Nehemiah 7:40 — Word Study
WLCבְּנֵ֣י אִמֵּ֔ר אֶ֖לֶף חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס
BSAthe descendantsbên [sons, children, or posterity] of ImmerʼImmêr [a priestly family, one thousand fifty-two, a thousand and fifty-two] 1,052ʼeleph
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| בְּנֵ֣י | [the] descendants of | Noun common, masculine plural construct |
| אִמֵּ֔ר | Immer | Noun proper masculine |
| אֶ֖לֶף | one thousand | Adj |
| חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים | fifty | |
| וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס | and two | Conjunction |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | the descendants of Immer, 1,052; |
| KJV | The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. |
| ASV | The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. |
| YLT | sons of Immer: a thousand fifty and two; |
| WEB | The children of Immer: one thousand fifty-two. |
| BBE | The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two. |
The translations agree on the family name and the count of descendants, maintaining the integrity of the genealogical record.
The structure is straightforward, with a main clause identifying the family followed by the numeral indicating their count.
2 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Ellicott & 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 7:40
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 the Returned Exilesgenerated
Nehemiah 7:40 lists the descendants of Immer, one of the priestly families that returned from Babylonian exile. This census highlights the importance of the priestly lineage in the restoration of worship in Jerusalem, as seen in the context of the returning exiles and their roles in the community. The previous verses detail other priestly families, showing the structure of the returning community and their heritage.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Chronicles 24:14 | the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, |
| 2 | Ezra 2:37 | the descendants of Immer, 1,052; |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — אִמֵּר, 'i.Mergenerated
The name אִמֵּר ('i.Mer) refers to a priestly lineage mentioned in the Old Testament, particularly during the time of David and the return from exile. It signifies a connection to the priestly duties and responsibilities in Israel.
The parsing indicates that it is a proper noun, specifically a masculine name, which denotes a specific family line within the larger context of the Levitical priesthood.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
In this study, the verse is read in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses the term Immer for the family name.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is structured around the noun phrase בְּנֵי (be.Nei), meaning 'the descendants of,' followed by the proper noun אִמֵּר ('i.Mer) and the numeral phrase indicating the count of 1,052.
This structure emphasizes the identity of the descendants first, followed by their lineage and numerical representation, typical of genealogical listings in Hebrew texts.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates בְּנֵי as υἱοὶ (huioi), meaning 'sons,' which aligns with the Hebrew meaning of descendants. This choice maintains the familial connection emphasized in the Hebrew text.
The name אִמֵּר is rendered as εμμηρ, preserving the identity of the priestly family while the numeral representation is not included in the Greek translation.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Nehemiah 7:40 identifies the descendants of Immer, a priestly family, as numbering 1,052. This verse is part of a larger census that details the returning exiles and their roles in the community.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The descendants of Immer were a priestly family mentioned in the Bible, known for their roles during the time of the return from exile.
The number signifies the strength and continuity of the priestly line, which was essential for the restoration of temple worship in Jerusalem.
The term 'descendants' implies not just immediate children but also the broader lineage and heritage that connects back to the original family.
This verse connects to other genealogies by showing the importance of maintaining priestly lines, as seen in other books like 1 Chronicles and Ezra.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can we learn about the importance of lineage and heritage from this verse?
- How does understanding the role of the priestly families enhance our understanding of the restoration period?
- In what ways can we honor our own family heritage in our lives today?
- What significance do you see in the numbers presented in genealogies throughout the Bible?
Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 7:40 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThe children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. No JFB commentary on these verses.
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 →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 descendants of Immer, 1,052;
The children of Immer: one thousand fifty-two.
the descendants of Immer, 1,052;
the descendants of Immer, 1,052;
Tyndale line
The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.
The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.
The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.
The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty two.
The sonnes of Immer, a thousand and two and fiftie.
Strictly literal
The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty-two.
sons of Immer: a thousand fifty and two;
sons of Immer, one thousand fifty-two;
The children of Immer, one thousand fifty and two.
The descendants of Immer, 1,052.
From the Latin
The children of Emmer, one thousand fifty-two.
Simplified
the sons of Immer, 1,052;
The children of Immer, a thousand and 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 בְּנֵי אִמֵּר אֶ֖לֶף חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים וּשְׁנָֽיִם׃ ס, which matches closely with the Septuagint in terms of the family name and the number of descendants, though the Septuagint does not provide a direct equivalent for the complete phrase.
בְּנֵ֣י אִמֵּ֔ר אֶ֖לֶף 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 7:40
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.
בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.
בֵּן 4870 n.m. son
son, male child, born of a woman
children (male and female)
youth, young men
the young of animals
of plant shoots
fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
member of a guild, order or class
of animals son of (the) herd
ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
n. relat. of age
base
בְּנוֹ 1 Ch 24:26, 27 as n.pr.m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son, cf. VB & Be Öt.
done
H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman
. children (male and female)
. youth, young men
. the young of animals
. of plant shoots
. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
. . member of a guild, order or class
. of animals son of (the) herd
. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
. n. relat. of age
H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son
1121 ben bane
from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the
widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship,
including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition,
etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)
(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,
(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,
bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X
came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of
first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +
kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)
people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +
spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous
one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.
see HEBREW for 01129
see HEBREW for 01
see HEBREW for 0251
בֵּן (ben) — son: child.
: child/son
בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;
son of: Jaaziah (H3269);
brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)
§ Beno = "his son"
the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)
בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.
: descendant, people, tribe, nation
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : child/son
בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.
: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : descendant
בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.
: rebel/son(Belial)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : people/men/nation/tribe
בֵּן (ben) — son.
: [inheriting]son/heir
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.
: warrior/son(strong)
N-mp — 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…
אִמֵּר (Immer) refers to a name associated with several priests in the Old Testament, particularly during the times of David and Jeremiah. The name means 'he hath said' and is linked to the lineage of Zadok the priest. The entries note that Immer is a significant figure in the priestly line, mentioned in contexts of exile and return.
אִמֵּר n.pr.m.
a priest assigned to Dvd’s time
ancestor of priest
priest in Jerem.’s time
father of Zadok
n.pr.loc. (?)
base
H564 אִמֵּר
564 'Immer im-mare'
from 559; talkative; Immer, the name of five
Israelites:--Immer.
see HEBREW for 0559
אִמֵּר (im.mer) — Immer.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at 1Ch.9.12;
father of: Meshillemith (H4921)
§ Immer = "he hath said"
1) a priest in David's time
2) a priest in Jeremiah's time
3) the father of Zadok the priest
4) an ancestor of a priest
אִמֵּר (im.mer) — Immer.
A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.14
§ Immer = "he hath said"
1) a priest in David's time
2) a priest in Jeremiah's time
3) the father of Zadok the priest
4) an ancestor of a priest
אִמֵּר (im.mer) — Immer.
§ Immer = "he hath said"
birthplace of a priest
אִמֵּר (im.mer) — Immer.
A man living at the time of Exile and Return, only mentioned at Neh.3.29;
father of: Zadok (H6659K)
§ Immer = "he hath said"
1) a priest in David's time
2) a priest in Jeremiah's time
3) the father of Zadok the priest
4) an ancestor of a priest
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
(talkative). The founder of an important family of priests. (1 Chronicles 9:12; Nehemiah 11:13) This family had charge of, and gave its name to, the sixteenth course of the service. (1 Chronicles 24:14) (B.C. 1014.) Apparently the name of a place in Babylonia. (Ezra 2:59; Nehemiah 7:61)
saying; speaking; a lamb
אֶ֫לֶף (eleph) means 'thousand' in Hebrew. It can refer to the numeral itself or denote a company or clan, particularly a group of men under one leader. The word is built from the concept of a thousand, and it is associated with the ox's head, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
אֶ֫לֶף n.m. thousand
base
H505 אֶ֫לֶף thousand
505 'eleph eh'-lef
prop, the same as 504; hence (the ox's head being the first
letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral)
a thousand:--thousand.
see HEBREW for 0504
אֶ֫לֶף (e.leph) — thousand.
: thousand
1) a thousand
1a) as numeral
2) a thousand, company
2a) as a company of men under one leader, troops
אֶ֫לֶף (e.leph) — thousand: clan.
: clan
1) a thousand
1a) as numeral
2) a thousand, company
2a) as a company of men under one leader, troops
Adj — AdjHAcbsa
thou'-zand ('eleph; chilioi).
See NUMBER.
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)
HAcmpa — HAcmpa
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.