2 Kings 11:5

And he commanded them The two things to be provided for were the safety of the young king's person when it should be known to Athaliah and her party that he was alive, and the guarding of the royal palace, so that no personal troop of Athaliah's might make an attack on the king's party, and at the proper moment the palace might be seized and the king brought to it and set on the throne. These duties Jehoiada deputed to the five captains whom he had taken into his confidence. Three bodies of men, presumably each under a captain, are to watch the palace at different points, while two other bodies are to be in charge of the house of the Lord about the king. It is not without interest to observe that this fivefold division of the guards corresponds to the number of the captains selected, though they and their number are only mentioned in the narrative of 2 Chronicles. We see from this, that although we may not, at this distance of time, be able to make clear every detail of the two stories, they fit here very remarkably into each other.

a thirdpart of you that enter[R.V. come] in on the sabbath Those who are to take part in the work that is planned are to be the guards who enter on their duty on the Sabbath, and those who are going off duty. As the words are addressed to the captains over hundreds the -of you" must apply to the soldiers under their command. But it is perfectly intelligible that a somewhat similar arrangement of the Levites might also be made, and that they should take their part in work of restoring the king. From the narrative in 2 Chronicles we see that the priests and Levites were arranged in 3 divisions, one of which was to have the duty of porters, as it seems, at the doors of the temple, another to be at the king's house, and the third at the gate of the foundation. On this last position see below. Thus, as in the case of the purely military arrangement, the larger number of the priestly and Levitical body was to serve near the royal palace. We note also from Chronicles that the occasion of some feast was arranged as the time for carrying out the plan. For it is said that -all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord".

shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house R.V. omits -even". The LXX. adds -at the doorway" in the end of this clause. No doubt they would be stationed so as to prevent any one from the palace coming forth, without their consent, to interfere with the proceedings at the temple.