1 Chronicles 26:13

13 and they cause to fall lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for gate and 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, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah [are] thirteen.
12 According to these [are] the courses of the gatekeepers; to the heads of the mighty ones [are] charges over-against their brethren, to minister in the house of Jehovah,
13 and they cause to fall lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for gate and gate.
14 And the lot falleth eastward to Shelemiah; and [for] Zechariah his son -- a counsellor with understanding -- they cause to fall lots, and his lot goeth out northward:
15 to Obed-Edom southward, and to his sons, the house of the gatherings;
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.