And the inhabitants that were first in their possessions in their cities were the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the Nethinim.
This verse marks a fresh start: the exile in Babylon is over, and the record names the first families to settle back on their own land. It raises three questions — who came back, why God kept a list of where they lived, and what such a small return was meant to prove.
Only a few tribes appear in this first group.
From the opening of chapter 9 we learn that these genealogies date from after the return from Babylon. "The first inhabitants of the land" are those who returned first, and the chapter names the chief men among them. There are the children of Judah and of Benjamin, with remnants of Ephraim and Manasseh — the two tribes that stayed loyal to the house of David, and the representatives of the children of Joseph. So in this small remnant there are both the royalty and the birthright.
The chapter moves from ruin to a fresh start.
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to the flesh, and 1 Chronicles 10 will show us its ruin. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people... We then find the restoration of a feeble remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah.
The verse puts each family back "in their possessions in their cities." Careful records, kept through seventy years of exile, were what made that possible.
The Jews were disheartened by the destruction they never would believe in till it came. They might have thought, "What is the use of a genealogy? What is the use of caring now about our lands or houses? Everything is ruined. All is gone." But the man who believed God knew that seventy years would see them return from their captivity. So care for God and confidence in His Word would make them guard their genealogies carefully. Then, when they did return, they might enter on the portion God had allotted them. For this was what made every homestead in Israel so precious — that it was God that gave it. It was not merely something that man earned by his own labour or skill. It was the gift of God to them.
The lists also kept the returning people honest, and linked them to a great past.
When they returned, these genealogies would be of the highest importance to the Israelites: so that they should not seize what was not theirs; so that they should not be unjust; so that they should be content with what God had given them; so that they should link themselves with all that was great and glorious in God's sight in the past... In their weakness they needed every cheer and encouragement.
Older translations keep the Hebrew word "Nethinim" here. The ESV calls them "temple servants." This verse is where the name first appears.
The name means 'given, devoted ones.' It was used of those who helped the Levites in the service of the tabernacle and the temple. The name does not appear until 1 Chronicles 9:2, and after that in Ezra and Nehemiah. The Gibeonites were made "hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar." Joshua 9:27... God does not appear to have appointed them, as He did the Levites. Instead 'David and the princes' appointed them 'for the service of the Levites' (Ezra 8:20).
Neither writer puts the Gibeonite link higher than likely. If it holds, a curse of servitude turned into mercy.
It is here, then, that we probably find the origin of the Nethinim. They were the ones spared from the just judgment of God. If they were reduced to slavery, it was slavery in His mercy, tied to His house. In this way He turned the very curse that rested on them (see Joshua 9:23) into a blessing. For what do we find? The sword of the Lord's host did not destroy them; they were rescued. Now, centuries later, they stand in honourable association with the Lord's people, and with a heart too for the Lord's house.
The handful named here was never meant to be the whole story.
God brings back a remnant not for the sake of history, but so that history may tell how sovereign grace stepped in, and will step in again when Christ comes. Without it, the ruin would be beyond repair, shared with the Gentile. But God was foreshadowing His great purpose of all Israel's restoration. The remnant's return is the pledge of the nation's return.
- Ruin. Chapter 9 records the final ruin of the people, then names those who came back. The low point becomes the starting point.
- Record. Faith kept the genealogies through the exile. Every homestead in Israel was God's gift, and the record was how a family claimed it.
- Restraint. The lists kept the weak remnant from seizing what was not theirs, and kept them content with what God had given.
- Reach. Even the temple servants — outsiders under a curse — ended up honoured among God's people, with a heart for His house.
- Pledge. This first small return was not the goal but the guarantee: grace will yet restore all Israel, royalty and birthright together.
And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh
Chronicles closes its long list of names with a note about who settled in Jerusalem after the exile. Four tribes are named, and that raises two questions: why these four, and why God kept such a record at all.
One writer lines this chapter up with Nehemiah 11, and notes a detail here that Nehemiah leaves out.
We then find the restoration of a feeble remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, to wait for the promised Messiah at Jerusalem. This ninth chapter corresponds to chapter 11 of Nehemiah. Yet it differs significantly from Nehemiah 11. The number of the sons of Judah and Benjamin who lived at Jerusalem is different, and so are their names… We learn also what Nehemiah does not reveal. Some of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh came to live at Jerusalem (v. 3) with the children of Judah and of Benjamin. They had probably been left in the land of Canaan when their tribes were carried away.
Judah and Benjamin held to David's line. Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph. Both lines now live in one city.
From the opening of chapter 9 we learn that these genealogies were put together after the return from Babylon. Those described as the first to live in the land are the ones who returned first, and the chief among them are named. There are the children of Judah and of Benjamin with remnants of Ephraim and Manasseh. The two tribes that held to the house of David, and the representatives of the children of Joseph. So in this comparatively small remnant there are both the royalty and the birthright. And before they were driven out again, He appeared who is both King and the Firstborn, who alone is such before God. By rejecting Him, this favoured remnant lost both. Grace will restore both at the right time. It will bring all Israel — the ten lost tribes together with the Jewish remnant — into the privileges and glory flowing from both.
Commentators differ here. The writer above sees real remnants of Ephraim and Manasseh in the company that came home. Another writer, working through the same list in Nehemiah, separates single people from whole tribes.
We find here plenty of confirmation that, apart from the priests and Levites, only the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, or representatives of these, were brought back from Babylon. There might have been people from other tribes — such as Anna, who was "of the tribe of Asher" (Luke 2:36). That in no way affects this statement. As tribes, only Judah and Benjamin were restored. So the remaining ten tribes are "lost" to this day, hidden, in the ways of God, among the peoples of the earth.
The genealogy that this chapter closes does not end here. Matthew's opening page picks it up again.
Let us say at once: 1 Chronicles 9 brings us a little beyond the time of Nehemiah. It interrupts the royal genealogies eight generations before Messiah's coming. The Gospel of Matthew fills this gap. It shows us how God Himself took care to preserve the genealogy of David's Son, His own Son, right through the ruin, until His coming as son of Joseph and Mary. So Matthew 1 forms the natural continuation of 1 Chronicles 9.
Why record a handful of families settling in a broken city? The point lies ahead of them, not behind.
A remnant is brought back not for the sake of history, but so that history may tell how sovereign grace stepped in — and will step in again when Christ comes. Otherwise there was ruin beyond repair, shared with the Gentile. But God was foreshadowing His great purpose of all Israel's restoration. The remnant's return is the pledge of the nation's return.
Living in Jerusalem was not the comfortable option. Nehemiah's account of the same resettlement shows what moved people to choose it.
In the middle of her present ruin, Jerusalem could attract the people of God only if they looked at her with the eyes of faith, from the viewpoint of her future glory. To go there, leaving all else, took a decision that faith alone could give and hope alone could sustain. It could only be an act of love and willing devotion for the city of the great King — a self-denial that was not everyone's portion, and that God did not require of them… "And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem" (v. 2). Such feelings had God's approval.
- Ruin. Chronicles ends its genealogies with the nation broken and carried to Babylon. What follows is recovery, not achievement.
- Remnant. What comes back is small and weak, and it settles in Jerusalem to wait there for the promised Messiah.
- Reach. With Judah and Benjamin come some of Ephraim and Manasseh, so royalty and birthright stand together in one small company. Commentators differ over whether the northern tribes returned as tribes or as individuals only.
- Record. God guarded the family line right through the collapse. Matthew's opening chapter takes up where this one stops.
- Restoration. The remnant's return is the pledge of the nation's return. Grace stepped in once, and will step in again when Christ comes.
Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Pherez the son of Judah.
The verse names one man, Uthai. It then traces his family back to Perez, a son of Judah. He is one entry in the register of those who settled in Jerusalem again after the exile. Why does Scripture spend space on a chain of names, and why does it end at Perez of all people?
Chapter 9 records both a collapse and a small recovery.
1 Chronicles 8 brought us to the kingship according to the flesh, and 1 Chronicles 10 will show us its ruin. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness (v. 1). Then we find a weak remnant restored, as the books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us, to wait at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah. This ninth chapter matches chapter 11 of Nehemiah. Yet it differs from Nehemiah 11 both in the number of the sons of Judah and Benjamin who lived at Jerusalem, and in their names. This chapter adds side branches of the families.
after-note: none
Uthai's name belongs to that weak return. The list is not a leftover from the past. It is the roll of those God brought back.
A ruined nation had every human reason to stop caring about family records. Faith kept them anyway.
The Jews were disheartened by a destruction they refused to believe in until it came. They might have thought, "What is the use of a genealogy? What is the use of caring now about our lands or houses? Everything is ruined. All is gone." But the man who believed God knew that seventy years would see them return from their captivity. So care for God and confidence in His Word would make them guard their genealogies closely. Then, when they did return, they could take up the portion God had allotted them. This is what made every home in Israel so precious — that God gave it.
So a name like Uthai's is a receipt. It proves a place in an inheritance nobody earned.
Why does the line run all the way back to Judah's son? One writer answers from the matching list in Nehemiah 11.
In the holy city there were "four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men" of Judah — all "sons of Perez." That is, their line is traced back to the son of Judah, as evidence that they could show their genealogy… Here we find plenty of confirmation that only two tribes came back from Babylon, apart from the priests and Levites: Judah and Benjamin, or people who stood for them.
Anyone who knew the story behind that name would feel its weight.
Who was Perez? Let Genesis 38 answer. Why not begin with his father, Judah? His was the greatest of the tribes of Israel. But the promised blessing had to come through Perez, the son of Tamar. God led His line of promise through the low things of the world, and took up those whom people would despise. He did this to magnify His grace and exalt His name.
So the remnant traced itself back to a name that speaks of grace, not merit.
This company was small. Yet the tribes in it held two great privileges between them.
Here are the children of Judah and of Benjamin, with what was left of Ephraim and Manasseh — the two tribes that held to the house of David, and the representatives of the children of Joseph. So in this small remnant there are both the royalty and the birthright. And before they were driven out again, He appeared Who is both King and the Firstborn. He alone is both of these before God. By rejecting Him, this favoured remnant lost both. At the right time grace will restore both.
Claiming the name was never enough; the register had to prove it. One writer applies that to today.
There must be the proper register and proof of their genealogy. This is of very great importance for us now, I would just observe, and there is spiritual profit to draw from it. In these days, when everyone professes to be a Christian, we are called on to prove our own genealogies. You see, there is no difficulty in bearing the name. There was a time when a man confessed Christ at the risk of his life. Now it is a cheap and common thing.
- Ruin. Judah went to Babylon because of their sin. Every name after that stands on the far side of a national collapse.
- Grace. The line runs back to Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar. God led His line of promise through what people despise, to magnify His grace.
- Register. Israelites who believed God kept their family records through the exile. So they could take up the inheritance God gave, not one they earned.
- Remnant. This handful of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh held both the royalty and the birthright. Christ appeared among them as King and Firstborn.
- Proof. Bearing the name of Christ costs nothing today. So what counts is the record, not the claim.
And of the Shilonites Asaiah the firstborn, and his sons.
This chapter lists who settled in Jerusalem after the exile, and Judah's families come first — among them Asaiah's small clan. A single line of names raises the question the whole chapter answers: why does God bother to write down a family that most readers would skip over?
Reference works link the name "Shilonites" to an ancestor inside Judah's own family:
The name given to Asaiah and his sons, probably because they formed part of the family of Shelah, son of Judah. 1 Chronicles 9:5; compare Numbers 26:20, where they are called Shelanites.
The record adds one more detail about Asaiah himself — where he lived:
A Shilonite who became a dweller in Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 9:5.
Asaiah's name sits at a hinge in the book. The chapter opens with Judah carried off to Babylon, and then turns to a small group coming back.
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship as it stood in human hands, and 1 Chronicles 10 will show us its ruin. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith" (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah. This ninth chapter corresponds to chapter 11 of Nehemiah.
Judah's settlers here are identified by the ancestor they could point back to. The parallel list in Nehemiah is read the same way:
In the holy city there were "468 valiant men" from Judah, all "sons of Perez". That is, the list traces them back to the son of Judah, as evidence that they could show their genealogy.
The records that came through the exile were incomplete, and keeping one showed faith.
These genealogies were incomplete. Israel's condition bore the mark of the ruin that had fallen 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 them in the record of His people... Happy the man who had kept his own record, and who valued the Lord's heritage enough to treat it as important! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said, "What use are these genealogies in Babylon?"
A kept genealogy was what let a family claim its share of land when the exiles came home.
The Jews never believed the destruction would come until it came. Now they were disheartened, and they might have thought, "What is the use of a genealogy? What is the use of caring now about our lands or houses? Everything is ruined. All is gone." But the man who believed God knew that seventy years would see them return from captivity. So care for God and confidence in His Word made them guard their genealogies closely. Then, when they did return, they could enter on the share of land God had given. For this is what made every homestead in Israel so precious — that it was God who gave it. It was not merely something a man earned by his own labour or skill. It was the gift of God to them.
Asaiah's family settled in Jerusalem. Moving there meant leaving everything else behind:
To go to Jerusalem and leave all else took a decision that only faith could make and only hope could keep going. It could be nothing but an act of love and willing devotion to the city of the great King. It was a self-denial that not everyone shared, and one God did not demand of them.
These lists do not run all the way to Christ. They break off, and Matthew picks up the thread.
Let us say at once that 1 Chronicles 9 brings us a little beyond the time of Nehemiah. It breaks off the royal genealogies eight generations before Messiah's coming. The Gospel of Matthew fills this gap. It shows us how God Himself, right through the ruin, took care to preserve the genealogy of David's Son, His own Son, until He came as the son of Joseph and Mary. So Matthew 1 forms the natural continuation of 1 Chronicles 9.
- Ruin — the chapter opens with Judah in exile. Every name after it, Asaiah's included, belongs to a rescued remnant.
- Named — "Shilonites" ties Asaiah to the family of Shelah, a son of Judah. The record adds one thing about him: he came to live in Jerusalem.
- Proof — the records were incomplete, yet God kept enough to place the remnant on the register of His people. A family that guarded its line in Babylon showed faith.
- Inheritance — the name secured a share of land. That land was precious because God gave it, not because anyone earned it.
- Messiah — the genealogies stop eight generations short. Matthew 1 takes them up, and God keeps the line of David's Son right through the ruin.
And of the sons of Zerah Jeuel; and their brethren, six hundred and ninety.
One family name, one man, a count of 690: this line sits inside the list of those who came back from Babylon and settled in Jerusalem again. Why does God record a minor branch of Judah down to the last man?
These names belong to the people who came back to a ruined land. Who was in that small group is itself the point.
The opening of chapter 9 shows that these genealogies were drawn up after the return from Babylon. "The first inhabitants of the land" are the ones who came back first, and the chief men among them are named. There are the children of Judah and of Benjamin, with those left of Ephraim and Manasseh. These are the two tribes that held to the house of David, and the representatives of the children of Joseph. So in this small remnant you have both the royalty and the birthright. And before they were driven out again, He appeared Who is both King and the Firstborn. He alone is both of these before God.
Zerah was one of Judah's sons, twin to Perez. Each line produced different men.
Shelah is fruitful, but Tamar's children much more so. From them comes Perez, the "one who breaks out," and his line breaks out into a wide-spreading fruit that fills up all the later history of Judah. From this line come Judah's kings, and her great King. Twin with Perez comes Zerah, whose name means the sunrise. From him come singers later on, such as Ethan, and warriors, such as Shammah, Sibbechai and Maharai, sturdy defenders of the throne.
Of Jeuel himself the record keeps one fact:
Descendant of Zerah: he returned from exile.
Nehemiah 11 covers the same resettlement of Jerusalem. Chronicles keeps names that list leaves out.
This ninth chapter matches chapter 11 of Nehemiah. Yet it differs from Nehemiah 11 in two important ways. The number of the sons of Judah and Benjamin living at Jerusalem is different, and so are their names. This chapter adds side branches.
Zerah's family is one of those side branches — not the royal line, but counted all the same.
A man in exile had every reason to let his family record lapse. It bought him nothing abroad.
These genealogies were incomplete. The state of Israel carried the mark of the ruin that had come on them. It also carried the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had kept safe everything needed to place them in the record of His people. Without the proof that gave them this right, the people lost their proper privileges, and the priests lost their place as priests, until a priest stood up with Urim and with Thummim. These genealogies were the means of recognising the people. Happy is the man who kept his own, and who thought so much of the heritage of Jehovah that he treasured it! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said: what use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Jeuel and his 690 relatives could still show where they came from. That is why they are on the page.
The chain of names does not simply stop with the return. It is picked up again centuries later.
1 Chronicles 9 brings us a little beyond the time of Nehemiah. It breaks off the royal genealogies eight generations before the Messiah's coming. The Gospel of Matthew fills this gap. It shows us how God Himself took care, right through the ruin, to keep the genealogy of David's Son, His own Son, until He came as the son of Joseph and Mary. So Matthew 1 is the natural continuation of 1 Chronicles 9.
The handful who came home were not the end of the story.
God brings back a remnant not for the sake of history, but so that history may tell how sovereign grace stepped in, and will step in again when Christ comes. Without that grace the ruin would be beyond repair, shared with the Gentile. But God was giving a preview of His great purpose of all Israel's restoration. The remnant's return is the pledge of the nation's return.
- Ruin. This roll call comes after judgment. These are the people who came back to a land they had lost.
- Record. In Babylon a family record paid nothing and proved nothing to the world. Keeping it was a proof of faith, and it let a man take his place again.
- Remnant. Zerah's line is a side branch, and Nehemiah's parallel list passes over it. No one who could show his descent was too minor to count.
- Reach. The register does not close at the exile. Matthew 1 takes up where this chapter stops, because God guarded the line to His Son through all the ruin.
- Restoration. A small company home in Jerusalem is the pledge of the whole nation's return. Grace has stepped in, and it will step in again.
And of the sons of Benjamin Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah,
Four names in a line mark out one family of Benjamin that came back from exile and settled in Jerusalem. Why does God's Word keep such a list, and why is Benjamin the tribe living beside Judah in the holy city?
Chapter 9 turns from the long family lists to the time after the exile. One writer sets the chapter in the movement of the book:
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to the flesh. 1 Chronicles 10 will show us the ruin of that kingship. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their transgression" (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, told of in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, to wait at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah.
Sallu is listed among "the Benjaminites." One writer, commenting on the matching list in Nehemiah 11, draws out what that pairing proves:
Here we have plenty of proof that, apart from the priests and Levites, only two tribes returned from Babylon: Judah and Benjamin, or people who stood for them. There may have been individual members of other tribes, such as Anna, who was "of the tribe of Asher" (Luke 2:36). That does not change the statement. As tribes, only Judah and Benjamin were restored.
Chronicles also adds a detail Nehemiah leaves out:
We learn as well what Nehemiah does not tell us: that some of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh, probably left in the land of Canaan when their tribes were carried away, came to live at Jerusalem (v. 3) with the children of Judah and of Benjamin.
Two things marked this small tribe, and both point beyond it:
The tribe of Benjamin had the same features as Issachar: care for their genealogies, and mighty men of valour. This second feature stood out in this small tribe, so closely joined to the kingdom of Judah at Jerusalem. It reminds us of Christ's character as the one who wages war and conquers. Benjamin is the prophetic picture of Him, and is joined so closely to the royal tribe of Judah that the two are never separated.
To a Jew in Babylon, a family record looked useless. That is exactly what made keeping it an act of faith:
The Jews were discouraged by the destruction they refused to believe in until it came. They might have thought, "What is the use of a genealogy? Why care now about our lands or houses? Everything is ruined. All is gone." But the man who believed God knew that seventy years would see them return from their captivity. So care for God and confidence in His Word would make them guard their genealogies carefully, so that when they did return they could take up the portion God had allotted them.
The same writer turns this on us. Bearing the name today costs nothing:
Now in our own day, when everyone claims the name of Christian, we have to prove our genealogies. There was a time when confessing Christ put a man's life in danger. Now it is a cheap and common thing.
Verse 7 traces Sallu back only three generations, and the list in Nehemiah 11 does not match it. One writer explains where gaps like this come from:
We know that at the time of the return from Babylon, the genealogies of Judah and of Benjamin were often not enough. Members of the family of Levi who could not produce theirs lost their place in the priesthood (Ezra 2:62). Compare 1 Chronicles 9 with Nehemiah 11 and you see that some genealogies in Chronicles leave out many names. That is just what you would expect from a people coming back from captivity.
The gaps say something about Israel. What survived says something about God:
Israel's state carried the mark of the ruin that had come on them. It also carried the mark of the goodness of God, who had brought back a remnant, and who had kept safe all that was needed to place those who made up that remnant in the record of His people.
Sallu, Meshullam, Hodaviah, Hassenuah — unknown men, yet written into Scripture. That is the character of Chronicles as a whole:
He also records the names of those who came through the trials told in this history without being blotted out of the book. Not all Israel is there; and not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
The practice runs forward, not only back:
He has been a dwelling place for His own in every generation. And He honours those who honour Him: He records their names in His word now, and He will glorify them in person on the great day that is coming quickly.
- Ruin — The nation collapses. Judah goes to Babylon, and only a weak remnant returns to wait at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah.
- Remnant — Of the twelve tribes, only Judah and Benjamin came back as tribes, and Benjamin is never separated from the royal tribe.
- Proof — In Babylon a family record looked useless. Keeping one was faith in God's Word that the return would come.
- Record — The gaps in these lists show the ruin; that God kept enough to place each returning family shows His goodness.
- Reward — He writes the names of those who honour Him in His word now, and He will glorify them on the coming day.
and Jibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Jibnijah;
Verse 8 names three more Benjamite family heads: Ibneiah, Elah and Meshullam. They belong to a register of the men who settled in Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon. Why does Scripture keep such a list at all, and why do these names differ from the parallel list in Nehemiah?
The first part of 1 Chronicles 9 leaves the long family lists of chapters 1–8 and moves to a much later age. One commentator reads it against the ruin before it, and beside Nehemiah 11:
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to kingship according to the flesh, whose ruin we will see in 1 Chronicles 10. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their sin (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, to wait for the promised Messiah at Jerusalem. This ninth chapter matches chapter 11 of Nehemiah. Yet it differs from Nehemiah 11 in the number of the sons of Judah and Benjamin who lived at Jerusalem, and in their names. This chapter adds side branches.
So the extra names here do not contradict Nehemiah's shorter list. They are side branches of the same families.
These lists had practical force. A man who could not produce his descent could lose his place:
The gaps in the genealogies in the first nine chapters of our book are a valuable clue to the time when it was written. We know that at the time of the return from Babylon the genealogies of Judah and of Benjamin were in many cases incomplete, and that members of the family of Levi who could not produce them were shut out of the priesthood (Ezra 2:62).
Another writer sees the records that survived as a proof of faith:
These genealogies were incomplete. 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 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 prized the Lord's heritage enough to value it! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said: What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Ibneiah, Elah and Meshullam are Benjamites living in a city that belonged to Judah's king. That pairing is the settled shape of the return:
We find here plenty of confirmation that, apart from the priests and Levites, only the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, or representatives of these, came back from Babylon... As tribes, only Judah and Benjamin were restored. So the other ten tribes are "lost" to this day, hidden, in the ways of God, among the peoples of the earth.
One writer traces that bond further:
The tribe of Benjamin had the same features as Issachar: care for their genealogies, and mighty men of valor. This last feature stood out in this little tribe, so closely joined to the kingdom of Judah at Jerusalem. This reminds us of Christ's character as one who wages war and conquers. Benjamin is the prophetic picture of Him, and is tied so closely to the royal tribe of Judah that the two are never separated.
