Who had charge of the loaves, fine flour, cakes, cooking and weights and measures?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The priests had those charges. The Levites served under Aaron’s sons in the Lord’s house and were also assigned thanksgiving, praise and the prescribed service at offerings and solemnities.

Chapter breakdown

David appoints Solomon king and distributes the Levites and their offices.

Old and full of days, David made his son Solomon king over Israel. He gathered all Israel’s princes, priests and Levites. The Levites aged 30 and upward numbered 38,000 men. Of these, 24,000 were chosen and assigned to ministry in the Lord’s house, and 6,000 were overseers and judges. There were 4,000 porters and as many singers praising the Lord with the instruments David had made for singing.

David divided them into courses by the families of Levi’s sons Gerson, Caath and Merari. Gerson’s sons were Leedan and Semei. Leedan’s three sons were Jahiel the chief, Zethan and Joel. Semei’s three sons Salomith, Hosiel and Aran were heads of Leedan’s families. The account also lists four sons of Semei: Leheth, Ziza, Jaus and Baria. Leheth was first and Ziza second. Jaus and Baria had few children, so they were counted as one family and one house.

Caath’s four sons were Amram, Isaar, Hebron and Oziel. Amram’s sons were Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his sons were set apart for ever to minister in the holy of holies, burn incense before the Lord according to his ceremonies and bless his name for ever. The sons of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in Levi’s tribe. Moses’ sons were Gersom and Eliezer. Subuel was Gersom’s first son. Rohobia was Eliezer’s first and only son, but Rohobia’s sons multiplied greatly. Isaar’s first son was Salomith. Hebron’s sons were Jeriau first, Amarias second, Jahaziel third and Jecmaam fourth. Oziel’s sons were Micha first and Jesia second.

Merari’s sons were Moholi and Musi. Moholi’s sons were Eleazar and Cis. Eleazar died having daughters but no sons; the sons of Cis, their brethren, took them as wives. Musi’s three sons were Moholi, Eder and Jerimoth.

These were Levi’s sons in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, with each head counted for the work of ministry in the Lord’s house from age 20 upward. David said the Lord, Israel’s God, had given his people rest and a habitation in Jerusalem for ever. The Levites would no longer have the duty of carrying the tabernacle and its service vessels. According to David’s last instructions, Levi’s sons were to be numbered from age 20 upward.

The Levites were to serve under Aaron’s sons in the Lord’s house: in the porches, chambers, place of purification and sanctuary, and in all the work of the Lord’s temple ministry. The priests had charge of the loaves of proposition, the fine-flour sacrifice, unleavened cakes, the fryingpan, roasting and every weight and measure. The Levites were to stand in the morning to thank and praise the Lord and do the same in the evening. They were also to serve at the Lord’s holocaust offerings, sabbaths, new moons and other solemnities, according to the prescribed numbers and ceremonies, continually before the Lord. They were to keep the observances of the covenant tabernacle, sanctuary ceremonies and the charge of Aaron’s sons, their brethren, to minister in the Lord’s house.

The story inside

David makes Solomon king in his old age, gathers the leaders, priests and Levites and assigns the 38,000 Levites aged 30 upward to four named groups. Family courses follow through Gerson, Caath and Merari. The roster gives order and relationships, explains why Jaus and Baria form one house, distinguishes Aaron’s lasting ministry from the numbering of Moses’ sons in Levi and notes both Eliezer’s only son and Eleazar’s daughters without sons. The account then names workers from age 20 upward. David’s statement of rest and lasting habitation in Jerusalem accompanies the end of carrying the tabernacle and its vessels; his last instructions give the 20-year numbering threshold. The closing duties place the Levites under Aaron’s sons, assign food, cooking, weights and measures to the priests and set out the Levites’ morning and evening praise and prescribed service at offerings and holy days.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The two age thresholds belong to different statements. The opening count finds 38,000 Levites aged 30 and upward and assigns 24,000 ministers, 6,000 overseers and judges, 4,000 porters and 4,000 singers. Later the family ministry record and David’s last instructions use age 20 upward. The repair retains both without inventing training rules or motives for the change.
2
The family exceptions explain particular relationships. Jaus and Baria count as one house because they have few children. Eliezer has only Rohobia, whose sons multiply greatly; Eleazar has daughters but no sons, and Cis’s sons take those daughters as wives. These details are not interchangeable, and calling Eleazar childless would erase his daughters.
3
The last duties distinguish priests and Levites. Levites serve under Aaron’s sons in the named places and give thanks and praise morning and evening; the priests have charge of the loaves, flour, cakes, cooking and weights and measures. The solemnities also keep their prescribed numbers and ceremonies. Assigning all these duties to Levites changes the chapter’s division of responsibility.

