1 Chronicles 26:13

13 They cast lots according to their ancestral houses, young and old alike, for each gate.

1 Chronicles 26:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 26:13

And they cast lots
To determine at which gate each should stand, who at this gate, and who at the other

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.

1 Chronicles 26:13 In-Context

11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. The sons and brothers of Hosah were 13 in all.

12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, under their leading men, had duties for ministering in the Lord's temple, just as their brothers did.

13 They cast lots according to their ancestral houses, young and old alike, for each gate.

14 The lot for the east [gate] fell to Shelemiah. They also cast lots for his son Zechariah, an insightful counselor, and his lot came out for the north [gate].

15 Obed-edom's was the south [gate], and his sons' [lot] was the storehouses;