1 Chronicles 26:13–19, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Chronicles 26:13–19
Lots assign gates by direction and daily staffing
Lots fall by gate, not by private claim
They cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate. The lot eastward falls to Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counsellor; his lot comes out northward. To Obed-edom southward, and to his sons the house of Asuppim. To Shuppim and Hosah westward, with the gate Shallecheth by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.
Daily numbers on each side
Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two. At Parbar westward, four at the causeway and two at Parbar. These are the divisions of the porters among the Korhites and among the sons of Merari.
Asuppim, Shallecheth, and Parbar are uncertain terms, and the historical temple layout is not fully recoverable. Spatial and numerical accountability is what the text gives. The plan is not a mystical map, not a license for discriminatory access, and not a modern governance method simply because lots were used.
How this should shape us
Write down who keeps which door, on which days, in what numbers. Do not use sacred geography to exclude people, and do not treat an ancient lot as the way to run a present building.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Chronicles 26:13–19 in your own words. Include its movement, placement in Chronicles, one Samuel-Kings comparison, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one modern use the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Several gate and place terms, including Asuppim, Shallecheth, and Parbar, are uncertain, and the historical temple layout is not fully recoverable.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
1 Chronicles 26:13–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 26:13–19
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 26:13–19, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Chronicler's God, worship, Israel, kingship, retribution, and hope, used only within the stated access limit.
Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles (2009), officially exposed introduction pp. 1–8, worship pp. 156–208, Israel pp. 209–307, kingship pp. 308–383, and redemption pp. 384–394; detailed chapter bodies were not available
Supports: Only abstract-supported composition alternatives, the rejected single Chronicler's History model, and Chronicles' northern-Israel, Davidic, Jerusalem, priest, and Levite emphases.
Klein, Oxford Handbook chapter (2020), pp. 353–366, complete official abstract
Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.
Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 26:13–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 26:13–19
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 26:13–19, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗modern scholarly monograph limited access
The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought
Sara Japhet
Eisenbrauns / Penn State University Press, English edition 1989; reprint 2009
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Chronicler's God, worship, Israel, kingship, retribution, and hope, used only within the stated access limit.
Exact location: Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles (2009), officially exposed introduction pp. 1–8, worship pp. 156–208, Israel pp. 209–307, kingship pp. 308–383, and redemption pp. 384–394; detailed chapter bodies were not available
Open source ↗modern scholarly handbook chapter abstract
The Rise and Fall of the So-Called Chronicler's History and the Current Study of the Composition of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah
Ralph W. Klein
The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible, pp. 353-366, 2020
Supports: Only abstract-supported composition alternatives, the rejected single Chronicler's History model, and Chronicles' northern-Israel, Davidic, Jerusalem, priest, and Levite emphases.
Exact location: Klein, Oxford Handbook chapter (2020), pp. 353–366, complete official abstract
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
1 and 2 Chronicles as a Discourse of Power
Ananda Geyser-Fouche
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 79(1), article 8011, pp. 1-13, 2023
Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.
Exact location: Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context
Isaac Kalimi
Poznan Theological Studies repository edition, pp. 7-25, 2019 repository edition
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Exact location: Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Open source ↗