What does שׁוֹעֵר (šwōʿēr) mean in the Bible?
שׁוֹעֵר (šwōʿēr): Gatekeepers in ancient Israel served as temple custodians and security officials, controlling sacred space access
Hebrew · H7778
שׁוֹעֵר
A janitor
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שׁוֹעֵר H7778
Pronunciation šwōʿēr
What does שׁוֹעֵר (šwōʿēr) mean in the Bible?
שׁוֹעֵר (šwōʿēr): Gatekeepers in ancient Israel served as temple custodians and security officials, controlling sacred space access
Full entry for שׁוֹעֵר (H7778) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7778?
The BSB source-word alignment has 37 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the gatekeepers (9), gatekeepers (5), and gatekeepers (4), and the gatekeepers (3), of the gatekeepers (3).
Where does שׁוֹעֵר (šwōʿēr) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Samuel 18:26. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Chronicles (14), Nehemiah (10), 2 Chronicles (6), Ezra (4).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It the gatekeepers 9× 2 Kings 7:10, 2 Kings 7:11, 1 Chronicles 9:24, Ezra 2:42
gatekeepers 5× 1 Chronicles 9:26, 2 Chronicles 23:19, Ezra 7:7, Nehemiah 7:73
and gatekeepers 4× 2 Chronicles 34:13, Nehemiah 12:45, Nehemiah 12:47, Nehemiah 13:5
and the gatekeepers 3× 1 Chronicles 15:18, 2 Chronicles 35:15, Nehemiah 11:19
of the gatekeepers 3× 1 Chronicles 26:1, 1 Chronicles 26:12, 1 Chronicles 26:19
[He also appointed] gatekeepers 1× 2 Chronicles 8:14
[These were] the gatekeepers 1× 1 Chronicles 9:17
[were] gatekeepers 1× Nehemiah 12:25
are to be gatekeepers 1× 1 Chronicles 23:5
shall keep watch 1× 2 Chronicles 23:4
the gatekeeper 1× 2 Samuel 18:26
the keeper 1× 2 Chronicles 31:14
to be gatekeepers 1× 1 Chronicles 9:22
was the gatekeeper 1× 1 Chronicles 9:21
were also to be guardians 1× 1 Chronicles 15:24
were the gatekeepers 1× 1 Chronicles 9:18
were to be gatekeepers 1× 1 Chronicles 16:38
were to be guardians 1× 1 Chronicles 15:23
Show sample aligned rows
2 Samuel 18:26 הַשֹּׁעֵ֔ר to the gatekeeper Article | Noun - masculine singular 2 Kings 7:10 שֹׁעֵ֣ר to the gatekeepers Noun - masculine singular construct 2 Kings 7:11 הַשֹּֽׁעֲרִ֑ים to The gatekeepers Article | Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 9:17 וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִים֙ to [These were] the gatekeepers Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 9:18 הַשֹּׁ֣עֲרִ֔ים to were the gatekeepers Article | Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 9:21 שֹׁעֵ֥ר to was the gatekeeper Noun - masculine singular 1 Chronicles 9:22 לְשֹׁעֲרִ֣ים to to be gatekeepers Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 9:24 הַשֹּׁעֲרִ֑ים to The gatekeepers Article | Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 9:26 הַשֹּׁעֲרִ֔ים to gatekeepers Article | Noun - masculine plural 1 Chronicles 15:18 הַשֹּׁעֲרִֽים׃ to and the gatekeepers Article | Noun - masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 2 Samuel 18:26
Aligned rows 37
Books represented 6
2 Samuel 1 2 Kings 2 1 Chronicles 14 2 Chronicles 6 Ezra 4 Nehemiah 10
Source forms
הַשֹּׁ֣עֲרִ֔ים 3x haš·šō·‘ă·rîm 1 Chronicles 9:18, 1 Chronicles 26:19, Ezra 10:24
הַשֹּֽׁעֲרִ֗ים 2x haš·šō·‘ă·rîm Ezra 2:42, Nehemiah 7:45
וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִ֖ים 2x wə·haš·šō·‘ă·rîm 2 Chronicles 35:15, Nehemiah 12:47
וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִ֑ים 2x wə·haš·šō·‘ă·rîm Nehemiah 12:45, Nehemiah 13:5
שֹׁעֲרִ֖ים 2x šō·‘ă·rîm 1 Chronicles 15:23, 1 Chronicles 15:24
הַשּׁוֹעֵ֣ר 1x haš·šō·w·‘êr 2 Chronicles 31:14
הַשּׁ֣וֹעֲרִ֔ים 1x haš·šō·w·‘ă·rîm 2 Chronicles 23:19
הַשּׁוֹעֲרִ֥ים 1x haš·šō·w·‘ă·rîm Nehemiah 7:1
Parsing patterns
Article | Noun - masculine plural 13x 2 Kings 7:11, 1 Chronicles 9:18, 1 Chronicles 9:24, 1 Chronicles 9:26
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural 11x 1 Chronicles 9:17, 2 Chronicles 8:14, 2 Chronicles 35:15, Ezra 2:70
Noun - masculine plural 4x 1 Chronicles 15:23, 1 Chronicles 15:24, 1 Chronicles 23:5, Nehemiah 12:25
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural 3x 1 Chronicles 9:22, 1 Chronicles 16:38, 1 Chronicles 26:1
Article | Noun - masculine singular 2x 2 Samuel 18:26, 2 Chronicles 31:14
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural 1x 2 Chronicles 34:13
Noun - masculine singular 1x 1 Chronicles 9:21
Noun - masculine singular construct 1x 2 Kings 7:10
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Gatekeepers in ancient Israel served as temple custodians and security officials, controlling sacred space access
Source Gloss
a janitor
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Gatekeepers in ancient Israel served as temple custodians and security officials, controlling sacred space access
a janitor BDB: porter Usage: doorkeeper, porter.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
שׁוֹעֵר is built from these roots:
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain