1 Chronicles 26:12
in 1 Chronicles 26These divisions of the gatekeepers, through their chief men, had duties for ministering in the house of the LORD, just as their brothers did.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Of these were the courses of the doorkeepers, even of the chief men, having offices like their brethren, to minister in the house of Jehovah.
KJV
Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the Lord.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 26
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This verse is obscure, but its probable meaning is the following: “To these divisions of the porters, principal men, (were assigned) the watches, together with their brethren, for service in the house of the Lord;” i. e., the “chief men” 1Ch 26:1-11, amounting to no more than 93, kept the watch and ward of the house, together with a further number of their brethren (4,000, 1Ch 23:5), who assisted them from time to time.
This site's exposition
having wards one against another
on 1 Chronicles 26:12-19
The chief gatekeepers cast lots for their posts the same way the singers of chapter 25 were assigned by lot rather than preference, small families and great families bound by the same draw. The four gates take the compass points, east to Shelemiah, north to Zechariah, south to Obed-edom, west to Shuppim and Hosah, and two further posts, the house of Asuppim and the gate Shallecheth, are recorded though the temple that will stand around them is not yet built. Twenty-four men on watch at any hour serve a house that still exists only as an assignment on paper.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men,.... These before named were the principal men of the porters, among which was a division or distribution of them into classes or courses, in which they served weekly in turn: having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the Lord; meaning either to watch in, as on the north against the south, and the east against the west, and "vice versa".
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The rest of this chapter, with the whole of the 28th, is wanting both in the Syriac and Arabic.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
watches corresponding to their brethren the chiefs of twenty-four watches.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
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.
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
11 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְ֠אֵלֶּה | leeleh | [belonged] to these | H428 → | 746 times |
| מַחְלְק֨וֹת | machlekot | [the] divisions of | H4256 → | 42 times |
| הַשֹּֽׁעֲרִ֜ים | hashoarim | the gatekeepers | H7778 → | 37 times |
| לְרָאשֵׁ֧י | lerashei | to [the] chiefs of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| הַגְּבָרִ֛ים | hagevarim | the men | H1397 → | 65 times |
| מִשְׁמָר֖וֹת | mishmarot | duties | H4931 → | 78 times |
| לְעֻמַּ֣ת | leumat | <to> corresponding to | H5980 → | 32 times |
| אֲחֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾacheihem | relatives their | H251 → | 630 times |
| לְשָׁרֵ֖ת | lesharet | to serve | H8334 → | 97 times |
| בְּבֵ֥ית | beveit | in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
לְ֠אֵלֶּה[belonged] to these
leelehH428 →746 times
מַחְלְק֨וֹת[the] divisions of
machlekotH4256 →42 times
הַשֹּֽׁעֲרִ֜יםthe gatekeepers
hashoarimH7778 →37 times
לְרָאשֵׁ֧יto [the] chiefs of
lerasheiH7218 →599 times
הַגְּבָרִ֛יםthe men
hagevarimH1397 →65 times
מִשְׁמָר֖וֹתduties
mishmarotH4931 →78 times
לְעֻמַּ֣ת<to> corresponding to
leumatH5980 →32 times
אֲחֵיהֶ֑םrelatives their
ʾacheihemH251 →630 times
לְשָׁרֵ֖תto serve
lesharetH8334 →97 times
בְּבֵ֥יתin [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Chronicles 25:8They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 26:13
They cast lots for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.
- Proverbs 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
- Nehemiah 12:24
The leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, along with their associates, who stood across from them to give praise and thanksgiving as one section alternated with the other,…
- Acts 1:26
Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
- 1 Samuel 14:41–42
So Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Why have You not answered Your servant this day? If the fault is with me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim; but if…
- 1 Chronicles 26:13
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).