(Now the temple servants lived in Ophel, to the place opposite the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out.)
Parallel Translations
-
(Now the temple servants lived in Ophel, to the place opposite the water gate toward the east, and the tower that stands out.)
-
Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.
-
Now the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that standeth out. —
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Nehemiah 3:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Nehemiah 8:1 All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the wide place that was in front of the water gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Yahweh had commanded to Israel.
- Nehemiah 11:21 But the temple servants lived in Ophel: and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.
- Nehemiah 8:3 He read from it before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and of those who could understand. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
- Nehemiah 12:37 By the spring gate, and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of David’s city, at the ascent of the wall, above David’s house, even to the water gate eastward.
- 2 Chronicles 33:14 Now after this, he built an outer wall to David’s city, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish gate. He encircled Ophel with it, and raised it up to a very great height; and he put valiant captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
- 1 Chronicles 9:2 Now the first inhabitants who lived in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the temple servants.
- 2 Chronicles 27:3 He built the upper gate of Yahweh’s house, and he built much on the wall of Ophel.
- Ezra 2:43-58 The temple servants: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, the children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, the children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, the children of Hagab, the children of Shamlai, the children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, the children of Asnah, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephisim, the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, the children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah, the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Hassophereth, the children of Peruda, the children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth Hazzebaim, the children of Ami. All the temple servants, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety-two.
- Nehemiah 3:27 After him the Tekoites repaired another portion, opposite the great tower that stands out, and to the wall of Ophel.
- Nehemiah 7:46-56 The temple servants: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, the children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon, the children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Salmai, the children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah. The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephushesim, the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, the children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah, the children of Neziah, and the children of Hatipha.
- Nehemiah 8:16 So the people went out, and brought them, and made themselves temporary shelters, everyone on the roof of his house, in their courts, in the courts of God’s house, in the wide place of the water gate, and in the wide place of Ephraim’s gate.
- Nehemiah 10:28 The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters—everyone who had knowledge, and understanding—
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Read Ezra 2:43.
Read Ezra 2:43.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Neh 3:26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto…
Neh 3:26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto [the place] over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.
Ver. 26. Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel] Of Nethinims see Ezr 2:43. Their work was to carry wood and water to the Temple; therefore they dwelt near the water gate, for their own convenience.
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 Dwelt in Ophel, or, who dwelt in Ophel; for…
Dwelt in Ophel, or, who dwelt in Ophel; for this seems to be only a description of the persons, whose work follows.
The water-gate; so called because by that gate water was brought in, either by the people for the use of that part of the city, or rather by these Nethinims, who were Gibeonites, for the uses of the temple, for which they were drawers of water, Jos 9:21.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain From above the horse gate repaired the priests,.... So…
From above the horse gate repaired the priests,.... So called, either because near it were stables for horses; or through it horses were led to be watered at the brook of Kidron, to which it was near; or to be exercised in the valley; Josephus (c) speaks of the "hippie", or horse tower, which might be near it:
everyone over against his house; for it seems there was a row of houses in which the priests dwelt, and each of them repaired as much of the wall as was right against his house.
Read full note →
(c) Ut supra. (De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2, 3.)
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Neh 3:26. The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel — Or,…
Neh 3:26. The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel — Or, who dwelt in Ophel. For this seems to be only a description of the persons whose work follows. Not only the priests and Levites, but the meanest persons that belonged to the house of God, inferior officers, contributed to this work. Over against the water-gate — So called, because by that gate water was brought in, either by the people, for the use of that part of the city, or rather, by these Nethinims, who were Gibeonites, for the uses of the temple, for which they were drawers of water, Jos 9:21.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Ophel. A very strong tower. See 2 Paralipomenon xxvii.…
Ophel. A very strong tower. See 2 Paralipomenon xxvii. 3., and xxxiii. 14. --- East of the great court of the temple, from which it was not remote, as Esdras here harangued the people, chap. xii. 36., and 3 Esdras viii. 1. Out of the gate was a pond of water, (Calmet) for the service of the temple. (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 the Nethinims--Not only the priests and the Levites, but…
the Nethinims--Not only the priests and the Levites, but the common persons that belonged to the house of God, contributed to the work. The names of those who repaired the walls of Jerusalem are commemorated because it was a work of piety and patriotism to repair the holy city. It was an instance of religion and courage to defend the true worshippers of God, that they might serve Him in quietness and safety, and, in the midst of so many enemies, go on with this work, piously confiding in the power of God to support them [BISHOP PATRICK].
Next: Nehemiah Chapter 4
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 26. Dwelt in Ophel — Ophel is the name…
26. Dwelt in Ophel — Ophel is the name of the sloping ridge that runs down, south of the temple area, between the mouth of the Tyropoeon and the valley of Kedron, and ends in a rocky bluff just above the pool of Siloam. The water gate toward the east is an expression so obscure as to baffle any plausible conjecture as to its locality. According to chap. 8. 1, 3. it faced the street in which the people assembled to hear the law read and expounded, and hence could not well have been a gate in the outer wall of the city, near the present golden gate, as Bertheau thinks. The mention again of the tower that lieth out, leads rather to the opinion that the water gate was also in the vicinity of the bridge over the Tyropoeon, perhaps in the western wall of the temple area.
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 26. Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel … lieth…
26. Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel … lieth out] R.V. (Now the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel … standeth out). The parenthesis probably includes the whole verse. We prefer the R.V. translation to that of the margin of the R.V., which limits the parenthesis to the first clause, and connects the second clause with the previous verse.
(1) The omission of the verb at the close of Neh_3:25 creates no real difficulty; for we have had a similar omission at the beginning of the verse.
Read full note →
(2) We should not expect that a parenthetical clause relating to the dwellingplace of the Nethinim would, in the midst of so much detailed topography, describe it in such brief and general terms as ‘in Ophel.’ (In Neh_11:21, where the same words occur, they are possibly based on this passage.)
(3) The reference to ‘the tower that standeth out’ is an allusion to the same tower as that mentioned in the previous verse. The parenthesis seems to be introduced in order to connect the dwelling of the Nethinim with the tower just spoken of.
(4) Neh_3:27 opens with (R.V.) ‘After him:’ and although in view of Neh_3:2; Neh_3:23; Neh_3:29 this is not conclusive, it certainly favours the R.V. treatment of the parenthesis.
in Ophel] This may possibly mean on the brow of the Ophel hill to the east of the Temple. The wall of ‘Ophel’ was built on by Jotham (2Ch_27:3). And the ‘hill’ was surrounded by a wall in Manasseh’s reign, 2Ch_33:14. ‘Ophel’ means ‘a mound,’ and was the name applied to the S. continuance of the Temple hill.
over against the water gate toward the east] Between the Temple and the water gate there seems to have been a large open space in which the people could assemble (see Neh_8:1; Neh_8:3; Neh_8:16, Neh_12:37; Neh_12:39; Ezr_10:9). The houses of the Nethinim approached or abutted on the city wall at this point.
The ‘water gate’ was obviously so called because the path leading from the spring of Gihon, the Virgin’s Spring, entered the city here. Water-carriers passing in and out gave the gate its name. On Gihon, cf. 1Ki_1:33; 1Ki_1:38. It is “the one spring of Jerusalem, known as the Virgin’s Fountain to Christians, and as ‘the Mother of Steps’ to Moslems, because of the steps which lead down into the vault from the present surface of the valley” (Conder’s Palestine, p. 26).
From here the wall led northward or north-eastward to ‘the corner’ (Neh_3:31).
the tower that lieth out] Probably the same as that mentioned in Neh_3:25. Perhaps the tower was intended especially to protect ‘the water gate,’ in connexion with which it is here mentioned.
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 (26) The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel.—It has been proposed…
(26) The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel.—It has been proposed to insert “who” before dwelt (following the Syriac); but this is not necessary. Ophel was the long rounded spur running out south of the Temple, on the sides of which the ancient “temple servants” still dwelt, separated from others, on a tract of land reaching from the “water-gate toward the east” to the outlying tower of the king’s citadel in the west. Nothing is said of their part in the general labour.
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 The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel. Ophel was "the long,…
The Nethinims dwelt in Ophel. Ophel was "the long, narrowish, rounded spur or promontory which intervenes between the central valley of Jerusalem (the Tyropoeon) and the Kidron, or Valley of Jehoshaphat" (Grove). The Nethinims, who had their dwellings on this spur, were set to fortify a portion of the eastern circuit, but apparently restored not so much their own wall as that which lay north of it, at the edge of the present Haram area. Here must have been the water gate, which carried off the superfluous water from the temple reservoirs; and here was the great tower that lieth out, whose foundations have been recently discovered. It stood at the southeastern angle of the great platform on which the temple was built.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain i.e. dedicated (persons), probably descendants of the Gibeonites 2Sa…
Nethinims
i.e. dedicated (persons), probably descendants of the Gibeonites 2Sa 21:1-3 devoted to the service of the Levites. But see Jos 9:17-21.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.