“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.”
Hebrew, hold them , meaning, till the bars were put in. To wit, they that are mentioned, verse 2 .
“These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;”
That is, the inhabitants of Judah.
“Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this; Azariah: or, Seraiah”
Azariah in Ezra is called Seraiah, and Raamiah, Reelaiah, Ezra 2:2 .
“The children of Gibeon, ninety and five. Gibeon: or, Gibbar”
That is, the inhabitants of Gibeon.
“The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.”
For there were two cities of this name.
“And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. the Tirshatha: or, the governor”
Meaning, Nehemiah: for Tirshatha in the Chaldean tongue signifieth a butler. Exod. 28:30
“So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.”
Which containeth part of September and part of October.