1Ch 16:38 | KD | STEP | Before the ark he left Asaph with his brethren (ל( nerht before the accus. obj. , according to the later usage), to serve, to minister there continually. בּיומו לדבר־יום, “according to the matter of the day on its day,” i.e., according to the service necessary for each day; cf. for this expression, , ; , etc. “And Obed-edom and their brethren.” In these words there is a textual error: the plural suffix in אחיהם shows that after אדום עבד at least one name has been dropped out. But besides that, the relation in which the words, “and Obed-edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be porters,” stand to the preceding clause, “and Obed-edom and their brethren,” is obscure. Against the somewhat general idea, that the words are to be taken in an explicative sense, “and Obed-edom indeed,” etc., the objection suggests itself, that Obed-edom is here defined to be the son of Jeduthun, and would seem to be thereby distinguished from the preceding Obed-edom. In addition to that, in and Obed-edom is mentioned among the singers, and in one of the doorkeepers bears that name, and they are clearly distinguished as being different persons. On the other hand, however, the identity of the two Obed-edoms in our verse is supported by the fact that in the doorkeepers Obed-edom with his sons and brethren number sixty-two, which comes pretty nearly up to the number mentioned in our verse, viz., sixty-eight. Yet we cannot regard this circumstance as sufficient to identify the two, and must leave the question undecided, because the text of our verse is defective. Jeduthun the father of Obed-edom is different from the chief musician Jeduthun (= Ethan); for the chief musician is a descendant of Merari, while the doorkeeper Jeduthun belongs to the Korahites (i.e., Kohathites): see on 1Ch 26:4.

‏ 1 Chronicles 16:38

Before the ark he left Asaph with his brethren (ל( nerht before the accus. obj., according to the later usage), to serve, to minister there continually. בּיומו לדבר־יום, “according to the matter of the day on its day,” i.e., according to the service necessary for each day; cf. for this expression, Exo 5:13, Exo 5:19; Exo 16:4, etc. “And Obed-edom and their brethren.” In these words there is a textual error: the plural suffix in אחיהם shows that after אדום עבד at least one name has been dropped out. But besides that, the relation in which the words, “and Obed-edom the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be porters,” stand to the preceding clause, “and Obed-edom and their brethren,” is obscure. Against the somewhat general idea, that the words are to be taken in an explicative sense, “and Obed-edom indeed,” etc., the objection suggests itself, that Obed-edom is here defined to be the son of Jeduthun, and would seem to be thereby distinguished from the preceding Obed-edom. In addition to that, in 1Ch 15:21 and Obed-edom is mentioned among the singers, and in 1Ch 16:24 one of the doorkeepers bears that name, and they are clearly distinguished as being different persons. On the other hand, however, the identity of the two Obed-edoms in our verse is supported by the fact that in 1Ch 26:4-8 the doorkeepers Obed-edom with his sons and brethren number sixty-two, which comes pretty nearly up to the number mentioned in our verse, viz., sixty-eight. Yet we cannot regard this circumstance as sufficient to identify the two, and must leave the question undecided, because the text of our verse is defective. Jeduthun the father of Obed-edom is different from the chief musician Jeduthun (= Ethan); for the chief musician is a descendant of Merari, while the doorkeeper Jeduthun belongs to the Korahites (i.e., Kohathites): see on 1Ch 26:4.