NéhémieChapitre 11

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The leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine remained in the towns.

And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

These are the heads of the province who settled in Jerusalem, while in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his own property in his own town — Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants.

In Jerusalem there settled some of the people of Judah and some of the people of Benjamin. From the people of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the descendants of Perez;

and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, of the Shilonites.

All the descendants of Perez living in Jerusalem numbered 468 able men.

These are the Benjaminites: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah;

and after him Gabbai and Sallai — 928 in all.

Joel son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in charge of the city.

From the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib; Jachin;

Seraiah son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief officer of the house of God,

and their kinsmen who did the work of the house of God — 822; and Adaiah son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah,

and his kinsmen, heads of families — 242; and Amashsai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,

and their kinsmen, able warriors — 128. Their overseer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim.

From the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;

Shabbethai and Jozabad, two of the heads of the Levites, who were in charge of the outside work of the house of God;

Mattaniah son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who led the thanksgiving in prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his kinsmen; and Abda son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.

All the Levites in the holy city numbered 284.

The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon, and their kinsmen who kept watch at the gates — 172.

The rest of Israel, with the priests and the Levites, lived in all the towns of Judah, each on his own inheritance.

The temple servants lived on Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of them.

The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, one of the descendants of Asaph, the singers who served in the work of the house of God.

For there was a command from the king concerning them, a fixed provision for the singers, as each day required.

Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah, was at the king's side in all matters concerning the people.

As for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its settlements, in Dibon and its settlements, in Jekabzeel and its villages,

in Jeshua, in Moladah, in Beth-pelet,

in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its settlements,

in Ziklag, in Meconah and its settlements,

in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth,

in Zanoah, Adullam and their villages, in Lachish and its fields, and in Azekah and its settlements. So they settled from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.

The Benjaminites lived from Geba onward, in Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its settlements,

Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,

Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,

Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,

Lod, Ono, and the Valley of the Craftsmen.

And certain divisions of the Levites from Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 11

Main Theme: The chapter describes the resettlement of Jerusalem and Judah after the exile, focusing on who lived in "the holy city" and how the people were organized.

Content: The leaders settled in Jerusalem, while one out of ten from the rest of the people was chosen by lot to live there – those who volunteered were blessed by the people. The chapter lists family heads from Judah and Benjamin, as well as priests, Levites, temple servants, and gatekeepers with their duties. It also provides an overview of the cities in Judah and Benjamin where the rest of the people settled.

Key Words/Images:

The holy city (עִיר הַקֹּדֶשׁ): A designation for Jerusalem that emphasizes the city's religious significance.
Lot casting: The method used to decide who would live in Jerusalem – one out of ten was chosen.
Priests and Levites: Those who served in the temple and were responsible for worship and praise.
Gatekeepers: Those who guarded the gates of the city and the temple – numbering 172.

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for Nehemiah 11

Events and Customs

The chapter describes a strategic population policy in which casting lots was used to decide who would settle in Jerusalem. Casting lots (גּוֹרָל, goral) was an accepted method in Israel for seeking God's will in important decisions (cf. Prov 16:33). The fact that one out of ten moved to the capital reflects a form of "tithe" of the population—a principle also known from military conscription in Judges 20:10.

The designation "the holy city" (עִיר הַקֹּדֶשׁ, 'ir haqqodesh) in verses 1 and 18 emphasizes Jerusalem's sacred status after the rebuilding. Those who volunteered to live there (verse 2) were blessed by the people—this suggests that it involved personal sacrifices to leave property and ancestral land to reside in the still-vulnerable capital.

People

The chapter documents several administrative roles that reflect the Persian provincial structure:

Joel son of Zichri (verse 9) was a פָּקִיד (paqid, overseer) over the Benjamites, while Jehudah son of Hassenuah (verse 9) was a מִשְׁנֶה (mishne, second-in-command) over the city.

Seraiah son of Hilkiah (verse 11) was a נְגִיד בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים (negid bet ha'elohim)—the leader of God's house, a title indicating a high priestly or senior administrative function in the temple.

Mattaniah son of Mica (verse 17), a descendant of Asaph, was a רֹאשׁ הַתְּחִלָּה (rosh hattehilla)—the leader who began the song of praise at prayer. Bakbukiah was his deputy.

Uzzi son of Bani (verse 22) was the overseer over the Levites in Jerusalem, responsible for the singers' service at the temple, under the king's command.

Pethahiah son of Meshezabel (verse 24) served as "at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people"—a representative who mediated between the Jewish community and the Persian central administration. This shows that the Jews had an official spokesperson at the Persian court.

Places

The chapter gives a detailed overview of the settlement pattern in Judah and Benjamin. Judah's settlement area extended "from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom" (verse 30), marking the traditional southern boundary. The places mentioned—Kiriath-arba (Hebron), Lachish, Eshcol, Ziklag—were ancient city centers with roots going back to pre-exilic times.

Ophel (verse 21) was a ridge south of the temple area where the temple servants (Nethinim) lived. Archaeological excavations have uncovered settlement traces from the Persian period in this area. Benjamin's cities—Geba, Michmash, Anathoth, Nob—lay north of Jerusalem and formed a buffer zone.

Key Terms

The "Nethinim" (הַנְּתִינִים, hannetinim) were temple servants of non-Israelite origin who performed subordinate tasks in the sanctuary. Tradition links them to the Gibeonites from Joshua's time. The "descendants of Solomon's servants" (בְּנֵי עַבְדֵי שְׁלֹמֹה, verse 3) were a similar group with roots in Solomon's use of foreign labor.

The expression "the king's command" (מִצְוַת הַמֶּלֶךְ, verse 23) regarding the singers' service shows that the Persian king had given official sanction and likely financial support for temple service—a practice also known from Ezra 6:8–10 where the king funded the offerings.

Personnages72

Joel1 Koleja1 Bunni1 Zadok (High Priest)1 Ahitub1 Sabdiel1 Mahalalel (son of Kenan)1 Sabdi1 Isaiah1 Pelatiah1 Meshullam2 Ethan1 Pethahiah1 Hassenua1 Sheshbazzar1 Judas (Judah, son of Jacob, patriarch of the tribe of Judah)1 Meshobab1 Haggedolim1 Immer1 Talmon1 Kol-Hose1 Hilkiah (Father of Eliakim, steward under King Hezekiah)1 Sallai1 Joed1 Akkub1 Seraiah1 Hasshub1 Maaseiah2 Hashub1 Abda1 Shallum1 Adaiah2 Shammua (son of Zaccur, spy from the tribe of Reuben)1 Zichri1 Shephatiah (Ancestor of Meshullam, from the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chron. 9:8))1 Jedaiah1 Asarel1 Jehoiarib2 Jakin1 Amsi1 Hashabiah2 Benjamin (Rachel's son)2 Acsah1 Judah2 Bakbukiah1 Amashsai1 Ataja1 Asaph2 Shemaiah1 Baruch (son of Zakkai, rebuilder of Jerusalem's wall (Nehemiah 3))1 Peres2 Gabbai1 Meshillemoth1 Gallim1 Micah2 Zedekiah (son of Kenaanah, prophet under Ahab)2 Asrikam1 Zechariah (prophet)3 Jeroham1 Ithai1 Josabad1 Amariah1 Azariah1 Uzzah1 Gishpa1 Pedaja1 Zerah1 Pashhur1 Merajot1 Bani1 Malkiah1 Siha1

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Mots-clés9

Jerusalem — The capital city of ancient Israel and Judah, a central place for worship and political power.
Nehemiah — A Jewish leader who helped rebuild Jerusalem and strengthen the community after the exile in Babylon.
Rebuilding — The process of restoring something that has been destroyed or damaged, in this case Jerusalem and its wall.
Temple — A holy place where people worshipped God, especially the first temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon.
Levites — Members of the tribe of Levi who had special religious duties and responsibilities connected to the temple and worship.
Priests — Religious leaders from the line of Aaron who were responsible for performing ceremonies and sacrifices in the temple.
Residents — People living in a specific area or city, in this case those who lived in Jerusalem and other towns in Judah.
Lot casting — A method for randomly selecting people or things, used in Nehemiah 11 to determine who should live in Jerusalem.
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