Shobai

Shobai was the head of a family of gatekeepers whose descendants returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:42; Nehemiah 7:45). His family is listed among the temple servants who came back to resume their duties in the restored community. The gatekeepers were responsible for the security and oversight of the temple precincts, and the restoration of their office was an important part of reconstituting proper worship in Jerusalem after the exile. Shobai himself presumably lived before the exile, and this post-exilic list preserves his name as the founding figure of this particular gatekeeper family.