All these who were chosen to be porters in the thresholds were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer did ordain in their office of trust.
Just as gate-keepers were needed to guard the tabernacle and the temple in former times, so they would be needed to guard the temple in rebuilt Jerusalem (17-21). The writer records how David organized the guards’ working hours and duties in the former temple (22-27). Even everyday matters, such as the care of temple equipment and the preparation of incense, spices and sacred foods, were carefully planned and supervised (28-32). People such as musicians and singers, who were to be ready for duty any time, day or night, lived in some of the temple buildings (33-34).