And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,

2 CHRONICLES 29:4KJV
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2 Chronicles 29:4 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 29:4 mean?

2 Chronicles 29:4 describes King Hezekiah bringing together the priests and Levites, the people responsible for duties connected with the temple. His gathering prepares them to hear his instructions about the temple, which had been neglected under his father, King Ahaz.

The verse places the gathering in the “east street,” an open area on the temple’s eastern side. After Hezekiah opened and repaired the temple doors in verse 3, he assembled the people whose work would be needed there.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 29:4

  • “gathered” — אָסַף (asaf): This word can mean to collect or bring people together. Here it pictures an assembly called by the king, rather than a chance meeting.
  • “street” — רְחוֹב (reḥov): The word often means a broad or open public space. The KJV’s “street” may suggest a narrow road to a modern reader, but the setting could be an open square.

Why 2 Chronicles 29:4 matters

  • The priests and Levites have distinct roles in the gathering. Priests served at the altar, while Levites assisted with temple duties; verse 4 names both groups.
  • Hezekiah addresses the assembled workers directly. In verse 5, he tells the Levites to make themselves ready and to remove what is unclean from the temple.
  • The meeting is part of a larger effort to restore temple worship. Later in the passage, the Levites begin clearing the temple, and the priests bring out what they find inside (verses 15–16).

Where else these words appear

“street” Hebrew H7339 · used in 41 verses

  • Genesis 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
  • Esther 6:11 Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
  • Jeremiah 9:21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

“east” Hebrew H4217 · used in 71 verses

  • Exodus 27:13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
  • Joshua 16:5 And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;
  • 1 Chronicles 26:17 Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.