Nehemiah 7 Study Notes

7:1-3 Though the wall had been rebuilt, the danger was not over. Nehemiah’s transfer of the gatekeepers from their positions in the temple to protection of the city is understandable. The walled city is in effect an extension of the temple courtyard. The mention of the singers and Levites suggests that Nehemiah needed these well-organized groups to take part in the city’s defense. And with Tobiah’s associates well entrenched in the city, he needed people he could trust such as Hanani and Hananiah.

No explanation is given on why the gates should remain closed until the sun was hot, a time when activity slowed. It may imply mid-morning rather than early morning, in order to give plenty of time for all the guards to come on duty. Another possibility is to understand the word until (Hb ‘ad) as “during,” a less common meaning (Jdg 3:26; 2Kg 9:22; Jb 20:5; Jnh 4:2). This reading would suggest that the instruction was not to keep the gates open during the “siesta” period of the day, when the guards might become lethargic.

7:4-5 Most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem before the exile had been killed, deported, or scattered because of the catastrophe of 586 BC. During the previous eighty years, thousands had returned from Babylonia, but the city’s population still was small. Nehemiah was aware of the difficulty of trying to defend a sparsely populated city. The solution came when God put it into Nehemiah’s mind (lit “heart”) to gather the people to deal with the problem. Before Nehemiah could put his plan into action (11:1-2) he needed accurate census records of those who had returned from exile.

7:6-73a On the census of these returnees, see various notes at Ezr 2.

7:73b-10:39 The narrative about the repopulating of Jerusalem breaks off in 7:73a and does not resume until 11:1. Thus chaps. 8-10 seem to be a parenthetical break that was actually part of the Ezra Memoir and originally stood chronologically between Ezr 8 and 9. Many scholars argue that this narrative was moved to its present position to link the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah.

While it is likely that Ezr 8 (and probably Ezr 9) is part of the Ezra Memoir (see “Structure” in the Introduction to Ezra, p. 699), this does not necessarily mean that the material has been displaced. While biblical writers sometimes present their material thematically and not chronologically (Ezr 4:6-24; Luke), there are no compelling reasons why Ezra could not be present for this reading of the law (Ezr 8) during the time of Nehemiah. It is not without biblical precedent (though it is odd) that Ezra and Nehemiah rarely mention each other even though their ministries overlapped. Thus it is suggested that the author of Ezra-Nehemiah turned from the Nehemiah Memoir he had used for Neh 1:1-7:73a and began drawing on the later section of the Ezra Memoir for Neh 8 and possibly part of Neh 9.

7:73b-8:2 Verse 73b is awkward. The final phrase (the Israelites had settled in their towns) is so similar to v. 73a (all Israel settled in their towns) that possibly a copyist mistakenly repeated the phrase. The seventh month (Tishri) was an important time in the Jewish calendar during which several events occurred. These events included the New Year, the Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Booths. Every seven years at the Festival of Booths the Law was to be read to the people (Dt 31:10-12). Those who are able to listen with understanding include children of a certain age (cp. 10:28; Ezr 10:1).