Jeduthun in the Bible

There are 17 references to Jeduthun in the Old Testament. Six references describe Jeduthun the person (1 Chr 16:41, 42; 25:3, 6; 2 Chr 5:12; 35:15); eight references are to “sons” of Jeduthun (1 Chr 9:16; 16:38, 42; 25:1, 3 [x2]; 2 Chr 29:14; Neh 11:17); and three occurrences are in the Psalms (Pss 39:1; 62:1; 77:1).

Jeduthun was a member and father of a Levitical family of temple musicians (1 Chr 9:16; 25:1–6; 2 Chr 5:12; 29:14; 35:15). Jeduthun appears as a Levitical musician in the time of David (1 Chr 16:41–42; 25:6) and Solomon (2 Chr 5:12). Jeduthun is often listed alongside Asaph and Heman (1 Chr 25:1, 3, 6; 2 Chr 5:12; 29:14; 35:15), but in 1 Chr 15:17, 19 the name Ethan appears alongside Asaph and Heman. It is unclear whether Jeduthun replaced Ethan, or Jeduthun and Ethan are different names for the same person. Keil and Delitzsch argue that they are the same person, and that Ethan was a given name and Jeduthun was a “by-name” that Ethan acquired as a result of his occupation (Kiel and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary, 3:453). Jeduthun is also called the “king’s seer” (2 Chr 35:15).

Jeduthun’s name appears in several passages in connection with his sons or descendants. Listed sons of Jeduthun include Obed-Edom in 1 Chr 16:38; Galal in 1 Chr 9:16 and Neh 11:17; and Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah in 1 Chr 25:3. The most notable of these was Obed-Edom, the Korahite Levitical gatekeeper for the temple (1 Chr 16:38, 42b; 26:1, 3, 8). However, since Obed-Edom is listed as a Korahite rather than a Merarite, as Ethan is in 1 Chr 15:17, it is possible that his father and the Levitical musician Jeduthun are not the same person (this argument rests on the assumption that Ethan and Jeduthun are the same person).

Jeduthun and his family are counted among the temple musicians in 1 Chr 25:1, 3, and 6, where they lead in worship as prophets with musical accompaniment. As leaders in the worshiping community of the temple, there are three significant events where Jeduthun and his descendants are shown to be participants. First, in 2 Chronicles 5:12 there is Solomon’s dedication of the temple. Second, there is Hezekiah’s cleansing of the temple in 2 Chr 29:14. Third, there is Josiah’s Passover in 2 Chr 35:15. Each of these three references link the family of Jeduthun with Asaph and Heman.

The three references to Jeduthun in the Psalms are found in the titles of Pss 39; 62; 77. Commonly, yeduthun is translated as the proper noun “Jeduthun.” Many scholars state that the references to Jeduthun in the Psalms indicate that he was skilled in the composition of hymns (Bland, “Exegesis of Psalm 62,” 83; Oesterley, Psalms, 15). Mowinckel does not consider “Jeduthun” the proper noun to be a correct translation of yeduthun. He argues that yeduthun should be a common noun derived from the root yadah and translated in accordance with its etymology: “to acknowledge or confess sin, God’s character and works, or man’s character” (Alexander, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, s.v. יְדוּתוּן, yeduthun; Mowinckel, Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 2:23–25). Specifically, Mowinckel suggests the translation “confession” (Mowinckel, Psalms in Israel’s Worship, 2:23–64).