2 Samuel 18:26. The watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter.
1. Even strong walls and double gates would not of themselves secure a city from the enemy. Men were therefore employed to watch day and night on the top of the walls, and especially by the gates. It was thus that the messengers from the army were seen long before they reached the place where David anxiously sat. In like manner the watchman of Jezreel saw in the distance the company of Jehu driving furiously (2 Kings 9:17-20). So Isaiah in one of his sublime visions saw a watchman standing by his tower day and night (Isaiah 21:5-12). A figurative use of the watchman and his work is beautifully made in Isaiah 62:6; Ezekiel 33:2,6-7; Habakkuk 2:1.
2. It was the business of the porter to open and shut the gates at the proper time. In this case the porter, being in a convenient position below, could receive the intelligence from the watchman above and communicate the same to David. In 2 Kings 7:10 this officer is called “the porter of the city.” Porters are spoken of in connection with the rebuilding of the walls by Nehemiah (Neh. 7:1). In Solomon’s Temple there were four thousand of them (1 Chron. 23:5) who were divided into courses (2 Chron. 8:14) and had their posts assigned by lot (1 Chron. 26:13).