I Chronicles 16

and he blessed the people in the name of the Lord which was called upon the Ark, as is written above (II Sam. 6:2): “the Ark of God, the Lord, upon which a name was called.”

and a portion of meat — Heb. אֶשְּׁפָּר, one sixth of a bull.

and a flask of wine — Heb. וַאֲשִּׁישָּׁה one sixth of a “hin,” similar to (Hos. 3:1): “goblets (אֲשִּׁישֵּׁי) of grapes,” a flask.

and to make mention and to give thanks and to praise “To make mention” means to recite those two psalms in which it is written (Ps. 38, 70): “A song of David to mention”; “and to thank” [means to recite] (ibid. 105): “Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name”; “and to praise,” [by reciting] those psalms starting with “Hallelujah.”

And Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets constantly Trumpets were the musical instruments of the priests. A similar case is found above (15:24): “And Shebaniah, etc. and Eliezer. the priests, sounding the trumpets.”

to give thanks to the Lord by the hand of Asaph and his brethren Asaph would commence, “Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name,” and afterwards all his brethren would respond after him. A similar instance is found in Ezra (Neh. 11:17): “And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph the chief to begin the thanksgiving in prayer,” on the instrument of the huyedoth, as it is written in Ezra (ibid. 12:8): “And the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah over the huyedoth.”

Glory in His holy name saying that whoever believes in our God — He will help him. A similar instance is (Isa. 41:16): “... with the Holy One of Israel shall you praise yourself.”

of His holy name that you have a holy God like our God, and so (Deut. 4:7): “... like the Lord our God whenever we call out to Him.”

may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice and when he does good, the heart of he who seeks the Lord with a whole heart is able to rejoice. Therefore...

Search for the Lord and His might The Sanctuary and Ark are called “His might,” as it is written (Ps. 78:61): “And He delivered His might into captivity,” i.e., He delivered His Ark to bring it into captivity, and it is written (ibid. 132:8): “Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your might.” For that reason, Eleazar, its watchman, was called Uzza, because he guarded the Ark, which was called might (עֹז). An example of this is that [Ephron was called by this name] because of the four hundred silver shekels, which is the numerical value of the name Ephron. And so, many others [as in] (Gen. 49:16): “Dan (דָן) will champion (יָדִין) the right of his people”; (ibid. verse 8): “Judah, (יְהוּדָה) you are the one; to you your brothers do homage (יוֹדוּךָ).”

Remember His wonders the plague of the mice, and they took milch cows and shut up their young in the house, and the cows went straight (I Sam. 6:10-12), and they did not turn back, and the breach of Uzza. The entire song was composed concerning the Ark, and they would say it for the daily sacrifice in the morning, and “Sing to the Lord,” for the daily sacrifice in the afternoon ( Seder Olam ch. 14). And to whom do I say that they should remember the wonders of the One Who is perfect in knowledge?

When you were few in number [It was] then that He swore to give them the land of Canaan, the portion of your heritage. And this is a great thing, so that they cannot say that because of your great numbers, you seized the land of Canaan, but when you were few in number. Now if you say that even a thousand or more have a number, what is this about which it is written: “When you were few in number”? Therefore, it says: “hardly dwelling in it.” The meaning is that if He would say to one settler, e.g., to Abraham alone, to Isaac alone, to Jacob alone, to one of them He would say, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,” it would not be a wonder, because they were settled in it! But He swore to give you the land at a time when your ancestors were strangers sojourning in it, as it is written (Gen. 35:27): “... that is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.” And furthermore, if He would say to a stranger who is settling, “To you and to your seed I will give this land,” it would not be such a wonder. Therefore, he says that they were not even strangers who were settling, but...

