Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Chronicles 9:18
Who hitherto [waited] in the king’s gate eastward: they [were] porters in the companies of the children of Levi.
18. who ] i.e. Shallum (1Ch 9:17), called Shelemiah in 1Ch 26:14 (= Meshelemiah, 1Ch 26:1). A family rather than an individual is meant.
the king’s gate eastward ] That the king had an entrance into the Temple named after him appears from 2Ki 16:18, and that this gate was on the East from Eze 46:1-2.
in the companies ] R.V. for the camp. This expression is borrowed from Num 2:17, where it refers to the circumstances of the Wandering in the Wilderness.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Who hitherto waited – Translate, Who to this day waits. These were the porters in the stations of the sons of Levi. The words of the first clause refer to Shallum, and imply that, whereas Shallum (or his house) had originally the general superintendence of the temple gates, a change had been made when the author wrote, and Shallums charge had become the east gate only. The second clause means; these were the porters in those fixed stations at the outer gates of the Temple, which corresponded to the camp stations of the Levites who guarded the tabernacle in the early times.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. The king’s gate] That by which the kings of Judah went to the temple; see on 2Kg 16:18.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the kings gate eastward; in the east gate of the temple, which was so called, either because it was the chief and most magnificent of all the gates, or because the kings of Judah used to go to the temple through that gate, 2Ki 16:18 compare Eze 44:1,2. Under this gate he comprehends all the rest, which also were guarded by these porters.
In the companies, or, according to the companies, or orders, or courses, i.e. they kept the gates successively, according to that method into which themselves and the rest of their brethren the Levites were distributed, for the more convenient management of their several offices; among which this of the porters was one.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. the king’s gateThe kinghad a gate from his palace into the temple (2Ki16:18), which doubtless was kept constantly closed except for themonarch’s use; and although there was no king in Israel on the returnfrom the captivity, yet the old ceremonial was kept up, probably inthe hope that the scepter would, ere long, be restored to the houseof David. It is an honor by which Eastern kings are distinguished, tohave a gate exclusively devoted to their own special use, and whichis kept constantly closed, except when he goes out or returns (Eze44:2). There being no king then in Israel, this gate would bealways shut.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Who hitherto waited in the king’s gate eastward,…. At the gate through which the king went into the temple, and was at the east of it; and here these porters were placed in the same order after the captivity, and their return from it, as before:
they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi; or in the camp of Levi, which was placed around the tabernacle, as in the wilderness: the Septuagint version is, “these are the gates of the camp of the children of Levi”; at which these porters were placed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The duties of the Levites. – 1Ch 9:18. The first half of this verse, “And until now (is he) in the king’s gate eastward,” must be referred to Shallum (Berth.). To imagine a reference to all the doorkeepers, “until now are they,” does not suit 1Ch 9:24-26, according to which the doorkeepers kept guard upon all the four sides. The eastern gate of the temple was called the king’s gate, because by this gate the king went in and out to the temple; cf. Eze 46:1-2; Eze 41:3. The remark, “until now is Shallum watcher,” etc., presupposes the existence of the temple at the time of the preparation of this register, and points to the pre-exilic time. Against this Bertheau has raised the objection that the name king’s gate may have been retained even in the post-exilic times for the eastern gate. This must of course be in general admitted, but could only be accepted if it were proved that Shallum lived after the exile. This proof Bertheau obtains by taking the words, “until now is Shallum in the king’s gate,” to mean, “that, according to the ancient arrangement, Shallum, the chief of all the doorkeepers, had still to guard the eastern entrance; according to which Shallum would be the collective designation of the whole series of the chiefs of the doorkeepers who lived from David’s time till after the exile;” but the words cannot be thus interpreted. Such an interpretation cannot be made plausible by identifying the name Shallum with Meshelemiah or Shelemiah, to whose lot it fell in the time of David to be doorkeeper to the eastward (1Ch 26:1, 1Ch 26:14); for in doing so, we would overlook the fact that in 1Ch 9:21 of our chapter also he bears the name Meshelemiah. The circumstance that both Shallum and Meshelemiah are called Ben-Kore, of the sons of Abiasaph, by no means justifies the identification of these two quite different names; for it is neither necessary nor probable that should here be taken in its narrower sense, and Kore regarded as the immediate father of both. The name is repeated in the family of the east doorkeepers, as we learn from 2Ch 31:14, where it is stated that this office was held by a Kore ben Jimna. “These (who are named in 1Ch 9:17) are the doorkeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi” (of the Levites), – an antiquated expression, bringing to remembrance the time of Moses, when the Levites, on the journey through the wilderness, were encamped about the tabernacle (Num 3:21.).
1Ch 9:19 1Ch 9:19 gives more exact information as to Shallum’s person and his official position. He, the descendant of Kore, the son (descendant) of Abiasaph, a Korahite, and his brethren according to his father’s-house (i.e., called brethren because they, like him, belonged to the father’s-house of Korah), were over the work of the service, viz., keepers of the thresholds of the tent, i.e., of the house of God, of the temple, which, according to the ancient custom, was called tent, because God’s house was formerly a tent-the tabernacle. “And his fathers (the ancestors of Shallum) were by the encampment of Jahve, guardians of the entrance.” With these words the author of this register goes back into the ancient time; and we learn that Shallum’s ancestors, of the father’s-house of the Korahite Abiasaph, had held the office of guardian of the entrance to the house of God from the time of the conquest of Canaan and the setting up of the tabernacle in Shiloh. The remark in 1Ch 9:20, that Phinehas the son of Eleazar was prince over them in time past, points to the same period. In the book of Joshua and the older books there is no record of the matter; but since the Korahites were descended through Ishhar from Kohath, and the Kohathites held, according to Num 4:4., the first place among the servants of the holy place, and were responsible for the holiest vessels, we cannot doubt that the statement here rests upon accurate historical tradition. The “encampment of Jahve” is the holy place of the tabernacle, the dwelling of Jahve in the midst of His people. This designation also is derived from the circumstances of the Israelites in their wandering in the Arabian desert, and is likewise employed in 2Ch 31:2 in reference to Solomon’s temple; but in our verse the tabernacle is intended. It had only one entrance, , the guarding of which was entrusted to the above-mentioned Korahites.
1Ch 9:20 Phinehas was prince over them, not as high priest, but during the high-priesthood of his father Eleazar, i.e., in the time of Joshua, just as Eleazar, under the high-priesthood of Aaron in the time of Moses, had the oversight of the keepers of the holy place, as prince of the princes of Levi (Num 3:32). The words do not contain a historical remark, “Jahve was with him,” for then the conjunction w would stand before it, as in 1Ch 11:9; they are a blessing – “Jahve be with him” – in reference, probably, to the covenant of peace entered into with him and his descendants by Jahve (Num 25:11-13).
1Ch 9:21 1Ch 9:21 is quite unconnected with the preceding context, the conjunction w being omitted, and its contents also present considerable difficulties. Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, can only be the Zechariah who is mentioned in 1Ch 26:2 as the first-born of Meshelemiah, and who lived in the time of David; for at the time when David divided the porters into classes, there fell to him the lot towards midnight, i.e., the duty of waiting at the door on the north side of the holy place (1Ch 26:14). With this, indeed, the general statement of our verse, “he was porter of the door (or the entrance) of the tent of the covenant,” is not inconsistent. But what purpose does this general statement serve? With what design is Zechariah, and he alone, mentioned? We have no means of giving a definite answer to this question; but he may perhaps be named as being the person who, before David’s division of the Levites into classes was carried out, had charge of the porters’ service in the tabernacle. But even if this conjecture be accepted as well grounded, the abrupt way in which it is mentioned still remains enigmatical.
1Ch 9:22 With 1Ch 9:22 the narrative seems to return to the enumeration begun in 1Ch 9:17-19, so that the reflections on the earlier times, 1Ch 9:19-21, are to be regarded as a parenthesis. 1Ch 9:22 runs: “They all who were chosen for doorkeepers for the thresholds, 212 (men): they, in their villages were they registered; they were ordained by David and Samuel the seer on their fidelity.” The infinitive is used substantively, “in reference to them, in their villages as their genealogical registration accomplished.” If 1Ch 9:22 be the continuation of 1Ch 9:17-21, then the number given (212) will refer to the doorkeepers in active service at the time of the preparation of the register. With this hypothesis, however, the last clause of the verse, which states that David and Samuel had appointed them, does not seem to harmonize. But if we consider that the four men mentioned in 1Ch 9:17 are heads of fathers’-houses, and that their fathers’-houses were not extinguished at the death of their temporary heads, and performed the same service from generation to generation, it might well be said of the generation performing the service at the time of the preparation of our register, that David had appointed them to their office. The case would of course be similar, if, as we have above supposed, the four names in 1Ch 9:17 are designations of the classes of doorkeepers, for these classes also performed the same service continually. The statements of our 22nd verse cannot be referred to the time of David, for in 1Ch 26:8-10 the number of the doorkeepers appointed by David amounted only to eighty, viz., sixty-two of the sons of Obed-Edom, and eighteen of the sons of Meshelemiah, which, with the addition of thirteen Merarites (1Ch 26:10-11), gives a total of ninety-three, while in our verse the number is 212. According to Ezr 2:42, the number of doorkeepers who returned with Zerubbabel was 139 men; and in the register, Neh 11:19, the number is stated to be 172. From the remark that they were registered in their villages ( , as in 1Ch 6:41; Jos 13:23, and elsewhere), we learn that the doorkeepers dwelt in villages near Jerusalem, whence they came to the city so often as their service required, as the singers also did in the post-exilic time, Neh 12:29. , to found, set, ordain, and so appoint to an office. “David and Samuel the seer:” , the ancient designation of the prophets, for which at a later time was the more usual word; cf. 1Sa 9:9. Nowhere else do we find any record of Samuel’s having taken any part in David’s arrangement of the service of the Levites in the holy place. Samuel, moreover, was no longer living when David began to arrange the worship at the time when the ark was brought to Jerusalem, for he died before Saul, and consequently before the beginning of David’s reign; cf. 1Sa 25:1 with 1Sa 28:3. Bertheau is consequently of opinion that this statement of our historian rests merely upon the general recollection, according to which the worship was organized afresh, and established in its newer form, in the time of David and Samuel. This is of course possible, but there is no cogent reason against accepting the much less remote supposition that the chronicler took this remark from his authority. The mention of Samuel after David has not a chronological signification, but David is named first on account of his connection with the matter in hand; for the thorough re-organization of the worship, and the classification of the persons engaged in carrying it on, originated with David. For these arrangements of David, however, Samuel had prepared the way in his struggle for the restoration of the theocracy, and of the worship which had fallen into desuetude under Eli and his profligate sons. To do this in any measure, he must have, without doubt, ordained trustworthy men to the individual offices, and thus have prepared the way for King David. is found in 1Ch 9:26, 1Ch 9:31 without the suffix, with the meaning “in good faith” (cf. 2Ki 12:16; 2Ki 22:7; 2Ch 31:12), and accordingly is here upon their fidelity, i.e., because they had been recognised to be faithful.
1Ch 9:23-24 They (those ordained by David) and their sons (descendants) were at the doors of the house of Jahve-of the tent-house ( is added to , in order that the latter might not be confined to Solomon’s temple); for the watch ( of persons, as in Neh 12:9; Neh 4:3, Neh 4:16), according to the four winds (quarters) were they, i.e., the doorkeepers stood so, in accordance with the arrangement made by David; cf. 1Ch 26:14.
1Ch 9:25-26 “And their brethren in their villages (cf. 1Ch 9:22) were bound to come the seventh day, from time to time, with these.” The infinitive with expresses duty, as in 1Ch 5:1. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the week, on which each class in order had to take charge of the services. are the chiefs mentioned in 1Ch 9:17 who dwelt in Jerusalem, and of whom it is said in 1Ch 9:26, “for they are on their fidelity, the four mighty of the doorkeepers.” In explanation of the , Bertheau very fittingly compares , Luk 22:52. The words , which may be translated, “they are the Levites,” or “they (viz., the Levites),” are somewhat surprising. The Masoretic punctuation demands the latter translation, when the words would be an emphatic elucidation of the preceding . Were they a subscription, we should expect instead of ; while, on the other hand, the circumstance noticed by Bertheau, that in the following verses the duties not merely of the doorkeepers, but of the Levites in general, are enumerated, would seem to favour that sense. Even in the second half of the 1Ch 9:22 it is not the doorkeepers who are spoken of, but the Levites in general. May we not suppose that the text originally stood (cf. 1Ch 9:14) instead of , and that the reading of our present text, having originated in a transcriber’s error, found acceptance from the circumstance that 1Ch 9:27 apparently still treats of, or returns to, the service of the doorkeepers? So much is certain, that from 1Ch 9:26 onward the duties of the Levites in general, no longer those of the doorkeepers, are spoken of, and that consequently we must regard the Levites ( ), and not the before-mentioned four doorkeepers, as the subject of : “and the Levites were over the cells of the storehouses of the house of God.” The cells in the outbuildings of the temple served as treasure-chambers and storehouses for the temple furniture. with the article in the stat. constr. (Ew. 290, d.), because of the looser connection, since the genitive also belongs to .
1Ch 9:27 1Ch 9:27 refers again to the doorkeepers. They passed the night around the house of God, because the care of or watch over it was committed to them, and “they were over the key, and that every morning,” i.e., they had to open the door every morning. occurs again in Jdg 3:25 and Isa 22:22, in the signification key, which is suitable here also.
1Ch 9:28 And of them (the Levites), some were over the vessels of the service, by which we are probably to understand the costly vessels, e.g., the golden cups for the libations, etc., which were brought from the treasure-chamber only for a short time for use in the service. They were brought, according to the number, into the place where the service took place, and after being again numbered, were again carried forth; and according to 1Ch 9:29, other Levites were set over and over .
1Ch 9:29 And of them, others were set over the vessels (in general), and over all the holy vessels which were used for the daily sacrificial service, and over the fine flour ( , vide on Lev 2:1), wine, oil, and incense which was required therein for the meat and drink offerings, and the , spicery, for the holy perfumes (frankincense, cf. Exo 25:6).
1Ch 9:30 And of the priests’ sons were preparers of the ointments for the spices. It is the preparation from various spices of the holy anointing oil, Exo 30:23-25, which is meant, and which consequently was part of the priest’s duty.
1Ch 9:31 Mattithiah, the first-born of the Korahite Shallum ( vide 1Ch 9:19), was on good faith over the panbakings (pastry) for the meat-offerings, over the preparation of which he was to watch. To the name Mattithiah is added, in contrast to the in 1Ch 9:30. The word (pastry, panbaking) occurs here only; cf. , pan of sheet iron, Exo 4:3.
1Ch 9:32 Finally, to some of the Kohathites was committed the preparation of the shew-bread, which required to be laid on the table fresh every Sabbath; cf. Lev 24:5-8. The suffix refers back to the Levites of the father’s-house of Korah in 1Ch 9:32.
