The Psalm Brothers

Dan Crabtree

Heman, Ethan, and Asaph were brothers, at least in the Hebraic sense. They all came from the same tribe – the tribe of Levi. They all knew King David and served during his monarchy. And they all played, sang, and wrote songs that endure today.

These three brothers are responsible for the authorship of 25 psalms, one-sixth of the entire psalter. So, what do we know about these musicians? Quite a bit, actually.

The Songs of the Psalm Brothers

Heman, a descendent of the Levite Korah, was the founder of the Sons of Korah, a group of musicians who led music in the temple and were responsible for writing twelve of the Psalms (Psalms 42-29, 84-85, 87-88). While Heman himself is only listed as the author of Psalm 88, it’s possible that he could have authored other “Sons of Korah Psalms” as well. Either way, his work in organizing the Sons of Korah led to the writing of these psalms by this band of music leaders. Knowing that Psalm 42 was written by a music leader in Israel adds some meaningful depth to its lyrics:

“These things I remember,

as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

a multitude keeping festival.”

Psalm 42:4

Asaph, a Levite and distant cousin of Heman, also wrote twelve psalms (Psalms 50, 73-83), which include some of the most powerful lyrics in the psalter:

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:25-26

Only one psalm is attributed to Ethan (Psalm 89), another Levite brother, but it is of such grandeur and beauty that it was chosen to close out Book 3 of the psalter. Regarding his own ministry, he writes:

Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,

who exult in your name all the day

and in your righteousness are exalted.

Psalm 89:15-16

These three brothers, then, are responsible for the writing of twenty-five of the psalms. But what was the context in which they penned these inspired lyrics?

The Story of the Psalm Brothers

Heman, Ethan, and Asaph’s genealogies are recorded in 1 Chronicles 6:31-48. In this list of names, we find out that Heman was the grandson of Samuel the prophet and a descendent of Korah, who led an unsuccessful priestly coup against Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16. We’re told in verse 31 that “these are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of LORD after the ark rested there.” In our modern terminology, they were worship leaders; they led the people of Israel in singing praise and lament to their God.[1]

We find out in 1 Chronicles 15:16-24 that David appointed Heman, Ethan, and Asaph to lead the musical procession as the ark was brought into Jerusalem. Apparently, they were percussionists because they were always playing the cymbals. But occasionally, we hear of them playing the lyre, the trumpet, or leading the singing. Whatever the instrument, David entrusted these Levite brothers with the great responsibility of stirring up the people of God in musical worship.

In 1 Chronicles 16, we see David further charging these brothers to maintain their work of musical worship before the ark of the covenant as it rests in Jerusalem. Before this time, the Levitical families (Kohathites, Merarites, and Gershonites) moved all the pieces of the Tabernacle when the tent needed to be moved. Now that the tent has found its home, they are given new assignments. Verse 41 says, “With them were Heman and Jeduthun (another name for Ethan) and the rest of those chosen and expressly named to give thanks to the LORD for his steadfast love endures forever.” According to this chapter, some of their favourite cover songs were Psalm 105, Psalm 96, and Psalm 106.

In 1 Chronicles 25:1-31, we see the brothers at their full strength. In particular, the chronicler lists all of Heman’s fourteen sons (“according to the promise of God to exalt him”), calls him a seer, and speaks about the work of this family band in leading music for the to-be-built temple. Verse 7 says, “The number of them along with their brothers, who were trained in singing to the LORD, all who were skilful, was 288.” That’s a significant choir and orchestra!

And when the temple is completed, these three show up once more to usher the ark of the covenant in with – you guessed it – music and singing. And as they played, “the house of the LORD was filled with a cloud… for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God” (2 Chron 5:13-14). These faithful ministers had a front-row seat to the divine manifestation of God’s glory in his holy temple. It’s no wonder, then, that their wisdom was considered second only to Solomon during his peak (1 Kings 4:31), and that their psalm-writing would have such an enduring impact on the people of God.

The Legacy of the Psalm Brothers

The story of these psalm-writing Levite brothers doesn’t end with their expiration. 2 Chronicles 29:12-19 tells us that their sons (read, descendants) were used by King Hezekiah in the great cleansing of the temple to restore pure worship to Israel. Likewise, their descendants played a prominent role in Josiah’s reformation as well (2 Chron 35:15). God’s kind hand was upon the houses of these brothers to continue using them for his exaltation.

After the return from the Babylonian exile, the descendants of these three brothers are still helping Israel bring praise to their God. The first group to return to the land included 128 of the sons of Asaph who were appointed to lead singing (Ezra 2:41). At the groundbreaking ceremony for the new temple, these men repeated the refrain of their fathers at the return of the ark (Ezra 3:10-11). Once the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt under Nehemiah, the descendants of Asaph and Ethan offered to live in the city and continue to lead the thanksgiving (Neh 11:15-18). And why did they continue in this work?

“For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.”

Nehemiah 12:46

Six hundred years later, the people of God still looked back to the ministry of Heman, Ethan, and Asaph as a high watermark for the musical worship of Israel, seeking to recapture the glory of that ancient choir. That’s a far-reaching legacy of worship!

So, the next time you read one of the psalms written by the Sons of Korah, Asaph, Ethan, or Heman, give thanks to God for the glorious legacy of these musical brothers. And thank the Lord for the faithful service of the musicians that he’s put in your church to lead you in singing praises to your Savior. Or, in the words of the Sons of Korah:

Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

For God is the King of all the earth;

sing praises with a psalm!

Psalm 47:6-7

[1] As an interesting aside about the lineage of these musicians: Both Heman and Ethan are listed in their psalm superscriptions as “Ezrahites,” a title which has caused no small amount of confusion among biblical scholars. Most commentators seem to agree that “Ezrahites” is another way of saying “Zerahites,” which means that they were descendants of one of the sons of Judah, Zerah. And 1 Chronicles 2:6 lists the names “Heman” and “Ethan” as two of the immediate sons of Zerah, which would have dated them around 1800 BC, well before the Davidic Ethan and Heman around 1000 BC. How could they be Judahites and Levites? How are they related to their earlier namesakes? The short answer is that somewhere in the family line, there was intermixing between the tribes (as in Judges 17:7) such that both the Heman and Ethan of David’s court were descended from someone named “Mahol” (1 Kings 4:31) who must have been in the line of Judah. That they shared names with their ancestors is not a problem because this was a common practice in Israel, as their own genealogies reveal.