1 Chronicles 23:17

Raised up by him as a prophet, admitted to great familiarity with him, a lawgiver from him, and the ruler and guide of Israel under him through the wilderness: his sons were named of the tribe of Levi; were only common Levites; Moses had no ambition to gratify; he sought no honour for his posterity; the civil government was left to Joshua, and the priesthood to Aaron. 1 Chronicles 23:15 Ver. 15. The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. See Exodus 18:3. 1 Chronicles 23:16 Ver. 16. Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief. Of the posterity of Gershom in the times of David, called Shubael, 1 Chronicles 24:20, the Targum makes him to be the same with Jonathan, Jude 18:30. {l} {l} So in Hieron. Trad. Heb. in Paralipom. fol. 84. c. 1 Chronicles 23:17 Ver. 17. And the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief,.... The first and only begotten, as it follows: and Eliezer had none other sons; before nor after him: but the sons of Rehabiah were very many; or greatly multiplied; not, as the Targum says, above 600,000; the number of Israel, as the Jewish writers {m} fancy; which they gather from Exodus 1:7, and that though Moses deprecated the multiplication of his seed, God fulfilled it. {m} T. Bab Beracot, fol. 7. 1, 2, Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 16. fol. 220. 4. 1 Chronicles 23:18 Ver. 18. Of the sons of Izhar,.... Another son of Kohath, the son of Levi, 1 Chronicles 23:12. Shelomith the chief; the principal descendant of Izhar at this time. 1 Chronicles 23:19 Ver. 19-21.

And the sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief,.... The first and only begotten, as it follows: and Eliezer had none other sons; before nor after him: but the sons of Rehabiah were very many; or greatly multiplied; not, as the Targum says, above 600,000; the number of Israel, as the Jewish writers (m) fancy; which they gather from Exodus 1:7, and that though Moses deprecated the multiplication of his seed, God fulfilled it. (m) T. Bab Beracot, fol. 7. 1, 2, Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 16. fol. 220. 4.

Verse 17. - Rehabiah . He was the chief ( הָראשׁ ); but it happened that he was also the only son. Hence it is added in antithesis that his sons were very many (see the name again, 1 Chronicles 26:25 ). The non-priestly Amramites are therefore seen to correspond with the houses of Shebuel and Rehabiah. 1 Chronicles 23:17

(17) And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. —The word “were” (became) ought not to be in italics in the text, as it is expressed in the Hebrew. The chief (head) means founder and eponym of the clan the sons of Rehabiah. And Eliezer had none other sons.—Literally, And there became not to Eliezer ether sons, and the sons of Rehabiah had multiplied exceedingly (unto height, 1Chronicles 22:5). The clan Rehabiah was very populous. Thus (1Chronicles 23:16-17) the descendants of Moses were comprised in two father-houses, or clans, viz., Shebuel and Rehabiah.

The sons of Eliezer, for the son ; the plural number for the singular, as Genesis 46:23 1 Chronicles 2:8,31 , and oft elsewhere. Rehabiah the chief, Heb. the first-born. He is so called, not because others were born after him, but because none were born before him. See Poole "Matthew 1:25" .

Each of his two sons Gershon and Eliezer (see Exodus 2:22 and Exodus 18:3 .) founded a father's-house; Gershon through his son Shebuel (שׁבוּאל, in 1 Chronicles 24:20 שׁוּבאל), Eliezer through Rehabiah. The plurals בני ג, בני א are used, although in both cases only one son, he who was head (הראשׁ) of the father's-house, is mentioned, either because they had other sons, or those named had in their turn sons, who together formed a father's-house. From the remark in 1 Chronicles 23:17 , that Eliezer had no other sons than Rehabiah, while Rehabiah had very many, we may conclude that Gershon had other sons besides Shebuel, who are not mentioned because their descendants were numbered with Shebuel's father's-house.

## 1 Chronicles 23:13 That he should sanctify the most holy things; not positively, for so he could not sanctify them, they being already sanctified by God in the highest degree; but negatively, i.e. that he might keep them from pollution; for these most holy things were polluted when they were touched by any other persons. ## He and his sons; not only his eldest sons, the high priests successively, but all his posterity, or all the priests; for the works here following were not peculiar to the high priest, but common to all the priests, who might all ## burn incense, 2Ch_29:11 Luk_1:9, and to ## minister in the temple, and to bless the people in God’s name, Num_6:23 Deu_10:8. 1 Chronicles 23:14 i.e. They were accounted only as common Levites, and were not priests; which is mentioned partly to secure the priesthood within the bounds to which God had confined it, lest they should presume to invade it upon a confidence in the nobleness of their extraction; and partly for the honour of Moses, and the demonstration of his eminent piety and self-denial, who willingly left the government to Joshua, and the priesthood to Aaron, and was content to have his posterity reduced to a very private and mean condition. 1 Chronicles 23:15 No text from Poole on this verse. 1 Chronicles 23:16 No text from Poole on this verse. ## 1 Chronicles 23:17 The sons of Eliezer, for the son ; the plural number for the singular, as Gen_46:23 1Ch_2:8 ,31 , and oft elsewhere. ## Rehabiah the chief, Heb.