Piet B. Dirksen, «1 Chronicles 9,26-33: Its Position in Chapter 9», Vol. 79 (1998) 91-96

This study deals with the problem of the inclusion of an isolated passage of 1 Chron 9,28-33 in that book’s literary context of the list of those returning from exile. The author of the study considers that this can be explained on the grounds of redactional and the reasons for, and the conclusions to be drawn from this view are given.

directly in this context, so he did so indirectly, by mentioning him as the father of Mattithiah. That indeed he meant Shallum of v. 17 and not the one of v. 19 is clear from the fact that the first-born of the latter is Zechariah (v. 21; 26,1). It also follows from the fact that with be)e0mu=na=, he was alluding to v. 26, which also deals with the four gatekeepers of v. 17.

       A tentative solution, finally, may be suggested for a problem which has been seen in v. 33. The beginning, we0)e3lleh hams0o3re0ri=m suggests that a list of singers is to follow, but there is none. For this reason it is often assumed that the author has abruptly broken off his source ¹¹. However, what follows is a statement about the singers being exempt from the type of duties just mentioned. This means that we0)e3lleh hams0o3re0ri=m cannot have been the title of a list of singers which has been left out here. V. 33 is sufficient in itself. The predicate in this sentence is not "the singers" but pe0ti=ri=m, "exempt", and hams0o3re0ri=m is in apposition to we0)e3lleh: "those, the singers ". This construction of a pronoun followed by a word in apposition occurs several times, both in the Chronicler's own text (e.g. v. 26) and in that of the redactor (e.g. 26,26) ¹². In one case we have a close parallel to the case under discussion, viz. in 26,12, also from the redactor's hand: le0 )e3lleh mah[le0qo=t has0s0o3(a0ri=m , "these, the divisions of the gatekeepers (had duties...)".

       What made the writer refer to the singers? An answer to this question may be found in the immediate context. In v. 32 the Kohathites are mentioned as responsible for the shewbread. The writer wants to avoid the misunderstanding of this being the main occupation of the Kohathites, since they feature prominently as singers (6,18 [transl. v. 33]; 2 Chr 20,19). So, after having mentioned that some of the Kohathites are taking care of the shewbread he adds that the majority of them, who are singers, are free from these menial cultic duties. we0)e3lleh hams0o3re0ri=m, "but those, the singers", would then refer to the Kohathites in general, with the exclusion of those involved in the menial duties just mentioned.