And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

And they cast lots by their courses, the elder equally with the younger, the learned and the unlearned together.

And they cast lots with one another over the charges, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the scholar.

And they cast lots for their charges, all alike, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

And they cause to fall lots, charge over-against charge, as well the small as the great, the intelligent with the learner.

And selection was made of them for their special work, all having equal chances, small as well as great, the teacher as the learner.

And they cast lots ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.

And they cast lots in their turns, the elder equally with the younger, the learned together with the unlearned.

As well the small as the great - Compare 1-Chronicles 24:31. The lot was not applied indiscriminately to all the 24 courses, but was only used to settle which course of Asaph, which of Jeduthun, and which of Heman, should on each occasion be taken. Asaph was given the precedence over his brethren, and his four courses were assigned the first, and then each alternate place. Jeduthun took rank next, and received alternate places, first with Asaph, and then with Heman, until his courses were exhausted. After this, all the later places fell necessarily to Heman, whose courses continue without interruption from the 15th.

And they cast lots, (d) ward against [ward], as well the (e) small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.
(d) Who should be in every company and course.
(e) Without respect to age or cunning.

And they cast lots, ward against ward,.... That is, which ward or course of the singers should answer to and attend on the first ward or course of the priests in their weekly service, and which the second, and so on:
as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar; no regard was had to the age of a person, his being the firstborn or a younger brother, or to his office and station, whether as a teacher or a learner in the science of singing; he was made the head of a course, as the lot came up; and it may easily be observed, by comparing the lots in the following verses with the sons of the chief singers, according to the order of them in 1-Chronicles 25:2 that the younger are often preferred in the courses by lot to the elder, of which even the first lot is an instance.

THEIR DIVISION BY LOT INTO FOUR AND TWENTY ORDERS. (1Ch. 25:8-31)
they cast lots, ward against ward--"Ward" is an old English word for "division" or "company." The lot was cast to determine the precedence of the classes or divisions over which the musical leaders presided; and, in order to secure an impartial arrangement of their order, the master and his assistants, the teacher and his scholars, in each class or company took part in this solemn casting of lots. In the first catalogue given in this chapter the courses are classed according to their employment as musicians. In the second, they are arranged in the order of their service.

They cast lots, משׁמרת גּורלות, κλήρους ἐφημερίων (lxx), by which the משׁמרת, the waiting upon the service, was fixed, that is, the order of their succession in the official service. לעמּת is variously translated. As no name follows, R. Shel. and Kimchi would repeat the preceding משׁמרת: one class as the other; and this is supported by 1-Chronicles 26:16 and Nehemiah 12:24, and by the fact that in 1-Chronicles 17:5, after ממּשׁכּן, the words משׁכּן אל have been dropped out. But according to the accentuation משׁמרת belongs to גּורלות, and so the proposed completion is at once disposed of. Besides this, however, the thought "class like class" does not appear quite suitable, as the classes were only formed by the lots, and so were not in existence so as to be able to cast lots. We therefore, with Ewald, 360, a, and Berth., hold the clause כּגּדול כּקּטן to be the genitive belonging to לעמּת, since עמּת is in Ecclesiastes 5:15 also connected with a clause: "in the manner of, as the small, so the great," i.e., the small and the great, the older as the younger. This is further defined by "the skilled as the scholars." From these words it is manifest that not merely the 288 cast lots, for these were כּל־מבין (1-Chronicles 25:7), but also the other 3712 Levites appointed for the service of the singers; whence it further follows that only the 288 who were divided by lot into twenty-four classes, each numbering twelve persons, were thoroughly skilled in singing and playing, and the scholars were so distributed to them that each class received an equal number of them, whom they had to educate and train. These, then, were probably trained up for and employed in the temple music according to their progress in their education, so that the ἐφημερία which had at any time charge of the service consisted not only of the twelve skilled musicians, but also of a number of scholars who assisted in singing and playing under their direction.

Ward - A course of Levites answerable to one of the priests, upon whom the Levites were to wait in their holy ministrations, 1-Chronicles 23:28. The scholar - Without any respect to their different ages or abilities.