1 Chronicles 26:1-28

18. THE GATEKEEPERS (1 Chronicles 26:1-28)

TEXT

1 Chronicles 26:1. For the courses of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. 2. And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the first-born, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3. Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh. 4. And Obededom had sons: Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth, 5. Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him. 6. Also unto Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled over the house of their father; for they were mighty men of valor. 7. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brethren were valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah. 8. All these were of the sons of Obededom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men in strength for the service; threescore and two of Obed-edom. 9. And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, valiant men, eighteen. 10. Also Hasah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the first-born, yet his father made him chief), 11. Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

12. Of these were the courses of the doorkeepers, even of the chief men, having offices like their brethren, to minister in the house of Jehovah. 13. And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to their fathers-' houses, for every gate. 14. And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a discreet counsellor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward. 15. To Obed-edom southward; and to his sons the storehouse. 16. To Shuppim and Hosah westward, by the gate of Shallecheth, at the causeway that goeth up, watch against watch. 17. Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day and for the store-house two and two. 18. For Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar. 19. These were the courses of the doorkeepers; of the sons of the Korahites, and of the sons of Merari.
20. And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things. 21. The sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers-' houses belonging to Ladan the Gershonite: Jehieli. 22. The sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of the house of Jehovah. 23. Of the Amramites, of the Izharites, of the Hebronites, of the Uzzielites: 24. and Shuebuel the son of Gershon, the son of Moses, was ruler over the treasures. 25. And his brethren: of Eliezer came Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomoth his son. 26. This Shelomoth and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers-' houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated. 27. Out of the spoil won in battles did they dedicate to repair the house of Jehovah. 28. And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated, whosoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomoth, and of his brethren.

PARAPHRASE

1 Chronicles 26:1. The Temple guards were from the Asaph division of the Korah clan. The captain of the guard was Meshelemiah, the son of Kore. 2, 3. His sergeants were his sons: Zechariah (the oldest), Jedia-el (the second), Zebadiah (the third), Jathni-el (the fourth), Elam (the fifth), Jeho-hanan (the sixth), Elie-ho-enani (the seventh). 4, 5. The sons of Obed-edom were also appointed as Temple guards: Shemaiah (the oldest), Jehozabad (the second), Joah (the third), Sacar (the fourth), Nathanel (the fifth), Ammi-el (the sixth), Issachar (the seventh), Pe-ullethai (the eighth), What a blessing God gave him with all those sons! 6, 7. Shemaiah's sons were all outstanding men, and had positions of great authority in their clan. Their names were: Othni, Repha-el, Obed, Elzabad. Their brave brothers, Elihu and Semachiah, were also very able men. 8. All of these sons and grandsons of Obed-edomall sixty-two of themwere outstanding men who were particularly well qualified for their work. 9. Meshelemiah's eighteen sons and brothers, too, were real leaders. 10. Hosah, one of the Merari group, appointed Shimri as the leader among his sons, though he was not the oldest. 11. The names of some of his other sons were: Hilkiah, the second; Tebaliah, the third; Zechariah, the fourth. Hosah's sons and brothers numbered thirteen in all.

12. The divisions of the Temple guards were named after the leaders. Like the other Levites, they were responsible to minister at the Temple. 13. They were assigned guard duty at the various gates without regard to the reputation of their families, for it was all done by coin-toss. 14, 15. The responsibility of the east gate went to Shelemiah and his group; of the north gate to his son Zechariah, a man of unusual wisdom; of the south gate to Obed-edom and his group (his sons were given charge of the storehouses); 16. of the west gate and the Shallecheth Gate on the upper road, to Shuppim and Hosah. 17. Six guards were assigned daily to the east gate, four to the north gate, four to the south gate, and two to each of the storehouses. 18. Six guards were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the upper road, and two to the nearby areas. 19. The Temple guards were chosen from the clans of Korah and Merari.
20, 21, 22. Other Levites, led by Ahijah, were given the care of the gifts brought to the Lord and placed in the Temple treasury. These men of the Ladan subclan from the clan of Gershom included Zetham and Joel, the sons of Jehieli. 23, 24. Shebuel, son of Gershom and grandson of Moses, was the chief officer of the treasury. He was in charge of the divisions named after Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. 25. The line of descendants from Eliezer went through Rehabiah, Jesha-iah, Joram, Zichri, and Shelomoth. 26. Shelomoth and his brothers were appointed to care for the gifts given to the Lord by King David and the other leaders of the nation such as the officers and generals of the army. 27. For these men dedicated their war loot to support the operating expenses of the Temple. 28. Shelomoth and his brothers were also responsible for the care of the items dedicated to the Lord by Samuel the prophet, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, Joab the son of Zeruiah, and anyone else of distinction who brought gifts to the Lord.

COMMENTARY

The Korahites, or the descendants of Korah, and certain descendants of Merari were charged with the doorkeeping service at the Temple. 1 Chronicles 26:19 in a summary statement distinguishes these men from other Levites. 1 Chronicles 26:1-9 in chapter 26 list eight courses of doorkeepers which were directly related to Korah. The name Korah means baldness and is well remembered in Hebrew history because of the rebellion led by Korah against Moses and Aaron (Numbers, chapter 16). Two hundred and fifty princes representing all of Israel's tribes joined Korah in challenging the authority of Moses and Aaron. Jehovah prepared a new thing in the earthquake which swallowed these men alive. Korah's sons evidently were not involved in the trouble. In Exodus 6:24 Korah's sons are identified as Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. The Asaph in 1 Chronicles 26:1 is a shortened form of Abiasaph. Obed-edom entered the history earlier when the ark of the covenant had been taken to his house (2 Samuel 6:10). He had an extensive family numbering sixty-two persons in the register used by the chronicler. This number would include sons, grandsons, and others. Obed-edom may well have been among the descendants of Korah. He and his sons served in the south sector of the Temple and in the storehouse (1 Chronicles 26:15). Considering the nature of Korah's sin and the divine judgment that followed, it is remarkable that a place of service was reserved for his descendants. Korah was of the Kohathite family of the Levites.

Some of the doorkeepers were selected from among the Merarite Levites (1 Chronicles 26:9). In order to determine where each course would serve, the sacred lot was employed. Nothing was left to chance and even such an ordinary matter as service at a gate required Jehovah's sanction. Each of the four sectors from which the Temple could be approached was assigned to a responsible chief doorkeeper. Shelemiah (Meshelemiah, 1 Chronicles 26:1) and his group kept the east gate. Zechariah was allotted the north sector. Obed-edom was charged to keep the entrances to the south. Shupim and Hosah shared the obligations toward the west. The daily watch at the east entrance required six Levites, while four were required in each of the other sectors. The Temple would face toward the east. The main entrance necessitated additional doorkeepers. While this might appear to be a rather unimportant service, Psalms 84, a psalm of the sons of Korah, beautifully expresses the attitude of these Levites. 1 Chronicles 26:10 of this Psalm says, I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The Temple became the depository for much of the tangible wealth of Israel. When David had defeated Goliath, the giant's sword was laid up in the Tabernacle. Treasuries and store rooms would be provided in the Temple in which the gold, silver, and precious stones accumulated through Israel's wars and commerce would be deposited. When Israel went to war, pledges and vows would be made to Jehovah with regard to spoil and prey if Jehovah would grant victory. When the victory came, often tremendous wealth would be brought to the Temple. 1 Chronicles 26:20-28 refer to the things so dedicated by David and his captains. Israel at this time was in possession of things so dedicated by Samuel, Saul, Abner, Joab and others. When Joshua and Israel conquered Jericho (Joshua 6), the city was devoted to destruction. Any gold or silver taken in the overthrow was to be laid by in the Tabernacle. Achan died because he disregarded this agreement. He demonstrated selfishness and he failed to glorify Jehovah. David and his people saw in the dedication of these treasures a very appropriate way to thank Jehovah for victory. Ahijah, a Levite, had the chief responsibility for these treasures. Certain Gershonites and Kohathites assisted in this important assignment. The act of dedication was very sacred and involved an unconditional release of all claims on goods given to Jehovah's service. Goods or persons once dedicated could never be reclaimed by the giver. The spoil had to do with any kind of useful goods taken in battle. Prey was a term used to refer to any living thing taken by conquest, such as persons or animals. The idea of re-dedication was completely foreign to the Hebrew.