And these are they that attended, and their sons Of the sons of the Kohathites Heman the singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel,
This verse opens the list of singers David set over the music at God's house. Heman stands first, traced back through Joel to Samuel — and behind those names lie rest, gift, and mercy.
The Levites' earlier work was physical. Chronicles marks the moment that work changed:
The book of Numbers tells us their service was to carry the tabernacle and its vessels through the wilderness. The Kohathites carried the most precious burden, including the ark. But here, "after the ark rested there," David appointed men from the three families of the Levites for "the service of song in the house of the LORD."
Another writer applies that change to Christians today:
Now that the ark had rest, and their carrying service was over, how good it was for them to take up the service of praise to the Lord… We are still passing through the wilderness… But we also know that the true Ark, our Lord Jesus Christ, is no longer here. He is in the scene of rest. It is our privilege to join in the service of song that brings delight to His heart and to the heart of His God and Father.
Heman is called "the singer," and three branches of Levi each supplied a leader:
In each of these three families one Levite stood out above the rest, because of the gifts he had received from God. For the Kohathites it was Heman; for the Gershonites, Asaph; for the Merarites, Ethan. The other Levites "were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God" (v. 48).
The verse runs Heman's line back to Samuel through Joel — one of the sons who failed:
Samuel's eldest son was Joel (1 Sam. 8:1), and Scripture names him in connection with the failure of Samuel's sons. But 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 prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals." Further on in that chapter we find fourteen sons of Heman, all of them "under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the LORD."
Follow the same list further down (verses 37–38) and it reaches the leader of a rebellion in the wilderness:
1 Chronicles 6:33 and 38 settle two facts. Heman, the central one of the three leading singers of Israel (compare verses 33, 39, 44), 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.
Korah's sons did not all perish with him:
It is enough here to recall the awful crisis in Israel's history when Korah's sons were saved as through fire. Compare Numbers 16 with Numbers 26:11. Mercy that day triumphed over judgment… and who is more suited to sing than the delivered sons of the rebellious Levite?
Why check the singers' family line so carefully?
The place song holds in the service we give to God shows in one detail: the leaders of that choir had to have a double witness, or proof, of their right to the name of Levi… No other branch of Levitical service got such care. Why such particular care about the singers? Because only those who have the right may sing. And who now has the right to sing? Redemption gives the right. Should there be songs for slaves? Willing slave or groaning slave, deliverance must come first. With deliverance comes the appointment to sing. 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.
Commentators see David's choir as only a first glimpse:
What melody there will be in the millennial temple! What a "joyful noise" from all lands when Messiah reigns! The ark will rest in its place, prepared by the true David, Who will appoint the singers then and set them over the service. The scene given in 1 Chronicles is but a passing glimpse of what the earth shall see and hear.
- Rest first. Song began only after the ark came to rest. The years of carrying ended, and praise took their place.
- Gift next. Out of each of Levi's three families, one man stood out by the gifts God had given him — Heman, Asaph, Ethan.
- Mercy behind. Heman's line runs back through Samuel to Korah. God spared Korah's children, and the delivered make the fittest singers.
- Right to sing. The record traces the singers' family line more closely than any other Levitical duty. Deliverance gives the right to sing — and in the church now all are, or should be, singers.
- Song ahead. What David arranged was a brief glimpse of the praise the earth will hear when Messiah reigns.
the son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,
These names are links in a chain that runs back from Heman the singer through Samuel to Levi. Two questions follow: why does Chronicles record a singer's ancestry at such length, and where did this line begin?
The names belong to the man set in the middle of Israel's choir. Two other verses in this chapter fix who his grandfather was.
1 Chronicles 6:33, 38 settles the fact 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). And both of them were descendants of that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness.
So the chain runs two ways. One end holds the leader of Israel's song. The other holds the man who led the rebellion in the wilderness. This verse picks the list up just after Samuel, so these four names are Samuel's own ancestors.
Chronicles takes more trouble over the singers' ancestry than over any other Levite job. The reason lies in who has the right to sing.
