“Obed-edom had sons, Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sachar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, and Peullethai the eighth. God blessed him. To his son Shemaiah were sons born who exercised authority in their ancestral houses. They were men of great ability. The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers were able men, Elihu and Semachiah. All these were the sons of Obed-edom with their sons and brothers. They were able men qualified for the service, sixty-two of Obed-edom.”

Obed-edom was the same man who had the Ark of the Covenant at his house before it came to Jerusalem in chapter 15. This is why it seems correct to say that he was a gatekeeper. He had 8 sons. Then his first-born son Shemaiah had 6 sons. There were 25 people with the name of (1) Shemaiah. There were 2 other people with the name of (2) Jehozabad. There are 3 other people with the name of (3) Joah. There was 1 other (4) Sachar. There were 9 other people with the name of (5) Nethanel. (6) Ammiel was the same name as the father of Bathsheba. There was only 1 other biblical person with the name of (7) Issachar, who was the son of Jacob. Thus he was one of the 12 tribes of Israel. This was the only mention of (8) Peullethai. As for Shemaiah’s son, this is the only mention of (1) Othni, (2) Rephael, and (6) Semachiah. There 4 others with the name of (3) Obed. There was 1 other (4) Elzabad. There were 4 other people with the name of (5) Elihu, the most famous in Job. All the sons and brothers of Obed-edom were gatekeepers, who amounted to about 62 men.