Nehemia 2:16

2:16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I had been doing, for up to this point I had not told any of the Jews or the priests or the nobles or the officials or the rest of the workers.

Nehemia 4:16

4:16 From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, ¹  shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people ²  of Judah

Nehemia 7:3

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.”

Nehemia 7:70

7:70 Some of the family leaders ⁶  contributed to the work. The governor contributed to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, ⁷  50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.

Nehemia 7:73

7:73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities.

The People Respond to the Reading of the Law

When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ⁸  were settled in their cities, ⁹ 

Nehemia 8:7

8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah – all of whom were Levites ¹⁰  – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing.

Nehemia 11:3

11:3 These are the provincial leaders ¹¹  who settled in Jerusalem. (While other Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple attendants, and the sons of the servants of Solomon settled in the cities of Judah, each on his own property in their cities,

Nehemia 13:13

13:13 I gave instructions ¹²  that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of ¹³  the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant, ¹⁴  for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues. ¹⁵ 

[4:16]  ¹ tc The MT reads “and spears.” The conjunction should be deleted.

[4:16]  ² tn Heb “all the house.”

[7:3]  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”).

[7:3]  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).

[7:3]  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.

[7:70]  ⁶ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[7:70]  ⁷ tn Heb “darics” (also in vv. 71, 72).

[7:73]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.” So also in vv. 14, 17; 9:1.

[7:73]  ⁹ tn The traditional understanding of the chapter and verse division here is probably incorrect. The final part of v. 73 is best understood as belonging with 8:1.

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tc The MT reads “and the Levites.” The conjunction (“and”) should be deleted, following the LXX, Aquila, and the Vulgate. That the vav (ו) of the MT is the vav explicativum (“even the Levites”) is unlikely here.

[11:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the heads of the province.”

[13:13]  ¹² tc Probably one should read with the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate וָאֲצַוֶּה (va’atsavveh, “and I commanded”) rather than the rare denominative verb וָאוֹצְרָה (va’otsÿrah, “and I appointed over the storeroom”) of the MT.

[13:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “be over”

[13:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “on their hand.”

[13:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “brothers.”