The mockery hardens into conspiracy to come and fight against Jerusalem. The builders set a watch day and night, and Nehemiah reorganizes everything: half the young men work while half hold spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail; every builder has his sword girded at his side; a trumpeter stands ready — 'in what place soever you hear the sound of the horn, resort there to us; our God will fight for us.' From dawn until the stars appear, none of them takes off his clothes.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth;
verse value 5301
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 94 letters. The shortest word is "heard" (שָׁמַ֣ע, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·Ashdodites" (וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֗ים, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 535: that·went·up, to·be·stopped·up. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·the·Arabians" (וְהָעַרְבִ֨ים), "and·the·Ammonites" (וְהָעַמֹּנִ֜ים), "and·the·Ashdodites" (וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִ֗ים). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·when" (root אשר, 66x in Nehemiah); "and·it·came·to·pass" (root היה, 48x in Nehemiah); "Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 38x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root ערב ("and·the·Arabians") in Nehemiah. First appearance of the root אשדודי ("and·the·Ashdodites") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·be·stopped·up', dividing the verse into phrases of 15 and 3 words.
Rashi
was repaired Heb. עָלְתָה אָרוּכָה, [lit. attained a cure,] that the wall was built. repaired A [word having the] meaning of bandaging and healing. that the people who were exposed had commenced to be closed in that the people of the city, who had heretofore been exposed without a wall, were now closed in by the building of the wall.
Ibn Ezra
went forward (alta arukhah) – the phrase relates to the length of days it took, like a wound gradually healing over time.
Ralbag
'That the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward' — the Hebrew word here (arukhah) literally means 'healing.' 'And that the breaches began to be stopped' — meaning, the breached places had begun to be closed up.
Metzudat David
'That the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward' — [lit. 'healing had arisen'] meaning the wall was growing stronger, for the breached places had begun to be sealed up.
Metzudat Zion
Repairing — an expression of healing, as in 'the healing of the daughter of my people' (Jeremiah 8:22); meaning it was strengthened, used here figuratively.
Malbim
'That the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward' — the term 'arukhah' [healing] is used [in Scripture] for the rejoining of a bone that has broken in two (Jeremiah 30:17), and is here borrowed to describe the mending of the wall's break. 'The breaches' — the breached spots in the wall had begun to be closed up.
and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion there.
verse value 2809
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 2809 = 53². The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֖וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·Jerusalem" (בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·they·conspired" (וַיִּקְשְׁר֤וּ), "to·fight" (לְהִלָּחֵ֣ם), "confusion" (תּוֹעָֽה). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·to·do" (root עשה, 55x in Nehemiah); "to·come" (root בוא, 47x in Nehemiah); "in·Jerusalem" (root ירושלם, 38x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root כל ("all·of·them") in Nehemiah. First appearance of the root יחד ("together") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּקְשְׁר֤וּ [and·they·conspired] (622) + כֻלָּם֙ [all·of·them] (90) + יַחְדָּ֔ו [together] (28) + לָב֖וֹא [to·come] (39) + לְהִלָּחֵ֣ם [to·fight] (113) + בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם [in·Jerusalem] (588) + וְלַעֲשׂ֥וֹת [and·to·do] (812) + ל֖וֹ [to·him] (36) + תּוֹעָֽה [confusion] (481) = 2809.
Rashi
and to wreak destruction therein to wreak upon the building of the wall ruin and destruction. It is like (Isa. 32:5): “...and to speak destructively (תּוֹעָה) about the Lord.”
Ibn Ezra
and to cause confusion there (u-la'asot lo to'ah) – this refers to Nehemiah, or to the people of Jerusalem. confusion (to'ah) – a noun on the pattern of 'olah' (iniquity) or 'sho'ah' (ruin). and the meaning of 'to'ah' – because one who is in distress is like someone wandering, not knowing what to do.
Ralbag
'And to cause confusion there' — meaning, to cause confusion among the people of Jerusalem, so as to mislead them, so that they would not know that their enemies meant to fight them and would not be on guard against them, and their enemies would kill them by this stratagem; for without this stratagem they could not prevail over them, since the people of Jerusalem were numerous, and the king's hand was with them as well.
Metzudat David
'And to cause confusion there' — to bring confusion of mind upon Israel, so that they would be bewildered in their thinking and not know what to do.
Metzudat Zion
Conspired — an expression of banding together. Confusion — one confused in his mind, not knowing what to do, is called 'to'eh'; similarly, 'I have strayed like a lost sheep' (Psalms 119:176).
Malbim
'And to cause confusion there' — this shows that they were afraid to fight in an open manner of war; rather, they wanted to mislead the people of Jerusalem, to fall upon them suddenly while they would not be on guard against them, as is stated in verse 5.
