Nehemiah 7:33 — Word Study
WLCאַנְשֵׁ֥י נְב֛וֹ אַחֵ֖ר חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס
BSAof the otherʼachêr [different, another] NeboNᵉbôw [a mountain in Moab, a Babylonian deity, fifty and two, fifty-two] 52chămishshîym
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | [the] men of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| נְב֛וֹ | Nebo | Noun proper |
| אַחֵ֖ר | [the] other | Adj |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים | fifty | Adj |
| וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס | and two | Conjunction |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the men of the other Nebo, 52; |
| KJV | The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two. |
| ASV | The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two. |
| YLT | Men of the other Nebo: fifty and two. |
| WEB | The men of the other Nebo: fifty-two. |
| BBE | The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two. |
Where they part company is in the translations of the surrounding words, but all agree on the key terms.
The sentence is straightforward, with a main clause followed by a numeral phrase indicating the count.
4 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott, AdamClarke, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Nehemiah 7:33
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Census of Returning Exilesgenerated
Nehemiah 7:33 is part of a list that records the names and numbers of those who returned from Babylonian exile. This census emphasizes the restoration of the community in Jerusalem and the importance of each individual's contribution to the rebuilding effort. The mention of Nebo connects to the broader historical and geographical context of the Israelites' journey back home.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ezra 2:29 | the descendants of Nebo, 52; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — נְב֛וֹ, ne.Vogenerated
The word נְב֛וֹ (nevo) refers to a mountain in Moab, significant in biblical history as the place where Moses died. It can also denote a Babylonian deity associated with prophecy and learning. The parsing indicates it is a proper noun, indicating a specific location rather than a common term.
The context of Nebo in this verse highlights its geographical and cultural significance, linking the returning exiles to their ancestral lands and the historical events surrounding Moses' death.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
The translations generally agree on the rendering of נְב֛וֹ as 'Nebo', with variations in phrasing for the surrounding words.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is structured around the noun phrase אַנְשֵׁ֥י ('an.Shei), meaning 'the men of', followed by the proper noun נְב֛וֹ (nevo) and the adjective אַחֵ֖ר ('a.Cher) indicating 'the other'.
The numeral phrase חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם (cha.mi.Shim u.she.Na.yim) specifies the count of fifty-two, concluding the sentence with a clear enumeration of the individuals.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the Hebrew נְב֛וֹ is rendered as ναβι, which suggests a focus on the geographical aspect of Nebo rather than its cultural or religious significance. This choice reflects the translators' intent to convey the location's importance to the returning exiles.
The translation aligns closely with the Hebrew, maintaining the reference to Nebo while adapting the language for a Greek-speaking audience.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 7:33 lists the men from the other Nebo, totaling fifty-two individuals. This verse is part of a larger census that documents the return of the exiles to Jerusalem, emphasizing their connection to their ancestral lands.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
'The other Nebo' distinguishes this location from another Nebo mentioned elsewhere, indicating there were multiple places or groups associated with this name.
The number signifies the size of the group returning from exile, reflecting the rebuilding of the community in Jerusalem.
Nebo is historically significant as the site where Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death, marking an important moment in Israelite history.
This verse contributes to the narrative of restoration and rebuilding after the exile, detailing who returned and their origins.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can I learn from the commitment of those who returned to Jerusalem?
- How does understanding the historical context of Nebo enhance my reading of this verse?
- In what ways can I contribute to the rebuilding efforts in my community?
- What does this verse teach about the importance of individual contributions to a larger purpose?
Commentators on this verse — 4 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 7:33 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThese are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem
Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 7 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(5-73) The genealogical reckoning of the people, as the first step towards increasing the population of the metropolis, is determined on, not without express Divine suggestion; the allusion to this inspiration from God, is, as in Nehemiah 2:12, very emphatic. The original register of Zerubbabelis found and copied. The express language of both Ezra and Nehemiah makes it plain that this is no other than the list of those who came up with Zerubbabel and Joshua after the decree of Cyrus, in B.C. 538. Nehemiah’s own census follows, in Nehemiah 11. The exposition, especially as compared with Ezra 2, has been given on that chapter.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Nehemiah 7 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 33. The men of the other Nebo] The word other is not in the parallel place, Ezra 2:29, and is wanting in many of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. This Nebo is supposed to be the same as Nob or Nobah, in the tribe of Benjamin.
Read AdamClarke on Nehemiah 7 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges33. The men of the other Nebo] = ‘the children of Nebo’ in Ezra. Perhaps the word ‘other’ has come in accidentally from Nehemiah 7:34. Our list omits ‘the children of Magbish 156,’ which in Ezra comes between ‘Nebo’ and ‘Elam.’
Read Cambridge on Nehemiah 7 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
the men of the other Nebo, 52;
The men of the other Nebo: fifty-two.
the men of the other Nebo, 52;
the men of the other Nebo, 52;
Tyndale line
The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.
The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.
The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.
The men of the other Nebo, fifty two.
The men of the other Nebo, two and fifty.
Strictly literal
The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
Men of the other Nebo: fifty and two.
men of the other Nebo, fifty-two;
The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two.
The men of the other Nebo, 52.
From the Latin
The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
Simplified
the people from the other Nebo, 52;
The men of the other Nebo, fifty-two.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text lists the phrase as אַנְשֵׁ֥י נְב֛וֹ אַחֵ֖ר חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס. The Septuagint matches four out of five words, indicating a strong correspondence between the two texts, though the Septuagint's word order differs.
אַנְשֵׁ֥י נְב֛וֹ אַחֵ֖ר חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס
4 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Nehemiah 7:33
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אֱנוֹשׁ (enowsh) refers to man or mankind, often used in a poetic context. It denotes a mortal individual, distinguishing humans from more dignified terms for man. The word encompasses both singular and collective meanings, indicating people or persons in general. Its Aramaic equivalent is אֱנָשׁ (e.nash), also meaning 'man'.
אֱנוֹשׁ n.m. man, mankind, mostly poet.
of individ.
coll. men
man, mankind
base
H582 אֱנוֹשׁ man, mankind, mostly poet.
582 'enowsh en-oshe'
from 605; properly, a mortal (and thus differing from the
more dignified 120); hence, a man in general (singly or
collectively):--another, X (blood-)thirsty, certain,
chap(-man); divers, fellow, X in the flower of their age,
husband, (certain, mortal) man, people, person, servant, some
( X of them), + stranger, those, + their trade. It is often
unexpressed in the English versions, especially when used in
apposition with another word . Compare 376.
see HEBREW for 0605
see HEBREW for 0120
see HEBREW for 0376
אֱנוֹשׁ (e.nosh) — human.
1) man, mortal man, person, mankind
1a) of an individual
1b) men (collective)
1c) man, mankind
Aramaic equivalent: e.nash (אֱנָשׁ "man" H0606)
HNcmpc — Noun common · masculine plural constructHNcmpc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
נְבוֹ (nevo) refers to several locations and a deity. It denotes a city in Moab, a city in Judah, and a mountain in Moab where Moses died. Additionally, it represents a Babylonian god associated with learning, akin to Hermes and Mercury. The name is linked to the meaning 'prophet'.
נְבוֹ n.pr.loc.
city in Moab
city in Judah
mt. in Moab, where Moses died
base
נְבוֹ n.pr.div. Nebo;—Babylonian god Is 46:1.
ref
H5015a נְבוֹ . . city in Moab
. city in Judah
. mt. in Moab, where Moses died
H5015b נְבוֹ Nebo;—Babylonian god
5015 Nbow neb-o'
probably of foreign derivation; Nebo, the name of a
Babylonian deity, also of a mountain in Moab, and of a place
in Palestine:--Nebo.
נְבוֹ (ne.vo) — Nebo.
§ Nebo = "prophet"
a city in Moab and at one time assigned to Reuben; probably located on or near Mount Nebo
נְבוֹ (ne.vo) — Nebo.
§ Nebo = "prophet"
a Babylonian deity who presided over learning and letters; corresponds to Greek Hermes, Latin Mercury, and Egyptian Thoth
נְבוֹ (ne.vo) — Nebo.
§ Nebo = "prophet"
a city in Judah (maybe Benjamin) from which the families of some exiles, who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, originally came
נְבוֹ (ne.vo) — (Mount) Nebo.
