1Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. 3And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” 4The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
Lists of Returned Exiles
5Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:
6These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town. 7They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.
The number of the men of the people of Israel: 8the sons of Parosh, 2,172. 9The sons of Shephatiah, 372. 10The sons of Arah, 652 11The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818. 12The sons of Elam, 1,254. 13The sons of Zattu, 845. 14The sons of Zaccai, 760. 15The sons of Binnui, 648. 16The sons of Bebai, 628. 17The sons of Azgad, 2,322. 18The sons of Adonikam, 667. 19The sons of Bigvai, 2,067. 20The sons of Adin, 655. 21The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98. 22The sons of Hashum, 328. 23The sons of Bezai, 324. 24The sons of Hariph, 112. 25The sons of Gibeon, 95. 26The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188. 27The men of Anathoth, 128. 28The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42. 29The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743. 30The men of Ramah and Geba, 621. 31The men of Michmas, 122. 32The men of Bethel and Ai, 123. 33The men of the other Nebo, 52. 34The sons of the other Elam, 1,254. 35The sons of Harim, 320. 36The sons of Jericho, 345. 37The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721. 38The sons of Senaah, 3,930.
39The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973. 40The sons of Immer, 1,052. 41The sons of Pashhur, 1,247. 42The sons of Harim, 1,017.
43The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74. 44The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148. 45The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.
46The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, 49the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim, 53the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
57The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon.
60All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.
61The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel: 62the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. 63Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name). 64These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.
Totals of People and Gifts
66The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. 68Their horses were 736, their mules 245,a 69their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.
70Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 daricsb of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests’ garments and 500 minasc of silver.d 71And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests’ garments.
73So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.
And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.
Long passage with unpronounceable names is always hard. What lesson could you learn from this?
Share a sentence or two to your group in regard to what you see.
It was necessary to ensure that only true Israelites lived within Jerusalem. There follows a list of names of all the families of those who came back from Persia to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra, some thirty years before the time of Nehemiah. These were among the ones who helped him build the wall. He is not only giving credit to them but is also recognizing that they will be responsible to carry on what he has begun. So having appointed leaders who would succeed him–men of integrity, courage, and faithfulness–he now sees to it that their followers are also true Israelites.
The spiritual application is that we need to know that we really belong to God. You will never be a successful servant of Christ nor ever faithfully work for Him and serve Him until you are assured that you know Him and belong to Him. This is not only necessary for leaders but for the common people as well. We all need to know our spiritual pedigree; otherwise, our service will be weak and largely ineffective.
Verse 61 lists some who could not prove their ancestry and were therefore not permitted to live in the city of Jerusalem. Certain ones among the priests were denied the right to minister because they could not prove their ancestry. Many try to minister in the church of God today who are uncertain that they belong to God. Sometimes pastors, seminary professors, and leaders in the Christian community do not themselves know that they are true Christians. These always wreak havoc in the churches they seek to serve.
The reference to the Urim and Thummim is interesting (Nehemiah 7:65). These were two stones (their names mean lights and perfections) that the high priest wore on his garment by which he could discern the mind of God. No one really knows how they worked. Nehemiah says these suspect priests were not allowed to minister until a high priest arrives who has the Urim and Thummim. I think this is a hidden reference to our Lord Jesus. In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is said to be a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20), meaning one who lives forever and who fully knows the mind of God. He can restore suspect priests to a place of assurance in their ministry and give them back their office. He can bring them the assurance that they belong.
How does truly knowing Jesus and why we belong to God make our good deeds fruitful and effective? Do our acts of service stem from a response to God?
I think passages like this one show so much historical context to the Bible and helps make a stronger case for the Truth of the Bible. What I mean is that if the Bible was just made up fairy tale stories, then how are there passages like this one? These genealogies are real accounts of real people. So though it may be tougher to read than the stories of actually building a wall in 52 days, these chapters are just as crucial to have knowledge of.
I read this passage and saw Jerusalem as Heaven’s gates. I do not want to be like the people in vs. 61 who could not prove their ancestry. The feeling of being excluded and the imagery of not being accepted into Heaven’s gates scares me. I hope that one day my family and I will be like the people called to return to Jerusalem. May we all find our identity and belonging in Christ and enter Heaven’s gates.
From brother Don
There are three observations I noted from Nehemiah 7 that seem to contain valuable lessons.
First, Nehemiah gives charge of Jerusalem to Hanani and Hananiah based on two qualities: faithfulness and fear of God. These are the qualities we should look for in appointing leaders, which contrast to what the world typically looks for in a leader. Charisma, success, and power seem to be more highly esteemed.
Second, Nehemiah suggests that the gates of the city stay closed until later in the day, and guarded closely while shut. This would suggest the necessity of vigilance, even and perhaps even especially upon completion of a good work. Just as Nehemiah expected attacks from the enemies even at the height of accomplishment, we too should expect attacks from the enemy at our highest points. Many times, we can succumb to complacency in these times. The lesson is to remain vigilant and watchful.
Third, the list of names by family suggests the value God places on the identity of His people. When we come into His family, we do not lose our identity. In reality, that is when we truly find it.
(Sorry- I know it said one or two sentences. I tried to keep it short, but I’m not very good at that?).
Definitely a hard passage, but the commentary was very helpful. It’s interesting to see this side of God’s word that some might see as exclusive. It definitely seemed that way to me at first. But if you take a step back and think about how deceitful and prone to betrayal the Israelites were, it makes sense that they only want true Israelites as part of their camp. Nehemiah goes back to their identity, not just their actions. If their identity was as a child of Israel, they were welcome. If they were a child of outsiders, who, in the past have lead the Israelites astray, they were not allowed. He was protecting what he had no matter what. Quick note he also had the gates shut and barred until what I’m guessing is the regular trading times, so you know Nehemiah is very big on protection, which is warranted given all the threats he’s received.
ruby
List of all kinds of people who return from the exile to Jerusalem are the people whose spirit are stirred by God to rebuild to wall. This also shows that God has the power to bring people coming from all kinds of tribes, backgrounds and status to Himself. We are joint to His promises
Reading this passage I saw a trend. I think that the purpose of all these names were to prove the legitimacy of the people. Its similar to how the New Testament references the whole line of David to full fill the promise that Jesus would come from the line of David. My biggest things is that I’m impressed by the person who did the head count.
But if I can learn anything from this, I find it amazing how God can bring all these people together for his cause. Side note but being a story teller I find it hard to write a massive cast; yet God was able to create these people and have them perfectly come together. That is pretty mind blowing.