Nobody remembers Ibneiah. Yet his name was written down, and one writer says why that matters:
The very fact that this list exists shows how precious to God was the response His grace had produced in the hearts of His people. They may have entered only weakly into His thoughts about His house. That is why He has kept this list: to show that He looks with joy on the smallest fruits of His Spirit's work, and that He knows and announces the very names of His people. It encourages everyone to walk in His ways, to stand with His interests, and to stay faithful in times of corruption and falling away.
The returning company was small, yet it carried more than its size suggests:
There are the children of Judah and of Benjamin with remnants of Ephraim and Manasseh: the two tribes that clung to the house of David, and the representatives of the children of Joseph. So in this small remnant there are both the royalty and the birthright. And before they were driven out again, He appeared who is both King and the Firstborn... By rejecting Him, this favoured remnant lost both. Grace will restore both at the right time.
- Ruin — the chapter opens with Judah carried to Babylon for its sin. Then a small, weak company comes back to wait at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah.
- Remnant — apart from priests and Levites, only Judah and Benjamin returned as tribes. Verse 8's Benjamites belong to the tribe never separated from the royal line.
- Record — a family's genealogy decided its place. Levites who could not produce one lost the priesthood, so keeping these papers through exile was an act of faith.
- Remembered — God kept these unknown names. He sees the smallest fruit of His work, and He encourages faithfulness in a corrupt time.
- Restored — this little group held both David's royalty and Joseph's birthright. It lost both when the King came and they refused Him. Grace will give both back.
and their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty-six. All these men were chief fathers in their fathers' houses.
This verse closes the short Benjamin list among those who settled in Jerusalem after the exile: 956 relatives, each family traced through its own record. Why does Scripture keep such a register, and why do its numbers differ from the list in Nehemiah?
The verse belongs to a section with one controlling interest — who lived in the city. One writer ties Benjamin's place in the list to that interest, and calls the repetitions in this book deliberate.
So in 1 Chronicles 9 we have the inhabitants of Jerusalem. That is the special feature of the section beginning here — the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Benjamin is mentioned for that reason. Further, the book sets the Levites and the priests before us for the very same reason, with their various offices and work... These repetitions are very striking in the book. They are not random. They all connect with God's purpose. The great aim now is to show man's will passing away, so that God's purpose may reign.
"According to their generations" means these men could still produce their family record. In Babylon such a paper looked useless. One writer calls keeping it a proof of faith.
These genealogies were imperfect. Israel's condition bore the mark of the ruin that had come on them. It also bore the mark of the goodness of God, who had brought back a remnant, and who had kept safe all that was needed to place those who formed it in the record of His people. Where the proof of that title was missing, those of the people lost their proper privileges, and the priests lost their priestly standing, until a priest should stand up with Urim and Thummim. For these genealogies served as a means to recognise the people. Happy is the one who had kept his own record, and who valued the heritage of Jehovah enough to prize it! It was a proof of faith. Someone might well have asked, "What use are these genealogies in Babylon?"
This chapter runs parallel to a list in Nehemiah, yet the two do not match. One writer shows where they part company.
This ninth chapter corresponds to chapter 11 of Nehemiah. Yet it differs from Nehemiah 11 in two ways: in the number of the sons of Judah and Benjamin who lived at Jerusalem, and in their names. This chapter adds side branches of the families. On the priests and Levites, it is much closer to Nehemiah.
The same writer traces the gaps in these lists to the state of the people themselves. After the exile, many simply could not prove their line.
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 lost their place in the priesthood (Ezra 2:62). Comparing 1 Chronicles 9 with Nehemiah 11 shows that some genealogies in Chronicles have many gaps. That is what you would expect from a people just back from captivity.
A total of 956 and a list of household heads can read like a filing record. One writer finds in it God's own memorial of people who came through trials and kept their place.
At the same time He records the names of those who went through the trials told in this history and were never blotted out of the book. Here we have only the outward picture of that blessed memorial of the people of His grace. Still, that is what we find here. All Israel is not there; but all are not Israel who are of Israel.
Benjamin's 956 sit beside Judah's families and a few from Ephraim and Manasseh. One writer finds in that small mixture both the royal line and the birthright.
The two tribes that clung to the house of David, and the representatives of the children of Joseph. So in this small remnant you find both the royalty and the birthright. And before they were driven out again, He appeared Who is both King and the Firstborn, and Who alone holds that place before God. By rejecting Him, this favoured remnant lost both. Grace will at the right time restore both, and bring all Israel, the ten lost tribes together with the Jewish remnant, into the privileges and glory flowing from both.
- Record. The chapter lists those who came back and lived in Jerusalem. Benjamin appears because the city is the point of interest, and the repetitions here serve God's purpose.
- Proof. "According to their generations" meant a family could show its line. Keeping that record through the exile, when it looked useless, was a proof of faith.
- Gaps. The numbers and names differ from Nehemiah 11. This list adds side branches, and many returning families could no longer prove their descent.
- Remembered. The register is an outward picture of God's own memorial: names of people who went through trials and stayed in His book.
- Pledge. In this small company both the royal line and the birthright survive. The King came, the remnant rejected Him, and grace will yet restore what they lost — to all Israel.
And of the priests Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin,
This verse sits inside a long list of names. It names three priests — Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin. They were among the first to settle in Jerusalem again after the exile in Babylon. So why does God record who came back? And what made these men fit to serve in His house?
One writer reads this chapter as the record of a nation broken, and then of the small company God brought home.
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to natural descent, and 1 Chronicles 10 will show us its ruin. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their sin (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting for the promised Messiah at Jerusalem. This ninth chapter matches chapter 11 of Nehemiah.
For a priest, this record was his proof of identity. Without it he lost his place at the altar. He waited until God settled the matter through a priest with Urim and Thummim — the way God made His mind known.
These genealogies were imperfect. The state of Israel 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 kept all that was needed to place its members in the record of His people. Where a man lacked the proof that gave him this title, he lost his proper privileges; and a priest lost his priestly position, until a priest stood up with Urim and with Thummim. These genealogies served as a way to recognise the people. Happy the man who had kept his own, and who prized the heritage of the Lord so highly! It was a proof of faith, for someone might have said, What use are these genealogies in Babylon?
One writer reads the list as God's own record of approval.
In these verses God sees fit to list the names of the priests and Levites who came to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel in the first return, to rebuild the city... God wants to show His own approval of every person who takes trouble to help recover the testimony of His truth at a time when failure has left people generally indifferent. The priests are listed first, and then the Levites. At least we can learn from this that God values the worship of devoted hearts, pictured by the priests; and He asks for the service of those devoted to Him, pictured by the Levites. Both of these marks should be seen in every believer today.
What follows these names is a full staff for God's house. One writer looks from this temple to Solomon's, and then to a greater one still ahead.
All who are needed for the service of the temple are there: priests, Levites, and gatekeepers... If Solomon's temple was greater than this one in glory, so that old men wept when they remembered it, then the future temple will surpass Solomon's far more. There will be no old men to weep then.
Another writer draws the line from that work to ours.
All may now help in the work of the house, if they are living according to their priestly place in the holiest. The work here was work that belonged to them as priests, and only those who are filling their priestly office can take part in priestly service.
Behind the bare names stands God's own pleasure, and a day still ahead.
The Lord takes pleasure in recording even the names of His servants... He has not only been a dwelling place for His own in all generations; He also honours those who honour Him. He records their names in His word now, and He will glorify them in person in the great day that is coming fast.
The small group who came home was not the end of the story.
A remnant is brought back, not for the sake of history, but so that history may tell how sovereign grace stepped in, and will step in again when Christ comes. Without grace stepping in, the ruin would have been beyond repair, shared with the nations. But God was giving a picture of His great purpose: all Israel restored. The remnant's return is the pledge of the nation's return.
- Ruin — The chapter opens with Judah in exile for its sin. Then it turns to the weak remnant God brought back to Jerusalem, to wait for the promised Messiah.
- Record — Keeping a family record through the years in Babylon was an act of faith. Without that proof, a priest lost his priestly position, until God answered through Urim and Thummim.
- Roles — Jedaiah, Jehoiarib and Jachin come first, then the Levites. God values the worship of devoted hearts, and He asks for the service of those devoted to Him.
- Reach — No role in God's house was left empty. The work of the house is priestly work, open now to all who live in their priestly place.
- Reward — The Lord takes pleasure in writing down the names of His servants. He honours those who honour Him. And the small return home is the pledge of the whole nation's return.
and Azariah the son of Hilkijah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and Masai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer;
Two more priests join the roll of those living in Jerusalem after the return from Babylon. Adaiah's line runs back through Pashhur to Malchijah. Maasai's runs back five generations to Immer. The list looks skippable. Commentators treat it as proof of something a returning exile could not afford to lose.
This list sits in a chapter that records the nation's collapse and then its return.
1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was taken into exile in Babylon because of their breach of faith." We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, told of in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah. This ninth chapter corresponds to chapter 11 of Nehemiah.
Keeping a family record safe through the years in Babylon took conviction. There was no obvious use for it there.
These genealogies were imperfect. Israel's condition carried the mark of the ruin that had fallen on them. It also carried the mark of the goodness of God. He had brought back a remnant, and He had preserved all that was needed to place each of them in the record of His people… Happy the man who kept his own record, and who prized the Lord's inheritance enough to care about it! It was a proof of faith. Someone might have asked, what use are these genealogies in Babylon?
Some of these priestly lines are incomplete. Commentators read the gaps as a mark of when the book was written.
The gaps in the genealogies in the first nine chapters of our book are valuable evidence of the time when it was written. We know that at 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 theirs were shut out of the priesthood (Ezra 2:62).
The second half of the verse shows the problem. Maasai's line runs back to Immer, but Immer's own record stops short of the one ancestor who mattered most for a priest:
A family of priests who bore this name. One had charge of the sixteenth course of priestly service, and some returned from exile, two of whom had married foreign wives; but there is no genealogy of their descent from Aaron.
These registers had a job to do in the restored city. They decided who served, and when.
They also had a duty to give to the temple of God out of what they had. They were to remember the priests and Levites who had no inheritance among their brothers. They were to remember the courses of priests in particular, since the order the king set up would be restored again. We find this in the New Testament. We see the birth of John the Baptist in these very circumstances. His father was serving at the temple at that time, according to his course — the course of Abijah… So the genealogies mattered greatly. They settled, justly and according to the will of God, what could not be left to chance or to human will. There had to be faith in it, godliness in it, an owning of God in it.
Rossier sets the priests' work next to the work of a soldier.
Indeed the same strength is needed for the service of the house of God as for combat. The two kinds of work are very different, but both need the same spiritual energy.
Kelly turns the priestly requirement into a question for anyone who claims a place near God now.
The fact itself was not enough. There had to be the proper register and proof of their genealogy. That matters greatly for us now, and we can draw spiritual profit from it. Today, when nearly everyone professes Christianity, we are called to prove our genealogies. You see, there is no difficulty in bearing the name. There was a time when a man confessed Christ at the risk of his life. Now it is cheap and common… So if we are to answer to the picture of a priest, a spiritual person who draws near to God, we must look for more than the mere fact of being baptized.
- Ruin. The chapter opens with Judah taken into exile in Babylon for breaking faith with God. Every name after that stands on the far side of a national collapse.
- Remnant. God brought back a small company. He kept safe all they needed to take their place in the record of His people.
- Register. A family line kept safe through exile was a proof of faith. It had no obvious use in Babylon, yet it settled a priest's standing once he came home.
- Gaps. Immer's line here has no record reaching back to Aaron. Commentators take such gaps as evidence of when the book was written.
- Proof. Bearing the name is easy today, so Kelly says we are still called to prove our genealogies — and serving God's house still takes the energy of a soldier.
and their brethren, heads of their fathers' houses, a thousand and seven hundred and sixty; able men for the work of the service of the house of God.
One line in a long list of names counts 1,760 heads of priestly households. Their whole description is one phrase: mighty men for the work of the service of God's house. The chapter around them is no record of glory days. These are people just back from captivity. So what does that description mean when everything around you has collapsed?
One commentator reads chapter 9 as the low point of the story, with a small recovery to follow.
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to the flesh. 1 Chronicles 10 will show us the ruin of that kingship. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their transgression" (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah.
The verse identifies these men by the households they head. That detail carried weight, because at the return from exile a priest's line had to be provable.
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 lost their place in the priesthood (Ezra 2:62).
The word translated "able" belongs to the language of strength and valour. Writers notice that the same term used of fighting men is here applied to men who handle the vessels and the offerings.
Let us note one more detail. Verse 13 calls the priests "mighty men for the work of the service of the house of God." Serving the house of God takes the same strength as combat. The two tasks are very different in nature, but both need the same spiritual energy.
The same commentator sets Levi beside the fighting tribes. Levi stood in the army, but not to fight.
This reminds us of what Romans 12 says about the body of Christ. "The members do not all have the same function"; all have "gifts that differ"; they must use them according to the varied grace of God and "according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." So the Lord's army can work together for one common purpose, each doing the job given to him. Judah carries shield and spear; Simeon is mighty and brave for war; Levi, as we have seen (1 Chron. 9:13), is for the service — the Levites took their place in the army, but they were not called to fight.
The list also shows that no temple role went unfilled. One writer reads it as a pointer to a temple still to come.
Everyone needed for the service of the temple is there: priests, Levites, and gatekeepers. Of the priests it says, "mighty men for the work of the service of the house of God" (1 Chron. 9:13). Solomon's temple went beyond this one in glory, so that old men wept when they remembered it. The temple to come will go beyond Solomon's far more than that. There will be no old men to weep then.
One commentator asks who may lead in the house of God now, and who may share in its work.
There are "rulers" of the house of God still, but no one can properly fill the post unless he has the necessary qualifications. All may now help in the work of the house, if they are living according to their priestly place in the holiest place. The work here was the work that belonged to them as priests, and only those who are filling their priestly office can properly do priestly service.
- Ruin first. The chapter opens with Judah carried off to Babylon. Every man counted in verse 13 is a survivor of collapse, not a product of good times.
- Named, then numbered. They stand as heads of their fathers' houses. After the exile, a priest who could not show his line lost his place.
- Mighty means strong. Serving God's house takes the same spiritual energy as battle.
- Strong for a different task. Levi's place was service, not combat. One body, different gifts, each member doing the job given to him.
- Full ranks, greater glory. Priests, Levites and gatekeepers all stand in place. And the temple still to come will outshine Solomon's, with no old men left weeping.
And of the Levites Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari;
This verse names one Levite, Shemaiah. It lists three generations behind him and ties his family to Merari. The list around it records who settled in Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon. Why would God keep such a chain of names at all?
The list belongs to a chapter that first records collapse and then records survival. One writer traces the movement from the ruin of the nation to a small company waiting in Jerusalem:
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to the flesh. Its ruin will be shown to us in 1 Chronicles 10. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their transgression" (v. 1). Then we find the restoration of a weak remnant, told of in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah. This ninth chapter matches chapter 11 of Nehemiah.
Shemaiah's line of descent is not decoration. When the nation collapsed, Levi's records survived, and they had a use:
As to the Levites — for it is good to serve the Lord — their genealogies, their cities, and their services were known with enough certainty, even for those who lived in Jerusalem... 1 Chronicles 9 teaches us how they used their genealogies. The people named in it had returned from the captivity, as you can see in Nehemiah 11.
Not every family came back with its papers. The gaps in these lists point to when the book was written, and for a Levite a gap was costly:
First, the gaps in the genealogies in the first nine chapters of our book are valuable evidence of when it was written. 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 shut out of the priesthood (Ezra 2:62).
One commentator turns this into a test for readers today, since bearing a name costs nothing:
The fact itself was not enough. There had to be the proper register and proof of their genealogy. This is a matter of very great importance for us now, I would just say, if we are to draw spiritual profit from it. In these days, when everyone claims the Christian name, we too are asked to prove our genealogy. You see, there is no difficulty in bearing the name. There was a time when a man confessed Christ at the risk of his life. Now it is a cheap and common thing.
The verse ends with the phrase "of the sons of Merari." One writer draws out both the work that family carries and the meaning of its name:
Merari's service has to do with the house of God, the church of the living God. It has to do with holding up Christ as the way in to God. It has to do with supporting, strengthening and steadying what is His witness in the world. He represents the workman... His name — Merari, "bitterness" — speaks of how painful such service is. Self-love breaks down under it, or runs off into some odd path that is easier on flesh and blood... Who cares for these boards and bars, and pillars and pins and cords? Who thinks of God's plan and pattern, and all the details of divine appointment?
A list of names like this one also says something about God:
Here we have little to say, except that the Lord takes pleasure in recording even the names of His servants... He has been a dwelling place for His own in all generations. But there is more: He honours those who honour Him. He records their names in His word now, and He will glorify their persons in the great day that is coming quickly.
- Ruin — The chapter opens with Judah carried to Babylon for its transgression. Every name after it stands on the far side of a national collapse.
- Remnant — What comes back is small and weak. It settles in Jerusalem to wait for the promised Messiah, and Nehemiah 11 lists the same people.
- Register — Levi's genealogies, cities and services were known with enough certainty to use. A Levite who could not produce his line lost his place in the priesthood.
- Merari — Shemaiah's family supported the house of God. Their name means "bitterness," and it marks work that self-love walks away from.
- Remembered — God takes pleasure in writing down the names of His servants. He honours those who honour Him now, and He will glorify them in the day that is coming.
and Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal; and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph;
The verse names four Levites living in Jerusalem after the exile, and traces one of them, Mattaniah, back three generations to Asaph. Why does Scripture keep such a careful register of ordinary men, and why does this line end with a singer?
One writer places this list between the nation's ruin and the hope that followed:
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to the flesh. 1 Chronicles 10 will show us its ruin. 1 Chronicles 9, however, shows us the final ruin of the people: "Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their transgression" (v. 1). We then find the restoration of a weak remnant, mentioned in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah.
Mattaniah is not just named. His father, grandfather and ancestor stand in the record with him, and such a record had to be proved:
The fact itself was not enough. There had to be the proper register and proof of their genealogy. This matters very much for us now, and we can draw spiritual profit from it. In these days, when everyone professes to be a Christian, we must prove our own genealogies. You see, there is no difficulty in bearing the name. There was a time when a man confessed Christ at the risk of his life. Now it is a cheap and common thing. Nearly everybody does it.
The line closes on Asaph. Writers note the unusual care taken over the singers' descent:
Song is an important part of the service we owe to God. We 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... We find no such care over any other branch of Levitical service. Why this special 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. 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.
Another writer dates the office of leading praise to David, and explains why this line runs back to Asaph:
The Levites in the wilderness had nothing like this office of leading the thanksgiving, for the wilderness was not a place of song or praise. It dates from the time of David, who appointed certain Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to thank and praise the Lord, the God of Israel... This explains why Mattaniah's genealogy is traced back to Asaph, and it is also evidence of the care taken to restore the service of praise.
These men were Levites, not priests. That difference has a counterpart today:
Only the priests could serve at the altar, or in the holy places. Still, the Levites had a blessed place of service... for all the work of the house of God outside the priestly office. Today believers are both priests and Levites. When they are in the holiest place, offering to God the sacrifice of praise through Christ, or when they do good and share what they have, they are acting as priests (Heb. 13:15-16). When they are busy for the Lord in other kinds of service, they show the Levitical character instead.
These names stand among many different duties in the house of God:
How many different tasks these humble servants carried out! Modest tasks, yes, but without them the whole order of the Lord's service would have broken down, or even stopped! Let us think about this. When the Lord entrusts a service to us, however small it may look, let us carry it out with zeal. Let us remind ourselves that it is necessary for the order of the house of God.
Bakbakkar, Heresh and Galal are little more than names to us. That they are written down at all is the point:
Here we have little to say except that the Lord takes pleasure in recording even the names of His servants... He has not only been a dwelling place for His own in all generations. He also honours those who honour Him. He records their names in His word now, and He will glorify their persons in the great day that is coming quickly.
- Ruin — the chapter opens with Judah carried to Babylon for its sin. Every name after that belongs to a restored remnant.
- Register — descent had to be proved, not just claimed. Bearing the name was never enough, then or now.
- Redemption — the singers' line had the closest guard of all. Only the delivered have the right to sing.
- Role — the Levite's work lay outside the priests' office. Believers today have both places.
- Remembrance — God writes down even unknown servants by name. He will honour those who honour Him.
and Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun; and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, who dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites.
This verse names two Levites: one traced back three steps to Jeduthun, the other living outside Jerusalem in the villages of the Netophathites. Why does God record who these men were, and where they lived?
The chapter this verse sits in marks a turn. The long lists of names arrive at a broken nation and a small group brought home.
1 Chronicles 8 has brought us to the kingship according to the flesh, and 1 Chronicles 10 will show us its ruin. 1 Chronicles 9 shows us the final ruin of the people. We then find a weak remnant restored, as the books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us, waiting at Jerusalem for the promised Messiah. This ninth chapter matches chapter 11 of Nehemiah... About the priests and Levites, it is much closer to Nehemiah.
So these are the names of men who came back.
For a returning Levite, a family line was not decoration. Without it he could not serve.
The gaps in the genealogies in the first nine chapters of our book are valuable evidence of when it was written. We know that at the time of the return from Babylon the genealogies of Judah and of Benjamin were in many cases not enough, and that members of the family of Levi who could not produce them could not serve as priests (Ezra 2:62).
Against that background, the chain of four names in this verse is doing real work. The Levites could still show their line when others could not.
As to the Levites — for it is good to serve the Lord — their genealogies, their cities, and their services were known with enough certainty, even for those who lived at Jerusalem. 1 Chronicles 9 teaches us how they used their genealogies. The men mentioned here had returned from the captivity, as Nehemiah 11 shows.
Why should this one man's line be traced back four names? God took unusual care over the descent of the men who led Israel's singing.
Song matters in the service we give to God. You can see this in the particular care taken that the leaders of the choir should have a kind of double witness to their right to the name of Levi, and so to their fitness to lead the singing and to the privileges of the tribe of Levi... God shows no such care for any other branch of Levitical service. Why such care about the singers? Because only those who have the right may sing. 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. The care with which God, through David, assigns the service of song to these leaders has a meaning for the church now, where all are, or should be, singers, making melody in the heart.
The verse closes by placing a man outside the walls. The Netophathites take their name from a town:
Inhabitants of Netophah. 2 Sam. 23:28-29; 2 Kings 25:23; 1 Chr. 2:54; 1 Chr. 9:16; 1 Chr. 11:30; 1 Chr. 27:13, 15; Neh. 12:28; Jer. 40:8.
The same villages turn up in Nehemiah 12 among the places the singers were fetched from for the dedication of the wall, and one commentator reads their position sympathetically.
The Levites were gathered from the surrounding area, and the sons of the singers too. They had built villages for themselves all around Jerusalem. These men did not live in Jerusalem itself, yet they are found "all around Jerusalem," recognising Jerusalem as God's centre. So though they are not the closest to the Lord, they still treat Him as their Centre. No doubt there are many like them in the Church of God today.
The men listed in this chapter did humble work, yet Scripture records their names.
How many different jobs these humble servants carried on! Modest jobs, yes, but without them the whole order of the Lord's service would have been interrupted, or even stopped! Let us think of this. When the Lord entrusts a service to us, however unimportant it may look, let us carry it out with zeal. Let us remind ourselves that it is necessary for the order of the house of God.
- Ruin first. The chapter records the nation's collapse. Then comes a small remnant back in Jerusalem, waiting for the promised Messiah.
- Papers kept. Levites who could not produce a genealogy could not serve as priests. These names could still be traced, so the service went on.
- Song guarded. God took special care over the descent of those who led the singing. Only those with the right may sing, and redemption gives that right.
- Outskirts counted. God names men who lived in villages outside the walls. They kept Jerusalem as their centre without living in it.
- Small parts named. Modest duties held the order of God's house together. So God wrote down the men who did them.