Nehemiah 3:9

3:9 Rephaiah son of Hur, head of a half-district of Jerusalem, worked on the section adjacent to them.

Nehemiah 3:12

3:12 Shallum son of Hallohesh, head of a half-district of Jerusalem, worked on the section adjacent to him, assisted by his daughters. ¹ 

Nehemiah 3:18

3:18 After him their relatives ²  worked – Binnui ³  son of Henadad, head of a half-district of Keilah.

Nehemiah 9:38

The People Pledge to be Faithful

9:38 (10:1) ⁴  “Because of all of this we are entering into a binding covenant ⁵  in written form; ⁶  our leaders, our Levites, and our priests have affixed their names ⁷  on the sealed document.”

[3:12]  ¹ tc The reference to daughters, while not impossible, is odd in light of the cultural improbability that young women would participate in the strenuous labor of rebuilding city walls. All other such references in the Book of Nehemiah presuppose male laborers. Not surprisingly, some scholars suspect a textual problem. One medieval Hebrew MS and the Syriac Peshitta read וּבָנָיו (uvanayv, “and his sons”) rather than the MT reading וּבְנוֹתָיו (uvÿnotayv, “and his daughters”). Some scholars emend the MT to וּבֹנָיו (uvonayv, “and his builders”). On the other hand, the MT is clearly the more difficult reading, and so it is preferred.

[3:18]  ¹ tn Heb “brothers.”

[3:18]  ² tc The translation reads with a few medieval Hebrew MSS and the Syriac Peshitta בִּנֻּי (binnuy) rather than the MT reading בַּוַּי (bavvay).

[9:38]  ¹ sn Beginning with 9:38, the verse numbers through 10:39 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:38 ET = 10:1 HT, 10:1 ET = 10:2 HT, 10:2 ET = 10:3 HT, etc., through 10:39 ET = 10:40 HT. Beginning with 11:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[9:38]  ² tn Heb “we are cutting.”

[9:38]  ³ tn Heb “and writing.”

[9:38]  ⁴ tn Heb “our leaders, our Levites, and our priests on the sealed document.” The Hebrew text is elliptical here; the words “have affixed their names” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons. Cf. v. 2.