📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 26:11
What does 1 Chronicles 26:11 mean?
"Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen."
— 1 Chronicles 26:11 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom: they and their sons and their brothers, able men in strength for the service; sixty-two of Obed-Edom.
Meshelemiah had sons and brothers, valiant men, eighteen.
Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief),
Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brothers of Hosah were thirteen.
Of these were the divisions of the doorkeepers, even of the chief men, having offices like their brothers, to minister in Yahweh’s house.
They cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers’ houses, for every gate.
The lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counselor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.
Explanation
This verse comes from a detailed list of the Levitical gatekeepers whom David organized to serve at the temple. In plain terms, it simply records the birth order and names of the sons of a man named Hosah — Hilkiah, Tebaliah, and Zechariah are named as the second, third, and fourth sons — and notes that in total, counting both sons and brothers, Hosah's family group numbered thirteen men. It's essentially a census entry, part of a larger roster listing who was responsible for guarding specific gates and storerooms at the temple.
The book of 1 Chronicles was written after the Babylonian exile, likely by a priestly or Levitical author (traditionally associated with Ezra), for a Jewish community that had returned to the land and was rebuilding its identity, worship, and institutions. The Chronicler spends considerable space on genealogies and temple personnel because reestablishing proper worship — including who served in what role — was central to restoring covenant life after the exile. Ch
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