דברי הימים א, פרק כ״ו, פסוק ט״ז

Securing the Temple Mount required a highly calculated arrangement of guards, focusing closely on both their physical placements and their daily schedules. Particular attention was given to the western side of the complex and the main access roads leading up to the Mount.

Two individuals, Shuppim and Hosah, were assigned to oversee this western area. Shuppim himself may have already been introduced earlier in the records under a different name [מצודת דוד]. Together, they were stationed near a specific entrance known as the Gate of Shalleketh. This gate was strategically positioned right along the paved path and main road that travelers used to ascend the mountain [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The exact nature of their guard duty was structured in a highly organized manner, though there are different ways to understand how this system operated in practice. One perspective views their arrangement as a rotation of shifts. In this system, Shuppim would guard the western flank while Hosah stood at the Gate of Shalleketh for a set period, after which the two would trade places and continue alternating [מצודת דוד]. Another perspective suggests that the arrangement was spatial rather than time-based. According to this view, the two men managed guard posts that were physically positioned side by side, likely flanking both sides of the gate or standing directly across from each other along the ascending road [ביאור שטיינזלץ].