Chapter 26 continues outlining the divisions of the Levi'im. Until now, we dealt with the instrumentalists and the singers, and now Scripture relates how the gatekeepers - those appointed over opening and locking the gates of the House of Hashem - were divided into twenty-four shifts across twenty-four posts. Later in the chapter, we will turn to those appointed over the treasuries of the House of God and the treasuries of dedicated items, and to those appointed over external duties and the administration of Israel on both sides of the Jordan.
לְמַחְלְקוֹת לְשֹׁעֲרִים לַקׇּרְחִים מְשֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ בֶן־קֹרֵא מִן־בְּנֵי אָסָף׃ - For the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korachites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.
The meaning is: these are those divided as gatekeepers from the descendants of Korach, headed by Meshelemiah son of Kore of the sons of Asaph. "Of the Korachites" refers to the Korachite family. Shallum son of Kore was over the threshold guardians, and Zechariah son of Meshelemiah was gatekeeper of the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The gatekeepers stood watch in twenty-four locations, as we will see below in verses 17-18, and here Scripture lists twenty-four heads, each one the head of a specific gate.
The twenty-four listed here by name are: seven sons of Meshelemiah, eight from the sons of Oved-edom - totaling fifteen; six sons of Shemaiah - totaling twenty-one, excluding Shemaiah himself, since his sons served as heads in his place; and four sons of Hosah - bringing the total to twenty-four.
The Malbim recalls what he explained earlier, that for twenty-four shifts, 4,032 gatekeepers were needed according to the calculation of the watches. Here, the officers appointed over them were twenty-four, corresponding to the twenty-four posts requiring guards, and yet Scripture rounds the number to simply four thousand. How so? Deduct the twenty-four heads from 4,032, and 4,008 remain. Deduct another four who stood at the head of the leaders - Meshelemiah, Oved-edom, Shemaiah, and Hosah - and you have deducted twenty-eight from the thirty-two, leaving only four. Scripture therefore counts in a round number of four thousand, even though according to the exact tally there were 4,032.
וְלִמְשֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ בָּנִים זְכַרְיָהוּ הַבְּכוֹר יְדִיעֲאֵל הַשֵּׁנִי זְבַדְיָהוּ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי יַתְנִיאֵל הָרְבִיעִי׃ עֵילָם הַחֲמִישִׁי יְהוֹחָנָן הַשִּׁשִּׁי אֶלְיְהוֹעֵינַי הַשְּׁבִיעִי׃ - And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh.
וּלְעֹבֵד אֱדֹם בָּנִים שְׁמַעְיָה הַבְּכוֹר יְהוֹזָבָד הַשֵּׁנִי יוֹאָח הַשְּׁלִשִׁי וְשָׂכָר הָרְבִיעִי וּנְתַנְאֵל הַחֲמִישִׁי׃ - And Oved-edom had sons: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth, and Nethanel the fifth.
Oved-edom was also among the gatekeepers, as noted by the Metzudat David.
עַמִּיאֵל הַשִּׁשִּׁי יִשָּׂשכָר הַשְּׁבִיעִי פְּעֻלְּתַי הַשְּׁמִינִי כִּי בֵרְכוֹ אֱלֹהִים׃ - Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peullethai the eighth; for God blessed him.
"For God blessed him" - the blessing was an abundance of sons. Our Sages teach that the Ark had resided with him, with Oved-edom, and on that account he was privileged to have an abundance of sons.
וְלִשְׁמַעְיָה בְנוֹ נוֹלַד בָּנִים הַמִּמְשָׁלִים לְבֵית אֲבִיהֶם כִּי־גִבּוֹרֵי חַיִל הֵמָּה׃ - And to Shemaiah his son were sons born who ruled over the house of their father, for they were mighty men of valor.
"Who ruled" - they were rulers over their father's household, because they were mighty men of valor.
בְּנֵי שְׁמַעְיָה עׇתְנִי וּרְפָאֵל וְעוֹבֵד אֶלְזָבָד אֶחָיו בְּנֵי־חָיִל אֱלִיהוּ וּסְמַכְיָהוּ׃ - The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, his brothers, valiant men, Elihu, and Semachiah.
Their names were: Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad. The Metzudat David explains that "Echav" and "Bnei Chayil" are also names - one was named "Echav" and the other was named "Bnei Chayil."
כׇּל־אֵלֶּה מִבְּנֵי עֹבֵד אֱדֹם הֵמָּה וּבְנֵיהֶם וַאֲחֵיהֶם אִישׁ־חַיִל בַּכֹּחַ לַעֲבֹדָה שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם לְעֹבֵד אֱדֹם׃ - All these were of the sons of Oved-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men with strength for the service, sixty-two of Oved-edom.
"Able men" [ish chayil] here is in its plain sense - each one of them was a man of valor, a mighty man. And "for the service" refers to opening and locking the gates. A difficulty arises: here it says sixty-two, yet earlier we saw sixty-eight? The Metzudat David explains that it is possible that six passed away in David's old age, and therefore from sixty-eight, sixty-two remained.
וְלִמְשֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ בָּנִים וְאַחִים בְּנֵי־חָיִל שְׁמוֹנָה עָשָׂר׃ - And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, valiant men, eighteen.
וּלְחֹסָה מִן־בְּנֵי־מְרָרִי בָּנִים שִׁמְרִי הָרֹאשׁ כִּי לֹא־הָיָה בְכוֹר וַיְשִׂימֵהוּ אָבִיהוּ לְרֹאשׁ׃ - And Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief, for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him chief.
Hosah was also a gatekeeper. Why do other places say "the firstborn" [habechor], whereas here it says "the chief" [harosh]? Because he was not actually the firstborn; he was the chief, not the firstborn. His father made him the chief - he evidently saw that he was more distinguished and possessed greater virtues, so he appointed him as the head, even though the standard practice was to appoint the firstborn as the head.
חִלְקִיָּהוּ הַשֵּׁנִי טְבַלְיָהוּ הַשְּׁלִשִׁי זְכַרְיָהוּ הָרְבִעִי כׇּל־בָּנִים וְאַחִים לְחֹסָה שְׁלֹשָׁה עָשָׂר׃ - Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.
לְאֵלֶּה מַחְלְקוֹת הַשֹּׁעֲרִים לְרָאשֵׁי הַגְּבָרִים מִשְׁמָרוֹת לְעֻמַּת אֲחֵיהֶם לְשָׁרֵת בְּבֵית יְהֹוָה׃ - To these divisions of the gatekeepers, belonging to the chief men, were watches corresponding to their brothers, to minister in the House of Hashem.
All those mentioned above would divide all the gatekeepers, who numbered four thousand, into watches. "Watches for the heads of the men" - the watches were divided according to the number of the heads of men, meaning they were all equal. However, the Metzudas David explains that one cannot say this was exact, since four thousand gatekeepers cannot be divided evenly into twenty-four parts corresponding to the number of watches; thus, one watch had slightly more and another slightly less. But according to the Malbim seen earlier, where the true total was 4,032, the division was completely exact. As for the verse stating four thousand, we already explained that it did not count the leaders and the leaders over the leaders, and concerning the remaining four it was not exact. Consequently, according to the Malbim the division was precise, whereas according to the Metzudas David there were only four thousand and they were not divided equally.
"Alongside their brethren" - just like their brethren, those brethren mentioned earlier who were appointed over the gates. "To minister in the House of Hashem" - overseeing the opening and closing of the gates.
וַיַּפִּילוּ גוֹרָלוֹת כַּקָּטֹן כַּגָּדוֹל לְבֵית אֲבוֹתָם לְשַׁעַר וָשָׁעַר׃ - "And they cast lots, small and great alike, according to their ancestral houses, for every gate."
"Small and great alike" - the junior member of the family had an equal standing in the lot with the senior. They did not say to anyone, "You will be first because you are older"; rather, whether one was junior or senior in his father's house, the lot applied to all of them completely equally. "For every gate" - the lot determined who would be the gatekeeper at each specific gate.
וַיִּפֹּל הַגּוֹרָל מִזְרָחָה לְשֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ וּזְכַרְיָהוּ בְנוֹ יוֹעֵץ בְּשֶׂכֶל הִפִּילוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת וַיֵּצֵא גוֹרָלוֹ צָפוֹנָה׃ - "The lot to the east fell to Shelemyahu; and for Zecharyahu his son, a counselor with wisdom, they cast lots, and his lot came out to the north."
The eastern gate fell by lot to Shelemyahu - meaning him and his men, not as an individual alone. "And Zecharyahu his son, a counselor with wisdom" - he was a wise counselor endowed with understanding and knowledge, and therefore he and his men cast lots, and his lot came out at the northern gate.
לְעֹבֵד אֱדֹם נֶגְבָּה וּלְבָנָיו בֵּית הָאֲסֻפִּים׃ - "To Oved-edom, toward the south, and to his sons, Beis HaAsuppim."
For Oved-edom it came out "southward", meaning to the southern side. Up to this point we have seen east and north, and here is south. "Beis HaAsuppim" was a place facing the southern gate, and the Metzudas David explains that the name refers to something well known to them, though he does not know what it was. Yet there certainly was a reason for it, and we see in Chazal and the Mishnayos that gates and chambers were named according to their function and location - such as "Beis HaParvah", named after that Persian magus who was a sorcerer. Here too, when the verse states "Beis HaAsuppim", it is not coincidental; rather, it was based on a well-known matter.
לְשֻׁפִּים וּלְחֹסָה לַמַּעֲרָב עִם שַׁעַר שַׁלֶּכֶת בַּמְסִלָּה הָעוֹלָה מִשְׁמָר לְעֻמַּת מִשְׁמָר׃ - "To Shuppim and to Chosah, toward the west, with the Gate of Shalleches on the ascending highway, watch alongside watch."
Regarding "Shuppim", the Metzudas David raises a difficulty, as we have not seen this name earlier, and therefore explains that he might have been mentioned earlier under a different name. Their side was the west - the fourth side remaining to us after east, north, and south - and there stood the Shalleches Gate. "Shalleches" is the name of the gate, and it was situated on the highway, the pathway ascending the mountain; here too, Scripture does not specify why it was called the Shalleches Gate. "Watch alongside watch" - the watch kept by Shuppim in the west and Chosah at the Shalleches Gate would correspond to time: after a certain time the watch would rotate, and so forth, Shuppim moving to the Shalleches Gate and Chosah to Shuppim's place, continually rotating between them.
לַמִּזְרָח הַלְוִיִּם שִׁשָּׁה לַצָּפוֹנָה לַיּוֹם אַרְבָּעָה לַנֶּגְבָּה לַיּוֹם אַרְבָּעָה וְלָאֲסֻפִּים שְׁנַיִם שְׁנָיִם׃ - To the east were six Levites, to the north four daily, to the south four daily, and at the storehouses two by two.
Here Scripture enumerates the names of the posts where they guarded and the number of watch-shifts. On the eastern side, there were six shifts of Levites guarding. "Daily four" - each day four shifts guarded. "Two by two" - it is possible, writes the Metzudat David, that the storehouses (Asuppim) were two separate locations; therefore it says "two by two," meaning that in each of the two storehouse locations two shifts kept watch, totaling four shifts per day.
לַפַּרְבָּר לַמַּעֲרָב אַרְבָּעָה לַמְסִלָּה שְׁנַיִם לַפַּרְבָּר׃ אֵלֶּה מַחְלְקוֹת הַשֹּׁעֲרִים לִבְנֵי הַקׇּרְחִי וְלִבְנֵי מְרָרִי׃ - At the Parbar on the west: four at the causeway and two at the Parbar. These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the Korahites and among the sons of Merari.
"At the Parbar on the west" - westward toward the Parbar. And what was the Parbar? Metzudat David explains that it was the name of a specific chamber; that is, the name of a certain room was "the Parbar." Four were stationed at the causeway - the path ascending the mount - and two at the Parbar. These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the Korahites and the descendants of Merari, their distribution across their guard posts.
וְהַלְוִיִּם אֲחִיָּה עַל־אוֹצְרוֹת בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים וּלְאֹצְרוֹת הַקֳּדָשִׁים׃ - And of the Levites, Achiyah was over the treasuries of the House of God and over the treasuries of the sacred dedications.
"And of the Levites" - this too was an assignment of the Levites, the role to which they were appointed. "The treasuries of the House of God" refers to the place where everything required for the upkeep of the House was stored, while the treasuries of the sacred dedications contained what was designated for communal offerings and sacrificial sancta; the Levites were appointed over these.
בְּנֵי לַעְדָּן בְּנֵי הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי לְלַעְדָּן רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת לְלַעְדָּן הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי יְחִיאֵלִי׃ - The sons of Ladan: the sons of the Gershonite belonging to Ladan, the heads of the ancestral houses of Ladan the Gershonite, were the Yechielites.
"The sons of the Gershonite" - descendants of Gershon. "Belonging to Ladan, the heads of the ancestral houses" - Scripture, as it were, informs us that Ladan attained tremendous prominence, having more heads of ancestral houses than anyone else. Yechiel was a prince and a great leader, and his sons were appointed over the treasuries, as we will see immediately.
בְּנֵי יְחִיאֵלִי זֵתָם וְיוֹאֵל אָחִיו עַל־אֹצְרוֹת בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - The sons of the Yechielite: Zetham and Yoel his brother were over the treasuries of the House of Hashem.
Zetham and Yoel his brother, descendants of Ladan, were appointed over the treasuries of the House of Hashem - the vessels of silver and gold that were in the House of Hashem.
לַעַמְרָמִי לַיִּצְהָרִי לַחֶבְרוֹנִי לָעׇזִּיאֵלִי׃ - Of the Amramites, the Yitzharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites:
Descendants of Amram were also appointed in the House of Hashem, as will be mentioned further on. As for the descendants of Uzziel, the Metzudat David notes that the verse does not mention them explicitly, and it is possible that they were included together with the descendants of Hebron.
וּשְׁבֻאֵל בֶּן־גֵּרְשׁוֹם בֶּן־מֹשֶׁה נָגִיד עַל־הָאֹצָרוֹת׃ - "And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moshe, was chief officer over the treasuries."
He was the chief official over the treasuries, and the rest of the officials served under him. This is what was noted earlier: this Shebuel is the one whom David appointed, from the descendants of Moshe, and Chazal teach that he was the Levite who had previously been in charge of the idol of Michah, and David appointed him here over the treasuries.
וְאֶחָיו לֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר רְחַבְיָהוּ בְנוֹ וִישַׁעְיָהוּ בְנוֹ וְיֹרָם בְּנוֹ וְזִכְרִי בְנוֹ וּשְׁלֹמִית בְּנוֹ׃ - "And his brethren by Eliezer: Rechavyahu his son, and Yeshayahu his son, and Yoram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomit his son."
"And his brethren by Eliezer" - the relatives of Shebuel, from the lineage of Eliezer. Rechavyahu was the son of Eliezer, and all the names listed here follow a direct line of descent, son after father: Yeshayahu the son of Rechavyahu, Yoram the son of Yeshayahu, Zichri the son of Yoram, and so forth.
Incidentally, one can observe here the grammatical rule of an adjacent vowel letter (letters Alef, Hei, Vav, Yud - Ahevi): when the preceding word ends in one of the letters Ahevi, it causes the dagesh to drop from a Beged-Kefet letter that follows. Therefore, we find "Rechavyahu veno" and "Yeshayahu veno" without a dagesh, but "Yoram b'no" with a dagesh, since "Yoram" does not end in an Ahevi letter. Then "ve-Zichri veno" ends with a Yud, so "veno" has no dagesh; while "u-Shelomit b'no" ends with a Tav, which is not an Ahevi letter, so the word "b'no" takes a dagesh.
הוּא שְׁלֹמוֹת וְאֶחָיו עַל כׇּל־אֹצְרוֹת הַקֳּדָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הִקְדִּישׁ דָּוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ וְרָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת לְשָׂרֵי־הָאֲלָפִים וְהַמֵּאוֹת וְשָׂרֵי הַצָּבָא׃ - "That Shelomot and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the consecrated things, which David the king, and the heads of the fathers' houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated."
This Shelomot and his brethren were in charge of all the treasuries of the consecrated items that King David dedicated. As we have seen, King David throughout his life dedicated spoils from all the wars he waged for the purpose of building the Beit HaMikdash. Likewise, the heads of the fathers' houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army - anyone who dedicated property would hand it over to him, and he would bring it into the treasury.
מִן־הַמִּלְחָמוֹת וּמִן־הַשָּׁלָל הִקְדִּישׁוּ לְחַזֵּק לְבֵית יְהֹוָה׃ - "Out of the wars and out of the spoils did they dedicate to maintain the House of Hashem."
From the battles and from the spoils taken there, they consecrated funds to reinforce and maintain the House of Hashem, so that it would be preserved in the treasury of the Beit HaMikdash.
וְכֹל הַהִקְדִּישׁ שְׁמוּאֵל הָרֹאֶה וְשָׁאוּל בֶּן־קִישׁ וְאַבְנֵר בֶּן־נֵר וְיוֹאָב בֶּן־צְרוּיָה כֹּל הַמַּקְדִּישׁ עַל יַד־שְׁלֹמִית וְאֶחָיו׃ - "And all that Shmuel the seer, and Shaul the son of Kish, and Avner the son of Ner, and Yoav the son of Tzeruyah, had dedicated; whosoever had dedicated anything, it was under the hand of Shelomit, and of his brethren."