But we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
verse value 2046
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "watch" (מִשְׁמָ֧ר, 4 letters) and the longest is "to·our·God" (אֶל־אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·we·prayed" (וַנִּתְפַּלֵּ֖ל), "to·our·God" (אֶל־אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ), "and·we·set" (וַנַּעֲמִ֨יד). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·our·God" (root אלהים, 62x in Nehemiah); "day" (root יום, 61x in Nehemiah); "upon·them" (root על, 44x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root משמר ("watch") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·our·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַנִּתְפַּלֵּ֖ל [and·we·prayed] (596) + אֶל־אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ [to·our·God] (133) + וַנַּעֲמִ֨יד [and·we·set] (180) + מִשְׁמָ֧ר [watch] (580) + עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם [upon·them] (155) + יוֹמָ֥ם [day] (96) + וָלַ֖יְלָה [and·night] (81) + מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם [from·their·face] (225) = 2046.
Rashi
over them over the builders. because of them because of the enemies.
Ibn Ezra
and set a watch against them – on their account.
Ralbag
'And set a watch against them' — meaning, a force that guarded against them, or lookouts to watch whether they were coming, so that we would be ready to fight them.
Metzudat David
'And set a watch' — we stationed guards over the builders, against Sanballat and his companions.
Malbim
'Against them' — to keep watch over them, so as to give warning at the time they would fall upon the city.
And Judah said: ‘The strength of the bearers of burdens has decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.’
verse value 2142
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 50 letters. Verse gematria: 2142 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "strength" (כֹּ֣חַ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·we" (וַאֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "failed" (כָּשַׁל֙), "strength" (כֹּ֣חַ), "the·burden-bearer" (הַסַּבָּ֔ל). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·said" (root אמר, 66x in Nehemiah); "not" (root לא, 38x in Nehemiah); "in·the·wall" (root חומה, 32x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root יכל ("are·able") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'much', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·he·said] (257) + יְהוּדָ֗ה [Judah] (30) + כָּשַׁל֙ [failed] (350) + כֹּ֣חַ [strength] (28) + הַסַּבָּ֔ל [the·burden-bearer] (97) + וְהֶעָפָ֖ר [and·the·dust] (361) + הַרְבֵּ֑ה [much] (212) + וַאֲנַ֙חְנוּ֙ [and·we] (121) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + נוּכַ֔ל [are·able] (106) + לִבְנ֖וֹת [to·build] (488) + בַּחוֹמָֽה [in·the·wall] (61) = 2142.
Rashi
And Judea said So were the people of Judea saying and complaining. The porter’s strength has failed Those who bear and load the stones and the wood for the building of the wall have failed in their strength, for they have no more strength to build because of the enemies. and there is much earth There is still much mud and clay to place into the wall, meaning that we still have much work, but we cannot build because of fear of the enemies.
Ralbag
'The strength of the bearers of burdens has decayed,' etc. — meaning, the strength of the one who carries the load on his shoulders has weakened, and the rubble is so abundant that it is difficult to build. 'So that we are not able to build the wall' — for our adversaries said [to themselves]: they will neither know nor see, until we come into their midst and kill them, and in this way we will bring the work to a halt; and this is the confusion that their adversaries said they would cause them.
Metzudat David
'And Judah said' — Nehemiah relates and laments the things that beset him, and states: Judah said, behold, from the sheer volume of the labor the strength of the burden-bearers had already weakened, and the rubble that must be carried and poured into the wall — is it not abundant indeed? 'So that we [are not able]' — we are also unable to build the wall, out of fear of the enemy.
Metzudat Zion
Decayed — an expression of weakness and the loss of strength, as in 'to every one that stumbled' (2 Chronicles 28). Bearers of burdens — an expression of carrying a load, as in 'one who bears a burden' (1 Kings 5).
Malbim
Questions: (4-6) These verses are very difficult. 'And Judah said' — the men of Judah said that the building of the wall had to be stopped for now, for two reasons: 1) That the strength of the burden-bearer had failed — meaning a porter, as in 'seventy thousand burden-bearers' (II Chronicles 2) — and the rubble was great; and so long as the porters had not cleared away the rubble, they could not build the wall.
And our adversaries said: ‘They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.’
verse value 3706
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·work" (אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "our·adversaries" (צָרֵ֗ינוּ), "will·see" (יִרְא֔וּ), "that·we·come" (אֲשֶׁר־נָב֥וֹא). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 66x in Nehemiah); "that·we·come" (root בוא, 47x in Nehemiah); "not" (root לא, 38x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root צר ("our·adversaries") in Nehemiah. First appearance of the root תוך ("to·their·midst") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·we·will·slay·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ [and·they·said] (263) + צָרֵ֗ינוּ [our·adversaries] (356) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + יֵדְעוּ֙ [will·know] (90) + וְלֹ֣א [and·not] (37) + יִרְא֔וּ [will·see] (217) + עַ֛ד [until] (74) + אֲשֶׁר־נָב֥וֹא [that·we·come] (560) + אֶל־תּוֹכָ֖ם [to·their·midst] (497) + וַהֲרַגְנ֑וּם [and·we·will·slay·them] (310) + וְהִשְׁבַּ֖תְנוּ [and·we·will·cause·to·cease] (769) + אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָֽה [the·work] (502) = 3706.
Rashi
And our adversaries said Nehemiah proceeds to tell this. They will not know, and they will not see So were our adversaries saying about us: “They will not know, and the Israelites will not recognize us until we come suddenly into their midst and kill them, and with this plot we will stop and curtail the building.”
Metzudat David
'And our adversaries said' — and our enemies said: we will come suddenly upon the builders, and they will not know of it and will not see us, until we come right into their midst and kill them; and thereby we will halt the work, for they will build no more once they see that many of them have fallen on account of the building.
Metzudat Zion
Cause to cease — an expression of nullification and prevention, as in 'the oppressor has ceased' (Isaiah 14).
Malbim
2) 'And our adversaries said' — [the second reason:] behold, our adversaries are lying in ambush to fall upon us suddenly, and they have spoken to one another that we should come upon them suddenly, so that they will not know of it beforehand, since we will keep our plan secret; and they also will not see [us] at the time of our coming, until we come into their very midst, for we shall fall upon them from a hidden place.
And it came to pass that, when the Jews that dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times: ‘You must return to us from all places.’
verse value 4390
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 67 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֙נוּ֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·us" (לָ֙נוּ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·all·the·places" (מִכׇּל־הַמְּקֹמ֖וֹת, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "as·that·came" (כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֣אוּ), "beside·them" (אֶצְלָ֑ם), "from·all·the·places" (מִכׇּל־הַמְּקֹמ֖וֹת). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 66x in Nehemiah); "and·it·came·to·pass" (root היה, 48x in Nehemiah); "as·that·came" (root בוא, 47x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root עשר ("ten") in Nehemiah. First appearance of the root פעם ("times") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'beside·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַֽיְהִי֙ [and·it·came·to·pass] (31) + כַּאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֣אוּ [as·that·came] (530) + הַיְּהוּדִ֔ים [the·Jews] (80) + הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים [the·dwelling] (367) + אֶצְלָ֑ם [beside·them] (161) + וַיֹּ֤אמְרוּ [and·they·said] (263) + לָ֙נוּ֙ [to·us] (86) + עֶ֣שֶׂר [ten] (570) + פְּעָמִ֔ים [times] (240) + מִכׇּל־הַמְּקֹמ֖וֹת [from·all·the·places] (681) + אֲשֶׁר־תָּשׁ֥וּבוּ [that·you·shall·return] (1215) + עָלֵֽינוּ [upon·us] (166) = 4390.
Rashi
Now it came to pass when the Jews came And now, the adversaries who had conspired together to wage war against us gathered with the Jews who were among them in their lands, and those Jews who had joined them came before the army, as is customary for soldiers to do, to speak to us, and in this manner the Jews conspired against the enemies. Now it came to pass when the Jews who dwelt beside them came, etc. that they said to us ten times Those Jews warned us as many as ten times to wage war against our enemies because they were coming to war. And this is what they said to us, “From all the places, etc.” From all those places where you will be scattered while building the wall, here and there, be careful to assemble until you return upon us together to wage war against us.
Ibn Ezra
And it came to pass … they said to us – they told us ten times that from all the places to which you return in the evening from your building work, from there they intend to come upon us – from the low-lying areas around the place to which the builders would return in the evening.
Ralbag
'Ten times' — meaning, many times. 'You must return to us from all places' — meaning, the Jews [living among them] informed us of all the places to which our enemies would go back to hide, in order to rise up against us. Now it says 'you will return' using a form that refers to an implied feminine plural, just as it says 'and the bones came together' (Ezekiel 37:7), where the same kind of form is used for 'bones,' [a feminine plural noun]. It says 'you will return' because whenever they saw, in one place, that they had not achieved what they were after, they would go back to another place, and so from place to place. And once I learned of the place where they said they would hide, I stationed, from among the lower, low-lying areas near that place, men on the bare heights of the rocks, very high up, to notify us when our adversaries came; and I stationed the people, ready to fight against them, by families, with weapons of war. He stationed them by families because when the men of a family are together, each one is greatly strengthened for the sake of his own kin, and they help one another wonderfully.
Metzudat David
'That dwelt by them' — in the towns of the besiegers, [these Jews] being subject to them. 'They said to us' — the [neighboring] Jews warned and urged us ten times, saying: 'Gather yourselves from all the places where you are scattered, and all of you come back against us to make war' (for those Jews, too, had come unwillingly with the besiegers to lie in wait for the builders, but they revealed the secret of the matter to the people of Jerusalem so that they would be on guard against them).
Malbim
'And it came to pass' — this too is [part of] the account of the men of Judah, who related from where this had become known to them: when the Jews who dwelt near them [the enemies], who lived in the towns of Judah's adversaries, came to Jerusalem — 'they said to us ten times' — [meaning] they told us this not [just] once (which might suggest it was a fabricated report), for they said it many times; and not from one place (which might suggest that only some of the adversaries were plotting evil against us), but from all the places — so that this was agreed upon by all the evil neighbors of Judah in general. 'That you must return to us' — these are the words of Judah, one man to his brother, meaning: it is impossible that you should scatter, each man away from his brother, to build the wall; rather you must all return and cease from the building of the wall and join together with us, so that we may stand in one place, arrayed for battle against the adversary, now that we know for certain that he will fall upon us. Moreover, the Jews who came there revealed to them the exact place from which the enemy would fall upon them, and therefore they need to stand at that place, ready for battle.
Therefore I set in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
verse value 6145
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 83 letters. The shortest word is "to·the·place" (לַמָּק֛וֹם, 5 letters) and the longest is "with·their·swords" (עִם־חַרְבֹתֵיהֶ֛ם, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 131: and·I·set, and·I·set. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "from·lowest·parts" (מִֽתַּחְתְּי֧וֹת), "to·the·place" (לַמָּק֛וֹם), "from·behind" (מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י). The root עמד appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·people" (root עם, 47x in Nehemiah); "to·the·wall" (root חומה, 32x in Nehemiah); "and·I·set" (root עמד, 31x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root רמח ("their·spears") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·open·places', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words.
Rashi
So I stationed from below...the wall When I heard their words, I stationed [mighty men] from below that place around Jerusalem, from behind the wall of the city and on the bare rocks. according to families of the people, of the mighty men among them with their weapons, to fight against our enemies when they would come. And I stationed from below, etc. and I stationed the people, etc. This verse follows the pattern of (Exod. 4:9): “...and the water that you will take from the river will be...will become blood on the dry land;” (Ps. 92:10): “For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, for behold, Your enemies shall perish;” (Jud. 5:12): “Praise! Praise! Deborah. Praise! Praise! Utter a song;” (Ps. 115:1): “Not to us, O Lord, not to us.”
Ibn Ezra
in the open places (ba-tzechichim) – like 'tzachiach sela' (a bare, wind-swept rock).
Metzudat David
'In the lowest parts of the space' — beneath the site of the construction, behind the wall, toward the outside. 'In the open places' — on the bare heights of the rocks. 'I even set [the people]' — he clarifies his words, meaning that he stationed the people there, each family on its own, with their swords, and so on, so that they would guard the builders.
Metzudat Zion
In the open places — on the tops of the rocks, a dry place; an expression from 'parched, thirsty' (Isaiah 5); similarly, 'upon the bare rock' (Ezekiel 24). Their spears — lances.
Malbim
Questions: (7-8) Why does it say 'and I set' twice? And what is [the meaning of] 'and I looked' — what did he see? 'Therefore I set' — since Nehemiah knew for certain, through the Jews who served as scouts, the exact place from which the enemies would fall upon them, he therefore stationed [men] in the lowest parts of that place, the very spot destined for the enemies' approach. 'Behind the wall' — there he stationed men of war, to sit in hidden ambush behind the wall, concealed in the bare rocks [tzechichim, as in 'tzechiach sela,' a bare rock] beneath the boulders, so that when the enemies came, they would shoot at them from the ambush. And also, 'I even set the people after their families' — he likewise stationed, at that same place, the people [at large], to stand openly against the enemy, divided by families, camp by camp; and all of them — both those lying in ambush behind the wall and the men of war [standing openly] — stood with their swords and their spears, ready for battle.
And I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people: ‘Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord, who is great and awful, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.’
verse value 5579
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 108 letters. The shortest word is "the·people" (הָעָ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·the·rulers" (וְאֶל־הַסְּגָנִים֙, 9 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·I·saw" (וָאֵ֣רֶא), "do·not·fear" (אַל־תִּֽירְא֖וּ), "Lord" (אֶת־אֲדֹנָ֞י). The root ירא appears 2 times in this verse. 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "your·sons" (root בן, 200x in Nehemiah); "and·I·said" (root אמר, 66x in Nehemiah); "and·your·houses" (root בית, 60x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root אשה ("your·wives") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·their·face', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 10 words.
Rashi
And I saw, and I arose And when I saw the enemies coming, I arose to speak to the nobles and to the prefects to spur them to fight against our enemy. for your brethren Heb. עַל אֲחֵיכֶם, for the sake of your brethren.
Ralbag
'The nobles' — the officers; he describes them in terms of whiteness because of their joy, just as he describes the sorrowful in terms of darkness, as in, 'Why go I mourning?' (Psalms 43:2), and, 'he shall not stand before mean men' (Proverbs 22:29).
Metzudat David
'And I looked' — I saw that it was good to rouse them and strengthen their hearts, so I arose and said to the nobles, and so on. 'Remember' — [that is,] to ask for help from Him. 'For your brethren' — for the sake of your brethren, and so on.
Malbim
'And I looked' — Nehemiah, who stood watch as a lookout, saw that the enemy was coming and approaching that place. 'And rose up, and said' — he then warned the people that the sword was coming, and told them not to be afraid, but rather to remember Hashem and fight.
And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work.
verse value 4449
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 75 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֔נוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·us" (לָ֔נוּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "as·that·heard" (כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־שָׁמְע֤וּ, 8 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "as·that·heard" (כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־שָׁמְע֤וּ), "that·was·known" (כִּי־נ֣וֹדַֽע), "and·frustrated" (וַיָּ֥פֶר). The root שוב appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלהים, 62x in Nehemiah); "and·it·came·to·pass" (root היה, 48x in Nehemiah); "man" (root איש, 44x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root איב ("our·enemies") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·counsel', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words.
Rashi
that it had become known to us that they were coming to fight against us. and we all returned We all returned from the place where we had gathered to meet the enemies, each one to his work in the building of the wall.
Ralbag
'And God had brought their counsel to nought' — meaning, that from then on they no longer intended to fight against us, and so we all returned to the wall; but we remained on guard against the enemies in the manner described afterward.
Metzudat David
'It was known to us' — that they wanted to come upon us suddenly, and we were on guard against them. 'And [God] had brought [their counsel] to nought' — for from that point on they did not come to fight, or to stop the building. 'That we returned' — after we heard that they had stopped coming, we returned to the wall to carry on the work.
Malbim
'And it came to pass' — and through this, our enemies heard that it had become known to us, for they found us all arrayed for battle; and thereby God frustrated their plan, and they turned back and did not begin to fight at all. Then, when we saw that the danger had passed, we all returned to the wall.
And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
verse value 5091
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 91 letters. The shortest word is "half·of" (חֲצִ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·coats·of·mail" (וְהַשִּׁרְיֹנִ֑ים, 8 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "my·servants" (נְעָרַי֮), "and·the·spears" (וְהָרְמָחִ֣ים), "the·shields" (הַמָּגִנִּ֔ים). The root חצי appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·day" (root יום, 61x in Nehemiah); "all·the·house·of" (root בית, 60x in Nehemiah); "doing" (root עשה, 55x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root נער ("my·servants") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·coats·of·mail', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 4 words.
Rashi
And it was from that day on And from that day on, half the mighty men worked at the building of the wall, and the remaining half of the mighty men were armed with weapons to guard their brethren who were doing the work. spears Heb. וְהָרְמָחִים. The “vav” is superfluous, like the “vav” of (Gen. 36: 24): “And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah (וְאַיָה) and Anah.” and the rulers were close behind the entire tribe of Judah to be cautious in the battle.
Ibn Ezra
And it came to pass from that time forth … and the spears (ve-ha-rmachim) – the vav is extra, or the word order is inverted, and it should properly read 'holding the shields and the spears'; or its meaning is 'and the spears were in their hands.'
Ralbag
'And half of them held ... the spears' — the vav [in 'and the spears'] is extra; the meaning is simply 'and half of them held the spears,' just as it says further on, 'and half of them holding the spears.' 'The shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah' — meaning, they already had men carrying the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail behind them, and the officers, too, were there, ready to fight if it should be necessary.
Metzudat David
'From that time forth' — [the day] on which we heard that the besiegers wanted to come against us to make war. 'Held' — grasping the spears, and so on, in their hands. 'Behind [all the house of Judah]' — they were continually walking behind the people, so as to be ready to fight should the enemy come.
Metzudat Zion
The spears — the vav [prefix] is extra. The coats of mail — this is like a garment made of iron, worn in battle to protect from the blow of sword and spear.
Malbim
Questions: (verses 16-21) In verse 17 it says that even those who were doing the work held weapons, but in verse 21 it says that half did the work and half held the spears? In verse 17 it says that the builders held the javelin in one hand, but in verse 18 it says that the builders' swords were girded on their loins? 'And it came to pass from that time forth' — it appears that at first the people still feared the enemy might return against them, and so they had not yet scattered each to his own place [for each family had been building in a different spot round about]; rather, all of them remained together in this one place, since that was where the danger was greater, once the enemy saw that this spot was a convenient one to fall upon them. So they all built in one place, and then they did not divide so that half the people did the work and half held weapons; rather, all of them held a weapon in one hand and did the work with the other [as stated in verses 17-18]. Only Nehemiah's own attendants and servants, who were mighty men, were divided: half of the attendants did the work and half held — meaning held the javelin. And he explains why Nehemiah's attendants alone were singled out in this, so that half of them did no work at all: because they had the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail — those who fought with spears had shields, and those who fought with bows had coats of mail, and it was not possible for them to work as well, for the spear-bearer held the spear in one hand and the shield in the other, and likewise the archers wore armor, and one cannot work while wearing scale armor — for they were mighty men, trained for battle with shield and armor in the manner of soldiers. 'And the rulers were behind all the house of Judah' — [meaning] that the rulers, too, and all the house of Judah, were all there behind him, that is, all of them gathered with Nehemiah and had not scattered to their own tasks; and since they were not trained for battle and had no shield or armor, nor bows — for they were not archers, which requires training — they therefore conducted themselves differently: all of them did the work with one hand and held the javelin with the other, to stab the enemy should he draw near. This is what the verse states.
Those who built the wall and those who bore burdens laded themselves, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other held his weapon;
verse value 3357
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "his·hand" (יָדוֹ֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·bearers" (וְהַנֹּשְׂאִ֥ים, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·the·bearers" (וְהַנֹּשְׂאִ֥ים), "in·the·burden" (בַּסֶּ֖בֶל), "loading" (עֹמְשִׂ֑ים). The root אחד appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "is·doing" (root עשה, 55x in Nehemiah); "holding" (root חזק, 43x in Nehemiah); "his·hand" (root יד, 39x in Nehemiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'loading', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: הַבּוֹנִ֧ים [the·builders] (113) + בַּחוֹמָ֛ה [in·the·wall] (61) + וְהַנֹּשְׂאִ֥ים [and·the·bearers] (412) + בַּסֶּ֖בֶל [in·the·burden] (94) + עֹמְשִׂ֑ים [loading] (460) + בְּאַחַ֤ת [in·one] (411) + יָדוֹ֙ [his·hand] (20) + עֹשֶׂ֣ה [is·doing] (375) + בַמְּלָאכָ֔ה [in·the·work] (98) + וְאַחַ֖ת [and·the·other] (415) + מַחֲזֶ֥קֶת [holding] (555) + הַשָּֽׁלַח [the·weapon] (343) = 3357.
