Ezra 2:42
“The children of the gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all one hundred thirty-nine.”
What does Ezra 2:42 mean?
This verse is part of a longer list of people who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile ended, around 538 BCE. The gatekeepers were temple workers with an important job: they guarded the entrances to the sacred spaces and managed who could enter. These 139 people from gatekeeper families were among the thousands returning home after decades away, ready to help rebuild their community and restore worship at the temple. Including them in the record shows that every group who returned mattered, from the priests down to the workers who kept the temple secure.