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About Jesus Steve Sweetman This Chapter - Chapter 11 The
New Residents Of We note in verse 1 who actually got to live in Jerusalem. Not all Jews could live in
the city. It was probably
not big enough. The leaders
of the Jews lived in the city and then there was a lottery held for the
remaining available spots. One
out of every ten people or families got to live inside the walls of the
city. The rest lived outside the city in the towns where their families
were originally from. The
area around Jerusalem
was dotted with little villages, consisting of extended families. In verse 2 we see that the people, that is, the Jews
commended all those "who volunteered to live in Jerusalem." The wording suggests
to me that not everyone wanted to live in Jerusalem. Obviously a number of
people did, if only one out of ten got to live in the city.
Still, some wanted to stay in the villages where they had been
living. They most likely
felt at home where they were and didn't want to relocate.
They were close enough to the city anyway.
Verse 3 tells us that the following verses state the
names of those who lived in The names and the groups the residents were
associated with are stated in verses 4 through 19.
I will make no comment on these names. Verse 20 repeats what we've been saying all along in
this chapter. Not all
relocated within the walls of the city.
Many stayed in the towns of their ancestors.
The property that people owned would have been passed down from
one generation to the next. Verse 22 states the names of the chief officers of
the Levites. I won't make
comment on these names. Verse 23 states that the "singers were under the
king's orders…" The
king wasn't Nehemiah. The
king was the king of Verse 24 states a few names of those who worked for
the king as well. These
particular men related all that was necessary for daily living within
the city. From verses 25 to 36 we see the names of some of the
towns and villages in Judah
and those who lived in them. In
verse 25 we note the words "as for the villages and their
fields." This
tells us a bit about these villages.
Most of the people living in these villages were farmers, but
they did not have a farm. They
lived in the village and went out to a small plot of land outside the
village to work on their crops. Each
family had their own plot of land.
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