1 Chronicles 26:13
in 1 Chronicles 26They cast lots for each gate, according to their families, young and old alike.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to their fathers’ houses, for every gate.
KJV
And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 26
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd they cast lots,.... To determine at which gate each should stand, who at this gate, and who at the other, &c. as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate; meaning, not little ones and grown persons in a family, but the smaller and poorer families, and the larger and richer ones, had their places assigned them at the several gates, as the lot directed; they did not go according to the dignity and precedence of their families, but according to lot.
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 Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they cast lots--Their departments of duty, such as the gates they should attend to, were allotted in the same manner as those of the other Levitical bodies, and the names of the chiefs or captains are given, with the respective gates assigned them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
They cast lots - for every gate - None of these captains or their companies were permitted to choose which gate they would guard, but each took his appointment by lot.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
watches corresponding to their brethren the chiefs of twenty-four watches.
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּפִּ֨ילוּ | vaiyapilu | and they cast | H5307 → | 435 times |
| גוֹרָל֜וֹת | goralot | lots | H1486 → | 78 times |
| כַּקָּטֹ֧ן | kakaton | as the small | H6996 → | 101 times |
| כַּגָּד֛וֹל | kagadol | as the great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| לְבֵ֥ית | leveit | to [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֲבוֹתָ֖ם | ʾavotam | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לְשַׁ֥עַר | leshaar | for a gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וָשָֽׁעַר׃ פ | vashaar | and a gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
וַיַּפִּ֨ילוּand they cast
vaiyapiluH5307 →435 times
גוֹרָל֜וֹתlots
goralotH1486 →78 times
כַּקָּטֹ֧ןas the small
kakatonH6996 →101 times
כַּגָּד֛וֹלas the great
kagadolH1419 →526 times
לְבֵ֥יתto [the] house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
אֲבוֹתָ֖םancestors their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 times
לְשַׁ֥עַרfor a gate
leshaarH8179 →374 times
וָשָֽׁעַר׃ פand a gate
vashaarH8179 →374 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
- Proverbs 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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,…
- Proverbs 16:33
Through
1 Chronicles 24:31As their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, they also cast lots in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 24:5–6
Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.
- 1 Chronicles 25:8
They cast lots for their duties, young and old alike, teacher as well as pupil.
- 1 Chronicles 24:5–6
Through
1 Chronicles 24:5Thus they were divided by lot, for there were officers of the sanctuary and officers of God among both Eleazar’s and Ithamar’s descendants.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 24:31
As their brothers the descendants of Aaron did, they also cast lots in the presence of King David and of Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the families of the priests and Levites—the family…
- Jonah 1:7
“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
- Joshua 18:10
And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.
- Acts 5:24
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening.
- 1 Chronicles 24:31
About 1 Chronicles
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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).