And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. — The courses of the sons of Shelemiah (Meshelemiah 1 Chronicles 26:1; 1 Chronicles 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. 1 Chronicles 24:31; xxv, 8). Zechariah, the firstborn of Meshelemiah (1 Chronicles 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.