Nehemiah 7:3

And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וָאֹמַ֣ר vai.yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
gates	שַׁעֲרֵ֤י sha.'a.Rei	H8179	an opening · noun, common masculine plural construct
Jerusalem	יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ ye.ru.sha.Lim	H3389	Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
opened	יִפָּֽתְח֞וּ yi.pa.te.Chu	H6605	to open wide (literally or figuratively) · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
sun	הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ ha.She.mesh	H8121	the sun · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
hot	חֹם chôm	H2527	heat
by	עֹמְדִ֛ים 'o.me.Dim	H5975	to stand · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
shut	יָגִ֥יפוּ ya.Gi.fu	H1479	properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
doors	הַדְּלָת֖וֹת ha.de.la.Tot	H1817	something swinging · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
bar	וֶאֱחֹ֑זוּ ve.'e.Cho.zu	H270	to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in p… · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
appoint	וְהַעֲמֵ֗יד ve.ha.'a.Meid	H5975	to stand · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
watches	מִשְׁמְרוֹת֙ mish.me.rOt	H4931	watch · noun, common feminine plural construct
inhabitants	יֹשְׁבֵ֣י yo.she.Vei	H3427	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
Jerusalem	יְרוּשָׁלִַ֔ם ye.ru.sha.Lim	H3389	Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
one	אִ֚ישׁ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
watch	בְּמִשְׁמָר֔וֹ be.mish.ma.Ro	H4929	a guard (the man · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
one	וְאִ֖ישׁ ve.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
house	בֵּיתֽוֹ bei.To	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

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 3:23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his ho…
Nehemiah 3:28-30 From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house.
Nehemiah 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and ch…
Psalms 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
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.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 7:1-4

God saith concerning his church (Isa 62:6), I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem! This is Nehemiah's care here; for dead walls, without living watchmen, are but a poor defence to a city. I. He appointed the porters, singers, and Levites, in their places to their work. This is meant of their work in general, which was to attend the temple service; it had been neglected in some degree, but now was revived. God's worship is the defence of a place, and his ministers, when they mind their duty, are watchmen on the walls. Or, in particular, he ordered them to be ready against the wall was to be dedicated, that they might perform that service in an orderly and solemn manner; and the dedi…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 7:3

Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, &c.--In the East it is customary to open the gates of a city at sunrise, and to bar them at sunset--a rule which is very rarely, and not except to persons of authority, infringed upon. Nehemiah recommended that the gates of Jerusalem should not be opened so early; a precaution necessary at a time when the enemy was practising all sorts of dangerous stratagems, to ensure that the inhabitants were all astir and enjoyed the benefit of clear broad daylight for observing the suspicious movements of any enemy. The propriety of regularly barring the gates at sunset was, in this instance, accompanied with the appointment of a number of t…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 7:3

Until the sun be hot - The meaning of this is, the gates were not to be opened before sunrise, and always shut at sunset. This is the custom to the present day in many of the cities of the East if a traveler arrives after sunset, he finds the gates shut; and on no consideration will they open them till the next morning, so that those who come late are obliged to lodge in the plain, or under the walls. Every one - over against his house - Each was obliged to guard that part of the wall that was opposite to his own dwelling.

The Church Fathers

And I appointed watchmen from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, etc. The watchmen of souls are not from the neophytes, nor from the common crowd, but they are to be established from those who, having been liberated by the grace of God from the struggle with vices, have accustomed their minds to Jerusalem, that is, to the vision of tranquil peace, who can say with the Apostle: "But our conversation is in heaven" (Philippians 3). Of whom it is well said that He has appointed each in his own turn; so that, after completing their course, being withdrawn from this light, others immediately are preferred in their place for the governance of the faithful. Nor at any time are there lacking those who strive to keep vigil for the peace of the holy Church on account of night terrors, while the truth of the prophetic word always runs to the end of the age, in which it is said to the same Church: "Instead of your fathers, sons are born to you" (Psalm 45). It is also well added, "And each against his own house." For in this way the guardianship of the holy Church is rightly perfected, if each one carries the concern of all the faithful in such a way that he is especially placed over them, to whom, by the authority of God, he devotes more diligent care.
— Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah

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

Day — The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32). It was originally divided into three parts (Ps. 55:17). “The heat of the day” (1 Sam. 11:11; Neh. 7:3) was at our nine o’clock, and “the…
Hananiah — Jehovah has given. (1.) A chief of the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chr. 8:24). (2.) One of the sons of Heman (1 Chr. 25:4, 23). (3.) One of Uzziah’s military officers (2 Chr. 26:11). (4.) Grandfather of the…
Sun — (Heb. shemesh), first mentioned along with the moon as the two great luminaries of heaven (Gen. 1:14-18). By their motions and influence they were intended to mark and divide times and seasons. The…
Watchman · Of — Of
Watchmen · Citizens sometimes acted as — Citizens sometimes acted as

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 7:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 7:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 7:3

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 7:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Nehemiah 7:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 7:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Nehemiah 7:3

Adam Clarke on Nehemiah 7:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Nehemiah 7:3

Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 7:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Nehemiah 7:3

Rashi on Nehemiah 7:3