Divrei HaYamim Alef 26
Oh, THERE You Are!
This chapter focuses on the shifts of Levite gatekeepers. The start of the chapter is a list of Levite families and the gates they were assigned. (As with the duty roster, the gates were assigned by lottery.)
Levites were also placed in charge of the treasuries for construction and for purchasing the animals for communal offerings. Descendants of Moses' sons Gershom and Eliezer were responsible for these treasuries. (We haven't seen a descendant of Moses since the Book of Judges - nice to know what they've been up to!) These treasuries were stocked with the wealth compiled by David, as well as spoils consecrated by Saul and other military leaders.
Finally, Levites were appointed as judges and policemen in charge of off-site Temple matters. We are told that a Levite named Chashavyahu was in charge of affairs in the westernmost part of the Tribes on the other side of the Jordan. In the fortieth year of David's reign, they made a search for particularly gifted individuals. Such people were identified and placed in charge of affairs in the two and a half Tribes in Trans-Jordan.
Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz