1Ch 13-17 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Chr 13:1-14: 13:1–17:27 These chapters chronicle the transformation of Jerusalem into the political and religious center of Israel, beginning with David’s disastrous attempt to transfer the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem (13:1-14 ; cp. 2 Sam 6:2-11 ).

Summary for 1Chr 13:1-14: 13:1–17:27 ^a These chapters chronicle the transformation of Jerusalem into the political and religious center of Israel, beginning with David’s disastrous attempt to transfer the Ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem (13:1-14 ^b; cp. 2 Sam 6:2-11 ^c).
Summary for 1Chr 13:9-11: 13:9-11 ^d With the death of Uzzah, Israel’s celebration abruptly turned to sorrow. Touching the Ark resulted in death because its holiness had been violated (see 15:13 ^e).
13:12 ^f David’s response to Uzzah’s death might have been an expression of his own inadequacy to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.

‏ 1 Chronicles 14

Summary for 1Chr 14:1-7: 14:1-7 ^g Even though the Ark was not present in Jerusalem (13:1-14 ^h), God blessed David’s palace, his children, and his conquest of the Philistines. God’s blessing did not depend on the presence of the Ark. These blessings eventually encouraged David to carry out his original plan to bring the Ark into Jerusalem (15:1-29 ⁱ).
Summary for 1Chr 14:1-2: 14:1-2 ^j Hiram’s generosity provided further evidence of God’s purpose in making David king.
Summary for 1Chr 14:8-17: 14:8-17 ^k News of David’s rule over all Israel catalyzed the Philistines to attack; they could no longer regard him as subordinate to their patronage, as they had when he ruled only Judah. They attacked through the valley southwest of Jerusalem (see Josh 15:8 ^l). David inquired of the Lord before battle, a direct contrast to Saul’s inquiring of a medium in seeking help against the Philistines (1 Chr 10:13 ^m; see 1 Sam 28 ⁿ).
14:12 ^o David’s orders to burn the Philistine idols conformed to God’s instructions (Deut 7:5 ^p).

‏ 1 Chronicles 15

Summary for 1Chr 15:1-29: 15:1-29 ^q Again, David set out to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. This time he made thorough preparations to ensure that the transfer would succeed.
Summary for 1Chr 15:1-3: 15:1-3 ^r The first attempt to bring the Ark to Jerusalem (13:1-14 ^s) failed because of improper procedure (see 15:13 ^t). This time, David prepared a place for the Ark in Jerusalem and organized Levites ... to carry the Ark because this was their responsibility (Deut 10:8 ^u; 18:5 ^v). The special tent that David prepared for the Ark was not the Tabernacle, which was located at Gibeon at the time (see 1 Chr 16:39 ^w; 21:29 ^x).
15:13 ^y See 13:1-10 ^z.
Summary for 1Chr 15:16-18: 15:16-18 ^aa This is the first of three lists of Levitical musicians (see 15:19-22 ^ab; 16:4-6 ^ac). This list gave the names of the three leaders (Heman, Asaph, and Ethan; see 6:33-47 ^ad) along with their assistants.
Summary for 1Chr 15:19-22: 15:19-22 ^ae The second list of Levitical musicians focused on their musical specialties rather than their rank.
15:20 ^af harps: Hebrew adds according to Alamoth. Alamoth is probably a melody, believed to be sung in the soprano range (related to Hebrew ‘almah, “young woman”).
15:21 ^ag lyres: Hebrew adds according to the Sheminith. Sheminith might be related to a term meaning “octave,” suggesting a lower vocal range.
15:29 ^ah The contempt of Michal (cp. 2 Sam 6:16-23 ^ai) toward David stands in stark contrast to God’s blessing on the celebration (1 Chr 15:26 ^aj); her description as the daughter of Saul implies that her attitude mirrored her father’s disregard for the Lord (see 1 Sam 10:10-12 ^ak; 13:7-14 ^al; 15:10-23 ^am; 28:1-25 ^an).

‏ 1 Chronicles 16

Summary for 1Chr 16:1-43: 16:1-43 ^ao The transfer of the Ark (16:1-3 ^ap) and the conclusion of the event (16:43 ^aq) are reported exactly as in Samuel (see 2 Sam 6:17-20 ^ar). However, between these bookends, the Chronicler elaborates on the celebrations that accompanied the event and on the permanent arrangements for worship (1 Chr 16:4-42 ^as). David’s psalm of celebration is the central focus of the account.
Summary for 1Chr 16:7-36: 16:7-36 ^at David’s song of thanksgiving is a composite of three psalms: 16:8-22 ^au draws from Ps 105:1-15 ^av; 1 Chr 16:23-33 ^aw draws from Ps 96 ^ax; and 1 Chr 16:34-38 ^ay draws from Ps 106:1 ^az, 47-48 ^ba. The composer made several adjustments to the sources to fit this occasion. The Temple did not exist when the Ark was brought to Jerusalem, so the Chronicler says that strength and joy fill his dwelling (1 Chr 16:27 ^bb) instead of “his sanctuary” (Ps 96:6 ^bc) and requires the worshiper to come into his presence (1 Chr 16:29 ^bd) instead of “into his courts” (Ps 96:8 ^be). The name “Abraham” (Ps 105:9 ^bf) is also changed to Israel (1 Chr 16:13 ^bg) to focus specifically on the nation as the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham. The hymn does not mention the judgment of the earth (Ps 96:10 ^bh, 13 ^bi; cp. 1 Chr 16:30 ^bj, 33 ^bk) because it was not relevant to the dedication of the Ark.
16:39 ^bl Gibeon served as the central place of worship until the Temple was built in Jerusalem (see 21:29 ^bm; 2 Chr 1:3 ^bn). The personnel at the Tabernacle had to be reorganized because some of the Levites were permanently transferred to Jerusalem.

‏ 1 Chronicles 17

Summary for 1Chr 17:1-27: 17:1-27 ^bo The larger section (13:1–17:27 ^bp) concludes with Nathan’s prophecy about David and David’s prayer of thanks.
Summary for 1Chr 17:1-15: 17:1-15 ^bq David wanted to build a home for the Ark that would equal his own palace, but the Lord designated David’s heir, Solomon (ch 22 ^br), to build the Temple. Jerusalem was to be the single place of worship for all Israel.
Summary for 1Chr 17:10-14: 17:10-14 ^bs David had resolved to build a house for the Lord—the Temple. Instead, the Lord would build a house for David—a dynasty of kings. Establishing David’s eternal dynasty was the central part of God’s plan to establish his rule on earth.
17:12 ^bt The construction of the Temple was a central aspect of God’s kingdom on earth. Solomon later built the Temple (2 Chr 2–7 ^bu) and fulfilled this promise.
17:13 ^bv The Chronicler made this declaration about Solomon in particular (see 22:9 ^bw; 28:5-6 ^bx; cp. 2 Sam 7:14 ^by).
17:14 ^bz In the parallel at 2 Sam 7:16 ^ca, God promises to establish David’s house, kingdom, and throne, whereas here it is Solomon’s. While the books of Samuel and Kings cast David as Israel’s ideal king, the Chronicler views Solomon as David’s equal. David made all the preparations for building the Temple, but God designated Solomon as the Temple builder. The promise to Israel was secured in the combined reigns of David and Solomon.