Topical Bible: Porters

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the context of the Bible, "porters" refers to gatekeepers or doorkeepers, individuals assigned the responsibility of overseeing the entrances to the temple, tabernacle, or other significant locations. Their role was crucial in maintaining the sanctity and security of these sacred spaces, ensuring that only those who were ceremonially clean and authorized could enter.

Old Testament References

The role of porters is prominently mentioned in the Old Testament, particularly in relation to the temple service. In 1 Chronicles 9:17-27, the duties and genealogies of the porters are detailed. The passage highlights the Levites who were appointed as gatekeepers for the house of the Lord. "The gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brothers; Shallum was the chief" (1 Chronicles 9:17). These individuals were responsible for guarding the gates and ensuring the proper conduct of those entering the temple.

The porters were organized into divisions and had specific times and places of service. Their duties were not limited to guarding the gates but also included overseeing the treasuries and chambers of the temple, as seen in 1 Chronicles 26:12-19. This passage outlines the divisions of the porters and their assignments, emphasizing the importance of their role in the temple's daily operations.

Significance in Temple Worship

Porters played a vital role in the religious life of Israel. Their presence ensured that the temple remained a holy place, free from defilement and unauthorized access. This was particularly important during times of worship and sacrifice, as the temple was the central place of communion with God.

The porters' duties were considered a sacred trust, and their service was an integral part of the Levitical responsibilities. As seen in 2 Chronicles 23:19, "He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason" . This highlights the porters' role in upholding the purity and sanctity of the temple.

New Testament Context

While the specific term "porter" is not as prevalent in the New Testament, the concept of gatekeeping continues in a spiritual sense. Jesus refers to Himself as the "door" in John 10:7, emphasizing the idea of access and entry into the kingdom of God. The role of a porter, in this sense, can be seen as a metaphor for spiritual vigilance and discernment.

Symbolic and Spiritual Implications

The role of porters carries symbolic significance, representing vigilance, faithfulness, and the protection of what is sacred. In a broader spiritual context, believers are often called to be watchful and discerning, guarding their hearts and communities against spiritual threats. This is echoed in passages like 1 Peter 5:8, which urges believers to be sober-minded and watchful.

In summary, porters in the Bible were more than mere guards; they were custodians of holiness, entrusted with the sacred duty of maintaining the sanctity of God's dwelling place. Their role serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of vigilance and faithfulness in the service of God.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Porters

Kept the gates of private houses and of cities, 2 Samuel 18:26 2 Kings 7:10 Mark 13:34 John 10:3. The porters of the temple were Levites, at one period four thousand in number, divided into courses, 1 Chronicles 16:42 23:5. They stood on guard at every gate, and were on duty within the temple in their regular courses, 1 Chronicles 16:42 23:5.

They stood on guard at every gate, and were on duty within the temple in their regular courses, 1 Chronicles 26:1,13,19 2 Chronicles 8:14 35:15. By night also they cheered the lonely hours with songs of praise, Psalm 134:1-3. We read, in 2 1 Corinthians 13:14, of the faithful service they rendered in protecting Joash and slaying Athaliah.

Library

How Xerxes the Son of Darius was Well Disposed to the Jews; as ...
... And I enjoin you not to lay any treacherous imposition, or any tributes, upon their
priests or Levites, or sacred singers, or porters, or sacred servants, or ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 5 how xerxes the.htm

The Gospel Refuge.
... They were supplied with wells of water, and Levites were placed in turn as porters
or gatekeepers, to be ready to welcome every fugitive into these homes of ...
/.../macduff/the cities of refuge or the name of jesus/iii the gospel refuge.htm

The Strait Gate;
... were so strait, that none that were unclean in anything might enter in thereat
(Ezekiel 40:48), because there were placed at these gates, porters, whose office ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the strait gate.htm

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
... Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and levites, singers, porters,
nethinims, or ministers of this House of God, it shall not be lawful to ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/of antichrist and his ruin .htm

Quaker City Excursion
... The porters are overtaxed in getting out the stored-away trunks for the
passengers, as the most recherche wardrobes must be selected. ...
/.../griswold/sixty years with plymouth church/quaker city excursion.htm

Celts and Celtophiles
... get a bed for the night. Honour is a luxury for aristocrats, but it is a
necessity for hall-porters. This is a secondary matter, but ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/heretics/xiii celts and celtophiles.htm

Under Ban of the Ritual
... In the shadows of the city her porters drowsed, and from the continuous wall of
houses blankly facing one another from either side of the streets, there came ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter ii under ban of.htm

On Assembling in the Church.
... Let the porters stand at the entries of the men, and observe them. Let the
deaconesses also stand at those of the women, like shipmen. ...
/.../various/constitutions of the holy apostles/sec vii on assembling in the.htm

A Cultivated Conservative Friend of Mine once Exhibited Great ...
... style of Mr. Wells's "Island of Dr. Moreau." The rich man may come to breeding a
tribe of dwarfs to be his jockeys, and a tribe of giants to be his hall-porters ...
/.../chesterton/whats wrong with the world/chapter 42 a cultivated conservative.htm

Meditations of the Blessed State of a Regenerate Man in Heaven.
... of one pearl (ver.21:) three gates towards each of the four corners of the world
(ver.13), and at each gate an angel (ver.12), as so many porters, that no ...
/.../bayly/the practice of piety/meditations of the blessed state.htm

Thesaurus

Porters (34 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Porters (34 Occurrences). ... (See JPS DBY). 2 Kings 7:11 He
called the porters; and they told it to the king's household within. ...
/p/porters.htm - 17k

Talmon (5 Occurrences)
... TALMON. tal'-mon (talmon): One of the porters in connection with the temple-service
(1 Chronicles 9:17 Ezra 2:42 Nehemiah 7:45; Nehemiah 11:19; Nehemiah 12:25). ...
/t/talmon.htm - 9k

Akkub (8 Occurrences)
... 1 Chronicles 9:17 The porters: Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their
brothers (Shallum was the chief), (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV ...
/a/akkub.htm - 10k

Singers (41 Occurrences)
... the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and
Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters were at every ...
/s/singers.htm - 23k

Nethinims (15 Occurrences)
... Ezra 2:70 So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers,
and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel ...
/n/nethinims.htm - 11k

Nethinim (16 Occurrences)
... It is probable that they, with the singers and porters, became gradually incorporated
in the general body of Levites; their name passed ere long into a ...
/n/nethinim.htm - 18k

Hatita (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Exploration, one of the temple porters or janitors
(Ezra 2:42). He returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. Int. ...
/h/hatita.htm - 7k

Thresholds (11 Occurrences)
... (WEB ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV). 1 Chronicles 9:22 All these who were chosen
to be porters in the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. ...
/t/thresholds.htm - 10k

Doorkeeper (8 Occurrences)
... In the preexilic writings (2 Samuel 18:26 2 Kings 7:10, 11) reference is made
to porters at the gates of the cities Mahanaim and Samaria. ...
/d/doorkeeper.htm - 13k

Porter (6 Occurrences)
... Of the Levites, 4,000 were appointed as porters by David (1 Chronicles 23:5), who
were arranged according to their families (26:1-19) to take charge of the ...
/p/porter.htm - 11k

Resources

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Porters (34 Occurrences)

2 Kings 7:10
So they came and called unto the porter of the city; and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.
(See JPS DBY)

2 Kings 7:11
He called the porters; and they told it to the king's household within.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

1 Chronicles 9:17
The porters: Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brothers (Shallum was the chief),
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

1 Chronicles 9:18
who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward: they were the porters for the camp of the children of Levi.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

1 Chronicles 9:22
All these who were chosen to be porters in the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their office of trust.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

1 Chronicles 9:24
On the four sides were the porters, toward the east, west, north, and south.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

1 Chronicles 9:26
for the four chief porters, who were Levites, were in an office of trust, and were over the chambers and over the treasuries in the house of God.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

1 Chronicles 15:18
And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters.
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 16:38
And Obededom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obededom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 16:42
And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters.
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 23:5
Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 26:1
Concerning the divisions of the porters: Of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 26:12
Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the LORD.
(KJV WBS)

1 Chronicles 26:19
These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari.
(KJV WBS)

2 Chronicles 8:14
And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded.
(KJV WBS)

2 Chronicles 23:4
This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

2 Chronicles 23:19
He set the porters at the gates of the house of Yahweh, that no one who was unclean in anything should enter in.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

2 Chronicles 34:13
Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and set forward all who did the work in every manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

2 Chronicles 35:15
The singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters were at every gate: they didn't need to depart from their service; for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Ezra 2:42
The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all one hundred thirty-nine.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Ezra 2:70
So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, lived in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Ezra 7:7
There went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Ezra 7:24
Also we inform you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, on them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Ezra 10:24
Of the singers: Eliashib. Of the porters: Shallum, and Telem, and Uri.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 7:1
Now it happened, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 7:45
The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, one hundred thirty-eight.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 7:73
So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, lived in their cities. When the seventh month was come, the children of Israel were in their cities.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 10:28
The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge, and understanding;
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 10:39
For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the wave offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 11:19
Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were one hundred seventy-two.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 12:25
Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the watch at the storehouses of the gates.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 12:45
They performed the duty of their God, and the duty of the purification, and so did the singers and the porters, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 12:47
All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, as every day required: and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Nehemiah 13:5
had prepared for him a great chamber, where before they laid the meal offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the wave offerings for the priests.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Subtopics

Porters

Porters: Guards at the City Gates, the Doors of the King's Palace, and Doors of the Temple

Porters: Lodged Round About the Temple in Order to be Present for Opening the Doors

Porters: One-Third Were Porters of the Gate of the Foundation

Porters: One-Third Were Porters of the King's House

Porters: One-Third Were Porters of the Temple

Porters: Their Posts Were Determined by Lot

Porters: They Also Served As Porters of the Gates of the Walls

Porters: They Served in Twenty-Four Courses

Related Terms

Talmon (5 Occurrences)