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Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge of God more than your burnt offerings.

Bible Chapter Studies

I CHRONICLES CHAPTER 26

Come with me to approximate year 922B.C., where we find the Nation of the House of Israel and the reign of it’s second man king, king David coming to a close. David, who is now approximately 68-70 years old—and within the last year or so of his life here in the flesh—and who has reigned and ruled the Nation for the past 38-40 years, is beginning the preparations for his son Solomon to take the reins of the Nation. As such, David is wanting to ensure is that the transition to his son is smooth and seamless. So, he’ll ensure that everything is set and in place for Solomon, beginning with the Priesthood and the Levites. We read in I Chronicles 24, the 24 “Courses or, Lots” of the Priests. Which in turn brought us, when we came to I Chronicles 24:10, the “Course of Abijah,” which we read was 8^th Course, or Lot. We discovered that the Courses were actually dates of the year that each Priest served during the 4 major Feasts of Father YHVH—Feast of Passover, Feast of Weeks—what we call Pentecost today—the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles—and then twice a year, individually. Father’s Word tells us that the Priests and Levites were spread throughout all the territories of Israel, some in the Sanctuary Cities—otherwise known as Cities of Refuge, where, should somebody accidentally kill somebody else, they could flee in safety until their court case came up—and some in the different cities themselves so that, should a question arise concerning Father’s Word, the person asking the question didn’t have to travel all the way to Jerusalem to get his question answered, he could just go to the Priest there in his city and have his answer. That meant though, that when the Priest’s Course came up, he had to travel to Jerusalem to fulfill his obligation.

These Courses or Lots were given by Father through David, to the descendants of the sons of Levi: Merari, Gershon, and Kohath. There was another time in our history when assignments were divvied out, that time was while our forefathers wondered in the wilderness for those 38 years before being allowed to enter into the Promised Land. The assignments at that time were given by Father to Moses and his brother Aaron, the first High Priest of Father YHVH. Aaron and his sons were not included in these assignments because they were assigned and Consecrated to the Priesthood and their service was within Father’s Tabernacle: i.e., giving Offerings before the Altar of God, and also ministering to the People.

Our last Chapter, I Chronicles 25, brought us the twenty-four Courses of the Levitical Singers—sometimes called “musicians.” We read and learned that their duties didn’t just include being “Singers or, Musicians,” some of them were prophets, some also had other duties in Father’s Temple too, such as ministering to and being in charge of all things which pertain to His tabernacle, including the service and the priests. They were to keep and bear the Ark of God, maintain the oil and wicks for the candles, wash all the instruments after the services, cut, stack and store the wood for the fires, set-up, and take-down and carry Father’s Tabernacle whenever they moved, the scribing of all the services and Father’s Word, etc..

In this Chapter: I Chronicles 26, we’ll be reading of the “Porters” who were Levites, but, not the same as the Levitical “singers” we just read of, these Levites obviously had different responsibilities. Let’s check out this word “Porters” in our Strong’s Concordance, and we’ll find that it is Hebrew word number: H7778, - שׁוֹעֵר or שֹׁעֵר, - shô‛êr or shô‛êr, pronounced - sho-areי or sho-areי, and means: Active particle of H8176 (as denominative from H8179); a janitor: doorkeeper, porter. Total KJV occurrences: 37.. So, in other words, these Levites are the doorkeepers , which we can think of as Security forces for Father’s Temple. Some might question why Father’s Temple would need security but, I can think of several reasons and right off the top of my head, because of all the funds which were taken into the Treasuries.

With that introduction being said, let’s go to Father and ask Him for His Blessings on our Study of His Word: “Father, we come to you right now to thank you for inviting us to Your table in order that we might be able to partake of and receive Your Spiritual Meat, and Father, as we prepare to dine on the sustenance which sustains our inner man, we ask that You Oh LORD open our ears and eyes, that we might be able to hear and see your Truths, open our hearts and minds and prepare us in order that we may receive Your Truth. We Pray for Your Understanding of Your Word, we seek Your Knowledge in Your Word, and most importantly Father, we Pray for and desire Your Wisdom from Your Word, in Jesus’ Precious name we Pray, thank You Father, Amen.”

I Chronicles 10:1-
   II Chronicles 36:21
   HISTORY (UP TO THE
   CAPTIVITY.) (Division.)
11:1-II Chronicles 36:21
   THE HOUSE OF David
   ESTABLISHED. (Division.)
11:1-29:25 EVENTS IN
   DETAIL. (Introversion.)
11:1-29:30 DAVID. (Division.)
22:2-29:25 The
   RESIGNATION OF DAVID.
   (Introversion and Alternation.)
23:1-27:34 Princes and
   priests. Appointments.
23:1-27:34 PRINCES AND
   PRIESTS. APPOINTMENTS.
   (Division.)
23:3-26:28 Sacred.
23:3-26:28 SACRED
   APPOINTMENTS.
   (Introversion.)
26:1-25 Division. Porters
   and Treasurers.

I Chronicles 26:1 Concerning the divisions of the porters: Of the Korhites (to depilate:–make oneself bald; or, baldness) (kor-kheeי) was Meshelemiah (ally of YAH; or, whom YHVH repays) (mesh-eh-lem-yaw-hooי) the son of Kore (crier; or, partridge) (ko-rayי), of the sons of Asaph (father of gathering; or, father of gathering i.e., gathered) (eb-yaw-sawfי).   —>   Divisions=We’re talking of the dividing of the Porters to their assigned Course of the 24 Courses. As we’ll read in verse v26:13 below, this dividing—like the dividing of the Priests and the Levitical singers—was done by the High Priest “Casting Lots” using the Urim and Thummin—which in the Hebrew language means “lights,” and “perfection.” “Lights” in the manner that brought all judgments of gilt to light, and “perfection” for moral perfection, and thus, innocence. The two stones were part of the Priest’s Breastplate and worn in a bag which was attached to the Breastplate. When any legal decision needed to be made, the Priest had to be present, especially concerning land or of the such. The Thummim stone would be cast down and the way the stone landed determined innocence or guilt. If a moral decision was to be made the Urim stone was cast, and the pointing determined it to be yes or no, guilt or innocence. The decisions were made on yes or no, right or wrong, and—though this is a bad analogy, it’ll still put it forth—it was sort of like flipping a coin to see what the answer would be; however, the reality was that Father had complete control over the two stones for, it was at His command that the Levites used this method to receive their answer, or judgment.

The names of the chiefs are given, as of the courses of Priests and Levites. We’ll see that there are 93 Chiefs here, whereas, we saw—back in I Chronicles 23:5—that there were 4,000 Porters—read that: Sentries and\or Security Forces—under them. The 212 Porters which we read of in I Chronicles 9:22, were for Father’s Tabernacle, not His Temple.

Meshelemiah=This is his long-form spelled-out name, not his shortened, or maybe nick-name we read of down in verse v26:14, where it reads: Shelemiah. You could think of how we today spell some same-names differently i.e., Elisabeth for Elizabeth, Ellen for Hellen and vice versa, Catherine for Katherine etc..

Asaph=This “Asaph” is not the Asaph who was a Levitical singer. This Pastor\author is believes this is either a nick-name or a shortened version of Ebiasaph of who we can read of in I Chronicles 6:23,37; and 9:19 We know that this Asaph is not the other Asaph as, he was one of the Chief Musicians, and he was a Gershonite Levite. I made the adjustment and put the correct Hebrew word number in the link to his name in the verse. This Asaph is a Korhite Levite. The name Korah should ring a bell, he was Aaron and Moses cousin who challenged the authority of Father’s Chosen back in Numbers 16, and it didn’t turn out well for him. He died when Father caused the earth to open up and swallow him and those who joined onto him in his rebellion, but obviously, some of his descendants had not joined onto him, but rejected his rebellion in order to live. And now, we see that they are thriving and doing well.

In verses 23:2-11 are the assignment by name of the porters to the various Courses. I’ll not give a detailed description of each man’s name, I will though, read the names and provide a meaning of their names and a pronunciation. I’ll also say upfront that there were three major families: Meshelemiah, Obed-edom and Hosah. Meshelemiah had 18 heads or Chief of families, Obed-edom had 62 heads or Chief of families and Hosah had the least at 13 heads or Chief of families.

I Chronicles 26:2 And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah (YAH has remembered; or, YAH remembers) (zek-ar-yawי-hoo) the firstborn, Jediael (knowing YAH; or, known of YAH) (yed-ee-ah-aleי) the second, Zebadiah (YAH has given; or, YHVH bestowed) (zeb-ad-yawי-hoo) the third, Jathniel (continued of YAH; or, whom YAH gives) (yath-nee-aleי) the fourth,

IChronicles 26:3 Elam (hidden, that is, distant; or, eternity) (ay-lawmי) the fifth, Jehohanan (YHVH-favored; or, whom YHVH gave) (yeh-ho-khaw-nawnי) the sixth, Elioenai (towards YHVH [are] my eyes; or, my eyes are towards YHVH) (el-yo-ay-nahי-ee) the seventh.

I Chronicles 26:4 Moreover the sons of Obed-edom (worker of edom; or, servant of edom) (o-badeי ed-omeי) were, Shemaiah (YAH has head; or, heard by YHVH) (shem-aw-yawי-hoo) the firstborn, Jehozabad (YHVH-endowed; or, whom YHVH gave) (yeh-ho-zaw-bawdי) the second, Joah (YHVH-brothered; or, whose brother (i.e.helper) is YHVH) (yo-awkhי) the third, and Sacar (recompence; or, wages) (saw-kawrי) the fourth, and Nethaneel (given of YAH; or, given of YAH) (neth-an-aleי) the fifth,

Obed-Edom=Obed-Edom was a Levite with whom David place Father’s Ark after Father had struck Uzzah dead for stretching forth his hand in order to try and steady Father’s Ark when our forefather’s were incorrectly transporting It. David, unsure what Father wanted him to do, left Father’s Ark at Obed-Edom’s house for 3 months. Father Blessed Obed-Edom for safeguarding His Ark, and when it was told to David that Father had indeed Blessed Obed-Edom, David gathered his crew and retrned to Obed-Edom’s house to retrieve Father’s Ark and bring It into Jerusalem. † There are 15 verses with 20 matches for the name Obed-Edom and it’s associated Strong’s Hebrew word number: H5654 in Father’s Word, 5 verses and 8 matches are for the man whose house Father’s Ark sat at until David returned to retrieve It, the other verses and matches are for other men named Obed-Edom. † The etymology of the name Obed-Edom obviously consists of two separate elements: The first part of the name Obed-edom comes from the root עבד (abad), meaning servant or to serve: The second part of the name Obed-edom comes from the root אדםx(יdm), meaning either mankind or ruddy, or refers to Edom. The name Obed-edom entirely translated becomes Servant Of The Red One, but for a meaning of the name Obed-edom, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Servant Of Edom, and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Serving Edom.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H5654, - עֹבֵד אֱדוֹם, - ‛ôbêd 'ĕdôm, pronounced - O-badeי Ed-omeי, and means: From the active particle of H5647 and H123; worker of Edom; Obed-Edom, the name of five Israelites: - Obed-edom. Total KJV occurrences: 20.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “A Levite, described as a Gittite in II Samuel 6:10-11; I Chronicles 13:12-13; and 15:25 that is, probably, a native of the Levitical city of Gath-rimmon in Manasseh, which was assigned to the Kohathites Joshua 21:25. After the death of Uzzah, the ark, which was being conducted from the house of Abinadab in Gibeah to the city of David, was carried aside into the house of Obed-edom, where it continued three months. It was brought thence by David.”.

I Chronicles 26:5 Ammiel (people of YAH; and, people of YAH) (am-mee-aleי) the sixth, Issachar (he will being a reward; or, reward) (yis-saw-kawrי) the seventh, Peulthai (laborious; or, vision of YAH) (peh-ool-leh-thahי-ee) the eighth: for God blessed him.   —>   God=As used in this verse, this is ELOHIM—from Dr. Bullinger’s Companion Bible Appendices: ELOHIM—the genus God, Father in His role of Creator of all things. Dr.Bullinger notes in his Companion notes to this verse, that “(with Art.) = the [true] God.”.

Him=As in, Father ELOHIM blessed him, meaning Father Blessed Obed-edom and all his house-hold. Why did Father Bless him so? For our answer to that question we can turn to I Chronicles 13:13-14, where we read: I Chronicles 13:13 So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite (ghit-teeי).   —>   Obed-Edom is a Levite who most probably was trained and instructed in, the proper conduct of Father’s Ark. [13:14] And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had.   —>   Father was pleased with, and had respect unto Obed and those of his household because of his and their respect for His Ark. He and his household also obeyed Father, and worshiped Him in the manner in which He expected him and they to. Obed, being the good Kohathite Levite that he was, trained the people within his household to give the proper respect to Father YHVH and His things; therefore, Father Blessed Obed and all his household.

I Chronicles 26:6 Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father: for they were mighty men of valour.   —>   Obed-edom’s sons and their sons—which totaled 62 in all to this point in Father’s Word—were all famous “mighty men of valour,” known throughout all the territories of Israel for their firmness in principal, their staunch loyalty to Father, and their adherence to His Commands as to their carrying out their ministerial Duty of protecting Father’s Tabernacle.

I Chronicles 26:7 The sons of Shemaiah; Othni (to force, forcible; or, lion of YHVH) (oth-neeי), and Rephael (YAH has cured; or, healed of YAH) (ref-aw-aleי), and Obed (serving; and, serving) (o-badeי), Elzabad (YAH has bestowed; or, whom YAH hath given) (el-zaw-bawdי), whose brethren were strong men, Elihu (God of him; or, whose God is He (YHVH)) (el-ee-hooי), and Semachiah (supported of YHVH; or, YHVH sustains him) (sem-ak-yawי-hoo).   —>   Strong men=Let’s check out the word “strong” here brethren, when we do, we find that it in our Strong’s Concordance, is Hebrew word number: H2428, - חַיִל, - chayil, pronounced - khahי-yil, and means: From H2342; probably a force; whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength: - able, activity, (+) army, band of men (soldiers), company, (great) forces, goods, host, might, power, riches, strength, strong, substance, train, (+) valiant (-ly), valour, virtuous (-ly), war, worthy (-ily). Total KJV occurrences: 243.. These righteous men, were the “sons of valor” who followed after their and our forefathers of Exodus 32.

I Chronicles 26:8 All these of the sons of Obed-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service, were threescore and two of Obed-edom.   —>   Men= Dr. Bullinger notes in his Companion notes—and is backed up by the Strong’s Concordance—to this verse that the word “men” as used in this verse is “'īsh in the singular, to show that each one was equally qualified.”.

I Chronicles 26:9 And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen.

I Chronicles 26:10 Also Hosah (hopeful; or, refuge) (kho-sawי), of the children of Merari (bitter; and, bitter, unhappy) (mer-aw-reeי), had sons; Simri (watchful; or, vigilant) (shim-reeי) the chief, (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;)   —>   Father’s Word does not explain why this was so, perhaps his oldest son passed away and returned Home to Father, perhaps he just wasn’t a strong leader, we just don’t know but, have to assume it was for the best.

Merari=Merari was the youngest son of Levi, he was brother to 2 other sons, Gershon and Kohath, and 1 sister Jochebed. † There are 38 verses with 39 matches in Father’s Word for the name Merari and it’s associated Strong’s Hebrew word number: H4847, all of them are either of him in the genealogical listings, or of his descendants—the Merarites H4847—again, either in the genealogical listings, of them receiving their inheritance of land, or of them receiving their service of the Tabernacle. Of the man Merari himself, we know nothing about, except to say that he was part of the 70 Israelites who went down into Egypt to escape the famine which had encompassed all the land. We don’t know when he died and returned Home to Father, or what age he was when he did so. † Let’s turn to Numbers 3 and read of the responsibility of Merari’s descendants concerning their ministerial\priestly duties: Numbers 3:36 And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, [3:37] And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords.   —>   The duties and responsibilities of the Merarites are the safeguarding, setting up and taking down, and carrying of the boards for the tabernacle, the bars of the tent and doors etc., in other words, all the wood items and fasteners, plus all the tie back fasteners for holding the cloth doors open concerning the tent and the court thereof belong to the Merarites. Again, we can see the number of “and(s)” within these two verses (just like in Genesis 1) and can know that they are a polysyndeton, meaning there is much more than just what is being said in these verses. † We know that Merari’s father Levi’s encampment as they came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness was in the midst of the camp, surrounded by all the other Tribes, Merari’s particular encampment was beside the Tabernacle, northward. † The etymology of the name Merari looks like it has to do with the verb מרר (marar) meaning be bitter, strengthen, strong: The letter yod on which our name Merari ends may be due to a possessive form, and the name Merari may mean My Bitterness or My Strength. For a meaning of the name Merari, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Bitter. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Bitterness.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H4847, - מְרָרִי, - merârı̂y, pronounced - mer-aw-reeי; and means: From H4843, bitter; Merari, an Israelite: - Merari. See also H4848. Total KJV occurrences: 39.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “Third son of Levi and head of the third great division of the Levites, the Merarites Genesis 46:8,11. At the time of the exodus and the numbering in the wilderness, the Merarites consisted of two families, the Mahlites and the Mushites, Mahli and Mushi being either the two sons of the son and grandson of Merari I Chronicles 6:19,47. Their chief at that time was Zuriel. Their charge was the cords of the tabernacle and the court, and all the tools connected with setting them up. In the division of the land by Joshua, the merarites had twelve cities assigned to them, out of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun Joshua 21:7; 34-40; I Chronicles 6:63; 77-81. In the days of Hezekiah the Merarites were still flourishing II Chronicles 29:12,15.”.

I Chronicles 26:11 Hilkiah (portion of YAH; or, YAH is my portion) (khil-kee-yawי-hoo) the second, Tebaliah (YAH has dipped; or, purified) (teb-al-yawי-hoo) the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

I Chronicles 26:12 Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the LORD.   —>   We read in I Chronicles 23:5 that, there were 4,000 Levites who were assigned as porters as well as, 4,000 who were assigned as Levitical singers. Their job was to guard Father’s Temple after Solomon had completed building it, and then also the Treasuries inside.

Ward=Let’s check out this word in our Strong’s Concordance brethren, and we’ll find that it is Hebrew word number: H4931, - מִשְׁמֶרֶת, - mishmereth, pronounced - mish-mehי-reth, and means: Feminine of H4929; watch, that is, the act (custody) or (concretely) the sentry, the post; objectively preservation, or (concretely) safe; figuratively observance, that is, (abstractly) duty, or (objectively) a usage or party: - charge, keep, to be kept, office, ordinance, safeguard, ward, watch. Total KJV occurrences: 78.. In other words, a charge, which is a word having much usage in and belonging to the Pentateuch—or the first 5 Books of Father’s Word, known as The LAW. We can compare this charge with it’s use in Numbers 18:3-5: Numbers 18:3 And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.   —>   This is that part of the responsibility from verse Numbers 18:1 where Father says they shall “bear the iniquity of...” If the Priests—Aaron, and later his descendants—would have allowed the Levites or anybody else to come near the vessels of Father YHVH, that person and even possibly Aaron and his sons would have died. Remember, these vessels have been sanctified and are holy or “set apart” for Father YHVH. [18:4] And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh unto you.   —>   Back in Numbers 3, Father already laid out who would keep the charge of the tabernacle and such: Numbers 3:6 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.   —>   So we see that Moses was to bring the entire tribe of Levi and cause them to stand before Aaron and then start to perform their ministerial duties. In other words, they were to attend to, and see to, Aaron’s—the High Priest’s—needs. [3:7] And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.   —>   We’ll now see what the duties of the tribe of Levi are. This “And they shall keep” is a combination of Hebrew words H8104 and H853. Let’s take a look at them both, first with H8104: H8104, - שָׁמַר, - shâmar, pronounced - shaw-marי, and means: A primitive root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to, etc.; to beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep (-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch (-man). Total KJV occurrences: 468.. Meaning then, that they were to protect and hedge about something, what was that something? That is where we add in word H853, - אֵת, - 'êth, pronounced - ayth, and means: Apparently contracted from H226 demonstrative sense of entity; properly self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely): - (As such unrepresented in English.) Total KJV occurrences: 7302.. Namely, the High Priest and the tabernacle. So their responsibilities included hedging about/guarding the High Priest and the tabernacle itself, which we know from Hebrew word H4931, which means, to act as a guard of sentry, they also had the responsibilities of ministering unto the tabernacle and the priests. [3:8] And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.   —>   Again, they were to maintain and keep all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle. [3:9] And thou shall give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons; they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel.   —> Aaron, his sons and their descendants are to be the Priests of all the children of Israel, and they were the only ones who were allowed to be the Priests. Remember, Aaron, Moses and Miriam were brothers and sister, they also were Levites; but, it was only Aaron’s descendants who were allowed to be the Priests. Father is saying here that, the Levites were to minister, to be in charge of all things that pertain to His tabernacle, including the service and the priests. They were to keep and bear the Ark of God, maintain the oil and wicks for the candles, wash all the instruments after the services, cut, stack and store the wood for the fires, set-up, and take-down and carry the tabernacle whenever they moved, the scribing of all the services and Father’s Word, etc. This is how it can be said, “all the Priests were of Levi, but not all Levites could be Priests.” [3:10] And thou shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.”   —>   It was up to Aaron and his sons to make sure that no-one other than Aaron and his descendants entered into the Priesthood, and if anybody else tried, they were to be put to death per Father’s Command. We know from reading I Chronicles 2:55, that they fell down on the job: I Chronicles 2:55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.   —>   Why would Father become so angry about this? Well, we know He knows everything, and it should come to no surprise to anyone that He would know also what would happen in the future. So, let’s see just who these are who are of the house of Rechab. We can find out about them in Jeremiah 35. Before we go to there, allow me to give a little background info: I Chronicles 1, starts the Adamic genealogy from Adam. Then we pick it up in I Chronicles 2, with the descendants from Jacob—whom Father later renamed Israel, but when we come to I Chronicles 2, we then find others, who are the nethinims and not of the Adamic seedline, which the Levites wrongly allowed to become the scribes of Father’s Word. These families of the scribes, the ones who wrote the manuscripts from which the King James Bible came from, are kenites, of the sons of Cain, we know that because “kenite” literally means — “sons of Cain.” They boldly proclaim that they are not of Israel, or of any of the tribes of Israel, but of the house or family of Rechab, and the land of the kenites — of Hamath. Earlier in I Chronicles 2, what did Father say about these people when he tested them? Remember, that it was Father Who told Jeremiah to call these the sons of Jonadab into His Temple, before they had taken over the priesthood, to show Jeremiah how far off the house of Judah had gone from being obedient to His Word. So, after the test of giving wine to these entire families, and not one taking the wine—Jeremiah 35:1-4—we then come to: Jeremiah 35:5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and said unto them, “Drink ye wine.” [35:6] But they said, “We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, ‘Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons forever: [35:7] Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.’   —>   Then we read in [35:18] And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because ye have obeyed the commandments of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:   —>   To the letter of their law—not Father’s law but Jonadab’s command and precepts—these kenites were obedient. So, Father is making a pledge here through the prophet Jeremiah to these kenites. [35:19] Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me for ever.’ ”   —>   Father is promising the kenites that they will always have a leader who will hold them together as a people. Though this is the negative part of Father’s plan, it is also positive, for they will take an important part in carrying out the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and in turn, condemn their own father Satan to the fire of hell as recorded in Revelation 20:15. So, Father did bless them well for their obedience to satan, and Jonadab their father, even to the point where they are the most successful people on the face of the earth today. When you and I stay faithful to Father and His Word, and become Biblically literate, He will also bless us. Father blesses everyone who is faithful and obedient to our heavenly Father, and it is not a matter of what you know from His Word, but how obedient you are to what you do know. Father gave us these Scriptures for the sake of giving us an example of what we are to expect in this end generation of this earth age, for the events of the end times are passing us by fast. This is why Father said, the stranger that Aaron’s descendants allowed into the priesthood “shall be put to death.” Numbers 18:5 And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.   —>   The Levites alone were to stand as boldly as they did at the base of Mount Sinai and not allow anybody to try and take their duties from them, and they were also to put down any rebellion from anybody else.

I Chronicles 26:13 And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.   —>   Again, ths was done by the High Priest using the Urim and Thummin.

The small as the great=When the High Priest Cast the Lots, he played no favoritism between the old and the young, they all drew their fair share of duty.

For every gate=You may question how this could be seeing that David is still king and Solomon’s Temple to Father hasn’t even been built yet; however, we read in I Chronicles 29:11-19, that Father placed the blueprint for His Temple into David’s mind so that he could then pass it down to his son Solomon to be able to build it. It is for this reason, that they are able to Cast Lots now as to who will be assigned to what gate.

I Chronicles 26:14 And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.   —>   This Shelemiah is the same as Meshelemiah from verse v26:1 above, he drew the Eastern Gate. His son Zechariah drew the Northward Gate.

Now, we know there are four points on a compass and that is what we’re seeing lined up here, but, there was more than one gate per side, so there’ll be more than one family assigned to each side.

Wise counselor=All the Biblical scholars scratch their heads concerning the meaning of this phrase, myself included—though I don’t place myself in that category—nobody is sure if Zechariah made wise judgments concerning the things of daily life, if he gave excellent advice, or what, but he obviously did something to distinguish himself from his brethren as, he was assigned to be in charge of an entire side of Father’s Temple.

I Chronicles 26:15 To Obed-edom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.   —>   Assupim=Let’s look this word up in our Strong’s Concordance, so we can translate it, rather than transliterate it. We find that it is Hebrew word number: H624, - אָסֻף, - 'âsûph, pronounced - aw-soofי, and means: Passive particle of H622; collected (only in the plural); that is, a collection (of offerings): - threshold, Asuppim. Total KJV occurrences: 3.. Dr. Bullinger notes in his Companion Notes to this name, the following “The treasuries—from Hebrew 'asaph—H622—Meaning, to gather. We can compare this with II Chronicles 25:24, where Joash will take what was in Obed-edom’s charge. So named because of the two gates called Asuppim.”. Pastor Murray of Shepherd’s Chapel notes that the name Assupim means “gatherings,” and that is was a place where the Levites gathered supplies for storage, which would need to be guarded and protected by the porters because of all the precious metals in the different vessels which were used in and around the different administrations within the Temple: i.e., cups, spoons, bowls and such.

I Chronicles 26:16 To Shuppim (serpents; and, serpents) (shoop-peemי) and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth (a felling (of trees); or, overthrow) (shal-lehי-keth) (map), by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.   —>   Shuppim=Don’t let the close association with the name Assupim from the previous verse throw you brethren as, this is neither an “accidental repetition” nor an “unintelligible intrusion,” the two words are entirely different, with different Hebrew word numbers—Asuppim, Hebrew word number: H622 compared to Shuppim, Hebrew word number: H8206. Asuppim was the place where the Levites stored things, whereas Shuppim is the name of one of Obed-edom’s sons.

Shallecheth=Shallecheth will be the name one one of the gates which Solomon will build when he becomes king and builds Father’s Temple. Remember, the Temple sits atop Mount Zion, and as such, some of the gates will be sort of hard to access from external the walls surrounding the Temple. Therefore, as we’re reading in this verse, some of them will need a way of ascent which is what the phrase “causeway of the going up” means, as I’ll explain below.

Causeway of the going up=We read of this causeway of the going up back when the queen of Sheba came to visit with Solomon in I Kings 10:4-5, where we read: I Kings 10:4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built,   —>   After posing all her questions and Solomon answering to her satisfaction, Solomon next took the queen to see all the palatial complex, the only area he didn’t take her was the Temple itself as, she being a heathen, wouldn’t have been allowed into the House of Father YHVH. He did take her to see his own house, the house of pharaoh’s daughter, the house of the cedar of Lebanon, which is probably where he greeted and communed with her and answered all her proverbs and riddles. [10:5] And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.   —>   Once all the questions had been answered, the guided tour of the palace with Solomon’s vast wealth and such had been completed, it was time to sit down for their meal. The queen, being a queen, was used to having extravagant meals, and quite a large number of servants; however, what she had witnessed in Israel, took even her breath away. Remember that, spiral staircases were not known at this time, and when this Queen saw the beautiful covered portico with the specially imported wood ascending to the higher levels and which connected with Millo, between Zion—Jebus—and Moriah, it was very impressive upon her.

I Chronicles 26:17 Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.   —>   This shows us that there were four Levites at each gate, and then two also at both of the two gathering places. Remember, these Levites were the Security Forces and as such, theywere mighty men and also armed in order to protect Father’s Temple and His Treasuries.

I Chronicles 26:18 At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.   —>   Parbar was another gate which connected with the causeway. When we search the Strong’s Concordance, we find that Parbar is Hebrew word number H6503, and the only other place in Father’s Word it is found is in II Kings 23:11, where we find that it is rendered “suburbs.” So, this must have been a gate which connected one of the suburbs of Jerusalem to the causeway. We also read in II Kings 23:11 that, there were horses taken into and out of the Temple and when we compare II Kings 23:11 with II Kings 11:16 we find that there was a gate specifically for the horses; so, this Parbar just might have been a gate specifically for horses. But, what all this is showing us brethren, is, that, there were 24 gates into Father’s Temple.

So, we have 24 Courses of the Porters, 24 Gates which need manning, and what is showing us is, that, again, like as when I was in the Navy, we had three or four duty sections and when we had the “Duty” we were sometimes assigned either 4 or 8 hour watches, and those watches were assigned at different locations of the Command, i.e., in the barracks, one who was overall in charge of keeping safety and security of the barracks, and then one or several “Roving Fire Watches,” we also had “Flight-line Senturies” which maintained the security of our Jets. These watches were manned 24 hours a day when the Command wasn’t working, so you had to have plenty of people to provide relief in the case of a meal-time or a rest-room break.

I Chronicles 26:19 These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari.   —>   This wraps up the divisions of the Porters of both the Kohathites and the Merarites; not included are the Gershonites as, they were assigned other duties.

So let’s break this down some. There were 4,000 Porters, you could say, 2,000 from each family: Kohath and Merari. If, let’s say, they each divided their 2,000 into a 4-section Duty, in other words, each man stood the Duty every 4 days. That would mean that for each Duty Day, there would be 500 men. Each Duty Section would need a Section Leader who would divvy-up the Watch-Bill, the Section Leader would have to ensure that he had enough men to guard each Gate—and as we just read, some of these gates had 2 men manning them, some had 4 men manning them—plus the 2 Storage Areas—the Assupim—each had 2 men manning them. Now, depending on the requirement of either a 4, or 8 hour watch, the Section Leader would need darn near every one of his 500 men in his Duty-Section standing a 4 hour watch every single Duty Day.

Beginning with the next verse, we now focus our attention on the Treasuries which were located within Father’s Temple,these also were guarded by Levites.

I Chronicles 26:20 And of the Levites (attached; or, joined) (lay-veeי), Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things.   —>   Ahijah= Just about all the Biblical scholars agree—as do I—that the word “Ahijah” used here, is not really the name of a man. Dr. Moffatt completely omits the word and translates the verse to read “As for their fellow Levites...,” Dr. Bullinger notes the following in his Companion Notes to this verse: “The Sept. reads “the Levites their brethren were” (reading Ahikem instead of Ahijah)..” As I said, I too agree with this thought process, I say this because of the way next verse reads. I believe this verse should have actually been translated by our KJV 1611 Translators this way: “As for their fellow Levites, the Gershonites were over...” .

Treasures=There were several different Treasuries located in various locations within Father’s Temple, and also scattered throughout the territories, therefore, as such, there were several families of the Gershonites who were responsible for the different Treasuries. We find that they are also titled differently, i.e., Treasuries of the House of the LORD; Treasuries of the House of God; Treasuries of the Dedicated Things etc..

Dedicated=Let’s check this word out in our Strong’s Concordance brethren, when we do, we find that it is Hebrew word number: H6944, - קֹדֶשׁ, - qôdesh, pronounced - koי-desh, and means: From H6942; a sacred place of thing; rarely abstractly sanctity: - consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing), holiness, (X most) holy (X day, portion, thing), saint, sanctuary. Total KJV occurrences: 470.. From Dr. Bullinger’s Companion Bible, page 76, where we read: “This is ever the cry and noblest praise of all of Father’s saints and can be compared with Exodus 15:11: Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?. Holy means separated or set apart for Father. It is always rendered of the Hebrew word “Kodesh” except in Psalms 42:4 where is it rendered “Hagag” H2287, - חָגַג, - châgag, pronounced - khaw-gagי, and means: A primitive root; compare H2283; H2328; properly to move in a circle, that is, (specifically) to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival; by implication to be giddy: - celebrate, dance, (keep, hold) a (solemn) feast (holiday), reel to and fro. Total KJV occurrences: 16. = holy day, and Deuteronomy 33:8, Psalms 16:2, 86:2, 89:19, 145:17 where it is rendered “Hasid” H2623, - חָסִיד, - châsı̂yd, pronounced - khaw-seedי, and means: From H2616; properly kind; that is, (religiously) pious (a saint): - godly (man), good, holy (one), merciful, saint, [un-] godly. total KJV occurrences: 32. = favor or grace. “Kodesh” must have one identical meaning (as above) in all passages; and does not imply moral quality except when used of God Himself. It can also be rendered “consecrated,” “dedicated,” “hallowed,” “holiness,” “saint,” and “sanctuary.”.”

Levi (Levites)=Levi was Jacob’s third eldest son, he too was born of Leah. † Levi was confederate with his older brother Simeon in exacting revenge on the Hivites for Shechem’s raping their sister Dinah, and as such, during the Blessing by their father Jacob, Levi received the same as Simeon. Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. [49:6] O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. [49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.. That being said; it was the descendants of Levi—namely Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, then Kohath’s grandchildren: Aaron, Miriam, Moses, and then Aaron’s sons and so forth—whom Father choose to bestow His Priesthood upon, Moses is included in this grouping as, he was Aaron and Miriam’s younger brother, and it was he whom Father choose to lead our forefathers up out of their bondage to the Egyptians. Yes, Levi’s descendants were indeed scattered throughout Israel; however, it was because they were the Priesthood and they became Father’s Inheritance: Numbers 18:20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, “Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. [18:21] And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.   —>   There is no finer inheritance. † During the Blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33 we read: Deuteronomy 33:8 And of Levi he said, “Let Thy Thummim and thy Urim be with Thy holy one, Whom Thou didst prove at Massah, And with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; [33:9] Who said unto his father and to his mother, ‘I have not seen him; ’ Neither did he acknowledge his brethren, Nor knew his own children: For they have observed Thy word, And kept Thy covenant. [33:10] They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy law: they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon Thine altar. [33:11] Bless, LORD, his substance, And accept the work of his hands: Smite through the loins of them that rise against him, And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.”   —>   Levi’s descendants would become the High Priest and Priest line; and, as such, the High Priest would bear the Urim and Thummim, the two stones which in the Hebrew language means “lights,” and “perfection.” “Lights” in the manner that brought all judgments of gilt to light, and “perfection” for moral perfection, and thus, innocence. The two stones were part of the Priest’s Breastplate and worn in a bag which was attached to the Breastplate. When any legal decision needed to be made, the Priest had to be present, especially concerning land or of the such. The Thummim stone would be cast down and the way the stone landed determined innocence or guilt. If a moral decision was to be made the Urim stone was cast, and the pointing determined it to be yes or no, guilt or innocence. The decisions were made on yes or no, right or wrong, and—though this is a bad analogy, it’ll still put it forth—it was sort of like flipping a coin to see what the answer would be; however, the reality was that Father had complete control over the two stones for, it was at His command that the Levites used this method to receive their answer, or judgment. The Levitical Priests were also Father’s choice that shall teach all of the tribes the full Commandments, Judgments, Laws, Ordinances and Statutes of our Father. † Now, as to the numbering of the Levites in the Book of Numbers, the Levites were left out of the numbering of the House of Israel, because Father numbered them separately in Numbers 3 where we read their numbers were: 22,300 males a month old and up; but, in Numbers 4, their numbers were 8,580 ages 30-50. † Levi’s encampment as they came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, was in the midst of the camp, surrounded by all the other Tribes. † The sign on Levi’s Standard was Libra, or more anciently “the Altar.” † There is some controversy about the etymology of the name Levi, the Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary suggests that the name Levi was derived from the word Levite, instead of vice versa, and that the word Levite has to do with a Minaean word for priest. Another suggestion is that the name Levi (לוי) is derived from the name Leah (לאה) and means Weary, rather than something else. Harris Archer Waltke (HAW) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament disagrees with this kind of ‘strong disclaimers’ and (as does New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List) derives the name Levi from the verb לוה (lawa) meaning join, be joined. This is the verb that Leah uses when she names Levi, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne to him three sons” (Genesis 29:34).. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, we find it is Hebrew word number: H3878, - לוי, - lêvı̂y, pronounced - lay-veeי, and means: From H3867; attached; Levi, a son of Jacob: - Levi. See also H3879, H3881 Total KJV occurrances: 66.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The name of the third son of Jacob by his wife Leah. The name, derived from lavah, “to adhere,” gave utterance to the hope of the mother that the affections of her husband, which had hitherto rested on the favored Rachel, would at last be drawn to her: “This time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons” Genesis 29:34. Levi, with his brother Simeon, avenged with a cruel slaughter the outrage of their sister Dinah [DINAH]. Levi, with his three sons, Gershon, Kohath and Merari, went down to Egypt with his father Jacob Genesis 47:11. When Jacob’s death draws near, and the sons are gathered round him, Levi and Simeon hear the old crime brought up again to receive its sentence. They no less than Reuben, the incestuous firstborn, had forfeited the privileges of their birthright Genesis 49:5-7 [LEVITES].”.

I Chronicles 26:21 As concerning the sons of Laadan (put in order) (lah-dawnי); the sons of the Gershonite (a refugee; or, exile) (gay-resh-oneי) Laadan, chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite, were Jehieli (YAH will live; or, He lives, or He will live) (yekh-ee-ay-leeי).   —>   Laadan= Laadan was Gershon’s first born son. He is also called Libni (white; and, white) (lib-neeי) in Exodus 6:17; Numbers 3:18; I Chronicles 6:17,20.

Gershon (Gershonite [s])= Gershon was Levi’s first born son with his wife whose name is never mentioned in Father’s Word. † Gershon is mentioned in 18 verses with 18 matches in Father’s Word, for the name and Strong’s Hebrew word associated with it: H1648; all of them are either of him in the genealogical listings, or of his descendants—the Gershonites H1649—again, either in the genealogical listings, of them receiving their inheritance of land, or of them receiving their service of the Tabernacle. † Of the man himself we know nothing about, except to say that he was part of the 70 Israelites who went down into Egypt to escape the famine which had encompassed all the land. † We don’t know when he died and returned Home to Father, or what age he was when he did so. † Let’s turn to Numbers 3 and read of the responsibility of Gershon’s descendants concerning their Ministerial Duties: Numbers 3:25 And the charge of the sons of the Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, and the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. [3:26] And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court,which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it for all the service thereof.   —>   The duties and responsibilities of the Gershonites were the safeguarding, the setting up and taking down, and the carrying of the tent, and of all the coverings of the tent and doors etc.; in other words, all the canvas\cloth items concerning the tent and thereof belong to the Gershonites. We can see the number of “and(s)” within these two verses—just like in Genesis 1, and many other places throughout Father’s Word—and can know that they are a polysyndeton; meaning, there is much more than just what is being said in these verses. † We know that the Tribe of Levi’s encampment as they came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness was in the midst of the camp, surrounded by all the other Tribes; Gershon’s particular encampment, was behind the Tabernacle, westward. † The etymology of the name Gershon is probably the same name as Gershom, derived of the verb גרש (garash), meaning to drive or cast out: The waw-nun extension denotes a personification of the root. Gershon means Expelled One or Exiled One, and the meaning may have more to do with the fact that he\his descendants were surpassed in fame by the younger brethren of Kohath, from whom descended Moses and Aaron, and then of course, the line of Father’s Priests.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H1648, - גֵּרְשׁוֹן or גֵּרְשׁוֹם, - gêreshôn or gêreshôm, pronounced - gay-resh-omeי or gay-resh-oneי, and means: From H1644; a refugee; Gereshon or Gereshom, an Israelite: - Gershon, Gershom. Total KVJ occurrences: 18.. † And now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The eldest of the three sons of Levi, born before the descent of Jacob’s family into Egypt Genesis 46:11; Exodus 6:16. But, though the eldest born, the families of Gershon were outstripped in fame by their younger brethren of Kohath, from whom sprang Moses and the priestly line of Aaron.”.

I Chronicles 26:22 The sons of Jehieli; Zetham (olive grove; or, olive) (zay-thawmי), and Joel (YHVH (is his) God; or, to whom YHVH is God) (yo-aleי) his brother, which were over the treasures of the house of the LORD.

I Chronicles 26:23 Of the Amramites (high people; or, an exhalted people) (am-raw-meeי), and the Izharites (oil (as producing light); and, oil) (yits-haw-reeי), the Hebronites (seat of association; or, association, confederation or, league) (kheb-ro-neeי), and the Uzzielites (strength of YAH; or, strength of YAH or my strength is EL) (oz-zee-ay-leeי):  —>   All these men mentioned here were the sons of Levi’s son, Kohath. Amram of course, was the father of Miriam, Aaron and Moses; whereas, Izhar was the father of Miriam, Aaron and Moses’ cousin Korah who rebelled against Father.

The Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites had jobs as Officers and Judges, they were not necessarily assigned to Father’s Temple, they were assigned to and given duties in the outlying areas of Jerusalem. Being Levites, they would have knowledge of Father’s Law and could therefore judge cases as they arose.

I Chronicles 26:24 And Shebuel (this name should actually read Jonathan, see my commentary after the verse) the son of Gershom (a refugee; or, a stranger, or exile) (gay-resh-omeי), the son of Moses (Drawing out [of the water], that is, rescued; or, “drawn,” i.e. from the water) (mo-shehי), was ruler of the treasures.   —>   Ruler of the treasures=When Father initially brought our forefathers up, out of Egypt and had Moses construct His Tabernacle, He had directed that Moses’ grandson Shebuel be in charge of His Treasuries. After he passed and returned Home to Father, those responsibilities were passed down to his descendants. So, even though we are several hundred years since the time of Moses, we’re now reading whom was initially responsible for Father’s Treasuries.

Shebuel=Dr. Bullinger notes in his Companion Bible that “the Chaldee paraphrase asserts that this name “Shebuel”—which in Hebrew translates, “he returned to יEL, the True God”—was given to Jonathan, after he had returned to “the fear—read that reverence—of the LORD.”” Dr. Bullinger further directs us to his commentary in Judges 18:30. First the verse and then Dr. Bullinger’s commentary: Judges 18:30 And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.   —>   Now from Dr. Bullinger’s commentary, which reads: “Manasseh=This word is one of the four that has a suspended letter. Here the letter (נ), nun (n), is written partly in the line and partly above the line, to show that originally it formed no part of the word, but was put in to make it spell “Manasseh” instead of “Moses”. Jonathan was the grandson of Moses (his contemporary Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, being mentioned in 20. 28). This was done for two reasons: (1) to spare the honour of Moses’ memory and name; (2) to put the sin upon one who committed so gross a sin. The Talmud gives this latter as the reason. Jonathan’s name is omitted in 1 Chron. 23. 15, 16, and 26. 24. The Chald. paraphrase says that “Shebuel”, there substituted, is meant for Jonathan after his repentance and restoration. Shebuel = “he returned to God”. The A. V. follows Sept. and Chald. by putting “Manasseh” in the text; R.V. follows Vulg., and those codices and early editions which have “n” suspended, by putting “Moses” in the text and “Manasseh” in the margin.”.

Gershom=Gershom was Moses’ oldest son, he was sort of named after his great grand-father’s brother Gershon—except with an “m” vice an “n,”—and the fact that Moses named him while he was still—in “exile” from Pharaoh, and thus a “stranger”—in Midian, the land of his father-in-law.

Moses=Moses was the younger of two sons born to Amram and Jochebed, his older brother was Aaron, and he also had an older sister: Miriam. † Moses was a “type” for our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ as, Father used him to be a Deliverer and Saviour to our forefathers to bring them out of their bondage to the Egyptians, and into the Promised Land which He had Promised Abraham He would do over 400 years previous. † There are 784 verses with 848 matches for the name Moses and its associated Strong’s Hebrew word number: 4872 in Father’s Word. † We are introduced to him at the time of his birth. He was born while our forefathers were in captivity and bondage to the Egyptians. The pharaoh, or king of Egypt, at the time of his birth had commanded that all the male children of the Israelites be killed as, our forefathers “were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.;” so, in the hopes of saving her son’s life, when he was 3 months old his mother fashioned an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch, and had her daughter Miriam take her brother and set him in his ark in the reeds of the bank of the River Nile, where she watched what would be done to him. Shortly after setting him and his ark in the river, pharaoh’s daughter came down to the river to bathe herself and when she saw the little ark floating in the water, she had one of her maidens fetch it to bring it to her to see what it was. When she opened it, she saw that infant child lying inside and she had compassion on the babe. When Miriam saw that pharaoh’s daughter had compassion, Miriam exposed herself from where she was hiding and asked the young woman if she should go and get an Israelite woman to assist in the nursing of the child? To her delight, the woman said, “Go,” and Miriam ran to her mother and brought her to nurse her own son. Pharaoh’s daughter said to Jochebed, “Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages.,” and Jochebed took her son and nursed him until he grew and then returned him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son, and she named him Moses, hence his name being of foreign derivation, the Latin form of the original Moshe. Translated rather than transliterated, the name means: ““drawn,” i.e. from the water; in the Coptic it means “saved from the water”.” † Moses was born in 1571B.C. and lived a total of 120 years: 40 years in Egypt before being banished by pharaoh after it was discovered that he was not an Egyptian. Steven, in the Book of THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, gives us this account: Acts 7:24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: [7:25] For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. [7:26] And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, ‘Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?’ [7:27] But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, ‘Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? [7:28] Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?’ [7:29] Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.   —>   Moses married Ziporah while he was in exile and she bare him Gershom and Eliezer. Paul says this of the account of Moses in THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS: Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; [11:25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; [11:26] Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. [11:27] By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.; he lived 40 years in exile, again, let’s read Steven’s account: Acts 7:30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an Angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. [7:31] When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him, [7:32] ‘Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. [7:33] Then said the LORD to him, ‘Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground. [7:34] I have seen, I have seen the affliction of My people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.’ [7:35] This Moses whom they refused, saying, ‘Who made thee a ruler and a judge?’ the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel which appeared to him in the bush. [7:36] He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.; and then, returning to Egypt to lead our forefathers out of Egypt: Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, ‘A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear.’ [7:38] This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the Angel Which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: [7:39] To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,   —>   Our forefathers did indeed try several times to turn back to Egypt and Father became so angry at them that He was going to destroy them and start anew with Moses being the father of the Nation; however, Moses would have none of it, he was a superb intercessor and convinced Father to give our forefathers chance after chance. † Where to begin and what to say concerning Father’s friend, Prophet, Law Giver, and writer of the first five Books of His Word. Surely, it would take a volume in and of itself to fully encapsulate and expound upon all the virtues of Moses the historian, orator, leader, statesman, legislator and patriot. Charlton Heston superbly captured the essence of the man in Cecil B. Demille’s 1956 Block Buster “The 10 COMMANDMENTS;” but, though Charlton did capture Moses’ essence, I’m sure he fell well short of the true character of the man. Moses lived a total of 120 years which were divided into 3 40 year segments and can be summed this way: the first 40 years was his birth until his flight from Egypt to Midian; the second 40 years were of his time in Midian finding himself and then finding Father and learning of Father’s Plan was for him; the third 40 years were of his return to Egypt to lead Father’s Chosen People out of Egypt; but, not before having to convince pharaoh to “let My People go.” Moses led our forefathers through the desert and then the wilderness a total of 40 years to the edge of The Promised Land which he himself got to look at and observe from the top of Mount Nebo; but, like everybody else who fled Egypt 20 years old and above, he didn’t get to enter into the Promised Land, for them it was because of their unbelief, for Moses it was because he struck the Rock when he was supposed to Speak to the Rock. † The etymology of the name Moses along with the original meaning of the name have been long disputed. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names derives it from the Egyptian word for water, mo, and the verb to save out of water, ‘uses.” Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary relates it to the Egyptian word mes, mesu, meaning child, son. Then, of course, there is the Hebrew verb משה (masha), which is identical to the name save for the Masoretic additions: Since it is highly unlikely that the Egyptian princess was speaking Hebrew when she said it, Moses was probably known by the Egyptian word for Draw Out. Then, when he began to play a role in a Hebrew text, his name must have been subsequently translated into Hebrew. Harris Archer Waltke (HAW) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament devotes an article to the name Moses and notes that this name is a יQal active participle’ of the verb masha, and concludes that the name Moses doesn’t mean He Who Was Drawn Out, but rather He Who Draws Out. “The name is explained not because Moses is derived from masha but because it resembles it in sound” (says HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). HAW further states that the consensus today is that Moses has to do with the Egyptian word for child (as BDB Theological Dictionary reports). This in turn suggests that the emphasis in Exodus 2:10 should not be placed on the verb drew — ‘because I drew him out of the water’ — but on the princess who claims right to adopt and name Moses because she drew him out: And she named him because she drew him out of the water. Also note that the name Moses not only strongly resembles the verb that means to draw out, it obviously also resonates with the action of lending and borrowing, that is: receiving something that may be used at one’s discretion but of which no ownership can be claimed and which some day will have to be returned to the rightful owner.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H4872, - מֹשֶׁה, - môsheh, pronounced - mo-shehי, and means: From H4871; drawing out (of the water), that is, rescued; Mosheh, the Israelitish lawgiver: - Moses. Total KJV occurrences: 766.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we find that the description of Moses in the Smith’s Bible Dictionary is extensive and is entirely too long to post here; so, I’ll instead just post the link to it: Moses.

I Chronicles 26:25 And his brethren by Eliezer (YAH of help; and, YAH of help, or YAH is help) (el-ee-ehי-zer); Rehabiah (YAH has enlarged; or, enlarged by YHVH) (rekh-ab-yawי-hoo) his son, and Jeshaiah (YAH has saved; or, salvation of YHVH) (yesh-ah-yawי-hoo) his son, and Joram (YHVH raised; or, whom YHVH has exhalted) (yo-rawmי) his son, and Zichri (memorable; and, memorable) (zik-reeי) his son, and Shelomith (pacifications; or, peaceful) (shel-o-mothי) his son.   —>   Eliezer=Eliezer was Moses’ son, he was the younger brother to Gershom. It was Moses’ failure of this son: Eliezer, if you’ll recall, that Father sought to kill Moses, and because of his failure, his wife Zipporah, called him a “bloody husband.” See, Moses had secretly neglected to do as Father commanded him and circumcise this son—he had circumcised Gershom—therefore, to save her husband’s life, his wife performed the circumcision on Eliezer as can be read in Exodus 4:20-26.

26:26-28 The dedicated
   things.

I Chronicles 26:26 Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated.   —>   When David and the Host of Israel would war against, and defeat another nation such as the Edomites, the Gibeonites, the Philistines etc., there were always spoils of war: brass, gold, silver ect.; well David, the Generals, the Captains and even the individual soldiers would all give a portion of their victory spoils to Father, and when they did so, they would dedicate them to Him as Thank Offerings for their victory and also for bringing them back home to their families alive.

Bear in mind brethren, these spoils of war would total up into the hundreds of millions of dollars. We had read in some of the previous chapters in Father’s Word that, there was brought in a thousand talents of gold, and a thousand, thousand talents of silver. How much was a talent? Well, a talent weighed anywhere between 110-180 pounds. Dr. Bullinger notes in Appendix 51 of his Companion Bible the following: “Talent of the king = 158 lb. Troy. Talent of gold = 131 lb. Troy. About £6,150; $290.85. Talent of silver = 117 lb. Troy.”.

I Chronicles 26:27 Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the LORD. —>   All these spoils went to either build Father’s Temple or to make the items or vessels which went into Father’s Temple or Tabernacle and then also to maintain—i.e., maintence and upkeep of—the same. This practice doesn’t apply just to the time of David, it goes all the way back to the time of Moses, when Father brought our forefathers up, out of Egypt and Father was giving them them victory of His enemies: the Amalekites and some of the other heathen nations which were living in the Promised Land. These spoils didn’t only include the precious metals, they also included animals. We can read of some of these events in Numbers 31:28-47 and Joshua 6:24

I Chronicles 26:28 And all that Samuel (heard of YAH; and, heard of YAH) (shem-oo-aleי) the seer, and Saul (asked; or, desired) (shaw-oolי) the son of Kish (a bow; and, a bow) (keesh), and Abner (father of light; and, father of light) (ab-ee-nareי) the son of Ner (lamp; or, a light or lamp) (nare), and Joab (YHVH fathered; or, whose father is YHVH) (yo-awbי) the son of Zeruiah (wounded; or, balsam) (tser-oo-yawי), had dedicated; and whosoever had dedicated any thing, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brethren.   —>   Ths Samuel is one and the same who was a Priest and a Judge over the Nation of the House of Israel, whose time we can read of in the first eight Chapters of I Samuel. Saul, being the first man-king of the Nation of the House of Israel, in his earlier years of ruling the Nation, he was Blessed by Father for his following after Father, and then, Father removed His Blessings for his chasing after familiar spirits and such. Abner was the General of Israel’s Army under Saul and he contributed to Father’s Treasuries with his share of the spoils of war. Joab was David’s nephew and also the Commanding General of his Army, and he too contributed to Father’s Treasuries.

Samuel=Son of Elkanah and his wife Hannah—whose name means “Grace.” Hannah was childless like several other famous women in Father’s Word, Namely: Sarai—Abraham’s wife’s name be before Father changed it to Sarah—Rachel—Jacob’s wife and Joseph and Benjamin’s mother—Samson’s mother—Manoah’s un-named wife—and Elisabeth—Zacharias’ wife and John the Baptist’s mother—all of whom Father had shut up their wombs in order that He bring forth a child to do his Will. Hannah went up to Father’s Temple in Shiloh and Prayed to Father, petitioning Him specifically for a son, vowing that, should He grant her petition; then, her son would be under the vow of a Nazarite—Numbers 6—from birth. Father did indeed grant Hannah her petition, and therefore, Elkanah became the father to Father’s Judge—I Samuel 7:6—Priest—I Samuel 7:9—and Prophet—I Samuel 3:20: Samuel. † Samuel was still a young boy—approximately 12 years old according to the Biblical Historian Josephus—when he was placed in Father’s Tabernacle to minister before Father. He then took over the Priesthood after Father called Eli Home to Him. It was Samuel whom Father used to anoint His first 2 man-kings of the House of Israel: first Saul as read in I Samuel 9 and then David in I Samuel 16 the first of two Books named after him. † Samuel was a good Judge, Priest and Prophet, and he reigned over Israel for 40 years, from 1040B.C. to 1000B.C.. However, when he had gotten up in his years, he did as Eli had did before him and he elevated his two sons Joel—also called Vashni in I Chronicles 6:28—and Abiah to the position of priest. That wasn’t so bad; but, also like Eli before him, when his sons became an abomination to both the People and more importantly, Father, he didn’t do anything to put a stop to their practices. Therefore, the People rejected the Priesthood, or more precisely, they rejected Father in favor of a man king to rule over them. It was then that Father used him to anoint His first two man kings. † The etymology of the name Samuel: There are two ways to go with the name Samuel, although it obviously consists of two elements, and the final one is אל, El, the abbreviated form of אלהים, Elohim, denoting the genus God—Father in His Role of Creator of all things: The first part of the name Samuel may come from the noun שם (shem), meaning name. The other way to go to take the first part of the name Samuel from the verb שמע (shama’), meaning to hear: For a meaning of the name Samuel, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List goes with the noun שם and reads Name Of God and adds: a godly name. Alfred Jones’ (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) goes with the verb שמע and proposes Heard Of God. Jones’ explanation is attractive because it seems to fit the story (Hannah prayed for a child and was heard); but, also because, this verb is the base of the name Simeon, which is the name of the tribe where the name Samuel originated. A drawback of Jones’ explanation is that it fails to address what might have happened to the letter ע (ayin) that’s part of the verb but not of the name Samuel. Still, note that the third son of Jesse is named שמעא (Shimea, which is related to Samuel) in I Chronicles 2:13 but שמעה (Shimeah) in II Samuel 13:3 and 13:32, and שמה (Shammah) in 1 Samuel 16:9 and 17:13. The latter variation also omits the letter ayin.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H8050, - שְׁמוּאֵל, - shemû'êl, pronounced - shem-oo-aleי, and means: From the passive participle of H8085 and H410; heard of YAH; Shemuel, the name of three Israelites: - Samuel, Shemuel. Total KJV occurrences: 140.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “Was the son of Elkanah and Hannah, and was born at Ramathaim-zophim, among the hills of Ephraim [RAMAH No. 2]. Before his birth he was dedicated by his mother to the office of a Nazarite and when a young child, 12 years old according to Josephus he was placed in the temple, and ministered unto the Lord before Eli. It was while here that he received his first prophetic call I Samuel 3:1-18. He next appears, probably twenty years afterward, suddenly among the people, warning them against their idolatrous practices I Samuel 7:3,4. Then followed Samuel’s first and, as far as we know, only military achievement, I Samuel 7:5-12, but it was apparently this which raised him to the office of “judge.” He visited, in the discharge of his duties as ruler, the three chief sanctuaries on the west of Jordan --Bethel, Gilgal and Mizpeh I Samuel 7:16. His own residence was still native city, Ramah, where he married, and two sons grew up to repeat under his eyes the same perversion of high office that he had himself witnessed in his childhood in the case of the two sons of Eli. In his old age he shared his power with them I Samuel 8:1-4, but the people dissatisfied, demanded a king, and finally anointed under God’s direction, and Samuel surrendered to him his authority I Samuel 12:1, ... though still remaining judge I Samuel 7:15, He was consulted far and near on the small affairs of life I Samuel 9:7,8. From this fact, combined with his office of ruler, an awful reverence grew up around him. No sacrificial feast was thought complete without his blessing Ibid I Samuel 9:13. A peculiar virtue was believed to reside in his intercession. After Saul was rejected by God, Samuel anointed David in his place and Samuel became the spiritual father of the psalmist-king. The death of Samuel is described as taking place in the year of the close of David’s wanderings. It is said with peculiar emphasis, as if to mark the loss, that “all the Israelites were gathered together” from all parts of this hitherto-divided country, and “lamented him,” and “buried him” within his own house, thus in a manner consecrated by being turned into his tomb I Samuel 25:1. Samuel represents the independence of the moral law, of the divine will, as distinct from legal or sacerdotal enactments, which is so remarkable a characteristic of all the later prophets. He is also the founder of the first regular institutions of religious instructions and communities for the purposes of education.”.

