Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 15:23
Berechiah and Elkanah were to be guardians of the ark.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records David’s administrative directives for relocating the ark to Jerusalem, listing personnel assignments alongside musical and priestly roles. This occurs during the organized preparations for the ark’s transport.
The words — The Hebrew term שֹׁעֲרִים (sho.'a.Rim) literally means gatekeepers or doorkeepers. It appears in the phrase לָ/אָרֽוֹן (la./'a.Ron) to designate the specific custodial duty assigned to Berechiah and Elkanah.
The thread — The gatekeeper role recurs in 1 Chronicles 9:21 regarding the Tent of Meeting and appears in the temple’s destruction narrative in 2 Kings 25:18. These references establish a continuous lineage of custodial oversight for sacred spaces.
Why it lands — The text assigns specific individuals to protect the ark, requiring readers to recognize the structured responsibility placed on designated servants. It demands acknowledgment that sacred objects and spaces are managed by appointed personnel rather than general access.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the ark.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
- 2 Kings 25:18 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- 1 Chronicles 9:21 Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was the gatekeeper at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Psalms 84:10 For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.