70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.
71 And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments.
73 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 seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
70 And some of H7117 the chief H7218 of the fathers H1 gave H5414 unto the work. H4399 The Tirshatha H8660 gave H5414 to the treasure H214 a thousand H505 drams H1871 of gold, H2091 fifty H2572 basons, H4219 five H2568 hundred H3967 and thirty H7970 priests' H3548 garments. H3801
71 And some of the chief H7218 of the fathers H1 gave H5414 to the treasure H214 of the work H4399 twenty H8147 thousand H7239 drams H1871 of gold, H2091 and two thousand H505 and two hundred H3967 pound H4488 of silver. H3701
72 And that which the rest H7611 of the people H5971 gave H5414 was twenty H8147 thousand H7239 drams H1871 of gold, H2091 and two thousand H505 pound H4488 of silver, H3701 and threescore H8346 and seven H7651 priests' H3548 garments. H3801
73 So the priests, H3548 and the Levites, H3881 and the porters, H7778 and the singers, H7891 and some of the people, H5971 and the Nethinims, H5411 and all Israel, H3478 dwelt H3427 in their cities; H5892 and when the seventh H7637 month H2320 came, H5060 the children H1121 of Israel H3478 were in their cities. H5892
70 And some from among the heads of fathers' `houses' gave unto the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments.
71 And some of the heads of fathers' `houses' gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and threescore and seven priests' garments.
73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities. And when the seventh month was come, the children of Israel were in their cities.
70 And from the extremity of the heads of the fathers they have given to the work; the Tirshatha hath given to the treasure, of gold, drams a thousand, bowls fifty, priests' coats thirty and five hundred.
71 And of the heads of the fathers they have given to the treasure of the work, of gold, drams two myriads, and of silver, pounds two thousand and two hundred.
72 And that which the rest of the people have given `is' of gold, drams two myriads, and of silver, pounds two thousand, and of priests coats, sixty and seven.
73 And they dwell -- the priests, and the Levites, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and `some' of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel -- in their cities, and the seventh month cometh, and the sons of Israel `are' in their cities.
70 And some of the chief fathers gave to the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand darics of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests' coats.
71 And [some] of the chief fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand two hundred pounds of silver.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' coats.
73 And the priests, and the Levites, and the doorkeepers, and the singers, and [some] of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities. And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in their cities,
70 Some from among the heads of fathers' [houses] gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred thirty priests' garments.
71 Some of the heads of fathers' [houses] gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.
72 That which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priests' garments.
73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, lived in their cities. When the seventh month was come, the children of Israel were in their cities.
70 And some of the heads of families gave money for the work. The Tirshatha gave into the store a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' robes.
71 And some of the heads of families gave into the store for the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand, two hundred pounds of silver.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty-seven priests' robes.
73 So the priests and the Levites and the door-keepers and the music-makers and some of the people and the Nethinim, and all Israel, were living in their towns.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Nehemiah 7
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.