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poÌ„rt, poÌ„r´tẽr: “Port†in the sense of “gate†(of a city or building) is obsolete in modern English, and even in the King James Version is found only in . “Porter,†as “gate-keeper,†however, is still in some use, but “porter†now (but never in the English Versions of the Bible) generally means a burden-carrier. In the Old Testament, except in ; , , the porter (ש×וער, shō‛eÌ„r) is a sacred officer of the temple or tabernacle, belonging to a particular family of the Levites, with a share in the sacred dues (; ). The “porters†are mentioned only in Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, and Chronicles has a special interest in them, relating that their duties were settled as far back as the time of David (1 Ch 26:1-19), and that the office extended further to the first settlement of Palestine and even to Moses' day (-26). The office was evidently one of some dignity, and the “chief-porters†() were important persons. For some inscrutable reason the Revised Version (British and American) renders shō‛eÌ„r by “doorkeeper†in 1 Ch 15 through 26, but not elsewhere. See DOORKEEPER.