And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,
These were the princes - or chief officers.
Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, х hakoheen (H3548)]. This word koheen, priest, has been generally considered to be synonymous with prince. It is so interpreted in the Chaldee version (Genesis 41:45; Exodus 2:16; 2 Samuel 8:18: cf. 1 Chronicles 18:17; Psalms 110:4). 'From all these passages it appears that there were priests connected with the court, partly exercising their proper functions, and partly so friends and counselors of the sovereign, as was also often the case with prophets and priests in later times. The author of Chronicles, in the passage quoted, seems to have chosen his interpretation of the more ancient context, because priests of any other than the Levitical family were unknown to him. Hence, in all the passages referred to, the signification priest is the only true one' (Gesenius). From the precedency given to Azariah in this list, many commentators (as Keil, in loco) have concluded that he was prime minister, the highest office next the king. But there is another word used in this very passage for princes х saariym (H8269)]; and it is certain that he was the high priest (cf. 1 Chronicles 6:10). The prominence given to him in this passage arose in all probability from circumstances noticed on the last clause of 1 Kings 4:4. [The Alexandrine version has ho hiereus in this passage; but the Vatican has only: Azarias huios Sadook.]