Chapter 25 of I Chronicles continues the organizational structure established by King David in preparation for the building of the Beit HaMikdash. After examining the division of the Kohanim into twenty-four shifts (mishmarot), Scripture here describes how the Levite singers were divided into their watches: who the heads of the shifts were, who instructed them in the art of song, and how their roster was determined by lottery.
וַיַּבְדֵּל דָּוִיד וְשָׂרֵי הַצָּבָא לַעֲבֹדָה לִבְנֵי אָסָף וְהֵימָן וִידוּתוּן הַנִּבְּאִים בְּכִנֹּרוֹת בִּנְבָלִים וּבִמְצִלְתָּיִם וַיְהִי מִסְפָּרָם אַנְשֵׁי מְלָאכָה לַעֲבֹדָתָם׃ - "David and the commanders of the corps set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, harps, and cymbals; and the number of the craftsmen for their service was:"
"David and the commanders of the corps set apart for the service" - the service here refers to singing the sacred song. David set apart the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, "who prophesied" - for when they played their instruments, prophecy would rest upon them. We find this similarly with Elisha: "Bring me a musician; and it came to pass, when the musician played, that the hand of Hashem came upon him." We see that through the power of music and song, one can attain prophecy. This is the meaning of "who prophesied with lyres, harps, and cymbals" - while playing the lyres, harps, and cymbals, they would prophesy.
"And the number of the craftsmen for their service was" - in total, twenty-four watches: four sons of Asaph, six of Jeduthun, and fourteen of Heman, making twenty-four Levite watches. Further on, we will see the total count of them all.
Radak explains what this "separation" entailed: David set apart the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to serve as the singers, while the others were appointed as gatekeepers, and yet others were designated as treasurers over the treasuries of the House of Hashem. Thus, there was a clear separation into distinct duties, and each group among them was divided by lottery.
Radak further explains "who prophesied with lyres": the sons of Asaph would play musical instruments, and then Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration) would rest upon Asaph, and he would sing aloud to the accompaniment of all the lyres. It emerges from his words that out of Ruach HaKodesh he would burst into song - the poetry flowed forth from him in the moment of Divine inspiration. So too with Heman and Jeduthun; they all prophesied with musical instruments, "for the Book of Tehillim was uttered through Ruach HaKodesh." Thus, when we read Tehillim, these are words spoken through Ruach HaKodesh while singing, containing prophecies and future events concerning the exile and redemption - and where did all this come from? From Ruach HaKodesh.
What is written in Tehillim is not merely the work of a poet composing songs. King David testifies that everything he writes in Tehillim is entirely from Hashem. The Malbim notes that it is like Torah, as if it were dictated to him by Hashem and he wrote it down. From here we see the supreme sanctity of these words: every psalm of Heman, psalm of Jeduthun, psalm of Asaph - all were uttered through Ruach HaKodesh.
The Malbim explains: "David set apart" - he set apart Levites for the sacred song, "and the commanders of the corps for the service" - these are officers of the legion designated for service, as it says, "everyone who entered the service (tzava) to do work in the Tent of Meeting." The word tzava does not mean a military army in the sense of war, but rather the host of labor - that is, the designated workforce.
As for "who prophesied" (haniba'im), the Malbim explains that this is not meant in the literal sense of prophecy. Rather, Scripture refers to the singing as prophecy because they expressed lofty, Divine concepts through it, as we find throughout Tehillim. This is used figuratively, and in this respect the Malbim differs from the approach of the Metzudat David and the Radak.
"And the number of them, of the men of skill for their service" - according to the number of people needed for their craft and their service. For vocal singing, twelve Levi'im were required to stand on the platform; and for instrumental music, as we have already learned, no fewer than two harps, nine lyres, and one cymbal - also twelve. In every single matter, the number matched what was required according to the law and Halachah, as explained in Tractate Arachin and by the Rambam.
לִבְנֵי אָסָף זַכּוּר וְיוֹסֵף וּנְתַנְיָה וַאֲשַׂרְאֵלָה בְּנֵי אָסָף עַל יַד אָסָף הַנִּבָּא עַל יְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph, under the hand of Asaph, who prophesied by order of the king.