1Ch 9:33-34 1Ch 9:33, 1Ch 9:34 contain subscriptions to the section vv. 14-32. Since the enumeration of the Levites dwelling in Jerusalem in 1Ch 9:14-16 began with the Levitic singer families, so here we find that the singers are mentioned in the first subscription, “these are the singers, heads of fathers’-houses of the Levites,” with an additional remark as to their service: “In the cells free, for day and night it is incumbent upon them to be in service,” which is somewhat obscure. , from , in later Hebrew, let loose, set free. Rashi and Kimchi have already translated it, immunes ab aliis nempe ministeriis , or ab omni alio officio . Adopting this linguistically assured translation, we must supply with , dwelling or waiting in the cells of the courts of the temple, freed from every other business in order that they may apply themselves wholly to their service, for they are wholly busied therewith day and night. Day and night is not to be pressed, but signifies perpetually, continually. Bertheau translates , “they were over them in the service,” i.e., had to take the oversight of the singers subordinate to them. but this can hardly be correct; and the passage quoted to justify this translation, 2Ch 34:12, proves nothing, because there is used along with it. We therefore prefer to take in the signification “it is incumbent upon them,” although we should then expect instead of ; cf. 1Ch 9:27. Yet can in this connection quite well be used elliptically or concisely for “to be in service,” i.e., to carry on their musical duties. The second subscription (1Ch 9:34) refers to all the Levites, and is similar in contents and form to that in 1Ch 8:28.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(18) They were porters in the companies of the children of Levi.Rather, They are warders for the camps of the sons of Levi. (Comp. Num. 3:23 et seq. where it is prescribed that the Levites encamp on the four sides of the tabernacle.) The primitive terminology is used in order to convey the idea that the Levitical wardership of the Temple went back historically to that of the Mosaic sanctuary.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Porters Gate or doorkeepers, whose work it was to open, close, and guard the entrances to the sanctuary. Theirs was a responsible office, and none but Levites were intrusted with its duties. The honour attaching to this position is enhanced by the statements of the following verses. Their fathers in the ancient time were intrusted with this noble service, “being over the host of the Lord,” that is, the encampment of his people in the wilderness, and even the distinguished “Phinehas the son of Eleazar” was their ruler in that ancient time.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ch 9:18. Who hitherto waited in the kings-gate eastward And Adane was over the eastern gate, which is called the king’s. Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Ch 9:18 Who hitherto [waited] in the king’s gate eastward: they [were] porters in the companies of the children of Levi.
Ver. 18. Who hitherto. ] Even till the time that this book was gathered out of the ancient chronicles. 1Ch 9:1
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
hitherto. Referring to the ancient practice.
the king’s gate. Leading from the royal palace to the Temple.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Who hitherto waited: The original is wead hennah, which Houbigant and Dr. Geddes consider as a proper name, and render, “And Adanah was over the eastern gate, called the king’s;” i.e., the gate by which the kings of Judah went to the temple. The list is here nearly the same with those found in Ezra and Nehemiah, and contains those who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel, but the list in Nehemiah is more ample, probably because it contains those who came afterwards; the object of the sacred writer here being to give the names of those who came first – 1Ch 9:2. These consisted of men belonging not only to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but to many of the other tribes of Israel, who took advantage of the proclamation of Cyrus to return to Jerusalem. Properly speaking, the divisions mentioned here constituted the whole of the Israelitish people, who were divided into priests, Levites, common Israelites, and Nethinims.
the king’s: 1Ki 10:5, 2Ki 11:19, Eze 44:2, Eze 44:3, Eze 46:1, Eze 46:2, Act 3:11
they: 1Ch 26:12-19
Reciprocal: 2Ch 9:4 – ascent Neh 11:3 – Now Jer 35:4 – the keeper Eze 40:6 – unto
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ch 9:18. Kings gate In the east gate of the temple; which was so called, because the kings of Judah used to go to the temple through that gate. Under this gate he comprehends all the rest, which also were guarded by these porters. In the companies Or, according to the courses. They kept the gates successively, according to that method into which the Levites were distributed, for the more convenient management of their several offices, among which this of the porters was one.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:18 Who hitherto [waited] in the {e} king’s gate eastward: they [were] porters in the companies of the children of Levi.
(e) So called because the king came into the temple by it, and not the common people.