Saul=Son of Kish, of the Tribe of Benjamin. Saul was the first man king of the nation of the House of Israel; which, if you are familiar with Father’s Word, then you’ll know and realize is almost a miracle in and of itself as, back in Judges 20, the Tribe of Benjamin was almost completely wiped out by the other tribes because, they were sottish and allowed perversion to reign in their territories, and they sided with those who raped, abused, and then killed a Levites’s concubine. After the other tribes were through warring against them, there were only roughly 600 people—all men—left in the Tribe. The other tribes had to forfeit some of their daughters in order for the Tribe to continue on. † When we are first introduced to Saul in I Samuel 9:2, he is described as being, “...a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.;” but, he was also a man who could not even find his own donkeys. In fact, he was out searching for them when Father sent His Prophet Samuel to go and anoint him as the first man king. Saul had, and Father gave him, every opportunity to be a great man and king over His People; however, Saul was a man of the flesh, and as such, he allowed his flesh to come between he and Father, he chose flesh over Father, and he sinned against Father by honoring, serving, and worshiping other, false gods. Saul also disobeyed Father on multiple occasions: (1) In I Samuel 14, right after Saul had been made king, Samuel had told Saul to go to Gilgal and await his arrival; but, when Samuel didn’t arrive when Saul thought he should have, Saul made unlawful sacrifices to Father. No sooner had he made these sacrifices when Samuel arrives and sees what he had done. Samuel questions Saul about his offering unlawful sacrifices, and Saul replies that, Samuel had tarried too long, and he was afraid that the Philistines would attack him; therefore, he offered sacrifices himself. Samuel then told Saul that, he had done foolishly: thou hast not kept Father’s Commandment, which He had Commanded Saul: that, had Saul been obedient, then, Father would have established the kingdom of Israel into Saul’ hand for ever. But, since he had not been obedient, Father was going to give the kingdom to another man; (2) We read in I Samuel 15 that, Father, through His Prophet Samuel, told Saul to utterly destroy all the Amalekites—this meant that he was to kill every man, woman, and child, plus, every animal they had.—There were also kenites living among these Amalekites whom Saul told to get away from the Amalekites because, they had treated Israel nicely when they came up, out of Egypt, which was an outright lie and which went completely against Father and His command. I challenge anybody to show me in Father’s Word where the kenites aided the Israelites when Father led them up out of Egypt—but, Saul chose not do so, he allowed his army to keep the Amalekite king: Agag, alive; and, they also kept for themselves, many of the best livestock. When Samuel questioned him about this disobedience to Father’s Commands, Saul lied by saying that, the People disobeyed him, and by claiming that they were going to make sacrifices to Father with the king and the livestock which they had kept alive. For this disobedience, Father told Saul through His Prophet that, He rejected Saul and He rejected Saul as the king of Israel. After telling Saul these things, Samuel turned to walk away from Saul; but, Saul reached out to grab ahold of Samuel, and upon doing so, he ripped Samuel’s robe, Samuel immediately turned around and told Saul in a stern voice that, as he had ripped his garment, Father has ripped the kingdom out of his hand and was now going to give it to another man, and not his son. Samuel then tolod Saul to bring Agag to him and upon Agag being brought, Samuel fulfilled Father’s Command and slew Agag. (3) King Saul, after hearing the women singing and saying “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” Saul became very angry, and from that day until his death, he chased after, in order to kill, David, whom Father had already anointed to be the Second king of the House of Israel; (4) After Samuel had died and Father had abandoned Saul, Saul was about to war against the Philistines; but, Saul was afraid because, he didn’t have Samuel to guide him and seek Father—not that it would have mattered because, Saul probably would have disobeyed what Father would have told him anyway—so, Saul sought out a woman who had a familiar spirit as, he wanted to communicate with Samuel, even though Samuel was dead. This was a big NO NO as, Father Commanded in Leviticus 19:31; 20:36; and Deuteronomy 18:11 that His Children were not to seek or regard those who have or deal with familiar spirits. † The etymology of the name Saul or Shaul comes from the verb שאל (shaיal) meaning to ask, inquire, borrow, beg: For a meaning of the name Shaul or Saul, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Asked (of God), although God is not referred to in this name. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary interprets our name Saul with Asked (of YHVH). Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads a more correct Asked For.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H7586, - שָׁאוּל, - shâ'ûl, pronounced - shaw-oolי, and means: Passive particle of H7592; asked; Shaul, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites: - Saul, Shaul. Total KJV occurrences: 406. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(desired), more accurately Shaul. The first king of Israel, the son of Kish, and of the tribe of Benjamin. His character is in part illustrated by the fierce, wayward, fitful nature of the tribe and in part accounted for by the struggle between the old and new systems in which he found himself involved. To this we must add a taint of madness. which broke out in violent frenzy at times leaving him with long lucid intervals. He was remarkable for his strength and activity II Samuel 1:25 and, like the Homeric heroes, of gigantic stature, taller by head and shoulders than the rest of the people, and of that kind of beauty denoted by the Hebrew word “good,” I Samuel 9:2, and which caused him to be compared to the gazelle, “the gazelle of Israel.” His birthplace is not expressly mentioned; but, as Zelah in Benjamin was the place of Kish’s sepulchre II Samuel 21:14, it was probable; his native village. His father, Kish, was a powerful and wealthy chief though the family to which he belonged was of little importance I Samuel 9:1,21. A portion of his property consisted of a drove of asses. In search of these asses, gone astray on the mountains, he sent his son Saul It was while prosecuting this adventure that Saul met with Samuel for the first time at his home in Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem. A divine intimation had made known to him the approach of Saul, whom he treated with special favor, and the next morning descending with him to the skirts of the town, Samuel poured over Saul’s head the consecrated oil, and with a kiss of salutation announced to him that he was to be the ruler of the nation I Samuel 9:25; I Samuel 10:1. Returning homeward his call was confirmed by the incidents which according to Samuel’s prediction, awaited him I Samuel 10:9,10. What may be named the public call occurred at Mizpeh, when lots were cast to find the tribe and family which was to produce the king, and Saul, by a divine intimation was found hid in the circle of baggage which surrounded the encampment I Samuel 10:17-24. Returning to Gibeah, apparently to private life, he heard the threat issued by Nahash king of Ammon against Jabesh-gilead. He speedily collected an army, and Jabesh was rescued. The effect was instantaneous on the people, and the monarchy was inaugurated anew at Gilgal I Samuel 11:1-15. It should be, however, observed that according to I Samuel 12:12, the affair of Nahash preceded and occasioned the election of Saul. Although king of Israel, his rule was at first limited; but, in the second year of his reign he began to organize an attempt to shake off the Philistine yoke, and an army was formed. In this crisis, Saul, now on the very confines of his kingdom at Gilgal, impatient at Samuel’s delay, whom he had directed to be present, offered sacrifice himself. Samuel, arriving later, pronounced the first curse, on his impetuous zeal I Samuel 13:5-14. After the Philistines were driven back to their own country occurred the first appearance of Saul’s madness in the rash vow which all but cost the life of his soil I Samuel 14:24,44. The expulsion of the Philistines, although not entirely completed, I Samuel 14:52, at once placed Saul in a position higher than that of any previous ruler of Israel, and he made war upon the neighboring tribes. In the war with Amalek, I Samuel 14:48; 15:1-9, he disobeyed the prophetical command of Samuel, which called down the second curse, and the first distinct intimation of the transference of the kingdom to a rival. The rest of Saul’s life is one long tragedy. The frenzy which had given indications of itself before now at times took almost entire possession of him. In this crisis David was recommended to him. From this time forward their lives are blended together [DAVID]. In Saul’s better moments he never lost the strong affection which he had contracted for David. Occasionally, too his prophetical gift returned, blended with his madness II Samuel 19:24. But his acts of fierce, wild zeal increased. At last the monarchy itself broke down under the weakness of his head. The Philistines re-entered the country, and just before giving them battle Saul’s courage failed and he consulted one of the necromancers, the “Witch of Endor,” who had escaped his persecution. At this distance of time it is impossible to determine the relative amount of fraud or of reality in the scene which follows, though the obvious meaning of the narrative itself tends to the hypothesis of some kind of apparition II Samuel 19:28. On hearing the denunciation which the apparition conveyed, Saul fell the whole length of his gigantic stature on the ground, and remained motionless till the woman and his servants forced him to eat. The next day the battle came on. The Israelites were driven up the side of Gilboa. The three sons of Saul were slain. Saul was wounded. According to one account, he fell upon his own sword, I Samuel 31:4, and died. The body on being found by the Philistines was stripped slid decapitated, and the headless trunk hung over the city walls, with those of his three sons I Samuel 31:9,10. The head was deposited (probably at Ashdod) in the temple of Dagon (I Chronicles 10:10). The corpse was buried at Jabesh-gilead I Samuel 31:13.”.

Kish=Boy howdy, I’ll tell you right up front, if you don’t follow along too closely, and if you don’t Study Father’s Word, you can get lost real fast trying to figure and understand the genealogy and lineage of this family. Bear with me as I bring in all the different scripture detailing this beginning with I Samuel 9:1-2: I Samuel 9:1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. [9:2] And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
—>   In these first 2 verses of I Samuel 9, we read that king Saul’s father Kish was the son of Abiel. But, then we read in I Samuel 14:51: I Samuel 14:51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.   —>   Where did “Ner” come from and who is this “Abner?” Hold on as, we’re not finished yet, let’s now turn to I Chronicles 8:33: I Chronicles 8:33 And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchishua, and Abinadab, and Eshbaal.   —>   One last verse and then I’ll tie it all together and try and make sense of it for you, I Chronicles 12:1: I Chronicles 12:1 Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war.
—>   On Page 542 of his Companion Bible, Dr. Bullinger says this “There are three genealogies of the house of Saul. We place the facts, (1) that persons often had two names (v. 34. Judges 6.32, &C.), and (2) that the same name recurs in the same family, against the assumption that the opposite is the case. It is this assumption which creates the difficulties in “reconciling” I Sam. 9.1; 14.51; and I Chronicles 9.38.” I’ll also add in that, like today, where we have people named William, and for short, we call them Bill; or Richard, and we call them Dick, the same held true for our forefathers, i.e., Abiah being called Abia; Dodo being also called Dodai etc. I believe that is the case in Saul’s family. † So, what do we know of Kish? Only that which has already been pointed out: i.e., that he was a son of Ner, that he was a Benjamite, and that he was the father of Saul. † The etymology of the name Kish comes from the verb קוש (qosh) meaning lay bait, or lure. This verb occurs only once in the Bible (Isaiah 29:21), but according to Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary, it’s the root of the common verb יקש (yaqosh), meaning to set a snare or lay a trap: The name Kish may mean Snaring, Bird Catcher, says Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List goes with the most original meaning of the root and reads Bow.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H7027, - קִישׁ, - qı̂ysh, pronounced - keesh, and means: From H6983; a bow; Kish, the name of five Israelites: - Kish. Total KJV occurrences: 21.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(A bow). The father of Saul; a Benjamite of the family of Matri.”.

Abner=Abner was the son of Ner, who was the brother of Kish, the father of the Nation of the House of Israel’s first man-king: king Saul. † This then, made Abner Saul’s first cousin, and by Saul, was elevated to the possition of Commander-in-Chief of his army. Being Commanding General, he was present when David slew the giant Goliath, I say present but, it’s funny as, he was noted as being a fearless and fierce warrior, but was, like the rest of Israel’s Army, too afraid to take on the giant. † After David’s infamous defeat of the giant, it was Abner who first introduced David to the court of Saul. It was Father Who had Samuel anoint David to be Israel’s second man-king and when Saul found out that his sons would not ascend to the throne, he set out to kill David, using his army, including his General. David fled and had several opportunities to kill Saul; but, David knew Saul also was Father’s anointed and knew to not touch his king, instead, when he had the chance, he would slip into his camp and remove an item or two of the king’s in order to prove he had had the opportunity to take advantage of the king. It was during one of these escapades that, the next morning David cried out to Abner from a safe distance and rebuked him for his carelessness concerning his king. † After Saul died and David became king, it was Abner who took Saul’s sole surviving son: Ish-bosheth, and proclaimed him king over the Nation. War soon broke out between the two rival kings, and a “very sore battle” was fought at Gibeon between the men of Israel under Abner and the men of Judah under David’s nephew and Commanding General: Joab. Abner, escaping from the field, was overtaken by Asahel, who was the younger brother of Abishai and Joab, whom Abner thrust through, with a back stroke of his spear. † Abner later married Rizpah, one of Saul’s concubines, this angered ish-bosheth because he thought it was an attempt on his throne by Abner. Abner, realizing this act may cost him his life, defected to David while David’s nephew Joab was away from Hebron. He now professed to regard David as anointed by Father to reign over all Israel. Almost unbelievably, David received him favorably, and for some unknown, strange reason, promised Abner that he would now have command of David’s armies. Upon Joab’s return, he finds out that he has been demoted and replaced by his arch rival, rightfully so, this angers him, so he conspires against Abner, calls for a secret meeting between the two, and then kills him. Biblical scholars cannot agree if this was because he had replaced him as Commanding General, or whether it was in retaliation for Abner defending himself against Asahel, whom he had to kill in self-defense after warning him three times to not try to kill him as, he was the more seasoned warrior than Asahel. † The etymology of the name Abner consists of two elements. The first part of the name comes from the common Hebrew word אב (ab), meaning father: The added letter י (yod) creates a possessive; the compound אבי (abi) may mean my father, or father of, depending on the context. The second part of the name Abner comes from the root נור (nwr), possibly meaning to shine: For a meaning of the name Abner, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads The Father Is A Lamp. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Father Of Light, and Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary reads the optional My Father Is Ner or My Father Is A Lamp.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H74, - אַבְנֵר or אֲבִינֵר, - 'abnêr or 'ăbı̂ynêr, pronounced - ab-nareי or Ab-ee-nareי, and means: From H1 and H5216; father of light (that is, enlightening); Abner, an Israelite: - Abner. Total KJV occurrences: 63.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(father of light). Son of Ner, who was the brother of Kish I Chronicles 9:36, the father of Saul. Abner, therefore, was Saul’s first cousin, and was made by him commander-in-chief of his army I Samuel 14:51; 17:57; 26:5-14. After the death of Saul David was proclaimed king of Judah; and some time subsequently Abner proclaimed Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, king of Israel. War soon broke out between the two rival kings, and a “very sore battle” was fought at Gibeon between the men of Israel under Abner and the men of Judah under Joab I Chronicles 2:16. Abner had married Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, and this, according to the views of Oriental courts, might be so interpreted as to imply a design upon the throne. Rightly or wrongly, Ish-bosheth so understood it, and he even ventured to reproach Abner with it. Abner, incensed at his ingratitude, opened negotiations with David, by whom he was most favorably received at Hebron. He then undertook to procure his recognition throughout Israel; but after leaving his presence for the purpose was enticed back by Joab, and treacherously murdered by him and his brother Abishai, at the gate of the city, partly, no doubt, from fear lest so distinguished a convert to their cause should gain too high a place in David’s favor, but ostensibly in retaliation for the death of Asahel. David in sorrow and indignation, poured forth a simple dirge over the slain hero II Samuel 3:33,34.”.

