The wall has been rebuilt, the gates finished and the doors hung (Neh. 7:1). Now Nehemiah sets about organizing and assigning those who will see to the protection and function of the Temple; the temple guards, the singers, and the other Levites1All of these mentioned were of the family of Levi. All were Levites. [You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Dr. Bob Utley. Nehemiah 7:1-4] The Levites had general duties in the tabernacle, when it stood, as well as, now, in the temple. Levi had three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Arron and Moses were descendants of Kohath. All of the descendants of the three sons of Levi we Levites, but only those of the family of Aaron, were priests and could offer the offerings and minister within the Holy Place and Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies, (Exo. 6:16-25; Exo. 29:9; Num. 3:5-10). After that, Nehemiah placed his brother Hanani along with Hananiah2The choice of this man for so important a charge is explained by the additional clause: “for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.” Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, Nehemiah 7:1-3, the commander of the inner fortress3the fortress or citadel of the city lying to the north of the temple (see rem. on Neh._2:8), in which was probably located the royal garrison, the commander of which was in the service of the Persian king. Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, Nehemiah 7:1-3, in charge of Jerusalem (Neh 7:1-2) and gave them instructions for guarding the wall (Neh. 7:3). The city of Jerusalem was relatively large. Some scholars estimate that Jerusalem covered about 260 acres.4THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH – Fellowship Bible Church. Pastor Saxe. https://www.fbcaa.org/BibleStudies/ot/ne/PastorSaxe/NehemiahCh7Vv1to4.pdf The returnees had avoided settling in Jerusalem because it was vulnerable to attack (Neh. 7:4). The small population meant that the city was more vulnerable than it would have been had it been full of people.5 In chapter 11, Nehemiah will devise a plan to increase the population and consequently the security of Jerusalem.
Much of the remainder chapter seven is a record of those who had returned to Judah from Babylon. These, says Nehemiah, are “the remnant.”6Neh. 1:3 ,7The remnant is a recurring theme throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bible. The remnant is promised that they will one day be brought back to the Promised Land by Yahweh (Isaiah 11:11–16). The concept of the remnant is taken up by several other prophets, including Micah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah. In Jeremiah 39–40, the “poor people, who had nothing”,(Jer. 39:10) who remained in Judah when the rest of its population were deported to Babylon, are referred to as a “remnant”.(Jer. 40:11) The post-exilic biblical literature (Ezra–Nehemiah, Haggai and Zechariah) consistently refers to the Jews who have returned from the Babylonian captivity as the remnant (Ezr. 9:8, 9:13-15; Neh. 1:3; Hag. 1:12, 1:14, 2:2; Zec. 8:6, 8:11-12). New Testament verses that refer to a faithful “remnant” include Romans 11:5. In Romans, the remnant alive at the time Paul wrote were “chosen by grace.” According to Dr. Bob Utley, “In Paul’s day there was…a believing remnant of Jewish people. In every age some Jews have responded by faith. Paul asserts that these believing Jews are energized by the mercy and grace of God (Rom. 11:5-6).” These are those who gave up their lives in this world in order to follow after God. They are willing to suffer hardship and even death in order to do the will of their Lord. They live by faith, never faltering, but always trusting God and remaining faithful to Him. God has always had a remnant (1Kings 19: 9-14, 18). Of the captive Jews, only around two percent returned to Jerusalem. These faithful pioneers had faith in God’s promise made through Jeremiah. “I, the Lord, will bring my people back from Babylonia” (Jer. 31:8). The names recorded here and in Ezra 2 were enshrined for all time because they represent The Remnant of God. God remembers the faithful and records their names. He still has a Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:16).
God put it in Nehemiah’s heart to, “gather together the nobles and rulers of the people for the purpose of making a list of their kinsmen, and thus to obtain a basis for the operations contemplated for increasing the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (7:5).8Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament. Nehemiah 7:5-73 And Nehemiah happened upon a register of the those who where repatriated when Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua led the first wave of returnees to Jerusalem, in 537 B.C. in order to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1-6). The register included those who returned with Ezra when he led the second wave of returnees to Jerusalem with the purpose of bringing spiritual reform to Jerusalem (Ezra 7-20). Nehemiah’s version varies slightly from Ezra’s, which appears in Ezra 2:1-70. There are several possible reasons for the differences. Perhaps Ezra created his list while in Babylon as people left, while that of Nehemiah wrote his in Judea, after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt. Nehemiah may have had to adjust Ezra’s list to reflect the names of those who actually arrived and were still in Judah. Perhaps, some families returned to Babylon after a sort stay in Judah. There was a lapse of many years between the recording of the two lists. No doubt some individuals had died. It is possible that, according to Jewish custom, one or more individuals might have has their names changed. For example, “Hariph” in Neh. 7:24) is the same as “Jorah” in Ezra 2:18, “Sia” in Neh. 7:47 is the same as person named “Siaha” in Ezra 2:44, and so on. It must be remembered that God had put it in Nehemiah’s heart to determine who was who in order to assign responsibilities and determine who should be living within the newly rebuild wall of the city. Nehemiah had to adjust Ezra’s record of many years before in order to actually reflect the names of those who were alive and present in his day. Nehemiah did, however, base his register on the one that Ezra had written nearly 80 years prior. Nehemiah will later use his list as the basis for his plan to repopulate the city of Jerusalem (cf. Neh. 11:1-24).
Neh_7:6 “each to his city” This links up with Neh_7:73 a (“all Israel lived in their cities”). This was important because Nehemiah divided the responsibilities for building and wall construction (and guarding and protecting) by
1. original city of the returnees’ parents
2. residence in Jerusalem
3. guild/trade
4. tribe (Levites, priests)
Leaders (7:7)9”These are the main leaders and families.” You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Dr. Bob Utley
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