Nehemiah 7:3

Neh 7:3 And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar [them]: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one [to be] over against his house.

Ver. 3. Until the sun be hot] The sun hath one of his names, in Hebrew, a calefaciendo, from heating, חמה, Job 30:28, there is nothing hid from the heat thereof, Psa 19:6. The name here given to the sun signifieth a minister, or servant; because it is the common servant of the world, whereby God ministeretb light, heat, and precious fruits to all people, Deu 4:19; Deu 33:14. It whirleth about the world with incredible swiftness; and is up in a morning before most people. Therefore till the sun be risen the gates must be kept shut, to keep out the enemy, who watcheth his opportunity.

And while they stand by] To see it done as it ought to be; lest, by the treachery or carelessness of under-officers, it should either be undone or ill-done. Let them feel with their hands, so some render it, etiam tractate (Junius), whether the gates are made fast or not.

And appoint watches] Heb. Set thou watches. He speaketh to the two Hananis, and bids each of them, whose turn it was, see to the well-doing of it. Xenophon saith of Cyrus, that when he gave anything in command he never said, Let some one do this, but, Do thou this, Hoc tu facias (Cyropaed.).

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 7:3. Let not the gates be opened until the sun be hot — Till it be clear and broad day; when the people will be ready in case of an assault. While they stand by — The watches appointed to that end. Nehemiah was now about to return to the court, and left the charge of the city to these in his absence. Every one to be over against his house — That is, every one in his turn keeping watch with others, in that watching-place which is next to his house.

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

7:3 The gatekeepers were apparently supposed to close the gates during the time in the afternoon when people were resting and were not prepared to defend the city from attack. Elsewhere, similar language refers to the portion of the day when the sun is the hottest and people retreat inside (Gen 18:1; 2 Sam 4:5).

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

Hebrew, hold them, meaning, till the bars were put in.

To wit, they that are mentioned, verse 2.

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

Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, &c.--In the East it is customary to open the gates of a city at sunrise, and to bar them at sunset--a rule which is very rarely, and not except to persons of authority, infringed upon. Nehemiah recommended that the gates of Jerusalem should not be opened so early; a precaution necessary at a time when the enemy was practising all sorts of dangerous stratagems, to ensure that the inhabitants were all astir and enjoyed the benefit of clear broad daylight for observing the suspicious movements of any enemy. The propriety of regularly barring the gates at sunset was, in this instance, accompanied with the appointment of a number of the people to act as sentinels, each mounting guard in front of his own house.

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

Verse 3. Until the sun be hot] The meaning of this is, the gates were not to be opened before sunrise, and always shut at sunset. This is the custom to the present day in many of the cities of the East if a traveller arrives after sunset, he finds the gates shut; and on no consideration will they open them till the next morning, so that those who come late are obliged to lodge in the plain, or under the walls.

Every one - over against his house.] Each was obliged to guard that part of the wall that was opposite to his own dwelling.

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

3. I said unto them] The reading of the C’thib, ‘He said,’ is clearly wrong. The K’ri is supported by the LXX. and Vulg. ‘Them,’ Hanani and Hananiah.

until the sun be hot] Vulg. ‘Usque ad calorem solis,’ i.e. until the sun was high in the heavens; cf. 1Sa_11:9, ‘By the time the sun is hot.’ The customary practice was to open the gates at sunrise. By this regulation the enemy would be effectually prevented from obtaining any advantage by an entry into the city before the inhabitants were stirring. The LXX. (ἔως ἄμα τῷ ἡλίῳ) did not understand the sentence. Rashi also explains ‘until mid-day,’ erroneously. The shutting of the gates was a sign of suspicion: cf. the opposite description of security in Isa_60:11.

stand by] R.V. stand on guard. The meaning apparently is that the gates were to be shut while the regular watch was still on guard. The A.V. ‘stand by’ refers to Hanani and Hananiah, as if the gates were always to be shut in the presence of the governors. But it would have been an impossibility for the two officers to have been present at the fastening of each gate. The emphasis rests on the word ‘while.’ The guard of Levites are to be at their post, while the doors were being secured.

shut … bar] LXX. κλείσθωσαν … σφηνούσθωσαν, Vulg. ‘clausæ … oppilatæ.’ The versions give the general sense. The word rendered ‘shut’ occurs only here in the O.T. in the mood employed in this verse. The word rendered ‘bar’ means literally ‘to seize.’ Hence Rashi explains, ‘let them take hold of the doors in order to shut them;’ and other interpretations have been ‘take hold in order to see whether they were fastened,’ and ‘take hold of the keys.’ But the marginal rendering of the R.V. 1Ki_6:10, ‘he fastened the house,’ will illustrate its usage in the present verse.

appoint watches &c.] It does not appear whether Hanani and Hananiah are the subject or the Levite guards. The verb in the original is in the Infin. Abs. (cf. Neh_6:9) and expresses the command in general terms (LXX. στῆσον, Vulg. ‘posui’). The citizens themselves were to be organised for the defence of the place. Every man was to belong to a particular guardhouse, and take his turn in sentinel duty; and every man also was to be responsible for the protection of his own dwelling.

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 I said unto them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot,.... Or until the heat of the day, or near noon; at least not till the sun had been up some time, and shone out clearly, and caused much heat; that if any enemies were near, or lying in wait, they might be discovered, and the inhabitants also up and ready to defend themselves:

and while they stand by; according to Aben Ezra, Hanani and Hananiah were to be present at the opening and shutting of the gates, and so Grotius; but these being the chief rulers, it is not likely; but rather those whom they appointed to look after them, these were to stand by while their servants did it; they were not to leave it wholly to them, but to see it done themselves:

let them shut the doors, and bar them; or "lay hold" (a) on them, handle them to see whether they are shut fast or not:

and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, and everyone to be over against his house; no foreigners were to be of the watch, only inhabitants, and those everyone in their turn, and to be placed over against where they dwelt; and so it might be thought would be the more careful and diligent in their watch.

(a) "et tractate", Junius & Tremellius; "contrectate eas", Piscator.

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

Until the sun be hot - An unusual precaution. The ordinary practice in the East is to open town gates at sunrise.

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

Sun. Literally, "the heat of the sun," or perfect daylight. (Haydock) --- They. Syriac and Arabic, "while it was still day," (Calmet) or the sun shone. Before dusk the gates were shut, to prevent any improper person from entering. (Haydock) --- House, on the walls. (Calmet) --- These things protect a city; as grace a guard over the senses, and watchfulness do the soul. (Worthington)

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).

Until the sun be hot, i.e. till it be clear and broad day; when enemies approaching may be discovered, and the people of the city will be ready for the defence in case of an assault.

While they stand by, i.e. the watches appointed to that end, as is manifest from the following words.

Every one to be over against his house, i.e. every one in his turn keeping watch with others in that watching-place which is next to his house.

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

3. Until the sun be hot — That is, until broad day. An earlier opening of the gates might expose the city to a sudden surprise.

While they stand by — While the guard specially set apart to watch the gates still occupy their stations, that is, before they withdraw from their posts for the night. This special guard were to stand by, or take their positions, early in the morning, before the gates were opened, and there they kept watch all day, and were not allowed to withdraw till the doors were shut and barred for the night.

Appoint watches of the inhabitants — That is, night watches.

After the gates were closed and fastened it was still necessary to maintain a guard upon the walls. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, without reference to class or distinction, were required to do this. The great body of the people doubtless served, not all at once, but by some set arrangement by which each one took his turn, and served an appointed time.

Every one in his watch — Every one had his well known watch-station.

Every one… his house — The same arrangement also provided that every dwelling had a special guard.

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

Let not the gates be opened until the sun be hot. The gates of towns in the East are usually opened at sunrise; but this cannot be the intention here. Some extra precaution is signified not, however, so much as Dathe supposes, who renders ante tempus meridianum, "before noon;" but rather something intermediate between this and the ordinary practice.

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

Hot - 'Till it be clear and broad day; when the people will be ready in case of an assault. They - The watches appointed to that end. Watches - Nehemiah was now about to return to the court, and left the charge of the city to these in his absence.

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

I said to them

The word "them" refers to Hanani and Hananiah.

Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are on guard, you may shut the doors and bar them

Possible meanings are 1) these actions were done by Hanani and Hananiah or 2) these actions were done by Hanani and Hananiah with the help of the gatekeepers or 3) the gatekeepers did these actions under the direction of Hanani and Hananiah.

the sun is hot

"the sun is high in the sky"

While the gatekeepers are on guard, you may shut the doors and bar them

"Shut the doors and bar them while the gatekeepers are still on guard"

gatekeepers

See how you translated this in Nehemiah 7:1

shut the doors and bar them

"close the gates and lock them"

Appoint guards from those who live in Jerusalem

"Assign guards from those people who live in Jerusalem"

guard station

"guard post" or "guard duty place"

no houses had yet been rebuilt

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the people had not yet rebuilt the houses" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

gate

Jerusalem

life

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

until the sun becomes hot until midday, for the day was long.

and they shall stand until And as long as the doors are open, they shall stand; they shall not move until the doors are locked shut, and whoever wishes to leave may leave the city, and whoever wishes to enter may come and enter. They did all this because of the enemies.

and hold them They should hold the doors to lock them.

watches among the inhabitants of Jerusalem of the inhabitants of Jerusalem station watches, jetes in Old French, (groups of) watchmen.

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.