Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 23:11
Jahath was the first and Zizah was the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, so they were counted as one family and received a single assignment.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David directs the Levitical census and division of temple duties, listing Shimei’s sons as part of a broader administrative reorganization of sacred service.
The words — הָרֹאשׁ (ha-rōš, "the first") and הַשֵּׁנִי (ha-šēnî, "the second") establish Jahath and Zizah’s precedence, while לֹא (lōʾ, "not") introduces the demographic shortfall that merges Jeush and Beriah into a single count.
The thread — The verse continues the chronicler’s method of grouping Levitical clans by administrative function rather than strict genealogical weight, a structural approach that recurs throughout the organizational lists of 1 Chronicles 23–26.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that sacred administration adapts to demographic reality, treating practical consolidation as a legitimate framework for communal duty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father’s house.