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Bible Dictionaries
Asaph
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or ASAPH (‘gatherer’). 1 . The father of Joah, the ‘recorder’ or chronicler at the court of Hezekiah ( 2 Kings 18:18; 2 Kings 18:37 etc.). 2 . The ‘keeper of the king’s forest,’ to whom king Artaxerxes addressed a letter directing him to supply Nehemiah with timber ( Nehemiah 2:8 ). 3 . A Korahite ( 1 Chronicles 26:1 ), same as Abiasaph (wh. see). 4 . The eponym of one of the three guilds which conducted the musical services of the Temple in the time of the Chronicler ( 1 Chronicles 15:16 f., etc.). The latter traces this arrangement to the appointment of David, in whose reign Asaph, who is called ‘the seer’ ( 2 Chronicles 29:30 ), is supposed to have lived. At first the Asaphites alone seemed to have formed the Temple choir, and in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (wherever we have the memoirs of the latter in their original form) they are not yet reckoned among the Levites . At a later period they share the musical service with the ‘sons of Korah’ (see Korahites). Psalms 50:1-23; Psalms 73:1-28; Psalms 74:1-23; Psalms 75:1-10; Psalms 76:1-12; Psalms 77:1-20; Psalms 78:1-72; Psalms 79:1-13; Psalms 80:1-19; Psalms 81:1-16; Psalms 82:1-8; Psalms 83:1-18 have the superscription le-Asaph , which means in all probability that they once belonged to the hymn-book of the Asaphite choir (see Psalms).
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Asaph'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/a/asaph.html. 1909.
