So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the LORD, namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards.
So they and their children had the oversight of the gates - i:e., as they were appointed in David's time, so their families continued in the hereditary office. Of the house the Lord, namely, the house of the tabernacle. In David's reign the old tabernacle continued at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:2; 2 Chronicles 1:3; 2 Chronicles 1:5), where worshippers repaired from distant parts of the country. A temporary tabernacle was provided by that king for the ark on its removal to Jerusalem, before the temple was built, and some have conjectured from this passage, that after the return from Babylon another provisional tabernacle was constructed, in which the duties of the Lord's house were performed, and before which the daily sacrifices prescribed by the Mosaic law were offered, until the second temple was completed.
By wards, х lªmishmaarowt (H4931)] - according to watches, each in his set time at the gates. There is a strong presumption that the preceding list relates to the staff of Levitical officials who did duty at Gibeon, rather than at Jerusalem after the captivity, furnished by the introduction of the name of Gibeon; which, on any other hypothesis appears abrupt and unaccountable.