Test your recall

David makes Solomon king and gathers the princes, priests and Levites → the 30-and-upward count is distributed into four groups and family courses. Jaus and Baria have few children → one family and house. Eleazar dies with daughters but no sons → Cis’s sons take them as wives. David speaks of rest and a lasting habitation in Jerusalem → Levites no longer carry the tabernacle and vessels; his last instructions number them from 20 upward. Service is under Aaron’s sons → priestly food and measure charges remain distinct from Levite thanksgiving, praise and prescribed observances.

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 43633–43637
1 Paralipomenon Chapter 23 David appointeth Solomon king. The distribution of the Levites and their offices.
Lines 43638–43652
23:1. David being old and full of days, made Solomon his son king over Israel. 23:2. And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, and the priests and Levites. 23:3. And the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years, and upwards: and there were found of them thirty-eight thousand men. 23:4. Of these twenty-four thousand were chosen, and distributed unto the ministry of the house of the Lord: and six thousand were the overseers and judges. 23:5. Moreover four thousand were porters: and as many singers singing to the Lord with the instruments, which he had made to sing with.
Lines 43654–43670
23:6. And David distributed them into courses by the families of the sons of Levi, to wit, of Gerson, and of Caath, and of Merari. 23:7. The sons of Gerson were Leedan and Semei. 23:8. The sons of Leedan: the chief Jahiel, and Zethan, and Joel, three. 23:9. The sons of Semei: Salomith, and Hosiel, and Aran, three: these were the heads of the families of Leedan. 23:10. And the sons of Semei were Leheth, and Ziza, and Jaus, and Baria: these were the sons of Semei, four. 23:11. And Leheth was the first, Ziza the second: but Jaus and Baria had not many children, and therefore they were counted in one family, and in one house.
Lines 43672–43695
23:12. The sons of Caath were Amram, and Isaar, Hebron, and Oziel, four. 23:13. The sons of Amram, Aaron, and Moses. And Aaron was separated to minister in the holy of holies, he and his sons for ever, and to burn incense before the Lord, according to his ceremonies, and to bless his name for ever. 23:14. The sons also of Moses, the man of God, were numbered in the tribe of Levi. 23:15. The sons of Moses were Gersom and Eliezer: 23:16. The sons of Gersom: Subuel the first. 23:17. And the sons of Eliezer were: Rohobia the first: and Eliezer had no more sons. But the sons of Rohobia were multiplied exceedingly. 23:18. The sons of Isaar: Salomith the first. 23:19. The sons of Hebron: Jeriau the first, Amarias the second, Jahaziel the third, Jecmaam the fourth. 23:20. The sons of Oziel: Micha the first, Jesia the second.
Lines 43697–43703
23:21. The sons of Merari: Moholi, and Musi. The sons of Moholi: Eleazar and Cis. 23:22. And Eleazar died, and had no sons but daughters: and the sons of Cis their brethren took them. 23:23. The sons of Musi: Moholi, and Eder, and Jerimoth, three.
Lines 43705–43717
23:24. These are the sons of Levi in their kindreds and families, princes by their courses, and the number of every head that did the works of the ministry of the house of the Lord from twenty years old and upward. 23:25. For David said: The Lord the God of Israel hath given rest to his people, and a habitation in Jerusalem for ever. 23:26. And it shall not be the office of the Levites to carry any more the tabernacle, and all the vessels for the service thereof. 23:27. So according to the last precepts of David, the sons of Levi are to be numbered from twenty years old and upward.
Lines 43719–43741
23:28. And they are to be under the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the porches, and in the chambers, and in the place of purification, and in the sanctuary, and in all the works of the ministry of the temple of the Lord. 23:29. And the priests have the charge of the loaves of proposition, and of the sacrifice of fine flour, and of the unleavened cakes, and of the fryingpan, and of the roasting, and of every weight and measure. 23:30. And the Levites are to stand in the morning to give thanks, and to sing praises to the Lord: and in like manner in the evening, 23:31. As well in the oblation of the holocausts of the Lord, as in the sabbaths and in the new moons, and the rest of the solemnities, according to the number and ceremonies prescribed for every thing, continually before the Lord. 23:32. And let them keep the observances of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ceremonies of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, that they may minister in the house of the Lord.