hebron first — the town where Abraham lived.
- Recorded. No other branch of Levite service gets its family line traced with such care. Only those with the right may lead the singing, and redemption gives the right.
- Singing. The line ends in Samuel and in Heman the chief singer. No one is better suited to praise than the rescued children of a rebel.
Elkanah, -- the sons of Elkanah Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,
This verse is one link in a long chain of Levite names, tracing Kohath's family down through Elkanah. At first glance it is only a list, yet this line runs on to Samuel and to Israel's chief singer, and back to a man whose rebellion shook the nation.
Chapter 6 lists Levi's three sons in birth order, then turns aside to follow one of them in particular. One writer points out which son the record follows, and why:
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 we find Kohath — and not Gershon — chosen by grace as the stock from which the priesthood of Aaron came.
These names turn up elsewhere in Scripture with other spellings. That is why this list and the one later in the chapter do not match:
Toah: son of Zuph, or Zophai, a Kohathite. 1 Chr. 6:34. Perhaps the same person is called Nahath in 1 Chr. 6:26, and Tohu in 1 Sam. 1:1.
Each of these names has a meaning. Read together, they trace God's work across several generations:
From 1 Chronicles 6:22-28 we learn that Elkanah was a Levite of the sons of Kohath. 1 Samuel 1:1 records the names of four of his ancestors. In order of descent they are Zuph (meaning "observer"), Tohu ("low, sunk down"), Elihu ("my God is He"), and Jeroham ("he is tenderly loved"), leading to Elkanah ("God has purchased"). These meanings give some idea of how God was working to carry out His own will, seen at last in His servant Samuel.
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1 Samuel calls this Elkanah a man of the hill country of Ephraim, not a Levite. One writer takes up the puzzle:
Elkanah was an Ephraimite. But from 1 Chronicles 6:20-28 we learn that Samuel and his father were of Levite descent. People have pointed to this as a contradiction. Yet it does not clash at all with the statement that Samuel's father was of Ephraim. He was one of those Levites who received cities in the portion given to the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 21:20).
Trace this line back and you reach Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness. Trace it forward and you reach the chief singer of Israel:
1 Chronicles 6:33, 38 establishes clearly that Heman, the middle one of the three leading singers of Israel (compare verses 33, 39, 44), was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. It also shows that both were descendants of that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness. The children of Dathan and Abiram went down alive into the pit with their parents. But the sons of Korah did not die (Num. 26:11). They seem to have left their father alone in his wickedness. And from the sons of the very man who disputed the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness came the prophet who told Israel that it was Jehovah who appointed Moses and Aaron (1 Sam. 12:6, 8).
One writer finds in that rescue the very reason this family was fit to sing:
It is enough here to recall the terrible crisis in Israel's history when Korah's sons were saved as if through fire. Compare Num. 16 with Num. 26:11. That day mercy triumphed over judgment... If testimony to Jehovah fails for the present, God cannot cease to be God and infinitely good. And who is better suited to sing than the rescued sons of the rebellious Levite?
A people just back from exile in Babylon kept lists like this one, with much of their history in pieces. Holding on to your place in that record took faith:
These genealogies were imperfect. 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, who had brought back a remnant, and who had kept everything needed to place the people of that remnant in the record of His people... Happy the man who had kept his own record, and who prized the heritage of Jehovah so highly! It was a proof of faith. Someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
- Chosen — Levi's sons appear first in birth order. Then the record follows Kohath, not the firstborn Gershon, as the line of the priesthood — grace choosing, not nature.
- Spared — This same line runs back to Korah. Judgment fell on him, but his children did not die.
- Named — Zophai is also called Zuph, and Nahath appears as Toah and Tohu. Their meanings, from "observer" to Elkanah's "God has purchased," trace God's work toward Samuel.
- Placed — Elkanah is both a man of Ephraim and a Levite. Ephraim's land held cities that belonged to the Levites.
- Singing — The line reaches Heman, chief singer and Samuel's grandson. Sons spared from the pit became Israel's singers.
Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.
This verse sits inside a long list of Levite names, recording three links — Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah — in the line that runs down to Samuel. Why does a book of genealogies slow down over names like these, and what did it cost the families who kept them?
These names are the last steps in the line that reaches Samuel. One commentator lists the family in order and gives the meaning of each name:
From 1 Chronicles 6:22-28 we learn that Elkanah was a Levite of the sons of Kohath. 1 Samuel 1:1 names four of his forebears. In order of descent they are Zuph (meaning "observer"), Tohu ("low, sunk down"), Elihu ("my God is He") and Jeroham ("he is tenderly loved"), leading to Elkanah ("God has purchased"). These meanings show something of how God was working to accomplish His own will, and the result was seen in His servant Samuel.
Compare this list with other passages and the names do not always match. The same ancestor turns up under different forms:
Ancestor of Samuel, a Kohathite. 1 Chronicles 6:27. Apparently called ELIEL in 1 Chronicles 6:34, and ELIHU in 1 Samuel 1:1.
So the Eliab of this verse is the Elihu whose name means "my God is He."
Other passages place Samuel's family in Ephraim, not Levi. One writer explains how both statements can stand:
Elkanah was an Ephraimite. But from 1 Chronicles 6:20-28 we learn that Samuel and his father were of levitical descent. Some have called this a discrepancy. Yet it does not clash at all with the statement that Samuel's father was of Ephraim. He was one of those Levites who received cities inside the territory given to the tribe of Ephraim (Joshua 21:20).
Follow this same line backwards and it arrives at Korah, the Levite who led a revolt against Moses in the wilderness. Korah died, but God spared his children, and that fact shaped how his descendants lived:
This godly Israelite was a descendant of the rebellious Korah. (See 1 Chronicles 6:27, 34, 37). It is that Korah who, for his rebellion in the wilderness, was destroyed with all his company. "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11). A debtor to mercy alone, he had good cause to worship. Others might go up merely to sacrifice, but Elkanah both worshipped and sacrificed. It was no formal or meaningless ceremony with him. He knew he owed Jehovah's distinguishing grace not only the blessings of his life, but his very existence, as a descendant of one of the spared children of Korah. It is the knowledge and acknowledgment of grace that produces worship and obedience in the believer's life.
The list does not stop at Samuel. Read on in the chapter and the same family reappears at the head of the temple singers:
Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel (Samuel), the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham. And the genealogy is now traced downwards to Korah. Yes, the highly privileged Heman, the leader of the songs of the Lord, was grandson to Samuel.
Another writer explains why Heman above all others was suited to lead the praise:
As a descendant of Korah, he had good cause to praise God for His rich mercy. The sons of Korah were spared in the sovereign mercy of God, so there were none more suited to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
Lists like this mattered to the people coming back from exile in Babylon. Keeping one took conviction:
These genealogies were imperfect. Israel's condition carried the mark of the ruin that had come on them. But it also carried the mark of the goodness of God, who had brought back a remnant, and who had preserved everything needed to place those who formed it in the record of His people… Happy the man who had kept his own record, and who valued the heritage of Jehovah so much! It was a proof of faith. For someone might have said, of what use are these genealogies in Babylon?
- Mercy — the line behind these names goes back to Korah. God spared his sons when their father died, and every later blessing in this family rests on that mercy.
- Meaning — the names themselves trace God's hand, from "he is tenderly loved" to "God has purchased."
- Ministry — mercy produced worship. Elkanah did not only sacrifice; he worshipped, because he knew he owed his very existence to grace.
- Music — the line runs on past Samuel to Heman, the leader of the songs of the Lord. Those spared from judgment were the fittest to sing of God's goodness.
- Memory — a returning exile who could still prove his place in this list showed faith. He valued an inheritance that looked worthless in Babylon.
And the sons of Samuel the firstborn Vashni and Abijah.
This verse sits inside the long list of Levite families in 1 Chronicles 6. It names the two sons of Samuel the prophet. Two questions follow. Why do older translations call the firstborn "Vashni" here and "Joel" elsewhere? And why does Scripture keep the family record of a man whose sons failed so badly?
Some older translations read "Vashni" here instead of "Joel." A reference work explains why, and says what this son did:
Eldest son of Samuel. He and his brother Abijah acted as judges; their corrupt practices were the plea on which Israel demanded a king. 1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Chronicles 6:33; 1 Chronicles 15:17. Joel seems to be called VASHNI in 1 Chronicles 6:28. But the word Joel may have dropped out. The passage would then read "the firstborn Joel, and 'the second' Abijah," as in the Revised Version.
Korah led the great rebellion against Moses in the wilderness, yet his sons did not die. One writer traces that family down to the names in this verse:
We noticed that Samuel was of the family of Korah, which pure sovereign grace spared from going down into the pit… If we compare this with 1 Chronicles 6:22-28, we have the family line traced from Korah down to Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, and on to Samuel and his sons, Vashni (also called Joel) and Abijah. Grace shines out in the history of Samuel from first to last.
Samuel was a prophet, but the two sons named here did not follow him. One writer draws out the lesson for parents:
Perhaps the saddest and most surprising part of this sad story is this. Samuel himself does not seem to have learned the lesson, despite all he had heard and seen. When he was old, Samuel "made his sons judges over Israel … and his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain, took bribes, and perverted justice" (1 Samuel 8:1-3). Godliness is not inherited. Only by constant, watchful, prayerful care can we hope to train up our children in the way they should go.
The record does not stop with the failure. A few verses later Joel appears as a father, and his son stands among the three leading singers of Israel:
1 Chronicles 6:33, 38 establish something clearly. Heman, the middle one of the three leading singers of Israel (compare verses 33, 39, 44), was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. Both of them came from that very man Korah who led the great rebellion in the wilderness. The children of Dathan and Abiram went down with their parents alive into the pit. "But the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11).
Another writer traces what this grandson received, and the family that came after him.
In 1 Chronicles 6:33 we find that Joel's eldest son, Heman, held a most honoured place as one of the singers. In 1 Chronicles 25:1 we find him linked with Asaph and Jeduthun, "who were to prophesy with harps, with stringed instruments, and with cymbals." In verse 4 we find fourteen sons of Heman… "And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these were under their father's direction for song in the house of the LORD."
These records take unusual care over the singers. One writer asks why, and answers from redemption:
Why such particular care about the singers? Because no one may sing except those who have the right. And who now have the right to sing? Redemption gives the right. Should there be songs for slaves? Whether to a willing or a groaning slave, deliverance must first come, and in that comes the appointment to sing.
- Rescued. Samuel's family came from Korah. Sovereign grace spared Korah's sons from the pit, so this line starts with rescue, not merit.
- Failed. Joel and Abijah, the two sons named here, turned aside for money and took bribes. Godliness is not inherited, and even Samuel does not seem to have learned that.
- Restored. Joel's son Heman held an honoured place among the singers. The record carries this rescued family past its failure into praise.
- Enlarged. God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. They all sang under their father's direction.
- Applied. Only the redeemed have the right to sing. Deliverance comes first; the appointment to sing comes with it.