(19) And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Koran.--Comp. 1Chronicles 26:1, which makes "Meshelemiah son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph" a guild of warders under David.

Ebiasaph--"The Father (i.e., God) gathered," is a fuller form of Asaph, "He gathered."

And his brethren, of the house of his father.--That is, the Korahites, as is immediately explained: his kinsmen belonging to his father-house or clan.

The work of the service (of Shallum),--That is, of the guild so called, is defined as that of "wardens of the thresholds of the tent," that is, of the Temple, which had taken the place of the old Tent of Meeting.

And their fathers, being over the host of the Lord, were keepers of the entry.--"Their fathers" are the ancestors of the Korahite clan of Shallura.

The host of the Lord.--Or, rather, the encampment of Jehovah, means the tabernacle, or Tent of Tryst, which had only one entrance, over which, according to this passage--the Pentateuch is silent--the house of Shallum stood guard. 2Chronicles 31:2 applies the same archaic nomenclature to the Temple in Hezekiah's reign, speaking of "the gates of the camps of Iahweh."

Verse 19. - Shallum. Marked as a different person from the former of the same name, by the description son of Kore, etc. The pedigree here given enables us to identify the person intended as Shelemiah or Moshelemiah. (comp. 1 Chronicles 6:23, 27; 1 Chronicles 26:1, 14). Keepers of the gates of the tabernacle... of the entry. These are descriptions of "service," not synonymous with those of vers. 17 and 18, where the words וְהַשְּׁעַרִים and בְּשַׁעַר are found, in place of those used here, viz. שֹׁמְרֵי הַסִּפִים לָאֹחֶל and שֹׁמְרֵי הַמָּבוא. They designate the care of the inner entrances of the sacred building. Their fathers were keepers of the entrance to the tabernacle, as these to the inner doors (margin, "thresholds") of the temple. So the following verse points the times of "the fathers."

9:1-44 Genealogies. - This chapter expresses that one end of recording all these genealogies was, to direct the Jews, when they returned out of captivity, with whom to unite, and where to reside. Here is an account of the good state into which the affairs of religion were put, on the return from Babylon. Every one knew his charge. Work is likely to be done well when every one knows the duty of his place, and makes a business of it. God is the God of order. Thus was the temple a figure of the heavenly one, where they rest not day nor night from praising God, Re 4:8. Blessed be His name, believers there shall, not in turn, but all together, without interruption, praise him night and day: may the Lord make each of us fit for the inheritance of the saints in light.And Shallum the son of Kore,.... The same as in 1 Chronicles 9:17 whose pedigree is traced up to Ebiasaph the son of Korah, see Exodus 6:24.

and his brethren, of the house of his father, the Korahites; so called, because they descended from Korah:

were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle; until the temple was built:

and their fathers being over the host of the Lord; the Levites, who were the Lord's army, and whose service is represented as a warfare, Numbers 4:5.

were keepers of the entry; into the tabernacle, that none might enter that were impure; or into the court of the priests, excepting priests; or into the holiest of all, as Kimchi suggests.