Nehemiah 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.