Priestly Divisions

Biblical Text

The priestly divisions were a system in which the priests who served in the temple were organized into several groups that ministered in rotation. The most detailed account appears in 1 Chronicles 24. David divided the descendants of Aaron's two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar. Sixteen heads came from the descendants of Eleazar and eight from the descendants of Ithamar, making twenty-four divisions in all (1 Chronicles 24:4). Their order was determined by lot (1 Chronicles 24:5), and Shemaiah the scribe, a Levite, recorded it (1 Chronicles 24:6). The first division was that of Jehoiarib, the second Jedaiah, the eighth Abijah, and the twenty-fourth Maaziah (1 Chronicles 24:7-18).

Later records continue the account. Solomon appointed the divisions of the priests according to the ordinance of David (2 Chronicles 8:14), and Hezekiah likewise appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites (2 Chronicles 31:2). Lists of the priestly families who returned from Babylon appear in Ezra 2:36-39 and Nehemiah 12. In the New Testament, Luke 1:5 introduces Zacharias, a priest "of the course of Abia" (Zacharias and Elisabeth). While Zacharias was serving in the turn of his division, he was chosen by lot to burn incense in the sanctuary (Luke 1:8-9).

Background

In 1 Chronicles 24 the Hebrew word used for "division" or "section" is maḥaloqet. The term rendered "course" in Luke is the Greek ephēmeria, which refers to a rotating period of service. Second Chronicles 23:8 mentions both those who were to come in on the Sabbath and those who were to go out. On this basis some understand the divisions to have changed shifts each Sabbath. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus is also reported to have written that each division served for one week in rotation. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran there are also reportedly documents recording the rotation of the divisions. The priests were not the only ones organized into groups: among the Levites, the singers (1 Chronicles 25) and the gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 26) also served in divisions.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The system of divisions shows that temple worship was not monopolized by a single individual but was shared in an orderly way among many families. It is in the setting of this ordinary rotating service that Luke begins his account of the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist.

The New Testament reinterprets the priesthood itself. Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as an eternal high priest, not of the Levitical line, but "after the order of Melchisedec" (Hebrews 5:6). First Peter calls all believers "an holy priesthood" (1 Peter 2:5, 9). Protestants take these passages as the basis for the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.

Interpretation and Issues

• Origin of the system: Traditionally, the divisions are understood to have been established in David's time, as 1 Chronicles records. Some scholars, however, hold that Chronicles reflects a system that was organized after the exile.
• Dating the birth of Jesus: There have been attempts to estimate the time of John the Baptist's conception and the season of the birth of Jesus based on the period when the division of Abijah served. The text, however, gives no date, and since it is unknown where the rotation of the divisions began, such calculations remain conjectural.
• Connection with the twenty-four elders: Some interpreters link the twenty-four elders of Revelation 4 with the twenty-four divisions, though the text does not state this directly.
• "Course" and "order": The "order" of Hebrews (Greek taxis, meaning line or rank) is a different word from the "course" that denotes a rotating group, yet the corresponding Korean terms, bancha and banyeol, are often confused.

In the Korean Church

In Korean sermons and prayers, the word banyeol ("division," "rank") is commonly used in the sense of "joining a certain company," as in the phrase "to stand in the ranks of the forerunners of faith." In the biblical text, by contrast, the divisions refer to groups on temple duty.