And when they walked from nation to nation Abraham went to Egypt and to Gerar, and so did Isaac, and so was Jacob in Laban’s house for twenty years, and now, too, for it does not say: וַיֵּלְכוּ but וַיִּתְהַלְּכוּ ( poraler in Old French, to wander about)

He let no man oppress them Although they walked from place to place and it is customary to harm wayfarers, and when they arrive to their inn, they are falsely accused, but these the Holy One, blessed be He, did not let [anyone] hurt them or oppress them. An example is (Lev. 5:21): “or oppressed (עָשַּׁק) his neighbor.” Now if you ask if the reason that the highwaymen and [the people of] the other lands in whose midst they passed did not harm them was that they did not notice them, but if they had noticed them, they would have oppressed them, therefore, it says: “... and He reproved kings on their account,” i.e., they did oppress them, as Pharaoh [did] to Abraham and Abimelech to Isaac, and Laban and Shechem to Jacob, and the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them...

Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets Concerning Abraham it says (Gen. 12:17): “And the Lord plagued Pharaoh,” and it is written (ibid. 20:3): “And the Lord came to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him: You shall die, etc.” Concerning Jacob it says: (ibid. 31: 24): “And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night, and said to him: Beware, etc.” And further, concerning Jacob, when they came to kill him because they killed Shechem and Hamor, it is writ ten: (ibid. 35:5): “Then they journeyed on, and the terror of God was, etc.” The Book of Psalms is more explicit, for the psalm does not terminate here, as it is written there (105:16): “He called a famine upon the land,” in order to exile them to Egypt.

Tell the salvation that He wrought for us when the Ark was exiled to the land of the Philistines.

among all peoples His wonders that He wrought with the Ark.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols vanity, the handiwork of man; and a similar example is in the prophecy of Habakkuk (2:18): “What did a graven image avail that its maker has graven it... etc.” until “to make dumb idols?” but the Lord made the heavens Regarding the idols it is written: “to make,” but the Holy One, blessed be he, is the Maker of the heavens and the earth and all their host.

There is beauty and majesty before Him; might and joy in His place But the idols are lying like dead; wherever they are placed they lie, because our God is the true God.

Ascribe to the Lord, [you] families of peoples And what should they ascribe to Him? And he explains: glory and might.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name His name is אֲדֹנָי, and He is the Lord (אָדוֹן) of all. That is the meaning of “Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name,” because like His name, so is His praise.

bow down to the Lord in the beauty of holiness for so we said, “There is beauty and majesty before Him.”

Quake before Him, all the earth; also the inhabited world will be established so that it will not falter When a flesh and blood king sees that [the people] are worried and frightened of him, he casts more fear upon them, and they become more worried about him, lest he destroy all their homes, but the attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He, is that He does not do so. When the [inhabitants of] the world fear Him, then the world is established so that it does not falter. He wreaks vengeance upon robbers, and honest people remain in existence, and the earth remains in existence and does not falter. Therefore, “quake before Him, all the earth,” but do not worry because the Holy One, blessed be He, will come only to rectify the world. But when the creatures do not fear Him and they sin, then He will turn them over and destroy them.

The heavens will rejoice and the earth will exult, and they will say among the nations, “The Lord has reigned” When a flesh and blood [monarch] reigns, all are sad, because they do not know whether he will judge harshly, but when the Holy One, blessed be He, will reign, the heavens and earth will rejoice, and all the upright will say, “Now the Lord has reigned,” for He has restored the Ark to us.

The sea and the fullness thereof will roar all the creatures in the sea. A similar example is (Isa. 44:23): “Sing, ye heavens, for the Lord has done this,” because He restored the Ark to us and sent destructive angels to execute justice upon the Philistines.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His loving-kindness exists forever This verse (34) is not a conclusion of the Psalm (96) but [a continuation] of Psalm (105): “Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His Name.” The verse (35): “And say, save us, etc.” is from the Psalm (106). And this Psalm (106) commences with this verse (in Chron.). Now is it appropriate here, “And say, etc. and save us from the nations,” for when were they exiled in David’s time, that he should say, “and save us from among the nations”? And this is the arrangement in Psalms. Psalm (105) commences: “Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name,” and it concludes only with “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, etc.” until “Amen! Hallelujah,” for it is all one topic, but because it is a long psalm, it was divided, and it commences, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.” Similarly, Job, when he had to lengthen his reply, he shortened it and divided it in two, and it says, (Job 29:1): “And Job again took up his parable,” for in song, because of his ecstasies of joy, he could not speak at length; so he divided it in two. And so, in the matter of lamentation, because of his intense pain he could not speak at length, and he divided it in two, because both song and lamentation are uttered similarly. When Hannah came to pray in the forecourt, Eli thought her to be a drunken woman, because he thought that she acted in that manner because of wine, but she said, (I Sam. 1:15f.): “... and neither new wine nor old wine have I drunk, etc., for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation....” From here we learn that drunken people and those suffering from pain behave in the same manner.

And say, “Save us At the end of the Psalm (106:42), which speaks about captivity: “And their foes oppressed them, and they were humbled under their hand,” it is written thereafter, (ibid. verse 46): “And He caused them to be pitied by their captors.” Now, it is appropriate to say, “Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from the nations,” as You have done to them. In Psalms, it does not say, “And say, save us” but only, “Save us,” because that is the appropriate wording. For the following reason, David recited these two psalms when he brought the Ark: It is explained in Genesis Rabbah (54:4): “since the cows, when they sang, recited these two psalms.” Rabbi Samuel the son of Nahmani said: (I Sam. 6:12): ‘And the cows sang.’ What song did they sing? ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name.’ Rabbi Eleazar says: ‘Sing to the Lord, all the earth, etc.’” Therefore, David instituted them to recite them before the Ark, one psalm in the morning and one psalm in the evening. Quoted from Rabbi Eleazar the son of Meshullam of blessed memory.

to serve before the Ark continually with song.

as every day’s work required evening and morning.

And Obed-Edom and his brethren [they] were left with Asaph to sing.

and Obed-Edom the son of Jeduthun and Hosah [they] were left as gate sentries for the Ark.

And Zadok the priest was the head, and his brethren, the priests with him, David stationed before the Tabernacle of the Lord, which was in Gibeon, and he did not leave any priest with the Ark, because they did not have to perform the sacrificial service

and the rest of the chosen ones Heb — הַבְּרוּרִים, the chosen ones.

who were designated with names great men called by name to sing before the altar at the time of the offering of the sacrifices.

were [appointed] over the gate like “for gate sentries”; and in the fortieth year of the kingdom of the house of David, they made them the heads of the singers, as it is written (below 25:3): “Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun, etc., six alongside, etc., who prophesied by the thanksgiving and praise to the Lord.”

ויביאו — ג' פסוקים אלה נזכרו בשמואל, ושם סיים וילך כל העם איש לביתו וישב דוד לברך את ביתו, ועזרא מצא בדה"י אשר למלכי בית דוד כי בטרם שהלכו העם סדר דוד תחלה את משמרת הארון ועבודת המשכן ככל המסופר בספר זה, והעתיקו, לבאר שרק אחר המעשים האלה הלכו העם לביתם ודוד לביתו:

משרתים — לכבד ולרבץ לפניו, וגם נתן לוים להזכיר, ר"ל מעשה ה' בימי קדם

ולהודות — על טובותיו

ולהלל — בספור שבחיו. וע"ז היה אסף הראש:

ובניהו — כפי הדין שהכהנים תוקעים בחצוצרות, וצריך שני כהנים כמבואר בערכין, וכנראה הם עצמם אמרו שיר גם בפה, והיו י"ב, כדין דאין פוחתין מי"ב על הדוכן, ובאשר לא היו רק לזכר היו י"ב בין הכל:

אז נתן דוד בראש — כי היו מהללים בכמה מזמורים, רק שני מזמורים אלה נתן לאמרם בראש:

הודו — הנה מבואר בסדר עולם שמזמור הראשון עד פסוק כ"ג היו אומרים בבקר, והמזמור השני מפסוק כ"ג ואילך היו אומרים בין הערבים, ומזמור הראשון יסדו דוד בספר תהלותיו סי' ק"ה, ושם פירשנו הדברים כפי דרכנו והקורא ידרוש פירושו משם, לבד שבא פה בקצת שנוים, כי במזמור זה בא להזכיר שה' הבטיח את הארץ לאברהם, ושצוה להאומות בל יגעו בם ודבר צוה קיים לאלף דור, כי כן הראה נפלאותיו בשדה פלשתים, בל יגעו בארון קדשו ובישראל עמו. ושם (תהלים קה, ו) אמר זרע אברהם עבדו, כי ראשית ההבטחה היתה לאברהם, ופה אמר זרע ישראל, כי נפלאותיו בארון היה מצד ישראל אבי האומה ביחוד. ושם (ח) אמר זכר לעולם בריתו, ופה אמר זכרו, מצוה עתה שישראל יזכרו בריתו וישמרוהו. וכן יש להבין יתר השנויים:

שירו — מזמור זה נמצא בספר תהלות סי' צ"ו, וכבר פירשתי המזמור וענינו בפי' ס' תהלות, ויש גם בזה איזה שנויים כפי הצורך לענין הארון, שכונת ההודאה על הנס והפלא שעשה ה' ע"י הארון בעת שבו אותו פלשתים, ועי"כ הכירו העמים נפלאותיו ושכל אלהי העמים אלילים, כי דגון אלהיהם נפל לפני ארון ה'. ושם (ו) אמר עוז ותפארת במקדשו, ופה אמר עז וחדוה במקומו, כי הגם שישב הארון בשדה פלשתים הראה את עוזו ושמח על מפלת אויביו. שם אמר (ח) שאו מנחה ובאו לחצרותיו, ובכאן אמר שאו מנחה ובאו לפניו, כי פה ידבר שה' שוכן אצל הארון, והבאים באים לפניו. וכן תמצא ידך לפרש עד"ז יתר השנויים, כשתעיין על פירושי שם ותשכיל על דבר:

הודו — פסוק זה הוא ציון של התחלת מזמור ק"ו, ופסוק שאחריו הוא סוף המזמור, עד שכפי השערתי אמרו בבוקר כל סימן ק"ה ובערב כל סימן ק"ו. או שאמרו תחלת הסימן וסופו לרמז על מזמור זה וענינו, שבמזמור ק"ה ספר מהחסדים שעשה ה' עם ישראל בצאתם ממצרים ובמדבר, ובסי' ק"ו ספר איך מרו את דבריו ומשלו בם שונאיהם ועי"כ הלכו שבי לפני צר, וסיים בבקשה שיקבצם מן הגוים שהלכו שבי תחתם, וכל העם ענו ברוך ה' אלהי ישראל, לברך על הטובה ועל הרעה. ובתהלים לא נמצא מלת ואמרו, רק הושיענו, ומשמע שזה צווי אל העם שיאמרו שני פסוקים אלה האחרונים, ועיין ברש"י מ"ש בזה:

ויעזב לאסף — עזב סדר העבודה לאסף שהוא יסדר השיר הצריך לאמר תמיד מעניני דיומא:

ועובד אדום ואחיהם — פי' הרד"ק בניו ואחיהם ששים ושמונה (ולקמן כו, ח) חשבם ששים ושנים, וצ"ל שששה מהם נחסרו בימי הדבר שהיה אז, או שפי' עובד אדום וחוסה ואחיהם היו ששים ושמונה, ומפרש שעובד אדום וחוסה היו מיוחדים לשוערים. והגם שחושב לקמן (שם י) בנים שלשה עשר לחוסה, בעת ההיא נתרבו:

ואת צדוק — מ"ש רש"י ולא עזב שום כהן עם הארון, הוא שלא בדוקא, כמ"ש בפסוק ו':

ועמהם הימן — ר"ל שהימן וידותון היו בין עם המשוררים בפה, שעז"א שהיו עמהם היינו עם הכהנים

עם שאר הברורים — היינו הנבחרים שנקבו אז בשמותם להודות ה' בפה, וגם היו עמהם הימן וידותון לנגן ע"י חצוצרות ומצלתים ויתר כלי שיר, כי היו בקיאים בין לשורר בפה בין בכלי

ובני ידותון — היו מיוחדים לשער:

וילכו — ואחר שסדר דוד עבודת הארון והמשכן ומשמרות הכהנים והלוים בכ"א, אז הלכו העם לבתיהם ודוד נסב לברך את ביתו. ולא הזכיר פה ממיכל בת שאול, שכבר נאמר בשמואל שם: