Asarelah

Asarelah is one of the temple musicians appointed under David's organization of the levitical singers. The UPDV preserves the name in two spellings within 1 Chronicles 25 — Asharelah in the family list and Jesharelah in the lot-cast roster — and the eleventh course is assigned to a related-sounding name, Azarel, sometimes identified with him.

Among the Sons of Asaph

The musical orders of 1 Chronicles 25 begin by naming the four sons of Asaph who prophesied with stringed instruments and cymbals: "of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asharelah, the sons of Asaph, under the hand of Asaph, who prophesied after the order of the king" (1Ch 25:2). Asarelah is here one of the four — placed under his father Asaph's hand and serving by royal appointment.

The Seventh Course

When the twenty-four courses are then assigned by lot, the same name appears in the seventh slot, in the form Jesharelah: "the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his brothers, twelve:" (1Ch 25:14). The course is twelve strong, the standard size for each singing division in this chapter.

The Eleventh Course

The chapter's eleventh course is given to Azarel: "the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his brothers, twelve:" (1Ch 25:18). The closeness of the name to Asarelah / Asharelah is the reason this verse is sometimes filed with him, though the chapter places the two names at separate draws.