Nehemiah 2:16
in Nehemiah 2The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews or priests or nobles or officials or any other workers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
KJV
And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe rulers knew not whither I went - He made no person privy to his design, that he might hide every thing as much as possible from their enemies till he had all things in readiness; lest they should take measures to defeat the work.
This site's exposition
toward the Well of the Serpent
on Nehemiah 2:13-16
The night ride runs the city's edge by name, out through "the Valley Gate toward the Well of the Serpent and the Dung Gate" (2:13). He goes up the valley, inspects the wall and reenters by the Valley Gate. He tells the officials, priests and nobles nothing yet.
This site's exposition
The officials did not know where
Clarke explains the silence as a guard against the enemies of verse 10, who would have moved to stop the work. The list of those who had not been told runs from Jews and priests to nobles and officials. Chapter 3 names priests and officials among the workers.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did.....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The rulers - The principal authorities of the city, in the absence of the special governor. The rest that did the work - i. e. “the laboring class that (afterward) actually built the wall.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַסְּגָנִ֗ים | vehaseganim | and the officials | H5461 → | 17 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדְעוּ֙ | yadeu | they knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אָ֣נָה | ʾanah | where? | H575 → | |
| הָלַ֔כְתִּי | halakhti | had I gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וּמָ֖ה | umah | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | [was] I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עֹשֶׂ֑ה | ʾoseh | doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְלַיְּהוּדִ֨ים | velaiyehudim | and to the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| וְלַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים | velakohanim | and to the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְלַחֹרִ֣ים | velachorim | and to the nobles | H2715 → | 13 times |
| וְלַסְּגָנִ֗ים | velaseganim | and to the officials | H5461 → | 17 times |
| וּלְיֶ֙תֶר֙ | uleyeter | and to [the] rest | H3499 → | 102 times |
| עֹשֵׂ֣ה | ʾoseh | <of> [who was] doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה | hamelakhah | <of> the work | H4399 → | 167 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הִגַּֽדְתִּי׃ | higadti | I had told | H5046 → | 370 times |
וְהַסְּגָנִ֗יםand the officials
vehaseganimH5461 →17 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָדְעוּ֙they knew
yadeuH3045 →945 times
אָ֣נָהwhere?
ʾanahH575 →
הָלַ֔כְתִּיhad I gone
halakhtiH1980 →1546 times
וּמָ֖הand what?
umahH4100 →752 times
אֲנִ֣י[was] I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
עֹשֶׂ֑הdoing
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
וְלַיְּהוּדִ֨יםand to the Jews
velaiyehudimH3064 →75 times
וְלַכֹּהֲנִ֜יםand to the priests
velakohanimH3548 →750 times
וְלַחֹרִ֣יםand to the nobles
velachorimH2715 →13 times
וְלַסְּגָנִ֗יםand to the officials
velaseganimH5461 →17 times
וּלְיֶ֙תֶר֙and to [the] rest
uleyeterH3499 →102 times
עֹשֵׂ֣ה<of> [who was] doing
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה<of> the work
hamelakhahH4399 →167 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
כֵּ֖ןthus
kenH3651 →771 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הִגַּֽדְתִּי׃I had told
higadtiH5046 →370 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.