Nehemiah 11:17

17 And Mattaniah, the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was (the) prince in God's house, to praise and acknowledge to him in prayer; and Bakbukiah was the second of his brethren, and Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. (And Mattaniah, the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, led the Temple choir in singing the prayer of thanksgiving; and Bakbukiah was the second among his kinsmen, and Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.)

Nehemiah 11:17 Meaning and Commentary

Nehemiah 11:17

And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of
Asaph
Zabdi is called Zichri in ( 1 Chronicles 9:15 )

was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer:
he was the precentor, or led the song at the time of the daily sacrifice, in which prayer was also made, as in many of the songs, hymns, and psalms of David:

and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren;
he was the next singer, or deputy to Mattaniah; perhaps the same that is called Bakbakkar, ( 1 Chronicles 9:15 )

and Abda the son of Shammua;
called Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, ( 1 Chronicles 9:16 )

the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun:
one of the three principal singers.

Nehemiah 11:17 In-Context

15 And of deacons (And of the Levites); Shemaiah, the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;

16 and Shabbethai, and Jozabad was ordained of the princes of deacons, upon all the works that were done withoutforth in God's house. (and Shabbethai, and Jozabad, of the leaders of the Levites, who were ordained upon all the work that was done outside the House of God.)

17 And Mattaniah, the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was (the) prince in God's house, to praise and acknowledge to him in prayer; and Bakbukiah was the second of his brethren, and Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. (And Mattaniah, the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, led the Temple choir in singing the prayer of thanksgiving; and Bakbukiah was the second among his kinsmen, and Abda, the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.)

18 All the deacons in the holy city, were two hundred fourscore and four. (In all, there were two hundred and eighty-four Levites in the holy city.)

19 And the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and the brethren of them, that kept the doors of the temple, were an hundred and two and seventy. (And the guards, or the doorkeepers, who kept guard at the Temple gates, were Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen, a hundred and seventy-two.)