Who hitherto waited in the king’s gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi.
The Levites served as porters, assigned in companies to wait at the king's gate on the east. This forms part of the chapter's account of the division of duties among the priests and those responsible for temple service.
The order of service described belongs to the period after the return from Babylon, but it was originally established by David and Samuel. The genealogies were kept to furnish strict legal proof of hereditary descent after the exile, when the land had to be assigned to its hereditary owners and the temple service had to be taken up by those whose hereditary duty it was, including the Levite porters.
The Levites served as porters, assigned in companies to wait at the king's gate on the east. This forms part of the chapter's account of the division of duties among the priests and those responsible for temple service.
The order of service described belongs to the period after the return from Babylon, but it was originally established by David and Samuel. The genealogies were kept to furnish strict legal proof of hereditary descent after the exile, when the land had to be assigned to its hereditary owners and the temple service had to be taken up by those whose hereditary duty it was, including the Levite porters.