Song matters as part of the service we owe to God. You can see this in the particular care taken that the leaders of that choir should have a kind of double proof of their right to the name of Levi. Now the genealogy of each of these three leaders is traced backward to Levi... There is no such care shown for any other branch of Levitical service. Why such particular care about the singers? Because no one may sing except those who have the right. And who now has 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. With that deliverance comes the appointment to sing. 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.
Korah's rebellion brought judgment. Yet his sons did not die with him (Numbers 26:11), and that exception carries this whole family line.
It is enough here to recall the awful crisis in Israel's history when Korah's sons were saved as through fire. Compare Numbers 16 with Numbers 26:11. Mercy that day gloried against judgment... and who is more suited to sing than the delivered sons of the rebellious Levite?
The family's work makes the mercy sharper. Kohath's branch of the Levites carried the holy things, and out of them came the man placed at the centre of praise.
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 for the central place of praise to God... As a descendant of Korah, he had good cause to praise God for His rich mercy.
Samuel's sons failed. Joel, Heman's father in this chapter's chain, is the son remembered in that account.
Even in this sad story of failure and repeated failure, there is a bright side. Samuel's eldest son was Joel (1 Samuel 8:1), and the record names him especially when it tells of the failure of Samuel's sons. But in 1 Chronicles 6:33 we find that Joel's eldest son, Heman, held a most honoured place as one of the singers.
What Heman received, he passed on to his own children.
Perhaps the words "under the hands of their father" tell us something. This delightful family of seventeen children all sang, and they were together in subjection to their father — very different from the families of Eli and Samuel.
Heman held a title as well as a place in the choir.
Heman, "the king's seer in the words of God, to exalt His power," has the largest number of sons. His duties match the glory of the kingdom. Prophecy announced that kingdom, and the word of God established it.
- Named — These names carry Heman's line back through Samuel to Korah.
- Spared — Korah's sons did not die with him. Mercy gloried against judgment that day.
- Qualified — Chronicles checks the singers' line hardest of all. Redemption gives the right to sing, then and now.
- Restored — Samuel's sons failed, yet his grandson holds an honoured place and leads seventeen singing children.
- Pointing on — Heman is the king's seer. His service matches the glory of the kingdom that prophecy announced.
the son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,
This verse sits inside a list of fathers and sons that runs backwards, not forwards — from Heman the singer up through Samuel's family line toward Levi. Zuph, Elkanah, Mahath and Amasai are links in a chain God took unusual care to record. Why would a choir leader need such a record at all?
This is not a general family register. It belongs to the three men David set over the service of song, and it runs in reverse to prove their descent.
Song matters in the service we bring to God. You can see that in the special care taken to give the leaders of that choir a kind of double proof of their right to the name of Levi. That right qualified them to lead the singing and gave them the privileges of the tribe of Levi. Of the sons of Kohath, Heman; of Gershom, Asaph; and of Merari, Ethan. These had already been named in the general list of descendants (16–19). Now the family line of each is traced backward to Levi (1 Chron. 6:33-47). No other branch of Levite service is given 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 has the right to sing now? Redemption gives the right.
The same writer draws the line forward from these three leaders.
The care with which God, through David, gives 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.
The names in this verse belong to the household Samuel came from. Another list of the same men appears at the opening of 1 Samuel, and the meanings of the names tell their own story.
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 forebears. In order of descent they are Zuph (meaning "observer"), Tohu ("low, sunk down"), Elihu ("my God is He") and Jeroham ("he is dearly loved), leading to Elkanah ("God has purchased"). These meanings give some idea of how God was working to accomplish His own will, and the eventual outcome is seen in His servant Samuel.
The same man can appear under more than one spelling in these lists:
Zuph — an Ephrathite (and Kohathite). An ancestor of Samuel the prophet. 1 Sam. 1:1; 1 Chr. 6:35. Called ZOPHAI in 1 Chr. 6:26.
Follow the names past this verse and they reach Korah. He led an open revolt against Moses and Aaron, and he died for it.
1 Chronicles 6:33 and 38 settle two facts. Heman, the central one of the three leading singers of Israel, was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. And 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. "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Num. 26:11). His sons seem to have left their father alone in his wickedness. So from the sons of the very man who challenged the authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness came the prophet who said to Israel, "The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron" (1 Sam. 12:6, 8).
