66 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. 68 Their horses were 736, their mules 245, 69 their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.
70 Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests’ garments and 500 minas of silver. 71 And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. 72 And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests’ garments.
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.
And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.
Nehemiah 7:66-73 (ESV)
Census
Yesterday we read that Nehemiah repeated a census of the returnees in great detail. Here we are told the total number of people and animals. Donkeys were surely the Toyota of the day! Why are singers listed separately? I’m not sure. Your ideas?
Giving by example
We know from Nehemiah 8:9 that the governor mentioned in V70 is Nehemiah. Being the exemplary leader that he is, he leads by example and gives the largest individual donation. The other leaders follow with the common people after that.
The money is put in the treasury which I believe was in the temple. What were they giving towards? “The work” (v70). What work? Building the wall. This account is a record of what happened during that time.
This shows us their commitment not just with their speech and labor but with their resources as well. “Putting your money where your mouth is.”
Settled in
The priests and those serving the temple are the first listed as settling down in their towns, followed by the rest of the people. They lived in Jerusalem as well as surrounding towns. But remember Jerusalem was still kind of empty. (Nehemiah 7:4) What was significant about the seventh month? Clarke’s commentary suggests, “It seems that the examination of the registers occupied about a month for as soon as the walls were finished, which was in the sixth month, (Elul,) Nehemiah 6:15, Nehemiah instituted the examination mentioned in this chapter, Nehemiah 7:5”
