Genelogy and Donations Nehemiah 7

Nehemiah 7:3 "And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them; and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, everyone in his watch, and everyone to be over against his house."

In the book of Revelation chapter 21-22 there is a description of the New Jerusalem. It tells of a time when there will be no enemy lurking outside and when the LORD himself will be the light and the temple.

Revelation 21:23-25 "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day; for there shall be no night there."

But in this day of the return from captivity, enemies were out there and they had to be vigilant.

The middle of the chapter tells of those who were numbered who came back to Jerusalem.

v66 "The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore. (42,370)

It also tells of their positions in servants and the animals. Thousands of servants were with them. Many hundreds of horses and mules and thousands of asses. They were quite a wealthy congregation. Then it tells of the offerings given to the work.

v71 "And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver."

v70 "...The tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments."

And so forth.

Dram of gold: A dram of gold was a Persian coin worth about $5.00 each($4.97). 20,000 times 5 is $100,000. I've no idea how much that would be today. I expect many times more.

Tirshatha: a title of the governor of Judah appointed by the king of Persia. I believe Nehemiah held that title and was the donor of the amount in verse 70.

At this point, the people have settled down from the work and are in their cities. In the next chapter, we will start to deal with their spiritual state, now that the physical work is done.

Isaiah 30:1 "Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin;"

Genealogy of those who returned from captivity and the treasure they gave.