1 Chronicles 9:19

And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Koran.—Comp. 1Chronicles 26:1, which makes “Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph” a guild of warders under David.

Ebiasaph—“The Father (i.e., God) gathered,” is a fuller form of Asaph, “He gathered.”

And his brethren, of the house of his father.—That is, the Korahites, as is immediately explained: his kinsmen belonging to his father-house or clan.

The work of the service (of Shallum),—That is, of the guild so called, is defined as that of “wardens of the thresholds of the tent,” that is, of the Temple, which had taken the place of the old Tent of Meeting.

And their fathers, being over the host of the Lord, were keepers of the entry.—“Their fathers” are the ancestors of the Korahite clan of Shallura.

The host of the Lord.—Or, rather, the encampment of Jehovah, means the tabernacle, or Tent of Tryst, which had only one entrance, over which, according to this passage—the Pentateuch is silent—the house of Shallum stood guard. 2Chronicles 31:2 applies the same archaic nomenclature to the Temple in Hezekiah’s reign, speaking of “the gates of the camps of Iahweh.”

Benson Commentary

1 Chronicles 9:19. Tabernacle — Namely, in time past, when the tabernacle was standing, before the temple was built. Their fathers — The Kohathites. Being over the host of the Lord — When the Israelites were in the wilderness, encamped in a military manner round about the tabernacle, with whom these were then placed. Keepers of the entry — Of the veil by which they entered into the tabernacle; which he calls the entry, because then there were no gates. The meaning is, that all things were now restored to their primitive order; and the several persons took those offices upon them, which their ancestors had before them.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

9:1-44 Genealogies. - This chapter expresses that one end of recording all these genealogies was, to direct the Jews, when they returned out of captivity, with whom to unite, and where to reside. Here is an account of the good state into which the affairs of religion were put, on the return from Babylon. Every one knew his charge. Work is likely to be done well when every one knows the duty of his place, and makes a business of it. God is the God of order. Thus was the temple a figure of the heavenly one, where they rest not day nor night from praising God, Re 4:8. Blessed be His name, believers there shall, not in turn, but all together, without interruption, praise him night and day: may the Lord make each of us fit for the inheritance of the saints in light.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Shallum the son of Kore - A different person from the Shallum of 1 Chronicles 9:17, and with a different office, namely, the guarding the inner doors of the temple. The original Shallum, Shelemaiah, or Meshelemaiah, was a Levite of the time of David 1 Chronicles 26:14. His descendants were still called by his name, but had now a more important charge assigned to them.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18. 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. It is an honor by which Eastern kings are distinguished, to have a gate exclusively devoted to their own special use, and which is kept constantly closed, except when he goes out or returns (Eze 44:2). There being no king then in Israel, this gate would be always shut.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Keepers of the gates of the tabernacle; or, who were, to wit, in time past, which is expressed in a like case, 1 Chronicles 9:20, when the tabernacle was standing, before the temple was built. Their fathers; the Kohathites, of whom see on Numbers 4:4. Over the host of the Lord, or, with (as this Hebrew particle is oft used) the host, &c., i.e. when the Israelites were in the wilderness, encamped in a military manner round about the tabernacle, with or among whom these were then placed.

Keepers of the entry, i.e. of the veil by which they entered into the tabernacle; which he calls the entry distinctively, because then there were no gates. The meaning is, that all things were now restored to their primitive order and institution; and the several persons took those places and offices upon them, which their ancestors had before them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Shallum the son of Kore,.... The same as in 1 Chronicles 9:17 whose pedigree is traced up to Ebiasaph the son of Korah, see Exodus 6:24.

and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites; so called, because they descended from Korah:

were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle; until the temple was built:

and their fathers being over the host of the Lord; the Levites, who were the Lord's army, and whose service is represented as a warfare, Numbers 4:5.

were keepers of the entry; into the tabernacle, that none might enter that were impure; or into the court of the priests, excepting priests; or into the holiest of all, as Kimchi suggests.

Geneva Study Bible

And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the {f} tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry.

(f) Their charge was that no one should enter those places, which were only appointed for the priests to minister in.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. Song of Solomon of Ebiasaph] By a misreading Shallum (= Meshelemiah; see above) is said to be “of the sons of Asaph” (read “Ebiasaph”) in 1 Chronicles 26:1.

of the house of his father] R.V. of his father’s house.

being over the host of the Lord, were keepers] R.V. had been over the camp of the LORD, keepers. Nothing is said in the Pentateuch of “keepers of the entry to the tabernacle,” and probably in the present passage the entry to the camp, not to the tabernacle, is meant. With this view agrees the mention of Phinehas (1 Chronicles 9:20), for it was the profanation of the camp, not of the tabernacle, which Phinehas avenged (Numbers 25:6-8), thus earning a blessing (Numbers 25:11-13).

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 19. - Shallum. Marked as a different person from the former of the same name, by the description son of Kore, etc. The pedigree here given enables us to identify the person intended as Shelemiah or Moshelemiah. (comp. 1 Chronicles 6:23, 27; 1 Chronicles 26:1, 14). Keepers of the gates of the tabernacle... of the entry. These are descriptions of "service," not synonymous with those of vers. 17 and 18, where the words וְהַשְּׁעַרִים and בְּשַׁעַר are found, in place of those used here, viz. שֹׁמְרֵי הַסִּפִים לָאֹחֶל and שֹׁמְרֵי הַמָּבוא. They designate the care of the inner entrances of the sacred building. Their fathers were keepers of the entrance to the tabernacle, as these to the inner doors (margin, "thresholds") of the temple. So the following verse points the times of "the fathers." 1 Chronicles 9:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

1 Chronicles 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 1 Chronicles 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 Numbers 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 2 Chronicles 31:2 in reference to Solomon's temple; but in our verse the tabernacle is intended. It had only one entrance, מבוא, the guarding of which was entrusted to the above-mentioned Korahites.