Commentary on 1 Chronicles 9:10–13 (Summary)

The lists of clergy—the priests and Levites—span 1 Chronicles 9:10–34 and incorporate not only names but also accounts of their worship duties. Only six priests are named in the list of 1 Chronicles 9:10–13): Jedaiah, Jehoiarib, Jakin, Azariah, Adaiah, and Maasai. As is the case with the other lists, the Chronicler’s record differs from the parallel version in Nehemiah 11:10–14. Nehemiah’s list is evidently more comprehensive since it includes more names. The chronicler’s total of 1,760 persons (1 Chronicles 9:13) differs from Nehemiah’s total of 1,192. Since there is no hint of the basis for these figures, it is impossible to know what accounts for their differences.¹

Three priests stand out from the list because of the extended lineage attached to their names. Azariah is the most prominent of these three, not only because he is related to Zadok (son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub) but also because the function chief officer of the house of God is attached to his name. The name Zadok was of great importance to the postexilic community. The high priest Joshua (Jeshua) who served with Zerubbabel represented a controversial re-assertion of Zadokite dominance over other Levitical families after the exile. By giving this lineage separate treatment here, the Chronicler made it very plain that he supported Zadokite leadership. All the names in this lineage can be found in the list of the priestly line of Aaron in 1 Chronicles 6:1–15, confirming Azariah’s status within the core of the priestly clan. The term chief officer of the house of God² points to his leadership of the priestly clan in the early Persian period probably before that of Jeshua son of Jehozadak (Ezra 3:1–13; Haggai 1:1–2:23; Zechariah 3:1–10), but it also harkens back to the ideal era of Hezekiah when an earlier Azariah would facilitate a renewal of worship (see 2 Chronicles 31:1–21).

Adaiah (son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malkijah) and Maasai (son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer) are both linked to key Aaronic clans that were assigned regular priestly duties by David according to 1 Chronicles 24:1–31 (Malkijah in 1 Chronicles 24:9 and Immer in 1 Chronicles 24:14).³