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Nehemiah 7

Nehemiah turns from rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls to securing the city and recording the people who returned from exile.

Jerusalem’s wall and doors are finished, yet the city has few people and its houses remain unbuilt. Nehemiah appoints Hanani and Hananiah to oversee Jerusalem and gives orders for guarding its gates. He then credits God with prompting him to gather the people for registration by genealogy. The record he finds lists those who returned from captivity with Zerubbabel, including families and temple workers. It also records disputed priestly claims and gifts supporting the work.

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1Now when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed,
2I put my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem; for he was a faithful man and feared God above many.
3I said to them, “Don’t let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut the doors, and you bar them; and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, with everyone near his house.”
4Now the city was wide and large; but the people were few therein, and the houses were not built.
5My God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be listed by genealogy. I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found this written in it:
6These are the children of the province who went up out of the captivity of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and to Judah, everyone to his city,
7who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
8The children of Parosh: two thousand one hundred seventy-two.
9The children of Shephatiah: three hundred seventy-two.
11The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab: two thousand eight hundred eighteen.
12The children of Elam: one thousand two hundred fifty-four.
15The children of Binnui: six hundred forty-eight.
16The children of Bebai: six hundred twenty-eight.
26The men of Bethlehem and Netophah: one hundred eighty-eight.
27The men of Anathoth: one hundred twenty-eight.
29The men of Kiriath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth: seven hundred forty-three.
31The men of Michmas: one hundred twenty-two.
32The men of Bethel and Ai: one hundred twenty-three.
33The men of the other Nebo: fifty-two.
34The children of the other Elam: one thousand two hundred fifty-four.
35The children of Harim: three hundred twenty.
37The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono: seven hundred twenty-one.
39The priests: The children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua: nine hundred seventy-three.
40The children of Immer: one thousand fifty-two.
41The children of Pashhur: one thousand two hundred forty-seven.
42The children of Harim: one thousand seventeen.
43The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the children of Hodevah: seventy-four.
44The singers: the children of Asaph: one hundred forty-eight.
45The gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai: one hundred thirty-eight.
46The temple servants: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,
57The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
60All the temple servants and the children of Solomon’s servants were three hundred ninety-two.
61These were those who went up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses, nor their offspring, whether they were of Israel:
63Of the priests: the children of Hobaiah, the children of Hakkoz, the children of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name.
64These searched for their genealogical records, but couldn’t find them. Therefore they were deemed disqualified and removed from the priesthood.
65The governor told them not to eat of the most holy things until a priest stood up to minister with Urim and Thummim.
67in addition to their male servants and their female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven. They had two hundred forty-five singing men and singing women.
70Some from among the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand darics of gold, fifty basins, and five hundred thirty priests’ garments.
71Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave into the treasury of the work twenty thousand darics of gold, and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.
73So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel lived in their cities. When the seventh month had come, the children of Israel were in their cities.
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Key verses
Nehemiah 7:4The contrast between Jerusalem’s size and its sparse population shows how much remained unfinished after the wall was built.
Nehemiah 7:2Hananiah’s faithfulness and fear of God explain why Nehemiah entrusted him with responsibility for Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 7:70The register records material gifts alongside names, showing how leaders contributed to the work and supplied garments for priests.
Where this chapter reaches

Ezra contains a parallel register of the returning exiles, sharing many names and totals with this chapter, though some figures differ. Exodus describes the Urim and Thummim associated with priestly judgment, the means of decision mentioned here when priestly ancestry could not be verified.

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Questions people ask about Nehemiah 7

Why does Nehemiah 7 include a long list of names?

Nehemiah finds a register of those who first returned from captivity after God prompts him to gather the people by genealogy. The list preserves family and town identities, records temple workers, and documents gifts. It also shows why ancestry mattered for priestly service when some claimants lacked records.

Why were some priests disqualified in Nehemiah 7?

Some men claiming priestly descent could not find their genealogical records. They were removed from the priesthood and barred from eating the most holy things pending a decision through a priest with Urim and Thummim. The chapter reports missing evidence of ancestry; it does not accuse these men of deception.

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Nehemiah · 13 chapters

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).