The second of the great Levitical families was that of Merari. Since the kind of information recorded about the Merarites is similar to that recorded about the Gershonites, the pattern of this article will be similar to that of the previous one
The Exodus Period
At the time of the Exodus, the Merarites were led by Zuriel the son of Abihail (Num.3:35), an individual who cannot be linked with the genealogies of Chronicles. Perhaps his line had died out by David’s day.
The Merarites pitched on the north side of the tabernacle (Num.3:35), which would have made them neighbours of Dan, Asher and Naphtali (Num.2:25-31). Their task was to take charge of the boards, sockets and so forth of the tabernacle (Num.3:36-371 in other words, the heavier stuff, which took four wagons to transport as compared with two for the curtaining handled by the Gershonites (Num.7:7-8).
Their territory was in the tribes of Reuben and Gad, east of the Jordan, and Zebulun in the north (Josh.21:7).
Probably before the Exodus one branch of the tribe had died out already. 1 Chron.23:21-22 refers to a son of Mahli son of Merari called Eleazar, who had no son, only daughters. These daughters were married to their cousins, the sons of Kish, another son of Mahli. Thus the provision of Numbers 36:6-8 were carried out, but almost certainly before Numbers 36 occurred. No more is known of this line of Kish, except that one of the sons was called Jerahmeel (1 Chron. 24:29).
From the Exodus to David
As with the Gershonites, there are two lines of genealogy in 1 Chron.6. The first is in verses 29-30 and runs from Merari to Asaiah. This would appear to be the man who was head of the Merarites when the ark was brought into Jerusalem (1 Chron.15:6). If so, then the genealogy misses out some generations, since there are only five names between Merari and Asaiah to span a period of at least 600 years.
The second genealogy is in verses 44-47 and it runs back from Ethan the singer to Merari, with ten names in between. Possibly there are names absent from this, too, since ten seems rather too few. This is clearly a distinct line from that in verses 29-30, for it goes back to a different son of Merari. The one in verses 29-30 goes back to Mahli; the line of Ethan is traced back to Mushi, although just to confuse matters Mushils son is called Mahli (see genealogy).
A reference to a third son of Merari, called Jaaziah, occurs in 1 Chron. 24:27; four sons of his are given, but no later descendants.
1 Chron. 23:21-22, mentioned wove, is in the context of the Levitical families of the time of David. We must suppose therefore that there were four such Merarite families comprising the descendants of Kish,son of Mushi (see genealogy where they are numbered 1 – 4). Since there are fairly clearly 9 Gershonite families and 9 Kohathite families in ch.23, it would be appropriate to have six Merarite families to make the total number of families 24. This would correspond to the 24 priestly orders in ch,24, and the 24 orders of singers in ch.25. However, there seems to be no way in which this can be done, without doing great violence to the text.
Ethan and Jeduthun
It has already been shown in this series that there were three leaders of the Levitical musicians in David’s day; each descended from a different son of Levi. In the case of the family of Merari, a problem becomes evident. In 1 Chron.6 we have Ethan mentioned in v.44, and he is mentioned twice more, in connection with the bringing of the ark into Jerusalem, in Ch.15 (vv.17&19). From then on he’is not mentioned. Later on, when his two colleagues, Heman and Asaph, are mentioned, the third name is Jeduthun (see 16:41-42 and ch.25). There is no record of any change in appointment, and no evidence which proves that Jeduthun is a different individual. Indeed, as ch.16 is a continuation of ch.15, being still to do with the bringing of the ark into Jerusalem, it is reasonable to suppose that only one individual is concerned, and his name was changed from Ethan, meaning ‘ancient’, to Jeduthun, meaning (appropriately) ‘a choir of praise’.
In ch.25 it is recorded that 6 of the 24 orders of musicians were sons of Jeduthun (v.3). Only five names are given in that verse; it can be deduced that the missing name is that of Shimei (v.17), since all the other 23 names in verses 9-31 occur also in the lists of the sons of the three singers in verses 2-4, although occasionally in rather different spelling. The name Shimei presumably dropped out of the Hebrew text of verse 3. The six sons of Jeduthun are shown in the genealogy; the number underneath corresponds to the numbering in verses 9-31.
In the previous issue, it was shown how the descendants of Asaph appear in later times when there was a spiritual revival. A similar treatment could be given to the descandants of Jeduthun, but it would be somewhat repetitious to do this again. Readers who are keen can look up the following passages for mention of descendants of Jeduthun and Merari: 1 Chron.9:14-16, 2 Chron.29:12, 34:12, Ezra 8:18-19 and Neh.11:17. It does not seem possible to connect these individuals together to form a genealogy.
Obadiah
One point of some interest is that it may be possible to identify the prophet Obadiah as a member of the Merarite family. The book seems to have been written at about the time of the fall of Jerusalem, verses 10-14 being fulfilled, initially at least, by the Edomites at the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians (cp. Psa.137:7; Lam.4:21). Of the Obadiahs listed in Young’s Concordance, the Obadiah mentioned in 2 Chron.34:12 as a Merarite who was an overseer in the repair of the temple in Josiah’s reformation seems to be the most likely candidate, since this was about 40 years before the fall of Jerusalem. It may well be, of course, that the prophet is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture.
Obededom
Obed-edom is one of those minor characters of Scripture, who would make a good question in a quiz. In reply to the question, “Who was Obed-edom?” perhaps the more knowledgeable brother or sister would be able to say that he was the Levite into whose house the ark came when God struck down Uzzah (1 Chron. 13:13-14, 15:25). However, the name occurs on other occasions in 1 Chronicles, and on one occasion we are specifically informed that Obed-edom was the son of Jeduthun (16:38). The question is, are all the references to the same man, or were there two?
The answer, we suggest, is that there were two, as 1 Chron.16:37-38 seems tO say: “So he (David) left there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required: and Obed-edom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters (doorkeepers, RV)”. It seems that two Obed-edous are referred to here, the one who had 68 brethren and the one who was the son of Jeduthun. We would further suggest that the Obed-edom of 15:18,21 and 16:5 is Obed-edom son of Jeduthun, since the name occurs in the context of the various singers who accompanied the ark, with Jeduthun being one of the Chief.
The term Gittite would normally be taken to refer to an inhabitant of Gath, a Philistine city. However, it is inconceivable that David would entrust the ark to a Philistine. We suggest therefore that Obed-edom was from Gath-rimmon, a city of Dan which was given to the Kohathite family of Levi (Josh.21:25). It was the Kohathites whose duty it was to look after the ark (Num.3:31); hence David entrusted it to a member of that family.
In 1 Chron.26 we have several references to an Obed-edom. Verse 1 refers to the Korhites, that is, the descendants of Korah, the wilderness rebel, and members of the family of Kohath. The Obed-edom of verse 4 would seem therefore to be a Korhite, and therefore a Kohathite, as was Obed-edom the Gittite. The statement in verse 5, “for God blessed him”, links with what is said of Obed-edom the Gittite: “the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom, and All that he had” (13:14). Hence the Obededom of ch.26 is almost certainly Obed-edom the Gittite. We suggest that the other Obededom of 16:38 is the same man; note that in 26:8 we have, “all these of the sons of Obededom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service, were threescore and two of Obed-edom”. In both cases he is the head of a band of men, the difference in numbers being accounted for by the fact that from ch.23 onwards we are concerned with arrangements made by David at the end of his life, ready for Solomon; whilst ch.16 is about the bringing in of the ark to Jerusalem, earlier in David’s reign.
Having established, we hope, the facts about Obed-edom the Gittite, we shall return to him when, God willing, we deal with the Kohathites, and can put him in their genealogy.
Hosah
Along with Obed-edom son of Jeduthun there is also mentioned Hosah. Both were porters, that is, doorkeepers (1 Chron.16:38). Since verse 42 says “the sons of Jeduthun were porters”, we conclude that he also was a son of Jeduthun. Besides the six sons who were musicians, Jeduthun also had two who were doorkeepers, it would seem.
1 Chron 26 mentions Hosah and his sons as porters (vv.10-11); clearly it is the same man, for he is “of the children of Merari”. His duties concerned the west gate of the temple. (Presumably the chapter is in anticipation of what would happen, for the temple had not actually been built at the time.)
The Solution