Nehemiah 4:13

Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
set	וָֽאַעֲמִ֞יד va.'a.'a.Mid	H5975	to stand · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
lower	מִֽתַּחְתִּיּ֧וֹת mi.tach.ti.Yot	H8482	lowermost · preposition + adjective, feminine plural construct
places	לַמָּק֛וֹם la.ma.Kom	H4725	properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
behind	מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י me.'a.cha.Rei	H310	properly · preposition + cardinal number, masculine plural construct
wall	לַחוֹמָ֖ה la.cho.Mah	H2346	a wall of protection · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
places	בַּצְּחִיחִ֑ים ba.tze.chi.chi.yim	H6706	glaring · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders plural absolute
set	וָֽאַעֲמִ֤יד va.'a.'a.Mid	H5975	to stand · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
people	הָעָם֙ ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
families	לְמִשְׁפָּח֔וֹת le.mish.pa.Chot	H4940	a family · preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
swords	חַרְבֹתֵיהֶ֛ם char.vo.tei.Hem	H2719	drought · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
spears	רָמְחֵיהֶ֖ם ra.me.chei.Hem	H7420	a lance (as thrown) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
bows	וְקַשְּׁתֹתֵיהֶֽם ve.ka.she.to.tei.Hem	H7198	a bow · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural

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 4:17-18 They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and…
Ephesians 6:11-20 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Genesis 32:13-20 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
2 Chronicles 32:2-8 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
Psalms 112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Song of Solomon 3:7-8 Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
1 Corinthians 14:20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4:7-15

We have here, I. The conspiracy which the Jews' enemies formed against them, to stay the building by slaying the builders. The conspirators were not only Sanballat and Tobiah, but other neighbouring people whom they had drawn into the plot. They flattered themselves with a fancy that the work would soon stand still of itself; but, when they heard that it went on a prospered, they were angry at the Jews for being so hasty to push the work forward and angry at themselves for being so slow in opposing it (Neh 4:7): They were very wroth. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. Nothing would serve but they would fight against Jerusalem, Neh 4:8. Why, what quar…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 4:7

HE SETS A WATCH. (Neh. 4:7-23) But . . . when Sanballat . . . heard that the walls . . . were made up, and . . . the breaches . . . stopped--The rapid progress of the fortifications, despite all their predictions to the contrary, goaded the Samaritans to frenzy. So they, dreading danger from the growing greatness of the Jews, formed a conspiracy to surprise them, demolish their works, and disperse or intimidate the builders. The plot being discovered, Nehemiah adopted the most energetic measures for ensuring the common safety, as well as the uninterrupted building of the walls. Hitherto the governor, for the sake of despatch, had set all his attendants and guards on the work--now half of th…

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Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 4:12

From all places whence ye shall return unto us - This verse is extremely difficult. Our translators have supplied the words, they will be upon you, which have nothing correspondent in the Hebrew. The Septuagint have given a good sense, Αναβαινουσιν εκ παντων των τοπων εφ' ἡμας, They come up from all places against us. The sense appears to be this: the Jews which dwelt among the Samaritans, etc., came often to Nehemiah from all quarters, where they sojourned, and told him the designs of his enemies against him: therefore, he set people with their swords, spears, and bows, to defend the walls. It is probable that instead of תשובו tashubu, "ye shall return," we should read חשבו chashebu, "they…

Dictionary and topics

Armour — Is employed in the English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive and defensive. (1.) The offensive weapons were different at different periods of history. The “rod of iron” (Ps. 2:9) is…
Archery · Practiced by the Israelites — Practiced by the Israelites
Prudence · Exemplified: Nehemiah — Exemplified: Nehemiah
Samaria, Modern · Inhabitants of: Opposed the Jews after their return from captivity — Inhabitants of: Opposed the Jews after their return from captivity
Spear · The Israelites: Frequently used — The Israelites: Frequently used

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).

Nehemiah 4:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4:7-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 4:7

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 4:12

Dictionary and topics

Nehemiah 4:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 4:7-15

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 4:7

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 4:12

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Nehemiah 4:13

Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 4:12-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 4:13

Rashi on Nehemiah 4:13