"Under the hand of Asaph" - they gained skill in the wisdom of music through Asaph, who was the one who instructed them; Asaph, their father, taught them the melodies. So too explains the Malbim, that he was their instructor in song, teaching them how to sing and play.
"Who prophesied by order of the king" - the Metzudat David explains that this refers back to Asaph: Asaph would prophesy through Ruach HaKodesh under the guidance of the king, meaning the king, as it were, prepared him for prophecy, like the "disciples of the prophets" who train in prophecy. The Malbim, following his view that this was not literal prophecy but rather song composed of divine words, explains: he recited the songs through the king - that is, the psalms composed by the sweet singer of Israel, King David. "Prophesied" here means that he chanted these divine words that the king had composed.
לִידוּתוּן בְּנֵי יְדוּתוּן גְּדַלְיָהוּ וּצְרִי וִישַׁעְיָהוּ חֲשַׁבְיָהוּ וּמַתִּתְיָהוּ שִׁשָּׁה עַל יְדֵי אֲבִיהֶם יְדוּתוּן בַּכִּנּוֹר הַנִּבָּא עַל הֹדוֹת וְהַלֵּל לַה'׃ - Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun with the lyre, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising Hashem.
Here arises the well-known question: the verse says "six," yet in practice only five names are listed. The commentators, and Chazal before them, addressed this difficulty. Indeed, in the casting of the lots later on, we find an additional one who is not listed here - "the tenth to Shimei" - this is the missing figure. Why, then, are only five listed initially, and only later is another added?
The teaching of Chazal is cited: it is found in the Aggadah that when David divided them, Jeduthun had five sons, and his wife was pregnant with Shimei. That is to say, while six sons ultimately served, at the time they were counted there were only five, as his wife was still pregnant with Shimei; David saw through Ruach HaKodesh that Shimei too would become head of a shift, and therefore said "six," even though Shimei had not yet been born.
Another explanation brought by the Radak, and followed as well by the Malbim, is that he was a minor at the time and not yet fit to sing. Therefore, when counting the active singers, the text could not list six; but since it was foreseen that he would head a shift in the future, he was counted in the casting of lots, when they began training him to be a shift leader. The Malbim specifies that "a minor" here means that he had not yet reached the age of thirty; since Levi'im only begin service at age thirty, he was not counted here.
From this we also understand the phrase "under the hands of their father Jeduthun": in the meantime, the lot was cast for the father. There needed to be six, but the sixth was missing, so the father served as his stand-in; later, when the son reached the proper age, he stepped into his place. "Who prophesied in giving thanks and praising Hashem" - they would sing songs of thanksgiving and praise to Hashem.
לְהֵימָן בְּנֵי הֵימָן בֻּקִּיָּהוּ מַתַּנְיָהוּ עֻזִּיאֵל שְׁבוּאֵל וִירִימוֹת חֲנַנְיָה חֲנָנִי אֱלִיאָתָה גִדַּלְתִּי וְרֹמַמְתִּי עֶזֶר יָשְׁבְּקָשָׁה מַלּוֹתִי הוֹתִיר מַחֲזִיאֹת׃ - Of Heman: the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth.
Anyone looking for an original name - here are names from Tanach, with no need for names of the sea, sand, or ripples. And as to the main point: all the commentators explain that "Romamti-ezer" is one single name and not two names, for Heman had fourteen sons, and if we were to count "Romamti" and "Ezer" as two, the count would reach fifteen. Therefore, "Romamti-ezer" is one name, and thus the tally comes to fourteen.
כָּל אֵלֶּה בָנִים לְהֵימָן חֹזֵה הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּדִבְרֵי הָאֱלֹהִים לְהָרִים קָרֶן וַיִּתֵּן הָאֱלֹהִים לְהֵימָן בָּנִים אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר וּבָנוֹת שָׁלוֹשׁ׃ - All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the matters of God, to exalt his horn; and God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.
"The king's seer" - the Malbim explains that he foresaw a vision for the king, that Hashem would exalt his horn and grant him success. This occurred in one of David's wars, wherein his horn was exalted through Hashem; Heman envisioned and perceived this success through his Ruach HaKodesh.
