1
Ne 7:1-4.
英文原文
Ne 7:1-4.
NEHEMIAH COMMITS THE CHARGE OF JERUSALEM TO HANANI AND HANANIAH.
2
無標題
2. 我就派我弟兄哈拿尼……管理耶路撒冷——若如一般所想，尼希米此刻正打算按其諾言返回書珊，那麼他自然願意將耶路撒冷的看守和市政事務的辦理，託付給其能力、經驗與忠誠都可信賴的人。哈拿尼是他的近親
（Ne 1:2），
是其中一位；與他同工的，是哈拿尼雅作為同事，他是「營樓的宰官」——即尼希米在耶路撒冷所設之副王朝廷的元帥或內臣。這兩人崇高的宗教原則和愛國精神，使他們格外適合被委以如此特殊重要的職務。
且敬畏神過於眾人——特別提到哈拿尼雅的敬虔，作為他在一切職責上極其忠心的根據，因而也是尼希米信任他的原因；因為他深信，哈拿尼雅對神的敬畏會使他勝過省長離開耶路撒冷後他可能遭遇的那些背信不忠的試探。
英文原文
2. I gave my brother Hanani . . . charge over Jerusalem--If, as is commonly supposed, Nehemiah was now contemplating a return to Shushan according to his promise, it was natural that he should wish to entrust the custody of Jerusalem and the management of its civic affairs to men on whose ability, experience, and fidelity, he could confide. Hanani, a near relative
(Ne 1:2),
was one, and with him was associated, as colleague, Hananiah, "the ruler of the palace"--that is, the marshal or chamberlain of the viceregal court, which Nehemiah had maintained in Jerusalem. The high religious principle, as well as the patriotic spirit of those two men, recommended them as pre-eminently qualified for being invested with an official trust of such peculiar importance.
and feared God above many--The piety of Hananiah is especially mentioned as the ground of his eminent fidelity in the discharge of all his duties and, consequently, the reason of the confidence which Nehemiah reposed in him; for he was fully persuaded that Hananiah's fear of God would preserve him from those temptations to treachery and unfaithfulness which he was likely to encounter on the governor's departure from Jerusalem.
3
無標題
3. 等到太陽上騰才開耶路撒冷的城門，等等——在東方，城市開城門在日出之時，關城門在日落之時——這條規矩極少被違犯，除了對有權位的人以外。尼希米建議耶路撒冷的城門不必開得這麼早；當仇敵正用各樣危險的詭計之時，這是必要的預防措施，以確保居民都已起身，並能藉著清朗的日光察看敵人可疑的動靜。這次按時在日落關門之外，又指派了一部分百姓充當哨兵，各人在自己房屋之前站崗。
英文原文
3. Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot, &c.--In the East it is customary to open the gates of a city at sunrise, and to bar them at sunset--a rule which is very rarely, and not except to persons of authority, infringed upon. Nehemiah recommended that the gates of Jerusalem should not be opened so early; a precaution necessary at a time when the enemy was practising all sorts of dangerous stratagems, to ensure that the inhabitants were all astir and enjoyed the benefit of clear broad daylight for observing the suspicious movements of any enemy. The propriety of regularly barring the gates at sunset was, in this instance, accompanied with the appointment of a number of the people to act as sentinels, each mounting guard in front of his own house.
4
無標題
4. 城是廣大，其中的民卻稀少——城牆顯然建在舊根基之上，全城佔地遼闊，一如所有東方城鎮，房屋各自獨立，其間有花園果園相隔。按當時耶路撒冷的情形，這樣的規模更為顯著，因為人口相對稀少，房屋也極為簡陋粗糙——不過是木棚或鬆散未抹灰漿的石塊遮蓋而已。
英文原文
4. Now the city was large and great--The walls being evidently built on the old foundations, the city covered a large extent of surface, as all Oriental towns do, the houses standing apart with gardens and orchards intervening. This extent, in the then state of Jerusalem, was the more observable as the population was comparatively small, and the habitations of the most rude and simple construction--mere wooden sheds or coverings of loose, unmortared stones.
5
Ne 7:5-38.
Ne 7:5-38.
