Bible Commentaries

And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while ^a they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar [them]: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one [to be] over against his house.

(a) That is, they who are mentioned, (Nehemiah 7:2).

These [are] the ^b children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;

(b) That is, the inhabitants of Judah.

Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, ^c Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, [I say], of the men of the people of Israel [was this];

(c) Azariah in Ezra is called Seraiah, and Raamiah Reelaiah (Ezra 2:2).

The ^d children of Gibeon, ninety and five.

(d) That is, the inhabitants of Gibeon.

The men ^e of the other Nebo, fifty and two.

(e) For there were two cities with this name.

The ^f Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth,

(f) Read (Ezra 2:43).

And ^g the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood [up] a priest with Urim and Thummim.

(g) Meaning, Nehemiah: for Tirshatha in the Chaldee tongue means a butler.

And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand ^h drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.

(h) Read (Ezra 2:69).

So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and [some] of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the ⁱ seventh month came, the children of Israel [were] in their cities.

(i) Which contained part of September and part of October.