"And all that... had dedicated" - the letter hei in ha-hikdish functions in place of the relative pronoun asher ("that"). Here the text reveals something striking: beyond what is widely known regarding David, who dedicated treasures from his wars for the Beit HaMikdash, we see that Shmuel the Seer - that is, Shmuel the Prophet - as well as Shaul the son of Kish, Avner the son of Ner, and Yoav the son of Tzeruyah, all dedicated treasures to the Beit HaMikdash. This fact is mentioned explicitly nowhere else in Tanach other than right here. And all of these donations were entrusted to Shelomit and his brethren, the overseers who were in charge of the treasuries.
לַיִּצְהָרִי כְּנַנְיָהוּ וּבָנָיו לַמְּלָאכָה הַחִיצוֹנָה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְשֹׁטְרִים וּלְשֹׁפְטִים׃ - Of the Yitzharites, Chenanyahu and his sons were for the outside work over Israel, as officers and judges.
What is "the outside work over Israel"? This refers to the work done outside the city for the needs of the Temple, where they had to prepare wood and stones, a duty incumbent upon the people of Israel. They were appointed over this, serving as officers and judges in these matters of external labor - to bring wood, stones, and everything required for the ongoing function of the Beit HaMikdash.
לַחֶבְרוֹנִי חֲשַׁבְיָהוּ וְאֶחָיו בְּנֵי־חַיִל אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע־מֵאוֹת עַל פְּקֻדַּת יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן מַעְרָבָה לְכֹל מְלֶאכֶת יְהֹוָה וְלַעֲבֹדַת הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - Of the Hebronites, Chashavyahu and his brethren, men of valor, one thousand seven hundred, were over the oversight of Israel west of the Jordan, for all the work of Hashem and for the service of the king.
All of these were appointed over the oversight of Israel, over the treasuries and administration of Israel. "West of the Jordan" - this refers to those dwelling on the western side of the Jordan, facing the Land of Israel. The western side of the Jordan is the side within the land proper, whereas the eastern side is beyond it. Thus, "west of the Jordan" means they operated on the western side facing the Jordan. And all this was "for all the work of Hashem and for the service of the king."
לַחֶבְרוֹנִי יְרִיָּה הָרֹאשׁ לַחֶבְרוֹנִי לְתֹלְדֹתָיו לְאָבוֹת בִּשְׁנַת הָאַרְבָּעִים לְמַלְכוּת דָּוִיד נִדְרָשׁוּ וַיִּמָּצֵא בָהֶם גִּבּוֹרֵי חַיִל בְּיַעְזֵיר גִּלְעָד׃ - Of the Hebronites, Yeriyah was the chief - of the Hebronites according to his generations by ancestral houses. In the fortieth year of David's reign they were investigated, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Yazer of Gilead.
Yeriyah was the chief of all of them, for his generations and ancestral houses - he was the head of his family and of all the ancestral houses. "They were sought" - in the fortieth year of David's reign, the sons of Chevron were investigated, meaning they were searched out and examined to see if there were men of valor among them, and mighty men of valor were indeed found among them in Yazer of Gilead.
וְאֶחָיו בְּנֵי־חַיִל אַלְפַּיִם וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת וַיַּפְקִידֵם דָּוִיד הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל־הָראוּבֵנִי וְהַגָּדִי וַחֲצִי שֵׁבֶט הַמְנַשִּׁי לְכׇל־דְּבַר הָאֱלֹהִים וּדְבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And his brethren, men of valor, were two thousand seven hundred heads of ancestral houses, whom King David appointed over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and matter of the king.
Yeriyah's brethren were two thousand seven hundred men of valor, and David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh - those dwelling in the eastern territory, since, as we saw, Chashavyahu and his brethren were appointed over the western side. They were appointed over every duty incumbent upon them, both the service of the House of God and the service of the king.
In this chapter we saw the divisions of the gatekeepers from the descendants of Korach and Merari, twenty-four heads for twenty-four guard posts, and the Malbim's calculation of how the 4,032 gatekeepers were counted as a round number of 4,000. We saw the lots cast for the four directions - east, north, south, and west - small and great alike, and the blessing of sons that Oved-Edom merited because the Ark rested in his house. Next, we examined those appointed over the treasuries of the House of God and the dedicated gifts, headed by Shevuel son of Gershom son of Moshe, and Shelomot and his brethren, learning here that Shmuel the Prophet, Shaul, Avner, and Yoav also consecrated treasures for the Beit HaMikdash - a detail not stated explicitly anywhere else. Finally, we saw those appointed over the outside work and the oversight of Israel on both sides of the Jordan, all "for every matter of God and matter of the king."