Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Nehemiah 11:3 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 3. 3Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse heads the Jerusalem register while preserving Israel, priests, Levites, temple servants, and Solomon's servants in their towns.
Read It With
- Nehemiah 11:3–11:9
Read Nehemiah 11:3–11:9 together. This verse heads the Jerusalem register while preserving Israel, priests, Levites, temple servants, and Solomon's servants in their towns. Read Nehemiah 11:3–11:9 as one complete scene: The list names leaders and households from Judah and Benjamin who live in Jerusalem, along with overseers.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The provincial heading and the two lay kinship groups living in Jerusalem form the first resident register block. Its placement advances the book. Urban repopulation is carried by identifiable households, but male genealogical notices do not exhaust the residents' social reality. Within that movement, this verse heads the Jerusalem register while preserving Israel, priests, Levites, temple servants, and Solomon's servants in their towns.
Read Nehemiah 11:3–9 together
Why these verses belong together: The provincial heading and the two lay kinship groups living in Jerusalem form the first resident register block.
Verse 3. 3 Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants.
Verse 4. 4 And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez;
Verse 5. 5 And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.
Verse 6. 6 All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men.
Verse 7. 7 And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah.
Verse 8. 8 And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight.
Verse 9. 9 And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.
What Remains True
Within Nehemiah 11:3–11:9, Nehemiah 11:3 heads the Jerusalem register while preserving Israel, priests, Levites, temple servants, and Solomon's servants in their towns. Civic memory should recognize households without ranking people by residence, lineage, or visibility in official records.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Nehemiah 11:3, attend to how the verse heads the Jerusalem register while preserving Israel, priests, Levites, temple servants, and Solomon's servants in their towns. Report who moved, who supported them, and whose names or labor the administrative format leaves out.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Nehemiah 11:3–11:9 — Judahite and Benjaminite residents are listedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Nehemiah 11:3–11:9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Nehemiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, repeated roots, Persian titles, names, and translation controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Neh.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 11:3–11:9
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Nehemiah with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded KJV comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, literary, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence in the notes is not treated as positive evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Nehemiah PDF, printed pp. 776–777, translation text and any translator notes printed for 11:3–11:9
Open source ↗