NEHEMIAH LESSON 7
We will begin this lesson in Nehemiah 7:1 "Now it came to pass,
when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters
and the singers and the Levites were appointed,"
There are a number of reasons why the Levites would keep the
gates of the city. One of the reasons was because Jerusalem was the
city of God. It was the holy city. Another very good reason was
because after the Babylonian captivity, about half of those who
returned to Jerusalem were Levites. We must remember, again, that not
all Levites were priests, but they were all in the service of the LORD
in some capacity, or other. Now, we see why Nehemiah stayed longer
than the time it took to build the wall. He was governor, and he was
taking care of the city, until it got started again. The people needed
a strong leader. The porters and the singers served in the temple, and
they were Levites, as well.
Nehemiah 7:2 "That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the
ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he [was] a faithful
man, and feared God above many."
The similarity in the names, here, is a little confusing, but
these were two men who would rule together. Hanani seemed to be the
brother of Nehemiah. The reason for making Hananiah one of the rulers
was a very good one. His main attribute was that he feared God. He,
probably, had worked under Nehemiah before, and Nehemiah knew that he
was trustworthy. A person who truly is in correct relationship with
God, so much that they fear him, would be faithful.
Nehemiah 7:3 "And I said unto them, Let not the gates of
Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let
them shut the doors, and bar [them]: and appoint watches of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one [to
be] over against his house."
The gates were to be closed and barred at night. They were opened
in the middle of the day, but even then, there would be guards closely
watching everyone who entered and left the city. Nehemiah knew of the
hatred Sanballat, and others like him, had for Jerusalem. Nehemiah was
taking no chances.
Nehemiah 7:4 "Now the city [was] large and great: but the people
[were] few therein, and the houses [were] not builded."
We must remember, that Jerusalem had been a large city. The wall
covered 4 miles around it. The remnant of people, who came back from
captivity in Babylon, were extremely few compared to the space in the
city. They must be extremely careful that the enemy did not get within
the walls. Jerusalem had been totally destroyed, when the Babylonians
attacked them and took the captives. Now, they had not finished
rebuilding their homes.
Nehemiah 7:5 "And my God put into mine heart to gather together
the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be
reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them
which came up at the first, and found written therein,"
There had been some difficulty with the people being faithful
during the building of the wall. Perhaps, it was caused by some who
had crept in, who were not in the genealogy register. God had put it
in the heart of Nehemiah to check this register to see who were
Hebrews, and who were not.
Nehemiah 7:6 "These [are] the children of the province, that went
up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to
Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;"
This is an accounting of who is left of Judah, in Jerusalem, and
the surrounding towns.
Nehemiah 7:7 "Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah,
Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai,
Nehum, Baanah. The number, [I say], of the men of the people of Israel
[was this];"
Zerubbabel had brought the first group back from captivity. He
brought the largest number of the people back to their homeland. We
find in the list of names of this group that Ezra had given, one
addition by Nehemiah of Nahamani. These were the leaders. Some of the
names are spelled a little differently, but they are the same people.
Nehemiah 7:8 "The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred
seventy and two." Nehemiah 7:9 "The children of Shephatiah, three
hundred seventy and two." Nehemiah 7:10 "The children of Arah, six
hundred fifty and two." Nehemiah 7:11 "The children of Pahath-moab, of
the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred [and]
eighteen." Nehemiah 7:12 "The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred
fifty and four." Nehemiah 7:13 "The children of Zattu, eight hundred
forty and five." Nehemiah 7:14 "The children of Zaccai, seven hundred
and threescore." Nehemiah 7:15 "The children of Binnui, six hundred
forty and eight." Nehemiah 7:16 "The children of Bebai, six hundred
twenty and eight." Nehemiah 7:17 "The children of Azgad, two thousand
three hundred twenty and two." Nehemiah 7:18 "The children of
Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven."
Adonikam had one more, than in the earlier list.
Nehemiah 7:19 "The children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore
and seven." Nehemiah 7:20 "The children of Adin, six hundred fifty and
five." Nehemiah 7:22 "The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and
eight. Nehemiah 7:23 "The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and
four." Nehemiah 7:24 "The children of Hariph, an hundred and twelve."
Hariph is spoken of as Jorah in Ezra. Beginning with the verse
below, the cities of the people who are registered is given. The
families were listed before.
Nehemiah 7:25 "The children of Gibeon, ninety and five." Nehemiah
7:26 "The men of Beth-lehem and Netophah, an hundred fourscore and
eight." Nehemiah 7:27 "The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and
eight." Nehemiah 7:28 "The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty and two."
Nehemiah 7:29 "The men of Kirjath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth,
seven hundred forty and three."
"Kirjath-jearim" means city of forests. We will continue on with
the people returning to their cities.
Nehemiah 7:30 "The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and
one." Nehemiah 7:31 "The men of Michmas, an hundred and twenty and
two." Nehemiah 7:32 "The men of Beth-el and Ai, an hundred twenty and
three." Nehemiah 7:33 "The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two."
There had been no other Nebo mentioned. Some of the scholars
believe the other is speaking of Acher.
Nehemiah 7:34 "The children of the other Elam, a thousand two
hundred fifty and four." Nehemiah 7:35 "The children of Harim, three
hundred and twenty." Nehemiah 7:36 "The children of Jericho, three
hundred forty and five." Nehemiah 7:37 "The children of Lod, Hadid,
and Ono, seven hundred twenty and one." Nehemiah 7:38 "The children of
Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty."
All of the above were listed according to their localities.
Nehemiah 7:39 "The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the
house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three." Nehemiah 7:40 "The
children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two." Nehemiah 7:41 "The
children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven." Nehemiah
7:42 "The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen."
These are a listing of their priests according to their families.
Nehemiah 7:43 "The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel,
[and] of the children of Hodevah, seventy and four." Nehemiah 7:44
"The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred forty and eight."
Nehemiah 7:45 "The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of
Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of
Hatita, the children of Shobai, an hundred thirty and eight."
This above, is a listing of Levites that were not priests, and
yet, worked in the temple as singers and porters. All of the Levites
were in the service of the Lord, but not all were priests.
Nehemiah 7:46 "The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children
of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth," Nehemiah 7:47 "The children of
Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon," Nehemiah 7:48 "
The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of
Shalmai," Nehemiah 7:49 "The children of Hanan, the children of
Giddel, the children of Gahar," Nehemiah 7:50 "The children of
Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda," Nehemiah 7:51
"The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of
Phaseah," Nehemiah 7:52 "The children of Besai, the children of
Meunim, the children of Nephishesim," Nehemiah 7:53 "The children of
Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur," Nehemiah
7:54 "The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of
Harsha," Nehemiah 7:55 "The children of Barkos, the children of
Sisera, the children of Tamah," Nehemiah 7:56 "The children of Neziah,
the children of Hatipha."
The Nethinims did the servile work in the temple. The name Akkub,
listed in Ezra as a part of the Nethinims, is omitted in this list.
Nehemiah 7:57 "The children of Solomon's servants: the children
of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida," Nehemiah
7:58 "The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of
Giddel," Nehemiah 7:59 "The children of Shephatiah, the children of
Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon."
Nehemiah 7:60 "All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's
servants, [were] three hundred ninety and two."
It is interesting to note that the Nethinims and Solomon's
servants' children were not counted as individual families. Perhaps,
they were counted together, because they were all to serve, some in
the temple and some for the kings.
Nehemiah 7:61 "And these [were] they which went up [also] from
Tel-melah, Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not
shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they [were] of
Israel."
We decided in our study on Ezra that these were, probably, those
who had intermarried and lost their genealogy connections.
Nehemiah 7:62 "The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah,
the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two." Nehemiah 7:63 "
And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the
children of Barzillai, which took [one] of the daughters of Barzillai
the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name."
Most of these were, probably, daughters of the Hebrews, including
daughters of the priests who took the name of their husbands who were
not listed as Hebrews.
Nehemiah 7:64 "These sought their register [among] those that
were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they,
as polluted, put from the priesthood."
The priests that married the heathens and had been removed from
the register were no longer classified as priests. Priests were
strictly forbidden to marry a non Hebrew.
Nehemiah 7:65 "And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should
not eat of the most holy things, till there stood [up] a priest with
Urim and Thummim."
The Urim and Thummim was a pocket behind the breastplate of the
high priest. God spoke to the people through this Urim and Thummim.
This was saying they must not eat of the most holy things, until they
had heard from God.
Nehemiah 7:66 "The whole congregation together [was] forty and
two thousand three hundred and threescore,"
This number was extremely small compared to the number who had
settled Judah before their fall to Babylon. It is remarkable that the
number given, here, is the same as the number in Ezra. The number is
42,360.
Nehemiah 7:67 "Beside their manservants and their maidservants,
of whom [there were] seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven:
and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing
women."
These were not included in the servile workers given earlier.
These singers were not of the Levitical tribe here. These singing men
and women were in addition to the family of Asaph.
Nehemiah 7:68 "Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six: their
mules, two hundred forty and five:" Nehemiah 7:69 "[Their] camels,
four hundred thirty and five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty
asses."
These were the animals they brought with them. There were not
enough of them for everyone to ride. We may safely assume they carried
the possessions of the people, and were used to carry those for one
reason or another who could not walk.
Nehemiah 7:70 "And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto
the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold,
fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments."
Tirshatha was the title of the governor of Judaea under the
Persians. This was a title that had been given Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 7:71 "And [some] of the chief of the fathers gave to the
treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand
and two hundred pound of silver."
The heads of the families, along with Nehemiah, gave greatly to
the treasures that were carried into Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 7:72 "And [that] which the rest of the people gave [was]
twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and
threescore and seven priests' garments."
This was speaking of the average Hebrew and what they gave
collectively.
Nehemiah 7:73 "So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters,
and the singers, and [some] of the people, and the Nethinims, and all
Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the
children of Israel [were] in their cities."
This lists the various classes of people who went back to their
homeland led by Zerubbabel. Their seventh month would be like our
October. This was a several month journey. When they arrived back in
their homeland, they would have to begin again to re-build. Ezra
brought the second group a little later, and Nehemiah came with a few
at an even later time.
The lesson that stands out in this, to me, for us is it does not
matter what station in life we have. We will all go home to heaven
together. Our names must be written in the Lamb's book of life, before
we will be accepted into our homeland. These Hebrews had to have their
genealogy correct to stay in the homeland. They traveled together, as
we travel together in life. All of them take their rightful places in
the service of their LORD for this to work out. Not everyone could be
a priest. This is the way it is in a church, as well. We all have to
take our rightful places in God's work for the church to succeed.
Nehemiah 7 Questions
1. What was done, after the wall was built and the doors set up?
2. What were some of the reasons for the Levites keeping the gates of
the city of Jerusalem?
3. Not all Levites were priests, but all were in the __________ of
the LORD.
4. Why did Nehemiah stay after the wall was finished?
5. Who was Nehemiah's brother?
6. Who ruled Jerusalem with Nehemiah's brother?
7. What kind of man was he?
8. When were the gates of Jerusalem to be opened?
9. When they were opened, what did they do for precautions?
10. How large was the city itself?
11. The people were ________ for that much area.
12. Why were the houses not built?
13. What did God put in Nehemiah's heart to do?
14. What could have been a reason for checking the record of the
genealogy of the people?
15. Who had carried them away captive to Babylon?
16. Who led the first group returning to their homeland?
17. What does "Kirjath-jearim" mean?
18. What do most scholars believe is the other Nebo, mentioned in
verse 33?
19. Verses 39 through 42 are a list of the __________.
20. What did the Nethinims do?
21. Why were Solomon's servants and the Nethinims listed together?
22. Those, in verse 61, are whom?
23. What happened to priests, who married heathen women?
24. They should not eat of the most holy things, until what happened?
25. How many were in the total congregation?
26. How many animals were carried back with them?
27. Who gave to the treasures?
28. Verse 73 is a listing of what?
29. What is a lesson Christians can receive from this lesson?
30. We must all take our ___________ places in God's work for the
church to succeed.
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