Discovery BoxNehemiah 11:17-23 
Context11:17 Mattaniah son of Mica, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the praise 1 leader who led in thanksgiving and prayer; Bakbukiah, second among his colleagues; and Abda son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. 11:18 The sum total of the Levites in the holy city was 284.
11:19 And the gatekeepers:
Akkub, Talmon and their colleagues who were guarding the gates – 172.
11:20 And the rest of the Israelites, with the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own property.
11:21 The temple attendants were living on Ophel, and Ziha and Gishpa were over them. 2
11:22 The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica. He was one of Asaph’s descendants who were the singers responsible for the service of the temple of God. 11:23 For they were under royal orders 3 which determined their activity day by day. 4
1 tc The translation reads with the Lucianic Greek recension and Vulgate הַתְּהִלָה (hattÿhilah, “the praise”) rather than the MT reading הַתְּחִלָּה (hattÿkhillah, “the beginning”).
2 tn Heb “the temple attendants.” The pronoun “them” has been substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “the commandment of the king was over them.”
4 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
