Nehemiah 4:13

4:13 So I stationed people at the lower places behind the wall in the exposed places. ¹  I stationed the people by families, with their swords, spears, and bows.

Nehemiah 4:16-21

4:16 From that day forward, half of my men were doing the work and half of them were taking up spears, ²  shields, bows, and body armor. Now the officers were behind all the people ³  of Judah 4:17 who were rebuilding the wall. ⁴  Those who were carrying loads did so ⁵  by keeping one hand on the work and the other on their weapon. 4:18 The builders to a man had their swords strapped to their sides while they were building. But the trumpeter ⁶  remained with me.

4:19 I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding ⁷  and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another. 4:20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather there with us. Our God will fight for us!”

4:21 So we worked on, ⁸  with half ⁹  holding spears, from dawn till dusk. ¹⁰ 

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¹ tc The MT preserves the anomalous Kethib form צְחִחִיִּים (tsÿkhikhiyyim); the Qere reads צְחִיחִים (tsÿkhikhim) which is preferred (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ).

tn The meaning of the Hebrew term צְחִיחִים (tsÿkhikhim) here is uncertain. Elsewhere (Ezek 24:7, 8; 26:4, 14) it refers to a shining or glaring surface of a rock (BDB 850 s.v. צָהִיחַ; HALOT 1018 s.v. *צָהִיחַ), but here it refers to an exposed or vulnerable portion of the wall: “open positions of the wall” (HALOT 1018 s.v. 2).

² tc The MT reads “and spears.” The conjunction should be deleted.

³ tn Heb “all the house.”

⁴ tn The first words of v. 17, “who were rebuilding the wall,” should be taken with the latter part of v. 16.

⁵ tn Heb “were carrying loads.” The LXX reads ἐν ὅπλοις (en hoplois, “with weapons”).

⁶ tn Heb “the one blowing the shophar.”

⁷ tn Heb “much.”

⁸ tn Heb “and we were doing the work.”

⁹ tn Heb “half of them.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “from the coming up of the dawn till the coming forth of the stars.”