And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them who came up at the first, and found written in it,
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Bede
AD 735
When, therefore, not only the nobles and officials but also all the common people had assembled before him, he diligently endeavored to make a census of their number so that, having made a review of the total of all the people, he might be able to determine which ones should dwell in the city of Jerusalem and which in the other cities.
And I rebuked the nobles and officials and said to them, 'Are each of you to exact interest from your own brethren?' And I called together a large meeting against them, and said to them: 'We, as you know, have bought back /850/ our brethren the Jews who were sold to the Gentiles, according to our means, and now you are selling our brothers, and we are buying them?', and so on until it says: 'I and my brethren and my servants have lent money and grain to very many people. Let us together not require that loan to be repaid!1 As the most excellent leader of the heavenly militia2 and wise architect3 of God's city, he first of all declared that he himself4 had done what he wished the nobles and magistrates of the people to do, namely to give alms5 to the poor and seek nothing from them save faithfulness to God's law and the building of his city. In this passage, it behooves us not to scrutinize the allegorical meaning but to observe the literal meaning of the text itself by performing it as...
Heart, inspired me to provide inhabitants for the city, as was afterwards done by lot, chap. xi. (Tirinus)
Written. Hence it seems evident that Nehemias here only transcribes this ancient record, of those who came under Zorobabel, and consequently this chapter ought to agree with 1 Esdras ii., as well as with 3 Esdras v. 9., (Haydock) which is now strangely corrupted; so that it can throw no light upon the matter. (Calmet)
Some think that various catalogues were taken, at Babylon, at the first coming to Jerusalem, (Menochius) and at the dedication of the temple; (Tirinus) and that Nehemias refer to a different one from that of Esdras. (Sa) (Lucas) (Tirinus)
Others suppose that changes were introduced, as the families were increased or diminished, in the time of Nehemias; (Tirinus) who, therefore, judged it necessary to write a fresh catalogue, but only adjusted the old one to the present circumstances, including probably the names of those who had returned with Esdras, or with himse...
