1 Chronicles 27:16–24, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Chronicles 27:16–24
Tribal leaders are named but the census remains unfinished
Tribal officers, with Aaron listed beside them
Over the tribes of Israel: Eliezer son of Zichri over Reuben, Shephatiah son of Maachah over Simeon, Hashabiah son of Kemuel over Levi, Zadok over the Aaronites, Elihu of David's brethren over Judah, Omri son of Michael over Issachar, Ishmaiah son of Obadiah over Zebulun, Jerimoth son of Azriel over Naphtali, Hoshea son of Azaziah over Ephraim, Joel son of Pedaiah over the half tribe of Manasseh, Iddo son of Zechariah over the other half of Manasseh in Gilead, Jaasiel son of Abner over Benjamin, Azareel son of Jeroham over Dan. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel.
Gad and Asher are absent. Aaronites are separately listed. The map of officers is already incomplete on its own terms.
Those under twenty are not counted, and Joab's numbering is left unfinished
David takes 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. 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 administrative list checks itself against chapter 21. Promise, incompleteness, and wrath remain on the page. This does not forbid every census, make young people uncountable as persons, hide failed audits as piety, or justify removing damaging evidence from public records. Relation to chapter 21 is compressed; the nature of the royal annals is unknown. Leave the unfinished count unfinished.
How this should shape us
Keep a damaging audit visible even when the total never lands in the official book. Do not use a star-promise to avoid counting people you are responsible for, and do not bury a failed project because it embarrasses the king.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Chronicles 27:16–24 in your own words. Include its movement, placement in Chronicles, one Samuel-Kings comparison, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one modern use the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Gad and Asher are absent, Aaronites are separately listed, Joab's count relation to chapter 21 is compressed, and the nature of the royal annals is unknown.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
1 Chronicles 27:16–24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 27:16–24
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 27:16–24, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Supports: Complete thesis comparison of witnesses, narrative structure, census differences, Ornan's site, David's responsibility, and the episode's effect on Davidic memory.
Shaffo, The Purpose of the Census Narrative in Chronicles (2022), method pp. 1–11; 2 Samuel 24 pp. 12–31; 1 Chronicles 21–22:1 pp. 33–78; legacy pp. 110–126
Supports: Only the exposed late-Persian and alternative-history framing plus the fact of deliberate rewriting; not uninspected detailed claims.
Levin, 'The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?' (2020), pp. 173–188; official opening, XML metadata, and chapter record
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Supports: Complete Greek-witness translation comparison and introductory controls, used where the Septuagint materially differs without treating a translation as the underlying Greek text.
NETS, 1 Supplements (2009), translator introduction pp. 342–343 and 1 Supplements 27:16–24 within pp. 344–368
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 27:16–24, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 27:16–24
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 27:16–24, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗open access masters thesis
The Purpose of the Census Narrative in Chronicles and Its Impact on David's Legacy
Peter Shaffo
Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University, 2022
Supports: Complete thesis comparison of witnesses, narrative structure, census differences, Ornan's site, David's responsibility, and the episode's effect on Davidic memory.
Exact location: Shaffo, The Purpose of the Census Narrative in Chronicles (2022), method pp. 1–11; 2 Samuel 24 pp. 12–31; 1 Chronicles 21–22:1 pp. 33–78; legacy pp. 110–126
Open source ↗peer reviewed scholarly book chapter limited access
The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?
Yigal Levin
Writing and Rewriting History in Ancient Israel and Near Eastern Cultures, Mohr Siebeck, 2020
Supports: Only the exposed late-Persian and alternative-history framing plus the fact of deliberate rewriting; not uninspected detailed claims.
Exact location: Levin, 'The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?' (2020), pp. 173–188; official opening, XML metadata, and chapter record
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context
Isaac Kalimi
Poznan Theological Studies repository edition, pp. 7-25, 2019 repository edition
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Exact location: Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Open source ↗septuagint translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: 1 Supplements
C. E. V. Nixon
Oxford University Press; International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 2009
Supports: Complete Greek-witness translation comparison and introductory controls, used where the Septuagint materially differs without treating a translation as the underlying Greek text.
Exact location: NETS, 1 Supplements (2009), translator introduction pp. 342–343 and 1 Supplements 27:16–24 within pp. 344–368
Open source ↗