And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And Zacharias the son of Mosollamia, was porter of the gate of the tabernacle of the testimony:

Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was doorkeeper at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Zechariah son of Meshelemiah is gatekeeper at the opening of the tent of meeting.

Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was keeper of the door of the Tent of meeting.

Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

But Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, was the keeper of the gate of the tabernacle of the testimony.

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 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 is quite unconnected with the preceding context, the conjunction w being omitted, and its contents also present considerable difficulties. Zechariah, the son of Meshelemiah, can only be the Zechariah who is mentioned in 1-Chronicles 26:2 as the first-born of Meshelemiah, and who lived in the time of David; for at the time when David divided the porters into classes, there fell to him the lot towards midnight, i.e., the duty of waiting at the door on the north side of the holy place (1-Chronicles 26:14). With this, indeed, the general statement of our verse, "he was porter of the door (or the entrance) of the tent of the covenant," is not inconsistent. But what purpose does this general statement serve? With what design is Zechariah, and he alone, mentioned? We have no means of giving a definite answer to this question; but he may perhaps be named as being the person who, before David's division of the Levites into classes was carried out, had charge of the porters' service in the tabernacle. But even if this conjecture be accepted as well grounded, the abrupt way in which it is mentioned still remains enigmatical.

Was - In the time of David, as the following verse sheweth. Porter - Chief porter. The door - Of the door which led out of the priests court into the tabernacle, in which the ark was placed. Before the temple was built, they had a mean and moveable tent, which they made use of in the mean time. They that cannot yet have a temple, let them be thankful for a tabernacle, and make the best use of it. Never let God's work be left undone, for want of a place to do it in.