1 Chronicles 26:13

13 And they cast lots equally, both little and great, by their families for every one of the gates.

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 Helcias the second, Tabelias the third, Zacharias the fourth: all these the sons, and the brethren of Hosa, were thirteen.

12 Among these were the divisions of the porters, so that the chiefs of the wards, as well as their brethren, always ministered in the house of the Lord.

13 And they cast lots equally, both little and great, by their families for every one of the gates.

14 And the lot of the east fell to Selemias. But to his son Zacharias, a very wise and learned man, the north gate fell by lot.

15 And to Obededom and his sons that towards the south: in which part of the house was the council of the ancients.