Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Nehemiah 11:20
And the residue of Israel, of the priests, [and] the Levites, [were] in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.
20. This verse is clearly out of place, interrupting the register of ‘the porters’ and ‘the Nethinim.’ It would be more appropriate before Neh 11:25.
the residue of Israel ] Cf. Neh 11:1, ‘the rest of the people,’ where the same word is used in the Hebrew.
‘Israel’ as in Neh 11:3 (cf. Ezr 2:70), denoting all the laity irrespective of their tribes.
of the priests, and the Levites ] R.V. the priests, the Levites. The A.V., by inserting ‘and,’ and the R.V., by preserving the comma between the words, agree in not regarding this as an instance of the technical term ‘the priests the Levites’ which is found so often in Deuteronomy, and occurs elsewhere, e.g. 2Ch 5:5; 2Ch 23:18; 2Ch 30:27.
The words are coordinate although the copula is wanting. As in Neh 11:3, and in chap. Neh 10:28; Neh 10:34, Israel (or ‘the people’) with the priests and the Levites make up the whole sum of the nation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The returned community, though consisting mainly of members of the two tribes, represented the entire people of Israel. The ground, however, which they occupied, was not the whole land, but that which had constituted the kingdom of Judah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
And the residue of Israel, of the priests and the Levites,….. All of them, besides those that dwelt at Jerusalem: were
in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance; the Israelites in the cities, houses, and estates enjoyed by their ancestors, and the priests and Levites in the cities given out of the several tribes.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Certain special remarks follow in Neh 11:20. – Neh 11:20 states that the rest of the Israelites, priests, and Levites dwelt in all the (other) cities of Judah, each in his inheritance. These cities are enumerated in Neh 11:25.
Neh 11:21 The Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, the southern slope of Mount Moriah; see rem. on Neh 3:26. Their chiefs were Zihah and Gispa. occurs Ezr 2:43, followed by , as head of a division of Levites; whence Bertheau tries, but unsuccessfully, to identify the latter name with . For it does not follow that, because a division of Nethinim was descended from Hasupha, that Gishpa, one of the chiefs of those Nethinim who dwelt on Ophel, must be the same individual as this Hasupha.
Neh 11:22-23 And the overseer (chief) of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi, the son of Bani, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, in the business of the house of God. The of the house of God was the duty of the Levites of the house of Shemaiah, Neh 11:15. Hence the remark in the present verse is supplementary to Neh 11:15. The chiefs or presidents of the two other divisions of Levites – of those to whom the outward business was entrusted, and of the singers – are named in Neh 11:16 and Neh 11:17; while, in the case of those entrusted with the business of the house of God, Neh 11:15, the chiefs are not named, probably because they were over the singers, the sons of Asaph, who in Neh 11:15 had not as yet been named. This is therefore done afterwards in Neh 11:22. , coram opere , i.e., circa ea negotia, quae coram in templo exigenda erant (Burm. in Ramb.), does not belong to , but to : Uzzi was overseer of the Levites in respect of their business in the house of God, i.e., of those Levites who had the charge of this business. The reason of this is thus given in Neh 11:23: “for a command of the king was over them, and an ordinance was over the singers concerning the matter of every day.” refers to the Levites. “A command of the king was over them” means: the king had commanded them. This command was concerning , the matter of every day. The words stand at the end of the verse, because they refer to the two subjects and . is an arrangement depending upon mutual agreement, a treaty, an obligation entered into by agreement; comp. Neh 10:1. The meaning of the verse is: The every-day matter was laid upon the Levites by the command of the king, upon the singers by an agreement entered into. , pensum quotidianum , is correctly explained by Schmid: de rebus necessariis in singulos dies . That we are not to understand thereby the contribution for every day, the rations of food (Ramb., Berth.), but the duty to be done on each day, is obvious from the context, in which not provisions, but the business of the Levites, is spoken of; and Uzzi the Asaphite was placed over the Levites in respect of their business in the house of God, and not in respect of food and drink. The business of the Levites in the house of God was determined by the command of the king; the business of the singers, on the contrary, especially that one of the singers should exercise a supervision over the services of the Levites in worship, was made the matter of an , an agreement entered into among themselves by the different divisions of Levites. The king is not David, who once regulated the services of the Levites (1Ch 23:4.), but the Persian king Artaxerxes, who is mentioned as in Neh 11:24; and undoubtedly refers to the full power bestowed by Artaxerxes upon Ezra to order all that concerned the worship of God at Jerusalem; Ezr 7:12.
Neh 11:24 Finally, the official is named who had to transact with the king the affairs of the people, i.e., of the whole Jewish community in Judah and Jerusalem. Pethahiah, a Jew of the descendants of Zerah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people. can scarcely be understood of a royal commissioner at Jerusalem, but certainly designates an official transacting the affairs of the Jewish community at the hand of the king, at his court.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Distribution of the People. | B. C. 444. |
20 And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance. 21 But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims. 22 The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God. 23 For it was the king’s commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. 24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people. 25 And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof, 26 And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Beth-phelet, 27 And at Hazar-shual, and at Beer-sheba, and in the villages thereof, 28 And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof, 29 And at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beer-sheba unto the valley of Hinnom. 31 The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Bethel, and in their villages, 32 And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. 36 And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.
Having given an account of the principal persons that dwelt in Jerusalem (a larger account of whom he had before, 1 Chron. ix. 2, c.), Nehemiah, in these verses, gives us some account of the other cities, in which dwelt the residue of Israel, <i>v. 20. It was requisite that Jerusalem should be replenished, yet not so as to drain the country. The king himself is served of the field, which will do little service if there be not hands to manage it. Let there therefore be no strife, no envy, no contempt, no ill will, between the inhabitants of the cities and those of the villages; both are needful, both useful, and neither can be spared. 1. The Nethinims, the posterity of the Gibeonites, dwelt in Ophel, which was upon the wall of Jerusalem (ch. iii. 26), because they were to do the servile work of the temple, which therefore they must be posted near to, that they might be ready to attend, v. 21. 2. Though the Levites were dispersed through the cities of Judah, yet they had an overseer who resided in Jerusalem, superior of their order and their provincial, to whom they applied for direction, who took care of their affairs and took cognizance of their conduct, whether they did their duty, v. 22. 3. Some of the singers were appointed to look after the necessary repairs of the temple, being ingenious men, and having leisure between their hours of service; they were over the business of the house of God, v. 22. And, it seems, the king of Persia had such a kindness for their office that he allotted a particular maintenance for them, besides what belonged to them as Levites, v. 23. 4. Here is one that was the king’s commissioner at Jerusalem. He was of the posterity of Zerah (v. 24); for of that family of Judah there were some new settled in Jerusalem, and not all of Pharez, as appears by that other catalogue, 1 Chron. ix. 6. He is said to be at the king’s hand, or on the king’s part, in all matters concerning the people, to determine controversies that arose between the king’s officers and his subjects, to see that what was due to the king from the people was duly paid in and what was allowed by the king for the temple service was duly paid out, and happy it was for the Jews that one of themselves was in this post. 5. Here is an account of the villages, or country towns, which were inhabited by the residue of Israel–the towns in which the children of Judah dwelt (v. 25-30), those that were inhabited by the children of Benjamin (v. 31-35), and divisions for the Levites among both, v. 36. We will now suppose them safe and easy, though few and poor, but by the blessing of God they were likely to increase in wealth and power, and they would have been more likely if there had not been that general profaneness among them, and lukewarmness in religion, with which they were charged in God’s name by the prophet Malachi, who, it is supposed, prophesied about this time, and in whom prophecy ceased for some ages, till it revived in the great prophet and his forerunner.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
People Outside Jerusalem, Verses 20-36
The record continues to state that the remainder of the people, of every group were living throughout the cities of Judah in their inheritances. Then it gives an exception, the Nethinim who lived in the Ophel. The Nethinim (“-im” is the Hebrew plural, the English “s” on the word is superfluous) were the temple servants. These people were descendants of many centuries of captives taken by the Israelites and dedicated to temple service. The Gibeonites are a notable example (Jos 9:23; Jos 9:27). The Ophel was also known as the city of David, and occupied the southeastern sector of Jerusalem.
Verses 22-24 tell of regulations concerning the singers in the temple service. One of the Asaphites, the family which had been leaders in music and singing in temple services from the time of David, was the overseer of the Levites who lived in Jerusalem and served in the temple. The Persian king had given special commandment concerning the singers concerning their support. He had given a strict commandment that they were to be provided for, and one of the chief men of Judah was given the responsibility as the king’s representative to see that they got what was commanded.
Verses 25-30 list eighteen cities and areas outside Jerusalem in which descendants of the tribe of Judah settled on their return from Babylon. Most of these had satellite villages tributary to them, counting the fields in between as part of them also. A number of these are known from earlier times, before the exile. Kirjath7arba is better known as Hebron, its Israelite name. Beer-sheba was the southernmost city of Israel. The expression, “From Dan to Beer-sheba,” meant from one end of Israel to the other. Ziklag was the city awarded David by the Philistines when he fled from Saul and sought refuge among them.
Adullam was the site of the famous cave where David hid from Saul and also where he made his defensive base against the Philistines on an occasion. Lachish was one of the largest and strongest cities of Judah outside Jerusalem and one of the last to hold out against both the Assyrian and Babylonian invaders. Others are prominently mentioned in the Old Testament but have no special event to remember them by.
Verses 31-36 list the cities and environs peopled by the Benjamites. These number sixteen. Of these Michmash is the site of the famous pass where Jonathan and his armorbearer defeated a force of Philistines single-handedly. Aija is the same as Ai, the place where Joshua and Israel suffered a humiliating defeat during the conquest because they did not seek the counsel of the Lord. Bethel was a very famous place in the history of Israel. It was the center of calf worship in the northern kingdom after the death of Solomon. Anathoth was a priest city very near Jerusalem, the home of the prophet Jeremiah. Nob, another priest city was the site of Saul’s slaughter of the priests because the high priest had befriended the fugitive David. Ramah was the birthplace and residence of the prophet Samuel. In addition the Levites were awarded places in Judah and Benjamin.
Learn from this chapter that 1) Volunteers in the Lord’s work receive the special blessing; 2) the residence of God’s people in their own communities was common in Bible times; 3) the Lord’s special servants are due extra consideration; 4) those who returned from the captivity scattered all over the former kingdom of Judah.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
5. Other groups.
TEXT, Neh. 11:20-24
20
And the rest of Israel, of the priests, and of the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own inheritance.
21
But the temple servants were living in Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants.
22
Now the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, from the sons of Asaph, who were the singers for the service of the house of God.
23
For there was a commandment from the king concerning them and a firm regulation for the song leaders day by day.
24
And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was the kings representative in all matters concerning the people.
COMMENT
Neh. 11:20 describes the situation in the rest of Judah, which will be developed beginning with Neh. 11:25. But first, other incidental matters are dealt with.
In Neh. 11:21 the location of the residences of the Temple servants (cf. Ezr. 2:43; Neh. 3:26) is described as being outside the city walls. Ophel was at other times within the city boundaries (2Ch. 33:14); it is normal that the size of a city would fluctuate, and we would expect that at this time the shortest possible distance would be walled.
Neh. 11:22 speaks of Uzzi as being in charge of Levite affairs in the city. Singers are also listed in Ezr. 2:41.
Neh. 11:23 explains this a little further by saying the king (Artaxerxes probably, though some see a reference here to regulations affecting the Levites made by King David) had issued a commandment regarding them. The firm regulation may have been a daily allowance, putting them under royal patronage.[79][79] Adenay, op. cit., p. 325.
In Neh. 11:24, at the other end of the flow of finances was Pethahiah, possibly stationed in the Persian court as the people of Israels representative there.
WORD STUDY
LOT (Neh. 11:1, Goral; sound like gravel?): a small stone. Sometimes a number of stones, including one or more of an odd color, were shaken in a container and thrown onto the ground, thus deciding matters by chance; or they were shaken together and thrown into a vase, and each person drew one out, seeking for the odd-colored one. Eventually they were made into cubes and the faces numbered to form dice.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(20-36) The heads in the country.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Distribution of Other Jews
v. 20. And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance, v. 21. But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, v. 22. The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Ussi, the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. of the sons of Asaph the singers were over the business of the house of God, v. 23. Nor it was the king’s commandment concerning them that a certain portion should be for singers, due for every day. v. 24. And Pethahiah, the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah, the son of Judah, v. 25. And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba and in the villages thereof, v. 26. and at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Beth-phelet, v. 27. and at Hazar-shual, and at Beersheba, v. 28. and at Ziklag, v. 29. and at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, and at barmuth, v. 30. Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, v. 31. The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, v. 32. and at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, v. 33. Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, v. 34. Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, v. 35. Lod, and Ono, the Valley of Craftsmen, v. 36. And of the Levites were divisions in Judah and in Benjamin,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
(20) And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. (21) But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims. (22) The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God. (23) For it was the king’s commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. (24) And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people. (25) And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof, (26) And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Bethphelet, (27) And at Hazarshual, and at Beersheba, and in the villages thereof, (28) And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof, (29) And at Enrimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth, (30) Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom. (31) The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Bethel, and in their villages, (32) And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, (33) Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, (34) Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, (35) Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. (36) And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.
No doubt all these, though not resident in Jerusalem, were of high esteem, and probably gracious souls scattered through the cities and villages of Judah to be examples of others in following the Lord. It is well to be noticed in any way that is honourable in the service of the Lord. No one, however humble in his station, is overlooked or forgotten when thus a follower of the Lord, How graciously God himself speaks of such, when as the High and lofty One, inhabiting eternity. Jehovah declares that he dwelleth with the man that is of an humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Isa 57:15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Neh 11:20 And the residue of Israel, of the priests, [and] the Levites, [were] in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.
Ver. 20. Were in all the cities ] Dispersed abroad to instruct the people, and to be as the salt of the earth, to keep it from putrifying.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
one = man.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Reciprocal: Neh 12:27 – out Zec 1:17 – My cities
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
11:20 And the {g} residue of Israel, of the priests, [and] the Levites, [were] in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.
(g) Of them who dwelt not in Jerusalem.