1 Chronicles 24:15 — Word Study
WLCלְחֵזִיר֙ שִׁבְעָ֣ה עָשָׂ֔ר לְהַפִּצֵּ֖ץ שְׁמוֹנָ֥ה עָשָֽׂר׃
BSAthe seventeenthshebaʻ to HezirChêzîyr [swine, a priestly name] the eighteenthshᵉmôneh to Happizzezʻâsâr [Pitstsets, a chief priest]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| לְחֵזִיר֙ | to Hezir | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| שִׁבְעָ֣ה | seven- | Noun common, both singular absolute |
| עָשָׂ֔ר | teen | Noun common, both singular absolute |
| לְהַפִּצֵּ֖ץ | to Happizzez | Preposition, noun proper masculine |
| שְׁמוֹנָ֥ה | eight- | Noun common, both singular absolute |
| עָשָֽׂר׃ | teen | Noun common, both singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, |
| KJV | The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses, |
| ASV | the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, |
| YLT | for Hezir the seventeenth, for Aphses the eighteenth, |
| WEB | the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, |
| BBE | The seventeenth Hezir, the eighteenth Happizzez, |
Where they part company is in the rendering of the priestly names — see How Translations Differ.
The verse consists of two main clauses, each detailing the assignments of the priestly divisions, clearly structured for easy understanding.
1 commentators on this verse
Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 6 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — 1 Chronicles 24:15
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Division of Priestsgenerated
1 Chronicles 24:15 lists the seventeenth and eighteenth priestly divisions, assigning Hezir and Happizzez their respective roles. This organization was crucial for the priestly service in the temple, ensuring that duties were carried out systematically and orderly, as established by David's instructions.
Cross References
The Key Word — חֵזִיר, le.che.Zirgenerated
The word חֵזִיר (chezir) means 'swine' and refers to a priestly name. It is linked to two individuals in the Old Testament: one serving as a priest during David's reign and another who participated in a covenant with Nehemiah. The parsing shows it as a noun proper masculine, indicating a specific name rather than a common term.
The name carries historical significance, as it identifies a priestly lineage and highlights the importance of the priestly roles in the worship of Yahweh. The root suggests a connection to protection, although its primary meaning in this context is simply the name of a priest.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses Hezir and Happizzez consistently across translations.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of the verse is straightforward, with a finite verb implied in the context of listing assignments. The main elements are the prepositional phrases indicating the assignments to Hezir and Happizzez, followed by the numeral phrases denoting their respective positions.
The word order emphasizes the sequence of the divisions, with the names of the priests following their assigned numbers, creating a clear and organized presentation of the priestly duties.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates חֵזִיר as ξηζιρ, maintaining the identification of the priestly name. This choice reflects a direct correspondence to the Hebrew, indicating no significant interpretative shift in the translation.
The use of the Greek term aligns closely with the Hebrew meaning, preserving the historical context of the priestly assignments.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
1 Chronicles 24:15 tells us about the seventeenth and eighteenth divisions of priests, assigning Hezir and Happizzez to their respective roles. This organization was important for the temple service during the time of David, ensuring that the priests fulfilled their duties in an orderly manner.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Hezir and Happizzez represent specific priestly families that served in the temple, highlighting the organization of worship during David's reign.
The number seven often represents completeness or perfection in biblical texts, and here it indicates the order of the priestly divisions.
The priests were responsible for performing sacrifices, maintaining the temple, and leading worship, ensuring that the rituals were conducted according to the Law.
This verse fits into the larger context of organizing the temple service and priestly duties, which is a key theme in 1 Chronicles, emphasizing the importance of proper worship.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn from the organization of the priestly divisions about the importance of order in worship?
- How do the names of the priests reflect their heritage and responsibilities?
- In what ways can we apply the concept of service seen in this verse to our own lives?
- Why do you think the chronicler chose to include these specific names in the record?
Commentators on this verse — 1 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on 1 Chronicles 24:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15) Hezir.—Hog. (See Nehemiah 10:21.) The Syriac and Arabic read “Ahaziah;” but Vulg. and LXX. prove “Hezir.” Aphses.—Heb., ha-piηηκη (the scatterer): here only. LXX. Αφεσση; Vulg., “Aphses;” Syriac and Arabic, “Phasin.”
