

“Elkanah his son, Zophai his son, Nahath his son, Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son and SAMUEL his son.  The sons of Samuel:  JOEL the first born and Abijah the second son.”



David told the Levites to appoint “singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals“.  Heman was the first one they appointed (I Chron. 15:16f) and he had two assistants ~ Asaph and Merari (I Chron. 6:39, 44).  David put them in charge of the music in the house of the Lord and they performed their duties according to the regulations (verses 31f).  

So what David appointed was a choir and orchestra.    When David first appointed them, Heman had 120 relatives in his clan, and his assistants had 220 and 130 in their clans (I Chron. 15:5-7; 19-22; 27-28) so they had a total of 470 musicians.  Wow!  And these musicians had a full time job!

They were to minister before the Lord “according to each day’s requirements” of sacrifices as written in the Law of Moses.  Heman and the others were responsible for sounding the trumpets and cymbals and playing the other instruments ~ lyres, harps and cymbals (15:19-21) ~ for sacred song (16:37-42).  In addition to playing the prescribed lyres, harps and cymbals, trumpets were to be sounded to announce sacrifices, etc. (16:4-6).  

By the time David was old, there were “four thousand…to praise the Lord with the musical instruments” (I Chronicles 23:5)!  What an amazing choir and orchestra they had by this time!  Remember, they were all male Levites, and were to help Aaron’s descendants, the priests, in the temple every day and at special feasts (verse 28, 30f).  And what instruments were they still playing?  Cymbals, lyres and harps“for the ministry at the house of God” (I Chron. 25:1 & 6).  

Years later after David died and his son Solomon had completed the grand Temple in Jerusalem (II Chron. 5:1), “all the Levites who were musicians…stood on the east side of the altar dressed in fine linen and playing >cymbals, harps and lyres, accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.  The trumpeters and singers joined in unison as with one voice to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and the other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord” (verses 12-13).


All this occurred around 1000 BC.  Three centuries later when Hezekiah was king, the same instruments were being played ~ cymbals, harps and lyres (II Chron. 29:25f).  Why?  Because they were prescribed by David, Gad the seer and Nathan the prophet as commanded by God through his prophets.  (Acts 2:29-30 says David was a prophet too.)  







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