Nehemiah 7:61

The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families were descended from Israel:

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Nehemiah records a census of the post-exilic returnees, listing families grouped by their places of origin. The passage functions as an administrative register for the restored community.

The words — וְ/אֵ֗לֶּה (ve./'E.leh) translates literally as "and these," introducing the specific group. מִ/תֵּ֥ל/מֶ֙לַח (mi./Tel/me.lach) means "from Tel-melah," identifying their geographic origin.

The thread — This list parallels Ezra 2:59, which records the same five locations and the same inability to verify Israelite lineage. Both passages document the post-exilic registration process.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to note that community membership depended on verifiable genealogical records. It demands an acknowledgment that historical identity was established through documented descent rather than mere claim.

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.

The Hebrew words

וְאֵ֗לֶּהve./'E.lehand/ these הָֽעוֹלִים֙ha./'o.Lim[are] the/ [ones who] came up מִתֵּ֥לmi./Telfrom/ Tel מֶ֙לַח֙me.lachMelah תֵּ֣לtelTel חַרְשָׁ֔אchar.Sha'Harsha כְּר֥וּבke.RuvKerub אַדּ֖וֹן'a.DonAddon וְאִמֵּ֑רve./'i.Merand/ Immer וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not יָכְל֗וּya.khe.Luthey were able לְהַגִּ֤ידle./ha.Gidto/ declare בֵּית־beit-[the] house of אֲבוֹתָם֙'a.vo.Ta/mancestors/ their וְזַרְעָ֔םve./zar.'A/mand/ offspring/ their אִ֥ם'imif מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֖לmi./Yis.ra.'El[were] from/ Israel הֵֽם׃Hemthey

King James Version

And these were they which went up also from Tel–melah, Tel–haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.

Cross-references

Ezra 2:59 The following came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer, but they could not prove that their families were descended from Israel: