For Teaching

Nehemiah 11: What the Passage Says

127 claims across 36 verses, in the order the chapter makes them.

Not a sermon outline. What Nehemiah 11 says, and what its hard words meant. The reading of it is yours.

The Chapter in a Sentence

After the wall is finished, Jerusalem still has few residents, so the leaders settle there and the rest of the people cast lots to move one in every ten of them into the city. The chapter then lists by name and number the men of Judah and Benjamin, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants who lived in Jerusalem, along with the officials set over each group. It closes with a list of the towns and villages outside Jerusalem where the rest of the people of Judah and Benjamin lived, and notes that some divisions of Levites were placed in Benjamin.

Claim by Claim

11:1
- The rulers of the people dwelt in Jerusalem.
- The rest of the people cast lots.
- The lots were cast to bring one out of every ten to dwell in Jerusalem.
- Jerusalem is called the holy city.
- The remaining nine parts were to dwell in the other towns.
11:2
- The people blessed all the men who volunteered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.
11:3
- These are the heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem.
- In the towns of Judah each man dwelt on his own property in their towns.
- Those dwelling in the towns of Judah included Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.
11:4
- Some of the descendants of Judah and some of the descendants of Benjamin dwelt in Jerusalem.
- From the descendants of Judah was Athaiah son of Uzziah.
- Uzziah was the son of Zechariah.
- Zechariah was the son of Amariah.
- Amariah was the son of Shephatiah.
- Shephatiah was the son of Mahalalel.
- Athaiah was of the descendants of Perez.
11:5
- Maaseiah was the son of Baruch.
- Baruch was the son of Col-hozeh.
- Col-hozeh was the son of Hazaiah.
- Hazaiah was the son of Adaiah.
- Adaiah was the son of Joiarib.
- Joiarib was the son of Zechariah.
- Zechariah is identified as the Shilonite, which may instead mean a descendant of Shelah.
11:6
- All the descendants of Perez who dwelt in Jerusalem numbered 468.
- These 468 were men of valor.
11:7
- These are the descendants of Benjamin.
- Sallu was the son of Meshullam.
- Meshullam was the son of Joed.
- Joed was the son of Pedaiah.
- Pedaiah was the son of Kolaiah.
- Kolaiah was the son of Maaseiah.
- Maaseiah was the son of Ithiel.
- Ithiel was the son of Jeshaiah.
11:8
- After Sallu came Gabbai and Sallai.
- They numbered 928.
11:9
- Joel son of Zichri was the officer over them.
- Judah son of Hassenuah was second over the city, which may mean second in rank over the city or in charge of the city's second district.
11:10
- From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib.
- From the priests: Jachin.
11:11
- Seraiah was the son of Hilkiah.
- Hilkiah was the son of Meshullam.
- Meshullam was the son of Zadok.
- Zadok was the son of Meraioth.
- Meraioth was the son of Ahitub.
- Seraiah was the chief officer of the house of God.
11:12
- Their kinsmen who did the work of the house numbered 822.
- Adaiah was the son of Jeroham.
- Jeroham was the son of Pelaliah.
- Pelaliah was the son of Amzi.
- Amzi was the son of Zechariah.
- Zechariah was the son of Pashhur.
- Pashhur was the son of Malchijah.
11:13
- His kinsmen, heads of families, numbered 242.
- Amashai was the son of Azarel.
- Azarel was the son of Ahzai.
- Ahzai was the son of Meshillemoth.
- Meshillemoth was the son of Immer.
11:14
- Their kinsmen, mighty men of valor, numbered 128.
- Their overseer was Zabdiel, described as son of Haggedolim, which may instead mean son of one of the great men.
11:15
- From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub.
- Hasshub was the son of Azrikam.
- Azrikam was the son of Hashabiah.
- Hashabiah was the son of Bunni.
11:16
- Shabbethai and Jozabad were among the chiefs of the Levites.
- Shabbethai and Jozabad had charge of the outside work of the house of God.
11:17
- Mattaniah was the son of Mica.
- Mica was the son of Zabdi.
- Zabdi was the son of Asaph.
- Mattaniah was the leader who began the thanksgiving in prayer.
- Bakbukiah was second among his kinsmen.
- Abda was the son of Shammua.
- Shammua was the son of Galal.
- Galal was the son of Jeduthun.
11:18
- All the Levites in the holy city numbered 284.
11:19
- The gatekeepers were Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen.
- These gatekeepers kept watch at the gates.
- They numbered 172.
11:20
- The rest of the Israelites, with the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah.
- Each was on his own inheritance.
11:21
- The temple servants dwelt on Ophel.
- Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.
11:22
- The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani.
- Bani was the son of Hashabiah.
- Hashabiah was the son of Mattaniah.
- Mattaniah was the son of Mica.
- Uzzi was of the sons of Asaph.
- The sons of Asaph were the singers.
- They were set over the work of the house of God.
11:23
- There was a command from the king concerning them.
- There was a fixed provision for the singers, required day by day.
11:24
- Pethahiah was the son of Meshezabel.
- Pethahiah was of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah.
- Pethahiah was at the king's hand in every matter concerning the people.
11:25
- Some of the descendants of Judah lived in the villages with their fields.
- They lived at Kiriath-arba and its villages.
- They lived at Dibon and its villages.
- They lived at Jekabzeel and its villages.
11:26
- They lived at Jeshua.
- They lived at Moladah.
- They lived at Beth-pelet.
11:27
- They lived at Hazar-shual.
- They lived at Beersheba and its villages.
11:28
- They lived at Ziklag.
- They lived at Meconah and its villages.
11:29
- They lived at En-rimmon.
- They lived at Zorah.
- They lived at Jarmuth.
11:30
- They lived at Zanoah and Adullam and their villages.
- They lived at Lachish and its fields.
- They lived at Azekah and its villages.
- They settled from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
11:31
- The descendants of Benjamin from Geba lived at Michmash.
- They lived at Aija.
- They lived at Bethel and its villages.
11:32
- They lived at Anathoth.
- They lived at Nob.
- They lived at Ananiah.
11:33
- They lived at Hazor.
- They lived at Ramah.
- They lived at Gittaim.
11:34
- They lived at Hadid.
- They lived at Zeboim.
- They lived at Neballat.
11:35
- They lived at Lod.
- They lived at Ono.
- They lived at the Valley of the Craftsmen.
11:36
- Divisions of the Levites belonging to Judah were assigned to Benjamin, which may instead mean there were divisions of Levites in Judah and in Benjamin.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

11:1: Casting lots meant drawing marked stones or sticks, a recognized way of letting an outcome fall outside human choosing, used here to pick which families would move. "The holy city" is a straightforward title for Jerusalem as the place of the temple; at this point it was still thinly populated and largely unrepaired, so moving there meant leaving established farmland for a half-empty town.
11:2: In the King James, to bless someone often means to speak well of them publicly, to praise and thank them, rather than to pronounce a religious blessing over them. These men are being honored for volunteering on top of the ten percent already selected by lot.
11:3: "The province" is Judah as an administrative district of the Persian Empire, which then ruled the region. Levites were members of the tribe of Levi who did the supporting work of the temple (music, gatekeeping, maintenance, teaching) but were not priests. "Temple servants" translates the Hebrew word Nethinim, literally "the given ones," a hereditary class of low-ranking temple laborers; "the descendants of Solomon's servants" were a similar group traced back to workers assigned in Solomon's day.
11:4: Perez was a son of Judah (Genesis 38), so this traces Athaiah back to one of the two main branches of the tribe. Listing a man's ancestors this way was the standard proof of who he was and what he had a claim to.
11:5: "Shiloni" is most likely not a personal name but a family label, "the Shelanite", a descendant of Shelah, another son of Judah, and so the other main branch of the tribe alongside Perez.
11:6: The Hebrew phrase behind "fighting men" literally means "men of ability." It can indicate military capability, but it is also used of men of standing and property, and both senses may be intended here.
11:9: The Hebrew of the second phrase can mean either "second in command over the city" or "in charge of the Second District", a named quarter of Jerusalem mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament.
11:10: Priests were men from one family line, descended from Aaron. Only they could offer sacrifices and lead worship at the temple.
11:11: The title is literally "ruler of the house of God," the senior official over the temple. Zadok and Ahitub are the ancestors from whom the leading priestly family traced its descent, so this line is a claim to the chief priestly house.
11:12: Priests were the descendants of Aaron who alone performed the sacrifices and other altar duties. "The house of God" and "the temple" are the same building throughout this chapter.
11:14: The Hebrew word rendered "one of the leading men" is Haggedolim, which may equally be read as a personal name, so this is either "son of the great men" or "son of Haggedolim."
11:16: "The work done outside the house of God" means the temple's external affairs, collecting and storing supplies, contributions and materials, as distinct from the service conducted inside.
11:17: Asaph and Jeduthun were founders of the hereditary guilds of temple musicians; naming them identifies these men as singers by family trade. "Leading the thanksgiving in prayer" means acting as precentor, starting the sung praise that the others took up.
11:18: "Fourscore" is eighty, a score being twenty, so "two hundred fourscore and four" is 284.
11:19: Gatekeepers were a permanent temple office, not casual guards: they controlled access to the courts, opened and closed the gates at set times, and had charge of what was stored inside.
11:20: Under Israelite land law, each family held an allotted plot handed down within the clan rather than freely bought and sold, which is why the text speaks of inherited land rather than property owned.
11:21: Ophel is the ridge running south from the temple platform, the oldest settled part of Jerusalem.
11:23: "The king" is ambiguous here: it may mean the Persian king, whose decrees elsewhere in Ezra and Nehemiah provided for the temple staff, or it may look back to David's original arrangements for the singers. The "daily share" is a fixed allowance of food or provisions, since these men worked full-time and held no farmland.
11:24: This was a Judean who represented the province's people at the Persian court, an agent or liaison rather than a governor.
11:25: Kirjatharba is the older name of Hebron. The towns in this list lie in southern Judah and the dry Negev country, several of them beyond the borders of the small Persian province, so the list describes where Judeans actually lived rather than an official map.
11:27: Beersheba lay at the southern edge of settled country and was proverbially the far southern limit of Israelite territory.
11:30: "From Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom" marks the extent of Judean settlement, south to north; the Valley of Hinnom runs along the southern and western side of Jerusalem.
11:31: Geba and the towns that follow lie north of Jerusalem in the old territory of Benjamin.
11:32: Anathoth and Nob were towns long associated with priestly families.
11:35: Lod and Ono lie out toward the coastal plain, well to the northwest. "The Valley of the Craftsmen" is a place name, so called from the metalworkers or artisans who worked there.
11:36: The Levites were organized into rotating divisions, or shifts, that took turns serving at the temple; the note here records that some divisions assigned to Judah were settled among the people of Benjamin.

Read Nehemiah 11