Nehemiah 3:31

Neh 3:31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.

Ver. 31. After him] Or, After me. See Neh 3:30.

Over against the gate Miphkad] The judicial gate, saith the Vulgate; the gate of commandment, saith Junius; probably where the Sanhedrim sat.

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.

Which was the place of judgment or execution.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(31) The place of the Nethinims.—Rather, the house.

And of the merchants.—Possibly there is some connection between the traders, who brought their doves and so forth for the worshippers, and the Nethinim to whoso house or depôt they brought them. Near the sheep gate was the “going up of the corner,” or an ascent to the gate Miphkad, about which nothing is known.

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

31. Malchiah the goldsmith’s son] R.V. Malchijah one of the goldsmiths. See note on Neh_3:8. Malchiah belonged to the guild of the goldsmiths.

unto the place of the Nethinims] R.V. unto the house of the Nethinim. The Nethinim were stated (Neh_3:26) to have their dwelling ‘in Ophel.’ Here a house belonging to their number is described as on the wall, probably N.E. of the Temple precincts. This we may presume was the official residence of those engaged in the service of the Temple.

and of the merchants] LXX. οἱ ῥωποπῶλαι. The tradesmen of the same class generally lived near to one another, cf. Jer_37:21.

It is at first sight strange to find a house belonging to a mixed body of Nethinim and merchants. But the needs and equipment of the Temple services and of those who took part in them were sufficiently varied to account for this combination. We should think of an Oriental bazaar rather than of a modern house. The open spaces near the Temple would be thronged with money-changers and sellers of animals for sacrifice and of articles for offerings. On the later abuse of this custom cf. Mat_21:12; Joh_2:14. Some who have found a difficulty in this combination disregard the tradition of the accents, and divide the verse differently, stopping at ‘Nethinim,’ and making a new clause of which ‘the merchants’ are the subject, i.e. ‘and the merchants repaired, &c.’ We should however certainly expect the phrase ‘after him’ at the beginning of such a clause.

over against the gate Miphkad] R.V. over against the gate of Hammiphkad. The word ‘Miphkad’ occurs in Eze_43:21, ‘Thou shalt also take the bullock of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place (miphkad) of the house, without the sanctuary.’ It has hence been often supposed to be the gate through which the bullock of the sin offering was led ‘without the sanctuary.’

The words ‘over against’ seem to imply that the gate of Hammiphkad was not on but opposite the city wall. Some identify it with the modern ‘golden gate.’

The LXX. Μαφεκάδ and the Vulg. ‘porta judicialis’ fail to throw light upon its position or purpose.

and to the going up of the corner] R.V. and to the ascent (marg. ‘Or, upper chamber’) of the corner. We seem here to have the junction point of two walls, where the elevation was greater than elsewhere, or where there was a well-known ‘upper chamber’ used for look-out purposes or as a place of public gathering.

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.

The gate Miphkad - Not elsewhere mentioned. It must have been in the east, or northeast, wall, a little to the south of the “sheep-gate”

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

31. Place of the Nethinim — That is, Ophel, the place where they dwelt. Neh_3:26.

And of the merchants — Who, probably, kept a sort of bazaar on the western slope of Ophel, near the bridge that crossed the Tyropoeon.

Gate Miphkad — Or, gate of numbering; so called, perhaps, because the census of the people was taken here. Or it may mean gate of reviewing, that is, of judgment, because cases were tried here, and the judgment rendered. It was, perhaps, situated in the southern wall of the temple enclosure, and near “the court of the prison,” (Neh_3:25,) an appropriate place for rendering judgment.

The going up of the corner — Or the words may mean, as the margin has it, the corner chamber, referring, perhaps, to an upper chamber at the southwest corner of the temple enclosure. We incline to think, however, that the corner referred to is that of the outer city wall, just above the pool of Siloam.

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

Malchiah the goldsmith"s son. Or "the son of Hazzorephi." But the mention of goldsmiths (zorephim) in ver. 32 lends support to the rendering of the A. V, which is accepted by most critics. Unto the place of the Nethinims. Rather, "the house." The exact position cannot be fixed; but the gate Miphkad must have been situated in the east wall, a little to the south of the sheep gate. The going up of the corner may have been an "ascent," like Solomon"s, (2Ch_9:4) which was probably a flight of steps; or the word translated "going up" may mean "an upper chamber" (uperwon ) a chamber situated over the gate.

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

After him

"Next to him"

Malchijah

This is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)

goldsmiths

A goldsmith is a person who makes gold jewelry and other gold objects.

repaired to the house ... merchants repaired

These phrases refer to repairing the wall. AT: "repaired the wall to the house ... merchants repaired the wall" (See: Ellipsis)

merchants

"sellers" or "traders"

upper living chambers

the higher-level rooms where people stayed

Sheep Gate

This is the name of an entranceway in the wall.

translationWords

gold

house

temple

servant

gate

life

ewe

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

the son of Hatzorefi the goldsmith, and he was named after his craft.

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.