Bible Strands
Nehemiah 12:24
The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other, as prescribed by David the man of God.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author records the names of Levite leaders during the reorganization of temple worship following the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. The list identifies specific officials who would direct the alternating antiphonal praise between two choirs.
The words — רָאשֵׁי הַלְוִיִּם (ra'shei ha'leviyyim) = leaders of the Levites, and אֲחֵיהֶם ('achehem) = their brothers/associates, which denote the formal hierarchy and paired personnel assigned to the service.
The thread — The text echoes 1 Chronicles 25:1 in its reference to David’s liturgical regulations and aligns with Deuteronomy 33:1’s title for Moses as “the man of God,” showing how later worship structures deliberately mirrored earlier prophetic and royal ordinances.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize that organized, rule-bound worship depends on documented lineage and established precedent rather than spontaneous innovation.
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 the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 25:1 Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service:
- Deuteronomy 33:1 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
- Joshua 14:6 Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.
- 1 Kings 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is truth.”
- 1 Chronicles 23:1 When David was old and full of years, he installed his son Solomon as king over Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God.
- Ezra 2:40 The Levites: the descendants of Jeshua and Kadmiel (through the line of Hodaviah), 74.
- Ezra 3:10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as David king of Israel had prescribed.
- Nehemiah 8:7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.
- Nehemiah 9:4 And the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani—stood on the raised platform and cried out in a loud voice to the LORD their God.