4255. machlqah
Lexical Summary
machlqah: Division, section, course

Original Word: מַחְלְקָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: machlqah
Pronunciation: makh-lah-KAH
Phonetic Spelling: (makh-lek-aw')
KJV: course
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H4256 (מַחֲלוֹקֶת - divisions)]

1. a section (of the Levites)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
course

(Aramaic) corresponding to machaloqeth; a section (of the Levites) -- course.

see HEBREW machaloqeth

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[מַחְלְקָה] noun feminine class, division, of priests and Levites (Biblical Hebrew מַחְםקֶת); — plural suffix מַחְלְקָֽתְהוֺן Ezra 6:18.

חֲמָר see יחוּ

Topical Lexicon
Term and Placement in Scripture

Maḥləqāh, translated “division” or “course,” appears once in the Hebrew canon at Ezra 6:18. The word marks the formal arrangement of priests and Levites at the dedication of the rebuilt temple, underscoring a return to divinely ordered worship after the exile.

Background in Post-Exilic Worship

The passage belongs to the narrative describing the completion of the Second Temple under Zerubbabel. With altar, temple, and vessels restored, the final step was the orderly installation of ministering personnel:

“And they installed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their groups for the service of God at Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.” (Ezra 6:18)

By re-establishing distinct courses, the community affirmed both covenant fidelity and historical continuity with pre-exilic Israel.

Continuity with Mosaic Ordinances

Ezra deliberately ties the action “to what is written in the Book of Moses,” locating the practice within commands such as Numbers 3:6-10; 8:24-26, where priestly and Levitical duties are allocated by families and age. Although the single term maḥləqāh surfaces only here, the principle of ordered rotations stems from earlier statutes that safeguarded purity, prevented burnout, and ensured that every qualifying descendant of Aaron and Levi shared in temple responsibilities.

Organizational Structure of Sacred Service

1 Chronicles 24 documents twenty-four priestly courses arranged by King David and Zadok. Related vocabulary (“courses,” “divisions,” “orders”) recurs throughout Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah (for example, 1 Chronicles 24:19; Nehemiah 12:24). Ezra 6:18 signals that those ancient arrangements were revived, likely mirroring the twenty-four-course system later evident in Luke 1:5 with the “division of Abijah.” This continuity illustrates God’s providential preservation of priestly lineage despite exile and dispersion.

Historical Significance

Reinstituting divisions achieved several aims:
• Reinforced legal authority—publicly rooting worship practice in revealed Scripture rather than Persian policy or personal preference.
• Re-established communal identity—the people could see tangible evidence that “the holy seed” (Ezra 9:2) still served at the altar in lawful order.
• Enabled festival cycles—rotation of divisions guaranteed adequate staffing for daily offerings and pilgrim feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16).

Spiritual Lessons and Theological Significance

Order in worship reflects the character of God, who “is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Maḥləqāh therefore embodies:
• Holiness—clear boundaries protect sacred space and roles.
• Service—shared duty prevents clerical elitism and invites full participation of the priesthood.
• Continuity—the same God who structured tabernacle, temple, and church continues to guide His people in orderly worship (Colossians 2:5).

Foreshadowing New Testament Order

The priestly courses anticipated the New Covenant pattern where every believer is part of “a chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). While Christ fulfills sacrificial rituals, the principle of Spirit-directed order persists (Ephesians 4:11-12). Luke’s reference to Zechariah’s division confirms that the maḥləqāh system still operated in the first century, providing prophetic timing for the coming of Messiah.

Related Old Testament Parallels

1 Chronicles 23:6; 24:1-19 – David organizes priests and Levites.
2 Chronicles 31:2 – Hezekiah reinstates courses.
2 Chronicles 35:4-5, 10 – Josiah mobilizes divisions for Passover.
Nehemiah 12:44-47 – Post-exilic officers oversee stored contributions “according to the fields and divisions.”

Practical Implications for the Church Today

• Structured ministry is biblical: scheduling, training, and rotating servants honors both Scripture and human limitations.
• Fidelity to God’s Word safeguards worship from cultural drift.
• Remembering maḥləqāh encourages each believer to embrace an assigned place in the body, exercising gifts “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Forms and Transliterations
בְּמַחְלְקָ֣תְה֔וֹן במחלקתהון bə·maḥ·lə·qā·ṯə·hō·wn bemachleKateHon bəmaḥləqāṯəhōwn
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ezra 6:18
HEB: בִּפְלֻגָּתְה֗וֹן וְלֵוָיֵא֙ בְּמַחְלְקָ֣תְה֔וֹן עַל־ עֲבִידַ֥ת
NAS: and the Levites in their orders for the service
KJV: and the Levites in their courses, for
INT: to their divisions and the Levites their orders for the service

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 4255
1 Occurrence


bə·maḥ·lə·qā·ṯə·hō·wn — 1 Occ.

4254
Top of Page
Top of Page