1 Chronicles 26:13

13 and they cast lots by fathers' houses, small and great alike, for their 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 Hilki'ah the second, Tebali'ah the third, Zechari'ah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

12 These divisions of the gatekeepers, corresponding to their chief men, had duties, just as their brethren did, ministering in the house of the LORD;

13 and they cast lots by fathers' houses, small and great alike, for their gates.

14 The lot for the east fell to Shelemi'ah. They cast lots also for his son Zechari'ah, a shrewd counselor, and his lot came out for the north.

15 O'bed-e'dom's came out for the south, and to his sons was allotted the storehouse.