Nehemiah 7:3

3 and I said to them, The gates of Jerusalem be not opened till to the heat of the sun (and I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the heat of the sun); and, when I was yet present, the gates were closed, and locked. And I set keepers thereof (out) of the dwellers of Jerusalem, all men by their whiles, or times, and each man over against his own house.

Nehemiah 7:3 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 7:3

And I said unto them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened
until the sun be hot
Or until the heat of the day, or near noon; at least not till the sun had been up some time, and shone out clearly, and caused much heat; that if any enemies were near, or lying in wait, they might be discovered, and the inhabitants also up and ready to defend themselves:

and while they stand by;
according to Aben Ezra, Hanani and Hananiah were to be present at the opening and shutting of the gates, and so Grotius; but these being the chief rulers, it is not likely; but rather those whom they appointed to look after them, these were to stand by while their servants did it; they were not to leave it wholly to them, but to see it done themselves:

let them shut the doors, and bar them;
or "lay hold" ^F1 on them, handle them to see whether they are shut fast or not:

and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his
watch, and everyone to be over against his house;
no foreigners were to be of the watch, only inhabitants, and those everyone in their turn, and to be placed over against where they dwelt; and so it might be thought would be the more careful and diligent in their watch.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (wzxaw) "et tractate", Junius & Tremellius; "contrectate eas", Piscator.

Nehemiah 7:3 In-Context

1 And after that the wall of Jerusalem was builded, and I had set up the gates thereof, and had numbered the porters, and singers, and deacons, (And after that the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, and I had put up its gates, or its doors, and had appointed the guards, or the doorkeepers, and the singers, and the Levites,)

2 I commanded to Hanani, my brother, and to Hananiah, the prince of the house of Jerusalem (I put my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the commander of the stronghold, or the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem); for he seemed a soothfast man, and dreading God more than other men did;

3 and I said to them, The gates of Jerusalem be not opened till to the heat of the sun (and I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the heat of the sun); and, when I was yet present, the gates were closed, and locked. And I set keepers thereof (out) of the dwellers of Jerusalem, all men by their whiles, or times, and each man over against his own house.

4 And the city was full broad and great, and little people in the midst thereof (but there were few people living there), and the houses were not yet builded.

5 And God gave in mine heart, and I gathered together the principal men, and (the) magistrates, and the common people, for to number them; and I found a book of the number[ing] of them, that had gone up first from the captivity. And it was found written therein, (And God put in my heart, to gather together the leaders, and the magistrates, and the common people, to list, or to register, them; and I found a book listing those who had first returned from the captivity. And I found written in it,)