Read Charles John Ellicott on 1 Chronicles 24 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
Tyndale line
The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez;
The seventeenth to Hezer, the eighteenth to Aphses,
The seuententh to Hezir, the eightenth to Happizzer,
Strictly literal
the seventeenth for Hezir, the eighteenth for Happizez,
for Hezir the seventeenth, for Aphses the eighteenth,
for Hezir the seventeenth, for Aphses the eighteenth,
For Chezir the seventeenth, for Happizzez the eighteenth,
the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez,
From the Latin
The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses,
Simplified
The seventeenth to Hezir. The eighteenth to Happizzez.
The seventeenth Hezir, the eighteenth Happizzez,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint largely agree in this verse, with five of the six words matching. The differences in word order and articles in the Septuagint reflect its unique syntactical structure rather than a variation in meaning.
לְחֵזִיר֙ שִׁבְעָ֣ה עָשָׂ֔ר לְהַפִּצֵּ֖ץ שְׁמוֹנָ֥ה עָשָֽׂר׃
5 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in 1 Chronicles 24:15
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
חֵזִיר (Cheziyr) refers to a name meaning 'swine' and is associated with two individuals in the Old Testament. One is a priest during David's reign, noted for leading the 17th monthly course, while the other is mentioned in the context of the covenant sealed with Nehemiah. The word is derived from a root that may imply protection.
חֵזִיר n.pr.m.
a priest of the 17th course (assigned to David’s time)
one of those sealed
base
H2387 חֵזִיר
2387 Cheziyr khay-zeer'
from the same as 2386; perhaps protected; Chezir, the name of
two Israelites:--Hezir.
see HEBREW for 02386
חֵזִיר (che.zir) — Hezir.
A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.24.15
§ Hezir = "swine"
1) a priest in the time of David, leader of the 17th monthly course
2) one of the heads of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
חֵזִיר (che.zir) — Hezir.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.10.20
§ Hezir = "swine"
1) a priest in the time of David, leader of the 17th monthly course
2) one of the heads of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah
Prep | N-proper — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
Hezir
Swine or strong. (1.) The head of the seventeenth course of the priests (1 Chr. 24:15). (2.) Neh. 10:20, one who sealed Nehemiah’s covenant.
(Swine). A priest in the time of David, leader of the seventeenth monthly course in the service. (1 Chronicles 24:15) (B.C. 1014.) One of the heads of the people (lay-men) who sealed the solemn covenant with Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 10:20) (B.C. 410.)
שֶׁ֫בַע (sheba`) means 'seven' and is a cardinal number. It can also imply 'seven times' or refer to a week. The term appears in various contexts, including combinations like 17 or 700. Its Aramaic equivalent is שִׁבְעָה (shiv.ah), also meaning 'seven'.
שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה 394 n.m. et f. seven
base
H7651 שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה seven
7651 sheba` sheh'-bah
or (masculine) shibrah {shib-aw'}; from 7650; a primitive
cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also
(adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by
extension, an indefinite number:--(+ by) seven(-fold),-s,
(-teen, -teenth), -th, times). Compare 7658.
see HEBREW for 07650
see HEBREW for 07658
שֶׁ֫בַע (she.va) — seven.
1) seven (cardinal number)
1a) as ordinal number
1b) in combination-17, 700 etc
Aramaic equivalent: shiv.ah (שִׁבְעָה "seven" H7655)
Adj — Noun common · both singular absoluteHNcbsa
sev'-'-n (shebha`; hepta).
See NUMBER.
