Nehemiah 11:36 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

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³⁶ And of the Levites, certain divisions in Judah were joined to Benjamin.

Cross Reference

Joshua 21:1-45 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Then the heads of the families of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of families of the tribes of the children of Israel; And said to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, The Lord gave orders by Moses that we were to have towns for living in, with their grass-lands for our cattle. And the children of Israel out of their heritage gave to the Levites these towns with their grass-lands, by the order of the Lord. And the heritage came out for the families of the Kohathites: the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. The rest of the children of Kohath by their families were given ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The children of Gershon by their families were given thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar and Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh which was in Bashan. The children of Merari by their families were given twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Zebulun. All these towns with their grass-lands the children of Israel gave by the decision of the Lord to the Levites, as the Lord had given orders by Moses. From the tribes of the children of Judah and the children of Simeon they gave these towns, listed here by name: These were for the children of Aaron among the families of the Kohathites, of the children of Levi: for they came first in the distribution. They gave them Kiriath-arba, the town of Arba, the father of Anak, (which is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah, with its grass-lands. But the open country round the town, and its unwalled places, they gave to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as his property. And to the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its grass-lands, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Libnah with its grass-lands; And Jattir with its grass-lands, and Eshtemoa with its grass-lands; And Holon with its grass-lands, and Debir with its grass-lands; And Ain, and Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, with their grass-lands; nine towns from those two tribes. And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave Gibeon and Geba with their grass-lands; Anathoth and Almon with their grass-lands, four towns. Thirteen towns with their grass-lands were given to the children of Aaron, the priests. The rest of the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, were given towns from the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave them Shechem with its grass-lands in the hill-country of Ephraim, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Gezer with its grass-lands; And Kibzaim and Beth-horon with their grass-lands, four towns. And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke and Gibbethon with their grass-lands; Aijalon and Gath-rimmon with their grass-lands, four towns. And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and Gath-rimmon with their grass-lands, two towns. All the towns of the rest of the families of the children of Kohath were ten with their grass-lands. And to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, they gave from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its grass-lands, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Ashtaroth with its grass-lands, two towns. And from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion and Daberath with their grass-lands; Jarmuth and En-gannim with their grass-lands, four towns. And from the tribe of Asher, Mishal and Abdon, with their grass-lands: Helkath and Rehob with their grass-lands, four towns. And from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its grass-lands, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Hammoth-dor and Kartan with their grass-lands, three towns. All the towns of the Gershonites with their families were thirteen with their grass-lands. And to the rest of the Levites, that is, the families of the children of Merari, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and Kartah with their grass-lands; Dimnah and Nahalal with their grass-lands, four towns. And from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and Jahaz with their grass-lands; Kedemoth and Mephaath with their grass-lands, four towns. And from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, the town where the taker of life might be safe, and Mahanaim with their grass-lands; Heshbon and Jazer with their grass-lands, four towns. All these towns were given to the children of Merari by their families, that is, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their heritage was twelve towns. All the towns of the Levites, among the heritage of the children of Israel, were forty-eight towns with their grass-lands. Every one of these towns had grass-lands round it. So the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he gave by oath to their fathers; so it became their heritage and their living-place. And the Lord gave them peace on every side, as he had said to their fathers: all those who were against them gave way before them, for the Lord gave them all up into their hands. The Lord kept faith with the house of Israel about all the good which he said he would do for them, and all his words came true.

1 Chronicles 6:54-81 BBE

KJV ASV YLT DARBY WEB STRONG

Now these are their living-places, the limits inside which they were to put up their tents: to the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, because they had the first selection, To them they gave Hebron and its outskirts in the land of Judah; But the open country of the town, and the small places round it, they gave to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. And to the sons of Aaron they gave Hebron, the town to which men might go in flight and be safe, and Libnah with its outskirts, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa with its outskirts, And Hilen with its outskirts, Debir with its outskirts, And Ashan with its outskirts, and Beth-shemesh with its outskirts; And from the tribe of Benjamin: Geba with its outskirts, and Alemeth with its outskirts, and Anathoth with its outskirts. All their towns among their families were thirteen towns. And to the rest of the sons of Kohath there were given by the Lord's decision ten towns out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim and out of the tribe of Dan and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh. And to the sons of Gershom, by their families, out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen towns. And to the sons of Merari, by their families, twelve towns were given by the Lord's decision, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun. And the children of Israel gave to the Levites the towns with their outskirts. And they gave by the Lord's decision out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these towns whose names are given. And to the families of the sons of Kohath were given towns by the Lord's decision out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave them the town to which men might go in flight and be safe, Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim with its outskirts, and Gezer with its outskirts, And Jokmeam with its outskirts, and Beth-horon with its outskirts, And Aijalon with its outskirts, and Gath-rimmon with its outskirts; And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Aner with its outskirts, and Bileam with its outskirts, for the rest of the family of the sons of Kohath. To the sons of Gershom were given, out of the family of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its outskirts, and Ashtaroth with its outskirts; And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kedesh with its outskirts, and Daberath with its outskirts, And Ramoth with its outskirts, and Anem with its outskirts; And out of the tribe of Asher, Mashal with its outskirts, and Abdon with its outskirts, And Hukok with its outskirts, and Rehob with its outskirts; And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its outskirts, and Hammon with its outskirts, and Kiriathaim with its outskirts. To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its outskirts, Tabor with its outskirts; And on the other side of Jordan, at Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them, out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the waste land with its outskirts, and Jahzah with its outskirts, And Kedemoth with its outskirts, and Mephaath with its outskirts; And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its outskirts, and Mahanaim with its outskirts, And Heshbon with its outskirts, and Jazer with its outskirts.

Commentary on Nehemiah 11 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill Keil & Delitzsch Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Chapter 11

Jerusalem was walled round, but it was not as yet fully inhabited, and therefore was weak and despicable. Nehemiah's next care is to bring people into it; of that we have here an account.

I. The methods taken to replenish it (v. 1, 2).
II. The principal persons that resided there, of Judah and Benjamin (v. 3-9), of the priests and Levites (v. 10-19).
III. The several cities and villages of Judah and Benjamin that were peopled by the rest of their families (v. 20-36).

Neh 11:1-19

Jerusalem is called here the holy city (v. 1), because there the temple was, and that was the place God had chosen to put his name there; upon this account, one would think, the holy seed should all have chosen to dwell there and have striven for a habitation there; but, on the contrary, it seems they declined dwelling there,

1. Because a greater strictness of conversation was expected from the inhabitants of Jerusalem than from others, which they were not willing to come up to. Those who care not for being holy themselves are shy of dwelling in a holy city; they would not dwell in the New Jerusalem itself for that reason, but would wish to have a continuing city here upon earth. Or,
2. Because Jerusalem, of all places, was most hated by the heathen their neighbours, and against it their malicious designs were levelled, which made that the post of danger (as the post of honour usually is) and therefore they were not willing to expose themselves there. Fear of persecution and reproach, and of running themselves into trouble, keeps many out of the holy city, and makes them backward to appear for God and religion, not considering that, as Jerusalem is with a special malice threatened and insulted by its enemies, so it is with a special care protected by its God and made a quiet habitation, Isa. 33:20; Ps. 46:4, 5. Or,
3. Because it was more for their worldly advantage to dwell in the country. 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. 2:21. 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. People being thus backward to dwell at Jerusalem, now that it was poor, we are here told,
- I. By what means it was replenished.
  - 1. The rulers dwelt there, v. 1. That was the proper place for them to reside in, because there were set the thrones of judgment (Ps. 122:5), and thither, in all difficult matters, the people resorted with their last appeals. And if it were an instance of eminent affection to the house of God, zeal for the public good, and of faith, and holy courage, and self-denial, to dwell there at this time, the rulers would be examples of these to their inferiors. Their dwelling there would invite and encourage others to dwell there too. Magnates magnetes-the mighty are magnetic. When great men choose the holy city for their habitation their example brings holiness into reputation, and their zeal will provoke very many.
  - 2. There were some that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem, nobly foregoing their own secular interest for the public welfare, v. 2. It is upon record, to their honour, that when others were shy of venturing upon difficulty, loss, and danger, they sought the good of Jerusalem, because of the house of the Lord their God. Those shall prosper that thus love Zion, Ps. 122:6, 9. It is said, The people blessed them. They praised them; they prayed for them; they praised God for them. Many that do not appear forward themselves for the public good will yet give a good word to those that do. God and man will bless those that are public blessings, which should encourage us to be zealous in doing good.
  - 3. They, finding that yet there was room, concluded upon a review of their whole body to bring one in ten to dwell in Jerusalem; who they should be was determined by lot, the disposal whereof, all knew, was of the Lord. This would prevent strife, and would be a great satisfaction to those on whom the lot fell to dwell at Jerusalem, that they plainly saw God appointing the bounds of their habitation. They observed the proportion of one in ten, as we may suppose, to bring the balance between the city and country to a just and equal poise; so it seems to refer to the ancient rule of giving the tenth to God; and what is given to the holy city he reckons given to himself.
- II. By what persons it was replenished. A general account is here given of the inhabitants of Jerusalem because the governors of Judah looked upon them as their strength in the Lord of hosts their God, and valued them accordingly, Zec. 12:5.
  - 1. Many of the children of Judah and Benjamin dwelt there; for, originally, part of the city law in the lot of one of those tribes and part in that of the other; but the greater part was in the lot of Benjamin, and therefore here we find of the children of Judah only 468 families in Jerusalem (v. 6), but of Benjamin 928, v. 7, 8. Thus small were its beginnings, but afterwards, before our Saviour's time, it grew much more populous. Those of Judah all descended from Perez, or Pharez, that son of Judah of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. And, though the Benjamites were more in number, yet of the men of Judah it is said (v. 6) that they were valiant men, fit for service, and able to defend the city in case of an attack. Judah has not lost its ancient character of a lion's whelp, bold and daring. Of the Benjamites that dwelt in Jerusalem we are here told who was overseer, and who was second, v. 9. For it is as necessary for a people to have good order kept up among themselves as to be fortified against the attacks of their enemies from abroad, to have good magistrates as to have good soldiers.
  - 2. The priests and Levites did many of them settle at Jerusalem; where else should men that were holy to God dwell, but in the holy city?
    - (1.) Most of the priests, we may suppose, dwelt there, for their business lay where the temple was. Of those that did the work of the house in their courses here were 822 of one family, 242 of another, and 128 of another, v. 12-14. It was well that those labourers were not few. It is said of some of them that they were mighty men of valour (v. 14); it was necessary that they should be so, for the priesthood was not only a work, which required might, but a warfare, which required valour, especially now. Of one of these priests it is said that he was the son of one of the great men. It was no disparagement to the greatest man they had to have his son in the priesthood; he might magnify his office, for his office did not in the least diminish him.
    - (2.) Some of the Levites also came and dwelt at Jerusalem, yet but few in comparison, 284 in all (v. 18), with 172 porters (v. 19), for much of their work was to teach the good knowledge of God up and down the country, for which purpose they were to be scattered in Israel. As many as there was occasion for attended at Jerusalem; the rest were doing good elsewhere.
      - [1.] It is said of one of the Levites that he had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God, v. 16. The priests were chief managers of the business within the temple gates; but this Levite was entrusted with the secular concerns of God's house, that were in ordine ad spiritualia-subservient to its spiritual concerns, the collecting of the contributions, the providing of materials for the temple service, and the like, which it was necessary to oversee, else the inward business would have been starved and have stood still. Those who take care of the ta exoµthe outward concerns of the church, the serving of its tables, are as necessary in their place as those who take care of its ta esoµits inward concerns, who give themselves to the word and prayer.
      - [2.] It is said of another that he was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer. Probably he had a good ear and a good voice, and was a scientific singer, and therefore was chosen to lead the psalm. He was precentor in the temple. Observe, Thanksgiving is necessary in prayer; they should go together; giving thanks for former mercies is a becoming way of begging further mercies. And care should be taken in public service that every thing be done in the best manner, decently and in good order- in prayer, that one speak and the rest join-in singing, that one begin and the rest follow.

Neh 11:20-36

Having given an account of the principal persons that dwelt in Jerusalem (a larger account of whom he had before, 1 Chr. 9:2, etc.), Nehemiah, in these verses, gives us some account of the other cities, in which dwelt the residue of Israel, v. 20. It was requisite that Jerusalem should be replenished, yet not so as to drain the country. The king himself is served of the field, which will do little service if there be not hands to manage it. Let there therefore be no strife, no envy, no contempt, no ill will, between the inhabitants of the cities and those of the villages; both are needful, both useful, and neither can be spared.

1. The Nethinims, the posterity of the Gibeonites, dwelt in Ophel, which was upon the wall of Jerusalem (ch. 3:26), because they were to do the servile work of the temple, which therefore they must be posted near to, that they might be ready to attend, v. 21.
2. Though the Levites were dispersed through the cities of Judah, yet they had an overseer who resided in Jerusalem, superior of their order and their provincial, to whom they applied for direction, who took care of their affairs and took cognizance of their conduct, whether they did their duty, v. 22.
3. Some of the singers were appointed to look after the necessary repairs of the temple, being ingenious men, and having leisure between their hours of service; they were over the business of the house of God, v. 22. And, it seems, the king of Persia had such a kindness for their office that he allotted a particular maintenance for them, besides what belonged to them as Levites, v. 23.
4. Here is one that was the king's commissioner at Jerusalem. He was of the posterity of Zerah (v. 24); for of that family of Judah there were some new settled in Jerusalem, and not all of Pharez, as appears by that other catalogue, 1 Chr. 9:6. He is said to be at the king's hand, or on the king's part, in all matters concerning the people, to determine controversies that arose between the king's officers and his subjects, to see that what was due to the king from the people was duly paid in and what was allowed by the king for the temple service was duly paid out, and happy it was for the Jews that one of themselves was in this post.
5. Here is an account of the villages, or country towns, which were inhabited by the residue of Israel-the towns in which the children of Judah dwelt (v. 25-30), those that were inhabited by the children of Benjamin (v. 31-35), and divisions for the Levites among both, v. 36. We will now suppose them safe and easy, though few and poor, but by the blessing of God they were likely to increase in wealth and power, and they would have been more likely if there had not been that general profaneness among them, and lukewarmness in religion, with which they were charged in God's name by the prophet Malachi, who, it is supposed, prophesied about this time, and in whom prophecy ceased for some ages, till it revived in the great prophet and his forerunner.

Worthy.Bible » BBE » Nehemiah » Chapter 11 » Verse 36