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Selected Verse: Nehemiah 7:3 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Ne 7:3	Strong Concordance	And I said [0559] unto them, Let not the gates [08179] of Jerusalem [03389] be opened [06605] until the sun [08121] be hot [02527]; and while they stand by [05975], let them shut [01479] the doors [01817], and bar [0270] them: and appoint [05975] watches [04931] of the inhabitants [03427] of Jerusalem [03389], every one [0376] in his watch [04929], and every one [0376] to be over against his house [01004].
	King James	And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
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.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

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.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Until the sun be hot - An unusual precaution. The ordinary practice in the East is to open town gates at sunrise.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

Until the sun be hot - An unusual precaution. The ordinary practice in the East is to open town gates at sunrise.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
Hot - 'Till it be clear and broad day; when the people will be ready in case of an assault. They - The watches appointed to that end. Watches - Nehemiah was now about to return to the court, and left the charge of the city to these in his absence.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]

Hot - 'Till it be clear and broad day; when the people will be ready in case of an assault. They - The watches appointed to that end. Watches - Nehemiah was now about to return to the court, and left the charge of the city to these in his absence.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Until the sun be hot - The meaning of this is, the gates were not to be opened before sunrise, and always shut at sunset. This is the custom to the present day in many of the cities of the East if a traveler arrives after sunset, he finds the gates shut; and on no consideration will they open them till the next morning, so that those who come late are obliged to lodge in the plain, or under the walls. Every one - over against his house - Each was obliged to guard that part of the wall that was opposite to his own dwelling.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

Until the sun be hot - The meaning of this is, the gates were not to be opened before sunrise, and always shut at sunset. This is the custom to the present day in many of the cities of the East if a traveler arrives after sunset, he finds the gates shut; and on no consideration will they open them till the next morning, so that those who come late are obliged to lodge in the plain, or under the walls.

Every one - over against his house - Each was obliged to guard that part of the wall that was opposite to his own dwelling.

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