Nehemiah 4:16

the half of my servants wrought in the work R.V. half of, &c. Literally -half of my young men." The LXX. by a strange error τῶν ἐκτετιναγμένων. These were probably the bodyguard attached to the person of Nehemiah as the governor. They are mentioned again in Nehemiah 4:23; Nehemiah 5:10; Nehemiah 5:16. We gather that only in the case of these his personal attendants did Nehemiah still insist upon arms being held in readiness, while the work of building went on. The rest of the Jews were exempted. Nehemiah's servants were kept prepared for any emergency. One half of them worked on the wall: the other half were stationed under arms at various points holding the weapons of their comrades.

and theother half of them held both the spears, &c. R.V. and half of them held the spears. In the original the copula -and" stands before -the spears." It has been suggested that this implies the falling out of a word, e.g. -the swords" after which the copula would be natural, i.e. -the swords and the spears, &c." The interpretation which, accepting the introduction of the word -swords," begins a new sentence with -and the spears, &c." is harsh and improbable. But it is best to suppose that the copula has been accidentally inserted from the neighbouring words. The wearing of a sword was not incompatible with the manual work. The weapons held by the non-working detachment are just those which would have rendered work on the wall impossible. Cf. Nehemiah 4:18.

the spears The -spear" (romakh) mentioned here and in Nehemiah 4:13; Nehemiah 4:21seems to have been the principal thrusting weapon. We do not find it anywhere spoken of as a -javelin" to be hurled. It must have been more of the Greek phalanx spear than the -pilum" of the Roman soldier. It is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 11:12; 2 Chronicles 14:8; 2Ch 25:5; 2 Chronicles 26:14, in connexion with the armies of the Southern kingdom, in Jeremiah 46:4, with the forces of Pharaoh-Necho, in Ezekiel 39:9, with the armies of Gog. The same word is used of the weapons with which the prophets of Baal mutilated themselves as they offered sacrifice on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:28).

the shields, and the bows There were two kinds of shields in the armies of the East, the one small and round (-the buckler"), the other large and oblong. They are mentioned together in 2 Chronicles 23:9; cf. 1 Kings 10:16-17. Representations of the two kinds may be seen in the Assyrian sculptures. Here the shields are of the smaller kind (magen), and would be used by those who carried spears.

and the bows In the Assyrian bas-reliefs we constantly find -bowmen" attacking a city protected by shield-bearers, and discharging their arrows behind large oblong shields. Here however shooting from behind a rampart, the large shields would not be required.

and the habergeons R.V. and the coats of mail. Cp. also 2 Chronicles 26:14, where the R.V. makes the same alteration. It is unlikely that the common soldiers mentioned in these two passages would have worn heavy and elaborate -coats of mail" such as Saul is described as offering to David (1 Samuel 17:38) or Ahab seems to have worn at Ramoth-Gilead (1 Kings 22:34; 2 Chronicles 18:33). The wearing of -scale" or -link" armour was probably confined to the officers of an army; and it may be doubted whether the soldiers of a provincial governor would have been so fully and expensively equipped.

We should probably understand the defensive armour here mentioned to consist of suits of tough leather doublets, -jerkins," protecting the body down to the knees and leaving the arms bare. The hard specially prepared hides, of which they were made, were almost impenetrable to the arrow. In some cases no doubt thin -scales" of metal were sewn into the leather, and Nehemiah's bodyguard would be better armed than the ordinary Jewish citizens. For -habergeon" = a little coat-of-mail covering the head and shoulders, compare (see Bible Word-Book) Latimer, Serm., p. 29, -And be ye apparalled or clothed," saith Paul, -with the habergeon or coat armour of justice." The word is used by the A.V. in Exodus 28:32; Exodus 39:23; 2 Chronicles 26:14; Job 41:26 It is derived from the French -haubergeon" = neck covering.

and the rulerswere behind all the house of Judah so R.V. text; R.V marg., - all the house of Judah that builded the wall. And they that&c."

The meaning of this clause seems to be that -the rulers" or princes took up their position to the rear of those engaged in working at the wall, so that at any moment, when the alarm should sound, they could issue their commands and take the necessary measures to repel the attack.