Nehemiah 11:6

Study note

Setting — The narrator records a census of post-exilic Jerusalem residents during the city's repopulation under Nehemiah's leadership. The text lists specific tribal families settling in the capital to secure its civic and religious life.

The words — The phrase בְּנֵי פֶרֶץ (benei Perez) identifies the clan as descendants of Perez, the Judahite ancestor listed in Ruth 4:18-22. The numeral אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת וְשִׁשִּׁים (arba me'ot vesishshim) explicitly quantifies the settlement at four hundred sixty men.

The thread — The Perez lineage appears in Ruth 4:18-22 as the ancestral line leading to David and the messianic promise. Nehemiah 11 repeats this genealogical tracking to show Judah's restoration aligns with earlier covenant promises.

Why it lands — The verse requires readers to recognize that organized settlement and precise record-keeping are presented as acts of obedience. It asks the reader to value institutional continuity and faithful participation in communal restoration.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.