1 Chronicles 9:23

So they and their descendants were assigned to guard the gates of the house of the LORD—the house called the Tent.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Chronicler writes to a post-exilic community, recording that David and Samuel previously appointed 212 men to guard the sanctuary thresholds.

The words — הָ/אֹ֖הֶל (ha./'O.hel) = the/ tent marks the sanctuary’s earlier nomadic designation, while וּ/בְנֵי/הֶ֜ם (u./ve.nei./Hem) = and/ descendants/ their establishes the hereditary succession of the duty.

The thread — The text links this gatekeeping duty to Ezekiel 44:14, 1 Chronicles 23:32, and 2 Chronicles 23:19, where Levitical and priestly guards maintain temple purity and service across different eras.

Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that sacred access is regulated by appointed succession and that the continuity of worship depends on faithful adherence to established boundaries.

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

וְהֵ֨םve./Hemand/ they וּבְנֵיהֶ֜םu./ve.nei./Hemand/ descendants/ their עַל־'al-[were] over הַשְּׁעָרִ֧יםha./she.'a.Rimthe/ gates לְבֵית־le./veit-of/ [the] house of יְהוָ֛הYah.wehYahweh לְבֵ֥ית־le./Veit-of/ [the] house of הָאֹ֖הֶלha./'O.helthe/ tent לְמִשְׁמָרֽוֹת׃le./mish.ma.Rotto/ guards

King James Version

So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the Lord, namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 44:14 Yet I will appoint them to keep charge of all the work for the temple and everything to be done in it.
1 Chronicles 23:32 So the Levites were to carry out the responsibilities for the Tent of Meeting and the Holy Place, and, under their brothers the descendants of Aaron, the service of the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 23:19 He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that no one who was in any way unclean could enter.
Nehemiah 12:45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed.
Ezekiel 44:10 Surely the Levites who wandered away from Me when Israel went astray, and who wandered away from Me after their idols, will bear the consequences of their iniquity.