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Nehemiah 7:1 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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1 Now when the building of the wall was complete and I had put up the doors, and the door-keepers and the music-makers and the Levites had been given their places,

Cross Reference

1 Chronicles 23:1-32 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Now David was old and full of days; and he made his son Solomon king over Israel. And he got together all the chiefs of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. And the Levites, all those of thirty years old and over, were numbered; and the number of them, by heads, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand. Of these, twenty-four thousand were to be overseers of the work of the house of the Lord, and six thousand were judges and men of authority; Four thousand were door-keepers; and four thousand gave praise to the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, for giving praise. And David put them into divisions under the names of the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei. The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham and Joel, three. The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth and Haziel and Haran, three; these were the heads of the families of Ladan. And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zizah and Jeush and Beriah; these four were the sons of Shimei. Jahath was the chief and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah had only a small number of sons, so they were grouped together as one family. The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was made separate and holy, he and his sons for ever, for the care of the most holy things and the burning of offerings before the Lord, to do his work and give blessings in his name for ever. And the sons of Moses, the man of God, were put into the list of the tribe of Levi. The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the first. And the sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the first; and Eliezer had no other sons, but Rehabiah had a great number. The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the first. The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. The sons of Uzziel: Micah the first, and Isshiah the second. The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi; the sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. And at his death Eleazar had no sons, but only daughters, and their relations, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. The sons of Mushi: Mahli and Eder and Jeremoth, three. These were the sons of Levi, grouped by families, the heads of the families of those who were numbered by name, by heads, all those of twenty years old and over who did the work of the house of the Lord. For David said, The Lord, the God of Israel, has given his people rest, and he has made his resting-place in Jerusalem for ever; And from now, there will be no need for the House of the Lord, and the vessels used in it, to be moved about by the Levites. So among the last acts of David was the numbering of the sons of Levi, from twenty years old and over. Their place was by the side of the sons of Aaron in all the work of the house of the Lord, in the open spaces and in the rooms, in the making clean of all the holy things, in doing all the work of the house of the Lord, The holy bread was in their care, and the crushed grain for the meal offering, of unleavened cakes or meal cooked over the fire or in water; they had control of all sorts of weights and measures; They had to take their places every morning to give praise and make melody to the Lord, and in the same way at evening; At every offering of burned offerings to the Lord, on Sabbaths, and at the new moons, and on the regular feasts, in the number ordered by the law, at all times before the Lord; And they had the care of the Tent of meeting and the holy place, under the direction of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the work of the house of the Lord.

1 Chronicles 25:1-26 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Further, David and the chiefs of the servants of the holy place made selection of certain of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun for the work of prophets, to make melody with corded instruments and brass; and the number of the men for the work they had to do was: Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur and Joseph and Nethaniah and Asharelah, sons of Asaph; under the direction of Asaph, acting as a prophet under the orders of the king; Of Jeduthun: the six sons of Jeduthun, Gedaliah and Zeri and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah and Mattithiah; under the direction of their father Jeduthun who, acting as a prophet, with corded instruments gave praise and glory to the Lord. Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth; All these were sons of Heman, the king's seer in the words of God. And to make great his power God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. All these, under the direction of their father, made music in the house of the Lord, with brass and corded instruments, for the worship of the house of God; Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman being under the orders of the king. And the number of them, with their brothers who were trained and expert in making melody to the Lord, was two hundred and eighty-eight. And selection was made of them for their special work, all having equal chances, small as well as great, the teacher as the learner. Now of the group of Asaph, the first name to come out was Joseph; the second Gedaliah; he and his brothers and sons were twelve? The third Zaccur, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The fourth Izri, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The fifth Nethaniah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The sixth Bukkiah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The seventh Jesharelah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The eighth Jeshaiah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The ninth Mattaniah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The tenth Shimei, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The eleventh Azarel, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The twelfth Hashabiah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The thirteenth Shubael, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The fourteenth Mattithiah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The fifteenth Jeremoth, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The sixteenth Hananiah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The seventeenth Joshbekashah, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The eighteenth Hanani, with his sons and his brothers, twelve; The nineteenth Mallothi, with his sons and his brothers, twelve;

