1 Chronicles 27:1 Meaning and Explanation
“Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →David organizes Israel's army into twelve divisions, each serving one month a year, so that the nation is always guarded without exhausting any one group.
What Does 1 Chronicles 27:1 Mean?
This verse opens the chapter's great register of David's kingdom. After listing the priests, Levites, and singers, the chronicler now turns to the civil and military order: twelve rotating divisions of twenty-four thousand men, each on duty for a single month. Service came and went by turns, so that the burden was shared and no family bore it alone.
Here is wisdom that still steadies a life: faithful work is sustained when it is ordered, shared, and rhythmic rather than frantic. God built rest into His creation, and David builds it into his realm. The Lord does not ask any servant to carry everything at once; He appoints seasons, and the same God who keeps watch over Israel keeps watch over those who serve Him in their own appointed turn.
1 Chronicles 27:1 in the Original Language
machaloqeth (מַחֲלֹקֶת), 'course' -- a division or rotation, a group taking its appointed turn of service.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Chronicles 27:1
What does 1 Chronicles 27:1 mean?
David organizes Israel's army into twelve divisions, each serving one month a year, so that the nation is always guarded without exhausting any one group.