Shallum, Son of Kore (שַׁלּוּם, shallum). Also called Meshelemiah (מְשֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ, meshelemyahu) and Shelemiah (שֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ, shelemyahu). The head of a family of Korahites assigned as gatekeepers for the tabernacle during the time of King David (1 Chr 9:19; 26:1–3, 9, 14). Shallum is identified as the son of Kore, a Korahite from the sons of Abiasaph (or Ebiasaph; 1 Chr 9:19; 26:1). Abiasaph was an early descendant of Korah (Exod 6:24; 1 Chr 6:23, 37). The references to Korah and Abiasaph are indicators of Levitical lineage going back generations, not indications of immediate descent. The reference to Shallum in 1 Chr 9:19 comes in the context of a historical retrospective in 1 Chr 9:18–32 recounting how the temple was run in preexilic times and emphasizing that the family of Shallum had been appointed by David himself to serve as guardians to the entrances to the tent of meeting (1 Chr 9:22–23). Shallum is also called Meshelemiah (1 Chr 9:21; 26:1, 2, 9) and Shelemiah (1 Chr 26:14). Variations on the name, especially Meshullam and Shallum, were common names for Levites in the postexilic period to designate those assigned as Levitical gatekeepers. He is most likely the eponymous ancestor of the family of Levitical gatekeepers who returned from exile with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:42; Neh 7:45; 1 Esdras 5:28; compare 1 Chr 9:17). For further information, see this article: Shallum the Gatekeeper.