Nehemiah 3:1-32 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Then Eliashib, the chief priest, got up with his brothers the priests, and took in hand the building of the sheep doorway; they made it holy and put its doors in position; as far as the tower of Hammeah they made it holy, even to the tower of Hananel. And by his side the men of Jericho were building. And after them, Zaccur, the son of Imri. The sons of Hassenaah were the builders of the fish doorway; they put its boards in place and put up its doors, with their locks and rods. By their side Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was making good the walls. Then Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabel; and by him, Zadok, the son of Baana. Near them, the Tekoites were at work; but their chiefs did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. Joiada, the son of Paseah, and Meshullam, the son of Besodeiah, made good the old doorway; they put its boards in place and put up its doors, with their locks and rods. By their side were working Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah from the seat of the ruler across the river. Near them was working Uzziel, the son of Harhaiah, the gold-worker. And by him was Hananiah, one of the perfume-makers, building up Jerusalem as far as the wide wall. Near them was working Rephaiah, the son of Hur, the ruler of half Jerusalem. By his side was Jedaiah, the son of Harumaph, opposite his house. And by him was Hattush, the son of Hashabneiah. Malchijah, the son of Harim, and Hasshub, the son of Pahath-moab, were working on another part, and the tower of the ovens. Near them was Shallum, the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of half Jerusalem, with his daughters. Hanun and the people of Zanoah were working on the doorway of the valley; they put it up and put up its doors, with their locks and rods, and a thousand cubits of wall as far as the doorway where the waste material was placed. And Malchijah, the son of Rechab, the ruler of the division of Beth-haccherem, made good the doorway of the waste, building it up and putting up its doors, with their locks and rods. And Shallun, the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of the division of Mizpah, made good the doorway of the fountain, building it up and covering it and putting up its doors, with their locks and rods, with the wall of the pool of Shelah by the king's garden, as far as the steps which go down from the town of David. By his side was working Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the division of Beth-zur, as far as the place opposite the last resting-places of David's family, and the pool which was made and the house of the men of war. Then came the Levites, Rehum, the son of Bani. By his side was working Hashabiah, ruler of half the division of Keilah, for his division. After him were working their brothers, Bavvai, the son of Henadad, ruler of half the division of Keilah. And by his side was working Ezer, the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, making good another part opposite the way up to the store of arms at the turning of the wall. After him Baruch, the son of Zabbai, was hard at work on another part, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib, the chief priest. After him Meremoth, the son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, was working on another part, from the door of the house of Eliashib as far as the end of his house. After him were working the priests, the men of the lowland. After them came Benjamin and Hasshub, opposite their house. After them Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, made good the wall by the house where he himself was living. After him Binnui, the son of Henadad, was working on another part, from the house of Azariah as far as the turning of the wall and the angle. Palal, the son of Uzai, made good the wall opposite the angle and the tower which comes out from the higher part of the king's house, by the open space of the watch. After him was Pedaiah, the son of Parosh. (Now the Nethinim were living in the Ophel, as far as the place facing the water doorway to the east, and the tower which comes out.) After him the Tekoites were making good another part, opposite the great tower which comes out, and up to the wall of the Ophel. Further on, past the horse doorway, the priests were at work, every one opposite his house. After them Zadok, the son of Immer, was working opposite his house. And after him Shemaiah, the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the east door. After him Hananiah, the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, were making good another part. After him Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, made good the wall opposite his room. After him Malchijah, one of the gold-workers to the Nethinim and the traders, made good the wall opposite the doorway of Hammiphkad and as far as the way up to the angle. And between the way up to the angle and the sheep door, the gold-workers and the traders made good the wall.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Nehemiah 7

Commentary on Nehemiah 7 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 7

The success of one good design for God and our generation should encourage us to proceed and form some other; Nehemiah did so, having fortified Jerusalem with gates and walls, his next care is,

  • I. To see the city well kept (v. 1-4).
  • II. To see it well peopled, in order to which he here reviews and calls over the register of the children of the captivity, the families that returned at first, and records it (v. 5-73). It is the same, in effect, with that which we had, Ezra 2. What use he made of it we shall find afterwards, when he brought one of ten to live in Jerusalem, ch. 11:1.

