Nehemiah 11:25-36--Villages Outside Jerusalem

Nehemiah 11:25-36
English Standard Version
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Villages Outside Jerusalem
25 And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet, 27 in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its villages, 28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, 29 in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom. 31 The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. 36 And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

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Not only did the people have to occupy and defend Jerusalem, but they also needed to fill the Land (in this case, the Land of Judah and Benjamin), cultivate it, and repopulate it.  They would remove the vacuum that had existed and attracted so many of the Gentile enemies around them to try and come and become squatters and, in so doing, try to claim rights to the Land that didn't belong to them.  Living in the towns and villages outside the safety of the walls of Jerusalem was more dangerous but was necessary for those who wanted to raise livestock or grow crops.  There would also be the need for government officials and Levites to live among the people who didn't live in Jerusalem.  These were the names of the villages that the Jewish people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin rebuilt and lived in during the time of Nehemiah.  There aren't many, but they will be a starting point and they are scattered throughout the Land of Judah and Benjamin.  The passage also lets us know that certain orders of Levites were also assigned to live among the people of Benjamin so that they would not all live among the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  We'll talk more about the priests and Levites who served under the various high priests since the time of the Exile, for God wants to show us how He has preserved the priesthood and the Levites who had no inheritance in the Land, for the LORD Himself was their portion.