Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.

1 CHRONICLES 6:54KJV
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1 Chronicles 6:54 (KJV)

What does 1 Chronicles 6:54 mean?

1 Chronicles 6:54 introduces a list of places assigned to Aaron’s descendants, a family within the Kohathites. The verse marks their turn to receive towns by lot, a method used to distribute the places among family groups.

The KJV’s “castles” and “coasts” can sound like grand fortresses beside the sea. Here, the words point instead to settlements and the areas around them. The verse introduces the towns that follow.

The Hebrew behind 1 Chronicles 6:54

  • “castles” — טִירָה (ṭirah): This word can mean an encampment or settlement. Here, it describes places where families lived, not necessarily stone castles.
  • “coasts” — גְּבוּל (gevul): This word often means a boundary or territory. The verse refers to the areas in which the settlements lay, rather than to a seashore.
  • “lot” — גּוֹרָל (goral): A lot was an object or method used to make a selection. The word shows that the places were assigned through a process of selection.

Why 1 Chronicles 6:54 matters

  • The verse identifies a particular family within a larger group. “Of the sons of Aaron” narrows the focus to Aaron’s descendants among “the families of the Kohathites.”
  • The assignment included land around a town as well as the town itself. The following verses name Hebron and its surrounding pasturelands (1 Chronicles 6:55).

Where else these words appear

“castles” Hebrew H2918 · used in 7 verses

  • Genesis 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
  • Psalms 69:25 Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
  • Ezekiel 25:4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.

“Kohathites” Hebrew H6956 · used in 15 verses

  • Numbers 3:27 And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.
  • Numbers 4:37 These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
  • 1 Chronicles 6:33 And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel,

“places” Hebrew H4186 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 10:30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
  • Leviticus 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
  • Job 29:7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!

“lot” Hebrew H1486 · used in 67 verses

  • Leviticus 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
  • Joshua 19:24 And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
  • 1 Chronicles 26:14 And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward.