Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 11:20–end
Having given an account of the principal persons that dwelt in Jerusalem (a larger account of whom he had before, Ch1 9:2, etc.), Nehemiah, in these verses, gives us some account of the other cities, in which dwelt the residue of Israel, Neh 11:20. 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 Op…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 11:17
the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer--that is, the leader of the choir which chanted the public praise at the time of the morning and evening sacrifice. That service was always accompanied by some appropriate psalm, the sacred music being selected and guided by the person named.
Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 11:17
The principal to begin the thanksgiving - The precentor, pitcher of the tune, or master-singer.
John Gill on Nehemiah 11:20
And the residue of Israel, of the priests and the Levites,..... All of them, besides those that dwelt at Jerusalem: were
in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance; the Israelites in the cities, houses, and estates enjoyed by their ancestors, and the priests and Levites in the cities given out of the several tribes.
Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 11:20-24
Certain special remarks follow in Neh 11:20. - Neh 11:20 states that the rest of the Israelites, priests, and Levites dwelt in all the (other) cities of Judah, each in his inheritance. These cities are enumerated in Neh 11:25.
Neh 11:21
The Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, the southern slope of Mount Moriah; see rem. on Neh 3:26. Their chiefs were Zihah and Gispa. ציחה occurs Ezr 2:43, followed by חשׂוּפא, as head of a division of Levites; whence Bertheau tries, but unsuccessfully, to identify the latter name with גּשׁפּא. For it does not follow that, because a division of Nethinim was descended from Hasupha, that Gishpa, one of the chiefs of those Nethinim who dwelt on Ophel, must be the same indiv…
