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.