Nehemiah 12:28

the plain country R.V. the plain. Marg. -Or, circuit". The word here used, -the kikkar," is technically applied to the Jordan valley, e.g. Genesis 13:10-12; Gen 19:17; 2 Samuel 18:23. Here, however, as in Nehemiah 3:22, it seems very doubtful whether this application is at all possible at a time when the territory occupied by the Jews was of so limited an area. If the special signification be here retained, only the southern most portion of the Jordan valley, the district of Jericho, can be intended. The other and more probable alternative is to give the word its strict meaning of -the circle," and to suppose that it is here used to denote the country -round about Jerusalem." This is not improbable; for (1) the word does not necessarily mean a level surface, but something circular; (2) the country villages occupied by the singers (Nehemiah 12:29) were in the vicinity of Jerusalem. In confirmation of this, it should be remembered that, even in its special application, it is generally found with a qualifying substantive, e.g. -the plain, or kikkar = circuit, of the Jordan." (Genesis 13:10-11; 1 Kings 7:46. Cf. Matthew 3:5, ἡ περίχωρος τοῦ Ἰορδάνου).

of Netophathi R.V. of the Netophathites. See note on Ezra 2:22.