Nebo = "prophet"
the mountain where Moses died; located east of the Jordan opposite Jericho
Also named: a.va.rim (עֲבָרִים "Abarim" H5682)
N-proper — Noun properHNpl
Nebo
Proclaimer; prophet. (1.) A Chaldean god whose worship was introduced into Assyria by Pul (Isa. 46:1; Jer. 48:1). To this idol was dedicated the great temple whose ruins are still seen at Birs Nimrud. A statue of Nebo found at Calah, where it was set up by Pul, king of Assyria, is now in the British Museum.
(2.) A mountain in the land of Moab from which Moses looked for the first and the last time on the Promised Land (Deut. 32:49; 34:1). It has been identified with Jebel Nebah, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, near its northern end, and about 5 miles south-west of Heshbon. It was the summit of the ridge of Pisgah (q.v.), which was a part of the range of the “mountains of Abarim.” It is about 2,643 feet in height, but…
A town of Reuben on the east side of Jordan. (Numbers 32:3,38) In the remarkable prophecy adopted by Isaiah, (Isaiah 15:2) and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 48:1,26) concerning Moab, Nebo is mentioned in the same connection as before, but in the hands of Moab. Eusebius and Jerome identify it with Nobah or Kerrath, and place it eight miles South of Heshbon, where the ruins of el-Habis appear to stand at present. (Prof. Paine identifies it with some ruins on Mount Nebo, a mile south of its summit, and Dr. Robinson seems to agree with this. --ED.) The children of Nebo returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:29; 10:43; Nehemiah 7:33) The name occurs between Bethel and Ai and Lydda…
1. A town in the vicinity of Bethel and Ai, Ezr 2:29 Ne 7:33.
2. A city of Reuben, Nu 32:38, taken by the Moabites, who held it in the time of Jeremiah, Isa 15:2 Jer 48:1.
3. A mountain of Moab, whence Moses had a view of the promised land, and where he died. It is a summit of the range Abarim, "over against Jericho." Seetzen, Burckhardy, etc., identify it with Mount Attarus, about ten miles north of the Arnon. Travelers do not observe any very prominent summit in the rage immediately opposite Jericho; but it has not yet fully explored, De 32:49 34:1-12.
that speaks or prophesies
אַחֵר (acher) means 'another' or 'other' and can imply something that follows or is different. It is derived from a root that suggests hindrance or being next to something else. The term appears in various contexts in the Old Testament, often referring to another person or thing.
אַחֵר adj. another
base
H312 אַחֵר another
312 'acher akh-air'
from 309; properly, hinder; generally, next, other,
etc.:--(an-)other man, following, next, strange.
see HEBREW for 0309
אַחֵר (a.cher) — another.
1) another, other, following
1a) following, further
1b) other, different
Adj — AdjHAamsa
חֲמִשִּׁים (chamishshiym) means 'fifty' and is a cardinal number. It can also refer to a multiple of fifty or the ordinal number 'fiftieth.' The entries consistently define it as a numerical term without significant variation.
חֲמִשִּׁים 164 n.pl. (a) fifty
base
H2572 חֲמִשִּׁים (a) fifty
2572 chamishshiym kham-ish-sheem'
multiple of 2568; fifty:--fifty.
see HEBREW for 02568
חֲמִשִּׁים (cha.mish.shim) — fifty.
1) fifty
1a) fifty (cardinal number)
1b) a multiple of fifty (with other numbers)
1c) fiftieth (ordinal number)
Adj — AdjHAcmpa
שְׁנַ֫יִם (shnayim) means 'two' and serves as both a cardinal and ordinal number. It can denote 'both,' 'double,' or 'twice,' and is used in various combinations with other numbers. The word is derived as a dual form of שָׁנָה (shanah), which relates to the concept of pairs.
שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם 768 n.m. et f. du. two
base
H8147 שְׁנַ֫יִם, שְׁתַּיִם two
8147 shnayim shen-ah'-yim
dual of 8145; feminine shttayim {shet-tah'-yim}; two; also
(as ordinal) twofold:--both, couple, double, second, twain, +
twelfth, + twelve, + twenty (sixscore) thousand, twice, two.
see HEBREW for 08145
שְׁנַ֫יִם (she.na.yim) — two.
1) two
1a) two (the cardinal number)
1a1) two, both, double, twice
1b) second (the ordinal number)
1c) in combination with other numbers
1d) both (a dual number)
HC/Acbda — ConjunctionHC/Acbda
too.
See NUMBER.