Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 27:1
This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty each month throughout the year. There were 24,000 men in each division:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler introduces an administrative register of Israelite officials appointed to serve the king through a rotating monthly military division system.
The words — רָאשֵׁ֣י (ra.Shei) = heads of and וְ/שָׂרֵ֣י (ve./sa.Rei) = and commanders.
The thread — This organizational structure echoes earlier judicial appointments in Exodus 18:25 and Deuteronomy 1:15, while contrasting with the centralized military demands of 1 Samuel 8:12.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize that royal service in this text operates through fixed quotas, rotating schedules, and layered command rather than ad hoc mobilization.
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
Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.
Cross-references
- Exodus 18:25 So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- Deuteronomy 1:15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.
- 1 Samuel 8:12 He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
- 1 Kings 4:7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,
- 1 Kings 4:27 Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.
- 1 Kings 5:14 He sent them to Lebanon in monthly shifts of 10,000 men, so that they would spend one month in Lebanon and two months at home. And Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor.
- 1 Chronicles 13:1 Then David conferred with all his leaders, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds.
- 1 Chronicles 28:1 Now David summoned all the leaders of Israel to Jerusalem: the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions in the king’s service, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons, along with the court officials and mighty men—every mighty man of valor.
- 2 Chronicles 17:12 Jehoshaphat grew stronger and stronger, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah
- 2 Chronicles 26:11 Uzziah had an army ready for battle that went out to war by assigned divisions, as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officers.