That family history is the very reason the appointment makes sense.
The Kohathites had the privilege of carrying the ark on their shoulders, along with the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden altar and the golden lampstand. And Heman, from among them, is chosen for the central place of praise to God. He is spoken of as "Heman the 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. Dathan and Abiram died with their children, and Korah shared their fate. Yet the record says, "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Num. 26:11). God spared them in His sovereign mercy, so no one was better suited to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
Every Levite had a place, but not the same place. Within the three branches of the tribe, one name in each stands at the head of the music.
In each of these three families one Levite stood out above the rest by reason of the gifts he had received from God: for the Kohathites, Heman; for the Gershonites, Asaph; for the Merarites, Ethan. The other Levites "were appointed for all the service of the tabernacle of the house of God" (v. 48).
Long name-lists can look like filler. Commentators read them as the key to Chronicles: God's plan to bring His own Son into the world through a human line.
In Chronicles the ruin is just as plain to read as in the earlier books. But the point here is God's settled plan to bring in His Only-begotten through a human line — and He is still His only begotten Son. In other words, God's purpose stands out more in Chronicles. The genealogy is proof of this, and gives the key to the book.
- Right — Only the singers have their line traced back to Levi. No one sang who could not show the right to sing, and redemption is what gives that right.
- Names — Zuph and Elkanah place this verse inside Samuel's family. Zuph is also spelled Zophai, and the meanings of the names trace God's work toward His servant Samuel.
- Mercy — Keep following the line and it reaches Korah the rebel. His sons did not die, so the choir's founding family is a family God spared.
- Fitness — Because they owed their lives to mercy, no one was better suited to lead Israel in praising God's goodness. In the church now, all are, or should be, singers.
- Purpose — Chronicles keeps these lists for one reason: God's Son was coming through this human line.
the son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,
These four names sit inside a list that runs back from Heman the singer to Levi, one link at a time. Why would God spend a chapter of Scripture proving the family tree of a man whose job was to sing?
Heman heads a list that belongs to a new stage of service for the Levites, the tribe who served God at the tabernacle — the tent where He met Israel.
In verse 16, the Spirit of God takes up the genealogy of the Levites again. This time He follows the order of birth that had established their families. The book of Numbers teaches us that their service was to carry the tabernacle and its utensils through the wilderness. The most precious burden, including the ark, was entrusted to the Kohathites. But here we find that after the ark "rested there," David appointed men from the three families of the Levites to be "in charge of the music in the house of the LORD."
Heman had already appeared in the general list of Levi's descendants earlier in the chapter. Now his descent is walked through again, name by name, and the same care is taken with the other two song leaders.
Song matters as part of the service given to God. You can see this in the special care taken that the leaders of that choir should have a double witness to their right to the name of Levi. That right showed they were qualified to lead the singing and to share the privileges of the tribe of Levi. Of the sons of Kohath, Heman; of Gershom, Asaph; of Merari, Ethan. All three were already in the general list of descendants; now the genealogy of each is traced back to Levi. No other branch of Levitical service gets such care. Why such particular care about the singers? Because only those who have the right may sing. And who now have the right to sing? Redemption gives the right.
A few names further on, the chain reaches Korah, who perished in the wilderness. Israel's chief singer came from his family.
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 for the central place of praise to God. He is spoken of as "Heman the singer," and his genealogy is traced through Korah to Levi. As a descendant of Korah, he had good reason to praise God for His rich mercy. When Dathan and Abiram perished with their children, and Korah shared their fate, it is recorded, "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Num. 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.
Several men named Elkanah stand in Heman's line. One of them, a few links above this verse, was the father of Samuel the prophet.
In Chronicles we look beyond this scene, to the kingdom and the glory. The genealogy is now traced down to Korah. Yes, the highly privileged Heman, the leader of the songs of the Lord, was grandson to Samuel. And we may read further of Heman and his brothers in 1 Chronicles 25, how David set them apart for this happy service of praise.
Chronicles was written for people coming home from exile in Babylon. A list like this decided whether a man could take up his place.
The condition of Israel 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 everything needed to place those who formed it in the record of His people. Where the needed proof of title was missing, the people lost their proper privileges, and the priests lost their place as priests. These genealogies served as a means of recognising the people. Happy the man who had preserved his own, and who valued the heritage of the Lord so highly! It was a proof of faith; for it might have been said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Most names in this verse do nothing but link one generation to the next.
It is deeply sobering to the soul to be allowed to go over such a record of names. Man forgot these names long ago. Yet God has remembered every one of them, with every detail of their pathway through this world. Some day our names too will be lost to mankind, but neither we nor our ways will be forgotten by God.
- Mercy first. This line runs back to Korah, who perished in the wilderness while his sons were spared. Israel's chief singer came from a family kept alive by God's mercy.
- Mercy gives the right. Only the singers have their descent traced twice. No one may sing without the right, and redemption gives that right.
- Mercy assigns the work. Once the ark was at rest, David gave the service of song to the family that had carried the holiest burdens.
- Mercy reaches far. Samuel stands in this same chain; Heman, the leader of the Lord's songs, was his grandson.
- Mercy is recorded. The list proved the returning remnant's title. Keeping it in Babylon was a proof of faith. Men forget these names; God does not.
the son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,
This verse ends a family line that runs backwards, and it stops at Korah. He was the Levite who led a rebellion against Moses in the wilderness, and the earth swallowed him. Yet the man whose ancestry this is, Heman, was the chief singer in God's house. How does a leader of praise come from that family?
Verses 33–38 walk backwards from Heman the singer through his forefathers. One writer marks both ends of the chain: the prophet Samuel near the top, Korah at the bottom.
The genealogy is now traced down to Korah. Yes, the greatly privileged Heman, the leader of the songs of the Lord, was grandson to Samuel.
Ebiasaph is named here as a son of Korah. A reference work links him with the Abiasaph of Exodus 6:24, and notes that another list sets him further down the line from Korah.
Abiasaph: a Levite, one of the sons of Korah, and the head of one of the families of the Korhites. Exodus 6:24. In 1 Chronicles 6:37 and 1 Chronicles 9:19 there is EBIASAPH, a son of Korah, who is probably the same. The Ebiasaph of 1 Chronicles 6:23 is apparently a great-grandson of Korah.
This family line only continued because of one sentence in Numbers. One writer uses it to explain why Heman, of all people, took the central place of praise.
The Kohathites had the privilege of carrying the ark, the table of the bread of the Presence, the golden altar and the golden lampstand on their shoulders. From among them Heman is chosen for the central place of praise to God. He is called "Heman a singer," and his genealogy runs through Korah to Levi. As a descendant of Korah, he had good cause to praise God for His rich mercy. Dathan and Abiram perished with their children, and Korah shared their fate. Yet Scripture records, "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11). God spared them in His sovereign mercy. So no one was better suited to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
One writer sets that rescue beside what God will do again in days to come.
Remember the terrible crisis in Israel's history, when God saved Korah's sons as though through fire. Compare Numbers 16 with Numbers 26:11. That day mercy 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.
Korah's rebellion attacked the authority of Moses and Aaron. Generations later, a prophet from his spared line told Israel the opposite.
1 Chronicles 6:33 and 38 make it plain that Heman, the central one of the three leading singers of Israel, was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. Both were descendants of that very man Korah, who led the great rebellion in the wilderness. Korah's 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 spoke to Israel and said, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron" (1 Samuel 12:6, 8).
This verse belongs to a carefully documented family line. One writer asks why only the singers needed that.
Song matters as part of the service we owe to God. You can see this in the special care taken to give the leaders of that choir a double witness to their right to the name of Levi, and so to their right to lead the singing. No other branch of Levitical service gets such care. Why such particular care about the singers? Because only those who have the right may sing. 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. With that deliverance comes the appointment to sing.
Being spared was not the end of what this family received. One writer traces the further gift and turns it on the reader.
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 received the cities of refuge, and Hebron is named first among them. (1 Chronicles 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 kept the gates of the house of the LORD and had charge of its chambers and treasuries. (1 Chronicles 9:19-32.) What a stewardship!
