And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.
All Commentaries on Nehemiah 11:36 Go To Nehemiah 11
Bede
AD 735
“Some of the children of Judah settled in Kiriath and its daughters,” and so on until it says, “And they made their home in Beersheba as far as the Valley of Hinnom.” For Beersheba was the boundary of Judah on the southern side, whereas the valley of the descendants of Hinnom was to the north next to Jerusalem on the east side. Finally, the cities of the descendants of Benjamin are recounted in a similar order, and the sentence that is added after they have been counted, “And of the Levites portions of Judah and Benjamin,” means that the Levites according to the decree of the Law received a lot on the property of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin. Let this much be said briefly concerning the historical sense. Concerning all these matters, if it delights you to hear also some allegorical meaning that is appropriate for our actions, Judah is interpreted as “he who confesses,” Benjamin “the son of the right hand” and Levi “accepted.” The reason that the tribes of all of these dwell partly in Jerusalem and partly in cities given to them by God is that the stages of progress of the faithful are many and diverse, and for them there are also many mansions in our Father’s house in heaven, as we have taught above. Some are content to observe God’s general commandments: not to commit murder, not to commit adultery, not to steal, not to speak false testimony against a neighbor, to honor father and mother, and to love neighbors as themselves. Others try to lay hold of the narrower stronghold of the perfect life, yet they all, each person according to his own calling, praise and confess the grace of their Creator, and they are children of the everlasting kingdom that is in his right hand and are taken up by him to life when the moment of that separation will come in which “two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left behind. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other left behind.”