Rashi
The builders of the wall, etc. Those who were building the wall and those who were loading and carrying the loads were working with one hand, and carrying weapons with the other. the sword Heb. הַשָּׁלַח, an implement of war, like (Job 33:18): “...from perishing by the sword (מֵעֲבֹר בַּשָּׁלַח). And so did Menahem associate it (Machbereth Menahem p. 174).
Ralbag
Those who bore burdens laded themselves — meaning, those who carried the loads that they placed as a burden on their shoulders; the sevel (carrying-pad) is like a small cushion on which they would place the load. His weapon (shelach) — this is the sword with which one strikes in battle; in the vernacular, an épée (sword).
Metzudat David
'Those who bore burdens' — those who carried loads; and for further clarification it repeats, 'laded themselves.' 'Held [his] weapon' — gripping the sword.
Metzudat Zion
Laded — like 'omsim' with a samech, an expression of loading a burden, as in 'and each man loaded [his burden] upon his donkey' (Genesis 44:13). His weapon — the sword, as in 'and he made weapons in abundance' (2 Chronicles 32).
Malbim
'Those who built the wall' — meaning, both those building the wall and those bearing burdens were equal in this respect. And he explains that those who bore burdens 'laded themselves': there is a difference between a masa (a burden) and a ma'amas (a laden burden) — a ma'amas is a burden that another places upon him, whereas a bearer (nosei) is one even when he carries the burden himself [as in Isaiah 46]. That is, they did not place the burden on their own shoulders themselves; rather, one would place the burden on his fellow's shoulder, and this is called being laded. And he explains the reason: because with one hand each did the work and the other held the javelin, so it was not possible to carry a burden on one's shoulder with only one free hand — each therefore had to be laded by his fellow onto his shoulder.
and the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he who sounded the horn was by me.
verse value 2989
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֥ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·builders" (וְהַ֨בּוֹנִ֔ים, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·the·builders" (וְהַ֨בּוֹנִ֔ים), "his·sword" (חַרְבּ֛וֹ), "girded" (אֲסוּרִ֥ים). The root בנה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 44x in Nehemiah); "and·the·builders" (root בנה, 27x in Nehemiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·building', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהַ֨בּוֹנִ֔ים [and·the·builders] (119) + אִ֥ישׁ [man] (311) + חַרְבּ֛וֹ [his·sword] (216) + אֲסוּרִ֥ים [girded] (317) + עַל־מׇתְנָ֖יו [upon·his·loins] (606) + וּבוֹנִ֑ים [and·building] (114) + וְהַתּוֹקֵ֥עַ [and·the·blower] (587) + בַּשּׁוֹפָ֖ר [in·the·horn] (588) + אֶצְלִֽי [beside·me] (131) = 2989.
Rashi
And the builders How were they building? They were all girded, each one with his sword on his waist, and thus did they build. beside me He was always beside me.
Ralbag
And he who sounded the horn was by me — so that he could sound the horn to gather the people to him whenever it was necessary.
Metzudat David
'Every one' — every man had his sword bound at his waist as he was building. 'He who sounded the horn' — the one skilled in blowing the shofar stood beside me.
Metzudat Zion
Girded — bound.
Malbim
'And the builders' — since it is not possible to build with one hand while holding a weapon in the other, each man had his sword girded on his side, and so they built; for the builder could draw his sword easily when the enemy came, unlike the burden-bearer, whom his burden would hinder from doing so — therefore the burden-bearers held the javelin in their hand [instead]. And there is a difference between a javelin (shelach) and a sword (cherev): the shelach is a sword sharpened on both its sides, used for stabbing, and it is not kept in a sheath but held in the hand like a spear. 'And he who sounded the horn was by me' — [Nehemiah kept the trumpeter] close by him, so as to be ready to give the signals of war when needed.
And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people: ‘The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another;
verse value 3451
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 77 letters. The shortest word is "the·people" (הָעָ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·the·rulers" (וְאֶל־הַסְּגָנִים֙, 9 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·broad" (וּרְחָבָ֑ה), "separated" (נִפְרָדִים֙), "upon·the·wall" (עַל־הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·I·said" (root אמר, 66x in Nehemiah); "the·people" (root עם, 47x in Nehemiah); "man" (root איש, 44x in Nehemiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·broad', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: וָאֹמַ֞ר [and·I·said] (247) + אֶל־הַחֹרִ֤ים [to·the·nobles] (294) + וְאֶל־הַסְּגָנִים֙ [and·to·the·rulers] (205) + וְאֶל־יֶ֣תֶר [and·to·the·rest·of] (647) + הָעָ֔ם [the·people] (115) + הַמְּלָאכָ֥ה [the·work] (101) + הַרְבֵּ֖ה [great] (212) + וּרְחָבָ֑ה [and·broad] (221) + וַאֲנַ֗חְנוּ [and·we] (121) + נִפְרָדִים֙ [separated] (384) + עַל־הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה [upon·the·wall] (164) + רְחוֹקִ֖ים [far] (364) + אִ֥ישׁ [man] (311) + מֵאָחִֽיו [from·his·brother] (65) = 3451.
