1 Chronicles 9:1-34

The names of all the people of Israel were listed in their family histories, and those family histories were put in the book of the kings of Israel. The people of Judah were captured and forced to go to Babylon, because they were not faithful to God. The first people to come back and live in their own lands and towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites, and Temple servants. People from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh lived in Jerusalem. This is a list of those people. There was Uthai son of Ammihud. (Ammihud was Omri’s son. Omri was Imri’s son. Imri was Bani’s son. Bani was a descendant of Perez, and Perez was Judah’s son.) Of the Shilonite people there were Asaiah and his sons. Asaiah was the oldest son in his family. Of the Zerahite people there were Jeuel and other relatives of Zerah. There were six hundred ninety of them in all. From the tribe of Benjamin there was Sallu son of Meshullam. (Meshullam was Hodaviah’s son, and Hodaviah was Hassenuah’s son.) There was also Ibneiah son of Jeroham and Elah son of Uzzi. (Uzzi was Micri’s son.) And there was Meshullam son of Shephatiah. (Shephatiah was Reuel’s son, and Reuel was Ibnijah’s son.) The family history of Benjamin lists nine hundred fifty-six people living in Jerusalem, and all these were leaders of their families. Of the priests there were Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin, and Azariah son of Hilkiah. (Hilkiah was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Zadok’s son. Zadok was Meraioth’s son. Meraioth was Ahitub’s son. Ahitub was the officer responsible for the Temple of God.) Also there was Adaiah son of Jeroham. (Jeroham was Pashhur’s son, and Pashhur was Malkijah’s son.) And there was Maasai son of Adiel. (Adiel was Jahzerah’s son. Jahzerah was Meshullam’s son. Meshullam was Meshillemith’s son, and Meshillemith was Immer’s son.) There were one thousand seven hundred sixty priests. They were leaders of their families, and they were responsible for serving in the Temple of God. Of the Levites there was Shemaiah son of Hasshub. (Hasshub was Azrikam’s son, and Azrikam was Hashabiah’s son. Hashabiah was from the family of Merari.) There were also Bakbakkar, Heresh, Galal, and Mattaniah son of Mica. (Mica was Zicri’s son, and Zicri was Asaph’s son.) There was also Obadiah son of Shemaiah. (Shemaiah was Galal’s son, and Galal was Jeduthun’s son.) And there was Berekiah son of Asa. (Asa was the son of Elkanah, who lived in the villages of the Netophathites.) Of the gatekeepers there were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their leader. These gatekeepers from the tribe of Levi still stand next to the King’s Gate on the east side of the city. Shallum was Kore’s son. Kore was Ebiasaph’s son, and Ebiasaph was Korah’s son. Shallum and his relatives from the family of Korah were gatekeepers and were responsible for guarding the gates of the Temple. Their ancestors had also been responsible for guarding the entrance to the Temple of the LORD. In the past Phinehas, Eleazar’s son, was in charge of the gatekeepers, and the LORD was with Phinehas. Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Temple. In all, two hundred twelve men were chosen to guard the gates, and their names were written in their family histories in their villages. David and Samuel the seer chose these men because they were dependable. The gatekeepers and their descendants had to guard the gates of the Temple of the LORD. (The Temple took the place of the Holy Tent.) There were gatekeepers on all four sides of the Temple: east, west, north, and south. The gatekeepers’ relatives who lived in the villages had to come and help them at times. Each time they came they helped the gatekeepers for seven days. Because they were dependable, four gatekeepers were made the leaders of all the gatekeepers. They were Levites, and they were responsible for the rooms and treasures in the Temple of God. They stayed up all night guarding the Temple of God, and they opened it every morning. Some of the gatekeepers were responsible for the utensils used in the Temple services. They counted these utensils when people took them out and when they brought them back. Other gatekeepers were chosen to take care of the furniture and utensils in the Holy Place. They also took care of the flour, wine, oil, incense, and spices, but some of the priests took care of mixing the spices. There was a Levite named Mattithiah who was dependable and had the job of baking the bread used for the offerings. He was the first son of Shallum, who was from the family of Korah. Some of the gatekeepers from the Kohath family had the job of preparing the special bread that was put on the table every Sabbath day. Some of the Levites were musicians in the Temple. The leaders of these families stayed in the rooms of the Temple. Since they were on duty day and night, they did not do other work in the Temple. These are the leaders of the Levite families. Their names were listed in their family histories, and they lived in Jerusalem.

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