Nehemiah 3:5

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 2. is remarkable. Perhaps the Jews in Zerubbabel's time could not extend so far south. Here the mention of the Tekoites implies that the town was now occupied by Jews, or that old dwellers in Tekoa still formed a distinct community (cf. Nehemiah 3:2) in Jerusalem. Their ardour in restoring the walls of Jerusalem receives further confirmation from Nehemiah 3:27.

but their nobles -Nobles" (addirim= LXX. ἀδωρὶμ, Vulg. optimates), the same word is thus rendered in Nehemiah 10:29; 2 Chronicles 23:20; it differs from that used in Nehemiah 2:16; Nehemiah 4:14; Nehemiah 5:7; Nehemiah 6:17; Nehemiah 7:5; Nehemiah 13:17.

put not their necks The metaphor is taken from the ox ploughing with its neck in the yoke, cf. Jeremiah 27:12.

the work of their Lord R.V. of their lord. Marg. -Or lordsor Lord". There are here three alternative renderings. (1) A.V. -of their Lord." The somewhat unusual phrase -the work of their Lord" (Adonai) instead of -the work of the Lord (Jehovah)," or -the work of their God," has been defended on the ground that it carries out the metaphor of the clause. This is the traditional Jewish interpretation. But the word is not common in these books as a Divine name (see note on Nehemiah 1:11), and the use of the pronoun -their" makes the interpretation improbable (Vulg. in opere Domini sui). The use of this title for God in plain narrative is most improbable.

(2) R.V. marg. -their lords," namely, the leaders of the Jews; but this would not be at all a suitable word to describe the relation of the -nobles" of a town to the -rulers" of Jerusalem.

(3) -their lord." This rendering of the R.V. seems the most natural, and is best understood to mean a reference to Nehemiah himself (cf. Ezra 10:3). He was -the lord" of the Jews, appointed by the king, and -the nobles" of the Jewish towns as well as of Jerusalem owed him service and assistance in his great work.

The hostility of Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem to Nehemiah would make itself felt on the towns upon the borders of the neighbouring races. The nobles of -Tekoa," which lay on the outskirts of the wilderness, may very possibly have sympathised with the Arabian chiefs represented by Geshem, or have had intimate relations with the outlying peoples.