Now comes
a detailed order to the Levites in a series of imperatives: 'prepare yourselves
. . . and stand in the holy place . . . and slaughter the passover, and
sanctify yourselves and prepare for your brethren . . .'
The
references to 'the writing (RSV directions) of David' and 'the document (RSV
directions) of Solomon', raise one of the more salient features of the
pericope—the author's constant effort to root all the features of Josiah's
Passover in earlier prescriptions and authority, referring in fact to all the recognized
sources of authority: the Law of Moses (vv. 6, 12), the prescriptions of David
and Solomon (V. 4), or David and the chief singers (V. 15), the authority of
the ruling king (vv. 10, 16), and 'the ordinance' (v. 13). This is the most variegated
and comprehensive appeal to authority in any single pericope, with very clear
delineations of the various aspects of ritual and their respective sources of
authority. It is noteworthy, however, that the division of the clerical
personnel into divisions, the attribution of which to David is a common feature
in Chronicles, is regarded here as having been found in a written document. This
is another point of comparison between the authority of David and that of
Moses, both established by 'books'. (Sara Japhet, I & II Chronicles: A
Commentary [Old Testament Library; Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox
Press, 1993], location 25962 of 26645 of the Kindle ed.)