Nehemiah 3:2

Neh 3:2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.

Ver. 2. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho] And are thereby here eternalized for their forwardness.

Claros inter, habent nomina clara, vires.

They have fame among men of fame. Though they dwelt farthest off, yet they were of the first that came to work. Jericho was the first city that Joshua overthrew for their wickedness, and cursed him that should rebuild it. Now it is the first that comes to help forward this city of God. So great is the change when God turneth people’s hearts. Our fathers were as barbarous and brutish as the very Scythians; their religion was a mere irreligion and worse till Christ came among us, and gave us the pre-eminence. For besides that England was the first of all the provinces that publicly received the gospel (as saith Sabellicus), our Constantine hath been reckoned the first Christian emperor, our Lucius the first christened king, and our Henry VIII the first that brake the neck of the pope’s usurped authority. As we were the first that submitted to that man of sin, so were we among the first that cast him off again; and although we are penitus toto divisi orbe Britanni (Lucan.), yet we have been hitherto famous all the world over for our faith and forwardness in God’s service; though of late we have run retrograde, to the reproach of our nation. Diogenes in a great assembly going backward on purpose, and seeing every one laughing him to scorn, asked them aloud, if they were not ashamed so to do: since he went backwards but once, when they did so continually. Oh, let it not be said of us, as once of Jerusalem, that we are "slidden back by a perpetual backsliding, that we hold fast deceit, and refuse to return," Jer 8:5. This is to be worse than wicked Jericho, &c.

Builded Zaccur] Whose memory therefore is blessed, when "the name of the wicked shall rot," Pro 10:7.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Neh 3:2-3. The men of Jericho — The posterity of the ancient inhabitants of Jericho. The fish-gate — This gate, being on the north-west side of Jerusalem, looked toward the sea, from whence fish was wont to be brought and sold in the fish-market near this gate.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

next unto him builded the men of Jericho, &c.--The wall was divided into portions, one of which was assigned respectively to each of the great families which had returned from the captivity. This distribution, by which the building was carried on in all parts simultaneously with great energy, was eminently favorable to despatch. "The villages where the restorers resided being mostly mentioned, it will be seen that this circumstance affords a general indication of the part of the wall upon which they labored, such places being on that side of the city nearest their place of abode; the only apparent exception being, perhaps, where they repaired more than their piece. Having completed their first undertaking (if they worked any more), there being no more work to be done on the side next their residence, or having arrived after the repairs on that part of the city nearest them under operation were completed, they would go wherever their services would be required" [BARCLAY, City of the Great King].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(2) Next unto him.—At his hand, the customary phrase throughout the chapter, indicating the order of the building, which, however, involves some difficulty towards the close. The phrase, as first used, does honour to the high priest, who must be supposed to have presided only over the religious ceremonial.

The men of Jericho.—At the point, it will be observed, opposite their own city.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. next unto him] i.e. next to Eliashib and the priests. The description passing northward from the Temple, now turns west.

the men of Jericho] Some suppose that this section of the wall lay sufficiently on the N.E. quarter to offer to ‘men of Jericho’ a convenient piece of work.

On the other hand, the term may only denote a clan of fellow-townsmen, who had held together during the exile and were known by this name after they had settled in Jerusalem. See Ezr_2:34.

to them] R.V. marg. Heb. to him. Perhaps the Hebrew indicates here an abbreviation of or omission from the list. ‘Next to,’ here and in Neh_3:19 should have been rendered ‘next unto’ as elsewhere.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And next unto him builded the men of Jericho,.... The posterity of those that formerly inhabited that city; these began where Eliashib and the priests ended, and went on from thence:

and next to them; or rather "to him", the high priest:

builded Zaccur the son of Imri; who probably was the chief of the men of Jericho.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The people of each provincial town were set to work for the most part on the portion of the wall nearest their city. Thus, “the men of Jericho,” were employed at the northeast corner of Jerusalem.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The men of Jericho; the posterity of the ancient inhabitants of Jericho. See Ezr 2:34.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Next unto him — That is, next adjoining the work of Eliashib and the priests.

Men of Jericho — Same as “children of Jericho” in Ezr_2:31. They were the returned exiles whose ancestral homes had been at Jericho, or who now were assigned to Jericho as their place of dwelling. These like the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah in Neh_3:7, seem to have worked on that side of the city which looked towards their places of abode.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Next to Eliashib builded the men of Jericho, who were assigned the northeastern corner of the wall, as the part nearest to their own town. The inclusion of Jericho in the restored Judea had appeared from Ezr_2:34.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And next to it Next to it, near the Sheep’s Gate, each builder built.

the men of Jericho built Such was their custom, these would build here [their section] of the wall of the city until [the part] they were responsible for was completed, and then others would build next to the first construction. Such was their custom, one after another, until the entire wall was built.

And next As in (Num. 2:20) “Next to him, the tribe of Manasseh”, near him, and such is its explanation, next to the construction, and Scripture was not particular in its choice of words. Sometimes it says ודי לע, and sometimes it says וילו. “And next to them he repaired.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.