1 Chronicles 26:1-19
The Voice
26 The duties of the Levite gatekeepers were performed by the Korahites, specifically by the descendants of Meshelemiah (Kore’s son, of the sons of Asaph).
One of the most interesting and indeed essential observations from these tribal and ancestry lists is the organic and symbiotic nature of the Israelite community. Every person in every tribe has his or her responsibility for the community as a whole. If certain persons are not guarding the various gates of the city, then marauders and bandits can easily attack. If certain persons are not playing instruments or singing, then the community is without leadership in corporate worship and praise of the Lord and His many benevolent and redemptive acts toward Israel. In the following sections, the specific lists of persons indicate roles both in the worship ethic and in the military life of Israel.
2 Meshelemiah fathered sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, 3 Elam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, and Eliehoenai the seventh.
4-5 God blessed Obed-edom, another gatekeeper, with sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth. 6 Obed-edom’s son Shemaiah fathered sons who ruled their family, for they were mighty warriors. 7 They were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers (Elihu and Semachiah) were valiant men. 8 These and their relatives were the lineage of Obed-edom; all were capable men with strength for the service in the temple, and 62 from this family served.
9 Meshelemiah had other sons and relatives, 18 valiant men.
10 Hosah (one of the sons of Merari) fathered sons who served as gatekeepers: Shimri the first (although he was not the firstborn son, his father made him the primary inheritor), 11 Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, and Zechariah the fourth. These sons plus Hosah’s other brothers numbered 13.
12 All these divisions of gatekeepers, the chief men, performed specific duties (similar to their relatives’ duties) when ministering in the temple of the Eternal. 13 Like the other divisions, the weak and the mighty, the students and the teachers, used a system of lots to determine which gates they would guard according to their family lineage.
14 The eastern gate went to the family of Shelemiah. Since his family was larger than Obed-edom’s and Shuppim’s, Shelemiah’s son Zechariah also drew lots for control of a gate. Zechariah, a prudent counselor, received control of the northern gate. 15 Obed-edom received control of the southern gate, and his sons went to work the temple storehouse within the gates. 16 Shuppim and Hosah were together given the western gate (which is near the gate of Shallecheth, on the ascending road). The guards stood side by side at their posts. 17 Each day six Levites guarded the east side, four guarded the north, and four guarded the south. The storehouses were guarded in shifts, two by two. 18 At the Parbar, a building adjacent to the temple on the western side, four guarded the highway and two guarded the Parbar itself. 19 These were the duties of the Korahite and Merarite gatekeepers.
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