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1 Chronicles 26:14

in 1 Chronicles 26

The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then lots were cast for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and the lot for the North Gate fell to him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a discreet counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

KJV

And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

This verse in 1 Chronicles 26

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

had duties for ministering

on 1 Chronicles 26:12-19

The gatekeepers cast lots for their posts, “young and old alike”, as the singers of chapter 25 were assigned by lot. The four gates take the compass points: east to Shelemiah, north to Zechariah, south to Obed-edom, west to Shuppim and Hosah. Twenty-four men stand on watch at one time.

This site's exposition

the East Gate fell to Shelemiah

The East Gate fell to Shelemiah, whose name matches Meshelemiah of verse 1. His firstborn Zechariah, a wise counselor, drew the North Gate. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the east gate was the busiest and so kept six Levites a day, as verse 17 counts.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The sons of Obed-edom were employed in this office, sixty-two of that family. This was he that entertained the ark with reverence and cheerfulness; and see how he was rewarded for it.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

And they cast lots, the small like the great, to their fathers’ houses for each gate who will receive this gate, and who will receive this gate, to the east, to the west, to the north, to the south, and so to all the gates in the forecourt.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Chronicles 26:13:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיִּפֹּ֧לand it fell

    vaiyipolH5307 →435 times

  • הַגּוֹרָ֛לthe lot

    hagoralH1486 →78 times

  • מִזְרָ֖חָהeast -ward

    mizrachahH4217 →74 times

  • לְשֶֽׁלֶמְיָ֑הוּto Shelemiah

    leshelemyahuH8018 →

  • וּזְכַרְיָ֨הוּand Zechariah

    uzekharyahuH2148 →43 times

  • בְנ֜וֹson his

    venoH1121 →4930 times

  • יוֹעֵ֣ץ׀a counselor

    yoetzH3289 →79 times

  • בְּשֶׂ֗כֶלwith insight

    besekhelH7922 →

  • הִפִּ֙ילוּ֙they cast

    hipiluH5307 →435 times

  • גּֽוֹרָל֔וֹתlots

    goralotH1486 →78 times

  • וַיֵּצֵ֥אand it came out

    vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times

  • גוֹרָל֖וֹlot his

    goraloH1486 →78 times

  • צָפֽוֹנָה׃ סnorth -ward

    tzafonahH6828 →153 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Chronicles

King David Playing the Harp, Gerard van Honthorst, 1622. Public domain.
King David Playing the Harp, Gerard van Honthorst, 1622. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.