_Asaph the son of Berechiah_] a descendant of Gershom; vi. 39‒43 (24‒28, Hebrew). Asaph was the chief of the musicians; xvi. 5, 7. One of the small collections of Psalms from which our Psalter was compiled was named after him; compare the titles of Psalms l., lxxiii.‒lxxxiii. _Ethan the son of Kushaiah_] a descendant of Merari; vi. 44‒47. Compare Psalms lxxxix. (title). He is apparently called _Jeduthun_ in xxv. 1‒6. See also the note on xvi. 41. =18‒24.= These verses present several obscurities which can hardly be explained except by the supposition that the original text of the Chronicler has been added to by a later writer with intricate results. Several reconstructions are possible, the most plausible being that of Curtis which is followed in these notes. ¹⁸and with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the doorkeepers. =18.= _their brethren of the second degree_] Read rather =their twelve brethren=: twelve being the number of names from Zechariah to Mikneiah. The last two, Obed-edom and Jeiel, were “doorkeepers,” not “singers,” although they were mistakenly supposed to belong to the list of singers by the author of verses 19‒21 (see further regarding Obed-edom the note on xvi. 38). _Ben_] This word, which means “son,” is an error. Read probably =Bani=. _the doorkeepers_] See the notes on ix. 17. ¹⁹So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, _were appointed_, with cymbals of brass to sound aloud; =19‒21.= Probably an addition interpolated by someone interested in the detailed organisation of the Levitical choirs. The names are taken from verse 18, except that _Ben_ is omitted, and a new name Azaziah is added at the end of the list. Since Obed-edom and Jeiel are included among the singers here, the reading “of the second degree” (which is regarded above as an error for an original “twelve”: a slight change in Hebrew) must have been found in the text of verse 18 which the interpolator used. _to sound aloud_] The cymbals mark the time for the other instruments. ²⁰and Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries set to Alamoth; =20.= _set to Alamoth_] an obscure phrase, its musical significance being uncertain; compare Psalms xlvi. (title), Revised Version. ²¹and Mattithiah, and Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps set to the Sheminith, to lead. =21.= _set to the Sheminith_] As in the case of _Alamoth_, the precise musical significance of _Sheminith_ is obscure. Compare Psalms vi. (title, Revised Version margin). ²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was over the song¹: he instructed about the song¹, because he was skilful. ¹ Or, _the carrying_ of the ark Hebrew _the lifting up_.