1 Chronicles 9:18
in 1 Chronicles 9Shallum was their chief; he was previously stationed at the King’s Gate on the east side. These were the gatekeepers from the camp of the Levites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
who hitherto waited in the king’s gate eastward: they were the porters for the camp of the children of Levi.
KJV
Who hitherto waited in the king’s gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWho 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.
This site's exposition
Shallum was the chief
on 1 Chronicles 9:17-21
The porters introduced at 9:17, Shallum, Akkub, Talmon and Ahiman, guarded the king's gate eastward, the entrance David's own kings used to reach the temple, and the office is traced back to Phinehas son of Eleazar, ruler over the gatekeepers in time past, and the LORD was with him. The Korahites named at verse 19 carry a history the name alone recalls: Korah's own rebellion was judged at Num 16, but his sons did not die with him, and their descendants stand here still keeping the gate their ancestor once tried to seize by force. A trust rebellion could not overturn is inherited, one generation guarding what another once wanted to take.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
King's 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.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 Shallum’s charge had become the east gate only.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the king's gate--The king had a gate from his palace into the temple (2Ki 16:18), which doubtless was kept constantly closed except for the monarch's use; and although there was no king in Israel on the return from the captivity, yet the old ceremonial was kept up, probably in the hope that the scepter would, ere long, be restored to the house of David.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The king’s gate - That by which the kings of Judah went to the temple; see on 2Ki 16:18 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And from here until the king’s gate to the east The meaning of עַד is: from here until a gate named the King’s Gate to the east.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽעַד־ | vead- | and until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הֵ֔נָּה | henah | now | H2008 → | 49 times |
| בְּשַׁ֥עַר | beshaar | in [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִזְרָ֑חָה | mizrachah | east -ward | H4217 → | 74 times |
| הֵ֚מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| הַשֹּׁ֣עֲרִ֔ים | hashoarim | [were] the gatekeepers | H7778 → | 37 times |
| לְמַחֲנ֖וֹת | lemachanot | of [the] camps of | H4264 → | 215 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֵוִֽי׃ | levi | Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
וְֽעַד־and until
vead-H5704 →1261 times
הֵ֔נָּהnow
henahH2008 →49 times
בְּשַׁ֥עַרin [the] gate of
beshaarH8179 →374 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
מִזְרָ֑חָהeast -ward
mizrachahH4217 →74 times
הֵ֚מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
הַשֹּׁ֣עֲרִ֔ים[were] the gatekeepers
hashoarimH7778 →37 times
לְמַחֲנ֖וֹתof [the] camps of
lemachanotH4264 →215 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
לֵוִֽי׃Levi
leviH3878 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 3:11While the man clung to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and ran to them in the walkway called Solomon’s Colonnade.
it leads to
- Acts 5:12
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
- John 10:23
and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
- Luke 8:38
The man whom the demons had left begged to go with Jesus. But He sent him away, saying,
- Acts 5:12
Through
1 Kings 10:5the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her…
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 26:16
The lots for the West Gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the ascending highway fell to Shuppim and Hosah. There were guards stationed at every watch.
- 2 Chronicles 23:13
And she looked out and saw the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing…
- Ezekiel 44:3
Only the prince himself may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He must enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.”
- Ezekiel 46:2
The prince is to enter from the outside through the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost, while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and peace offerings. He is to bow in…
- 2 Kings 16:18
And on account of the king of Assyria, he removed the Sabbath canopy they had built in the temple and closed the royal entryway outside the house of the LORD.
- 1 Chronicles 26:16
About 1 Chronicles
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil, The Books of the Chronicles.