Chapter 7 of Nechemya is a transitional chapter. The wall was built, the doors were set up, but the security danger has not yet passed. Nechemya organizes the guarding of the city, and immediately afterward the real problem becomes apparent to him: Jerusalem is vast and wide, yet empty of inhabitants and houses. From this point forward, the chapter deals with the genealogical registry of those who ascended in the first return, a registry that forms the basis for contributing toward the building of houses in Jerusalem and populating it.
וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר נִבְנְתָה הַחוֹמָה וָאַעֲמִיד הַדְּלָתוֹת וַיִּפָּקְדוּ הַשּׁוֹעֲרִים וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִים וְהַלְוִיִּם׃ - Now it was, when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, that the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites were appointed.
We saw earlier that initially the wall was indeed built, but the doors had not yet been set up. Here the work is completed: the wall was built, and the doors were set up. The straightforward meaning of vayipakedu relates to appointment (pekidut): Nechemya appointed them as officials over their tasks - the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites. In truth, these are all Levites, for in the Beit HaMikdash the Levites performed two main tasks: some were in charge of the gates of the Beit HaMikdash, while others were singers.
The Malbim explains vayipakedu in an additional way: until now, the Levites were preoccupied with building the wall and were not free for guarding and singing, and only now were they summoned to return to their watch. That is to say, they were now instructed to return to their regular service.
וָאֲצַוֶּה אֶת חֲנָנִי אָחִי וְאֶת חֲנַנְיָה שַׂר הַבִּירָה עַל יְרוּשָׁלִָם כִּי הוּא כְּאִישׁ אֱמֶת וְיָרֵא אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים מֵרַבִּים׃ - I put my brother Chanani, and Chananya the officer of the citadel, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a man of truth and feared God more than many.
Nechemya commands his brother Chanani and Chananya the officer of the citadel regarding the guarding of Jerusalem's gates. What is sar habirah? A birah means a palace, as in the Midrash regarding a person who saw a beautiful palace (birah) and the master of the palace looked out at him. A capital city is called ir habirah because the king's palace is located there. Chananya was thus appointed to be the governor over Jerusalem.
And why specifically him? "For he was like a man of truth [ke'ish emet]." The Ibn Ezra emphasizes that the prefix chaf here is not a chaf of approximate comparison ("as if"), but a chaf affirming the reality of the matter: he truly was a man of truth.
"And feared God more than many [merabbim]" - there are three interpretations of this. First: he feared God more than he feared many people. There are God-fearing individuals, but when the multitude pressures them and peer pressure arises, they break. Nechemya needed someone who would not be afraid even when standing against many, someone who would not fear the numerous nobles allied with Toviyah, as we saw earlier that many people were aligned with him. The second interpretation, given by Rashi: merabbim means "from many days" - from his youth. And the third interpretation: he feared God more than many people whom we know, a common phrase in classic works - he was more God-fearing than many others.
וָאֹמַר לָהֶם לֹא יִפָּתְחוּ שַׁעֲרֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם עַד חֹם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְעַד הֵם עֹמְדִים יָגִיפוּ הַדְּלָתוֹת וֶאֱחֹזוּ וְהַעֲמֵיד מִשְׁמְרוֹת יֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם אִישׁ בְּמִשְׁמָרוֹ וְאִישׁ נֶגֶד בֵּיתוֹ׃ - And I said to them: The gates of Jerusalem shall not be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors and bar them, and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each man to his watch, and each man opposite his house.
The fear of the enemies was still present, and therefore Nechemya stationed guards on the walls of Jerusalem and warned them: the gates are not to be opened until the sun is hot, meaning until midday, when the heat of the sun is at its height. "And while they stand by, let them shut the doors and bar them" - as long as the gates are open, the guards must stand at their posts without moving, until they close and lock the doors; whoever wishes to leave may leave, and whoever wishes to enter may enter during that time.
The Malbim explains that there were double gates: a large outer gate, and inside it a small gate through which individual people would enter. Nechemya commands that even when the large gate is opened, the entrance door for individuals must remain closed, and individual inspections must take place - opening for one person at a time. This is similar to the entrance to the Kotel nowadays, where each person is checked individually upon entering, and no one enters without permission.
Furthermore, he commands to station guards from among the residents of Jerusalem: "each man to his watch" - so that a man from one guard shift does not swap with his fellow from another shift, for then the guarding would not be carried out properly. In addition to this, "and each man opposite his house": whoever has a home shall stand and guard opposite his house, noticing if any strangers who might pose a danger enter the city, and preventing them from entering.
וְהָעִיר רַחֲבַת יָדַיִם וּגְדֹלָה וְהָעָם מְעַט בְּתוֹכָהּ וְאֵין בָּתִּים בְּנוּיִם׃ - Now the city was wide and large, but the people were few within it, and no houses were built.
The city was wide and large, with the wall enclosing a vast area, yet on the other hand, the people were few within it, as there was not yet a large population in Jerusalem. There was an additional problem: "and no houses were built" - much of Jerusalem's area was desolate and empty, because there were no built houses.
All of this serves as an introduction to what follows. Nechemya wishes to settle members of Bnei Yisrael inside Jerusalem, as we will see in chapter 11, but he knew that it was impossible to bring people to the city as long as there were no houses built in it. Therefore, a donation had to be collected from each family according to the number of men within it, and from this donation the houses of Jerusalem would be built, so that it would then be possible to come and settle them. In order to successfully collect this donation, the people had to be counted, traced to their ancestral families, and recorded to know who gave and how much. Consequently, the remainder of the chapter deals with the genealogical registry of those individuals - all for the purpose of collecting the donation.
וַיִּתֵּן אֱלֹהַי אֶל לִבִּי וָאֶקְבְּצָה אֶת הַחֹרִים וְאֶת הַסְּגָנִים וְאֶת הָעָם לְהִתְיַחֵשׂ וָאֶמְצָא סֵפֶר הַיַּחַשׂ הָעוֹלִים בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה וָאֶמְצָא כָּתוּב בּוֹ׃ - And my God put into my heart, and I gathered together the nobles, the officers, and the people, to be registered by genealogy; and I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written therein:
Hashem put into his heart to assemble the nobles, the officers, and the people. The "chorim" (nobles) are the prominent people. And why are they called by this name? Ibn Ezra explains that the Aramaic translation of "white" (lavan) is "chivar", and chorim is derived from the concept of paleness, or white. It is well known that white clothing is considered dignified and confers an honorable appearance, which is why the prominent people were called chorim. The "seganim" are the officers subordinate to them.
"And the people, to be registered by genealogy" - he gathered the common people as well, in order to trace their lineage and determine how many were in each family, so that they could contribute toward the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Nechemya then found a book, a scroll or ledger, in which was recorded the genealogical lineage of those who had first ascended, those who originally came from Babylon to Eretz Yisrael, by their names and families; and there he found written what we will see below.
אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי הַמְּדִינָה הָעֹלִים מִשְּׁבִי הַגּוֹלָה אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וַיָּשׁוּבוּ לִירוּשָׁלִַם וְלִיהוּדָה אִישׁ לְעִירוֹ׃ - These are the people of the province who went up from the captivity of the exile, whom Nevuchadnezzar king of Babylon had exiled, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each man to his city.
הַבָּאִים עִם זְרֻבָּבֶל יֵשׁוּעַ נְחֶמְיָה עֲזַרְיָה רַעַמְיָה נַחֲמָנִי מָרְדֳּכַי בִּלְשָׁן מִסְפֶּרֶת בִּגְוַי נְחוּם בַּעֲנָה מִסְפַּר אַנְשֵׁי עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Who came with Zerubbabel: Yeshua, Nechemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nachamani, Mordechai, Bilshan, Misperet, Bigvai, Nechum, Baanah. The count of the men of the people of Israel:
These are the people who went up, and they are also mentioned at the beginning of Sefer Ezra. There are, however, differences in the numbers, and Rashi explains that the total overall is the same and the text was not precise with the individual tallies. The Malbim there resolves the discrepancy differently: some families are listed by the name of the family patriarch, while others are listed by their city of origin. Therefore, at times the count here is smaller because those individuals were already counted among the family members, or vice versa. In the final sum, the tallies are exact.
"Mordechai Bilshan" - this is Mordechai HaYehudi, and he was called Bilshan because of his mastery of many languages (lashon/balshan, a linguist). To this day, a person proficient in many languages is called a balshan. "Yeshua" is Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak, the Kohen Gadol. "The count of the men of the people of Israel" - this refers to the number of prominent leaders who came with Zerubbabel from the captivity of the exile.
בְּנֵי פַרְעֹשׁ אַלְפַּיִם מֵאָה וְשִׁבְעִים וּשְׁנָיִם׃ - The descendants of Parosh: two thousand one hundred and seventy-two.
From here on the tally continues: the descendants of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; the descendants of Arach, six hundred and fifty-two. "The descendants of Pachat-moav" - meaning one who had been a ruler in Moab - belonging to the descendants of Yeshua and Yoav, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen. "The descendants of Elam" is the name of a place, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four. And likewise the descendants of Zattu, the descendants of Zaccai, the descendants of Binnui, the descendants of Bebai, the descendants of Azgad, the descendants of Adonikam, the descendants of Bigvai, the descendants of Adin.
בְּנֵי אָטֵר לְחִזְקִיָּה תִּשְׁעִים וּשְׁמֹנָה׃ - The descendants of Ater of Chizkiah: ninety-eight.
The Metzudat David explains that Scripture provided an identifying mark for Ater, noting that he was from the lineage of Chizkiah, which is why it says "the descendants of Ater of Chizkiah." Alternatively, it means that together with the sons of Chizkiah, they totaled ninety-eight.
The list continues: the descendants of Chashum, the descendants of Betzai, the descendants of Charif, the descendants of Gibeon, the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, the men of Anatot, one hundred and twenty-eight - and Yirmiyahu the prophet was from Anatot. And likewise the men of Beit Azmavet, the men of Kiryat Yearim, Kefirah, and Beerot, the men of Ramah and Geva, the men of Michmas, the men of Beit El and the Ai.
אַנְשֵׁי נְבוֹ אַחֵר חֲמִשִּׁים וּשְׁנָיִם׃ - The men of the other Nebo: fifty-two.
What is meant by "the other Nevo"? Because there are two places called Nevo: one mentioned in Sefer Ezra, and another Nevo. Similarly, "the children of the other Eilam" - Eilam was mentioned earlier, and here it refers to a different Eilam, two places named Eilam. The tally continues: the children of Charim, three hundred and twenty; the children of Yericho, three hundred and forty-five; the children of Lod, Chadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; the children of Sena'ah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.
הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי יְדַעְיָה לְבֵית יֵשׁוּעַ תְּשַׁע מֵאוֹת שִׁבְעִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה׃ - The Kohanim: the children of Yedayah, of the house of Yeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three.
This is the number of Kohanim of the children of Yedayah belonging to the family of Yeshua, which was of distinguished lineage. Following them are the children of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; the children of Pashchur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; and the children of Charim, one thousand and seventeen. This Charim is not the Charim mentioned earlier, but another; another explanation is that earlier the text counted the Israelites from the family of Charim, whereas here it counts the Kohanim among them.
"The Levi'im: the children of Yeshua, of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodevah, seventy-four" - meaning the children of Yeshua together with Kadmiel and the children of Hodevah totaled seventy-four. "The singers: the children of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight," and the gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Chatita, the children of Shovai, one hundred and thirty-eight.
הַנְּתִינִים בְּנֵי צִחָא בְנֵי חֲשֻׂפָא בְּנֵי טַבָּעוֹת׃ - The Netinim: the children of Tzicha, the children of Chasupha, the children of Tabbaot.
Who were the Netinim? These were the Givonim. And why were they called Netinim? Because Yehoshua gave them over, as it is written, "And Yehoshua made them (vayitnem) hewers of wood and drawers of water." The text proceeds to enumerate their families: the children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon, the children of Levanah, the children of Chagava, the children of Shalmai, the children of Chanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gachar, the children of Re'ayah, the children of Retzin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Pase'ach, the children of Besai, the children of Me'unim, the children of Nephishesim, the children of Bakbuk, the children of Chakupha, the children of Charchur, the children of Batzlit, the children of Mechida, the children of Charsha, the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temach, the children of Netziach, the children of Chatipha.
After them come the children of the servants of Shlomo: the children of Sotai, the children of Sopheret, the children of Perida, the children of Ya'ala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, the children of Shephatya, the children of Chattil, the children of Pocheret-hatzebayim, the children of Amon. "All the Netinim and the children of the servants of Shlomo were three hundred and ninety-two."
וְאֵלֶּה הָעוֹלִים מִתֵּל מֶלַח תֵּל חַרְשָׁא כְּרוּב אַדּוֹן וְאִמֵּר וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהַגִּיד בֵּית אֲבֹתָם וְזַרְעָם אִם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל הֵם׃ - And these were those who went up from Tel-Melach, Tel-Charsha, Keruv, Addon, and Immer, but they could not declare their fathers' house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.
There were others who came up from Tel-Melach, Tel-Charsha, Keruv, Addon, and Immer, and these people could not identify their ancestral house and did not know their lineage, whether they were of Israel. The children of Delayah, the children of Toviyah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two - they did not know who their ancestors were nor to which tribe they belonged.
וּמִן הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי חֳבַיָּה בְּנֵי הַקּוֹץ בְּנֵי בַרְזִלַּי אֲשֶׁר לָקַח מִבְּנוֹת בַּרְזִלַּי הַגִּלְעָדִי אִשָּׁה וַיִּקָּרֵא עַל שְׁמָם׃ - And of the Kohanim: the sons of Chavayah, the sons of HaKots, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name.
Their forefather took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite as a wife, and therefore the name of Barzillai was called upon them, as though they were descendants of Barzillai.
אֵלֶּה בִּקְשׁוּ כְתָבָם הַמִּתְיַחְשִׂים וְלֹא נִמְצָא וַיְגֹאֲלוּ מִן הַכְּהֻנָּה׃ - These sought their genealogical register, but it was not found; therefore they were disqualified from the Kehunah.
They searched for their genealogical record, meaning their pedigree document, but it could not be found. Consequently, they were removed from the Kehunah.
וַיֹּאמֶר הַתִּרְשָׁתָא לָהֶם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֹאכְלוּ מִקֹּדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים עַד עֲמֹד הַכֹּהֵן לְאוּרִים וְתֻמִּים׃ - And the Tirshatha said to them that they should not eat of the most holy foods until a Kohen should arise with the Urim VeTumim.
Who was the Tirshatha? Nechemya. And why was he called by this title? Because he was permitted to drink the wine of gentiles. As the king's cupbearer, he was required to taste the wine before the king to demonstrate that there was no danger of poison; therefore, they permitted him ordinary gentile wine even if a non-Jew had touched it. "Tirshatha" - an allusion to heter shetiyah, permission to drink.
Nechemya then ruled: those Kohanim who lack proof of lineage may not eat from the most holy foods, for their status as Kohanim is in doubt. Until when? "Until a Kohen should arise with the Urim VeTumim." Yet during the Second Temple era, there were no Urim VeTumim! Rather, Chazal explain that this is like someone saying, "until Mashiach comes": when a Kohen with the Urim VeTumim arises we will clarify their status, but in practice there is none, and until Mashiach comes nothing can be done and their status remains unresolved.
כָּל הַקָּהָל כְּאֶחָד אַרְבַּע רִבּוֹא אַלְפַּיִם שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת וְשִׁשִּׁים׃ - The whole congregation together was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty.
A ribo is ten thousand, so four ribo is forty thousand, plus another two thousand three hundred and sixty: in total, forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty people arrived.
מִלְּבַד עַבְדֵיהֶם וְאַמְהֹתֵיהֶם אֵלֶּה שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת שְׁלֹשִׁים וְשִׁבְעָה וְלָהֶם מְשֹׁרְרִים וּמְשֹׁרְרוֹת מָאתַיִם וְאַרְבָּעִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה׃ - Besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five singing men and singing women.
This tally is apart from the male and female servants they brought with them. And what were the singing men and singing women? They brought singers with them to sing along the way, so that they would ascend in joy - let us ascend to our Land with song and praise! Now, in Sefer Ezra it is written that there were only two hundred; the Metzudos explains that those additional forty-five were young children at that time, and in the interim they grew up, which is why two hundred and forty-five are counted here. Furthermore: four hundred and thirty-five camels, six thousand seven hundred and twenty donkeys.
וּמִקְצָת רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת נָתְנוּ לַמְּלָאכָה הַתִּרְשָׁתָא נָתַן לָאוֹצָר זָהָב דַּרְכְּמֹנִים אֶלֶף מִזְרָקוֹת חֲמִשִּׁים כָּתְנוֹת כֹּהֲנִים שְׁלֹשִׁים וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת׃ - And some of the heads of the ancestral houses gave to the work; the Tirshatha gave to the treasury a thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly tunics.
Some of the heads of the ancestral houses gave toward the work of the House of Hashem. And what did they give? Nechemya, who is the Tirshatha, gave to the treasury of the House of Hashem a thousand gold darics - darics being a type of coin used in their time - fifty basins, and priestly tunics; all of these were valuable vessels and special garments that they contributed to the treasury of the House of Hashem.
וּמֵרָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת נָתְנוּ לְאוֹצַר הַמְּלָאכָה זָהָב דַּרְכְּמוֹנִים שְׁתֵּי רִבּוֹת וְכֶסֶף מָנִים אַלְפַּיִם וּמָאתָיִם׃ - And some of the heads of the ancestral houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand two hundred manehs of silver.
Other heads of the ancestral houses gave in the days of Nechemya to the treasury of the work, for the upkeep of the Temple or the rebuilding of the city as we mentioned, an amount of two ribos of gold darics, which is twenty thousand darics, and two thousand two hundred manehs of silver.
The Malbim addresses the discrepancy between the amount donated here and the amount mentioned earlier in Sefer Ezra, offering several resolutions. First: there is an opinion that Nechemya ascended twice - in the first aliyah, and again a second time when he came up to rebuild Yerushalayim, and there is textual evidence for this from the pesukim. If so, they pledged donations twice: the tally in Sefer Ezra reflects the first donation, and the tally here reflects the second. Furthermore, in Ezra it counts those who came from Bavel, whereas here it also accounts for those coming from other provinces, as they had been exiled to other lands besides Bavel. Another explanation: new family heads were added, and this is what was recorded in the genealogical record Nechemya found - new ancestral heads in addition to those from before. And another point: the second donation occurred when Nechemya arrived in the twentieth year of Artachshasta, and that is what was added here.
וַאֲשֶׁר נָתְנוּ שְׁאֵרִית הָעָם זָהָב דַּרְכְּמֹנִים שְׁתֵּי רִבּוֹא וְכֶסֶף מָנִים אַלְפָּיִם וְכָתְנֹת כֹּהֲנִים שִׁשִּׁים וְשִׁבְעָה׃ - And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand darics of gold, two thousand manehs of silver, and sixty-seven priestly tunics.
וַיֵּשְׁבוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וְהַשּׁוֹעֲרִים וְהַמְשֹׁרְרִים וּמִן הָעָם וְהַנְּתִינִים וְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעָרֵיהֶם וַיִּגַּע הַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעָרֵיהֶם׃ - So the kohanim, the Levi'im, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nesinim, and all Yisrael dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month arrived, the children of Yisrael were in their cities.
The seventh month is the month of Tishrei. And to which period does this refer? Some say that what is mentioned here - that in the seventh month Bnei Yisrael were in their cities - refers to what is recounted in Sefer Ezra regarding the aliyah in the days of Koresh, where it is written that in the seventh month they celebrated the festival of Sukkos.
The Malbim presents another view: this event took place in the days of Nechemya, after the wall was built. And since there, at the end of the genealogical scroll, Scripture concluded, "And the seventh month arrived, and the people gathered," here too it concluded with the same verse, in order to attach to it what happened in his days. As for what is written in Ezra, "And they celebrated the festival of Sukkot," the meaning is with Hallel, with rejoicing, with pilgrimage burnt offerings (olot re'iyah), festival peace offerings (shalmei chagigah), and the Four Species. Here too we will soon see that they celebrated the festival in the seventh month, except that here it refers to Nechemya's era - not that very first Sukkot celebration, but another Sukkot, as presented in the next chapter.
The chapter opens with the completion of the wall and the doors and placing the Levi'im, the gatekeepers, and the singers at their posts. It continues with the appointment of Chanani and Chananyah over Jerusalem - men of truth who feared God more than many - and with meticulous guarding instructions: opening the gates only in the heat of the sun, detailed inspection at the small gate, each man at his watch, and each man opposite his own house. From there, Nechemya moves to the fundamental problem: a wide city, few people, and no houses built. In order to resettle Jerusalem, a donation was required, and in order to collect a donation, a verified genealogical census was needed. Nechemya therefore found the genealogical record of those who had ascended at first, counting the families, the Kohanim, the Levi'im, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Netinim. Whoever could not find his genealogical record was disqualified from the Kehunah until a Kohen would stand with the Urim veTumim, and the total congregation was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty. The chapter concludes with the generous gifts given by the heads of the ancestral houses to the treasury of the work, and with all Israel settling in their cities when the seventh month arrived - a prelude to the festival and the grand assembly in the next chapter.