Глава 15

1–29. Transferring the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Abbeddar the Githite to Zion. Instead of a brief description of the transfer of the ark of the covenant in 2 Samuel 6:11–23, the author of the book. Chronicles offers a detailed account of this event. It includes: 1) a listing of preliminary actions - the construction of the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 15:1), David's conference with the priests and Levites (1 Chronicles 15:2–16) and the appointment of some of them to transport the ark (1 Chronicles 15:16–24); 2) a description of the act of transfer itself (1 Chronicles 15:25 – 1 Chronicles 16:3) and the first solemn service before the ark (1 Chronicles 16:4–43), which included the performance of a special song composed by David himself. 1 Chronicles 15:1. And he built himself houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and made a tabernacle for it. The author does not explain what kind of houses David built. It is believed that they were appointed for his wives (1 Chronicles 14:3). Since the tabernacle of Moses was in Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39, 21:29) and, for the special reasons of David, was not moved by him to Zion, it is obvious that a new one was built here according to its model. 1 Chronicles 15:2. Then David said, “No one should carry the ark of God except the Levites, because the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and serve Him forever.” Explaining the death of Uzzah (1 Chronicles 13:10) by failure to fulfill the law regarding the carrying of the tabernacle and its accessories by the Levites (1 Chronicles 15:13), David now issues an order corresponding to the decrees of Moses (Numbers 4:15). 1 Chronicles 15:3. And David gathered all the Israelites to Jerusalem to bring the ark of the Lord into the place that he had prepared for it. The Israelites, not the entire people, but their representatives, the elders and commanders (1 Chronicles 15:25), were only present at the transfer of the ark of the covenant, but did not take direct part in it; this was the work of the Levites and priests, whose convening is discussed below. 1 Chronicles 15:4. And David called the sons of Aaron and the Levites: 1 Chronicles 15:5. of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brothers, one hundred and twenty men; 1 Chronicles 15:6. of the sons of Merarin, Asai the chief and his brothers - two hundred and twenty people; 1 Chronicles 15:7. of the sons of Gershon, Joel the captain and his brothers, one hundred and thirty men; 1 Chronicles 15:8. of the sons of Elishaphan, Shemaiah the captain, and his brothers, two hundred; 1 Chronicles 15:9. of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the captain, and his brothers, eighty; 1 Chronicles 15:10. of the sons of Uzziel, the chief Abinadab, and his brothers, one hundred and twelve. Having decided to move the Ark of the Covenant in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Moses, David invites for this task those Levitical generations who, according to the instructions of Moses, were obliged to move the tabernacle and its accessories. It was the generation of Kohath with his representative Uriel (1 Chronicles 6:24), which was responsible for the preparation for the transfer and the very transfer of the items of the sanctuary (Num. 4:4–15); the clan of Merari, led by Asaiah (1 Chronicles 6:30), is obliged to carry the beams of the tabernacle, their stools are poles, etc. (Num.4:31–32); and, finally, the descendants of Gershon, with their head Joel (1 Chronicles 6:28), who carried the covers of the tabernacle, veils, etc. (Numbers 4:25–26). David adds to them Levites from three other generations descended from Kohath: Elisaphan, the grandson of Kohath (1 Chronicles 6:22), Hebron, the third son of Kohath (1 Chronicles 6:18), and Uzziel, his fourth son (1 Chronicles 6:18). To transport the Ark of the Covenant, thus, four clans of the Kohathites gather (verses 5, 8–10) and one clan each of the descendants of Merari and Gershon. 1 Chronicles 15:11. And David called the priests: Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Abinadab, 1 Chronicles 15:12. and he said to them, “You, the leaders of the families of the Levites, sanctify yourself and your brothers, and bring the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it; The transfer of the ark of the covenant - the place of residence of God himself (Exodus 25:22), required cleanliness from the Levites and priests, among other things, washing their clothes (Exodus 19:10,15; 2 Chronicles 30:3). 1 Chronicles 15:13. for as it was not you who did it before, the Lord our God struck us because we did not seek Him as we should. See comments on (1 Chronicles 15:2). 1 Chronicles 15:17. And the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel, and of his brothers Asaph the son of Berechiah, and of the sons of Merari their brothers Ethan the son of Cushaiah; 1 Chronicles 15:18. and with them their minor brothers: Zechariah, Ben, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattathiah, Eliphlehu, Miknei, and Obed-edom and Jeiel, the gatekeepers. Jaaziel Aziel (1 Chronicles 15:20), Jeiel (1 Chronicles 16:5). 1 Chronicles 15:19. Heman, Asaph and Ethan played loudly on brass cymbals, 1 Chronicles 15:20. and Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maasei and Benaiah - on the psalms, in a thin voice. 1 Chronicles 15:21. Mattathiah, Eliphlehu, Miknei, Obed-edom, Jeiel and Azaziah - on harps to make the beginning. The division of the above-mentioned persons (1 Chronicles 15:17–18) into three choirs according to the musical instruments they played. The second choir played “on the psalms in a thin voice,” literally from Hebrew (“alalamot”) “in a girlish way,” in a girlish, thin voice—treble or alto. The third move is “on the zither to make the beginning” (“al-gashsheminit”) “on the eighth, last and coarsest string,” i.e. in the lowest voice. 1 Chronicles 15:22. And Chenaniah, the chief of the Levites, was a teacher of singing, because he was skilled in it. “Henania... was a singing teacher” – reading LXX. From the subsequent story it is not clear that the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant was accompanied by singing. Therefore, some (Prof. Gulyaev) translate this entire passage as follows: “Chenaniah was the leader of the Levites in this matter. He started music because he was skilled.” Others (Zokler) assign him the role of the main leader of the entire procession of the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant. 1 Chronicles 15:23. Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers at the ark. Since there was no need for gatekeepers when moving the ark, and there was no need for them when putting it in place, it is assumed that the term “gatekeeper” has some special meaning in this, as well as in the next verse. Didn't two of them open the procession and two brought up the rear? 1 Chronicles 15:24. Shebaniah, Jehoshaphat, Nathanael, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, sounded the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were doorkeepers at the ark. The order to blow the trumpets was apparently made in fulfillment of the order (Num. 10:10). 1 Chronicles 15:26. And when God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord, then they killed seven bulls and seven rams as a sacrifice. The expression “helped” hardly indicates success at the beginning of the procession. Contrasting the second transfer of the ark with the first, as can be seen from the chapter (1 Chron. 13), which was unsuccessful, the author wants to indicate with the word “helped” its successful outcome, ending. In this case, the sacrifice we are talking about in this case took place at the end of the transference. From this side the story of the book. Chronicles differs from the story of the book. Kingdoms According to the latter, an ox and a calf were sacrificed every six steps (2 Samuel 6:13). But if it is difficult to imagine that with a huge crowd of people it would be possible to calculate such a small number of steps, then it would be more natural to consider the probability of communication on the side of the prince. Paralipomenon. The seven-fold number of the sacrifice noted in it indicates a special solemnity. 1 Chronicles 15:27. David was dressed in fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah, the chief of the musicians and singers. David also wore a linen ephod. The author omits the testimony (2 Samuel 6:14) that David “jumped” in front of the ark of the covenant, but, as can be seen from (1 Chronicles 15:29), he knows this fact. Omitting the reading of the book. Kings, he completes her story by mentioning that David and all the Levites were dressed in the meip ephod. Since the meil was the clothing of the priests (Ex. 28:31), this remark indicates that the entire procession was of a church-liturgical nature. You might be interested in: