Person Old Testament
Shallum
Shallum was a gatekeeper of the tabernacle during the reign of David, and his descendants continued to serve as gatekeepers in the temple. Mentioned in 5 verses across 3 books, first at 1 Chronicles 9:17.
Why it matters. Gatekeeper of the tabernacle during David's reign
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Shallum
Shallum, mentioned in 1Ch.9.17-19,31, Ezr.2.42, and Neh.7.45, was a gatekeeper of the tabernacle during the reign of King David. He is described as the chief of the gatekeepers and is credited with overseeing the gates. Shallum's lineage is traced back to Korah, indicating that he was a descendant of the Korahites, a Levitical family entrusted with the responsibility of guarding the entrance to the tabernacle. The gatekeepers played a crucial role in maintaining the sanctity and security of the tabernacle and later the temple. Shallum's descendants continued to serve as gatekeepers, as evidenced by their mention in the lists of those who returned from the Babylonian exile. In addition to his role as a gatekeeper, Shallum is also mentioned as being in charge of baking the showbread, which was a sacred offering placed before the Lord in the tabernacle. This suggests that he had additional responsibilities related to the preparation of sacred items used in worship.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Mattithiah
Appears in Scripture
Named in 5 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.