a gate-keeper ( 2 Samuel 18:26 ; 2 Kings 7:10 ; 1 Chronicles 9:21 ; 2 Chr. 8:14 ). 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 doors and gates of the temple. They were sometimes employed as musicians ( 1 Chronicles 15:18 ).
A doorkeeper; gatekeeper.Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the PORTER openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. ( John 10:1-3 )
This word when used in the Authorized Version does not bear its modern signification of a carrier of burdens, but denotes in every case a gate-keeper, from the Latin portarius , the man who attended to the porta or gate. [E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary