Nehemiah 7:4

Nehemiah 7:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
• New International Version (NIV)Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.

Context of Nehemiah 7:4

2That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many. 3And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun shall be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them : and appoint soldiers of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be opposite his house. Now the city was large and great: but the people in it were few, and the houses were not built. 5And my God put into my heart to gather the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a family record of the genealogy of them who came up at the first, and found written in it, 6These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his city;

Nehemiah 7:4 word by word

וְהָעִ֞יר רַחֲבַ֤ת יָדַ֙יִם֙ וּגְדוֹלָ֔ה וְהָעָ֥ם מְעַ֖ט בְּתוֹכָ֑הּ וְאֵ֥ין בָּתִּ֖ים בְּנוּיִֽם׃Read the interlinear

• cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• largeרָחָבrâchâb · broad: wideH7342
• largeיָדyâd · hand: spaciousH3027
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• itתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• fewמְעַטme‛aţ me‛âţ · littleH4592
• housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129

Cross-references for Nehemiah 7:4

• Isaiah 58:12And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
• Haggai 1:4Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your panelled houses, and this house lie waste?
• Matthew 6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.

Commentaries on Nehemiah 7:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The houses were not builded - The city was not yet rebuilt, only a row of houses in the inside of the wall all round.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The people were few - The number of those who returned with Zerubbabel was no more than 42,360 Nehemiah 7:66. Less than 2,000 people had come with Ezra Ezra 8:1-20.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Most people lived in the countryside near their fields, so Jerusalem's population was small. A registration would likely encourage more people to settle in and near Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:73).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Now the city was large and great--The walls being evidently built on the old foundations, the city covered a large extent of surface, as all Oriental towns do, the houses standing apart with gardens and orchards intervening. This extent, in the then state of Jerusalem, was the more observable as the population was comparatively small, and the habitations of the most rude and simple construction--mere wooden sheds or coverings of loose, unmortared…Read the comment

In the dictionaries

• Charge
• Acud
• Addus
• Adin
• Ammidioi; Ammidoi
• Augia
• Baiterus
• Barodis
• Canon of the Old Testament
• Ezra-Nehemiah

Commentaries on Nehemiah 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings