Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Chronicles 26:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse opens the thought unit and establishes its first name, action, or speech: “And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Lots assign gates by direction and daily staffing.”
Lots fall by gate, not by private claim
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Chronicles 26:13–19. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Chronicles 26:13–19
Read 1 Chronicles 26:13 with 26:13–19. The selected wording supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first name, action, or speech; the surrounding verses supply the relationships and outcome summarized here: Small and great cast lots for east, north, south, storehouse, west, causeway, and Parbar posts with stated daily numbers.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Lots assign gates by direction and daily staffing,” 1 Chronicles 26:13 opens the thought unit and establishes its first name, action, or speech through the wording “And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The text gives spatial and numerical accountability to access work. 1 Chronicles 26:1–12 has just established this prior movement: Korahite and Merarite gatekeeper families include Obed-edom's blessed household, capable sons, and Hosah's non-firstborn chief before their service divisions are summarized. Together those details explain why “Lots assign gates by direction and daily staffing” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 1 Chronicles 26:13–19 together
Why these verses belong together: 1 Chronicles 26:13–19 forms the complete movement “Lots assign gates by direction and daily staffing”: Small and great cast lots for east, north, south, storehouse, west, causeway, and Parbar posts with stated daily numbers.
Verse 13. 13 And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.
Verse 14. 14 And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.
Verse 15. 15 To Obed-edom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim.
Verse 16. 16 To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward.
Verse 17. 17 Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and toward Asuppim two and two.
Verse 18. 18 At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.
Verse 19. 19 These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari.
Follow the Context
- Small and great cast lots for east, north, south, storehouse, west, causeway, and Parbar posts with stated daily numbers.
- The text gives spatial and numerical accountability to access work.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Chronicles 26:13 does not permit the wording “And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The plan does not provide a mystical map, license discriminatory access, or make lot results a modern governance method.
What Remains True
Worship requires ordered, truthful, skilled, and accountable service, while sacred office, beauty, or scale never determines a person's worth. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Small and great cast lots for east, north, south, storehouse, west, causeway, and Parbar posts with stated daily numbers. In 1 Chronicles 26:13, the concrete line “And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
Explain why 1 Chronicles 26:13 summarizes gatekeeper divisions by chief men sharing temple service with their kin. Use 26:13–19, paraphrase “And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Chronicles 26:13–19 — Lots assign gates by direction and daily staffingSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Several gate and place terms, including Asuppim, Shallecheth, and Parbar, are uncertain, and the historical temple layout is not fully recoverable.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 ↗