Rashi
much Heb. הַרְבֵּה, a great [amount of work].
Metzudat David
'Great and large' — meaning, spread over many places. 'Far from another' — so that no one can see his fellow, nor even hear his voice.
Metzudat Zion
Separated — scattered.
Malbim
'And I said' — this was the practice at first; but afterward, when they saw that the enemy had gone back to his own place and was not returning against them, the great fear subsided, and they then began to go each man to his own place, where he was building in the portion he had taken upon himself to build on the wall. Then he said to them: since the work was great and extensive, and each therefore had to work in a different place — for if they were all in one place the work would not be completed — we are separated along the wall, each man at his place of work, and we will henceforth be far from one another; therefore I command you: first, that in the place where you hear the sound of the horn, there you shall gather to us; and this is the second [instruction] — that from now on...
in what place soever you hear the sound of the horn, resort there to us; our God will fight for us.’
verse value 3949
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 49 letters. Notable word values: "for·us" (לָֽנוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "that" (אֲשֶׁ֤ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "our·God" (אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "in·the·place" (בִּמְק֗וֹם), "you·shall·hear" (תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙), "the·sound·of" (אֶת־ק֣וֹל). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 66x in Nehemiah); "our·God" (root אלהים, 62x in Nehemiah); "you·shall·hear" (root שמע, 29x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root קול ("the·sound·of") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: בִּמְק֗וֹם [in·the·place] (188) + אֲשֶׁ֤ר [that] (501) + תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ [you·shall·hear] (816) + אֶת־ק֣וֹל [the·sound·of] (537) + הַשּׁוֹפָ֔ר [the·horn] (591) + שָׁ֖מָּה [there] (345) + תִּקָּבְצ֣וּ [you·shall·gather] (598) + אֵלֵ֑ינוּ [to·us] (97) + אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ [our·God] (102) + יִלָּ֥חֶם [will·fight] (88) + לָֽנוּ [for·us] (86) = 3949.
Rashi
will fight for us [as translated,] will fight for us.
Metzudat David
'Resort there [to us]' — and we will become one united band, to fight against the approaching enemy. 'For us' — on our behalf.
So we wrought in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
verse value 3035
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "holding" (מַחֲזִיקִים֙, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "in·the·spears" (בָּֽרְמָחִ֔ים), "from·the·rise·of" (מֵעֲל֣וֹת), "the·dawn" (הַשַּׁ֔חַר). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "doing" (root עשה, 55x in Nehemiah); "holding" (root חזק, 43x in Nehemiah); "in·the·work" (root מלאכה, 22x in Nehemiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·work', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַאֲנַ֖חְנוּ [and·we] (121) + עֹשִׂ֣ים [doing] (420) + בַּמְּלָאכָ֑ה [in·the·work] (98) + וְחֶצְיָ֗ם [and·their·half] (154) + מַחֲזִיקִים֙ [holding] (215) + בָּֽרְמָחִ֔ים [in·the·spears] (300) + מֵעֲל֣וֹת [from·the·rise·of] (546) + הַשַּׁ֔חַר [the·dawn] (513) + עַ֖ד [until] (74) + צֵ֥את [the·going·out·of] (491) + הַכּוֹכָבִֽים [the·stars] (103) = 3035.
Ralbag
From the rising of the morning till the stars appeared — because of the great urgency that pressed upon the work, they labored from the rising of the morning until the stars came out. He then mentions that this whole span of time is called "day," saying, "in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day." This is so because the sun's distinguishing property is that it is the star whose light outshines all the other stars; and since this is so, and it is clear that the sun is the cause of day, it follows that whenever its light grows strong enough to hide the stars, that time is rightly called day. Now even at the rising of the morning it is called day, even though the stars are still visible, because that light — although it comes from the sun — is steadily growing stronger; and moreover, a person then moves from darkness into light, and so he is better able to see things clearly than he is at the corresponding point at the start of the night, when there is still some remaining sunlight in the west. This is quite evident. And "the stars coming out" refers to when three stars can be seen, as we explained in the general principles that we set forth as an introduction to the explanation of the Torah. And from this we learn that this whole span of time can be called "day," except that "day," in its essential and primary sense, refers to the time when the sun stands over the land.
Metzudat David
'So we [wrought]' — he resumes his account and says that we did not abandon the work. 'And half of them' — half of the people, or half of his attendants. 'Held' — they were grasping the spears, to guard the builders.
Metzudat Zion
The morning [dawn] — this is the light that glimmers at the eastern edge before the sun is revealed.
Malbim
'So we' — not all of them did the work, only half; and half held the spears, to go about the whole city on guard. For since the people were [now] scattered and separated, there was no benefit in having those doing the work also hold their weapons, since without that, a few men in one place could not fight in any case; rather, [half] did the work as usual, while the other half stood packed together on guard with spears, to stand against the enemy.