Neh 7:1-4

God saith concerning his church (Isa. 62:6), I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem! This is Nehemiah's care here; for dead walls, without living watchmen, are but a poor defence to a city.

  • I. He appointed the porters, singers, and Levites, in their places to their work. This is meant of their work in general, which was to attend the temple service; it had been neglected in some degree, but now was revived. God's worship is the defence of a place, and his ministers, when they mind their duty, are watchmen on the walls. Or, in particular, he ordered them to be ready against the wall was to be dedicated, that they might perform that service in an orderly and solemn manner; and the dedication of it was its strength. That is likely to be beneficial to us which is devoted to God.
  • II. He appointed two governors or consuls, to whom he committed the care of the city, and gave them in charge to provide for the public peace and safety. Hanani, his brother, who came to him with the tidings of the desolations of Jerusalem, was one, a man of approved integrity and affection to his country; the other was Hananiah, who had been ruler of the palace: for he that has approved himself faithful in less shall be entrusted with more. Of this Hananiah it is said that he was a faithful man and one that feared God above many, v. 2. Note,
    • 1. Among those who fear God truly there are some who fear him greatly, and excel others in the expressions and instances of that fear; and they are worthy a double portion of that honour which is due to those that fear the Lord, Ps. 15:4. There were many in Jerusalem that feared God, but this good man was more eminent for religion and serious godliness than any.
    • 2. Those that fear God must evidence it by their being faithful to all men and universally conscientious.
    • 3. God's Jerusalem is then likely to flourish when those rule in it, and have charge of it, who excel in virtue, and are eminent both for godliness and honesty. It is supposed, by some, that Nehemiah was now about to return to the Persian court to have his commission renewed, and that he left these two worthy men in charge with the affairs of the city in his absence. Good governors, when and where they cannot act themselves, must be very careful whom they depute.
  • III. He gave orders about the shutting of the gates and the guarding of the walls, v. 3, 4. See here,
    • 1. What the present state of Jerusalem was. The city, in compass, was large and great. The walls enclosed the same ground as formerly; but much of it lay waste, for the houses were not built, few at least in comparison with what had been; so that Nehemiah walled the city in faith, and with an eye to that promise of the replenishing of it which God had lately made by the prophet, Zec. 8:3, etc. Though the people were now few, he believed they would be multiplied, and therefore built the walls so as to make room for them; had he not depended upon this he might have thought walls without a city as great a reproach as a city without walls.
    • 2. What was the care of Nehemiah for it. He ordered the rulers of the city themselves,
      • (1.) To stand by, and see the city-gates shut up and barred every night; for in vain had they a wall if they were careless of their gates.
      • (2.) To take care that they should not be opened in the morning till they could see that all was clear and quiet.
      • (3.) To set sentinels upon the walls, or elsewhere, at convenient distances, who should, in case of the approach of the enemy, give timely notice to the city of the danger; and, as it came to their turn to watch, they must post themselves over against their own houses, because of them, it might be presumed, they would be in a particular manner careful. The public safety depends upon every one's particular care to guard himself and his own family against sin, that common enemy. It is every one's interest to watch, but many understand not their own interest; it is therefore incumbent upon magistrates to appoint watches. And as this people had lately found God with them in their building (else they would have built in vain), so now that the wall was built, no doubt, they were made sensible that except the Lord kept the city the watchman waked but in vain, Ps. 127:1.

Neh 7:5-73

We have here another good project of Nehemiah's; for wise and zealous men will be always contriving something or other for the glory of God and the edification of his church. He knew very well that the safety of a city, under God, depends more upon the number and valour of the inhabitants than upon the height or strength of its walls; and therefore, observing that the people were few that dwelt in it, he thought fit to take an account of the people, that he might find what families had formerly had their settlement in Jerusalem, but were now removed into the country, that he might bring them back, and what families could in any other way be influenced by their religion, or by their business, to come and rebuild the houses in Jerusalem and dwell in them. So little reason have we to wish that we may be placed alone in the earth, or in Jerusalem itself, that much of our safety and comfort depends upon our neighbours and friends; the more the stronger, the more the merrier. It is the wisdom of the governors of a nation to keep the balance even between the city and country, that the metropolis be not so extravagantly large as to drain and impoverish the country, nor yet so weak as not to be able to protect it. Now observe,

  • I. Whence this good design of Nehemiah's came. He owns, My God put it into my heart, v. 5. Note, Whatever good motion is in our minds, either prudent or pious, we must acknowledge it to come from God. It was he that put it into our hearts; for every good gift and every good work are from above. He gives knowledge; he gives grace; all is of him, and therefore all must be to him. What is done by human prudence must be ascribed to the direction of divine Providence; he that teaches the husbandman his discretion (Isa. 28:26) teaches the statesman his.
  • II. What method he took in prosecution of it.
    • 1. He called the rulers together, and the people, that he might have an account of the present state of their families-their number and strength, and where they were settled. It is probable that when he summoned them to come together he ordered them to bring such an account along with them out of their several districts. And I doubt they were not so many but that it might be soon done.
    • 2. He reviewed the old register of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and compared the present accounts with that; and here we have the repetition of that out of Ezra 2. The title is the same here (v. 6, 7) as there (v. 1, 2): These are the children of the province, etc. Two things are here repeated and recorded a second time from thence-the names and numbers of their several families, and their oblations to the service of the temple. The repetition of these accounts may intimate to us the delight which the great God is pleased to take in the persons, families, and services of his spiritual Israel, and the particular notice he takes of them. He knows those that are his, knows them all, knows them by name, has his eye on the register of those children of the captivity, and does all according to the ancient counsel of his will concerning them.
      • (1.) Here is an account of the heads of the several families that first came up, v. 6-69. As to this,
        • [1.] Though it seem of little use to us now, yet then it was of great use, to compare what they had been with what they now were. We may suppose they were much increased by this time; but it would do well for them to remember their small beginnings, that they might acknowledge God in multiplying their families and building them up. By this means likewise their genealogies would be preserved, and the distinction of their families kept up, till the Messiah should come, and then an end be put to all their genealogies, which were preserved for his sake, but afterwards were endless. But,
        • [2.] There are many differences in the numbers between this catalogue and that in Ezra. Most of them indeed are exactly the same, and some others within a very few under or over (one or two perhaps); and therefore I cannot think, as some do, that that was the number of these families at their first coming and this as they were now, which was at least forty years after (some make it much more); for we cannot suppose so many families to be not at all, or but little, altered in their numbers in all that time; therefore what differences there are we may suppose to arise either from the mistakes of transcribers, which easily happen in numbers, or from the diversity of the copies from which they were taken. Or perhaps one was the account of them when they set out from Babylon with Zerubbabel, the other when they came to Jerusalem. The sum totals are all just the same there and here, except of the singing-men and singing-women, which there are 200, here 245. These were not of such importance as that they should keep any strict account of them.
      • (2.) Here is an account of the offerings which were given towards the work of God, v. 70, etc. This differs much from that in Ezra 2:68, 69, and it may be questioned whether it refers to the same contribution; here the tirshatha, or chief governor, who there was not mentioned, begins the offering; and the single sum mentioned there exceeds all those here put together; yet it is probable that it was the same, but that followed one copy of the lists, this another; for the last verse is the same here that it was Ezra 2:70, adding ch. 3:1. Blessed be God that our faith and hope are not built upon the niceties of names and numbers, genealogy and chronology, but on the great things of the law and gospel. Whatever is given to the work of God, he is not unrighteous to forget it; nor shall even a cup of cold water, wherewith he is honoured, go without its reward.