Nehemia 7:1--8:18

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;

7:37 the descendants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721;

7:38 the descendants of Senaah, 3,930.

7:39 The priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family ²⁰  of Jeshua), 973;

7:40 the descendants of Immer, 1,052;

7:41 the descendants of Pashhur, 1,247;

7:42 the descendants of Harim, 1,017.

7:43 The Levites:

the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel, through the line of Hodaviah), 74.

7:44 The singers:

the descendants of Asaph, 148.

7:45 The gatekeepers:

the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai, 138.

7:46 The temple servants:

the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha, the descendants of Tabbaoth, 7:47 the descendants of Keros, the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon, 7:48 the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah, the descendants of Shalmai, 7:49 the descendants of Hanan, the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar, 7:50 the descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin, the descendants of Nekoda, 7:51 the descendants of Gazzam, the descendants of Uzzah, the descendants of Paseah, 7:52 the descendants of Besai, the descendants of Meunim, the descendants of Nephussim, 7:53 the descendants of Bakbuk, the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur, 7:54 the descendants of Bazluth, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha, 7:55 the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah, 7:56 the descendants of Neziah, the descendants of Hatipha.

7:57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:

the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida, 7:58 the descendants of Jaala, the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel, 7:59 the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and the descendants of Amon.

7:60 All the temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon, 392.

7:61 These are the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer (although they were unable to certify ²¹  their family connection ²²  or their ancestry, ²³  as to whether they were really from Israel):

7:62 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 642.

7:63 And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a woman from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name). 7:64 They searched for their records in the genealogical materials, but none were found. They were therefore excluded ²⁴  from the priesthood. 7:65 The governor ²⁵  instructed them not to eat any of the sacred food until there was a priest who could consult ²⁶  the Urim and Thummim.

7:66 The entire group numbered 42,360, 7:67 not counting their 7,337 male and female servants. They also had 245 male and female singers. 7:68 They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 7:69 (7:68) ²⁷  435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. 7:70 Some of the family leaders ²⁸  contributed to the work. The governor contributed to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, ²⁹  50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments. 7:71 Some of the family leaders gave to the project treasury 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. 7:72 What the rest of the people gave amounted to 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priestly garments.

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 ³⁰  were settled in their cities, ³¹  8:1 all the people gathered together ³²  in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked ³³  Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel. 8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) 8:3 So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon ³⁴  before the men and women and those children who could understand. ³⁵  All the people were eager to hear ³⁶  the book of the law.

8:4 Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform ³⁷  constructed for this purpose. Standing near him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masseiah. On his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 8:5 Ezra opened the book in plain view ³⁸  of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, ³⁹  all the people stood up. 8:6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

8:7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah – all of whom were Levites ⁴⁰  – were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing. 8:8 They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it ⁴¹  and imparting insight. Thus the people ⁴²  gained understanding from what was read.

8:9 Then Nehemiah the governor, ⁴³  Ezra the priestly scribe, ⁴⁴  and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, ⁴⁵  “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law. 8:10 He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. ⁴⁶  Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

8:11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” 8:12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food ⁴⁷  with others ⁴⁸  and to enjoy tremendous joy, ⁴⁹  for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them.

8:13 On the second day of the month the family leaders ⁵⁰  met with ⁵¹  Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law. 8:14 They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through ⁵²  Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month, 8:15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message ⁵³  in all their cities and in Jerusalem: ⁵⁴  “Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written.”

8:16 So the people went out and brought these things ⁵⁵  back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple ⁵⁶  of God and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate. 8:17 So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy. ⁵⁷  8:18 Ezra ⁵⁸  read in the book of the law of God day by day, from the first day to the last. ⁵⁹  They observed the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day they held an assembly ⁶⁰  as was required. ⁶¹ 

[7:2]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:2]  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.

[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.

[7:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “wide of two hands.”

[7:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the people were few in its midst.”

[7:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “nobles”; NCV “important men.”

[7:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “the book of genealogy.”

[7:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in it”; the referent (the genealogical record) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the sons of”; KJV, ASV “the children of”; NAB “the inhabitants of.”

[7:6]  ¹² tn Heb “who were going up.”

[7:6]  ¹³ tc One medieval Hebrew manuscript has “to Babylon.” Cf. Ezra 2:1.

[7:7]  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.

[7:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the sons of.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to the sons of.”

[7:26]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[7:28]  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.

[7:32]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:39]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to the house of.”

[7:61]  ²¹ tn Heb “relate.”

[7:61]  ²² tn Heb “the house of their fathers.”

[7:61]  ²³ tn Heb “their seed.”

[7:64]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they were desecrated.”

[7:65]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew term תִּרְשָׁתָא (tirshata’; KJV “Tirshatha”) is the official title of a Persian governor in Judea. In meaning it may be similar to “excellency” (cf. NAB). See further BDB 1077 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 395; HALOT 1798 s.v.

[7:65]  ²⁶ tn Heb “stood.”

[7:69]  ²⁷ tc Most Hebrew MSS omit 7:68 ET, which reads “They had 736 horses, 245 mules,” and thus have one less verse in chap. 7, ending the chapter at 7:72. This verse is included in the LXX and most English versions. Cf. Ezra 2:66.

[7:70]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[7:70]  ²⁹ tn Heb “darics” (also in vv. 71, 72).

[7:73]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.” So also in vv. 14, 17; 9:1.

[7:73]  ³¹ 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.

[8:1]  ³² tn Heb “like one man.”

[8:1]  ³³ tn Heb “said [to].”

[8:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “from the light till the noon of the day.”

[8:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “all who could hear with understanding.” The word “children” is understood to be implied here by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, TEV, NLT).

[8:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the ears of all the people were toward.”

[8:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “a tower of wood.”

[8:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to the eyes.”

[8:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the book) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁴⁰ 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.

[8:8]  ⁴¹ tn The exact meaning of the pual participle מְפֹרָשׁ (mÿforash) in this verse is uncertain. The basic sense of the Hebrew word seems to be “to make distinct.” The word may also have the sense of “to divide in parts,” “to interpret,” or “to translate.” The context of Neh 8:8 does not decisively clarify how the participle is to be understood here. It probably refers to the role of the Levites as those who explained or interpreted the portions of biblical text that had been publicly read on this occasion. A different option, however, is suggested by the translation distincte (“distinctly”) of the Vulgate (cf. KJV, ASV). If the Hebrew word means “distinctly” here, it would imply that the readers paid particular attention to such things as word-grouping and pronunciation so as to be sure that the listeners had every opportunity to understand the message that was being read. Yet another view is found in the Talmud, which understands translation of the Hebrew text into Aramaic to be what is in view here. The following explanation of Neh 8:8 is found in b. Megillah 3a: “‘And they read in the book, in the law of God’: this indicates the [Hebrew] text; ‘with an interpretation’: this indicates the targum; ‘and they gave the sense’: this indicates the verse stops; ‘and caused them to understand the reading’: this indicates the accentuation, or, according to another version, the Masoretic notes.” However, this ancient rabbinic view that the origins of the Targum are found in Neh 8:8 is debatable. It is not clear that the practice of paraphrasing the Hebrew biblical text into Aramaic in order to accommodate the needs of those Jews who were not at home in the Hebrew language developed this early. The translation of מְפֹרָשׁ adopted above (i.e., “explaining it”) understands the word to have in mind an explanatory function (cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT) rather than one of translation.

[8:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ⁴³ tc The unexpected reference to Nehemiah here has led some scholars to suspect that the phrase “Nehemiah the governor” is a later addition to the text and not original.

[8:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.”

[8:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the people.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[8:10]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:12]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “to send portions.”

[8:12]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew text does not include the phrase “with others” but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “to make great joy.”

[8:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[8:13]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “were gathered to”; NAB, NIV “gathered around”; NRSV “came together to.”

[8:14]  ⁵² tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[8:15]  ⁵³ tn Heb “a voice.”

[8:15]  ⁵⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[8:16]  ⁵⁵ tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:16]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the house.”

[8:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “And there was very great joy.”

[8:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the last day.”

[8:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “on the eighth day an assembly.” The words “they held” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[8:18]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “according to the judgment.”