1 Chronicles 26:10

10 And of Hosa, that is, of the sons of Merari: Semri the chief, (for he had not a firstborn, and therefore his father made him chief.)

1 Chronicles 26:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 26:10

Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons
Who was a fellow porter of Obededom's at the ark, ( 1 Chronicles 16:38 ) .

Simri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father
made him the chief);
the firstborn being unfit for service, either through want of an intellectual capacity, or of strength of body, or through some defect or another; according to the Syriac version, he was dead; so some understand the words, he, the father, had no firstborn remaining or living.

1 Chronicles 26:10 In-Context

8 All these of the sons of Obededom: they, and their sons, and their brethren most able men for service, sixty-two of Obededom.

9 And the sons of Meselemia, and their brethren strong men, were eighteen.

10 And of Hosa, that is, of the sons of Merari: Semri the chief, (for he had not a firstborn, and therefore his father made him chief.)

11 Helcias the second, Tabelias the third, Zacharias the fourth: all these the sons, and the brethren of Hosa, were thirteen.

12 Among these were the divisions of the porters, so that the chiefs of the wards, as well as their brethren, always ministered in the house of the Lord.