1 Chronicles 27:1 Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.
The heads of the tribal clans, that is, of the twelve tribes of Israel.
After giving an outline of the religious organization of the land (
chs. 22-26), the record gives a brief account of the military and civil administration. This is done by presenting a catalogue of officers and civil administrators, setting forth such details as would give a brief picture of the civil administration as established by David.
Verses 1-15 give a catalogue of the commanders of the 12 army corps,
vs. 16-24 list the princes of the tribes,
vs. 25-31 list the names of the 12 overseers of the royal estates, and
vs. 32-34 list the names of the king’s privy counselors.
The king was, of course, commander in chief of the armies.
Only with that prerogative could he function, truly, as head of the realm.
Each month a division of 24,000 men stood at arms as a sort of national guard, ready for instant action. This constant rotation of troops made possible the drilling of a large number of men so that an adequate army of trained men would be available at any time, should an emergency arise. Since the term of service was only a month, there was no great hardship on anyone.
1 Chronicles 27:2 Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
According to
2 Sam. 23:8 (see
1 Chron. 11:11), Jashobeam was evidently the one
“that sat in the seat, chief among the captains,” of all David’s mighty men. The honor of commanding the first corps to serve during the year was accorded to him.
1 Chronicles 27:3 Of the children of Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month.
Perez or Pharez, was of the tribe of Judah (
ch. 2:4), and of the branch from which David himself sprang (
ch. 2:4-15).
This was Jashobeam (
v. 2). Jashobeam, however, was not David’s leading general. That post belonged to Joab, a son of David’s sister Zeruiah (
chs. 2:16; 11:6; 20:1).
1 Chronicles 27:4 And over the course of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course likewise were twenty and four thousand.
Perhaps
“Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite” (
ch. 11:12), is meant.
1 Chronicles 27:5 The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
1 Chronicles 27:6 This is that Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son.
1 Chronicles 27:7 The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
Asahel was slain by Abner before David began his reign over the united kingdom (
2 Sam. 2:18-23), and he therefore could not have been alive late in the reign of David to fill the position here assigned him. Actually Zebadiah, the son of Asahel, commanded the fourth army corps, and Asahel (see
1 Chron. 11:26) may be mentioned by way of honor to his memory. It is also possible that these army corps had been built around smaller nuclei of units dating from David’s earlier days, and that Zebadiah had taken over his father’s old command.
1 Chronicles 27:8 The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
1 Chronicles 27:9 The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
1 Chronicles 27:15 The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.
1 Chronicles 27:16 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah:
Verses 16-24 list the princes of the 12 tribes. This listing may have to do with the taking of the national census (
vs. 23, 24). When the census was taken in the wilderness, the Lord commanded that a representative of each tribe was to work with Aaron in the taking of the census, every one to be a
“head of the house of his fathers” (
Num. 1:4). David also employed princes from the tribes. However, the number of princes here is 13. Although Gad and Asher are not listed here, there were two princes for the separate half tribes of Manasseh, one for Levi, together with Zadok for the house of Aaron (
v. 17).
Each tribe had its own chief officer.
1 Chronicles 27:18 Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael:
1 Chronicles 27:21 Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
This was probably a son of Saul’s famous general, who was a Benjamite.
1 Chronicles 27:22 Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
Neither Dan nor Zebulun appears in the tribal registers of
chs. 4-7, but both tribes occur in the present list.
1 Chronicles 27:23 But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.
The remark here implies that David’s numbering of the people was connected with the military arrangements set forth earlier in the chapter.
David desired to know how many men he could count on in the building up of his army.
1 Chronicles 27:24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.
The number was not inserted in the official state archives of David’s reign. This does not mean that it was not preserved elsewhere. The figures are found in
1 Chron. 21:5.
1 Chronicles 27:25 And over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah:
These were probably treasures of gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones in the royal treasury at Jerusalem.
Verses 25-31 comprise an important section dealing with the question of the royal revenue and the means by which it was acquired. David’s wealth consisted of treasure laid up in storehouses in cities and in rural areas. Its sources were fields, vineyards, olive orchards, sycamore plantations, flocks, herds, camels, and asses. David had become wealthy, and it was necessary that expert help be provided to take care of his financial interests.
1 Chronicles 27:26 And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub:
The arable domains of David probably brought in a considerable and constant flow of revenue.
1 Chronicles 27:27 And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite:
The soil of Palestine was favorable to grape raising. The grape flourished throughout the land, on the hills of Judah and Samaria, the plains of Jericho and Esdraelon, and the highlands across the Jordan.
1 Chronicles 27:28 And over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains was Baalhanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash:
The olive tree was cultivated in Palestine in olive yards. The olive was highly valued not only as the whole fruit but also for its oil. The oil was used in cooking and seasoning, also burned in lamps, and used as an ointment.
These were the sycamore figs. They were abundant in the lowlands of Judah and were also found in the Jordan valley.
1 Chronicles 27:29 And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai:
A fertile plain along the Mediterranean coast, south of Mt. Carmel.
1 Chronicles 27:30 Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite:
Ishmaelites from the Arabian Desert were well acquainted with camels, and one of this group would have been a fitting person to look after David’s camels. The camels were probably kept in the uplands east of the Jordan.
1 Chronicles 27:31 And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David’s.
Heb. so’n, flocks of sheep and goats. The country of Palestine was particularly suited for grazing purposes.
1 Chronicles 27:32 Also Jonathan David’s uncle was a counsellor, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons:
Hachmoni was probably a tutor of the king’s sons.
1 Chronicles 27:33 And Ahithophel was the king’s counsellor: and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion:
The counselor of David who went over to Absalom, and who committed suicide when he found that his advice was not accepted by Absalom (
2 Sam. 15:31; 17:23).
The faithful counselor of David who thwarted the counsel of Ahithophel (see
2 Sam. 17:7-14).
1 Chronicles 27:34 And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the general of the king’s army was Joab.
After the defection of Ahithophel he was succeeded by Jehoiada and Abiathar.
This was probably the Jehoiada who is designated as a
“priest” (
v. 5).
Jehoiada’s son, Benaiah, had the same name as his grandfather.