Nehemiah 11

More literally, they were to throw or draw “lots.” The “lots” may have been stones or animal bones marked in a way that produced random outcomes for “yes” or “no” answers. But many at the time taught that God controlled the outcome. So, they seemed to believe the dice spoke for God. They had to resort to this, apparently, because few wanted to move. They would have to leave their homes behind in outlying towns, with their farms and grazing fields. They would trade this in for a home inside a city full of destroyed and abandoned buildings. Also, managing their farms and herds would be tougher from town. Nehemiah finished repairing the walls, but Babylon’s 586 BC destruction of Jerusalem left scars throughout the city.

The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were the only tribes left, aside from Levites who lived throughout what had been Israel. When Israel split, Judah and Benjamin formed the southern Jewish nation of Judah. The other 10 tribes lived in the north and formed the nation of Israel—a smaller version than David’s original 12-tribe Israel. Assyrians broke up the northern nation in about 722 BC, scattered and exiled the survivors who never seemed to return in big groups. They became known as the Lost Tribes of Israel. Judah fell to Babylon in 586 BC. But they were erased from the map for only 50 years. Then they started coming back.

There’s a question about whether Joel and Judah managed all of Jerusalem. But at least for a time, Nehemiah said he put his brother in charge of the city (7:2).

We have to guess what work they did. Some Levites traveled around collecting the 10 percent tithe at harvesttime, which spanned roughly nine months, from February to October. Others maintained the property or ordered supplies for the Temple.

Jerusalem sits on top of a ridge of hills across the Kidron Valley from the Mount of Olives, which is also a ridge of hills. On Jerusalem’s ridge, Ophel was the hill where some people lived inside the walled city. Ophel was on the south side of Mount Moriah, the hill where the Temple stood.

Perhaps the king knew the power of a song.

Ono Valley may have been near the city of Ono (Ezra 2:33), in the tribal territory of Benjamin. The site has been identified as near Tel Aviv, about 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Jerusalem.