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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: 'Appointed'
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Salicional
Shipmate
# 16461
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Posted
I'm reading 1 Chronicles 15-16, where King David is instituting Levitical worship connected to the Ark of the Covenant. The text says that David 'appointed' certain of the Levites to do certain things. Does anyone know about the nuance of the Hebrew word used here for 'appointed'? Could it mean that people were asked and given the opportunity to say no, or were they simply told what they'd be doing for the rest of their lives?
Posts: 68 | From: near Lake Erie | Registered: Jun 2011
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Chorister
Completely Frocked
# 473
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Posted
I've never understood 'appointed' to mean the same as 'anointed', what is your reasoning, ken?
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Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.
Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001
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ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
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Posted
Who?
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Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
If it helps, I believe that this is a link to the section(s) in question.
If I am right about the section, I will just point out that the translation does not state that David did the appointing, but that he ordered the chief of the Levites to appoint somebody. That may or may not be significant. That David delegates the appointing responsibility to somebody else suggests to me that it need not be a lifetime appointment. But that is just an impression, not based on the language as such.
ETA: If I am wrong about the section(s) meant, I apologize.
[ 13. March 2014, 16:55: Message edited by: Hedgehog ]
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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Salicional
Shipmate
# 16461
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Posted
Thanks for pointing that out, Hedgehog...you're right about chapter 15. Now in chapter 16, verses 4-6, is David himself the one doing the appointing? I'm not clear on how these two chapters relate to each other, either. Were the people named in chapter 15 only needed for the procession of the Ark to the tent, and then replaced by the ones in chapter 16 once it was in place? It's a little confusing to me!
Posts: 68 | From: near Lake Erie | Registered: Jun 2011
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Hedgehog
Ship's Shortstop
# 14125
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Salicional:
Thanks for pointing that out, Hedgehog...you're right about chapter 15. Now in chapter 16, verses 4-6, is David himself the one doing the appointing? I'm not clear on how these two chapters relate to each other, either. Were the people named in chapter 15 only needed for the procession of the Ark to the tent, and then replaced by the ones in chapter 16 once it was in place? It's a little confusing to me!
Oh, you are right about Chapter 16. I didn't read that far!
The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown (1871) has this to say about the reference in chapter 16:
quote:
he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord--No sooner was the ark deposited in its tent than the Levites, who were to officiate in the choirs before it, entered upon their duties. A select number of the musicians were chosen for the service from the list ( 1 Chronicles 15:19-21 ) of those who had taken a prominent part in the recent procession. The same arrangement was to be observed in their duties, now that the ark again was stationary; Asaph, with his associates, composing the first or principal company, played with cymbals; Zechariah and his colleagues, with whom were conjoined Jeiel and Obed-edom, forming the second company, used harps and similar instruments.
If I am reading this correctly, the thought is that David appointed a "select few" from those that the chiefs of the Levites had appointed in ch. 15.
Which I suddenly realize doesn't actually answer your original question! ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
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"We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it."--Pope Francis, Laudato Si'
Posts: 2740 | From: Delaware, USA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Nigel M
Shipmate
# 11256
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Posted
I had a little look up of the passages, including the ones mentioned above (NET Bible):
quote:
1 Chron. 16:4
He [i.e. David] appointed some of the Levites to serve before the ark of the Lord, to offer prayers, songs of thanks, and hymns to the Lord God of Israel.
15:16
David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint some of their relatives as musicians.
15:2
Then David said, “Only the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve before him perpetually.
Different words are used in the different locations.
In 16:4 the verb translated into English by “appoint” is not really significant; it is a common Hebrew word more often used as “give” - so here it would be “David gave to the face of the Lord's ark...” which obviously doesn't carry colloquially across to English, hence the change. Perhaps “David provided Levites to serve at the Lord's ark..” is closer.
Wandering backwards to 15:16, it's still not really significant. The verb here is “to stand / place” and would look like: “David told the Levite leaders to place their brothers as musicians...” Again, a sense of appointing could be inferred.
I think the really significant word is used in 15:2 and that the other later verses assume and are based on this one. The Lord “chose,” which is the Hebrew verb that refers to testing, examining, proving. I think it's possible to think of this as appointment by merit; almost (in more modern terms) God ran a recruitment campaign and selected the candidate who best met the essential criteria for the job. What we have, then, would be a statement at the beginning of chapter 15 that God had already tested the Levites and found them suitable for the job of serving before his ark. Based on that, David simply proceeded to confirm the Levites in their role.
This pushes the question back a bit – at what point (or which event) did the author of 1 Chronicles deem God to have tested the Levites?
One candidate for this would be the episode recorded in Exodus 32:25-29, when the Levites rallied to the defence of Moses in the face of rebellious Israelites at the golden calf incident.
Posts: 2826 | From: London, UK | Registered: Apr 2006
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Chorister
Completely Frocked
# 473
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Posted
Apologies for mixing ken up with leo. It must be the lower case letter.
And thanks, leo for your honest reply.
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Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.
Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001
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Gee D
Shipmate
# 13815
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Posted
Chorister, I made the same mistake on another thread recently. They are probably identical twins, separated at birth. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
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Not every Anglican in Sydney is Sydney Anglican
Posts: 7028 | From: Warrawee NSW Australia | Registered: Jun 2008
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