Nehemiah 11:2

2 And the people blessed all the men who ¹volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 11:2

And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered
themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
] Who were not taken by lot, but of their own accord settled at Jerusalem; they praised them for it, and wished them all happiness and prosperity, since they denied themselves of ease and profit for the sake of the public good; and it is this which makes the difference between the list of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in ( 1 Chronicles 9:2 ) &c. and this here, that takes in all that settled there, whether voluntarily or by lot; this only such as were fixed by the lot, and of them only those who were of greatest note and esteem, as Jarchi observes, and so it follows.

Nehemiah 11:2 In-Context

1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities.

2 And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

3 Now these are the heads of the provinces who lived in Jerusalem, but in the cities of Judah each lived on his own property in their cities -the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

4 Some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. From the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;

5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of the Shilonite.

Cross References

• 1. Judges 5:9