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 1 my brother Hanani and Hananiah 2 the chief of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many do. 7:3 I 3 said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, 4 until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. 5 Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.” 7:4 Now the city was spread out 6 and large, and there were not a lot of people in it. 7 At that time houses had not been rebuilt. 7:5 My God placed it on my heart to gather the leaders, 8 the officials, and the ordinary people so they could be enrolled on the basis of genealogy. I found the genealogical records 9 of those who had formerly returned. Here is what I found written in that record: 10
7:6 These are the people 11 of the province who returned 12 from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had forced into exile. 13 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 14 was as follows:
7:8 the descendants 15 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 16 of Jeshua and Joab), 2,818;
7:12 the descendants of Elam, 1,254;
7:13 the descendants of Zattu, 845;
7:14 the descendants of Zaccai, 760;
7:15 the descendants of Binnui, 648;
7:16 the descendants of Bebai, 628;
7:17 the descendants of Azgad, 2,322;
7:18 the descendants of Adonikam, 667;
7:19 the descendants of Bigvai, 2,067;
7:20 the descendants of Adin, 655;
7:21 the descendants of Ater (through Hezekiah), 98;
7:22 the descendants of Hashum, 328;
7:23 the descendants of Bezai, 324;
7:24 the descendants of Harif, 112;
7:25 the descendants of Gibeon, 95;
7:26 The men of Bethlehem 17 and Netophah, 188;
7:27 the men of Anathoth, 128;
7:28 the men of the family 18 of Azmaveth, 42;
7:29 the men of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
7:30 the men of Ramah and Geba, 621;
7:31 the men of Micmash, 122;
7:32 the men of Bethel 19 and Ai, 123;
7:33 the men of the other Nebo, 52;
7:34 the descendants of the other Elam, 1,254;
7:35 the descendants of Harim, 320;
7:36 the descendants of Jericho, 345;
1 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
2 tn Some have suggested that “Hananiah” is another name for Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, so that only one individual is mentioned here. However, the third person plural in v. 3 indicates two people are in view.
3 tc The present translation (along with most English versions) reads with the Qere, a Qumran text, and the ancient versions וָאֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, which reads וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).
4 tn Heb “until the heat of the sun.” The phrase probably means that the gates were to be opened only after the day had progressed a bit, not at the first sign of morning light (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV). It is possible, however, that the Hebrew preposition עַד (’ad), here translated as “until,” has a more rare sense of “during.” If so, this would mean that the gates were not to be left open and unattended during the hot part of the day when people typically would be at rest (cf. NLT).
5 tn Presumably this would mean the gates were not to be opened until later in the morning and were to remain open until evening. Some, however, have understood Nehemiah’s instructions to mean that the gates were not to be left open during the hottest part of the day, but must be shut and locked while the guards are still on duty. See J. Barr, “Hebrew עַד, especially at Job i.18 and Neh vii.3,” JJS 27 (1982): 177-88.
6 tn Heb “wide of two hands.”
7 tn Heb “the people were few in its midst.”
8 tn Heb “nobles”; NCV “important men.”
9 tn Heb “the book of genealogy.”
10 tn Heb “in it”; the referent (the genealogical record) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “the sons of”; KJV, ASV “the children of”; NAB “the inhabitants of.”
12 tn Heb “who were going up.”
13 tc One medieval Hebrew manuscript has “to Babylon.” Cf. Ezra 2:1.
14 tn Heb “the men of the people of Israel.” Some English versions translate as “the people from Israel” (NCV) or “the Israelite people” (NRSV), but “men” should be retained because the following numbers presumably include only adult males.
15 tn Heb “the sons of.”
16 tn Heb “to the sons of.”
17 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
18 tc The translation reads בְּנֵי (bÿne, “the sons of”) rather than the MT reading בֵית אַנְשֵׁי (’anshey vet, “men of the house of”). Cf. Ezra 2:24.
19 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.