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The word “porch” is in the New Testament the rendering of three different Greek words:
(1.) Stoa, meaning a portico or veranda (John 5:2; 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12).
(2.) Pulon, a gateway (Matthew 26:71).
(3.) Proaulion, the entrance to the inner court (Mark 14:68).
•PORTER a gate-keeper (2 Samuel 18:26; 2 Kings 7:10; 1 Chronicles 9:21; 2 Chronicles 8:14). Of the Levites, 4,000 were appointed as porters by David (1 Chronicles 23:5), who were arranged according to their families (26:1-19) to take charge of the doors and gates of the temple. They were sometimes employed as musicians (1 Chronicles 15:18).
•POST (1.) A runner, or courier, for the rapid transmission of letters, etc. (2 Chronicles 30:6; Esther 3:13, 15; 8:10, 14; Job 9:25; Jeremiah 51:31). Such messengers were used from very early times. Those employed by the Hebrew kings had a military character (1 Samuel 22:17; 2 Kings 10:25, “guard,” marg. “runners”). The modern system of postal communication was first established by Louis XI. of France in A.D. 1464.
(2.) This word sometimes also is used for lintel or threshold (Isaiah 6:4).