Regarding the phrase "and God gave to Heman sons," all the commentators raise a question: after all, concerning the others it does not say "and God gave to Asaph Zaccur and Joseph"; rather, the sons were simply enumerated. The Metzudat David explains: had God not given them to him, he would not have had fourteen sons and three daughters who were all worthy to serve as heads of shifts. The giving here is something supernatural - fourteen sons, all heads of shifts, all possessing such great stature.
An example of this is found with Ruth: "And Hashem gave her conception, and she bore a son" - had this not been a gift from Hashem, it would not have been possible for Boaz, who was eighty years old at the time (and some say four hundred), to father a child; by necessity, this was a supernatural bestowal. Whenever the giving is unnatural, Scripture states "and God gave." Similarly, "And Hashem showed him all the land" - had Hashem not shown it to him, it would have been impossible for Moshe to see the entire Land in a single glance and from such a great distance. Here too, Scripture comes to teach that this was a supernatural occurrence, solely from Hashem.
The Radak explains: since Asaph and Jeduthun did not have so many sons, it states here "and God gave" - for the language of giving applies to an abundance of children; fourteen sons is something not found among the others, and therefore it was a special gift from Hashem. The Radak offers an additional explanation: it is very possible that he was initially barren and prayed to Hashem, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, delivered him. Therefore it says "and God gave to Heman" - naturally he was not meant to have children, but he prayed, and the Holy One, Blessed is He, granted them to him.
"To exalt his horn" - the Metzudat Tzion explains that "horn" denotes dominion and strength, a metaphor borrowed from animals whose power and strength reside in the horn on their heads with which they gore. All the expressions such as "and He exalted the horn of His people," "exalted his horn," and "my horn is exalted in Hashem" are borrowed from animal horns, where the horn represents force and strength to battle against adversaries. And so too does the Holy One, Blessed is He, exalt our horn - raising our strength and stature high, like the elevation of a horn.
כָּל אֵלֶּה עַל יְדֵי אֲבִיהֶם בַּשִּׁיר בֵּית ה' בִּמְצִלְתַּיִם נְבָלִים וְכִנֹּרוֹת לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים עַל יְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אָסָף וִידוּתוּן וְהֵימָן׃ - All these were under the direction of their father for song in the House of Hashem, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the House of God, under the order of the king: Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.
"Under the direction of their father in song" - through their father they gained the skill to perform in song in the House of Hashem with cymbals, harps, and lyres; their father taught them the art of song. "For the service of the House of God" - during the service of the House of God, meaning at the time of the sacrificial service, they would sing. "Under the direction of the king, Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman" - singing the songs of praise composed by the king, Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman, as we see in the Book of Tehillim that Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman also composed psalms.
וַיְהִי מִסְפָּרָם עִם אֲחֵיהֶם מְלֻמְּדֵי שִׁיר לַה' כָּל הַמֵּבִין מָאתַיִם שְׁמוֹנִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה׃ - And their number, together with their brethren who were trained in singing to the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.
"And their number, together with their brethren" - when you count the total sum, twenty-four watches with twelve men in each, you get 288. "Trained in singing" - those skilled in song. "All who were skillful [meivin]" - the Metzudat David explains that one who is proficient in the art of music is referred to with the term meivin (skillful or discerning), as in "teacher [meivin] as well as scholar [talmid]," and like "Chenanyahu, chief of the Levites, was in song; he directed the song because he was skillful [meivin]." We see that the word meivin is used regarding music, for it requires contemplation and understanding to execute the song properly.
וַיַּפִּילוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת מִשְׁמֶרֶת לְעֻמַּת כַּקָּטֹן כַּגָּדוֹל מֵבִין עִם תַּלְמִיד׃ - And they cast lots, ward against ward, the small as well as the great, the teacher along with the pupil.
The Metzudat David explains that this is an abbreviated phrasing: "Ward against [mishmeret le'umat]" - as if it were written "ward against ward," similar to "and I went from tent to tent, and from a tabernacle" (I Chronicles 17:5), where it does not say "to a tabernacle," but rather uses an abbreviated form since the continuation is understood on its own. In other words, they cast lots for the watches, one against the other. "The small as well as the great, the teacher along with the pupil" - all were equal in this: the master, who is the meivin (teacher), together with the disciple who receives instruction from him, everything was determined by lot. They did not say that the expert takes precedence or that the master takes precedence; rather, whoever drew the first lot - even if he was the youngest - took precedence, and whoever came last was last, whether teacher or pupil, small or great.
