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Gatekeepers Are Appointed for the City

When the wall had been built and I had installed the doors, and when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I placed my brother Hanani along with Hananiah, the commander of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem, because he was a trustworthy man and feared God more than many. I[a] said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem should not be left open until the heat of the day, but while the guards are still on duty, they are to shut the doors and secure them. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their houses.”

Repopulating the City

Now the city was wide open and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses were being built. So my God placed into my heart a plan to gather the nobles, the officials, and the people so they could be enrolled by genealogy. I found the genealogical record of those who were the first to come up from Babylon. I found this written in it:

These are the people[b] of the province who went up from the captivity of the exiles, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had exiled. They returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, each man to his city. These were the people who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Ra’amiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Ba’anah.[c]

This was the number of men from the people of Israel:[d]

the male descendants[e] of Parosh:2,172
the male descendants of Shephatiah:372
10 the male descendants of Arah:652
11 the male descendants of Pahath Moab through the descendants of Jeshua and Joab:2,818
12 the male descendants of Elam:1,254
13 the male descendants of Zattu:845
14 the male descendants of Zakkai:760
15 the male descendants of Binnui:648
16 the male descendants of Bebai:628
17 the male descendants of Azgad:2,322
18 the male descendants of Adonikam:667
19 the male descendants of Bigvai:2,067
20 the male descendants of Adin:655
21 the male descendants of Ater through Hezekiah:98
22 the male descendants of Hashum:328
23 the male descendants of Bezai:324
24 the male descendants of Hariph:112
25 the citizens[f] of Gibeon:95
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah:188
27 the men of Anathoth:128
28 the men of Beth Azmaveth:42
29 the men of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah, and Be’eroth:743
30 the men of Ramah and Geba:621
31 the men of Mikmash:122
32 the men of Bethel and Ai:123
33 the men of the other Nebo:52
34 the citizens of the other Elam:1,254
35 the citizens of Harim:320
36 the citizens of Jericho:345
37 the citizens of Lod, Hadid, and Ono:721
38 the citizens of Sena’ah:3,930
39 The priests:
the descendants of Jedaiah through the house of Jeshua:973
40 the descendants of Immer:1,052
41 the descendants of Pashhur:1,247
42 the descendants of Harim:1,017

43 The Levites:
        the descendants of Jeshua through Kadmiel through the descendants of Hodaviah: 74
44         the singers from the descendants of Asaph: 148
45         the gatekeepers from the descendants of Shallum, the descendants of Ater, the descendants of Talmon, the descendants of Akkub, the descendants of Hatita, and the descendants of Shobai: 138.

46 The temple servants:
        the descendants of Ziha, the descendants of Hasupha,
        the descendants of Tabbaoth, 47 the descendants of Keros,
        the descendants of Sia, the descendants of Padon,
48         the descendants of Lebanah, the descendants of Hagabah,[g]
        the descendants of Shalmai,[h] 49 the descendants of Hanan,
        the descendants of Giddel, the descendants of Gahar,
50         the descendants of Reaiah, the descendants of Rezin,
        the descendants of Nekoda, 51 the descendants of Gazzam,
        the descendants of Uzza, the descendants of Paseah,
52         the descendants of Besai,[i] the descendants of Meunim,
        the descendants of Nephisim,[j] 53 the descendants of Bakbuk,
        the descendants of Hakupha, the descendants of Harhur,
54         the descendants of Bazlith, the descendants of Mehida,
        the descendants of Harsha, 55 the descendants of Barkos,
        the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,
56         the descendants of Neziah, and the descendants of Hatipha.

57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:
        the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth,
        the descendants of Perida, 58 the descendents of Ja’alah,
        the descendants of Darkon, the descendants of Giddel,
59         the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil,
        the descendants of Pokereth Hazzebaim, the descendants of Amon.

60 The total of the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants was 392.

61 The following are the people who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon, and Immer. They were not to prove their ancestry or descent—whether they were from Israel:

62 the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, the descendants of Nekoda: 642,
63 and from the priests: the descendants of Habaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, the descendants of Barzillai, that is, from a man who married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and so was called by their name.

64 These people searched for their genealogical records, but they could not find them, so they were disqualified from the priesthood. 65 The governor told them that they should not eat from the most holy sacrifices until a priest would arise who could serve with Urim and Thummim.

66 The entire assembly together totaled 42,360, 67 not counting their male slaves and their female slaves, who numbered 7,337. They also had 245[k] male and female singers. 68 They had 736 horses, 245 mules,[l] 69 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys.

70 Some of the heads of the families gave support for the work.
The governor gave to the treasury:
    gold darics: 1,000[m]
    bowls: 50
    garments for the priests: 530.
71 Some of the heads of the families gave this to the treasury for the work:
    gold darics: 20,000
    silver minas: 2,200.[n]
72 What the rest of the people gave was this:
    gold darics: 20,000
    silver minas: 2,000
    and garments for the priests: 67.

73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, and the temple servants, that is, all Israel, settled in their cities.

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 7:3 I is the reading in the margin of the Hebrew text. It is supported by ancient versions. The main Hebrew reading is he.
  2. Nehemiah 7:6 Literally sons
  3. Nehemiah 7:7 A number of the names in this list vary in form from the names in the parallel list in Ezra 2.
  4. Nehemiah 7:7 In this list and the parallel list in Ezra there are many variants of names and numbers. The translation notes only some of the more important variants.
  5. Nehemiah 7:8 Literally sons
  6. Nehemiah 7:25 Literally sons
  7. Nehemiah 7:48 At this point this list is missing two names that are present in Ezra 2:45-46: Akkub and Hagab.
  8. Nehemiah 7:48 Variant Shamlai
  9. Nehemiah 7:52 At this point the list in Nehemiah is missing a name present in Ezra 2:50: Asnah.
  10. Nehemiah 7:52 Many of the names in these lists, including Nephusim, have variant spellings. The most common variant is between i and u, which look very much alike in some phases of Hebrew script.
  11. Nehemiah 7:67 The corresponding number in Ezra 2:65 is 200.
  12. Nehemiah 7:68 Many Hebrew manuscripts do not have the reference to horses and mules. Perhaps the repetition of the number 245 led the Hebrew copyist to accidently skip these words.
  13. Nehemiah 7:70 A daric is a unit of weight that appears in post-exilic books. It is a Persian term, equal to the Greek drachma, about a third of an ounce. It is also the name of a Persian gold coin.
  14. Nehemiah 7:71 Estimates of the weight of a mina very widely, from twenty to thirty-five ounces.

After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers,(A) the musicians(B) and the Levites(C) were appointed. I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani,(D) along with Hananiah(E) the commander of the citadel,(F) because he was a man of integrity and feared(G) God more than most people do. I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

The List of the Exiles Who Returned(H)

Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it,(I) and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:

These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles(J) whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town, in company with Zerubbabel,(K) Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah):

The list of the men of Israel:

the descendants of Parosh2,172
of Shephatiah372
10 of Arah652
11 of Pahath-Moab (through the line of Jeshua and Joab)2,818
12 of Elam1,254
13 of Zattu845
14 of Zakkai760
15 of Binnui648
16 of Bebai628
17 of Azgad2,322
18 of Adonikam667
19 of Bigvai2,067
20 of Adin(L)655
21 of Ater (through Hezekiah)98
22 of Hashum328
23 of Bezai324
24 of Hariph112
25 of Gibeon95
26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah(M)188
27 of Anathoth(N)128
28 of Beth Azmaveth42
29 of Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah(O) and Beeroth(P)743
30 of Ramah and Geba621
31 of Mikmash122
32 of Bethel and Ai(Q)123
33 of the other Nebo52
34 of the other Elam1,254
35 of Harim320
36 of Jericho(R)345
37 of Lod, Hadid and Ono(S)721
38 of Senaah3,930

39 The priests:

the descendants of Jedaiah (through the family of Jeshua)973
40 of Immer1,052
41 of Pashhur1,247
42 of Harim1,017

43 The Levites:

the descendants of Jeshua (through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah)74

44 The musicians:(T)

the descendants of Asaph148

45 The gatekeepers:(U)

the descendants of
Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai138

46 The temple servants:(V)

the descendants of
Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,
47 Keros, Sia, Padon,
48 Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai,
49 Hanan, Giddel, Gahar,
50 Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda,
51 Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,
52 Besai, Meunim, Nephusim,
53 Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,
54 Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,
55 Barkos, Sisera, Temah,
56 Neziah and Hatipha

57 The descendants of the servants of Solomon:

the descendants of
Sotai, Sophereth, Perida,
58 Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,
59 Shephatiah, Hattil,
Pokereth-Hazzebaim and Amon
60 The temple servants and the descendants of the servants of Solomon(W)392

61 The following came up from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer, but they could not show that their families were descended from Israel:

62 the descendants of
Delaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda642

63 And from among the priests:

the descendants of
Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (a man who had married a daughter of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).

64 These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 The governor, therefore, ordered them not to eat any of the most sacred food until there should be a priest ministering with the Urim and Thummim.(X)

66 The whole company numbered 42,360, 67 besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 245 male and female singers. 68 There were 736 horses, 245 mules,[a] 69 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys.

70 Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics[b] of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. 71 Some of the heads of the families(Y) gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 darics[c] of gold and 2,200 minas[d] of silver. 72 The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas[e] of silver and 67 garments for priests.(Z)

73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the temple servants,(AA) along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns.(AB)

Ezra Reads the Law

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,(AC)

Footnotes

  1. Nehemiah 7:68 Some Hebrew manuscripts (see also Ezra 2:66); most Hebrew manuscripts do not have this verse.
  2. Nehemiah 7:70 That is, about 19 pounds or about 8.4 kilograms
  3. Nehemiah 7:71 That is, about 375 pounds or about 170 kilograms; also in verse 72
  4. Nehemiah 7:71 That is, about 1 1/3 tons or about 1.2 metric tons
  5. Nehemiah 7:72 That is, about 1 1/4 tons or about 1.1 metric tons