Chapter 7
1 When the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, and I appointed Hananiah as the commander of the citadel, for he was a trustworthy man and more God-fearing than most.
3 I said to them: “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot,[a] and when the sun begins to go down, have the gatekeepers shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their posts and others in front of their own homes.”
Census of the Province. 4 Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few inhabitants within it, and the houses had not been rebuilt. 5 Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles, the magistrates, and the common people to be enrolled by families. I also discovered the genealogical record of those who had been the first to come back. This is what I found written in it:
6 These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of those exiles whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had carried away. Each returned to his own town. 7 They were the ones who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
The number of the Israelite people: 8 the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; 9 the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; 10 the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; 11 the sons of Pahath-moab who were sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; 12 the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 13 the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five; 14 the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; 15 the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; 16 the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; 17 the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; 18 the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; 19 the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven; 20 the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; 21 the sons of Ater who were sons of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; 22 the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; 23 the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four; 24 the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; 25 the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; 26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight; 27 the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; 28 the men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; 29 the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; 30 the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; 31 the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; 32 the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three; 33 the men of Nebo, fifty-two; 34 the sons of another Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; 35 the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; 36 the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; 37 the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; 38 the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; 40 the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; 41 the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; 42 the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen.
43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua and Kadmiel of the descendants of Hodeviah, seventy-four.
44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight.
45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, and the sons of Shobai: one hundred and thirty-eight.
46 The temple slaves: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of the Meunites, the sons of the Nephusites, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Nezaiah, the sons of Hatipha.
57 The descendants of the slaves of Solomon: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon. 60 The total of the temple slaves and the sons of Solomon’s slaves; three hundred and ninety-two.
61 The following were those who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer but were unable to prove that their families were of Israelite descent:[b] 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, numbering six hundred and forty-two. 63 Also, among the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, and the sons of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and adopted that name). 64 These men had sought to find their entries among those enrolled in the genealogies, but their names were not able to be found there, and as a result, they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. 65 Consequently, His Excellency forbade them to partake of any of the consecrated food until a priest appeared who was able to consult the Urim and the Thummim.
66 The entire assembly numbered forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, 67 not including their male and female slaves, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven, as well as two hundred and forty-five male and female singers. 68 They also had seven hundred and thirty-six horses, two hundred and forty-five mules, 69 four hundred and thirty-five camels, and six thousand seven hundred and twenty donkeys.
70 Some of the heads of families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty bowls, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments. 71 And some of the heads of ancestral houses gave to the building fund twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. 72 The contributions of the rest of the people amounted to twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, and the temple servants, along with some of the people and the rest of the Israelites, took up residence in their own towns.
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 7:3 Sun is hot: Nehemiah’s unusually late opening for the city gates was a preventative measure against any enemy planning an attack before the people were fully awake.
- Nehemiah 7:61 Prove . . . Israelite descent: having proof of one’s lineage as a descendant of Abraham (i.e., one of God’s people) was of utmost importance.