KJV
Click to Change
Return to Top
In Nehemiah 11:19-21, we continue the list of those who live in Jerusalem when it says Also the gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brethren who kept watch at the gates, were 172. (v. 19) This group, meticulously recorded, ensured the well-being of the city’s inhabitants by standing guard at every entrance. Nehemiah, who served under Persian King Artaxerxes around 445 BC, organized these gatekeepers to preserve order and to safeguard the restored community in the post-exilic period. Their dedication to watchfulness echoes the broader biblical theme of vigilance, reminding believers of the need to stand firm against spiritual and physical threats (1 Peter 5:8).
The text emphasizes the dispersion of many people into the region around Jerusalem: The rest of Israel, of the priests and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own inheritance. (v. 20) Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, had been severely depopulated by the Babylonian conquest a century earlier. As the exiles returned, each tribe and family reclaimed their ancestral lands. This restoration underscores God’s faithfulness to His promises, restoring and reestablishing His people in the land He gave them. It also anticipates the spiritual concept of believers finding their own inheritance in God’s kingdom, a theme elaborated further in the New Testament (Ephesians 1:11).
In the concluding verse, we learn about the temple assistants: But the temple servants were living in Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple servants. (v. 21) Ophel was a fortified hill area between the City of David and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Under Nehemiah’s administration, these temple servants performed important ceremonial and maintenance duties, helping ensure the proper worship of God. Ziha and Gishpa, likely officials assigned leadership roles, represent the community’s organizational structure that aimed to maintain holiness and order in the service of the Lord. This arrangement reflects the cooperative spirit and shared responsibility among God’s people as they worked to honor Him in their daily tasks.
Used with permission from TheBibleSays.com.
You can access the original article here.
|
Line-By-Line Order:
 Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseSeparate LineVerse OnlyReference Only |
Reference Delimiters:
None — Jhn 1:1 KJV Square — [Jhn 1:1 KJV]Curly — {Jhn 1:1 KJV}Parens — (Jhn 1:1 KJV) |
|
Paragraph Order:
Verse-ReferenceReference-VerseReference-Only |
Number Delimiters:*
No NumberNo Delimiter — 15Square — [15]Curly — {15}Parens — (15) |
|
Other Options:
 Abbreviate Books Use SBL Abbrev.En dash not Hyphen |
Quotes Around VersesRemove Square BracketsSort Canonically |
* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.
Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
©2025 Blue Letter Bible | Privacy Policy
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.
Loading
Loading
| Interlinear |
| Bibles |
| Cross-Refs |
| Commentaries |
| Dictionaries |
| Miscellaneous |
