Nehemiah 3:7

Neh 3:7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river.

Ver. 7. Unto the throne of the governor] i.e. Of the king of Persia’s viceroy, who had there his throne, or tribunal. But to what a height of pride were the bishops grown, that sat in thrones, and from on high despised their fellow servants! this was their ruin, God putts down the mighty from their throne, and exalts them of low degree, Luk 1:52.

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 3:7. Unto the throne of the governor on this side the river — Unto the place where the governor of the country on this side Euphrates, under the Persian kings, sometimes had a palace or throne.

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

3:7 Gibeon and Mizpah were about six miles (10 kilometers) north of Jerusalem.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Unto the place where the Duke was wont to sit in judgment, who governed the country in their absence.

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

Verse 7. The throne of the governor] His house, and the place where he dispensed justice and judgment. Previously to the days of Nehemiah, Jerusalem was governed by a deputy from the Persian king; (see Ne 5:15;) but after this time they were governed by governors and judges chosen from among themselves.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) Unto the throne.—Unto the seat of the pechah of the whole district this side the Euphrates: his residence when he came to Jerusalem.

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

7. Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah] In this arrangement of names it is natural to see the names of two leaders followed by the description of their respective followers. Melatiah is thus at the head of the Gibeonites, Jadon at the head of the men of Mizpah. But as the latter is called ‘the Meronothite’ (see also 1Ch_27:30), we conclude that Meronoth, his native place, must have been a village in the immediate neighbourhood of Mizpah.

The men of Gibeon are included in Neh_7:25 among those who returned with Zerubbabel (see the parallel passage, Ezr_2:20).

Mizpah, about 3½ miles N. of Jerusalem, the modern Nebi-Samwil. Rulers of Mizpah are further on mentioned as concerned in the restoration of other portions of the wall (Neh_3:15; Neh_3:19). The men of Mizpah referred to in this verse may have been under different control (see next note).

unto the throne of the governor on this side the river] R.V. which appertained to the throne of the governor beyond the river.

This obscure clause has occasioned great difficulty. (a) According to the rendering of the A.V., it denotes the limit of the restoration undertaken by the men mentioned in this verse. ‘The throne of the governor, &c.’ will then be the official residence of the Persian satrap or the actual throne in which he sate dispensing justice. The preposition ‘unto’ may be understood to mean, either that the governor’s house was built on the wall, and that the restoration mentioned in this verse reached this point; or that the governor’s ‘throne’ was in the vicinity, and the restoration was carried on to a point over against it.

The chief objection to this rendering is the use of the word ‘throne.’ But it is more simple than the alternative rendering given below. And the supposition is very natural, that an official spot, close to the chief northern gate of the city (Neh_3:6), should become a recognised landmark. The visit of the satrap of the country W. of the Euphrates to the provincial capitals would be a rare event; and the spot which symbolised his dignity would receive a distinctive name.

(b) According to the rendering of the R.V., the clause is added by way of limitation after the mention of Mizpah. Mizpah it is supposed was partly under Jewish rulers (Neh_3:15; Neh_3:19), partly under the rule of the Persian provincial governor. The boundary passed through the district of Mizpah. ‘The men of Mizpah,’ mentioned here, represented the portion under Persian rule, in which perhaps the village of Maronoth was included. By the indulgence of the Persian rulers (cf. Neh_2:7) a contingent was permitted to render aid to their brethren.

The phrase ‘the throne of the governor beyond the river’ will then be a technical term of authority in vogue among the Jews during the Persian supremacy. ‘Throne’ in the sense of ‘rule’ is poetical, cf. Psa_89:29; Psa_89:36.

There is nothing to be said in favour of another proposed rendering ‘in the name of the governor, &c.’ The Vulgate renders ‘pro duce,’ the LXX. ἕως θρόνου τοῦ ἄρχοντος.

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 them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and Mizpah,.... Which places were both in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:25 and one of these men was of the one place, and the other of the other:

unto the throne of the governor on this side the river; where the governor of those parts under the king of Persia had his seat, and now Nehemiah; but, according to Aben Ezra, Cisse, rendered "throne", is the name of a man who was the governor.

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

Unto the throne ... - The meaning is thought to be “the men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who, though they worked for Nehemiah, were not under his government, but belonged to the jurisdiction of the governor on this side the river.”

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

For the. Hebrew, "for (Calmet; or) unto the throne of the governor on this side of the river." (Protestants) (Haydock) --- These people worked near the palace, which had been built for the Persian governor, who came to administer justice, till the time of Esdras, chap. v. 15., and 1 Esdras vii. 25. Perhaps the governor of Syria had (Haydock) assisted the Jews, unless Nehemias himself be meant. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

i.e. Unto the place where the governor of the country on this side the river Euphrates, for and under the Persian kings, sometimes had a palace or throne, to which all persons living in the adjacent parts were to resort for judgment.

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

7. Meronothite — A native or inhabitant of Meronoth, but no place of this name is now known. Compare 1Ch_27:30.

Unto the throne of the governor — The official residence of the Persian governor of Jerusalem. The governor of Jerusalem was one of the several officers of like character and authority on the west of the Euphrates. Comp. Neh_2:7. The throne is to be understood of the seat or tribunal where the governor sat to hear cases and dispense justice, and seems to have been somewhere along or against the northern wall.

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

Gibeon and Mispah lay due north of Jerusalem, at the distance respectively of about 5.5 and 4.5 miles The inhabitants were set to repair the middle part of the north wall. Unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. So the Septuagint; and, among moderns, Michaelis, Pool, and A. Clarke. Others translate men of Gibeon and Mizpah, who belonged to the jurisdiction of the governor across the river." But this can scarcely have been the fact, since Gibeon is mentioned among the reoccupied cities in Neh_7:25, and if Bethel was Jewish, as we know that it was from Neh_11:31, Gibeon and Mizpah, which were nearer Jerusalem, cannot have remained Syrian. Altogether, there is no reason to dispute the commonly received rendering, since Nehemiah again uses l for d in ver. 32, and the governor of Syria may well have had a "throne," or tribunal, at Jerusalem, which was usually under his jurisdiction, though exempted from his authority under the existing regime.

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

The throne - Unto the place where the governor of the country on this side Euphrates, under the Persian kings, sometimes had a palace or throne.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

a throne for the governor of the land beyond the river The [people of] the land beyond the river built a throne for the governor of the land beyond the river to sit upon.

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.