Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 6:77
Unto the rest of the children of Merari [were given] out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:
77 81 (= Jos 21:34-39). The [twelve] cities of the sons of Merari
77. Rimmon Tabor ] Against these two names there are four in Jos 21:34-35; Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah and Nahalal. As regards the number of the cities the text of Joshua is certainly right. See Critical Note on 1Ch 6:54-81.
Tabor ] No city, but only a mountain named Tabor is known to us, as having certainly existed in Old Testament times. A city however named Tabor existed on the Mountain as early as 218 b.c., and it may have been as old as the times of the Chronicler. Mount Tabor was in Zebulun. Cp. Bdeker, p. 248.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 77. 1Ch 6:71.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
[See comments on 1Ch 6:54].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
THE CITIES OF THE MERARITES.
(Comp. Jos. 21:34-38.) 1Ch. 6:77-81.
(77) Unto the rest of the children of Merari.Rather, Unto the sons of Merari, the remaining Levites, as at Jos. 21:34. The cities of the Kohathites and Gershonites having been rehearsed, it was natural to speak of the Merarites as those who were left.
Were given.They gave, as before (1Ch. 6:71).
Rimmon . . . Tabor.Heb. Rimmn. The reading of Jos. 21:34-35 is quite different. We there find mention of Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, four cities. The first pair of names may be accidentally omitted from our text. Dimnah, in Joshua, should probably be Rimmonah, answering to the present Rimmono or Rimmon (Jos. 19:13). Rimmon, the Assyrian Rammnu. (See Note on 2Ki. 5:18.) Nahalal is mentioned again (Jos. 19:15) as a city-of Zebulun; while Tabor is only known as the name of the mountain which rises north-east of the plain of Esdraelon, and is famous as the traditional scene of the Transfiguration (Jdg. 8:18; Psa. 89:12). Nahalal means pasture, or sheep-walk = Nahall (Isa. 7:19); and the original reading of our text may have been, Nahalal-tabr (pasturage of Tabor)a compound proper name like Hamm-thdr, and many-others.
(78, 79) Bezer in the wilderness.A city of refuge (Deu. 4:43). The phrase on the east or Jordan fixes the meaning of the indefinite expression on the other side Jordan.
Jahzah is a form of Jahaz, originally meaning, to Jahaz. (Comp. the modern names Stamboul = , Stanchio = ) Jahaz was assigned to Reuben at the partition of Canaan (Jos. 13:18), along with Kedemoth and Mephaath. Mesha, king of Moab, recovered it from Israel (see Note on 2Ki. 1:1). Mephaath belonged to Moab temp. Jeremiah (Jer. 48:21). It was, according to Jerome, a garrison town in the Roman age. (See also Jos. 13:18; Jos. 21:37; Deu. 2:26.)
(80) Ramoth in Gilead.A city of refuge (Jos. 21:36). Jazer, Heshbon, Mahanaim, were given by Moses to the Gadites (Jos. 13:25-26). Ramoth Gilead (see 1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 18, and 2Ki. 8:28). Its position is unknown.
Mahanaim, now Maneh, lay on the north border of Gad.
(81) Heshbon, now Hesbn, on the south border of Gad. (See also Isa. 15:4; Jer. 48:2.)
Jazer belonged to Moab in the eighth century (Isa. 16:8-9; Jer. 48:32).
In regard to this entire list of the Levitical cities, it has been asserted that it is based upon a theory which is historically false; the theory, namely, that certain towns with their pasture-grounds were assigned by lot to the Levites for their exclusive possession. The objection is irrelevant, for the sacred records neither affirm nor imply that none but Levitical families dwelt in the forty-eight Levitical cities. It is priori probable that the bulk of their population would be ordinary Israelites of the tribes in which they were situated. (Comp. Lev. 25:32-34, and 1Ch. 6:55-57 supra, and Num. 35:1-5.)
Variations in local names, such as we have noted in comparing this list with those in Joshua, are not at all surprising, when it is remembered that centuries elapsed between the composition of the two books; and that names of places, like other names, are liable to phonetic change in the course of time. Something also must be allowed for errors of transcription.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1Ch 6:77. Out of the tribe of Zebulun Here are some names changed, and some omitted; for in Jos 21:34-35 four cities are assigned to the Merarites out of the tribe of Zebulun; whereas two only are mentioned here, the names of which are not the same. See and compare the places.
REFLECTIONS.The Levites were distributed throughout the tribes, that the people might be better taught; taken off all worldly employments, that they might give themselves up to the work of the ministry; and liberally provided with cities to dwell in, and the tithes for their maintenance. The names of the cities are much the same as Joshua 21 except some trivial differences, which time may be supposed to have made. Note; (1.) They deserve a liberal provision, who labour in the word and doctrine. (2.) They who neglect the Levite’s work, to eat the bread of the church in idleness, not only rob their brethren, but rob God also.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
the rest of = those remaining from.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Ch 6:77-81
1Ch 6:77-81
“Unto the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs; and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them, out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah, and Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, and Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs.”
By far the greater space was devoted to the genealogies of the Levites. “The reason for this, of course, was the importance of the priestly tribe in the religious life of Israel.”
An amazing feature of these is the use of the same names over and over from generation to generation. The time covered by these genealogies reaches all the way back to Israel (Jacob); and many of the names encountered here remind us of historical events centered around those names throughout the Old Testament. My comments on some of those occurrences are in Exodus 6; 1 Samuel 1,1 Samuel 8, and in Joshua 21.
“Nadab and Abihu” (1Ch 6:3). Their offering strange fire before Jehovah and their untimely death are recorded in Lev 20:1-2, and in Num 3:4. They left no children.
A most significant fact that appears in this chapter is that all of the services of the tabernacle are presented as reaching all the way back to the Exodus; and the Chronicler tells us that their ceremonies were observed, “According to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.” (1Ch 6:49). Elmslie, speaking of this verse, declared it to be “emphatically stated.” The sacred author of Chronicles had evidently never heard of that fairy tale regarding that “D” Document allegedly discovered by Hilkiah in the days of Josiah. What is stated here could never have been written if that `discovery’ had been anything other than the Pentateuch (every single word of it).
“All their cities were thirteen” (1Ch 6:60). “Eleven of these are given here, and the other two are supplied in Joshua 21.”
The importance of these genealogies for the returning Israelites from their captivity in Babylon was stressed by Simmons: “It was important for them to realize that their captivity had been only an interruption of their religious and national life. These genealogies gave them a most significant link with their past. They created a continuity between the pre-exilic and post-exilic Israel.”
E.M. Zerr:
1Ch 6:57-81. It will be just as well to comment on this group of verses as a whole. On the west side of the Jordan River there were cities selected from the various families of the tribe of Levi, three of which were cities of refuge. They were Hebron (1Ch 6:57), Gezer (1Ch 6:67) and Golan (1Ch 6:71). These several cities were scattered throughout the land in general, hence were taken from the different tribes. This long paragraph is a list of the various cities given to the Levites, showing from whose possessions they had been appropriated.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Unto: Jos 21:34-39
Rimmon: Jos 19:12, Jos 19:13, Jos 21:34, Jos 21:35, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, Nahalal, 2Ki 5:18
Tabor: Jdg 4:6, Probably the city on the summit of Tabor, mentioned by Polybius and Josephus, the remains of which still exist.
Reciprocal: Jos 19:22 – Tabor Jos 21:7 – General Jdg 20:45 – Rimmon 1Ch 6:63 – Merari Zec 14:10 – Rimmon