11:1 VA
YESHVU SAREY HA AM BIYRU-SHALA'IM U SHE'AR HA AM HIPIYLU GORALOT LEHAV'I ECHAD
MIN HA ASARAH LASHEVET BIYRU'SHALA'IM IR HA KODESH VE TESH'A HA YADOT BE ARIM
וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׂרֵי הָעָם בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וּשְׁאָר הָעָם הִפִּילוּ גוֹרָלוֹת לְהָבִיא אֶחָד מִן הָעֲשָׂרָה לָשֶׁבֶת בִּירוּשָׁלִַם עִיר הַקֹּדֶשׁ וְתֵשַׁע הַיָּדוֹת בֶּעָרִים
BN (BibleNet translation): And the
princes of the people dwelt in Yeru-Shala'im; and the rest of the people cast
lots, to bring one in ten to dwell in Yeru-Shala'im the holy city, and the other nine in the other cities.
BIYRU-SHALA'IM
IR HA KODESH: The first time it's been called that, I believe. The origin of the
Arab-Moslem name, Al Quds.
One of ten
of the princes? Or one-tenth of all the returnees? Probably the former - a conclusion based on verse 3, though it isn't certain that three links back to one. Interesting that this was
done by democratic vote, as was the rota for wood-gathering at 10:35.
And why
ten? There were only two tribes left, Yehudah and Bin-Yamin (see verse 4), with
the latter effectively absorbed into the former, as Shim'on had been centuries before, and the name Yehudah now used
for the whole land, people, language (see verse 3). Was it the clans within the
remaining tribes? Or perhaps a means of bringing together all the disparate
tribes, both Yehudi and those non-Yehudi who had accepted the covenant? And why not
parallel the historical tribal structure anyway, by having twelve?
And which
were the other cities? Probably "towns" would be a more accuate descriptor anyway; cities are large, towns much smaller.
11:2 VA
YEVARCHU HA AM LE CHOL HA ANASHIM HA MITNADVIM LASHEVET BIYRU-SHALA'IM
וַיְבָרְכוּ הָעָם לְכֹל הָאֲנָשִׁים הַמִּתְנַדְּבִים לָשֶׁבֶת בִּירוּשָׁלִָם
KJ: And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
BN: And the
people blessed all the men who willingly offered themselves to dwell in Yeru-Shala'im.
The
inference of this can only be that Yeru-Shala'im was not an obviously attractive
place to live. After all, if you are the prince of the Welsh and based in Bleinau
Ffestiniog, and you are offered the opportunity to move to London and serve at
the heart of government there, or from Akron, Ohio, and offered service in
DC; and presumably you can can take one of those fancy houses that have just
been completed on the heights of the new city wall; and the Temple is either
complete or being completed... so the city must still have been in the infancy
of its rebuilding, and the dangers of attack, of course, still present, making
it more dangerous than whatever the clan-home.
Or perhaps
I am reading psychology into liturgy, and it was simply a Mi She Beirach at the
end of a ceremony of appointment.
pey break
11:3 VE
ELEH RA'SHEY HA MEDIYNAH ASHER YASHVU BIYRU-SHALA'IM U VE AREY YEHUDAH YASHVU ISH
BA ACHUZATO BE AREYHEM YISRA-EL HA KOHANIM VE HA LEVIYIM VE HA NETIYNIM U VENEY
AVDEY SHELOMOH
וְאֵלֶּה רָאשֵׁי הַמְּדִינָה אֲשֶׁר יָשְׁבוּ בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וּבְעָרֵי יְהוּדָה יָשְׁבוּ אִישׁ בַּאֲחֻזָּתוֹ בְּעָרֵיהֶם יִשְׂרָאֵל הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם וְהַנְּתִינִים וּבְנֵי עַבְדֵי שְׁלֹמֹה
BN: Now these
are the chiefs of the province who dwelt in Yeru-Shala'im; but in the cities of
Yehudah everyone lived in the city of his allotted portion; that is to say Yisra-El,
the Kohanim, and the Leviyim, and the Netiynim, and the descendants of Shelomoh's
servants.
MEDIYNAH:
I am not happy about translating this as "province"; see my previous note, at 7:6. The modern State of Israel is known, in Ivrit, as Medinat Yisra-El.
BA ACHUZATO
BE AREYHEM: odd mixing of singular and plural. The concept of ACHUZAH belongs to Mosheh and especially Yehoshu'a, where the division of the land into tribal territories is described in this way - and that too was achieved by drawing lots (GORALOT), as per my note to 10:35.
YISRA-EL:
Used here to denote, as it still does today, all those Yehudim who are not
Kohanim or Leviyim; the NETIYNIM, as we have seen many times, were the professional staff employed by the Temple for clerical and maintenance work - secretaries, plumbers, cloth-makers etc - while the the BENEY
AVDEY SHELOMOH were the household staff, and most especially the "Shabbat Goyim", the ones who, in seeming contravention of the last part of Exodus 20:9, were paid to light fires or undertake other of the 39 Melachot forbidden to the Yehudim on Shabat and Holy Days.
11:4 U
VIYRU-SHALA'IM YASHVU MIBNEY YEHUDAH U MIBNEY VIN-YAMIN MIBNEY YEHUDAH
ATA-YAH VEN UZI-YAH BEN ZECHAR-YAH VEN AMAR-YAH BEN SHEPHAT-YAH VEN MAHALAL-EL
MIBNEY PHARETS
וּבִירוּשָׁלִַם יָשְׁבוּ מִבְּנֵי יְהוּדָה וּמִבְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן מִבְּנֵי יְהוּדָה עֲתָיָה בֶן עֻזִּיָּה בֶּן זְכַרְיָה בֶן אֲמַרְיָה בֶּן שְׁפַטְיָה בֶן מַהֲלַלְאֵל מִבְּנֵי פָרֶץ
BN: And in Yeru-Shala'im dwelt certain of the Beney Yehudah, and of the Beney Vin-Yamin. Of
the Beney Yehudah: Ata-Yah ben Uzi-Yah ben Zechar-Yah ben Amar-Yah ben
Shephat-Yah ben Mahalal-El, of the Beney Pharets.
That is a
significant pedigree, and quite appropriate that the first clan to be mentioned is Pharets - which is really Parets, but the grammar here requires the Pey to be softened to a Phey. The significance of Parets lies in the tale of Yehudah and Tamar in Genesis 38 - Parets was the first-born son of Yehudah. But then the significance doubles, because the pedigree of King David was likewise sourced in Parets; see Ruth 4:18-22 where the full family tree is given (or Matthew 1:3-6, which repeats it).
Was this rotational, like the Temple Mishmarot?
11:5 U
MA'ASEY-YAH VEN BARUCH BEN KOL CHOZEH BEN CHAZA-YAH VEN ADA-YAH VEN YO-YARIV
BEN ZECHAR-YAH BEN HA SHILONI
וּמַעֲשֵׂיָה בֶן בָּרוּךְ בֶּן כָּל חֹזֶה בֶּן חֲזָיָה בֶן עֲדָיָה בֶן יוֹיָרִיב בֶּן זְכַרְיָה בֶּן הַשִּׁלֹנִי
BN: And
Ma'asey-Yah ben Baruch ben Kol Chozeh ben Chaza-Yah ben Ada-Yah ben Yo-Yariv
ben Zechar-Yah, the son of the Shiloni.
SHILONI: And not a single patriarchal name anywhere, not even a lesser name familiar from the Tanach. And yet a significant prince of his people. And lots of honouring of the mother-goddess! I am assuming that the name, based on its having a definite article attached, must refer to a place, and given that ON is the usual sufffix (as we would add "er" to make Londoner or New Yorker), the place in question must be Shiloh, thereby placing the second most important shrine after the Temple second on the list, after the most important pedigree.
11:6
KOL BENEY PHERETS HA YOSHVIM BIYRU-SHALA'IM ARB'A ME'OT SHISHIM U SHEMONAH
ANSHEY CHAYIL
כָּל בְּנֵי פֶרֶץ הַיֹּשְׁבִים בִּירוּשָׁלִָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁמֹנָה אַנְשֵׁי חָיִל
BN: The total number of Beney Pherets who camped in Yeru-Shala'im were four hundred and sixty-eight, all of them men-in-uniform.
ANSHEY CHAYIL: "Valiant men" is a generous description, but the point is that they were in Yeru-Shala'im to provide a military guard, and it is not obvious why this wasn't explained earlier - though it does also add weight to the blessing, and the note I made there about the status of the city. Dangerous times these, and it tells us why virtually the entire Temple community appears to have de-camped to the outlying towns, as per verse 3.
samech
break
וְאֵלֶּה בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן סַלֻּא בֶּן מְשֻׁלָּם בֶּן יוֹעֵד בֶּן פְּדָיָה בֶן קוֹלָיָה בֶן מַעֲשֵׂיָה בֶּן אִיתִיאֵל בֶּן יְשַׁעְיָה
KJ: And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah.
11:8 VE ACHARAV GAVAI SALAI TESH'A ME'OT ESRIM U SHEMONAH
KJ: And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight.
KJ: And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.
KJ: Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin.
KJ: Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the ruler of the house of God.
NEGID: Who runs your local synagogue? Is it the Senior Rabbi, or the Chief Executive Officer (yes, I know, the Board President thinks he or she does, but leave that ephemeral egotism aside)? Probably they work together as a team, and obviously they have very different roles. So too at the Temple, where there was a Kohen Gadol, who had authority over the lesser Kohenim and Leviyim, but the Netiynim, and the Avdey Shelomoh, would have come under the supervision of the Negid - and probably some of the Levitical roles, like some of the latter, would have over-lapped, which is why they needed cooperation and teamwork.
MERAYOT: The only name in that particular list that isn't a major name in the king David story; I wonder if that is pure coincidence.
KJ: And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah,
I think whoever turned this continous text into the verse-form with which we are familiar made an error on this occasion. VA ADA'YAH should be the start of a new verse. I have interposed three dots (technically an ellipsis) in my translation to make this clear. The same is the case with the next verse.
BN: And these
are the Beney Vin-Yamin: Sal'u ben Meshulam ben Yo-Ed ben Peda-Yah ben Kola-Yah
ben Ma'asey-Yah ben Iyti-El ben Yesh'a-Yah...
SAL'U: A
foreign Samech (ס) and an Aramaic Aleph (א) - not much Yehudit in that name! See my note to SALAI at verse 8.
The second
YO name - the first was Yo-Yariv in verse 5. I have argued the case for Yah
throughout these commentaries, but actually her original root-name was not Yah but Yo,
Io in the Phoenician, Hittite and Greek. So once again a name that honours the goddess.
YESH'A-YAH: And just as we have seen Yirme-Yahu as Yirme-Yah (Jeremiah), so now we are seeing Yesha-Yahu (Isaiah) as Yesha-Yah; at what time did their names get masculinised? Which is to say: Ezra and Nechem-Yah both speak of the Torah, but never directly of the remainder of the Tanach, though scholars are generally in consensus that the whole Tanach belongs to this epoch - and of course both of their books are included. We know that there was a further redaction later on, under the Hasmoneans, and then still another at the start of the Talmudic age, when the version as we now know it was canonised; but when exactly Yah was finally erased, replaced by Yahu, is not known. The answer may well lie in the Septuagint - but the English translation doesn't assist with that, and my Greek is inadequate for the purposes.
וְאַחֲרָיו גַּבַּי סַלָּי תְּשַׁע מֵאוֹת עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁמֹנָה
BN: And with him were men who could perform the duties of Gavai and Salai, nine hundred twenty and eight in total.
Once again,
are these names or titles? Given that the previous was named with his entire
pedigree, these don't even get dad's name, or their craft or clan or guild. A Gabbai is a non-Levitical Levitical role - which is to say an administrative
rather than a priestly role within the community, but not one that requires a
Levite; any lay person can do it, and today it would be regarded as the
Synagogue Board's Treasurer, though previously it was more complex than that
(see the link).
What is
Salai then? A SAL is a bread-basket (Genesis 40:17, Exodus 29:3), usually made of reeds or wicker, and would have been essential for the bringing of the Shewbread (for which see Nehemiah 10:34), which was one of the Temple rituals to which the Yehudim had just bound themselves in solemn covenant. So my sense is that the ones with the pedigree were the clan-chiefs, and that some of them brought men-in-uniform to guard the city, and some brought men-in-suits to do the Gabbai work, and some brought men-in-dungarees to provide the other necessaries that those Kohanim and Leviyim who were based in the city needed staff for. The phrasing of the next verse seems to confirm this reading.
11:9 VI
YO-EL BEN ZICHRI PAKID ALEYHEM VIY'HUDAH VEN HA SENU'AH AL HA IR MISHNEH
וְיוֹאֵל בֶּן זִכְרִי פָּקִיד עֲלֵיהֶם וִיהוּדָה בֶן הַסְּנוּאָה עַל הָעִיר מִשְׁנֶה
BN: And Yo-El
ben Zichri was their overseer; and Yehudah ben Ha Senu'ah was second over the
city.
YO-EL:
Another Yo name, though this one rather more familiar to us.
PAKID
ALEYHEM: Why did they need an overseer, unless they were servants or slaves or
bondmen or zero-hour contract employees or had some civil service function? But we will also see a difference between types of overseer - in verse 14.
VEN HA
SENU'AH: or possibly VEN HAS'NU'AH, because the way I've written it makes him "son of the hated one" - which I am not ruling out, though Nechem-Yah isn't
usually that straightforward with his derogations. But if it doesn't mean that, what does this name mean? And actually we have discussed this previously, when the Beney Hasna'ah built the Fish Gate (Nehemiah 3:3); see also my explanation of HA SHILONI at verse 5 of this chapter, though on this occasion the definite article could be taken in one of two ways: either, like HA SHILONI, it refers to his place of origin, or, and this is less likely, it could mean "the one with the mis-shapen teeth". The reason why I am questioning it is the ending; if this is his place of origin, should it not, to be grammatically correct, be VEN HA SENU'I?
pey break
11:10 MIN
HA KOHANIM YED'A-YAH VEN YO-YARIV YACHIN
מִן הַכֹּהֲנִים יְדַעְיָה בֶן יוֹיָרִיב יָכִין
BN: Of the
Kohanim: Yed'a-Yah ben Yo-Yariv, Yachin...
YO-YARIV
again. It is a logical name for a man to take when he becomes a man-of-the-cloth, and I am coming increasingly to the view that none of the Kohen names were their birth-names, but that, like mediaeval monks, all took Kohen-names upon ordination - or their ancestor, for whom they were named, had already done so. This one (see the link under his name) conveys the real Jihad, the "struggle", which was Ya'akov's wrestling-match with the "angel" at Penu-El.
YACHIN: The
partner of Bo'az on the gates of the Temple. Is the absence of his last name
connected to that fact, or simply that Nechem-Yah doesn't remember what his
patronymic was, something we saw throughout Ezra?
11:11
SERA-YAH VEN CHILKI-YAH BEN MESHULAM BEN TSADOK BEN MERAYOT BEN ACHI-TUV NEGID
BEIT HA ELOHIM
שְׂרָיָה בֶן חִלְקִיָּה בֶּן מְשֻׁלָּם בֶּן צָדוֹק בֶּן מְרָיוֹת בֶּן אֲחִיטוּב נְגִד בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים
BN: Sera-Yah
ben Chilki-Yah ben Meshulam ben Tsadok ben Merayot ben Achi-Tuv, the ruler of
the house of Elohim.
BEIT HA
ELOHIM: I have been wondering if this was an early, or provisional, name for
the synagogue, later called the Beit Ha Kenesset or "House of Meeting", which is
closer to the Greek (συναγωγή - pronounced sunagógé), as a way of
distinguishing a Yehudit place of prayer and worship from the shrines of the
other cults, or the Temple itself, which was known as the Beit Mikdash. However
the next verse appears to describe the building (re-re-building?) of the Temple...
11:12 VA
ACHEYHEM OSEH HA MELA'CHAH LA BAYIT SHEMONEH ME'OT ESRIM U SHENAYIM VA ADA'YAH
BEN YEROCHAM BEN PELAL-YAH BEN AMTSI VEN ZECHAR-YAH BEN PASH'CHUR BEN MALKI-YAH
וַאֲחֵיהֶם עֹשֵׂה הַמְּלָאכָה לַבַּיִת שְׁמֹנֶה מֵאוֹת עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁנָיִם וַעֲדָיָה בֶּן יְרֹחָם בֶּן פְּלַלְיָה בֶּן אַמְצִי בֶן זְכַרְיָה בֶּן פַּשְׁחוּר בֶּן מַלְכִּיָּה
BN: And the number of their kinsmen who undertook the work on the Temple was eight hundred and twenty-two... And Ada-Yah
ben Yerocham ben Pelal-Yah ben Amtsi ben Zechar-Yah ben Pash'chur ben Malki-Yah...
I think whoever turned this continous text into the verse-form with which we are familiar made an error on this occasion. VA ADA'YAH should be the start of a new verse. I have interposed three dots (technically an ellipsis) in my translation to make this clear. The same is the case with the next verse.
11:13 VE
ECHAV RA'SHIM LE AVOT MA'TAYIM ARBA'IM U SHENAYIM VA AMASHSAI BEN AZAR-EL BEN
ACHZAI BEN MESHILEMOT BEN IMER
וְאֶחָיו רָאשִׁים לְאָבוֹת מָאתַיִם אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁנָיִם וַעֲמַשְׁסַי בֶּן עֲזַרְאֵל בֶּן אַחְזַי בֶּן מְשִׁלֵּמוֹת בֶּן אִמֵּר
BN: And his kinsmen, each one the chief of his clan, made a further two hundred and forty-two... and Amashsai ben Azar-El ben Achzai ben Meshilemot ben Imer...
AMASHSAI: Sheen-Samech - not something that we ever find in Yehudit, unless two words have been conjoined. Gesenius simply dismisses it with, "I suspect this is an incorrect reading, sprung from the two forms of AMASAI", these being, as he then writes them, "עמשי and עמסי", the former found in 1 Chronicles 6:10 et al, the latter in... Gesenius doesn't often make these errors, though it is very minor: the alternate name is actually AMAS-YAH, and it can be found at 2 Chronicles 17:16, though there is also AMASA with an Aramaic final Aleph (עמשא), found in 2 Samuel 17:25 et al.
11:14 VA ACHEYHEM GIBOREY CHAYIL ME'AH ESRIM U SHEMONAH U PHAKID ALEYHEM ZAVDI-EL BEN HA GEDOLIM
samech break
KJ: Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;
KJ: And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God.
KJ: And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
KJ: All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four.
KJ: Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred seventy and two.
KJ: And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.
KJ: But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims.
KJ: The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God.
11:23 KI MITSVAT HA MELECH ALEYHEM VA AMANAH AL HA MESHORERIM DEVAR YOM BE YOMO
KJ: For it was the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.
AMANAH: The root yields "Amen", and has the sense of "loyalty" and "faithfulness". There is no other occasion in the Tanach when it is used as here, and a distinction is being made between AMANAH and MITSVAT HA MELECH, though it isn't obvious what that distinction is. Nor is it necessarily "a portion", though this is how it has long been understood in the Jewish world, and translated in the Christian. There is no word here for "portion"; the only word denoting what the MITSVAH and AMANAH relate to is DEVAR, which means "word" or "thing", and the only "thing" that has been mentioned in these two verses that pertain to the singers is MELE'CHET BEIT HA ELOHIM" in verse 22, from which we deduced that the senior choir-master was also the Temple CFO. As with the "outward business of the Temple" at verse 16, so too with this "inward business"; anyone involved with cash has to have a supervisor. And why the choir? Because: what is "inward business anyway"? Possibly, at the end of Temple worship, it was the choir who went around with the collection-box; much easier for them than for the orchestra, and the regular Kohanim and Leviyim were pre-occupied with ceremony. Traditional interpretation however doesn't include Tsedakah (it should; it has long been part of Jewish tradition); Rashi, for example (click here, but check that "show" is showing when you get to the link), simply assumes that they have other duties beyond singing in relation to the internal affairs of the Temple.
וַאֲחֵיהֶם גִּבֹּרֵי חַיִל מֵאָה עֶשְׂרִים וּשְׁמֹנָה וּפָקִיד עֲלֵיהֶם זַבְדִּיאֵל בֶּן הַגְּדוֹלִים
BN: And their kinsmen, front-line troops of the highest skill, totalled a hundred twenty and eight; and their Commander was Zavdi-El, one of the true greats. {S}
VA ACHEYHEM: This adds complication to our attempt to work out who could and who could not become Kohanim; this was denoted as a list of the Kohanim at verse 10, but this verse is clearly about soldiers, not priests; and yet they are "brothers". If "brothers" means "siblings", then we have one Levite who becomes a priest, and another who joins the army, which would be standard among the gentry of mediaeval Europe, but doesn't fit the separation of the tribe of Levi as an exclusively priestly tribe. If "brothers" means "kinsmen", then all Yehudim are kinsmen, and this could mean that they came from the same town, but different clans. Or the insistence on Levitical descent has still not come into force - and this, I believe, is the most likely explanation.
GIBOREY
CHAYIL: Go back to my comment about Chayil at verse 6, and then link it to my explanatuon of the PAKID at verse 9. There is a difference of rank between the ANSHEY CHAYIL there and the GIBOREY CHAYIL here, the GIBOREY being something rather more like paratroopers where the ANSHEY are the Home Guard; The Pakid of the Temple staff was a Human Resources Supervisor whereas this is the Battalion Commander.
BEN HA
GEDOLIM: Or is this perhaps a definition of their military roles; these are "the big ones", as opposed to the "infantry", which really means little kids shoved as cattle fodder, as
human shields, in the front line, while the "big guns" are at the rear. Paratroop equivalents. I have gone for the other translation, but both are viable.
11:15 U MIN
HA LEVIYIM SHEMA'YAH VEN CHASHUV BEN AZRIYKAM BEN CHASHAV-YAH BEN BUNI
וּמִן הַלְוִיִּם שְׁמַעְיָה בֶן חַשּׁוּב בֶּן עַזְרִיקָם בֶּן חֲשַׁבְיָה בֶּן בּוּנִּי
BN: And of the
Leviyim: Shema-Yah ben Chashuv ben Azrikam ben Chashav-Yah ben Buni...
SHEMA'YAH
VEN CHASHUV: Yet another name that must surely be a nickname.
Chashuv means "important". No one calls their child "Chashuv". Though
apparently his grandfather had a variation of the same name, and one
which does make sense, because the sobriquet is applied to the deity, not the
eponym. Chashav-Yah - "Yah is important". See my notes to Nehemiah 10:12, which links with several other variations on this name.
11:16 VE
SHABTAI VE YO-ZAVAD AL HA MELA'CHAH HA CHIYTSONAH LE VEIT HA ELOHIM ME RA'SHEY
HA LEVIYIM
וְשַׁבְּתַי וְיוֹזָבָד עַל הַמְּלָאכָה הַחִיצֹנָה לְבֵית הָאֱלֹהִים מֵרָאשֵׁי הַלְוִיִּם
BN: And Shabtai
and Yo-Zavad, were the chiefs of the Leviyim who supervised the
outward business of the House of Elohim.
MELA'CHAH: But read the note on CHIYTSONAH first; and then remember that the 39 Mela'chot, which are specific to the Shabat, included such obviously clerical rites as Sowing, Ploughing, Reaping and Threshing... but of course the Kohanim and Leviyim had their houses in the city walls, in Yeru-Shala'im and in the Levitical cities, with one thousand cubits of land immediately beyond the wall, partly for the occupation of those Kohanim and Leviyim with "blemishes" that precluded them from Temple service, partly for the feeding of the priestly families beyond the barbecue in the Temple itself (see Numbers 35 for the detail).
CHIYTSONAH: Delegated responsibility, for which see my notes on PAKID, above, and especially my comment that there were jobs that had both a secular and a clerical connection, and therefore needed specific co-supevision. The "outward business" of the
Leviyim is the accountancy for the annual audit of the Treasury, the drafting of
court documents for the Beit Din, the
purchase of new clothing for the Kohanim, or wicker baskets for the Shewbread, necessary repairs to the lavatories and store-rooms...
11:17 U
MATAN-YAH VEN MIYCH'A BEN ZAVDI VEN ASAPH ROSH HA TECHILAH YEHODEH LA TEPHILAH U
VAKBUK-YAH MISHNEH ME ECHAV VE AVD'A BEN SHAMU'A BEN GALAL BEN YEDIYTUN
וּמַתַּנְיָה בֶן מִיכָא בֶּן זַבְדִּי בֶן אָסָף רֹאשׁ הַתְּחִלָּה יְהוֹדֶה לַתְּפִלָּה וּבַקְבֻּקְיָה מִשְׁנֶה מֵאֶחָיו וְעַבְדָּא בֶּן שַׁמּוּעַ, בֶּן גָּלָל בֶּן ידיתון
BN: And
Matan-Yah ben Miych'a ben Zavdi ven Asaph, who was the first baritone in the choir for the start of the Thanksgiving prayer, and Vakbuk-Yah, the second among his fellow choristers; and Avda
ben Shamu'a ben Galal ben Yediytun.
ROSH HA TECHILAH: "Lead singer"; my suggestion that he was a baritone is entirely a matter of personal preference; bass and tenor are just as likely, but so, actually, is counter-tenor.
ASAPH: For the [little] information [that we have about him], Asaph was a Levite, meaning the priestly "guild" rather than the tribe, the son of Berech-Yahu (Barachias in the English, probably Berech-Yah originally), according to 1 Chronicles 6:39, and one of the three chiefs of the Levitical choir (1 Chronicles 15:17). The Beney Asaph were set aside "to prophesy with harps and with psalteries and with cymbals" according to 1 Chronicles 25:1, or "harps, lyres and cymbals according to 1 Chronicles 15:16) - though "prophesy" clearly does not mean reading the tea-leaves so much as providing the orchestra (Yedutun also gets a mention in that passage). It is of course possible that members of this "family" also composed the Psalms which later were collected into an Asaph Psalter. The features of these Asaph Psalms are uniform: frequent allusions to the history of Yisra-El with a didactic purpose; sublimity and vehemence of style; vivid description; an exalted conception of the deity.
Vakbuk-Yah - surely not! We saw this as a Guild-name at Ezra 2:51 and Nehemiah 7:53.
ROSH HA TECHILAH: "Lead singer"; my suggestion that he was a baritone is entirely a matter of personal preference; bass and tenor are just as likely, but so, actually, is counter-tenor.
ASAPH: For the [little] information [that we have about him], Asaph was a Levite, meaning the priestly "guild" rather than the tribe, the son of Berech-Yahu (Barachias in the English, probably Berech-Yah originally), according to 1 Chronicles 6:39, and one of the three chiefs of the Levitical choir (1 Chronicles 15:17). The Beney Asaph were set aside "to prophesy with harps and with psalteries and with cymbals" according to 1 Chronicles 25:1, or "harps, lyres and cymbals according to 1 Chronicles 15:16) - though "prophesy" clearly does not mean reading the tea-leaves so much as providing the orchestra (Yedutun also gets a mention in that passage). It is of course possible that members of this "family" also composed the Psalms which later were collected into an Asaph Psalter. The features of these Asaph Psalms are uniform: frequent allusions to the history of Yisra-El with a didactic purpose; sublimity and vehemence of style; vivid description; an exalted conception of the deity.
Vakbuk-Yah - surely not! We saw this as a Guild-name at Ezra 2:51 and Nehemiah 7:53.
YEDIYTUN: Most Yehudit texts offer a parenthesis-variation on Yedutin as Yedutun (יְדוּתֽוּן), which is the name that we have been accustomed to from the only references to it anywhere in the Tanach - Psalm 62:1, which is decidedly obscure as to its meaning, and 77:1, equally obscure and it also has YEDIYTUN. More helpful is 1 Chronicles 16:41-42, which clarifies Asaph as leader of the orchestra and Yedutun as the principal of the choir. Also 2 Chronicles 29:13-15 finds Zerach ben Yehudah, by curious coincidence the name of Parets' younger brother (see verse 4, above, but then verse 24 below), worshipping with Yedutun on the high places of Giv-On.
11:18 KOL
HA LEVIYIM BE IR HA KODESH MA'TAYIM SHEMONIM VE ARBA'AH
כָּל הַלְוִיִּם בְּעִיר הַקֹּדֶשׁ מָאתַיִם שְׁמֹנִים וְאַרְבָּעָה
BN: The total number of Leviyim in the holy city was two hundred and eighty-four.
pey break
11:19 VE HA
SHO'ARIM AKUV TALMON VA ACHEYHEM HA SHOMRIM BA SHE'ARIM ME'AH SHIV'IM U
SHENAYIM
וְהַשּׁוֹעֲרִים עַקּוּב טַלְמוֹן וַאֲחֵיהֶם הַשֹּׁמְרִים בַּשְּׁעָרִים מֵאָה שִׁבְעִים וּשְׁנָיִם
BN: And the
gate-keepers, Akuv, Talmon, and their kinsmen who kept watch at the gates, numbered a
hundred and seventy-two.
This feels like another of those occasions where Nechem-Yah happens to have learned two of their first-names, so he mentions them.
11:20 U
SHE'AR YISRA-EL HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM BE CHOL AREY YEHUDAH ISH BE NACHALATO
וּשְׁאָר יִשְׂרָאֵל הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם בְּכָל עָרֵי יְהוּדָה אִישׁ בְּנַחֲלָתוֹ
BN: And the
residue of Yisra-El, of the Kohanim, the Leviyim, in all the cities of Yehudah,
every one in his allotted place.
The
sentence lacks a verb, and it isn't ellided into the next verse. The KJ translation has added one. I am more intrigued by the realisation that the English word "allotted" comes from the same root that gave us the drawing of lots earlier, where we tend think of "allotted" either as a synonym for "allocated", or a piece of otherwise waste ground where some local people are now growing vegetables: presumably ground that was "allocated" to them as a result of drawing that particular straw in a lottery.
11:21 VE HA
NETIYNIM YOSHVIM BA OPHEL VE TSIYCH'A VE GISHP'A AL HA NETIYNIM
וְהַנְּתִינִים יֹשְׁבִים בָּעֹפֶל וְצִיחָא וְגִשְׁפָּא עַל הַנְּתִינִים
BN: But the
Netiynim dwelt on Ophel; and Tsiych'a and Gishp'a were in charge of the Netiynim.
Why on
Ophel, and why were two Samaritans in charge if them (I am assuming this from
their names, which are non-Yehudi). Every city in the world is sub-divided into those areas where the rich and important live, and a poor suburb not too far away to house their servants, so my question is not about the separation, but the geography. Historically, this was where they had always been housed, Ophel being the hill at whose summit the royal palace was located, Millo or Tsi'on depending on which text you read (2 Samuel 5:9 for the former, 2 Samuel 5:7 for the latter).
pey break
11:22 U
PHEKID HA LEVIYIM BIYRU-SHALA'IM UZI VEN BANI BEN CHASHAV-YAH BEN MATAN-YAH
BEN MIYCH'A MIBNEY ASAPH HA MESHORERIM LE NEGED MELE'CHET BEIT HA ELOHIM
וּפְקִיד הַלְוִיִּם בִּירוּשָׁלִַם עֻזִּי בֶן בָּנִי בֶּן חֲשַׁבְיָה בֶּן מַתַּנְיָה בֶּן מִיכָא מִבְּנֵי אָסָף הַמְשֹׁרְרִים לְנֶגֶד מְלֶאכֶת בֵּיתהָאֱלֹהִים
BN: And the
overseer of the Leviyim at Yeru-Shala'im, and the business affairs of the Temple, was Uzi ven Bani ben Chashav-Yah
ben Matan-Yah ben Miych'a of the Beney Asaph - the singers."
Verse 11 gave us the CEO of the Temple, now we have the CFO, the Chief Finance Officer, and I guess it's entirely logical that he would have to be a Levite himself, apprenticed in one or other of the Temple Guilds, whether preaching or teaching, orchestra or choir; this one turns out to be a graduate of the choir-school.
HA MESHORERIM: Confirming what we had deduced, that the Beney Asaph were the choir - see verse 11.
UZI: The overlap of names leads me to wonder if we are yet again misunderstanding BEN. In verse 17 "Matan-Yah ben Miych'a ben Zavdi ... was the first baritone in the choir for the start of the Thanksgiving prayer", and here we have "Uzi ven Bani ben Chashav-Yah ben Matan-Yah ben Miych'a". It could of course be pure coincidence.
כִּי מִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ עֲלֵיהֶם וַאֲמָנָה עַל הַמְשֹׁרְרִים דְּבַר יוֹם בְּיוֹמוֹ
BN: For there
was an ordinance from the king concerning them, and a matter of trust among the singers, to carry out their duties every day.
MITSVAT: Mitsvot in the Tanach are always divine commandments, where other types of law are either Mishpatim or Chokim. But this is a MITSVAT HA
MELECH, which could be a reference back to one of the earlier Yisra-Eli kings; except that there is no such reference in the Tanach by which we could confirm it. And if not, then this can only mean the king in Susa; except that it can't, as the very next verse confirms; or it can, but only by surrogacy. Wait till we get there.
11:24 U
PHETACH-YAH VEN MESHEYZAV-EL MIBNEY ZERACH BEN YEHUDAH LE YAD HA MELECH LE
CHOL DAVAR LA AM
וּפְתַחְיָה בֶן מְשֵׁיזַבְאֵל מִבְּנֵי זֶרַח בֶּן יְהוּדָה לְיַד הַמֶּלֶךְ לְכָל דָּבָר לָעָם
BN: And
Petach-Yah ben Mesheyzav-El of the Beney Zerach ben Yehudah, was at the king's
hand in all matters concerning the people.
BENEY
ZERACH: We saw Parets earlier, now his brother, and the coincidence that I noted in relation to Yedutun at verse 17. Good to know the original
clan-names are still in use, as they should be, the two boys being the sons of Yehudah. And that a descendant of Zerach rather than Parets should get the Senior Advisor role; redemption for the scarlet thread!
MELECH:
Again, which king? There is no king in Yehudah - or only the King of Persia, a thousand miles away in Babylon, or further if he is wintering in Susa. Or is this a way of stating the authority of the governor, his representative?
Which of course is our narrator, Nechem-Yah (he hasn't been narrating this himself since the end of chapter 7; so whoever his scribe or later biographer is). So is he just being humble, or
formally official?
11:25 VE EL
HA CHATSERIM BISDOTAM MIBNEY YEHUDAH YASHVU BE KIRYAT HA ARB'A U VENOTEYHA U
VE DIYVON U VENOTEYHA U VIY'KAVTSE-EL VA CHATSEREYHA
וְאֶל הַחֲצֵרִים בִּשְׂדֹתָם מִבְּנֵי יְהוּדָה יָשְׁבוּ בְּקִרְיַת הָאַרְבַּע וּבְנֹתֶיהָ וּבְדִיבֹן וּבְנֹתֶיהָ וּבִיקַּבְצְאֵל וַחֲצֵרֶיהָ
KJ: And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof,
BN: As to the villages, with their fields, some of the Beney Yehudah dwelt in Kiryat Arb'a and its suburbs, some in Diyvon and its suburbs, others in Kavtse-El and its suburbs.
BN: As to the villages, with their fields, some of the Beney Yehudah dwelt in Kiryat Arb'a and its suburbs, some in Diyvon and its suburbs, others in Kavtse-El and its suburbs.
VENOTEYHA:
Important usage of the word this, because BENOTEYHA means "her daughters", but
here it is clearly a reference to the suburbs of the city, and to other villages beyond. What is the difference between a CHATSER and a BENOT? Is one the suburbs and the other the surrounding villages? And if so, which is which? And note that CHATSER is actually the name of one of these towns (see verse 33), and part of the name of another (see verse 27), the latter of which has BENOT, not CHATSEROT - the equivalent in English would be Stow or Stead or Bury, that latter being Berg in German, Burg in Leningrad, one of the Boroughs of London and, oddly, Borghetto in Italian, though the Bury part usually gets dropped when we use the word - time, alas, has caused us to forget these meanings).
KIRYAT ARB'A: This one is definitely not a suburb of Yeru-Shala'im, unless they gave one of its suburbs the same name, which is plausible. Chevron (Hebron), by its earlier name.
DIYVON: Most references to Diyvon in the Tanach (click here for Brown-Driver-Briggs' list) are to the town in Mo-Av, also called Diyvon-Gad, which cannot be the intention here. Because it appears in Joshua 15:22, and therefore close to KAVTSE-EL (see below), many schiolars (click here for an example) think that DIYMONAH must be an alternate name for DIYVON of Yehudah.
YEKAVTSE-EL: What is that Yud doing at the beginning of the name? I suspect it is a Masoretic error, or simply a different pronunication at the epoch of the Masoretes, rendering BE KAVTSE-EL as BIYKAVTSA-EL (think of Lithuanian pronunciation in modern times; Yiskoydel for Yitgadal...). The town of KAVTSE-EL is named in Joshua 15:21 as one of the three towns on the Edomite border of Yehudah. 2 Samuel 23:20 also mentions it (1 Chronicles 11:22 has the same text).
11:26 U VE
YESHU'A U VE MOLADAH U VE VEIT PALET
וּבְיֵשׁוּעַ וּבְמֹלָדָה וּבְבֵית פָּלֶט
KJ: And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Bethphelet,
BN: And in Yeshu'a, and in Moladah, and Veit Pelet...
BN: And in Yeshu'a, and in Moladah, and Veit Pelet...
MOLADAH: A town in what was originally the tribal territory of Shim'on, before that tribe became absorbed into Yehudah. Joshua 15:26 and 19:2 both mention it (my note to 19:2 includes a map).
VEIT PELET: The V is grammatical, Beit Pelet is the name. For Pelet see under Pelishtim, though in this case it may or may not have been a Philistine town; if it was in the vicinity of Moladah, then it probably was, but if it was further east then it could have been a "refuge city" for which Nechem-Yah simply couldn't remember the actual name and so was using the generic.
I actually disagree with that speculation, but the job of commentary is to explore all the options, and this must be one of them. Beit Pelet translates as "refuge city", but the refuge cities were called AREY MIKLAT in Numbers 35:9–28 (et al). My note at Numbers 35:14 also includes a map, and says:
The cities (underlined on the map) chosen as Miklatim would be Kedesh (in Naphtali), Shechem (in west Menasheh) and Chevron (in Yehudah)... Golan (in east Menasheh), Ramot Gil'ad (at the north-eastern tip of Gad), and Betser (in Re'u-Ven) on the east bank of the Yarden.
11:27 U VA CHATSAR SHU'AL U VI VE'ER SHEVA U VENOTEYHA
BN: And in Tsiklag, and in Mechonah and her suburbs...
And if Tsiklag was now part of the new Yehudah, this tells us that the power of the Pelishtim is massively diminished, and the extent of Yehudah greater than it has been since Sennacherib annihilated the Ephrayimite tribes in 720 BCE, almost three hundred years before.
EYN RIMON: Eyn means either "spring" or "fountain", a natural water-source, where Be'er, as in Be'er Sheva, above, is a dug well. A Rimon is a pomegranete. Whether or not this is the same as the rock of Rimon is difficult to determine, but follow this link for the rock anyway.
TSARAH: Joshua 15:33 places it alongside Eshta'ol and Ashnah, and we know that the former of these was in the Shephelah - the link to Eshta'ol has a map and more detail.
YARMUT: Several references in Joshua 10 - verses 3, 5 and 23 - as well as 12:11, 15:35 and 21:29. The link here has a map.
CHATSREYHEM: where others have been CHATSREYHEN - why are some towns masculine but others feminine? Who gets to decide, and by what criteria?
Is this verse a description of Yehudah's entire borders, or only of the total area inhabited by the named groups?
BN: ... And the Beney Vin-Yamin from Gav'a onward, at Michmas and Ayah, and at Beit-El and its suburbs...
BN: At Anatot, Nov, Anan-Yah...
All three shrines to a mother-goddess, but each one a different mother-goddess, or at least a different name for her. ANATOT is probably BEIT ANATOT, Christian Bethany, where Yirme-Yah (Jeremiah) was born and his father served as a priest; though any shrine to Ba'al's wife would be likely to be named ANATOT (different link). NOV was the home of Avi-Atar, one of King David's two high priests; the shrine, which is on one of the seven hills that conurbated to become Yeru-Shala'im, was destroyed by King Sha'ul in revenge for giving a night's refuge to David when he fled the court (1 Samuel 21). The location of ANAN-YAH is unknown.
11:33 CHATSOR RAMAH GITAYIM
BN: Chatsor, Ramah, Gitayim...
CHATSOR: See my note to verse 25, and the link.
וּבַחֲצַר שׁוּעָל וּבִבְאֵר שֶׁבַע וּבְנֹתֶיהָ
KJ: And at Hazarshual, and at Beersheba, and in the villages thereof,
BN: And in Chatsar Shu'al, and in Be'er Sheva and her suburbs...
BN: And in Chatsar Shu'al, and in Be'er Sheva and her suburbs...
CHATSAR
SHU'AL: "Village of the fox", literally. For the CHATSAR part, see my note to verse 25. Adjacency to Be'er Sheva appears to confirm that the verse 25 and 26 owns are all in the western section of what was once Shim'on, and that the Yehudah being re-established by Nechem-Yah is the full Yehudah of the pre-exilic period; but no suggestion, or none yet anyway, that the lost lands of the lost tribes are available for re-inclusion. See Joshua 15:28 and 19:3 for CHATSAR SHU'AL, also 1 Chronicles 4:28.
BE'ER SHEVA: Se the link.
11:28 U VE
TSIKLAG U VIMCHONAH U VIVNOTEYHA
וּבְצִקְלַג וּבִמְכֹנָה וּבִבְנֹתֶיהָ
KJ: And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof,
BN: And in Tsiklag, and in Mechonah and her suburbs...
Some of
these are just names, that could be anywhere, of which we have never heard;
others resonate. MECHONAH fits the first category - no reference to it anywhere in the Tanach. Tsiklag, on the other hand, is decidedly "BEIT PELET", David's personal refuge when fleeing from King Sha'ul, and a "city of the Pelishtim" (Philistines), the one where he was crowned as one of their kings - you didn't know that? Oh yes, and forced by his
pledge of allegiance to fight against Sha'ul. See 1 Samuel 27:1 and on for
several chapters, until the death of Sha'ul and David's anointing as King of
Yisra-El in Chevron in 2 Samuel 2.
And if Tsiklag was now part of the new Yehudah, this tells us that the power of the Pelishtim is massively diminished, and the extent of Yehudah greater than it has been since Sennacherib annihilated the Ephrayimite tribes in 720 BCE, almost three hundred years before.
11:29 U VE
EYN RIMON U VE TSAR'AH U VE YARMUT
וּבְעֵין רִמּוֹן וּבְצָרְעָה וּבְיַרְמוּת
KJ: And at Enrimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth,
BN: And in Eyn Rimon, and in Tsarah, and in Yarmut...
BN: And in Eyn Rimon, and in Tsarah, and in Yarmut...
EYN RIMON: Eyn means either "spring" or "fountain", a natural water-source, where Be'er, as in Be'er Sheva, above, is a dug well. A Rimon is a pomegranete. Whether or not this is the same as the rock of Rimon is difficult to determine, but follow this link for the rock anyway.
TSARAH: Joshua 15:33 places it alongside Eshta'ol and Ashnah, and we know that the former of these was in the Shephelah - the link to Eshta'ol has a map and more detail.
YARMUT: Several references in Joshua 10 - verses 3, 5 and 23 - as well as 12:11, 15:35 and 21:29. The link here has a map.
11:30
ZANO'ACH ADUL-AM VE CHATSREYHEM LACHISH U SEDOTEYHA AZEKAH U VENOTEYHA VA
YACHANU MI BE'ER SHEVA AD GEY HINOM
זָנֹחַ עֲדֻלָּם וְחַצְרֵיהֶם לָכִישׁ וּשְׂדֹתֶיהָ עֲזֵקָה וּבְנֹתֶיהָ וַיַּחֲנוּ מִבְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, עַד גֵּיא הִנֹּם
KJ: Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom.
BN: ... Zano'ach, Adul-Am, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its towns. So they encamped from Be'er Sheva to Gey Hinnom...
BN: ... Zano'ach, Adul-Am, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, Azekah and its towns. So they encamped from Be'er Sheva to Gey Hinnom...
Interesting
to see these variations: towns denoted by the green spaces around them
(SEDOTEYHA), conurbated towns denoted with extensions into suburbs (BENOTEYHA),
towns that are urban centres with minor towns in their vicinity but not
conurbated (CHATSREYHEM), or towns that are simply that, with nothing denoted.
CHATSREYHEM: where others have been CHATSREYHEN - why are some towns masculine but others feminine? Who gets to decide, and by what criteria?
Is this verse a description of Yehudah's entire borders, or only of the total area inhabited by the named groups?
ZANO'ACH: See Joshua 15:34 and 56, also 1 Chronicles 4:18, though again that is simply the Joshua retext reprinted.
ADUL-AM: Joshua 12:15 and 15:35; the cave is famous as the place where David gathered his supporters after fleeing from Sha'ul - see 1 Samuel 22:1 and 2 Samuel 23:13.
LACHISH: Joshua 10 this time, and numerous occurrences. The town had great significance at the time of the conquest by Sennacherib, it being used as his base for the second-stage attack on Yehudah, after defeating the northern, Ephrayamite tribes - see 2 Kings 18.
AZEKAH: Joshua 10:10 and 11. 1 Samuel 17:1 places it very precisely, in Ephes-Damim, close to Sochoh, where David won the heavyweight stone-throwing competition against Gol-Yat (Goliath).
GEY HINOM: Gehenna, in the foothills of Yeru-Shala'im itself. See the link.
11:31 U
VENEY VIN-YAMIN MI GAV'A MICHMAS VE AYAH U VEIT EL U VENOTEYHA
וּבְנֵי בִנְיָמִן מִגָּבַע מִכְמָשׂ וְעַיָּה וּבֵית אֵל וּבְנֹתֶיהָ
KJ: The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Bethel, and in their villages,
BN: ... And the Beney Vin-Yamin from Gav'a onward, at Michmas and Ayah, and at Beit-El and its suburbs...
BENEY VIN-YAMIN: Just as Shim'on was absorbed into Yehudah centuries before, so Bin-Yamin became absorbed into Yehudah, probably at the time of the civil war that followed Shelomoh's death, though the Tanach never explicitly gives us that information. Remember that Yeru-Shala'im is in the tribal territory of Bin-Yamin, even though it became the capital of Yehudah - or maybe we should distinguish tribal Yehudah from "Greater Yehudah", to denote the triple-state.
GAV'A: Usually rendered as Gev'a - see the link for numerous references.
MICHMASH: A "mishmash" is an apricot stew, which is absolutely delicious if made properly, preferably with lamb (Martha Stewart's recipe here), but people like me need it without the almonds. This however is a MICHMAS, or possibly MIKMAS - a final Seen not a final Sheen. 1 Samuel 13:5 locates it just to the east of Beit Aven, and verse 5 of the same chapter places it in the hills around Beit-El, as does this verse. Lots of good photos at the link.
Is Ayah the
town called Ha Ai in earlier books? It was identified with Beit-El then too. Based on the map at my link to Beit Aven, it has to be.
BEIT-EL: See the link.
11:32
ANATOT NOV ANAN-YAH
עֲנָתוֹת נֹב עֲנָנְיָה
KJ: And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
BN: At Anatot, Nov, Anan-Yah...
11:33 CHATSOR RAMAH GITAYIM
חָצוֹר רָמָה גִּתָּיִם
KJ: Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
BN: Chatsor, Ramah, Gitayim...
RAMAH: The word simply means "height", and there are Ramot all over the land - the Golan Heights are to this day called Ramot ha Golan in Ivrit, and several Biblical towns had Ramah as part of the name, in the same manner as my note about Bury earlier - a Hamp-stead, a Middles-borough, a Brig-stow, a Ramat Gan etc.
GITAYIM: 2 Samuel 4:3 is the only other mention. The word sounds like it might connect to Gitim or Gitit, both of which are connected with the choir and orchestra, in Psalms 8:1, 81:1 and 84:1. But probably that is just two words that happen to sound alike - the trouble is, we don't really know what the Psalmic Gitim were. Possibly the instrument for which the Psalm was written. But a Gat is a vineyard, or a grove of olive trees, as in GAT SHEMEN, Christian Gethsemane, so most likely the Gitayim here are agricultural, not choral.
11:34
CHADID TSEVO'IM BENVALAT
חָדִיד צְבֹעִים נְבַלָּט
KJ: Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
BN: Chadid, Tsevo'im, Nevalat...
CHADID: When we first encountered this name, at Ezra 2:33, I questioned whether BENEY CHADID meant a person or a town; dozens of similar enquiries in both Ezra and Nechem-Yah, but this one at least we can now confirm was a town.
11:35 LOD
ONO GEY HA CHARASHIM
לֹד וְאוֹנוֹ גֵּי הַחֲרָשִׁים
Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.
BN: Lod, Ono, Gey Ha Charashim.
BN: Lod, Ono, Gey Ha Charashim.
LOD: Lod, Chadid and Ono are placed together in Ezra 2:33, as in Nehemiah 7:37, presumably because they were adjacent geographically. Lod was the site of modern Israel's first airport, now renamed after its first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, mid-way between Tel Aviv and Yeru-Shala'im.
ONO: Nehemiah 6:2 speaks of the plain of Ono, as the place to which Sanvalat and Tovi-Yah tried to entice Nechem-Yah, in order to "do him mischief". See also 1 Chronicles 8:12.
GEY HA CHARISHIM: "The Valley of the Craftsmen" according to most translations, though Ezra 3 seems pretty clear that they were very specifically "carpenters", and the King James itself translates the word as "carpenters", where I have preferred the more general "craftsmen", at Zechar-Yah 2:3 - see my note there for the etymology. The word is central to Zechar-Yah's vision, and recurs, albeit indirectly, at 3:9 and 6:1.
And no mention
of Beit Lechem! Had it been destroyed in 586 BCE and they weren't yet in a position to recover it? Or was it simply not territory they had been able to reclaim? Such an important city, and so close to Yeru-Shala'im, its absence from the list is striking.
11:36 U MIN HA LEVIYIM MACHLEKOT YEHUDAH LE VIN-YAMIN
וּמִן הַלְוִיִּם מַחְלְקוֹת יְהוּדָה לְבִנְיָמִין
KJ: And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.
BN: And of the Leviyim, certain divisions in Yehudah were joined to those in Bin-Yamin.
pey break
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