Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Chronicles 26

The porters - See 1 Chronicles 9:17–27; 1 Chronicles 23:5.

Obed-edom and Hosah (1 Chronicles 26:10) had been “porters,” or doorkeepers, from the time the ark was brought to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 15:24; 1 Chronicles 16:38).

This verse is obscure, but its probable meaning is as follows: "To these divisions of the gatekeepers—the chief men—were assigned the watches, along with their brothers, for service in the house of the Lord."

That is, the “chief men” (1 Chronicles 26:1–11), numbering only 93, performed guard duty for the house. They were assisted from time to time by an additional 4,000 of their brothers (1 Chronicles 23:5).

The house of Asuppim - This literally means “the house of collections” (see the margin and compare to the margin note for Nehemiah 12:25). A treasure-house of some kind is probably intended.

All recent commentators seem to agree that the words “to Shuppim” should be removed, as the name appears to have arisen from an accidental repetition of the preceding word, “Asuppim.”

The gate Shallecheth—literally, “the gate of projection”—was the gate through which the sweepings of the temple, such as the ashes, the offal from the victims, and similar waste, were “thrown out.”

The causeway of the going up—compare the marginal reference note.

Ward against ward means “watch opposite to watch.” Hosah was in charge of both the western gate of the temple and the gate Shallecheth, which was in the outer wall opposite it. Therefore, he had to keep two watches, one opposite the other.