in connection with לשׁרתו of the priests; in the former, of the tribe of Levi, but so used that it can refer only to the priests, not to the Levites also.
Verse 14
1Ch 23:14 “But as to Moses the man of God” (cf. Deu 33:1), “his sons were called after the tribe of Levi,” i.e., were reckoned in the ranks of the Levites, not of the priests. On על נקרא, cf. Gen 48:6; Ezr 2:61; Neh 7:63.
Verses 15-17
Each of his two sons Gershon and Eliezer (see Exo 2:22 and Exo 18:3.) founded a father's-house; Gershon through his son Shebuel (שׁבוּאל, in 1Ch 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 1Ch 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.
Verse 18
Only one son of Jizhar, the brother of Amram, is mentioned, Shelomith as head, after whom the Jizharite father's-house is named.
Verses 19-20
Amram's next brother Hebron had four sons, and the youngest brother Uzziel two, who founded fathers'-houses; so that, besides the priests, nine Levitical fathers'-houses are descended from Kohath, and their chiefs who served in the sanctuary are enumerated in 1Ch 24:20-25.
Verses 21-22
1Ch 23:21-22The fathers'-houses of the Merarites. - 1Ch 23:21. As in 1Ch 6:19; Exo 6:19, and Num 3:33, two sons of Merari are mentioned-Mahli and Mushi-who founded the two families of Merari which existed in the time of Moses. Mahli had two sons, Eleazar and Kish; the first of whom, however, left behind him at his death only daughters, who were married to the sons of Kish (אחיהם, i.e., their cousins), according to the law as to daughters who were heiresses (Num 26:6-9). The descendants of Mahli, therefore, were comprehended in the one father's-house of Kish, whose head at that time (1Ch 24:29) was Jerahmeel.
Verse 23
Of the sons of Mushi, three founded fathers'-houses, so that the Merarites formed only four fathers'-houses in all. If we compare the enumeration of the Merarites in 1Ch 24:26-30, we find there in 1Ch 24:30 Eleazar and Kish called sons of Mahli, with the remark that Eleazar had no sons. In 1Ch 24:26, however, of the same passage we read, “sons of Merari (