- Rebellion. The list of fathers in this verse runs back to Korah, the Levite who rose against Moses and Aaron and died under judgment.
- Sparing. His children did not die with him. Commentators point to Numbers 26:11 and call it mercy triumphing over judgment.
- Reversal. Out of that spared line came Samuel, who told Israel that the LORD had appointed the very men Korah opposed.
- Song. The same line gave Israel Heman the chief singer. Writers say no one was better suited to sing of God's mercy than a man kept from the pit.
- Right. Only those with a right may sing, so Israel checked the singers' family line. Deliverance comes first, then the appointment to praise.
the son of Jizhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.
This verse closes the family line of Heman, one of the three leading singers of Israel. It runs his descent back through Izhar and Kohath to Levi, and then to Israel himself. The names look dry. But one of them, Izhar, was the father of the most notorious rebel in Israel's wilderness history.
Heman's line climbs upward for a reason. One writer notices that this care goes to the song leaders and to no one else in Levitical service.
Song is an important part of the service we give to God. You can see this in the special care taken to give the leaders of that choir a kind of double witness to their right to the name of Levi — and so to their fitness to lead the singing and to share the privileges of the Levitical tribe. The list already named these three: Heman of the sons of Kohath, Asaph of Gershom, Ethan of Merari. Now the family line of each is traced backward to Levi. No other branch of Levitical service gets such care. Why such particular care about the singers? Because no one may sing except those who have the right. And who now has 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. With that deliverance comes the appointment to sing.
Izhar matters here because of the name listed just before his: Korah, his son. A Bible dictionary names Korah the same way this verse does.
Son of Izhar, a son of Kohath. With Dathan and Abiram he led the rebellion against Moses and Aaron. They said that Moses and Aaron took too much on themselves, since all the people were holy... For Korah and the Levites with him it was a religious rebellion: "they strove against Jehovah" in His appointed priesthood.
So the chief singer's line passes straight through the rebel's household. One writer points out that this verse, with verse 33, makes the link certain.
1 Chronicles 6:33 and 6:38 establish two facts. Heman, the central one of the three leading singers of Israel, was the grandson of the prophet Samuel. And 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 alive into the pit with their parents. "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die" (Numbers 26:11).
Heman's place at the centre of the praise fits the family he came from.
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. Out of this family comes Heman, chosen for the central place of praise to God. He is called "Heman the singer," and his family line runs through Korah to Levi. As a descendant of Korah, he had good cause to praise God for His rich mercy... God spared Korah's sons in His sovereign mercy, so no one was more suited to sing of the goodness and mercy of God.
The rebellion is not the only failure in this line. Heman's father, Joel, belongs to a second story of failure.
But even in this sad story of failure and repeated failure, there is a bright side. Samuel's eldest son was Joel (1 Samuel 8:1), and Scripture names him with the failure of Samuel's sons. But 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 "prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals."
The line ends at Levi and Israel. Levi's name carries a meaning that fits his whole history.
I will start with his birth, recorded in Genesis 29:34: "Again she [Leah] conceived and bore a son, and said, 'Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.' Therefore his name was called Levi" (that is, "joined")... The name has wonderful meaning when you look at his later history. In nature's wild and lawless excess we find him "joined" with his brother in a deed of blood and murder (Genesis 34). And in the day when he was called to drink deeply and fully of the cup of God's electing grace, he is "joined" with Aaron in "the work of the tabernacle."
These lists were not antiquarian interest. They had a practical use for the people who first read them after the exile.
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.
- Root. Trace the line back to Izhar. His son Korah rebelled against God's appointed priesthood.
- Sparing. Yet Scripture says of that same household, "Nevertheless, the sons of Korah did not die." Mercy came where judgment fell.
- Right. The singers alone have their descent proved twice. No one sings without the right, and redemption gives it.
- Voice. Spared men make the fittest choir. A descendant of Korah stands at the centre of the praise, with good cause to praise God for His rich mercy.
- Record. Levi's name means "joined." The list that joins Heman to him let a people back from exile prove where they belonged.