Likewise at the same time I said to the people: ‘Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day.’
verse value 4026
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "also" (גַּ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·they·shall·be·to·us" (וְהָֽיוּ־לָ֧נוּ, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "at·the·time" (בָּעֵ֤ת), "I·said" (אָמַ֣רְתִּי), "and·his·servant" (וְנַעֲר֔וֹ). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·said" (root אמר, 66x in Nehemiah); "and·the·day" (root יום, 61x in Nehemiah); "and·they·shall·be·to·us" (root היה, 48x in Nehemiah). First appearance of the root עת ("at·the·time") in Nehemiah. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jerusalem', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
Let each man and his youth each of the builders and a youth with him. lodge in the midst of Jerusalem And the night was for their watch, and [during] the day they were doing work. The result was that they did not sleep at all.
Ralbag
In the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor in the day — meaning, at night they served as a guard for us against the enemies, and by day they did the work of the wall.
Metzudat David
'At the same time' — before the building of the wall had been completed. 'To the people' — those who were from the towns of Judah. 'Within Jerusalem' — to guard against the enemy, lest he come. 'A guard' — engaged in guard duty. '[May] labor' — engaged in the work.
Malbim
'That they may be a guard to us' — at night [we had] a guard, and by day [we had] work.
So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard that followed me, none of us put off our clothes, every one who went to the water had his weapon.
verse value 3601
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 63 letters. Verse gematria: 3601 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "I" (אֲנִ֜י, 3 letters) and the longest is "not·we" (אֵין־אֲנַ֥חְנוּ, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Nehemiah. Unique to this verse in Nehemiah (hapax): "and·men·of" (וְאַנְשֵׁ֤י), "the·guard" (הַמִּשְׁמָר֙), "not·we" (אֵין־אֲנַ֥חְנוּ). The root אין appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 66x in Nehemiah); "and·men·of" (root איש, 44x in Nehemiah); "after·me" (root אחר, 29x in Nehemiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'our·garments', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאֵ֨ין [and·there·was·not] (67) + אֲנִ֜י [I] (61) + וְאַחַ֣י [and·my·brothers] (25) + וּנְעָרַ֗י [and·my·servants] (336) + וְאַנְשֵׁ֤י [and·men·of] (367) + הַמִּשְׁמָר֙ [the·guard] (585) + אֲשֶׁ֣ר [that] (501) + אַחֲרַ֔י [after·me] (219) + אֵין־אֲנַ֥חְנוּ [not·we] (176) + פֹשְׁטִ֖ים [stripping] (439) + בְּגָדֵ֑ינוּ [our·garments] (75) + אִ֖ישׁ [man] (311) + שִׁלְח֥וֹ [his·weapon] (344) + הַמָּֽיִם [the·water] (95) = 3601.
Rashi
we did not take off our clothes We were always zealous in guarding. man took it even to the water This refers back to “not” above, like (I Sam. 2:3): “...let not arrogance come out of your mouth.” None of us would take off his clothes to lie down or to wash them with water, and this is a double expression, [repeating,] we did not undress. took it off Heb. שִּׁלְחוֹ, taking off, like (Lev. 6: 4): “He shall then take off his garments,” which is translated by Targum as וְיִשְּׁלַח.
Ibn Ezra
every one who went to the water had his weapon (ish shilcho) – his sword; the meaning is that they would not remove their clothes, nor would they lay down their weapons, for when they went to the feast at night, their weapons were in their hands. Some say the word is related to the Targum's rendering of 'vehifshit' as 'veyishlach' (he stripped it off). and the meaning of 'shilcho' – his stripping off his clothes; thus the sense of the verse is: we did not remove our clothes, except for a man who needed to wash and purify himself – he alone would remove his clothes; this is the meaning of 'shilcho hamayim' (his stripping himself for the water), and this is quite correct. the guard … work (mishmar, melachah) – the prefixed lamed of purpose is missing; it should properly read 'for the guard, for the work.'
Ralbag
Every one who went to the water had his weapon — meaning, "shilcho" here means the stripping off of his garments, and the intent is that each man's stripping off of his garments was for going to the water, whether to cross through the water or to wash the sweat from his garments. Or, alternatively, the intent is that even when we crossed through the water, each of us kept his shelach with him, that is, his sword.
Metzudat David
'Nor my brethren' — my companions. 'That followed me' — those who followed after me and obeyed me. 'Put off our clothes' — to lie down unclothed; and all this out of fear of the enemy. 'Every one ... had his weapon' [lit. 'his weapon, the water'] — meaning, except for the man whom the water stripped, that is, one who needed to purify himself by immersion; he alone removed his clothing, and it is as though the water had stripped him.
Metzudat Zion
Put off — an expression of removal, as in 'and he shall take off his garments' (Leviticus 6:4); the Targum [renders it] 've-shalach.'
Malbim
'None of us put off our clothes' — the word 'none' (ein) is repeated so as to carry the sentence forward: '[none of us] put off [our clothes, at night]'; '[none of] a man sent his [garment] to the water' — meaning no man sent [his garment] to the water, that is, they did not send it by the hand of a launderer to be washed in water.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim