Who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi.

Until that time, in the king's gate eastward, the sons of Levi waited by their turns.

And they have been hitherto in the king's gate eastward: they were the doorkeepers in the camps of the children of Levi.

and hitherto they are at the gate of the king eastward; they are the gatekeepers for the companies of the sons of Levi.

Up till then they had been at the king's door to the east. They were door-keepers for the tents of the sons of Levi.

who were previously stationed at the king's gate on the east: they were the gatekeepers for the camp of the children of Levi.

For until that time, at the gate of the king to the east, the sons of Levi served in their turns.

Who hitherto waited - Translate, "Who to this day waits. These were the porters in the stations of the sons of Levi." The words of the first clause refer to Shallum, and imply that, whereas Shallum (or his house) had originally the general superintendence of the temple gates, a change had been made when the author wrote, and Shallum's charge had become the east gate only. The second clause means; "these were the porters in those fixed stations at the outer gates of the Temple, which corresponded to the camp stations of the Levites who guarded the tabernacle in the early times."

The king's gate - That by which the kings of Judah went to the temple; see on 2-Kings 16:18 (note).

Who hitherto [waited] in the (e) king's gate eastward: they [were] porters in the companies of the children of Levi.
(e) So called because the king came into the temple by it, and not the common people.

Who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward,.... At the gate through which the king went into the temple, and was at the east of it; and here these porters were placed in the same order after the captivity, and their return from it, as before:
they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi; or in the camp of Levi, which was placed around the tabernacle, as in the wilderness: the Septuagint version is, "these are the gates of the camp of the children of Levi"; at which these porters were placed.

the king's gate--The king had a gate from his palace into the temple (2-Kings 16:18), which doubtless was kept constantly closed except for the monarch's use; and although there was no king in Israel on the return from the captivity, yet the old ceremonial was kept up, probably in the hope that the scepter would, ere long, be restored to the house of David. It is an honor by which Eastern kings are distinguished, to have a gate exclusively devoted to their own special use, and which is kept constantly closed, except when he goes out or returns (Ezekiel 44:2). There being no king then in Israel, this gate would be always shut.

The duties of the Levites. - 1-Chronicles 9:18. The first half of this verse, "And until now (is he) in the king's gate eastward," must be referred to Shallum (Berth.). To imagine a reference to all the doorkeepers, "until now are they," does not suit 1-Chronicles 9:24-26, according to which the doorkeepers kept guard upon all the four sides. The eastern gate of the temple was called the king's gate, because by this gate the king went in and out to the temple; cf. Ezekiel 46:1-2; Ezekiel 41:3. The remark, "until now is Shallum watcher," etc., presupposes the existence of the temple at the time of the preparation of this register, and points to the pre-exilic time. Against this Bertheau has raised the objection that the name king's gate may have been retained even in the post-exilic times for the eastern gate. This must of course be in general admitted, but could only be accepted if it were proved that Shallum lived after the exile. This proof Bertheau obtains by taking the words, "until now is Shallum in the king's gate," to mean, "that, according to the ancient arrangement, Shallum, the chief of all the doorkeepers, had still to guard the eastern entrance; according to which Shallum would be the collective designation of the whole series of the chiefs of the doorkeepers who lived from David's time till after the exile;" but the words cannot be thus interpreted. Such an interpretation cannot be made plausible by identifying the name Shallum with Meshelemiah or Shelemiah, to whose lot it fell in the time of David to be doorkeeper to the eastward (1-Chronicles 26:1, 1-Chronicles 26:14); for in doing so, we would overlook the fact that in 1-Chronicles 9:21 of our chapter also he bears the name Meshelemiah. The circumstance that both Shallum and Meshelemiah are called Ben-Kore, of the sons of Abiasaph, by no means justifies the identification of these two quite different names; for it is neither necessary nor probable that בּן should here be taken in its narrower sense, and Kore regarded as the immediate father of both. The name קרא is repeated in the family of the east doorkeepers, as we learn from 2-Chronicles 31:14, where it is stated that this office was held by a Kore ben Jimna. "These (who are named in 1-Chronicles 9:17) are the doorkeepers for the camp of the sons of Levi" (of the Levites), - an antiquated expression, bringing to remembrance the time of Moses, when the Levites, on the journey through the wilderness, were encamped about the tabernacle (Numbers 3:21.).

King's gate - In the east - gate of the temple, which was so called, because the kings of Judah used to go to the temple through that gate. Under this gate he comprehends all the rest, which also were guarded by these porters. Companies - Or, according to the courses. They kept the gates successively, according to that method into which the Levites were distributed, for the more convenient management of their several offices; among which this of the porters was one.