Nehemiah 5:14

5:14 From the day that I was appointed ¹  governor ²  in the land of Judah, that is, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes – twelve years in all – neither I nor my relatives ³  ate the food allotted to the governor. ⁴ 

Nehemiah 7:3

7:3 I ⁵  said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, ⁶  until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. ⁷  Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes.”

Nehemiah 9:25

9:25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things – wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full ⁸  and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.

Nehemiah 9:32

9:32 “So now, our God – the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity ⁹  – do not regard as inconsequential ¹⁰  all the hardship that has befallen us – our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people – from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day!

Nehemiah 13:19

13:19 When the evening shadows ¹¹  began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered ¹²  the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned ¹³  some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.

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¹ tc The BHS editors suggest reading צֻוֵּאתִי (tsuvve’ti, “and I was appointed”) rather than the reading of the MT, אֹתִי צִוָּה (tsivvah ’oti, “he appointed me”).

² tc The translation reads with one medieval Hebrew MS פֶּחָה (pekhah, “governor”) rather than פֶּחָם (pekham, “their governor”) of the MT. One would expect the form with pronominal suffix to have a tav (ת) before the suffix.

³ tn Heb “brothers.”

⁴ tn Heb “the food of the governor.” Cf. v. 18.

⁵ tc The present translation (along with most English versions) reads with the Qere, a Qumran text, and the ancient versions וָאֹמַר (va’omar, “and I said”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, which reads וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer, “and he said”).

⁶ tn Heb “until the heat of the sun.” The phrase probably means that the gates were to be opened only after the day had progressed a bit, not at the first sign of morning light (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV). It is possible, however, that the Hebrew preposition עַד (’ad), here translated as “until,” has a more rare sense of “during.” If so, this would mean that the gates were not to be left open and unattended during the hot part of the day when people typically would be at rest (cf. NLT).

⁷ tn Presumably this would mean the gates were not to be opened until later in the morning and were to remain open until evening. Some, however, have understood Nehemiah’s instructions to mean that the gates were not to be left open during the hottest part of the day, but must be shut and locked while the guards are still on duty. See J. Barr, “Hebrew עַד, especially at Job i.18 and Neh vii.3,” JJS 27 (1982): 177-88.

⁸ tn Heb “they ate and were sated.” This expression is a hendiadys. The first verb retains its full verbal sense, while the second functions adverbially: “they ate and were filled” = “they ate until they were full.”

⁹ tn Heb “the covenant and loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys. The second noun retains its full nominal sense, while the first functions adjectivally: “the covenant and loyalty” = covenant fidelity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “do not let it seem small in your sight.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”

¹² tn Heb “said” (so also in v. 22).

¹³ tn Heb “caused to stand.”