Nehemiah 12:37 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Nehemiah 12:37
And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
an eye (literally or figuratively) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
gate
שַׁ֨עַרSha.'ar
H8179
an opening · noun, common masculine singular construct
up
עָלוּ֙'a.Lu
H5927
to ascend · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
stairs
מַעֲלוֹת֙ma.'a.lOt
H4609
elevation · noun, common feminine plural construct
city
עִ֣יר'ir
H5892
a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · noun, common feminine singular construct
David
דָּוִ֔ידda.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
up
בַּֽמַּעֲלֶ֖הba.ma.'a.Leh
H4608
an elevation · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
wall
לַחוֹמָ֑הla.cho.Mah
H2346
a wall of protection · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
house
לְבֵ֣יתle.Veit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
David
דָּוִ֔ידda.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
water
הַמַּ֖יִםha.Ma.yim
H4325
water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
gate
שַׁ֥עַרSha.'ar
H8179
an opening · noun, common masculine singular construct
eastward
מִזְרָֽחmiz.Rach
H4217
sunrise · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Nehemiah 2:14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
Nehemiah 3:26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.
Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scri…
Nehemiah 8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those…
Nehemiah 8:16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in th…
2 Samuel 5:7-9 Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
Nehemiah 3:15-16 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 12:27-43
We have read of the building of the wall of Jerusalem with a great deal of fear and trembling; we have here an account of the dedicating of it with a great deal of joy and triumph. Those that sow in tears shall thus reap.
I. We must enquire what was the meaning of this dedication of the wall; we will suppose it to include the dedication of the city too (continens pro contentothe thing containing for the thing contained), and therefore it was not done till the city was pretty well replenished, Neh 11:1. It was a solemn thanksgiving to God for his great mercy to them in the perfecting of this undertaking, of which they were the more sensible because of the difficulty and opposition they had me…
at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem--This ceremony of consecrating the wall and gates of the city was an act of piety on the part of Nehemiah, not merely to thank God in a general way for having been enabled to bring the building to a happy completion, but especially because that city was the place which He had chosen. It also contained the temple which was hallowed by the manifestation of His presence, and anew set apart to His service. It was on these accounts that Jerusalem was called "the holy city," and by this public and solemn act of religious observance, after a long period of neglect and desecration, it was, as it were, restored to its rightful proprietor. The dedication cons…
Then I brought up the princes - Perhaps this verse should be read thus: "Then I caused the princes of Judah to go upon the wall, and appointed two great choirs, [to sing praises], and two processions, one on the right hand, etc.
The following seems to have been the order of the procession: he divided the priests, the Levites, the magistrates, and the people into two companies; each company to go round one half of the wall. They began at the dung gate, one party going to the right and the other to the left, till they met at the great space opposite to the temple, where they all offered many sacrifices to God, and rejoiced with exceeding great joy; shouting so that the noise was heard a great…
The Church Fathers
And they went up against them on the steps of the city of David, etc. Above, when the city was being built, it was said: Those who built the gate of the fountain continued their measure of work up to the steps descending from the city of David (Neh. III). There, therefore, is the descent of the steps during the building; here, however, during the dedication of the city, is the ascent mentioned; just as there labor and conflict with the enemy is conducted, here the joy of the enemy having been defeated is celebrated, because indeed all the saints, who now are humbled under the mighty hand of God, will be exalted by Him in the future. Those who now build the walls of the Church on earth from living stones, namely holy souls, in affliction and dangers, in many vigils, then with the completion of the same building, and when it has been raised in the kingdom of heaven, they, rejoicing, ascend to contemplate its glory. However, the house of David, that is, by the strong and desirable hand, are all the just, who by the grace of their Creator are filled and inhabited by Him. And the sons of priests ascend upon the house of David, when holy preachers, or martyrs, as they now pass through the general life of the just, either through the ministry of the word or the struggle of martyrdom; in this way, then, the general rewards of them precede the higher gifts of remuneration. To whom the parable of the faithful servants aptly fits, of which one says, Lord, your mina has made ten minas; the same Lord says, Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in a little, you will have authority over ten cities. To another saying the same, Lord, your mina has made five minas; and He says, You be over five cities (Luke XIX). For as many as one now instructs to life by his word or example, to such an extent he will then be honored, appearing more glorious in the perception of life. The priests also come to the water gate towards the east, when those who in this life, just as the deer longs for the fountains of water, so desired to appear before the face of God, they reach the affection of this desire, and merit to see the rise of the Sun of righteousness without setting. But it is said, And they went up against them; it does not signify the contrariety of distance, but the encounter of harmony, by which the elect both in this life once kindle each other to the love of…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Ezra — Help. (1.) A priest among those that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubabel (Neh. 12:1). (2.) The “scribe” who led the second body of exiles that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem B.C. 459, and…
Jerusalem — Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the…
Nehemiah — Comforted by Jehovah. (1.) Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7. (2.) Neh. 3:16. (3.) The son of Hachaliah (Neh. 1:1), and probably of the tribe of Judah. His family must have belonged to Jerusalem (Neh. 2:3). He was…
Temple — First used of the tabernacle, which is called “the temple of the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:9). In the New Testament the word is used figuratively of Christ’s human body (John 2:19, 21). Believers are called…
Dedication · Of the wall of — Of the wall of
Ezra · . — .
Jerusalem · Gate of the fountain — Gate of the fountain
Levites, The · Services of: Conducting the sacred music — Services of: Conducting the sacred music
Stairs · Of David — Of David
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And at the fountain gate, which was over against them,.... Of which see Nehemiah 2:14 and which was to the south of the dung gate:
they went up; that is, one of the two companies, that which took to the right on the wall, Nehemiah 12:31 with which these words are to be connected:
by the stairs of the city of David; which went up to the city of Zion, built on an eminence:
at the going up of the wall, above the house of David; where the wall was higher, and there was an ascent to it:
even unto the water gate eastward; of which see Nehemiah 3:26 turning from the south to the east, and so drew nigh the temple.
Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 12:27-43
The dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. - The measures proposed for increasing the numbers of the inhabitants of Jerusalem having now been executed (Neh 7:5 and Neh 11:1.), the restored wall of circumvallation was solemnly dedicated. Neh 12:27-29 treat of the preparations for this solemnity.
Neh 12:27
At the dedication (i.e., at the time of, בּ denoting nearness of time) they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to keep the dedication. Only a portion of the Levites dwelt in Jerusalem (Neh 11:15-18); the rest dwelt in places in the neighbourhood, as is more expressly stated in Neh 12:28 and Neh 12:29. ושׂמחה, to keep the dedication and joy, is not suitable,…
Long, slender, metal trumpets were played for festive, joyous occasions (1 Chr 13:8; 15:23; 16:6, 42; Ezra 3:10) by the descendants of Asaph.
Rashi on Nehemiah 12:37
And by the Fountain Gate Before the Fountain Gate, they marched around the city.
and opposite them And before them they ascended from the Fountain Gate to the steps of the City of David, and those steps led to the wall.
