1 Chronicles 26:14

And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counseller, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah.—The courses of the sons of Shelemiah (Meshelemiah 1Chronicles 26:1; 1Chronicles 26:9, and Shallum 9:19) received by lot the post of honour on the east side of the Sanctuary.

Then for Zechariah his son.—Heb., And Zechariah his son, counselling with sagacity, they cast lots. The preposition for may have fallen out before Zechariah; or perhaps Zechariah is the real subject of the verb “cast lots,” which is plural, because Zechariah is the name of a clan or guild. (Comp. 1Chronicles 24:31; xxv, 8). Zechariah, the firstborn of Meshelemiah (1Chronicles 26:2), obtained the charge of the north side “They cast lots” may mean drew a lot from the urn.

A wise counsellor.—This little touch is obviously a mark of truth. The chronicler could have had no motive for so characterising a warder of the Temple, unless he had found it in some older source, of which he has only given extracts.

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 26:14-15. Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor — Which is noted as an excellent and useful accomplishment for his office, in which there was need of wisdom as well as courage, as may appear by the description of their work, 1 Chronicles 26:20, &c. See the note on 1 Chronicles 26:6. The house of Asuppim — Or, of gatherings; probably so named from the assembly of the elders, who met there to consult about the affairs of the temple.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

26:1-32 The offices of the Levites. - The porters and treasurers of the temple, had occasion for strength and valour to oppose those who wrongly attempted to enter the sanctuary, and to guard the sacred treasures. Much was expended daily upon the altar; flour, wine, oil, salt, fuel, beside the lamps; quantities of these were kept beforehand, besides the sacred vestments and utensils. These were the treasures of the house of God. These treasures typified the plenty there is in our heavenly Father's house, enough and to spare. From those sacred treasuries, the unsearchable riches of Christ, all our wants are supplied; and receiving from his fulness, we must give him the glory, and endeavour to dispose of our abilities and substance according to his will. We have an account of those employed as officers and judges. The magistracy is an ordinance of God for the good of the church, as truly as the ministry, and must not be neglected. None of the Levites who were employed in the service of the sanctuary, none of the singers or porters, were concerned in this outward business; one duty was enough to engage the whole man. Wisdom, courage, strength of faith, holy affections, and constancy of mind in doing our duty, are requisite or useful for every station.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This verse is obscure, but its probable meaning is the following: "To these divisions of the porters, principal men, (were assigned) the watches, together with their brethren, for service in the house of the Lord;" i. e., the "chief men" 1 Chronicles 26:1-11, amounting to no more than 93, kept the watch and ward of the house, together with a further number of their brethren (4,000, 1 Chronicles 23:5), who assisted them from time to time.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

1Ch 26:13-19. The Gates Assigned by Lot.

13. they cast lots—Their departments of duty, such as the gates they should attend to, were allotted in the same manner as those of the other Levitical bodies, and the names of the chiefs or captains are given, with the respective gates assigned them.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

A wise counsellor; which is noted as an excellent and useful accomplishment for his office, in which there was need of wisdom as well as courage, as may appear by the description of their work, 1 Chronicles 26:20, &c. See Poole "1 Chronicles 26:6".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah,.... The same with Meshelemiah, 1 Chronicles 26:1 he by lot was placed at the eastern gate, called afterwards the gate Shushan, the city Shushan being portrayed upon it (u):

then for Zechariah his son (a wise counsellor); and who was his firstborn, 1 Chronicles 26:2 a man of great parts and learning: for they were not mean persons that were employed in this office, nor was the office a mean one, like that of our porters; but men of considerable rank and figure, and of knowledge and learning, were in it; some of them were judges, 1 Chronicles 26:29 and their places were places of great trust, they had much treasure committed to them, as appears by 1 Chronicles 26:20,

they cast lots, and his lot came out northward; where was a gate in later times, called Teri or Tedi, which differed from other gates in this, that it had no threshold, only one stone was laid upon another, and was not commonly used (w).

(u) Ib. (Misn. Middot, c. 1.), sect. 3.((w) Misn. Middot, ib. (c. 1. sect. 3.) & c. 2. sect. 3.

Geneva Study Bible

And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, {f} a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.

(f) One expert and fit to keep that gate.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. Shelemiah] i.e. Meshelemiah, 1 Chronicles 26:1-2.

wise counseller] R.V. discreet counsellor.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 14-16. - The casting of lots for the four chief names and the four chief aspects of gates, now proceeds. A special note is made of the care taken for the house of Asuppim; i.e. of "gatherings" or "stores." For all that we know of this "house," we seem to be left to the verses (15, 17) of this passage, and to the expression (Nehemiah 12:25), "the storehouses, or stores of the gates" (though the Authorized Version, the "thresholds" of the gates), which would have been more intelligible had it been reversed, "the gates of the stores." Presumably it was a building for keeping safe certain of the sacred property, and was situated south of the temple, and, judging from ver. 17, had two doorways. The Vulgate translates seniorum concilium. To Shuppim. Nothing can be made of this word in this connection, as a proper name, though we have it (1 Chronicles 7:12, 15) as such. It is now generally rejected, as probably due to the error of some transcriber, whose eye may have been caught again by the last two syllables of the closely preceding "Asuppim." But some would place it as the last word of the previous verse, and make it amplify the meaning of Asuppim, e.g. "gatherings for stores." Shallecheth. By derivation, this word means "sending or throwing down." Hence some call it, "the refuse gate." The situation of it is, however, defined here, as by the causeway of the going up, and would seem to render such an interpretation less likely. According to Grove (in Smith's 'Bible Dictionary'), this causeway is still traceable: it runs up from the central valley of the town to the sacred site west of the temple (1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chronicles 9:4); and Grove would identify the "gate of Shallecheth" with the present Bab Silsileh. The Septuagint translates ἡ πυλὴ παστοφορίου, i.e. the gate of the temple-cell, which word they could get from the inverting of the order of the first two letters of the Hebrew Shallecheth. The Septuagint then mutts the following word, מְסִלָּה, Ward against ward; i.e. watch with watch. The expression up- pears to refer to the fact that Hosah's lot threw to him the charge of a double position. 1 Chronicles 26:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The lot towards the east, i.e., for the guarding of the east side, fell to Shelemiah (cf. 1 Chronicles 26:1, 1 Chronicles 26:2); while that towards the north fell to his first-born Zechariah. Before זכריהוּ, ל is to be repeated. To him the title בּשׂכל יויץ is given, for reasons unknown to us. גו הפּילוּ, (for him) they threw lots.