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The descendants of Levi

Levi's sons were: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

Kohath's sons were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

Amram's children were: Aaron, Moses and Miriam.

Aaron's sons were: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

Eleazar became the father of Phinehas. Phinehas became the father of Abishua. Abishua became the father of Bukki. Bukki became the father of Uzzi. Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth. Meraioth became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz. Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah. Azariah became the father of Johanan. 10 Johanan became the father of Azariah. Azariah served God as a priest in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem.

11 Azariah became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. 12 Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Shallum. 13 Shallum became the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah became the father of Azariah. 14 Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak. 15 Jehozadak went into exile with the people from Jerusalem and the rest of Judah. The Lord used Nebuchadnezzar to take them away to Babylon.

The three clans of Levi

16 Levi's sons were: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

17 The names of Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.

18 Kohath's sons were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

19 Merari's sons were: Mahli and Mushi.

These are the ancestors of the clans of the Levites:

20 Gershon's descendants were his son Libni, Libni's son Jahath and Jahath's son Zimmah. 21 Zimmah's son was Joah. Joah's son was Iddo. Iddo's son was Zerah. Zerah's son was Jeatherai.

22 Kohath's descendants were his son Amminadab, Amminadab's son Korah and Korah's son Assir. 23 Assir's son was Elkanah. Elkanah's son was Ebiasaph. Ebiasaph's son was Assir. 24 Assir's son was Tahath. Tahath's son was Uriel. Uriel's son was Uzziah. Uzziah's son was Shaul.

25 Elkanah's other sons were Amasai and Ahimoth. 26 Ahimoth's son was Elkanah. Elkanah's son was Zophai. Zophai's son was Nahath. 27 Nahath's son was Eliab. Eliab's son was Jeroham. Jeroham's son was Elkanah.

28 Samuel's firstborn son was Joel and his second son was Abijah.[a]

29 Merari's descendants were his son Mahli, Mahli's son Libni, Libni's son Shimei and Shimei's son Uzzah. 30 Uzzah's son was Shimea. Shimea's son was Haggiah. Haggiah's son was Asaiah.

The musicians for the temple

31 After David put God's Covenant Box in the Lord's house, he chose some men to lead the music there. 32 They used music to serve the Lord in his special tent where he met with his people. After King Solomon built the Lord's temple in Jerusalem, they served the Lord there. They obeyed the rules that told them how to do their work.

33 These are the leaders of the music and their sons:

From Kohath's clan: Heman the singer. He was Joel's son. Joel was Samuel's son. 34 Samuel was Elkanah's son. Elkanah was Jeroham's son. Jeroham was Eliel's son. Eliel was Toah's son. 35 Toah was Zuph's son. Zuph was Elkanah's son. Elkanah was Mahath's son. Mahath was Amasai's son. 36 Amasai was Elkanah's son. Elkanah was Joel's son. Joel was Azariah's son. Azariah was Zephaniah's son. 37 Zephaniah was Tahath's son. Tahath was Assir's son. Assir was Ebiasaph's son. Ebiasaph was Korah's son. 38 Korah was Izhar's son. Izhar was Kohath's son. Kohath was Levi's son. Levi was Israel's son.

39 Heman worked with his relative, Asaph. Asaph was Heman's helper. He was Berekiah's son. Berekiah was Shimea's son. 40 Shimea was Michael's son. Michael was Baaseiah's son. Baaseiah was Malkijah's son. 41 Malkijah was Ethni's son. Ethni was Zerah's son. Zerah was Adaiah's son. 42 Adaiah was Ethan's son. Ethan was Zimmah's son. Zimmah was Shimei's son. 43 Shimei was Jahath's son. Jahath was Gershon's son. Gershon was Levi's son.

44 Other relatives of Heman and Asaph worked with them. They belonged to Merari's clan and they stood on the left side. Kishi's son Ethan led this group. Kishi was Abdi's son. Abdi was Malluch's son. 45 Malluch was Hashabiah's son. Hashabiah was Amaziah's son. Amaziah was Hilkiah's son. 46 Hilkiah was Amzi's son. Amzi was Bani's son. Bani was Shemer's son. 47 Shemer was Mahli's son. Mahli was Mushi's son. Mushi was Merari's son. Merari was Levi's son.

48 All the other Levites also had jobs to do in God's special tent.

Aaron's descendants

49 Only Aaron and his descendants served God as priests. They offered sacrifices to God on the altar for burnt offerings. They also burned sweet oils on the altar for incense. That was their work in the Most Holy Place. They made sacrifices so that God would forgive the sins of the Israelites. They did all this in the way that God's servant Moses had commanded.

50 These were Aaron's descendants:

Eleazar was Aaron's son. Phinehas was Eleazar's son. Abishua was Phinehas's son. 51 Bukki was Abishua's son. Uzzi was Bukki's son. Zerahiah was Uzzi's son. 52 Meraioth was Zerahiah's son. Amariah was Meraioth's son. Ahitub was Amariah's son. 53 Zadok was Ahitub's son. Ahimaaz was Zadok's son.

The cities of the Levites

54 Aaron's descendants belonged to the clan of Levi's son, Kohath. When the leaders used lots to divide the land, Kohath's clan received the first part of the land.[b] These places belonged to them:

55 They had Hebron city in Judah's land. They had the fields around the city. 56 But Jephunneh's son, Caleb, had the villages around the city, with their fields. 57 Aaron's descendants received these towns with the fields around them: Hebron (a safe city),[c] Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, 58 Hilen, Debir, 59 Ashan, Juttah and Beth-Shemesh.

60 They also received some towns in land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe. They received these towns with the fields around them: Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth and Anathoth.

So there were 13 towns for Aaron's descendants to live in.

61 The other people who were Kohath's descendants received ten towns in land that belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh. They used lots to choose the towns.

62 Gershon's descendants received 13 towns. The lots showed which towns they would receive. Their towns were in land that belonged to the tribes of Issachar, Asher and Naphtali, as well as in Manasseh's land in the region of Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan River.

63 Merari's descendants received 12 towns. The lots showed which towns they would receive. Their towns were in land that belonged to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

64 So the Israelites gave those towns and the fields around them to the Levites. 65 They used lots to choose these towns, including the towns in land that belonged to the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.

66 Descendants of Kohath received towns in land that belonged to Ephraim's tribe. They received these towns with the fields around them: 67 Shechem (a safe city in the hill country of Ephraim), Gezer, 68 Jokmeam, Beth-Horon, 69 Aijalon and Gath-Rimmon. 70 The other descendants of Kohath received towns in land that belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh. They received Aner with its fields and Bileam with its fields.

71 The descendants of Gershon received these towns in land that belonged to the other half tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its fields and Ashtaroth with its fields. 72 They also received towns in land that belonged to Issachar's tribe. They received these towns and the fields around them: Kedesh, Daberath, 73 Ramoth and Anem. 74 They received these towns in land that belonged to Asher's tribe: Mashal with its fields, Abdon with its fields, 75 Hukok with its fields and Rehob with its fields. 76 They received these towns in land that belonged to Naphtali's tribe: Kedesh in Galilee with its fields, Hammon with its fields and Kiriathaim with its fields.

77 The rest of Levi's descendants, who belonged to Merari's clan, received these towns: In land that belonged to Zebulun's tribe they received Rimmono with its fields and Tabor with its fields. 78 They also received towns in land that belonged to Reuben's tribe on the east side of the Jordan River, beyond Jericho city. They received these towns and the fields around them: Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, 79 Kedemoth and Mephaath. 80 They received these towns in land that belonged to Gad's tribe: Ramoth in Gilead with its fields, Mahanaim with its fields, 81 Heshbon with its fields and Jazer with its fields.

Footnotes

  1. 6:28 Samuel was a prophet. He was Elkanah's son.
  2. 6:54 The Levites did not receive their own land in the same way that the other tribes did. They lived in towns among the other tribes. See Joshua 21:1-42.
  3. 6:57 Safe cities were special cities that people could run to if they were afraid someone might kill them. See Joshua 20.

The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua,

And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi,

And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth,

Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,

And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz,

And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan,

10 And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:)

11 And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub,

12 And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum,

13 And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah,

14 And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak,

15 And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the Lord carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

16 The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.

17 And these be the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei.

18 And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel.

19 The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.

20 Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son,

21 Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son.

22 The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son,

23 Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son,

24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son.

25 And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth.

26 As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son,

27 Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son.

28 And the sons of Samuel; the firstborn Vashni, and Abiah.

29 The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son,

30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son.

31 And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.

32 And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order.

33 And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,

34 The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah,

35 The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai,

36 The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah,

37 The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah,

38 The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel.

39 And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berachiah, the son of Shimea,

40 The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah,

41 The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah,

42 The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei,

43 The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi.

44 And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch,

45 The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah,

46 The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer,

47 The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi.

48 Their brethren also the Levites were appointed unto all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God.

49 But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.

50 And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son,

51 Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son,

52 Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son,

53 Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son.

54 Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.

55 And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.

56 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

57 And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,

58 And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,

59 And Ashan with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs:

60 And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.

61 And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.

62 And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

63 Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

64 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.

65 And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.

66 And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.

67 And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,

68 And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs,

69 And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs:

70 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.

71 Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:

72 And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,

73 And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:

74 And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,

75 And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:

76 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.

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:

78 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,

79 Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs:

80 And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

81 And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.

These are the names of the sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, Merari.

Kohath’s sons were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel.

Amram’s descendants included: Aaron, Moses, Miriam.

Aaron’s sons were: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, Ithamar.

4-15 The oldest sons of the successive generations of Aaron were as follows:[a]

Eleazar, the father of

Phinehas, the father of

Abishua, the father of

Bukki, the father of

Uzzi, the father of

Zerahiah, the father of

Meraioth, the father of

Amariah, the father of

Ahitub, the father of

Zadok, the father of

Ahimaaz, the father of

Azariah, the father of

Johanan, the father of

Azariah (the High Priest in Solomon’s Temple at Jerusalem), the father of

Amariah, the father of

Ahitub, the father of

Zadok, the father of

Shallum, the father of

Hilkiah, the father of

Azariah, the father of

Seraiah, the father of

Jehozadak (who went into exile when the Lord sent the people of Judah and Jerusalem into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar).

16 As previously stated,[b] the sons of Levi were: Gershom, Kohath, Merari.

17 The sons of Gershom were: Libni, Shimei.

18 The sons of Kohath were: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, Uzziel.

19-21 The sons of Merari were: Mahli, Mushi.

The subclans of the Levites were:

In the Gershom clan: Libni, Jahath, Zimmah, Joah, Iddo, Zerah, Jeatherai.

22-24 In the Kohath clan: Amminadab, Korah, Assir, Elkanah, Ebiasaph, Assir, Tahath, Uriel, Uzziah, Shaul.

25-27 The subclan of Elkanah was further divided into the families of his sons: Amasai, Ahimoth, Elkanah, Zophai, Nahath, Eliab, Jeroham, Elkanah.

28 The families of the subclan of Samuel were headed by Samuel’s sons: Joel, the oldest; Abijah, the second.

29-30 The subclans of the clan of Merari were headed by his sons: Mahli, Libni, Shimei, Uzzah, Shimea, Haggiah, Asaiah.

31 King David appointed song leaders and choirs to praise God in the Tabernacle after he had placed the Ark in it. 32 Then, when Solomon built the Temple at Jerusalem, the choirs carried on their work there.

33-38 These are the names and ancestries[c] of choir leaders: Heman the Cantor was from the clan of Kohath; his genealogy was traced back through: Joel, Samuel, Elkanah III, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, Zuph, Elkanah II, Mahath, Amasai, Elkanah I, Joel, Azariah, Zephaniah, Tahath, Assir, Ebiasaph, Korah, Izhar, Kohath, Levi, Israel.

39-43 Heman’s assistant[d] was his colleague Asaph, whose genealogy was traced back through: Berechiah, Shimea, Michael, Baaseiah, Malchijah, Ethni, Zerah, Adaiah, Ethan, Zimmah, Shimei, Jahath, Gershom, Levi.

44-47 Heman’s second assistant was Ethan, a representative from the clan of Merari, who stood on his left. Merari’s ancestry was traced back through: Kishi, Abdi, Malluch, Hashabiah, Amaziah, Hilkiah, Amzi, Bani, Shemer, Mahli, Mushi, Merari, Levi.

48 Their relatives—all the other Levites—were appointed to various other tasks in the Tabernacle. 49 But only Aaron and his descendants were the priests. Their duties included sacrificing burnt offerings and incense, handling all the tasks relating to the inner sanctuary—the Holy of Holies—and the tasks relating to the annual Day of Atonement for Israel. They saw to it that all the details commanded by Moses the servant of God were strictly followed.

50-53 The descendants of Aaron were: Eleazar, Phinehas, Abishua, Bukki, Uzzi, Zerahiah, Meraioth, Amariah, Ahitub, Zadok, Ahimaaz.

54 This is a record of the cities and land assigned by lot to the descendants of Aaron, all of whom were members of the Kohath clan:

55-57 Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands in Judah (although the fields and suburbs were given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh), 58-59 and the following Cities of Refuge with their surrounding pasturelands: Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Hilen, Debir, Ashan, Beth-shemesh.

60 Thirteen other cities with surrounding pastures—including Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth—were given to the priests by the tribe of Benjamin. 61 Lots were then drawn to assign land to the remaining descendants of Kohath, and they received ten cities in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

62 The subclans of the Gershom clan received by lot thirteen cities in the Bashan area from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh.

63 The subclans of Merari received by lot twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

64-65 Cities and pasturelands were also assigned by lot to the Levites (and then renamed) from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

66-69 The tribe of Ephraim gave these Cities of Refuge with the surrounding pasturelands to the subclans of Kohath: Shechem in Mount Ephraim, Gezer, Jokmeam, Beth-horon, Aijalon, Gath-rimmon.

70 The following Cities of Refuge and their pasturelands were given to the subclans of the Kohathites by the half-tribe of Manasseh: Aner, Bileam.

71 Cities of Refuge and pastureland given to the clan of Gershom by the half-tribe of Manasseh were: Golan, in Bashan; Ashtaroth.

72 The tribe of Issachar gave them Kedesh, Daberath, 73 Ramoth, and Anem, and the surrounding pastureland of each.

74 The tribe of Asher gave them Abdon, Mashal, 75 Hukok, and Rehob, with their pasturelands.

76 The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim with pasturelands.

77 The tribe of Zebulun gave Rimmono and Tabor to the Merari clan as Cities of Refuge.

78-79 And across the Jordan River, opposite Jericho, the tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer (a desert town), Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with their pasturelands.

80 The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, 81 Heshbon, and Jazer, each with their surrounding pasturelands.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:4 The oldest sons of the successive generations of Aaron were as follows, implied.
  2. 1 Chronicles 6:16 As previously stated, implied in 6:1.
  3. 1 Chronicles 6:33 ancestries, implied.
  4. 1 Chronicles 6:39 assistant, literally, “brother,” or “kinsman.”