Ner=The only thing we read in Father’s Word concerning Ner, is that he was the the son of Abiel—I Samuel 14:51—the brother of Kish—who was the father of king Saul, the first man-king of the Nation of the House of Israel—and the father of Abner, who was a fierce warrior and the Commanding General of king Saul’s army. † The etymology of the name Ner is identical to the noun נר (ner), meaning lamp: For a meaning of the name Ner, both New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read Lamp. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary doesn’t translate our name but does confirm that it’s the same as the word for lamp.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H5369, - נֵר, - nêr, pronounced - nare, and means: The same as H5216; lamp; Ner, an Israelite: - Ner. Total KJV occurrences: 16.. †. Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(a light or lamp), son of Jehiel—this Pastor and author of this website vehemently disagrees with Dr. Strong concerning who Ner’s father was—according to I Chronicles 8:33, father of Abner, and grandfather of King Saul. Abner was, therefore, uncle to Saul, as is expressly stated in I Samuel 14:50.”.

Joab=Of the 125 verses mentioning him, and the 146 matches for his name and the Strong’s Hebrew word number—H3097—associated with his name, Joab, is the most spoken about of David’s three nephews by his sister Zeruiah; three of those 125 verses and 146 matches—Ezra 2:6; 8:9; and Nehemiah 7:11—are of Joab’s descendants. Joab was Zeruiah’s middle son, with Abishai being the older, and Asahel being the younger. † Some of Joab’s more notable facts are: Before David became king of the entire House of Israel; while Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was king of the divided House of Israel, appointed by Saul’s captain Abner, Joab and a contingency of men met to face off with Abner and his men at the Pool of Gibeon. The men had gathered to conduct mock-war in order to prevent all-out war between the two nations; however, sadly, their simulated war of sending out 12 men from each side to fend against each other in a “winner take all” mock war sport quickly escalated into something more sinister: war, as each man grabbed his foe by the beard and they all thrust each other through with their weapons of war, killing each other. That little war-play intensified and worsened; and, the next thing they all knew, they were engaging in real war, with Joab’s 600 battle-tested warriors overpowering Abner’s men who had just suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Philistines. It was at this little mock-war which quickly turned into true war that Joab’s younger brother Asahel chased down the more experienced Abner, who warned him off three times to no avail, and when Asahel charged; Abner had no choice but to defend himself; and, he slew the younger, less experienced Asahel. Joab considered it murder, and later, he conspired and murdered Abner for it. † Because of his fearless courage and leading the assault on the fortress of Jebus, Joab was promoted to the rank of General as can be read in I Chronicles 11:4-6 and 27:34. † The etymology of the name Joab consists of two elements: The first one being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHVH, or Yahveh, the sacred and personal name of our Father. This very short abbreviation of YHVH also occurs in the names Jochebed and Jonathan. The second element of the name Joab is אב (ab): The name Joab means Yah Is Father. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads Yahveh Is Father. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Lord Father or Whose Father Is The Lord.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3097, - יוֹאָב, - yô'âb, pronounced - yo-awbי, and means: From H3068 and H1; Jehovah-fathered; Joab, the name of three Israelites: - Joab. Total KJV occurrences: 145.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The most remarkable of the three nephews of David, the children of Zeruiah, David’s sister. Joab first appears after David’s accession to the throne at Hebron. Abner slew in battle Asahel, the youngest brother of Joab; and when David afterward received Abner into favor, Joab treacherously murdered him. There was now no rival left in the way of Joab’s advancement, and at the siege of Jebus he was appointed for his prowess commander-in-chief — “captain of the host.” In the wide range of wars which David undertook, Joab was the acting general. He was called by the almost regal title of “lord," ”in II Samuel 11:11 and “the prince of the king’s army” in I Chronicles 27:34. In the entangled relations which grew up in David’s domestic life he bore an important part, successfully reinstating Absalom in David’s favor after the murder of Amnon (II Samuel 14:1-20). When the relations between father and son were reversed by the revolt of Absalom, Joab remained true to the king, taking the rebel prince’s dangerous life in spite of David’s injunction to spare him, and when no one else had courage to act so decisive a part II Samuel 18:2 and 11-15. The king transferred the command to Amasa, which so enraged Joab that he adroitly assassinated Amasa when pretending to welcome him as a friend in II Samuel 20:10. Friendly relations between himself and David seem to have existed afterward (II Samuel 24:2), but at the close of his long life, his loyalty, so long unshaken, at last wavered. “Though he had not turned after Absalom, he turned after Adonijah” (I Kings 2:28). This probably filled up the measure of the king’s long-cherished resentment. The revival of the pretensions of Adonijah after David’s death was sufficient to awaken the suspicions of Solomon. Joab fled to the shelter of the altar at Gibeon, and was here slain by Benaiah.”.

Zeruiah=There are 25 verses with 26 matches in Father’s Word for David’s sister Zeruiah and the strong’s Hebrew word number—H6870—associated with her name. Of these 25 verses with 26 matches, 1—I Chronicles 2:17—lists her as David’s sister, and in every other verse and match for her name, we read: “son(s) of Zeruiah”. Of the woman herself, we know nothing, not even her husband’s name. The only thing we do know for sure is, that, she was indeed David’s sister, and the mother of three of David’s heroes. † The etymology of the name Zeruiah: Scholars are in disagreement about the meaning and etymology of the name Zeruiah. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List and Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary think that the name Zeruiah comes from the unused root צרה and its sole derivative, the noun צרי, meaning balsam: And thus, for a meaning of the name Zeruiah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Balsam, which would require the masculine noun צרי (sari) to be made feminine by adding the regular letter ה (he). Note that by so doing our word or name terminates in יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHVH, or Yahveh, the sacred name of Father. This could be an exception (others are the names Aiah, Arieh and Zibiah) but since the name Zeruiah doesn’t exist as a regular noun, this forced feminization might in fact be a reference to the Lord, and Zeruiah means Balsam Of Yah. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names won’t have any of that, and goes after an unused and hitherto unknown root צרה, which is strikingly similar to the root shown above, and which shows up in Chaldean and Syriac as a verb meaning to cleave. Hence Jones reads Cleft.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H6870, - צְרוּיָה, - tserûyâh, pronounced - tser-oo-yawי, and means: Feminine participle passive from the same as H6875, wounded; Tserujah, an Israelitess: - Zeruiah. Total KJV occurrences: 26.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The mother of the three leading heroes of David’s army—Abishai, Joab and Asahel — known as the “sons of Zeruiah.” Of Zeruiah's husband there is no mention in the Father’s Word.”.

26:29-27:34 Appointments
   Civil.
26:29-27:34 APPOINT-
   MENTS. CIVIL.
   (Intoversion.)
26:29-32 Magistrates.

I Chronicles 26:29 Of the Izharites, Chenaniah (YAH has planted; or, established by YHVH) (chen-an-yawי-hoo) and his sons were for the outward business over Israel (he will rule as YAH; or, the prince that prevails with YAH) (Yis-raw-aleי) (secondary map), for officers and judges.   —>   Outward business=This phrase “outward business” is another way of saying, work outside the Temple, as distinguished from the work inside the Temple, which was and is the “business of the House of Father YHVH.”

Officers and judges=Father told Moses to establish the position\role of the Judges and Officers in Deuteronomy 16:18-20 which reads: Deuteronomy 16:18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. [16:19] Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. [16:20] That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.   —>   We read back in I Chronicles 23:4, that there were 6,000 Levites who were appointed as such and scattered throughout all the territories of Israel. These Levites were able to Judge according to Father’s Law however, if there was a matter in which they needed a higher ruling, such as from Father, then they came to Jerusalem to the High Priest who went to Father using the Urim and Thummin, the two stones which in the Hebrew language means “lights,” and “perfection.” “Lights” in the manner that brought all judgments of gilt to light, and “perfection” for moral perfection, and thus, innocence. The two stones were part of the Priest’s Breastplate and worn in a bag which was attached to the Breastplate. When any legal decision needed to be made, the Priest had to be present, especially concerning land or of the such. The Thummim stone would be cast down and the way the stone landed determined innocence or guilt. If a moral decision was to be made the Urim stone was cast, and the pointing determined it to be yes or no, guilt or innocence. The decisions were made on yes or no, right or wrong, and—though this is a bad analogy, it’ll still put it forth—it was sort of like flipping a coin to see what the answer would be; however, the reality was that Father had complete control over the two stones for, it was at His command that the Levites used this method to receive their answer, or judgment.

Israel=The kingdom of Israel consists and comprises of both a People, and a territory. The People were and are our Father, our Creator ELOHIM’s Chosen People. Chosen only in the sense that they were the lineage through which He Himself will\would be born in the flesh as His Only Begotten Son: Jesus Christ. That lineage began with Adam, then his son Seth, down to Noah, then his son Shem, down to Abram, then his son Isaac, and the his son Jacob whom Father renamed Israel, on to his two sons Levi—actually, Levi’s son Amram and his son Aaron and his descendants—and Judah—and his son Pharez, then his son Hezron, then his son Aram, then his Amminadab, then his son Nashon, then his son Salmon, then his son Boaz, then his son Obed, then his son Jesse, then his son David. Both lineages culminated and terminated at Mary—cousin to Elisabeth, wife of Zacharias, whom the Holy Spirit overshadowed while she was yet a virgin, and after Michael the arch angel had told would come to pass. When Father had changed Jacob’s name to Israel and then he had his twelve sons—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin—who went into captivity to Egypt for those 200 plus years, when Father led them out by the hand of Moses, they became known collectively as, the House of Israel. As for the territory, see the links of the 2 maps in the verse to understand the land mass which comprised the territory of Israel. † As to the etymology of the name Israel, according to Abarim Publications, the meaning of the name Israel is not clear; but, yet, it’s huge. The meaning of Israel is not singular and distinct; but, consists of many nuances and facets and bulges with theological significance. Judging from Genesis 32:28, the form ישראל (Israel) appears to be a compilation of two elements. The first one is the noun אל (EL), the common abbreviation of ELOHIM—from Dr. Bullinger’s Companion Bible Appendices: ELOHIM—the genus God. EL is essentially the Almighty, though the word is never so rendered. EL is ELOHIM in all His strength and power. It is rendered “God” as ELOHIM is, but EL is God the Omnipotent. ELOHIM is God the Creator putting His omnipotence into operation: The second part of our name appears to be related to the verb שרה (sara): However, even though Genesis 32:28 uses the enigmatic verb שרה — which is assumed to mean to struggle but which might something else entirely — it’s by no means certain that this verb is etymologically linked to our name Israel. When we say, “we named him Bob because that seemed like a good idea,” we certainly don’t mean to say that the name Bob means “good idea.” The first part of the name Israel looks a lot like the verb שרה that explains this name; but, this apparent link is possibly a mere case of word-play. In fact, the name Israel may have more to do with the verb ישר (yashar), meaning to be upright. Note that the difference between the letter שׂ (sin) as found in the name ישׂראל (Israel) and the letter ש (shin) as found in the verb יש ר (yashar) didn’t exist in Biblical times and as it was invented more than a thousand years after the Bible was written: For a meaning of the name Israel, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List, Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary and Alfred Jones (Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names) unanimously go with the verb שרה of which the meaning is unsure. Undeterred, NOBSE reads God Strives, and BDB proposes El Persisteth or El Persevereth. Alfred Jones figures that the mysterious verb שרה might very well mean “to be princely,” and assumes that the name Israel consists of a future form of this verb, which hence would mean to become princely. And so Jones interprets the name Israel with He Will Be Prince With God.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3478, - ישׂראל, - Yiśrâ'êl, pronounced - Yis-raw-ale’, and means: From H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: - Israel. Total KJV occurrences: 2,576.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary: The description of Israel in the Smith’s Bible Dictionary is extensive and too long to post here; so, I’ll instead just post the link to it: Israel.

I Chronicles 26:30 And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah (YAH has regarded; or, whom YAH regards) (khash-ab-yawי-hoo) and his brethren, men of valour, a thousand and seven hundred, were officers among them of Israel on this side Jordan (a descender; and, the descender (yar-daneי) westward in all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king.  —>  Men of valour =Like Obed-edom’s descendants from verse v26:6 above, these Hebronites were also known throughout all the territories of Israel on the west side of the Jordan River for their firmness in principal, their staunch loyalty to Father, and their adherence to His Commands as to their carrying out their ministerial Duty of protecting Father’s Tabernacle, and their allegiance and dependability to their king.

A thousnad and seven hundred=So, there were 1,700 Levites assigned to the nine and a half Tribes which were on the western side of the Jordan River, that equates to roughly 178 per Tribe, and the western side of the Jordan included Jerusalem too. If that seems a little disproportionate to you, it should as that means that there were 4,300 Levites assigned for the two and a half Tribes which were on the eastern side of the Jordan. We’ll get a little better break-down of this in a moment.

This side of the Jordan westward=Remember brethren, the Jordan River divided the Promised Land and the Nation, on the east side we had the Tribes of Gad, Reuben and part of the Tribe of Manasseh; on the western side of the Jordan were the Tribes of Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, the remaining people of the Tribe of Manasseh, and then Benjamin. Not included were the Levites because, Father was their inheritance and as such they received no land allotments but, were given land throughout all the territories.

Jordan=The Jordan river proper begins at the junction of four streams—the Bareighit, the Hasbany, the Leddan, and the Banias—in the upper part of the plain of Lake Huleh. The River flows from north to south, down a deep valley in the center of the country. The name descender, is significant of the fact that, there is along its whole course, a descent to its banks; or it may simply denote the rapidity with which the river “descends” to the Dead Sea. † As we can tell by the number of times it is mentioned in Father’s Word—179 verses with 197 matches for the name\word—there is a deep and rich history between the Jordan River and our forefathers. It begins with the account of Abram and his nephew Lot and their separating from one another—Genesis 13:11—and the last mention is in John 10:40, when Jesus escaped out of those who were trying to harm Him before it was time for Him to allow for His Crucifixion. † Several of the more notable facts concerning the history between the Jordan and our forefathers are: “Lot beheld the plain of Jordan as the garden of the Lord.” Jacob crossed and recrossed “this Jordan” Genesis 32:10. When our forefathers came to the Jordan and were about to cross over it to get to Mount Ebal, Father commanded that they take up “great stones and plaister them with plaister and then write on them the Law of the Blessings and curses and then take more stones and make an altar of whole stones Deuteronomy 27:2-8. Our forefathers passed over it as “on dry ground” Joshua 3:17, Psalms 114:3. Twice afterwards its waters were miraculously divided at the same spot by Elijah and Elisha II Kings 2:8,14. The chief events in gospel history connected with it are: John the Baptist’s ministry, when “there went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and were baptized of him in Jordan” Matthew 3:6, Jesus also “was baptized of John in Jordan” Mark 1:9. † The etymology of the name Jordan comes from the common verb ירד (yarad), meaning to go down: The final letter nun upon which this name ends may be a remnant of the common waw-nun extension that personalizes or localizes a root. For a meaning of the name Jordan New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List reads The Descender. Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names both propose Descending.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3383, - ירדּן, - yardên, pronounced - yar-dane’, and means: From H3381; a descender; Jarden, the principal river of Palestine: - Jordan. Total KJV occurrences: 182.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The one river of Palestine, has a course of little more than 200 miles, from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the head of the Dead Sea. (136 miles in a straight line. --Schaff.) It is the river of the “great plain” of Palestine — the “descender,” if not “the river of God” in the book of Psalms, at least that of his chosen people throughout their history. There were fords over against Jericho, to which point the men of Jericho pursued the spies Joshua 2:7, with which we can compare with Judges 3:28. Higher up where the fords or passages of Bethbarah, where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites Judges 7:24, and where the men of Gilead slew the Ephraimites Judges 12:6. These fords undoubtedly witnessed the first recorded passage of the Jordan in the Old Testament Genesis 32:10. Jordan was next crossed, over against Jericho, by Joshua Joshua 4:12,13. From their vicinity to Jerusalem the lower fords were much used. David, it is probable, passed over them in one instance to fight the Syrians II Samuel 10:17;17:22. Thus there were two customary places at which the Jordan was fordable; and it must have been at one of these, if not at both, that baptism was afterward administered by St. John and by the disciples of our Lord. Where our Lord was baptized is not stated expressly, but it was probably at the upper ford. These fords were rendered so much more precious in those days from two circumstances. First, it does not appear that there were then any bridges thrown over or boats regularly established on the Jordan; and secondly, because “Jordan overflowed all his banks all the time of harvest” Joshua 3:15. The channel or bed of the river became brimful, so that the level of the water and of the banks was then the same. (Dr. Selah Merrill, in his book “Galilee in the Time of Christ” (1881), says, “Near Tarichaea, just below the point where the Jordan leaves the lake (of Galilee), there was (in Christ’s time) a splendid bridge across the river, supported by ten piers.” —ED.) The last feature which remains to be noticed in the scriptural account of the Jordan is its frequent mention as a boundary: “over Jordan,” “this” and “the other side,” or “beyond Jordan,” were expressions as familiar to the Israelites as “across the water,” “this” and “the other side of the Channel” are to English ears. In one sense indeed, that is, in so far as it was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan, it was the eastern boundary of the promised land Numbers 34:12. The Jordan rises from several sources near Panium (Banias ), and passes through the lakes of Merom (Huleh) and Gennesaret. The two principal features in its course are its descent and its windings. From its fountain heads to the Dead Sea it rushes down one continuous inclined plane, only broken by a series of rapids or precipitous falls. Between the Lake of Gennesaret and the Dead Sea there are 27 rapids. The depression of the Lake of Gennesaret below the level of the Mediterranean Isaiah 653 feet, and that of the Dead Sea 1316 feet. (The whole descent from its source to the Dead Sea Isaiah 3000 feet. Its width varies from 45 to 180 feet, and it is from 3 to 12 feet deep. — Schaff.) Its sinuosity is not so remarkable in the upper part of its course. The only tributaries to the Jordan below Gennesaret are the Yarmuk (Hieromax) and the Zerka (Jabbok). Not a single city ever crowned the banks of the Jordan. Still Bethshan and Jericho to the west, Gerasa, Pella and Gadara to the east of it were important cities, and caused a good deal of traffic between the two opposite banks. The physical features of the Ghor, through which the Jordan flows, are treated of under PALESTINE.”.

I Chronicles 26:31 Among the Hebronites was Jerijah (YAH will throw; or, people of YHVH) (yer-ee-yawי-hoo) the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valour at Jazer (helpful; or, YHVH helps) (yah-zareי) of Gilead (heap of testimony; and, rocky region) (ghil-awdי).   —>   Fortieth year of David=This being the fortieth year of David means that, he is in his last year of his reigh and rule. David is now 70 years old and he will be returning Home to Father shortly. Therefore, he is ensuring that everything is set for his son Solomon to take the reins and that the transition will be smooth as glass for his young 19 year old son.

Jazer=We read in Joshua 21:38-39 that, this Jazer was one of the sanctuary cities which the Levites maintained.

Jazer=Or sometimes Jaazer. Jazer was part of the land of Canaan—the Promised Land. It was a suburb of Gilead, and as such, it was on the east side of the Jordan River, almost directly due west of Rabbah. Even though it was a suburb of Gilead, it was large enough that it had it’s own suburbs. The country itself was very fertile, with expansive pasture-lands. † When our forefathers first entered the land, it was occupied by the Amorites—the same which Father had told Abram in Genesis 15:13-16 which reads: Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, (and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them) four hundred years; [15:14] And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. [15:15] And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. —>   This next verse is why we came here. [15:16] But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.   —>   The iniquity of the Amorites was that they were messing with and mating with the fallen angels, and He was going to use Abram’s descendants—the Israelites—to utterly destroy these abominable people—whom we read in Numbers 21:31-32, they “took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.”. † We next read of Jazer that, the Tribes of Gad and Reuben had very much cattle, and when they saw that the lands surrounding Jazer were most suitable for sustaining large amounts of life stock, they both wanted to stay on the east side of the Jordan in order that they could allow their cattle to graze the rich fertile fields. Father allowed them their request, but on the condition that their soldiers first assist their brethren in capturing the remaining territories of Canaan. † Later—as read in Joshua 21:39— Jazer itself was assigned to the Merarite Levites. † During the reign and rule of king David, when he allowed satan to tempt him into numbering his army—rather than trust in Father as he in the past—he had his nephew Joab go throughout all Israel and we read in II Samuel 24:5 that, “And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:”. † Finally, and sadly, the tribes of Reuben and Gad experienced why Father had wanted them with the rest of the Tribes of the House of Israel on the west of the Jordan River, because when the Assyrians started their conquest, Reuben and Gad were among the first to be captured and carried off into Assyria. † The etymology of the name Jazer comes from the root-verb עזר (azar), meaning to help or support: The name Jazer looks like a common expression of the verb עזר (azar), and would mean He Shall Help. For a meaning of the name Jazer, New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List proposes a descriptive Helpful. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names proposes a rather overly elaborate Whom The Lord Helps (our name does not contain a reference to YHVH). Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary doesn’t offer an interpretation of our name but does list it under the verb עזר (azar).. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H3270, - יַעֲזֵיר or יַעְזֵר, - ya‛ăzêyr or ya‛zêr, pronounced - yah-az-avrי or yah-zareי, and means: From H5826; helful; Jaazer or Jazer, a place East of the Jordan: - Jaazer, Jazer. Total KJV occurrences: 13. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary where we read: “(Yehovah helps), a town on the east of Jordan, in or near to Gilead Numbers 32:1,3; I Chronicles 26:31. We first hear of it in possession of the Amorites, and as taken by Israel after Heshbon, and on their way from thence to Bashan Numbers 21:32. It seems to have given its name to a district of dependent or “daughter” towns Numbers 21:32, Authorized Version “villages,” 1 Maccabees 5:8, the “land of Jazer” Numbers 32:1.”.

Gilead=There is much, much history with our forefathers and Gilead. There are 93 verses with 101 matches for the word\name Gilead and it’s associated Strong’s number: H1568. † We are first introduced to Gilead in Father’s Word when Jacob is fleeing his father-in-law Laban—Jacob had served Laban for 20 years: first, seven years for his first wife who was supposed to be Rachel, but Laban tricked him and gave him his older daughter Leah instead; then, seven years for Rachel; and then, for another six years for some live-stock—along with his wives—Laban’s daughters—and his sons, and all his live-stock, and they are overtaken by Laban in Mount Gilead, where Jacob and his father-in-law have a pow-wow concerning Jacob’s leaving. † We next read of Gilead when Jacob’s sons had taken their youngest brother Joseph, and cast him in a pit, meaning to tell their father that their younger brother had been killed by a wild beast. As they were scheming this plan, a company of Ishmaelites and Midianites who were coming from Gilead, pass by and they sell their younger brother to this company. † We next read of Gilead as our forefathers were moving into the Promised Land in Numbers 32:29 where Moses tells the children of Gad and Reuben that if they cross over the Jordan River and join in the battle against those who were living in the Prommised Land; then, they will be given the land of Gilead. Numbers 32:23-40 see this come to fruition with Moses giving Gilead to Machir, the son of Manasseh, for a possession. † There are far too many other events happen to list here. † We find that, with the etymology of the name Gilead, there are a few different ways to look at the name Gilead. The Brown Driver Briggs (BDB) Theological Dictionary mentions an Arabic equivalent that comes from a root meaning camel, and assumes that the mountain of Gilead was known as Camel Hump. New Open Bible Study Edition (NOBSE) Study Bible Name List and Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names assume that the first part of the name Gilead, like that of the names Galeed and Gilgal, comes from the verb גלל (galal), meaning to roll: NOBSE Study Bible Name List appears to ignore the second part of the name and renders Rocky or Strong, but the rendition of Strong seems a bit stretchy. Jones’ Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names takes the first part of the name Gilead from the noun גלה (gulla), meaning spring or basin Joshua 15:19. For the second part Jones goes to the particle ss(יad), meaning perpetuity Isaiah 26:4: Note that there are quite a few different words that are spelled עד. One of them is ss(יed), which means witness.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H1568, - גִּלְעָד, - gil‛âd, pronounced - ghil-awdי, and means: Probably from H1567; Gilad, a region East of the Jordan; also the name of three Israelites: - Gilead, Gileadite. Total KFV occurances: 114.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “(rocky region). A mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon Genesis 31:21; 3:12-17. It is sometimes called “Mount Gilead” Genesis 31:25, sometimes “the land of Gilead” Numbers 32:1, and sometimes simply “Gilead” Psalm 60:7; Genesis 37:25. The name Gilead, as is usual in Palestine, describes the physical aspect of the country: it signifies “a hard rocky region.” The mountains of Gilead, including Pisgah, Abarim and Peorv have a real elevation of from 2000 to 3000 feet; but their apparent elevation on the western side is much greater, owing to the depression of the Jordan valley, which averages about 3000 feet. Their outline is singularly uniform, resembling a massive wall running along the horizon. Gilead was specially noted for its balm collected from “balm of Gilead” trees, and worth twice its weight in silver.”.

I Chronicles 26:32 And his brethren, men of valour, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites (Patronymic from H7205; a Reubenite or descendant of Reuben) (reh-oo-bay-neeי), the Gadites (Patronymic from H1410; a Gadite or descendant of Gad) (gawd), and the half tribe of Manasseh (From H4519; a Menashshite or descendant of Menashsheh; or, that is, members of the Tribe of Manasseh) (men-ash-sheeי), for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.   —>   Two thousand and seven hundred=Again, we see the disparity in numbers concerning how many Levites were assigned to the east side of the Jordan River with the two and a half Tribes and how many were assigned to the nine and a half Tribes on the western side of the Jordan River. It Almost doesn’t make sense, I mean, 2,700 for 2¹/2 Tribes as compared to 1,700 for 9¹/2 Tribes. I believe our answer to this lies in verse v26:23 above, where we read of the uzzielites, but, we then do not read anything else of them in this Chapter. I believe that they too were Judges and Officers on the western side of the Jordan River, but for some reason they are not mentioned.

Reubenites=The Reubenites have always been a contentious lot. From the time of their namesake who himself began the trouble when he lay with one of his father’s concubines—she is never called that in Father’s Word, she is called Rachel’s handmaid—Bilhah—the mother of Dan and Naphtali. Reuben was the first-born of Jacob, and as such, he should have received the first-fruits Blessing, but he forfeited that right—much like his uncle Esau, though Esau forfeited his to Jacob for a different reason—when he committed his dispicable deed. † Whether his sons—Father’s Word does not say whether his four sons were controversial or not—and their descendants inherited this from their patriarch or not we don’t know. We do know that Reuben had four sons but, we don’t know in which year(s) Reuben’s sons were born, nor if he had had any daughters, but we do know that at the time of the migration into Egypt, Reuben’s sons were these: Hanoch, Phallu, Hezron and Carmi, as can be read in Genesis 46:9; Exodus 6:14; and I Chronicles 5:3. † Tracing the genealogies can get quite confusing and it is difficult to know who had which children while in captivity to the Egyptians. With that being said, what is determined is that, at the time of the exodus, of the children of Reuben, Elizur, the son of Shedeur was the head of the family of Reuben—Shedeur is never mentioned in a context other than being Elizur’s father, so I cannot determine from which of Reuben’s 4 sons Shedeur was descended. Being head of the family at this time also meant being the head of the army for the tribe, and again, at this time it is Elizur. † During the numbering in Numbers 1:21 and Numbers 2:10, the Reubenite army totaled 46,000. † When the spies were selected to go spy out the Promised Land as read in Numbers 13:4, Shammua, the son of Zaccur, was the man who was selected to be the spy from the Tribe of Reuben. † Then we read in Numbers 16:1 that, “Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben...” along with “...Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi...” rose up against Moses and Father. Of the sons of Reuben though, On, the son of Peleth, decided not to come to the door of his tent, and therefore, spared his life when Father called the others home to Him. † During the second numbering of the Tribes, that of Numbers 26, the Reubenites now numbered 43,730, a decrease of 2,770. The Reubenite’s numbers as compared to the rest of the Tribes after the second numbering was 8^th; or, 4^th from the bottom. † The Reubenites’s encampment as they came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, was as the Standard Bearer on the South side of the Tabernacle. † The sign on their Standard was aquarius—man, the colors on the Standard was the color of the top row of stones on the High Priest’s Breastplate: the Sardis, the Topaz, and the Carbuncle, most likely, brown, yellow and a shade of green. The Reubenites were the centerpiece, surrounded by the Tribes of Simeon and Gad. † The Reubenites united with the Tribe of Gad in asking permission to settle in the “land of Gilead,” which was located on the eastern side of Jordan River—Numbers 32:1-5. Of the 2¹/2 who remained on the eastern side of the Jordan, the Reubenite’ lot, was the smallest of the lots. Their lot extended from the Arnon, in the south along the coast of the Dead Sea to its northern end, where the Jordan flows into it—Joshua 13:15-21 Joshua 13:23. It thus embraced the original kingdom of Sihon. The Reubenites were “to the eastern tribes what Simeon was to the western, i.e., “Unstable as water.” † We hear of nothing beyond the multiplication of their cattle in the land of Gilead, their spoils of camels 50,000, and of asses 2,000—I Chronicles 5:9,10,20,21. † After the Reubenites assisted their fellow Israelites in defeating the peoples who inhabited the territories of the Prommised Land, they, with the Gadites and half Tribe of Manasseh, returned to their lands on the eastern side of the Jordan River. To mark and celebrate their—the Israelites—victory, they erected an Altar of Witness, which the Tribes on the western side mistakenly thought was erected to serve false gods, and therefore encamped against them in order to prepare to engage in battle against their brethren. In doing so, they first send Phinehas, the High Priest to enquire—which they should have done first, before mustering their army against their brethren—as to the nature of this Altar. After learning that it was an Altar to be a witness and give thanks to Father YHVH for their victory, the army of the western Israelites returned to their own territories. † During the battle against the Philistines and Sisera, Reuben was divided within it’s ranks, some were ready to go to battle, and some were not. Reuben wanted to retreat for they were against the war, and had no faith in Father or His protection. Reuben’s people were war protestors, and this is what brought about the “divisions” we read of in “Song of Deborah and Barak” of Judges 5:15-16. † Being descended from their namesake, it is from he who we draw for the etymology: Reuben is a combination of two words: The first part comes from the verb ראה (raיa), meaning see, look: The second part of the name Reuben is the word בן (ben), meaning son, offspring.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H7206, - רְאוּבֵנִי, - re'ûbênı̂y, pronounced - reh-oo-bay-neeי, and means: Patronymic from H7205; a Reubenite or descendant of Reuben: - The children of Reuben, Reubenites. Total KJV occurrences: 18. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The census at Mount Sinai Numbers 1:20,21; 2:11, shows that at the exodus the men of the tribe above twenty years of age and fit for active warlike service numbered 46,600. The Reubenites maintained the ancient calling of their forefathers. Their cattle accompanied them in their flight from Egypt Exodus 12:38. Territory of the tribe. --The portion of the Promised Land selected by Reuben had the special name of “the Mishor,” with reference possibly to its evenness. Under its modern name of the Belka it is still esteemed beyond all others by the Arab sheep-masters. It was a fine pasture-land east of the Jordan, lying between the river Arnon on the south and Gilead on the north. Though the Israelites all aided the Reubenites in conquering the land, and they in return helped their brothers to secure their own possessions, still there was always afterward a bar, a difference in feeling and habits, between the eastern and western tribes. The pile of stones which they erected on the west bank of the Jordan to mark their boundary was erected in accordance with the unalterable habits of Bedouin tribes both before and since. This act was completely misunderstood and was construed into an attempt to set up a rival altar to that of the sacred tent. No Judge, no prophet, no hero of the tribe of Reuben is handed down to us. The Reubenites disliked war clinging to their fields and pastures even when their brethren were in great distress. Being remote from the seat of the national government and of the national religion, it is not to be wondered at that the Reubenites relinquished the faith of Jehovah. The last historical notice which we possess of them, while it records this fact, records also as its natural consequence that they and the Gadites and the half-tribe Manasseh were carried off by Pul and Tiglath-pileser I Chronicles 5:26.”.