The Malbim interprets differently, basing his explanation on the cantillation marks: had the simple meaning been like the Metzudat David and the Radak, that it means "ward against ward," there ought to have been a disjunctive cantillation mark on the word le'umat. In fact, however, mishmeret carries a pausing accent, while le'umat has a conjunctive accent, linking it to what follows: "corresponding to the small as well as the great." According to this, the meaning is: each ward corresponded to another - teacher alongside pupil, small as well as great. They intentionally ensured that in each watch there would be masters who could sing on their own, alongside pupils who were not yet masters and were merely apprenticing under them, so that the watches would be balanced and equal to one another.
In other words, they ensured that every watch had a mix of all levels, avoiding a situation where all the top talents would be concentrated in one watch while another would be left with those who could barely sing. They wanted the masters to teach the less experienced, and through this combination - what would nowadays be called a heterogeneous classroom - watches were formed in which the vocal and instrumental music could be performed fittingly.
וַיֵּצֵא הַגּוֹרָל הָרִאשׁוֹן לְאָסָף לְיוֹסֵף גְּדַלְיָהוּ הַשֵּׁנִי הוּא וְאֶחָיו וּבָנָיו שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר׃ - Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph; the second to Gedaliah, he and his brethren and his sons were twelve.
Joseph was of the sons of Asaph, Gedaliah was of the sons of Yedutun, Zaccur was of the sons of Asaph, Yitzri was of the sons of Yedutun - and so on for all of them. In this manner the watch was composed, with an intermingling of the families.
הַשְּׁלִשִׁי זַכּוּר בָּנָיו וְאֶחָיו שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר׃ הָרְבִיעִי לַיִּצְרִי בָּנָיו וְאֶחָיו שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר׃ הַחֲמִישִׁי נְתַנְיָהוּ בָּנָיו וְאֶחָיו שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר׃ - The third to Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve; the fourth to Yitzri, his sons and his brethren, twelve; the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
Zaccur was the firstborn of Asaph. "To Yitzri" - he was the second son of Yedutun, and he is the same as "Tzeri" mentioned earlier; as the Metzudat Tzion notes, you will find several variations of names here. Nethaniah was the third son of Asaph. Thus the casting of lots proceeded from one to the next, until the completion of all twenty-four watches.
לְאַרְבָּעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים לְרוֹמַמְתִּי עָזֶר בָּנָיו וְאֶחָיו שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר׃ - For the twenty-fourth, to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.
From here we see why it was determined that "Romamti-ezer" specifically was a single individual. After all, one could have combined other names in the list and claimed they were one person in order to arrive at a count of fourteen rather than fifteen. However, here, in the final lot, it states explicitly: "to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve" - proving that this was indeed one person.
In all, there were twenty-four heads of divisions, corresponding to the Kohanim, who likewise had twenty-four priestly divisions, as seen earlier. Yosef the son of Asaph, head of the first Levite division, corresponded to Yehoyariv, head of the first priestly division, and so on for all of them. Once one knows the order of the priestly divisions and the order of the Levite divisions, one naturally pairs each division with its counterpart: the first division of Levites served during the first week alongside the first division of Kohanim, the second with the second, the third with the third, and in this manner each division of Levites served alongside the corresponding division of Kohanim during that week. And everything was arranged according to the lot.
Chapter 25 teaches us the organization of the singers in the Beit HaMikdash: David and the officers of the army set apart the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Yedutun for the service of song - song that the text refers to as "prophecy," whether literally (Radak and Metzudat David: the Holy Spirit that rested upon them while playing, giving rise to the psalms of Tehillim) or metaphorically (Malbim: exalted, divine speech). The four sons of Asaph, the six sons of Yedutun (including Shimei, who was counted even though he had not yet reached the age of service), and the fourteen sons of Heman - concerning whom it is said, "and God gave," because the multitude of his sons and their stature were supernatural - together made twenty-four divisions, comprising 288 trained musicians. The lot established their order in complete equality, small and great alike, master together with pupil, ensuring that every division contained both masters and pupils together, so that the singing and music in the House of Hashem would be performed properly.