Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Nehemiah 7:1-12 (NET)

Context
7:1 When the wall had been rebuilt and I had positioned the doors , and the gatekeepers , the singers , and the Levites had been appointed , 7:2 I then put in charge over Jerusalem my brother Hanani and Hananiah the chief of the citadel , for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many do. 7:3 I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning , until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. Position residents of Jerusalem as guards , some at their guard stations and some near their homes .” 7:4 Now the city was spread out and large , and there were not a lot of people in it. At that time houses had not been rebuilt . 7:5 My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders , the officials , and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy . I found the genealogical records of those who had formerly returned . Here is what I found written in that record: 7:6 These are the people of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles , whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile . They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah , each to his own city . 7:7 They came with Zerubbabel , Jeshua , Nehemiah , Azariah , Raamiah , Nahamani , Mordecai , Bilshan , Mispereth , Bigvai , Nehum , and Baanah . The number of Israelite men was as follows: 7:8 the descendants of Parosh , 2,172 ; 7:9 the descendants of Shephatiah , 372 ; 7:10 the descendants of Arah , 652 ; 7:11 the descendants of Pahath-Moab (from the line of Jeshua and Joab ), 2,818 ; 7:12 the descendants of Elam , 1,254 ;

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Rehum

    [ebd] merciful. (1.) One of "the children of the province" who returned from the Captivity (Ezra 2:2); the same as "Nehum" (Neh. 7:7). (2.) The "chancellor" of Artaxerxes, who sought to stir him up against the Jews (Ezra 4:8-24) a...
    [isbe] REHUM - re'-hum (rechum, or rechum): (1) One of the twelve heads of the Jewish community returning from captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:2; Neh 7:7 (by a copyist's error "Nehum"); 12:3; 1 Esdras 5:8, "Roimus"). (2) A Persian...
    [nave] REHUM 1. A captive who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, Ezra 2:2. Called Nehum, Neh. 7:7. 2. A chancellor who wrote a letter to Artaxerxes, influencing him against the Jews, Ezra 4:8, 9, 17, 23. 3. A Levite who repaire...

  • Raamiah

    [ebd] thunder of the Lord, one of the princes who returned from the Exile (Neh. 7:7); called also Reelaiah (Ezra 2:2).
    [isbe] RAAMIAH - ra-a-mi'-a (ra`amyah; Codex Vaticanus Naamia; Codex Alexandrinus, Rheelma): One of the leading men who returned with Zerubbabel from captivity (Neh 7:7). In the corresponding passage in Ezr 2:2, where the same list...
    [smith] (thunder of Jehovah), one of the chiefs who returned with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah 7:7) In (Ezra 2:2) he is called REELAIAH. (B.C. 445.)
    [nave] RAAMIAH One of those who returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, Neh. 7:7. Called Reelaiah in Ezra 2:2.

  • Pool

    [ebd] a pond, or reservoir, for holding water (Heb. berekhah; modern Arabic, birket), an artificial cistern or tank. Mention is made of the pool of Gibeon (2 Sam. 2:13); the pool of Hebron (4:12); the upper pool at Jerusalem (2 Ki...

  • Nehemiah

    [ebd] comforted by Jehovah. (1.) Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7. (2.) Neh. 3:16. (3.) The son of Hachaliah (Neh. 1:1), and probably of the tribe of Judah. His family must have belonged to Jerusalem (Neh. 2:3). He was one of the "Jews of the d...
    [isbe] NEHEMIAH - ne-he-mi'-a, ne-hem-i'-a (nechemyah, "comforted of Yah"): 1. Family 2. Youth 3. King's Cupbearer 4. Governor of Judea 5. Death LITERATURE Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah, is the Jewish patriot whose life is recorded...
    [smith] (consolation of the Lord). Son of Hachaliah, and apparently of the tribe of Judah. All that we know certainly concerning him is contained in the book which bears his name. We first find him at Shushan, the winter residence o...
    [nave] NEHEMIAH 1. Son of Hachaliah, Neh. 1:1. Cupbearer of Artaxerxes, Neh. 1:11; 2:1. Is grieved over the desolation of his country, Neh. 1. Is sent by the king to rebuild Jerusalem, Neh. 2:1-8. Register of the people whom he...

  • Mizpar

    [ebd] number, one of the Jews who accompanied Zerubbabel from Babylon (Ezra 2:2); called also Mispereth (Neh. 7:7).

  • Jeshua

    [ebd] (1.) Head of the ninth priestly order (Ezra 2:36); called also Jeshuah (1 Chr. 24:11). (2.) A Levite appointed by Hezekiah to distribute offerings in the priestly cities (2 Chr. 31:15). (3.) Ezra 2:6; Neh. 7:11. (4.) Ezra 2:...
    [smith] (a saviour), another form of the name of Joshua of Jesus. Joshua the son of Nun. (Nehemiah 8:17) [JOSHUA] A priest in the reign of David, to whom the nine course fell by David, to whom the ninth course fell by lot. (1 Chr...
    [nave] JESHUA 1. Called also Jeshuah. A priest, head of the ninth course, 1 Chr. 24:11. Nine hundred and seventy-three of his descendants returned from Babylon, Ezra 2:36; Neh. 7:39. 2. A Levite, had charge of the tithes, 2 Chr. ...

  • JESHUA; JESHUAH

    [isbe] JESHUA; JESHUAH - jesh'-u-a, je-shu'-a (yeshua`, "Yahweh is deliverance" or "opulence"; compare JOSHUA): (1) the King James Version "Jeshuah," head of the 9th course of priests, and possibly of "the house of Jeshua" (1 Ch 24...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Hananiah

    [ebd] Jehovah has given. (1.) A chief of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chr. 8:24). (2.) One of the sons of Heman (1 Chr. 25:4,23). (3.) One of Uzziah's military officers (2 Chr. 26:11). (4.) Grandfather of the captain who arrested Jere...
    [isbe] HANANIAH - han-a-ni'-a (chananyahu, chananyah; Ananias; also with aspirate, "Yahweh hath been gracious"): This was a common name in Israel for many centuries. (1) A Benjamite (1 Ch 8:24). (2) A captain of Uzziah's army (2 Ch...
    [smith] (gift of God). One of the fourteen sons of Heman, and chief of the sixteenth course of singers. (1 Chronicles 25:4,5,23) (B.C. 1014.) A general in the army of King Uzziah. (2 Chronicles 26:11) Father of Zedekiah, in th...
    [nave] HANANIAH 1. Son of Heman, 1 Chr. 25:4, 23. 2. A captain of Uzziah's army, 2 Chr. 26:11. 3. Father of Zedekiah, Jer. 36:12. 4. A prophet of Gibeon who uttered false prophecies in the temple during the reign of Zedekiah, Je...

  • Hanani

    [ebd] God has gratified me, or is gracious. (1.) One of the sons of Heman (1 Chr. 25:4, 25). (2.) A prophet who was sent to rebuke king Asa for entering into a league with Benhadad I., king of Syria, against Judah (2 Chr. 16:1-10)...
    [isbe] HANANI - ha-na'-ni (chanani, "gracious"): (1) A musician and son of Heman, David's seer, and head of one of the courses of the temple service (1 Ch 25:4,25). (2) A seer, the father of Jehu. He was cast into prison for his co...
    [smith] (gracious). One of the sons of Heman, and head of the eighteenth course of the service. (1 Chronicles 25:4,25) A seer who rebuked (B.C. 941) Asa king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 16:7) For this he was imprisoned. ver. 10 He...
    [nave] HANANI 1. Son of Heman, 1 Chr. 25:4, 25. 2. A prophet who rebuked Asa, king of Judah, 2 Chr. 16:7. 3. Father of Jehu the prophet, 1 Kin. 16:1, 7; 2 Chr. 19:2; 20:34. Possibly identical with 2. 4. A priest, Ezra 10:20. 5...

  • Guard

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. tabbah (properly a "cook," and in a secondary sense "executioner," because this office fell to the lot of the cook in Eastern countries), the bodyguard of the kings of Egypt (Gen. 37:36) and Babylon (2 Kings 25:8; ...

  • Genealogy

    [nave] GENEALOGY, Num. 1:18; 2 Chr. 12:15; Ezra 2:59; Neh. 7:5; Heb. 7:3. Of no spiritual significance, Matt. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:4; Tit. 3:9. From Adam to Noah, Gen. 4:16-22; 5; 1 Chr. 1:1-4; Luke 3:36-38; to Abraham, Gen. 11:10-32; ...

  • GOVERNOR

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of the Aaronites (1 Chr. 12:27...
    [isbe] GOVERNOR - guv'-er-ner: The word "governor" is employed in English Versions of the Bible in rendering a great variety of Hebrew and Greek words. In certain cases strict consistency is neither observed nor possible. 1. In the...

  • GENEALOGY, 8 part 2

    [isbe] GENEALOGY, 8 part 2 - I. Primeval Genealogies (1 Chronicals 1:1-54). To show Israel's place among the nations; follows Genesis closely, omitting only the Cainites; boldly, skillfully compressed, as if the omitted facts were ...

  • Day

    [ebd] The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32). It was originally divided into three parts (Ps. 55:17). "The heat of the day" (1 Sam. 11:11; Neh. 7:3) was at our nine o'clock, and "the cool of the day" just bef...

  • Bilshan

    [ebd] son of the tongue; i.e., "eloquent", a man of some note who returned from the Captivity with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7).
    [isbe] BILSHAN - bil'-shan (bilshan): An Israelite who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:2 = Neh 7:7). The name may be explained as "inquirer" (new Hebrew and Aramaic), balash, the ("b" being an abbreviation of ben, as in bidhqar, an...
    [smith] (eloquent), one of Zerubbabel?s companions on his expedition from Babylon. (Ezra 2:2; Nehemiah 7:7) (B.C. 536).
    [nave] BILSHAN, a Jew of the captivity, Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7.

  • BAANA

    [isbe] BAANA - ba'-a-na (Old Testament and Apocrypha; Baana; ba`ana' "son of oppression"): (1, 2) Two commissariat-officers in the service of Solomon (1 Ki 4:12; 4:16; the King James Version "Baanah"). (3) Father of Zadok, the buil...

  • ASPHARASUS

    [isbe] ASPHARASUS - as-far'-a-sus (Aspharasos = Mispar (Ezr 2:2; Mispereth, Neh 7:7)): A leader of the captives, who returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (1 Esdras 5:8).

  • ARES

    [isbe] ARES - a'-res, ar'-es (Ares = Arah (Ezr 2:5; Neh 7:10)): 756 of the sons of Ares returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (1 Esdras 5:10).

  • APPOINT

    [isbe] APPOINT - a-point': This word is used for the expression of a large variety of ideas and the translation of almost as many words. naqabh = "stipulate" (Gen 30:28). paqadh = "put into office" (Gen 41:34; Nu 1:50; Est 2:3); "s...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • This chapter contains a record of the people who responded to Cyrus' decree and returned to the Promised Land. It is a list of families rather than individuals and the towns in Babylon from which they came. Almost all of thes...
  • The designations "sons of"and "men of"in these verses point out the two ways whereby the exiles demonstrated their Jewish ancestry: by family genealogy or by residence in Palestine. Few of the returning exiles had personally ...
  • "We may infer from this pericope as it is clearly stated in 1 Chr. 5:17 and Neh. 7:5 that Jewish families kept genealogies to prove their Jewish descent, and to ascertain that mixture with foreign groups was somehow excluded....
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973._____. "The Temple Vessels--A Continuity Theme."Vetus Testamentum Supplement23 (1972):166-81.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmilla...
  • The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
  • I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
  • The month Chislev (v. 1) corresponds to our late November and early December. The year in view was the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign (i.e., 445-444 B.C.). Susa (or Shushan, in Hebrew) was a winter capital of Artaxerxes ...
  • The builders finished the walls only 52 days after construction had begun (v. 15). "Elul"is late August and early September. Israel's enemies viewed their rapid progress as evidence that God had helped the workers (v. 16)."Th...
  • This is not a list of the people who accompanied Nehemiah to Jerusalem in 444 B.C. but a record of those who returned with Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua in 537 B.C. (v. 7). It is almost identical to the list in Ezra 2.W...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. The...
  • Zechariah began ministering among the Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon (i.e., the restoration community) two months after Haggai began preaching (1:1; 7:1; cf. Neh. 12:10-16; Hag. 1:1). In a sense, Zechariah's ...
  • This is the first of four oracles that appear within the visions that Zechariah saw. These were messages that the prophet was to deliver along with the revelation of the vision."The vision had lifted the veil which hides the ...
  • 2:1-2 In the next scene of his vision, Zechariah saw a man (i.e., an angel who looked like a man) with a measuring line in his hand (cf. 1:11; 6:12; Ezek. 40:2-3). When the prophet asked him where he was going, he replied tha...
  • 3:1 Zechariah's guiding angel next showed the prophet, in his vision, Joshua (lit. Yahweh saves), Israel's current high priest (6:11; Ezra 5:2; Neh. 7:7; Hag. 1:1), standing before the angel of the Lord (1:11-12). "The accuse...
  • Paul concluded his exhortations concerning Christian living with instructions pertaining to three essential practices for those in Christ. He wanted to impress their importance on his readers. One exhortation dealt with his r...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #26: Strengthen your daily devotional life with NET Bible Daily Reading Plan. [ALL]
created in 0.11 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA