This section details David's preparation for his succession as he reached a venerable stage of life, and his priority was to instruct the leaders of Israel, the priests and the
Levites, who would help Solomon reigning and building the temple. The census of the Levites (verses 3–5) does not contradict 1 Chronicles 21:6, because it is not a general population census but concerns the division of duties only ascribed to this particular tribe. The Levites are not primarily recorded according to their family trees here, but significantly to their functions: officers and judges, gatekeepers, musicians. They are to be listed further in 1 Chronicles 23–26.
Verse 1 :
So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. • "Full of days": like Abraham (Genesis 25:8), Isaac (Genesis 35:29) and Job (42:17).
Verse 2 :
And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. David prepared well for his death and the reign of his successor, Solomon, by convening his officials to achieve a smooth transition (without mentioning the events recorded in 2 Samuel 15–1 Kings 2. The verse parallels 1 Chronicles 28:1 for the latter as a 'resumptive repetition'. although there are apparent differences (cf. 1 Chronicles 13:5 and 15:3 show that repetitions does not always need be 'resumptive'.
Verse 3 :
Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. The minimum age of Levites for holding office varies, perhaps according to the number of people available for the duties: 30 years old and above in Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, as here; 25 in Numbers 8:24; 20 in Ezra 3:8;1 Chronicles 23:24–27; 2 Chronicles 31:17.
Verse 6 :
And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The 'tripartite segmentation' of the Levites is similar to that in Exodus 6:16–19; Numbers 3:17–39; 1 Chronicles 6:1, 16–47. The families of these three Levite clans are listed in verses 7–24, resulting 24 courses (Japhet (1993: 43): Gershon 10, Kohath 9, Merari 5) or 22 (Rudolph (1955: 155): Gershon 9, Kohath 9, Merari 4). Each course or division was to perform duties in rotation until a round was completed and a new round was started. == Duties of the Levites (23:25–32)==