Gadites=The Gadites were the descended from Gad, the son of Jacob and Leah’s handmaiden Zilpah. Gad was one of the twelve patriarchs which made up the twelve Tribes of the House of Israel. † Genesis 46:16 details for us, Gad’s children who later become known collectively as the Gadites: Genesis 46:16 And the sons of Gad; Ziphion (watch tower; or, earnest expectation) (tsif-yoneי), and Haggi (festive; and, festive) (khag-gheeי), Shuni (quiet or rest; or, fortunate) (shoo-neeי), and Ezbon (working) (ets-boneי), Eri (watchful; and, watchful) (ay-reeי), and Arodi (patronymic from H721; or, a wild ass) (ar-o-deeי), and Areli (heroic; or, gather or pluck) (ar-ay-leeי).   —>   These sons of Gad were all born prior to the famine in the Promised Land, when Jacob packed up his family and fled down into Egypt in order to survive the famine. Of course, this fleeing to Egypt was told to Abraham—Jacob’s grandfather—by Father many years previous as read in Genesis 15:13-14. † Tracing the genealogies can get quite confusing and it is difficult to know who had which children while in captivity to the Egyptians. With that being said, what can be determined is that, at the time of the exodus from Egypt, of the children of Gad, Eliasaph, the son of Reuel—also called Deuel—was the head of the family of Gad—Reuel, or Deuel, is never mentioned in a context other than being Eliasaph’s father, so I cannot determine from which of Gad’s 7 sons Reuel was descended. Being head of the family at this time also meant being the head of the army for the tribe, and again, at this time, for the Gadites, it is Eliasaph. † During the numberings of the Tribes in Numbers 1:24-25 and Numbers 2:14-15, the Gadite army totaled 45,650. † When the spies were selected to go spy out the Promised Land as read in Numbers 13:15, Geuel, the son of Machi, was the man who was selected to be the spy from the Tribe of Gad. During the second numbering of the Tribes, that of Numbers 26:15-18, we read: Numbers 26:15 The children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites: [26:16] Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites: [26:17] Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. [26:18] These are the families of the children of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred.   —>   The Gadites now numbered 40,500, a decrease of 5,150. The Gadite’s numbers as compared to the rest of the Tribes after the second numbering was 11^th; or, 2^nd from the bottom. † Gad’s encampment as they came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, was on the South side of the Tabernacle, to the West side of Dan, who was the Standard Bearer. † The sign on their Standard was aries—ram. The Gadites united with the Tribe of Reuben in asking permission to settle in the “land of Gilead,” which was located on the eastern side of Jordan River—Numbers 32:1-5. As our forefathers were entering into the Promised Land, it was the Gadites who were the shock troops conquering and defeating the enemy and thus clearing the way for those who would inhabit the Promised Land on the western side of the Jordan River. The people of Gad have always been warriors, and good in the military sense. † During Moses’ Blessing and Prophesy of Deuteronomy 33:20-21, we read this: Deuteronomy 33:20 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be He That enlargeth Gad: He dwelleth as a lion, And teareth the arm with the crown of the head. [33:21] And he provided the first part for himself, Because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; And he came with the heads of the people, He executed the justice of the LORD, and His judgments with Israel.”   —>   It was the men of Gad along with the men of the Tribe of Reuben, and the men of the half Tribe of Manasseh who were armed and leading Joshua and the House of Israel as they passed over Jordan, preparing to enter into the Promised Land. Father had enlarged the Tribe of Gad in order for them to be able to do this. † We read of Gad’s territorial inheritance in Joshua 13:24-28, which reads: Joshua 13:24 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families. [13:25] And their coast was Jazer (helpful; or, YHVH helps) (yah-zareי), and all the cities of Gilead (heap of testimony; and, rocky region) (ghil-awdי), and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah; [13:26] And from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; [13:27] And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward. [13:28] This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.. † The etymology of the term Gadites is the same as that of the name Gad which comes from the verb גדד (gadad), meaning to cut or invade: The name Gad indicates a fortune for which a troublesome, invasive effort is made. There are plenty of words to indicate treasure or felicity, but Leah who named the son of her maid, chose this painful word גד Gad. Perhaps the reason for this is that she gave Zilpah to Jacob only because she could not conceive anymore. In those days, that was pretty awful, even though she had already given her husband four sons. Subsequently, she harshly accused her sister Rachel of stealing her husband Genesis 30:15. Jacob loved Rachel, after all, and Leah probably didn’t conceive because Jacob wasn’t sleeping with her anymore. Leah and Rachel exchanged a harvest of mandrakes for the right to sleep with Jacob, and Leah conceived again. Her fifth son, Issachar, she names after the word for wage, because, she says, God gave me my wage for I gave my maid to my husband. After son five Jacob keeps coming around, and Leah gives birth to one more son and a daughter; Jacob’s only. The name Gad tells of a wife’s deep anguish, shame and loneliness.. Now from the Strong’s Concordance, where we find that it is Hebrew word number: H1425, - גָּדִי, - gâdı̂y, pronounced - gaw-deeי, and means: Patronymic From H1410; a Gadite (collectively) or descendant of Gad: Gadites, children of Gad. Total KJV occurrences: 15.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “The descendants of Gad, and members of his tribe.”.

Manassites=The Manasites were descended from Joseph’s oldest son Manasseh, born to him while in Egypt. † Manasseh’s sons were Machir—the eldest, whose mother was a concubine of Manasseh—Ashriel—sometimes spelled with the “h” dropped, and thus spelled: Asriel—I cannot discern for sure, as Father’s Word does not specifically say that Manasseh had other children, what Father’s Word does say is this: Joshua 17:1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. [17:2] There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families. [17:3] But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.   —>   Though I hate to say this, “I believe”—I really dislike using that phrase when teaching Father’s Word as, we should leave our “uncertain beliefs” out of the equation—that the rest of the men listed in these verses in Joshua 17:1-3 are the descendants of Manasseh’s sons. I say this because: (1) these verses are from the Book of Joshua, which occurred several hundred years after the life of Manasseh; (2) the verses read: “...by their families...” and (3) the writers of Father’s Word did not use the term grandfather, great-grandfather etc., so we don’t know for sure if these sons of Manasseh are indeed sons or grandsons etc.. † With that being said and out of the way, what we also do know of the Manassehites is this: at the time of the exodus from Egypt, Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, was the head of the Tribe of Manasseh. Gamaliel being the head of the Tribe, also meant that he was also the head of the army of the Tribe of Manasseh at that time. † During the numbering of the Tribes of Numbers 1:34-35 and Numbers 2:20-21, the Manassite army totaled 32,200. † When the spies were selected to go spy out the Promised Land as read in Numbers 13:11, Gaddi, the son of Susi, was the man who was selected to be the spy from the Tribe of Manasseh. † During the second numbering of the Tribes, that of Numbers 26:28-34, we read: Numbers 26:28 The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim. [26:29] Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites. [26:30] These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: [26:31] And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: [26:32] And of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. [26:33] And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. [26:34] These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred.   —>   The Manassites saw a substantial increase and now numbered 52,700, an increase of 20,500. The Manassite’s numbers as compared to the rest of the Tribes after the second numbering was 6^th; or, smack in the middle. † Manasseh’s encampment as they came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, was on the West side of the Tabernacle, next to the Tribes of Benjamin and Ephraim, who was the Standard Bearer. † The Sign on the Standard of the Tribe of Manasseh, was as his brother Ephraim, the Ox—taurus—see Numbers 2:18. † The men of Manasseh along with the men of the Tribes of Gad and Reuben, formed the shock troops who were armed and leading Joshua and the House of Israel as they passed over Jordan, preparing to enter into the Promised Land. † Manasseh’s territorial inheritance as they moved into the Promised Land can be found in Joshua 13:29-32 which reads: Joshua 13:29 And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. [13:30] And their coast was from Mahanaim (double camp; or, two camps) (makh-an-ahי-yim) (map), all Bashan (fruitful) (baw-shawnי) (map), all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair (enlightener; and, enlightener) (yaw-ereי) (map), which are in Bashan, threescore cities: [13:31] And half Gilead (heap of testimony; or, rocky region) (ghil-awdי) (map), and Ashtaroth (increase; or, a star) (ash-taw-rothי) (map), and Edrei (mighty; or, stronghold) (ed-rehי-ee) (map), cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families. [13:32] These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab (from (her [the mother’s]) father; or, of his father) (mo-awb) (map), on the other side Jordan (a descender; or, the descender) (yar-daneי) (map), by Jericho (it’s mouth; or, place of fragrance) (yer-ee-khoי) (map), eastward.. † The Judge of Israel—a Judge of Israel was not as our modern day Judges who preside over a Court and Court Cases, a Judge of Israel was as we read in Judges 2:16-19 which reads: Judges 2:16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. [2:17] And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. [2:18] And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. [2:19] And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.   —>   As we see, a Judge in Father’s eye was someone whom He selected to deliver our forefathers out of the hands of oppressors who He sent to oppress our forefathers when they whored after other, false gods, and then cried out to Him to deliver them from the oppressor—Jephthah came from the Tribe of Manasseh—Judges 11:1-Judges 12:8. He was the son of a concubine and Gilead, who was the son of Machir, who was the son of Manasseh. Jephthah was driven away from his home land by his legitimate-born step-brothers, because they didn’t think he should have any claim on their father’s inheritance, so he went to the land of Tob where he became the leader over a people who were poor either because they were bankrupt or unemployed. His fame of being a successful leader was carried back to his native Gilead. Tob couldn’t have been too far from Gilead because, when Father sent the Ammonites against Gilead because the three Tribes who were living on the eastern side of the Jordan River were serving and worshiping false gods, Jephthah’s step-brothers came running to him seeking his assistance in leading them to fend off the Ammonite invasion. Jephthah told the elders of Gilead who had gathered together with him when he arrived that, they would make him head over them, should he agree to lead them in the war against the Ammonites. These elders made this vow, invoking Father in doing so. Jephthah, being a man of Father YHVH, accepted their plea because they had indeed invoked Father in their request. Jephthah began his campaign against the Ammonites by first attempting to use diplomatic means however, when the Ammonites failed to respond in a positive manner, he then waged all-out war against them and completely annihilated them, destroying them from Aroer, to Minnith, in all, twenty or so cities. Jephthah ruled Israel for approximately 6 years, from 1143-1137B.C. † The etymology of the name the Manassites is derived from their namesake Manasseh and is generally seen as being derived from the verb נשה (nasha), basically meaning forget. The name Manasseh is probably due to a grammatical form in Hebrew that is comparable to the English present continuous. It fixes the letter מ (mem) to the root. That would give the name Manasseh the meaning of Forgetting. Another reason why a mem may occur in front of a root is when it comes from a particle that means “from. ” Hence the name Manasseh may also mean From A Debt. This is significant because Manasseh’s brother is named Ephraim, a name with a distinctly bitter secondary meaning. Perhaps Joseph named his son From A Debt, because he figured that besides his gratitude for being rescued, he felt that either God or his family owed him a debt for tearing him away from his father.. † Now from the Strong’s Concordance, we find that it is Hebrew word number: H4520, - מְנַשִּׁי, - menashshı̂y, pronounced - men-ash-sheeי, and means: from H4519; a Menashshite or descentant of Menashsheh: - of Manasseh, Manassites. Total KJV occurrences: 4.. † Now from the Smith’s Bible Dictionary, where we read: “that is, the members of the tribe of Manasseh 4:43; Judges 12:4; II Kings 10:33.”.

Apr 2019

This Bible Study was written by Scott Reis and is provided in order to be used as a private Bible Study Tool. Therefore, it may be copied in whole or in part and shared for private Bible Study; however, it may not be reproduced and published as an original work.

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Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
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Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;and the knowledge of God more than your burnt offerings.

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I CHRONICLES CHAPTER 26

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge of God more than your burnt offerings.