Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
MES'SENGER. The laws and edicts of the Jewish kings were proclaimed near the royal residence by public criers; but they were made known to more distant towns and provinces by messengers sent for that purpose. 1 Sam 11:7; 2 Chr 36:22; Am 4:5. The messengers stood in the gate, where the largest mass of people might be found, and proclaimed the law or message, as in Jer 11:6; Jer 17:19-20. At Jerusalem these messages were proclaimed in the temple, where a concourse of people was always found.