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._ Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, ... 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. Nehemiah recommended that the gates of Jerusalem should not be so early opened; a precaution necessary at a time when the enemy were practicing 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,...

1-4 Nehemiah, having finished the wall, returned to the Persian court, and came to Jerusalem again with a new commission. The public safety depends on every one's care to guard himself and his family against sin....

Verse 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 traveller 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....

UNTIL THE SUN BE HOT - An unusual precaution. The ordinary practice in the East is to open town gates at sunrise....

EXPOSITION COMPLETION OF THE WORK, AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR GUARDING THE GATES (Nehemiah 7:1). The wall and gate-towers being completed, nothing remained but to hang the doors in the gateways, and to arrange for the guard of the gates and the general security of the fortress. Nehemiah speaks here of _his _having set up the doors (verse 1); but it appears from Nehemiah 3:1. that the actual work of so doing was intrusted, like the repairs of the wall, to the various working parties. Eliashib, with his brethren the priests, set up the doors of the sheep gate ...

CHAPTER 7 _ 1. Provisions made for the defense of the city (Nehemiah 7:1)_ 2. The genealogy (Nehemiah 7:5) 3. Their whole number (Nehemiah 7:66) 4. The gifts for the work (Nehemiah 7:70) Nehemiah 7:1. The wall had been finished and the doors set up. Porters, singers and the Levites were appointed, and Nehemiah gave to his brother Hanani and Hananiah, the ruler of the castle, charge over Jerusalem. The porters were gate keepers. These gate keepers are named in...

NEHEMIAH'S PRECAUTIONS FOR GUARDING THE CITY FROM SUDDEN ATTACK. The internal intrigues just referred to (Nehemiah 6:17) necessitated constant vigilance on the part of Nehemiah; his measures are described in this section. Nehemiah 7:1. porters: better gatekeepers. THE SINGERS AND THE LEVITES: a mistaken addition by the Chronicler; their duties were concerned with the Temple and its services, not with the city gates. Nehemiah 7:2. the castle: see note on Nehemiah 2:8. Nehemiah 7:8. and. let them: the text gives no

STAND BY: as on guard. SHUT. Hebrew. _guph_, to close, as. gate. ONE. Hebrew. _'ish._ App-14. HOUSE. dwelling. See note on Nehemiah 7:4....

_I said unto them_ The reading of the C'thib, -He said," is clearly wrong. The K'ri is supported by the LXX. and Vulg. -Them," Hanani and Hananiah. _until the sun be hot_ Vulg. -Usque ad calorem solis," i.e. until the sun was high in the heavens; cf. 1 Samuel 11:9, -By the time the sun is hot." The customary practice was to open the gates at sunrise. By this regulation the enemy would be effectually prevented from obtaining any advantage by an entry into the city before the inhabitants were stirring. The LXX. (ἔως ἄμα τῷ ἡλίῳ) did not understand the sentence. Rashi also explains -until mid-day," erroneously. The shutting of the gates was a sign of suspicion: cf. the opposite description of security in Isaiah 60:11. _stand by_ R.V. STAND ON GUARD. The meaning apparently is that the

TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT G. Nehemiah finds the list of the first exiles to return. 1. Nehemiah makes arrangements for the continued defense and administration of the city. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 7:1-4 1 Now it came about when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, 2 that I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. 3 Then I said to them, Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house. 4 Now the city was large and spacious but the people in it were