Nehemiah 7:5

5 And my God put into my heart to assemble 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 who came up at the first, and found written in it,

Nehemiah 7:5 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 7:5

And my God put into mine heart
Every good motion in him, and whatever he thought of that was conducive to the good and welfare of Jerusalem, Nehemiah always ascribed it to God; see ( 2 Corinthians 3:5 )

to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that
they might be reckoned by genealogy;
that their number might be known, and of what families they were, and in what cities they formerly dwelt; and this was not only of use for the present purpose of Nehemiah, but was of service hereafter to show the pedigree of families, and that it might be clearly known from whence the Messiah sprung:

and I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the
first;
from Babylon to Jerusalem, along with Zerubbabel, as appears from ( Nehemiah 7:7 ) , and this was of great use to him, whereby he would know not only their names and number, but to what city they belonged, and who to the city of Jerusalem, that they might be called upon to come, and rebuild their houses, and take up their residence there:

and found written therein;
the names of the persons and families after mentioned.

Nehemiah 7:5 In-Context

3 And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun shall 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.

4 Now the city [was] large and great: but the people in it [were] few, and the houses [were] not built.

5 And my God put into my heart to assemble 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 who came up at the first, and found written in it,

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 to his city;

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];