And the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their associates, who kept watch at the gates—172 men.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were one hundred seventy-two.
- KJV Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred seventy and two.
- NKJV Moreover the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were one hundred and seventy-two.
- NASB Also the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen who kept watch at the gates, were 172.
- NLT From the gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and 172 of their associates, who guarded the gates.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The gatekeepers Akkub, Talmon, and their relatives, numbering 172, guarded the temple gates. Their watchful service protected the holiness of God's house.
Overview
The gatekeepers controlled access to the temple, guarding its sanctity and security. Akkub, Talmon, and 172 of their brothers kept this watch. Though a humble role, it was essential and honorable, ensuring that nothing unclean entered God's dwelling. Their faithful vigilance pictures the call to guard what is holy and to keep watch in the things of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Chr 9:17–22These were the gatekeepers: Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their relatives. Shallum was their chief;
- Neh 7:45The gatekeepers: the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 138 in all.
- Neh 12:25Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers who guarded the storerooms at the gates.
- Ps 84:10For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The rebuilt walls and renewed covenant community foreshadow the greater builder who gathers and secures a people for God, the one who declares 'I will build my church.'
How Nehemiah 11:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.