1 Chronicles 9:10–13, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Chronicles 9:10–13
Priestly households are named for temple work
Priests are named for the work of the house
Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, and Jachin; Azariah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, ruler of the house of God; Adaiah of Pashur and Malchijah; Maasiai of Immer. Continuity after return is expressed as people assigned to temple labor.
Ability is for service, not for rank of soul
Their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and threescore, very able men for the work of the service of the house of God. 1,760 is a workforce claim. Priestly ancestry and ability do not make superior persons, erase other workers, or authorize hereditary control without accountability. Those not in this count remain full members of the returned community.
How this should shape us
Put names next to jobs, then put numbers next to the jobs those people can actually do. Do not let a temple headcount become a caste, and do not confuse skill for worship work with greater human worth.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Chronicles 9:10–13 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: The received text clearly assigns roles, while the history, date, development, and relation of these orders to Torah, Samuel-Kings, Ezra-Nehemiah, Psalms, and later practice remain debated.
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 9:10–13, 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 9:10–13
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 9:10–13, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Chronicler's God, worship, Israel, kingship, retribution, and hope, used only within the stated access limit.
Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles (2009), officially exposed introduction pp. 1–8, worship pp. 156–208, Israel pp. 209–307, and kingship pp. 308–383; detailed chapter bodies were not available
Supports: Only abstract-supported composition alternatives, the rejected single Chronicler's History model, and Chronicles' northern-Israel, Davidic, Jerusalem, priest, and Levite emphases.
Klein, Oxford Handbook chapter (2020), pp. 353–366, complete official abstract
Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.
Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11
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
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 9:10–13, 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 9:10–13
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 9:10–13, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗modern scholarly monograph limited access
The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought
Sara Japhet
Eisenbrauns / Penn State University Press, English edition 1989; reprint 2009
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Chronicler's God, worship, Israel, kingship, retribution, and hope, used only within the stated access limit.
Exact location: Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles (2009), officially exposed introduction pp. 1–8, worship pp. 156–208, Israel pp. 209–307, and kingship pp. 308–383; detailed chapter bodies were not available
Open source ↗modern scholarly handbook chapter abstract
The Rise and Fall of the So-Called Chronicler's History and the Current Study of the Composition of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah
Ralph W. Klein
The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible, pp. 353-366, 2020
Supports: Only abstract-supported composition alternatives, the rejected single Chronicler's History model, and Chronicles' northern-Israel, Davidic, Jerusalem, priest, and Levite emphases.
Exact location: Klein, Oxford Handbook chapter (2020), pp. 353–366, complete official abstract
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
1 and 2 Chronicles as a Discourse of Power
Ananda Geyser-Fouche
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 79(1), article 8011, pp. 1-13, 2023
Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.
Exact location: Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11
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 ↗