Nehemiah 3:1-32. The Distribution of the Work The Rebuilding of the Wall. The present chapter mentions 42 portions of the work. But the description is clearly incomplete; and we may suppose that Nehemiah's list either has been only partially reproduced by the Compiler or had been preserved in a mut... [ Continue Reading ]
_next unto him_ i.e. next to Eliashib and the priests. The description passing northward from the Temple, now turns west. _the men of Jericho_ Some suppose that this section of the wall lay sufficiently on the N.E. quarter to offer to -men of Jericho" a convenient piece of work. On the other hand,... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the fish gate_ R.V. AND THE FISH GATE. This gate is referred to in chap. Neh 12:39; 2 Chronicles 33:14; Zephaniah 1:10. It was on the northern or north-western wall; how far distant from the -tower of Hananel" we cannot tell. But the two sections of wall-building undertaken by -the men of Jeric... [ Continue Reading ]
_repaired_ Literally -made strong." The word in the Hebrew is used of -calking" a ship in Ezekiel 27:9; Ezekiel 27:27. In this chapter it is used of making good the defects and filling up the breaches in the wall. In Nehemiah 3:19 the same verb is used with a different shade of meaning. _Meremoth t... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Tekoites_ Tekoa was a town about 10 miles due S. of Jerusalem on the edge of the -Wilderness." It is well known as the home of the prophet Amos (Amos 1:1; Amos 7:14), and as the dwelling-place of -the wise woman" of 2 Samuel 14:2. The absence of the name of Tekoa from the list of towns in Ezra... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover the old gate_ R.V. AND THE OLD GATE. Marg. -Or, _the gate of the old city_or, _of the old_wall." Literally rendered the words are -And the gate of the old," so that there is some uncertainty which word we should supply. From the mention of the same gate elsewhere (Nehemiah 12:39) we gather... [ Continue Reading ]
_Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah_ In this arrangement of names it is natural to see the names of two leaders followed by the description of their respective followers. Melatiah is thus at the head of the Gibeonites, Jadon at the head of the men of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Uzziel_… of _the goldsmiths_ R.V. UZZIEL …, GOLDSMITHS. The R.V. gives the literal rendering. The meaning of course is that a guild or the guild of goldsmiths, who were represented by Uzziel, undertook the next piece of the wall. The wealth of -the goldsmiths" is shown by the large portion undertak... [ Continue Reading ]
_the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem_ R.V. THE RULER OF HALF THE DISTRICT OF JERUSALEM. Rephaiah was ruler not of the city but of one of the districts into which Jerusalem was divided. The ruler of the other half is Shallum, mentioned in Nehemiah 3:12. Compare the different positions of -the rul... [ Continue Reading ]
_And next unto them_ i.e. next unto those who were represented by Rephaiah. _Hattush_ Possibly a priest belonging to the family of this name mentioned in Nehemiah 10:4, or a Levite the son of the Hashabneiah mentioned in Nehemiah 9:5. _Hashabniah_ R.V. HASHABNEIAH.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Harim … Pahath-moab_ See on Ezra 2:6; Ezra 2:32. _the other piece_ R.V. ANOTHER PORTION. This phrase, which occurs again in this chapter in Nehemiah 3:19_; Nehemiah 3:24; Nehemiah 3:27; Nehemiah 3:30_, has been explained, (1) (as the A.V.), as equivalent to -a further portion" of the same section o... [ Continue Reading ]
_the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem_ R.V. THE RULER OF HALF THE DISTRICT OF JERUSALEM. See note on Nehemiah 3:9. This was the -Zion" half of the city. _he and his daughters_ The mention of -his daughters" is strange. Some consider that the word -daughters" is here used in its technical sense o... [ Continue Reading ]
_The valley gate_ See note on Nehemiah 2:13; Nehemiah 2:15. This was the main entrance on the western side. _Zanoah_ This town, mentioned in Nehemiah 11:30; Joshua 15:34, is probably the modern Zanuah, some 13 miles W. of Jerusalem. _the doors thereof_, &c. See note on Nehemiah 3:3. _and a thousan... [ Continue Reading ]
_But_ R.V. AND. _Malchiah_ R.V. MALCHIJAH. It is the same spelling as the -Malchijah" in Nehemiah 3:11. -the son of Rechab." Not necessarily a Rechabite. The Rechabites were forbidden to dwell in houses (Jeremiah 35:7). _of part of Beth-haccerem_ R.V. OF THE DISTRICT OF BETH-HACCHEREM. Beth-haccher... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the gate of the fountain_ R.V. AND THE FOUNTAIN GATE. See Nehemiah 2:14. According to the old view, Nehemiah's description here passes over a considerable space (nearly half a mile in straight line) between the -dung gate" and the -fountain gate." The omission is capable of being explained as d... [ Continue Reading ]
_the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur_ R.V. THE RULER OF HALF THE DISTRICT OF BETH-ZUR. Beth-Zur (Joshua 15:58), the modern Beitsur, was about 13 miles S. of Jerusalem. It commanded the road to Hebron and was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:7). From the mention of it in this verse we may ga... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani_ Here it may be noticed that the community is mentioned first, its representative afterwards. This variation from the usage in Nehemiah 3:7 is perhaps intended to give prominence to the work of the Levites or of a particular band of them. Rehum, whose name is the... [ Continue Reading ]
_their brethren_ i.e. the men of the other half of the same district. _Bavai, the son of Henadad_ This can hardly be different from the -Binnui, the son of Henadad" mentioned in Nehemiah 3:24. So the LXX. which reads Βενεΐ.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ezer … the ruler of Mizpah, another piece_ R.V. PORTION. -The ruler of Mizpah" as distinguished from -the ruler of the district of Mizpah" (Nehemiah 3:15). _over against the going up to the armoury_at _the turning_of the wall]. A much-disputed piece of topography. There is nothing to show in which... [ Continue Reading ]
_Baruch the son of Zabbai_ R.V. marg. -Another reading is, _Zaccai_." Zabbai (so Ezra 10:28) is the reading of C'thib and LXX., Zaccai of K'ri and Vulg. _earnestly repaired_ The word rendered -earnestly" calls for remark. (_a_) In the original it appears as an unusual causative of a verb meaning -to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Urijah the son of Koz_ R.V. URIAH THE SON OF HAKKOZ. _another piece_ R.V. ANOTHER PORTION. Meremoth was also concerned in the repair of the Northern wall. See on Nehemiah 3:4. _even to the end_ This description seems to imply that the high-priest's house was a building of considerable extent, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_the priests, the men of the plain_ R.V. THE MEN OF THE PLAIN. R.V. marg. -Or, _Circuit_". Literally, -the men of the Ciccar," LXX. Ἐκχεχάρ, Vulg. -de campestribus Jordanis." Some have explained the term to refer to the neighbourhood of Jerusalem according to its use in Nehemiah 12:28 -the Plain (o... [ Continue Reading ]
_After him_ R.V. AFTER THEM. Marg. Heb. _him_, see on Nehemiah 3:2. _by his house_ R.V. BESIDE HIS OWN HOUSE. Judging from the marked manner in which it is mentioned in Nehemiah 3:24, Azariah's house must have been conspicuous for its size or its position near the wall. A difference of aspect is im... [ Continue Reading ]
_Binnui the son of Henadad another piece_ R.V. PORTION. In all probability the same as -Bavvai the son of Henadad" mentioned in Nehemiah 3:18. -Binnui" is mentioned in Nehemiah 10:9 as one of the Levites. We have either to suppose that -Bavvai" in Nehemiah 3:18 is a corruption for Binnui, or as som... [ Continue Reading ]
_Palal the son of Uzai_ R.V. PALAL THE SON OF UZAI REPAIRED. _the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that_was _by the court of the prison_ R.V. THE TOWER THAT STANDETH OUT FROM THE UPPER HOUSE OF THE KING, WHICH IS BY THE COURT OF THE GUARD, R.V. marg. -Or, _the upper tower … from th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel … lieth out_ R.V. ( NOW THE NETHINIM DWELT IN OPHEL … STANDETH OUT). The parenthesis probably includes the whole verse. We prefer the R.V. translation to that of the _margin_of the R.V., which limits the parenthesis to the first clause, and connects the second... [ Continue Reading ]
_After them_ R.V. AFTER HIM, i.e. after Pedaiah the son of Parosh (Nehemiah 3:25). _the Tekoites_ See note on Nehemiah 3:5. _another piece_ R.V. ANOTHER PORTION. _the great tower that lieth out_ R.V. STANDETH OUT. The adjective -great" is perhaps intended to distinguish this tower from that simi... [ Continue Reading ]
_From above_ R.V. ABOVE. The word implies that the dwellingplaces of the priests stood on higher ground. _the horse gate_ This gate is mentioned 2 Kings 11:16; 2 Chronicles 23:15; Jeremiah 31:40, where it seems to be described as the easternmost portion of Jerusalem overlooking the valley of Kedron... [ Continue Reading ]
_After them_ R.V. marg. -Heb. _him_". See note on Nehemiah 3:3. _Zadok the son of Immer_ The head of the priestly family of Immer. See Ezra 2:37. _After him_ R.V. AND AFTER HIM. _the keeper of the east gate_ This has sometimes been identified with -the water gate" of Nehemiah 3:26. But it is very... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, … piece_ R.V. PORTION. This particular mention of Hanun as -the sixth son" of Zalaph is noteworthy, since the mention of other names in this chapter is unaccompanied with any detail of description. It is not mentioned in Nehemiah 3:13, where Hanun's name first occurs;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Malchiah the goldsmith's son_ R.V. MALCHIJAH ONE OF THE GOLDSMITHS. See note on Nehemiah 3:8. Malchiah belonged to the guild of the goldsmiths. _unto the place of the Nethinims_ R.V. UNTO THE HOUSE OF THE NETHINIM. The Nethinim were stated (Nehemiah 3:26) to have their dwelling -in Ophel." Here a... [ Continue Reading ]
_the going up_, &c. see Nehemiah 3:31. _unto the sheep gate_ R.V. AND THE SHEEP GATE. This was the starting place of the description (Nehemiah 3:1). _the goldsmiths_ see Nehemiah 3:8. _the merchants_ see Nehemiah 3:31. The proximity of their work of restoration suggests that both goldsmiths and... [ Continue Reading ]