שֹׁעֵר37 H7778
Gatekeeper or porter stationed at a gate to guard access, especially at the Temple or city gates
A participial noun derived from the root for 'gate' (sha'ar), designating a person who guards and controls passage through a gateway. In the vast majority of its 37 occurrences, the term appears in Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah to describe the Levitical gatekeepers of the Temple, a hereditary office of considerable dignity. These men were organized into divisions numbering in the thousands (1 Chr 23:5) and bore responsibility for securing the sanctuary entrances, the thresholds, and even the Ark (1 Chr 15:23-24). Outside the cultic sphere, the word also denotes the porter of a city gate (2 Kgs 7:10-11) and, in one textual reconstruction, a female doorkeeper of a house (2 Sam 4:6).
Senses
1. gatekeeper, porter — A guardian stationed at a gate, controlling who enters and exits. In its primary usage across Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, this refers to the Levitical gatekeepers of the Temple—a consecrated office. Spanish 'porteros' and German 'Tore' both capture the gate-ward function. The role encompassed guarding thresholds (1 Chr 9:22), the Ark procession (1 Chr 15:23-24), and the city gate in wartime (2 Kgs 7:10-11). 37×
AR["ال-بَوَّابُونَ", "البَوَّابُونَ", "البَوَّابِينَ", "الْبَوَّابُونَ", "الْبَوَّابِينَ", "الْبَوّابونَ", "وَ-ال-بَوَّابُونَ", "وَ-البَوَّابُون", "وَ-البَوّابونَ", "وَ-البَوّابينَ", "وَ-الْبَوَّابُونَ", "وَالبَوَّابُونَ", "وَالبَوّابينَ", "وَالْبَوَّابِينَ", "وَالْبَوّابونَ"]·ben["-দ্বাররক্ষকেরা", "আর-দ্বাররক্ষকদের", "আর-দ্বাররক্ষকেরা", "এবং-দ্বাররক্ষীরা", "ও-দ্বাররক্ষকরা", "ও-দ্বাররক্ষীদের", "দ্বাররক্ষকদের", "দ্বাররক্ষকরা", "দ্বাররক্ষীরা"]·DE["[והשערים]", "der-Tore", "die-Tore", "die-Torhueter", "und-Torhueter", "und-der-Torhueter", "und-die-Torhueter"]·EN["and-the-gatekeepers", "of-the-gatekeepers", "the-gatekeepers"]·FR["der-portes", "der-portiers", "et-der-portes", "et-der-portiers"]·heb["ה-שוערים", "ה-שערים", "ו-ה-שוערים", "ו-ה-שערים"]·HI["-के-द्वारपाल", "-द्वारपालों-के", "और-द्वारपाल", "और-द्वारपाल-थे", "और-द्वारपालों", "और-द्वारपालों-को", "और-द्वारपालोंने", "द्वारपाल"]·ID["-penjaga-pintu", "Dan-para-penunggu-pintu", "dan-para-penjaga-pintu", "dan-para-penunggu-pintu", "para-penjaga-pintu", "para-penunggu-pintu"]·IT["e-il-porte", "e-il-portinai", "il-porte", "il-portinai"]·jav["Lan-para-jagi-gapura", "Lan-para-juru-pintu", "Para-juru-pintu", "jagi-gapura", "juru-kunci", "lan-juru-kori", "lan-para-jaga-gapura", "lan-para-juru-gapura", "lan-para-juru-kori", "lan-para-juru-pintu", "para-jagi-gapura", "para-juru-pintu"]·KO["그-문지기들", "그-문지기들-의", "그-문지기들과", "그-문지기들의", "그리고-그-문지기들", "그리고-그-문지기들-을", "그리고-그-문지기들과", "그리고-그-문지기들의", "그리고-그-문지기들이"]·PT["E-os-porteiros", "Os-porteiros", "e-os-porteiros", "os-porteiros"]·RU["и-привратникам", "и-привратники", "и-привратников", "привратники", "привратников"]·ES["Los-porteros", "Y-los-porteros", "los-porteros", "y-los-porteros"]·SW["Na-mabawabu", "mabawabu", "na-mabawabu", "na-walinzi-wa-milango", "walinzi-wa-lango", "whashoּariym"]·TR["Ve-kapıcılar", "kapıcılar", "kapıcıların", "ve-kapi-bekcileri", "ve-kapi-bekcilerinin", "ve-kapı-bekçileri", "ve-kapıcılar", "ve-kapıcıların"]·urd["اور-ال-دربان", "اور-ال-دربانوں", "اور-دربان", "اور-دربانوں", "اور-دربانوں-کے", "دربان", "دربانوں-کے"]
2 Sam 18:26, 2 Kgs 7:10, 2 Kgs 7:11, 1 Chr 9:17, 1 Chr 9:18, 1 Chr 9:21, 1 Chr 9:22, 1 Chr 9:24, 1 Chr 9:26, 1 Chr 15:18, 1 Chr 15:23, 1 Chr 15:24 (+25 more)
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)G1122 1. scribe / expert in the Law (63×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
שֹׁעֵר37 n.m. porter (denom. from 1. שַׁעַר);—abs. שׁוֹ׳ 2 Ch 31:14, cstr. שֹׁ׳ 2 K 7:10; 1 Ch 9:21, + f. שׁוֹעֶ֫רֶת 2 S 4:6 (for MT בֹּאוּ עַד תּ[וֹךְ]) We Dr HPS Bu Now after 𝔊 (Th פְּקִידַת דֶּלֶת); pl. שֹׁעֲרִים 2 K 7:11 + cstr. שֹׁעֲרֵי 2 Ch 23:4;—porter of city gate 2 K 7:10, 11 (2 S 18:26 read הַשַּׁעַר 𝔊 𝔖 𝔙 Th We Dr and most); portress of houses 2 S 4:6 (v. supr.); elsewhere (34…