Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.
Parallel Translations
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Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.
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And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.
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And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to Nehemiah 11:24 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 38:30 Afterward his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
- 1 Chronicles 18:17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief officials serving the king.
- Numbers 26:20 The sons of Judah after their families were: of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites; of Perez, the family of the Perezites; of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites.
- 1 Chronicles 23:28 For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house, in the courts, and in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house;
- Nehemiah 10:21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
- Matthew 1:3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Was chief about the king for all his affairs.
Was chief about the king for all his affairs.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Neh 11:24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of…
Neh 11:24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, [was] at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people.
Ver. 24. At the king’s hand] Was his plenipotentiary. {Invested with full power, esp. as the deputy, representative, or envoy of a sovereign ruler; exercising absolute power or authority.}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain At the king’s hand, or, on the kings part,…
At the king’s hand, or, on the kings part, to determine civil causes and controversies between man and man by the laws of that kingdom, which peradventure he understood better than Nehemiah, and therefore was appointed for this work, but still under Nehemiah. Or, according to the king’s appointment, as the hand is used, as Num 4:49, and elsewhere.
In all matters concerning the people; either in civil differences between them, or in things between the king and people; as in matters of tribute, or grievances, &c., wherein this man possibly was chief justiciary under Nehemiah.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Was, &c. - Or, on the king's part, to…
Was, &c. - Or, on the king's part, to determine civil causes and controversies between man and man, by the laws of that kingdom; between the king and people; as in matters of tribute, or grievances.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 24. Pethahiah - was at the king's hand]…
Verse 24. Pethahiah - was at the king's hand] He was the governor appointed by the Persian king over the Jewish nation in those matters in which the civil government interfered with Jewish concerns. He no doubt fixed, levied, and received the tribute.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Neh 11:24. Pethahiah was at the king’s hand —…
Neh 11:24. Pethahiah was at the king’s hand — Or on the king’s part, to determine civil causes and controversies between man and man by the laws of that kingdom; between the king and people, as in matters of tribute or grievances.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain It is difficult to say what office Pethahiah filled.…
It is difficult to say what office Pethahiah filled. So far as we know, the only regular officers under the Persian system of government were the satrap, the subsatrap, the permanent royal secretary, the commandant, and the occasional commissary.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain People. They addressed themselves to him, (Haydock) and he…
People. They addressed themselves to him, (Haydock) and he gave an exact account to the king (Calmet) of Persia. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Pethahiah . . . was at the king's hand…
Pethahiah . . . was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people--This person was entrusted with judicial power, either for the interest, or by the appointment, of the Persian monarch, and his duty consisted either in adjusting cases of civil dispute, or in regulating fiscal concerns.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 24. Pethahiah… at the king’s hand — That is,…
24. Pethahiah… at the king’s hand — That is, at the court of the Persian monarch. He was at the king’s hand as a private counsellor, having in charge all the interests of the Jewish people. He was allowed frequent access to the king, and so in all matters concerning the people he must have been a most important and responsible agent and representative of his nation at the seat of government.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 24. Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel (R.V. Meshezabel) ……
24. Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel (R.V. Meshezabel) … Zerah] On ‘Zerah the son of Judah’ see note on Neh_11:4-6.
at the king’s hand] What this exactly meant we are left to conjecture. Pethahiah was in some sort of way an official representative of Jewish interests in connexion with the Persian court. The suggestion (of Reuss) that he resided at Jerusalem, and was the official recipient of the provincial tribute might derive support from the mention of ‘the house of the king’ in Neh_3:25. But it is hard to see how any Jewish official of the Persian court, if he resided in Jerusalem, could be said to be ‘at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people’ in any sense which would not much rather be applicable to Nehemiah himself. Indeed, if this official was a resident in Jerusalem, it is not easy to believe that the time of Nehemiah’s governorship can be referred to.
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If he was the Jewish representative at Susa it constitutes an isolated reference in this chapter to a person dwelling outside the borders of Judea.
In spite of this objection it seems more probable that ‘at the king’s hand’ denotes personal residence at the Persian court.
The mention of the fact is parenthetically added in connexion with the royal mandate favourable to the Levites and the singers; and is not therefore, strictly speaking, relevant to the list. The phrase ‘at the hand of’ seems to denote personal attendance, cf. Neh_13:13 ‘next to them,’ 1Ch_18:17 ‘And the sons of David were chief about (lit. ‘at the hand of,’ Vulg. ‘ad manum’) the king,’ 1Ch_23:28 ‘their office was to wait on (lit. ‘at the hand of,’ LXX. ἐπὶ χεῖρα, Vulg. ‘sub manu’) the sons of Aaron.’ In our verse the LXX. renders πρὸς χεῖρα, the Vulg. ‘in manu.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (24) Of the children of Zerah.—This makes the absence…
(24) Of the children of Zerah.—This makes the absence of Zerah in the beginning of the chapter very remarkable, and suggests some accidental omission.
At the king’s hand.—Pethahiah was the king’s agent in all the country matters of the “province.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Pethahiah... of the children of Zerah. We have here…
Pethahiah... of the children of Zerah. We have here an indication of the imperfection of the preceding catalogue, which has mentioned no descendants of Zerah among the Jews dwelling in Jerusalem, but made them all sons of Perez (ver. 6). As already observed, a verse equivalent to 1Ch_6:9 must have fallen out between vers. 6 and 7 of this chapter. The exact office borne by Pethahiah cannot be determined; but he evidently held a confidential position, which made him an intermediary for certain purposes between the Persian king and the Jewish people. Perhaps he received and forwarded petitions and complaints.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 11:24 The royal adviser informed the king of events…
11:24 The royal adviser informed the king of events in Jerusalem and notified Jewish officials of the king’s public administration of Persian policies.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.