初次從巴比倫歸回者的家譜。
5. 我的神感動我心，招聚貴族，等等——下文所述的安排，雖出於尋常的審慎，但按尼希米敬虔的心意，並不歸因於他自己的審慎或思慮，而歸於神恩典的啟發與引領。他決意編造一份歸回被擄者的名冊，逐人詳細記載其家族與祖籍。他在這樣用心時，發現了一份隨所羅巴伯歸回之第一批人的名冊。這名籍抄錄於以下各節，與
Ezr 2:1-61
所載有幾處細節不同。但這差異可由兩份名冊編制時情形不同而得到充分解釋：以斯拉的名冊是在巴比倫編成的，而尼希米的名冊是在猶大、耶路撒冷城牆重建之後才編制的。多年過去，因死亡或其他原因，名錄中出現差異並不為怪；尤其按猶太習俗，一人常有幾個不同的名字。如哈立
（Ne 7:24）
即約拉
（Ezr 2:18）， 西亞
（Ne 7:47）
即西哈
（Ezr 2:44），
等等。這份貴族、官長和百姓的家譜，除了其他用途外，所著眼的一個主要目的，是要準確查明按律法當在壇前事奉、辦理聖殿各項事務的人是誰。在這一重要查詢上，要得到準確的指引，所羅巴伯的舊名冊是無價之寶。
英文原文
Ne 7:5-38.
GENEALOGY OF THOSE WHO CAME AT THE FIRST OUT OF BABYLON.
5. my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, &c.--The arrangement about to be described, though dictated by mere common prudence, is, in accordance with the pious feelings of Nehemiah, ascribed not to his own prudence or reflection, but to the grace of God prompting and directing him. He resolved to prepare a register of the returned exiles, containing an exact record of the family and ancestral abode of every individual. While thus directing his attention, he discovered a register of the first detachment who had come under the care of Zerubbabel. It is transcribed in the following verses, and differs in some few particulars from that given in
Ezr 2:1-61.
But the discrepancy is sufficiently accounted for from the different circumstances in which the two registers were taken; that of Ezra having been made up at Babylon, while that of Nehemiah was drawn out in Judea, after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt. The lapse of so many years might well be expected to make a difference appear in the catalogue, through death or other causes; in particular, one person being, according to Jewish custom, called by different names. Thus Hariph
(Ne 7:24)
is the same as Jorah
(Ezr 2:18),
Sia
(Ne 7:47)
the same as Siaha
(Ezr 2:44),
&c. Besides other purposes to which this genealogy of the nobles, rulers, and people was subservient, one leading object contemplated by it was to ascertain with accuracy the parties to whom the duty legally belonged of ministering at the altar and conducting the various services of the temple. For guiding to exact information in this important point of enquiry, the possession of the old register of Zerubbabel was invaluable.
39
Ne 7:39-73.
Ne 7:39-73.
論祭司。
39. 祭司——據載，被擄歸回的祭司只有四個班次；亞比雅的班次
（Lu 1:5）
不在其列。但須注意，這四個班次後來又被分為二十四個班次，仍沿用大衛所設原班次之名。
英文原文
Ne 7:39-73.
OF THE PRIESTS.
39. The priests--It appears that only four of the courses of the priests returned from the captivity; and that the course of Abia
(Lu 1:5)
is not in the list. But it must be noticed that these four courses were afterwards divided into twenty-four, which retained the names of the original courses which David appointed.
70
無標題
70. 還有些族長，等等——到了
Ne 7:69
名冊結束，尼希米的歷史敘述重新開始。他是省長（tirshatha），他和一些首要的人為宗教侍奉者合適的裝備所展現的慷慨，構成本章剩餘部分的主題。他們所捐的主要是衣物。在我們看來，這似乎是奇特的禮物；但在東方，贈送衣物或任何實用之物，是合乎社會通行觀念和習俗的。
金達利克——即 darics。達利克是古波斯的一種金幣，值英鎊一鎊五先令。
英文原文
70. And some of the chief of the fathers, &c.--With
Ne 7:69
the register ends, and the thread of Nehemiah's history is resumed. He was the tirshatha, or governor, and the liberality displayed by him and some of the leading men for the suitable equipment of the ministers of religion, forms the subject of the remaining portion of the chapter. Their donations consisted principally in garments. This would appear a singular description of gifts to be made by any one among us; but, in the East, a present of garments, or of any article of use, is conformable to the prevailing sentiments and customs of society.
drams of gold--that is, darics. A daric was a gold coin of ancient Persia, worth £1 5s.
71
無標題
71. 彌拿銀子——即 mina（六十舍客勒，約合英鎊九鎊）。
英文原文
71. pound of silver--that is, mina (sixty shekels, or £9).
73
無標題
73. 這樣……以色列眾人都住在自己的城裡——這些家譜登記冊的用處，由此可見，能引導人了解每個家族古時在每支派中所歸屬的城邑和地方。
英文原文
73. So . . . all Israel, dwelt in their cities--The utility of these genealogical registers was thus found in guiding to a knowledge of the cities and localities in each tribe to which every family anciently belonged.
Ne 7:1-4.
尼希米將耶路撒冷的治理之責交託哈拿尼與哈拿尼雅。