Verse Lens · Concise explanation
1 Chronicles 6:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence: “Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Levi's three branches are traced through Samuel's family.”
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 6:16–30
Read 1 Chronicles 6:21 with 6:16–30. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari's lines are restated and extended, including Korah's descendants and Samuel's sons.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Levi's three branches are traced through Samuel's family,” 1 Chronicles 6:21 advances the thought unit through its next name, action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The broader Levitical frame prevents the Aaronic line from exhausting Levi's identity and prepares named singers. 1 Chronicles 6:1–15 has just established this prior movement: Levi's line narrows through Aaron and Eleazar to priests associated with Solomon's temple and Jehozadak's deportation. Together those details explain why “Levi's three branches are traced through Samuel's family” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 6:16–30 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 6:16–30 forms the complete movement “Levi's three branches are traced through Samuel's family”: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari's lines are restated and extended, including Korah's descendants and Samuel's sons.
Verse 16. 16 The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
Verse 17. 17 And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei.
Verse 18. 18 And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.
Verse 19. 19 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.
Verse 20. 20 Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,
Verse 21. 21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.
Verse 22. 22 The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,
Verse 23. 23 Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,
Verse 24. 24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.
Verse 25. 25 And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth.
Verse 26. 26 As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,
Verse 27. 27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.
Verse 28. 28 And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.
Verse 29. 29 The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,
Verse 30. 30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.
What Remains True
Communal memory must preserve real people, households, disruptions, and belonging without turning ancestry into superiority, spiritual rank, or entitlement. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari's lines are restated and extended, including Korah's descendants and Samuel's sons. In 1 Chronicles 6:21, the concrete line “Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.” When a community tells its story, document people accurately, notice women and outsiders as persons, state gaps honestly, and reject ancestry tests for dignity, faith, citizenship, land, or leadership. This response follows from the unit's own movement: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari's lines are restated and extended, including Korah's descendants and Samuel's sons.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Chronicles 6:16–30 — Levi's three branches are traced through Samuel's familySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 6:16–30, 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 6:16–30
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 6:16–30, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