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Nehemías 11

VBL · Chapter 11/13

1Los líderes del pueblo ya vivían en Jerusalén. El resto del pueblo echó suertes para que uno de cada diez viniera a vivir a Jerusalén, la ciudad santa, mientras que los otros nueve se quedarían en sus propias ciudades.

2Todos alabaron a los que estaban dispuestos a trasladarse a Jerusalén.

3Esta es una lista de los líderes de la provincia que vinieron a vivir a Jerusalén. (La mayoría de los israelitas vivían en su propia propiedad en las ciudades de Judá. Esto incluía a los sacerdotes, los levitas, los servidores del Templo y los descendientes de los servidores de Salomón que vivían en sus ciudades de origen.

4Sin embargo, algunos de los habitantes de Judá y Benjamín se trasladaron a Jerusalén).

5y Maasías, hijo de Baruc, hijo de Colhoze, hijo de Hazaías, hijo de Adaía, hijo de Joiarib, hijo de Zacarías, descendiente de Sela.

6El total de los hijos de Fares que vivieron en Jerusalén fue de 468 hombres hábiles.

7De la tribu de Benjamín: Salú, hijo de Mesulam, hijo de Joed, hijo de Pedaías, hijo de Colaías, hijo de Itiel, hijo de Jesaías,

8y después de él Gabbai y Salai, en total 928.

9Joel hijo de Zicri era el oficial a cargo de ellos, y Judá hijo de Senúa era el segundo al mando de la ciudad.

10De los sacerdotes Jedaías, hijo de Joiarib, Jaquín;

11Seraías, hijo de Hilcías, hijo de Mesulam, hijo de Sadoc, hijo de Meraiot, hijo de Ajitub, administrador principal del Templo de Dios,

12y sus compañeros sacerdotes que servían en el Templo, un total de 822; Adaía hijo de Jeroham, hijo de Pelaliah, hijo de Amzi, hijo de Zacarías, hijo de Pasur, hijo de Malquías,

13y los que trabajaban con él, jefes de familia, un total de 242; y Amasai, hijo de Azarel, hijo de Ahzai, hijo de Mesilemot, hijo de Imer,

14y los que trabajaban con él, un total de 128 guerreros fuertes. Zabdiel, hijo de Gedolim, estaba a cargo de ellos.

15De los levitas Semaías, hijo de Hasub, hijo de Azricam, hijo de Hasabías, hijo de Buni;

16y Sabetai y Jozabad, líderes levitas que estaban a cargo de los trabajos exteriores del Templo de Dios;

17Matanías, hijo de Mica, hijo de Zabdi, hijo de Asaf, que dirigía la acción de gracias y la alabanza; y Bacbuqías, que era el segundo; y Abda, hijo de Samúa, hijo de Galal, hijo de Jedutún.

18El número total de sacerdotes en la ciudad santa era de 284.

19Los porteros: Acub, Talmón y sus compañeros, que custodiaban las puertas: un total de 172.

20Los demás israelitas, con el resto de los sacerdotes y levitas, vivían en sus ciudades de origen en Judá, cada uno en su propia propiedad.

21Los servidores del Templo vivían en la colina de Ofel. Ziha y Gispa estaban a cargo de ellos.

22El que estaba a cargo de los levitas en Jerusalén era Uzi, hijo de Bani, hijo de Hasabías, hijo de Matanías, hijo de Mica, uno de los descendientes de Asaf, los cantores que dirigían el servicio en el Templo de Dios.

23Tenían órdenes específicas del rey que les había ordenado realizar un servicio diario.

24Petaías, hijo de Mesezabeel, descendiente de Zera, hijo de Judá, era el consejero del rey en todo lo relacionado con los israelitas.

25En cuanto a las aldeas con sus campos cercanos algunos de los habitantes de Judá vivían en Quiriat-arba, Dibón y Jekabzeel, y sus asentamientos menores;

26en Jesúa, Molada y Bet-pelet;

27en Hazar-sual, en Beerseba con sus asentamientos,

28en Ziclag, en Mecona y sus asentamientos,

29en En-rimón, en Zora, en Jarmut,

30Zanoa, Adulam y sus aldeas, Laquis y sus campos, y Azeca y sus asentamientos. Vivían desde Beerseba hasta el Valle de Hinom.

31El pueblo de Benjamín, desde Geba, vivía en Micmas, Aija y Bet-el y sus asentamientos,

32en Anatot, Nob, Ananías,

33Hazor, Ramá, Gitaim,

34Hadid, Zeboim, Nebalat,

35Lod, Ono y en el Valle de los Artesanos.

36Algunas divisiones de los levitas de Judá también se establecieron en Benjamín.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Since Jerusalem was sparsely populated despite the rebuilt walls, the people cast lots so that one in ten families would move to live in the city. The residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding villages are listed.

Explanation

Despite the completed wall, the city remained nearly empty, since most people preferred to live on their own land and in their villages in the countryside. The solution found — casting lots to select one in ten families to live in the capital — shows a practical and somewhat sacrificial effort to ensure that Jerusalem, the nation's symbolic and religious center, would not be left abandoned. It is worth noting that the text specifically praises those who volunteered to live there without needing the lottery, valuing willing initiative above mere obligation. The application for today is that restoring something important sometimes requires people to accept uncomfortable life changes for the good of the whole.

Fun facts

  • Casting lots for important decisions was common in ancient Jewish culture, understood as a way of letting God decide in situations where humans might favor their own interests.
  • The list of residents includes representatives from practically every social class and religious role of the time, suggesting a deliberate effort for Jerusalem to reflect the whole diversity of the nation, not just an elite.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Nehemías 11:1Since Jerusalem was large but sparsely populated after the wall was rebuilt, it is decided by lot that one out of every ten families from the other towns would move there. Casting lots kept the choice from looking like favoritism toward some over others.
  2. Nehemías 11:2Since living inside the capital meant more exposure to attack and less land to farm, those who volunteered to live there received special public thanks from the rest of the people.
  3. Nehemías 11:3After the lot of one in ten, the chapter lists who actually came to live in the capital, mixing leaders, priests, Levites, and even temple servants.
  4. Nehemías 11:4Only two tribes appear clearly identified as living in Jerusalem, Judah and Benjamin, the same ones that had already formed the core of the people since the return from exile.
  5. Nehemías 11:5Another leader from the tribe of Judah is named with a long genealogy, tracing back many generations before him.
  6. Nehemías 11:6The family of Perez, tied to the lineage of King David himself, totals nearly five hundred men described here as “valiant,” perhaps for accepting the added risk of living in the exposed capital.
  7. Nehemías 11:7Now begins the list of the tribe of Benjamin, with another extensive genealogy tracing back many generations.
  8. Nehemías 11:8The tribe of Benjamin totals nearly a thousand people living in Jerusalem, an even larger number than the one recorded for the family of Judah.
  9. Nehemías 11:9Two officials are appointed to oversee the lay population of the city, one of them described as second in administrative command of Jerusalem.
  10. Nehemías 11:10Now begins the list of priests who lived in Jerusalem, including the family of Joiarib, which later in Jewish history would become associated with the family of the Maccabees.
  11. Nehemías 11:11Seraiah appears as the chief leader of the temple, with a genealogy that traces back through several important priests in Israel's history.
  12. Nehemías 11:12More than eight hundred priests worked directly in the service of the temple, a number that shows the scale of religious operations in Jerusalem.
  13. Nehemías 11:13Two hundred forty-two more priests, heads of families, complete this survey of who lived in the capital.
  14. Nehemías 11:14A further hundred twenty-eight priests, described as “mighty men of valour,” close out this part of the list, under the supervision of Zabdiel.
  15. Nehemías 11:15Now begins the list of Levites who lived in Jerusalem, with yet another detailed genealogy tracing back many generations.
  16. Nehemías 11:16Two Levites are placed specifically in charge of the outward business of the temple, probably maintenance and administration outside the main building.
  17. Nehemías 11:17Mattaniah held the specific role of leading the opening of the prayers of thanksgiving, a clearly defined liturgical post within the temple.
  18. Nehemías 11:18In all, two hundred eighty-four Levites lived in Jerusalem, a much smaller number than the priests, keeping the same historical pattern of few Levites available.
  19. Nehemías 11:19The gatekeepers of the temple total a hundred seventy-two, responsible for physically guarding the entrances of a space regarded as sacred.
  20. Nehemías 11:20The rest of the people, who had not been chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem, went on living as usual on their own family lands scattered throughout Judah.
  21. Nehemías 11:21The Nethinims, servants of the temple, live in the region of Ophel, near the temple, under the leadership of two specific officials.
  22. Nehemías 11:22Uzzi coordinates the Levites of the capital, while the singers continue to be specifically the descendants of Asaph, the same family responsible for the temple's music since the days of David.
  23. Nehemías 11:23The Persian king himself had decreed a fixed daily allowance for the temple singers, showing how much the funding of Jewish worship depended on decisions made at a foreign court.
  24. Nehemías 11:24Pethahiah held a position as official representative of the Jewish people before the Persian king, a kind of ambassador looking after Judah's interests at court.
  25. Nehemías 11:25Here begins the list of towns outside Jerusalem where the tribe of Judah settled, including Kirjath-arba, the old name for the town of Hebron.
  26. Nehemías 11:26Three more towns in the south of Judah receive settlers, continuing the territorial mapping of the tribe.
  27. Nehemías 11:27Beersheba, a town associated since Genesis with the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac, appears among the towns resettled by Judah.
  28. Nehemías 11:28Ziklag, a town that had already been King David's refuge centuries before he became king, is also inhabited once more.
  29. Nehemías 11:29Three more towns in the territory of Judah receive settlers in this post-exilic territorial redistribution.
  30. Nehemías 11:30The text sums up the geographic reach of the tribe of Judah in one simple line: from the town of Beersheba, in the far south, to the valley of Hinnom, already on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
  31. Nehemías 11:31Now it is the tribe of Benjamin's turn to be mapped, beginning with towns north of Jerusalem, such as Michmash and Bethel.
  32. Nehemías 11:32Anathoth, the hometown of the prophet Jeremiah, appears again among the territories resettled by Benjamin.
  33. Nehemías 11:33Three more towns of the tribe of Benjamin complete this part of the territorial list.
  34. Nehemías 11:34The list of towns of Benjamin keeps advancing, covering territory increasingly to the north and west of Jerusalem.
  35. Nehemías 11:35The list of Benjamin ends at Lod and Ono, towns in a region described as “the valley of craftsmen,” probably known for specialized manual trades.
  36. Nehemías 11:36The chapter closes by explaining that some Levites, who originally belonged to other tribes, ended up being relocated between the territories of Judah and Benjamin.

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