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What Got the Gatekeepers into Trouble?

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The temple gatekeepers in ancient Israel appear to have fallen into disgrace some time between late first temple and post-exilic times, but the Chronicler attempts to restore their lost dignity in his idealized temple. This study attempts to find the reasons for these fluctuations in the gatekeepers’ history by following up clues found in both canonical and non-canonical texts. Much attention is given to a key passage, 1 Chron. 26.17-18, reconstructed from the LXX, and many insights are drawn from J. Glen Taylor’s work on solar Yahwism, leading to the conclusion that the gatekeepers were originally more involved in the cult than later texts might indicate, and that they may well have been active in the worship of Yahweh under the icon of the sun and the heavenly hosts. The gatekeepers’ downfall probably resulted from the rejection of this form of worship, attested in texts like Ezek. 8.16 and 2 Kgs 23.11. By the time of the Chronicler, aberrant Yahwism in the temple was no longer a threat, and his program aimed at restoring a measure of status for the fallen gatekeepers, even if it allowed them only minimal participation in the temple cult.

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