Seven
This number occurs frequently in Scripture, and in such connections as lead to the supposition that it has some typical meaning. On the seventh day God rested, and hallowed it (Gen. 2:2, 3). The division of time into weeks of seven days each accounts for many instances of the occurrence of this number. This number has been called the symbol of perfection, and also the symbol of rest. “Jacob’s seven years’ service to Laban; Pharaoh’s seven fat oxen and seven lean ones; the seven branches of the golden candlestick; the seven trumpets and the seven priests who sounded them; the seven days’ siege of Jericho; the seven churches, seven spirits, seven stars, seven seals, seven vials, and many others, sufficiently prove the importance of this sacred number” (see Lev. 25:4;
The frequent recurrence of certain numbers in the sacred literature of the Hebrews is obvious to the most superficial reader, but seven so far surpasses the rest, both in the frequency with which it recurs and in the importance of the objects with which it is associated, that it may fairly be termed the representative symbolic number. The influence of the number seven was not restricted to the Hebrews; it prevailed among the Persians, ancient Indians, Greeks and Romans. The peculiarity of the Hebrew view consists in the special dignity of the seventh, and not simply in that of seen. The Sabbath being the seventh day suggested the adoption of seven as the coefficient, so to say, for their appointment of all sacred periods; and we thus find the 7th month ushered in by the Feast of Trumpets, and signalized by the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Great Day of Atonement; 7…
As from the beginning this was the number of days in the week, so it often has in Scripture a sort of emphasis attached to it, and is very generally used as a round or perfect number. Clean beasts were taken into the ark by sevens, Ge 7:1-24. The years of plenty and famine in Egypt were marked by sevens, Ge 41:1-57. With the Jews, not only was there a seventh day Sabbath, but every seventh year was a Sabbath, and after every seven times seven years came a jubilee. Their great feasts of unleavened bread and of tabernacles were observed for seven days; the number of animals in many of their sacrifices was limited to seven. The golden candlestick had seven branches. Seven priests with seven trumpets went around the walls of Jericho seven days, and seven times on the seventh day. In…
עָשָׂר (asar) means 'ten' and is used exclusively in combination with other numbers to form the teen numbers (11-19), both as cardinal and ordinal forms. The entries indicate that it is derived from another Hebrew root, but do not elaborate on its etymology.
עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
base
H6240 עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
6240 `asar aw-sawr'
for 6235; ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also
(ordinal) -teenth:--(eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-,
six-, thir-)teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, +
twelve(-th).
see HEBREW for 06235
עָשָׂר (a.sar) — ten.
1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers)
1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19
Adj — Noun common · both singular absoluteHNcbsa
פִּצֵּץ n.pr.m. priestly name 1 Ch 24:15
ref
H6483 פִּצֵּץ
6483 Pitstsets pits-tsates'
from an unused root meaning to dissever; dispersive;
Pitstsets, a priest:--Apses (including the article).
פִּצֵּץ (pits.tsets) — Happizzez.
A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 1Ch.24.15
§ Aphses = "to break"
a priest, chief of the 18th course in the service of the temple in the time of David
HR/Npm — Preposition · noun proper masculineHR/Npm
hap'-i-zez (ha-pitstsets; the King James Version, Aphses): A priest on whom fell the lot for the 18th of the 24 courses which David appointed for the temple service (1Ch 24:15).
שְׁמֹנֶה (shmoneh) means 'eight' and can also denote 'eighth' as an ordinal number. It is derived from the idea of plumpness, suggesting a surplus beyond seven, which is considered a perfect number. The term appears in various contexts, including combinations with other numbers.
שְׁמֹנֶה, (less oft. שְׁמוֹנֶה), שְׁמֹנָה 109 n.m. et f. eight
base
H8083 שְׁמֹנֶה, (less oft. שְׁמוֹנֶה), שְׁמֹנָה eight
8083 shmoneh shem-o-neh'
or shmowneh {shem-o-neh'}; feminine shmonah {shem-o-naw'}; or
shmownah {shem-o-naw'}; apparently from 8082 through the idea
of plumpness; a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above
the "perfect" seven); also (as ordinal)
eighth:--eight((-een, -eenth)), eighth.
see HEBREW for 08082
שְׁמֹנֶה (she.mo.neh) — eight.
1) eight, eighth
1a) eight (as cardinal number)
1b) eighth (as ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
Adj — Noun common · both singular absoluteHNcbsa
עָשָׂר (asar) means 'ten' and is used exclusively in combination with other numbers to form the teen numbers (11-19), both as cardinal and ordinal forms. The entries indicate that it is derived from another Hebrew root, but do not elaborate on its etymology.
עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
base
H6240 עָשָׂר, עֶשְׂרֵה ten, only after units to make num. 11-19, both cardinal and ordinal
6240 `asar aw-sawr'
for 6235; ten (only in combination), i.e. -teen; also
(ordinal) -teenth:--(eigh-, fif-, four-, nine-, seven-,
six-, thir-)teen(-th), + eleven(-th), + sixscore thousand, +
twelve(-th).
see HEBREW for 06235
עָשָׂר (a.sar) — ten.
1) ten, -teen (in combination with other numbers)
1a) used only in combination to make the numbers 11-19
HNcbsa — Noun common · both singular absoluteHNcbsa