45 The doorkeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty-eight.
The divisions of the doorkeepers. Of the Korahites: Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. And Meshelemiah had sons: Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, Elam the fifth, Johanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh. -- And the sons of Obed-Edom: Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth, Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth: for God had blessed him. And to Shemaiah his son were sons born, who were rulers in their father's house; for they were mighty men of valour. The sons of Shemaiah: Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, [and] Elzabad, whose brethren were valiant men, Elihu and Semachiah. All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men in strength for the service, were sixty-two of Obed-Edom. -- And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, men of valour, eighteen. -- And Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the head, for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the head; Hilkijah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. Among these were the divisions of the doorkeepers, among the head-men, as to the charges together with their brethren, for performing the service in the house of Jehovah. And they cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers' houses, for every gate. And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah; and they cast lots for Zechariah his son, a wise counsellor, and his lot came out northward; to Obed-Edom southward; and to his sons the storehouse. To Shuppim and Hosah westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the causeway of the ascent, watch against watch. Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and in the storehouse two [and] two. At the portico westward, four at the causeway, two at the portico. These are the divisions of the doorkeepers among the sons of the Korahites and among the sons of Merari. And the Levites: Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things. The sons of Laadan, the sons of the Gershonites of Laadan, chief fathers of Laadan the Gershonite: Jehieli; the sons of Jehieli: Zetham, and Joel his brother, over the treasures of the house of Jehovah. As to the Amramites, the Jizharites, the Hebronites, the Uzzielites.... And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasures. And his brethren, of Eliezer: Rehabiah his son, and Isaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son. This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which king David, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated (from the wars and out of the spoils had they dedicated [them], to maintain the house of Jehovah), and all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated: all that was dedicated was under the hand of Shelomith and of his brethren. Of the Jizharites, Chenaniah and his sons were over Israel, for the outward business for officers and judges. Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valour, a thousand and seven hundred, for the administration of Israel on this side Jordan westward, for all the business of Jehovah, and for the service of the king. Of the Hebronites was Jerijah the head; (as to the Hebronites, according to their families according to the fathers: in the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valour at Jaazer in Gilead;) and his brethren, men of valour, two thousand seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of the Manassites, for every matter pertaining to God, and the affairs of the king.
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Commentary on Nehemiah 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
Ne 7:1-4. Nehemiah Commits the Charge of Jerusalem to Hanani and Hananiah.
2. I gave my brother Hanani … charge over Jerusalem—If, as is commonly supposed, Nehemiah was now contemplating a return to Shushan according to his promise, it was natural that he should wish to entrust the custody of Jerusalem and the management of its civic affairs to men on whose ability, experience, and fidelity, he could confide. Hanani, a near relative (Ne 1:2), was one, and with him was associated, as colleague, Hananiah, "the ruler of the palace"—that is, the marshal or chamberlain of the viceregal court, which Nehemiah had maintained in Jerusalem. The high religious principle, as well as the patriotic spirit of those two men, recommended them as pre-eminently qualified for being invested with an official trust of such peculiar importance.
and feared God above many—The piety of Hananiah is especially mentioned as the ground of his eminent fidelity in the discharge of all his duties and, consequently, the reason of the confidence which Nehemiah reposed in him; for he was fully persuaded that Hananiah's fear of God would preserve him from those temptations to treachery and unfaithfulness which he was likely to encounter on the governor's departure from Jerusalem.
3. Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, &c.—In the East it is customary to open the gates of a city at sunrise, and to bar them at sunset—a rule which is very rarely, and not except to persons of authority, infringed upon. Nehemiah recommended that the gates of Jerusalem should not be opened so early; a precaution necessary at a time when the enemy was practising all sorts of dangerous stratagems, to ensure that the inhabitants were all astir and enjoyed the benefit of clear broad daylight for observing the suspicious movements of any enemy. The propriety of regularly barring the gates at sunset was, in this instance, accompanied with the appointment of a number of the people to act as sentinels, each mounting guard in front of his own house.
4. Now the city was large and great—The walls being evidently built on the old foundations, the city covered a large extent of surface, as all Oriental towns do, the houses standing apart with gardens and orchards intervening. This extent, in the then state of Jerusalem, was the more observable as the population was comparatively small, and the habitations of the most rude and simple construction—mere wooden sheds or coverings of loose, unmortared stones.
Ne 7:5-38. Genealogy of Those Who Came at the First Out of Babylon.
5. my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, &c.—The arrangement about to be described, though dictated by mere common prudence, is, in accordance with the pious feelings of Nehemiah, ascribed not to his own prudence or reflection, but to the grace of God prompting and directing him. He resolved to prepare a register of the returned exiles, containing an exact record of the family and ancestral abode of every individual. While thus directing his attention, he discovered a register of the first detachment who had come under the care of Zerubbabel. It is transcribed in the following verses, and differs in some few particulars from that given in Ezr 2:1-61. But the discrepancy is sufficiently accounted for from the different circumstances in which the two registers were taken; that of Ezra having been made up at Babylon, while that of Nehemiah was drawn out in Judea, after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt. The lapse of so many years might well be expected to make a difference appear in the catalogue, through death or other causes; in particular, one person being, according to Jewish custom, called by different names. Thus Hariph (Ne 7:24) is the same as Jorah (Ezr 2:18), Sia (Ne 7:47) the same as Siaha (Ezr 2:44), &c. Besides other purposes to which this genealogy of the nobles, rulers, and people was subservient, one leading object contemplated by it was to ascertain with accuracy the parties to whom the duty legally belonged of ministering at the altar and conducting the various services of the temple. For guiding to exact information in this important point of enquiry, the possession of the old register of Zerubbabel was invaluable.
Ne 7:39-73. Of the Priests.
39. The priests—It appears that only four of the courses of the priests returned from the captivity; and that the course of Abia (Lu 1:5) is not in the list. But it must be noticed that these four courses were afterwards divided into twenty-four, which retained the names of the original courses which David appointed.
70. And some of the chief of the fathers, &c.—With Ne 7:69 the register ends, and the thread of Nehemiah's history is resumed. He was the tirshatha, or governor, and the liberality displayed by him and some of the leading men for the suitable equipment of the ministers of religion, forms the subject of the remaining portion of the chapter. Their donations consisted principally in garments. This would appear a singular description of gifts to be made by any one among us; but, in the East, a present of garments, or of any article of use, is conformable to the prevailing sentiments and customs of society.
drams of gold—that is, darics. A daric was a gold coin of ancient Persia, worth £1 5s.
71. pound of silver—that is, mina (sixty shekels, or £9).
73. So … all Israel, dwelt in their cities—The utility of these genealogical registers was thus found in guiding to a knowledge of the cities and localities in each tribe to which every family anciently belonged.