Door-keeper

Door-keeper (Hebrew shōʿēr, gatekeeper) designates those responsible for guarding and controlling access to city gates, royal palaces, and the temple sanctuary. In the Levitical organization of the temple service, gatekeepers formed a distinct order assigned to the various doors and thresholds of the LORD's house (1 Chr. 9:17–27; 26:1–19; Neh. 11:19). Four principal families—the sons of Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, and Ahiman—served as porters in the temple gates, with 212 individuals registered in their genealogical records.

Psalm 84:10 contains one of Scripture's most celebrated sentiments: "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness"—contrasting the lowest position of temple service with any residence outside God's presence. In the New Testament, John 18:16–17 refers to the doorkeeper of the high priest's courtyard who admitted Peter on the night of Jesus's arrest, and Acts 12:13 mentions Rhoda as the girl who came to the door when Peter knocked after his miraculous release from prison.