1 Chronicles 9:21

21 And Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was porter of the gate of the tabernacle of witnessing. (And Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was the guard at the gate to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing.)

1 Chronicles 9:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 9:21

And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah
Some think this refers to one that was in the times of David; but it seems rather to respect one that was after the Babylonish captivity, see ( 1 Chronicles 26:1 1 Chronicles 26:2 ) though he and his brethren were in an office established in the times of David, and the order of which was now, as then, observed:

was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
who was the chief porter, and kept the door; either that led into the outer court, and kept out all unclean persons from entering there; or that which led into the court of the priests, that none but priests might enter there.

1 Chronicles 9:21 In-Context

19 Shallum forsooth, the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, with his brethren, and with the house of his father; these be the sons of Korah upon the works of the service, keepers of the porches of the tabernacle, and the families of them kept by whiles, or times, the entering of the castles of the Lord. (And Shallum, the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, with his kinsmen, of the house of his father; these Korahites were in charge of the guards at the entrance to the Tabernacle; for their families had long guarded the entrances to the tents, or to the camp, of the Lord.)

20 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, was the duke of them before the Lord. (And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, had been their leader before, the Lord be with him!)

21 And Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was porter of the gate of the tabernacle of witnessing. (And Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was the guard at the gate to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing.)

22 All these chosen into porters by (the) gates were two hundred and twelve, and they were described, or presented, in their own towns, which deacons, or ministers, David and Samuel, the prophet, ordained in their faith, (All these chosen to be guards at the gates were two hundred and twelve, and they were listed in their own towns, and David, and the prophet Samuel, had ordained these Levites, or these ministers, for their faithfulness,)

23 both them and the sons of them in the doors of the house of the Lord, and in the tabernacle of witnessing, by their whiles. (both them and their sons to be at the doors of the House of the Lord, that is, at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, by their watches.)