The Levites discharged the office of porters of
the temple both day and night, and had the care both of the treasure and
offerings. The office of porter was in some sort military; properly
speaking, they were the soldiers of the Lord, and the guards of his
house, to whose charge the several gates of the courts of the sanctuary
were appointed by lot, 1 Chronicles xxvi, 1, 13, 19. They waited at
every gate; and were not permitted to depart from their service,” 2
Chron. xxxv, 15; and they attended by turns in their courses, as the
other Levites did, 2 Chron. viii, 14. Their proper business was to open
and shut the gates, and to attend at them by day, as a sort of peace
officers, in order to prevent any tumult among the people; to keep
strangers and the excommunicated and unclean persons, from entering into
the holy court; and, in short, to prevent whatever might be prejudicial
to the safety, peace, and purity of the holy place and service. They
also kept guard by night about the temple and its courts; and they are
said to have been twenty-four, including three priests, who stood sentry
at so many different places. There was a superior officer over the whole
guard, called by Maimonides, the man of the mountain of the house;” he
walked the round as often as he pleased; when he passed a sentinel that
was standing, he said, Peace be unto you;” but if he found one asleep,
he struck him, and he had liberty to set fire to his garment. This
custom may, perhaps, be alluded to in the following passage: Behold, I
come as a thief,” that is, unawares; blessed is he that watcheth and
keepeth his garments,” Rev. xvi, 15. Psalm cxxxiv, seems to be addressed
to these watchmen of the temple, who by night stand in the house of the
Lord;” in which they are exhorted to employ their waking hours in acts
of praise and devotion.
the temple both day and night, and had the care both of the treasure and
offerings. The office of porter was in some sort military; properly
speaking, they were the soldiers of the Lord, and the guards of his
house, to whose charge the several gates of the courts of the sanctuary
were appointed by lot, 1 Chronicles xxvi, 1, 13, 19. They waited at
every gate; and were not permitted to depart from their service,” 2
Chron. xxxv, 15; and they attended by turns in their courses, as the
other Levites did, 2 Chron. viii, 14. Their proper business was to open
and shut the gates, and to attend at them by day, as a sort of peace
officers, in order to prevent any tumult among the people; to keep
strangers and the excommunicated and unclean persons, from entering into
the holy court; and, in short, to prevent whatever might be prejudicial
to the safety, peace, and purity of the holy place and service. They
also kept guard by night about the temple and its courts; and they are
said to have been twenty-four, including three priests, who stood sentry
at so many different places. There was a superior officer over the whole
guard, called by Maimonides, the man of the mountain of the house;” he
walked the round as often as he pleased; when he passed a sentinel that
was standing, he said, Peace be unto you;” but if he found one asleep,
he struck him, and he had liberty to set fire to his garment. This
custom may, perhaps, be alluded to in the following passage: Behold, I
come as a thief,” that is, unawares; blessed is he that watcheth and
keepeth his garments,” Rev. xvi, 15. Psalm cxxxiv, seems to be addressed
to these watchmen of the temple, who by night stand in the house of the
Lord;” in which they are exhorted to employ their waking hours in acts
of praise and devotion.