Nehemiah 11:1
in Nehemiah 11Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city of Jerusalem, while the remaining nine were to dwell in their own towns.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the princes of the people dwelt in Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts in the other cities.
KJV
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.
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This verse in Nehemiah 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To bring one of ten - Artificial enlargements of capitals by forcible transfers of population to them, were not unusual in ancient times. About 500 B.C., Syracuse became a great city in this way. Tradition ascribed the greatness of Rome, in part, to this cause.
This site's exposition
to bring one out of ten
on Nehemiah 11:1-2
The wall now stood, but Jerusalem stood thin. Verse 2 honors the volunteers: "the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem" (11:2). The Hebrew verb behind volunteered is the verb of the freewill offering, so settling in the exposed city is named as a gift.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. etc. The arrangement that had been begun right after the rebuilding of the city is now complete; but up to this time, it could not be finished before the numbering of the people and the completion …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Jerusalem was no trading city, and therefore there was no money to be got there by merchandise, as there was in the country by corn and cattle. Note, All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's, Phil. ii. It is a general and just complaint that most people prefer their own wealth, credit, pleasure, ease, and safety, before the glory of God and the public good.
That was the proper place for them to reside in, because there were set the thrones of judgment ( Ps. cxxii. 5 ), and thither, in all difficult matters, the people resorted with their last appeals.
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
No wonder that the conduct of these volunteers drew forth the tribute of public admiration; for they sacrificed their personal safety and comfort for the interests of the community because Jerusalem was at that time a place against which the enemies of the Jews were directing a thousand plots.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To bring one of ten - Jerusalem certainly had many inhabitants at this time; but not sufficient to preserve the city, which was now encompassed with a wall, and the rebuilding of which was going on fast. Nehemiah therefore obliged one tenth of the country people to come and dwell in it, that the population might be sufficient for the preservation and defense of the city. Ten were set apart, and the lot cast among them to see which one of the ten should take up his residence in the city.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
one of ten of Israel, so that they should dwell in Jerusalem to guard the city.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּשְׁב֥וּ | vaiyeshevu | and they dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| שָׂרֵֽי־ | sarei- | [the] leaders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וּשְׁאָ֣ר | ushear | and [the] rest of | H7605 → | 26 times |
| הָ֠עָם | haom | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הִפִּ֨ילוּ | hipilu | they cast | H5307 → | 435 times |
| גוֹרָל֜וֹת | goralot | lots | H1486 → | |
| לְהָבִ֣יא׀ | lehavi' | to bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶחָ֣ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִן־ | min- | of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָעֲשָׂרָ֗ה | haasarah | the ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| לָשֶׁ֙בֶת֙ | lashevet | to dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בִּֽירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ | birushalim | in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ | hakodesh | <the> holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| וְתֵ֥שַׁע | vetesha' | and nine | H8672 → | 58 times |
| הַיָּד֖וֹת | haiyadot | the hands | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בֶּעָרִֽים׃ | bearim | [were] in the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וַיֵּשְׁב֥וּand they dwelt
vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times
שָׂרֵֽי־[the] leaders of
sarei-H8269 →421 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑םin Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
וּשְׁאָ֣רand [the] rest of
ushearH7605 →26 times
הָ֠עָםthe people
haomH5971 →1873 times
הִפִּ֨ילוּthey cast
hipiluH5307 →435 times
גוֹרָל֜וֹתlots
goralotH1486 →
לְהָבִ֣יא׀to bring
lehavi'H935 →2568 times
אֶחָ֣דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִן־of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָעֲשָׂרָ֗הthe ten
haasarahH6235 →176 times
לָשֶׁ֙בֶת֙to dwell
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
בִּֽירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙in Jerusalem
birushalimH3389 →643 times
עִ֣יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ<the> holiness
hakodeshH6944 →469 times
וְתֵ֥שַׁעand nine
vetesha'H8672 →58 times
הַיָּד֖וֹתthe hands
haiyadotH3027 →1618 times
בֶּעָרִֽים׃[were] in the cities
bearimH5892 →1090 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 52:1Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:2
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Isaiah 51:17
Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—the cup that makes men…
- Zechariah 3:4
So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”
- Isaiah 51:9
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the…
- Revelation 21:2
Through
Matthew 4:5Then the devil took Him to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple.
it leads to
- Matthew 27:53
After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 4:9
Then the devil led Him to Jerusalem and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down from here.
- Matthew 27:53
Through
Nehemiah 10:34We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring it to the house of our…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 13:31
I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, with favor.
- Nehemiah 13:31
About Nehemiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.