What Does Nehemiah 3:16 Mean?
After him Nehemiah son of Azbuk, ruler of the half-district of Beth-zur, strengthened, up to the place facing the graves of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty.THE KEY
The verse’s “repaired” carries the sense of strengthening and taking hold, so restoration makes a particular stretch firm.
THE MEANING
The verse places this work beside David’s tombs, David (דָּוִד, Dāwîd, “beloved”), a pool already made, and the house of the mighty. Repair joins memory, water, and strength along one bounded stretch.
THE ROOT
הֶחֱזִיק
heḥĕzîq
GROWS FROM
חזק
ḥāzaq
To be strong or grow firm; to strengthen, make firm, or take hold.
The Hebrew verb הֶחֱזִיק (heḥĕzîq, “he strengthened or held fast”) gives “repaired” the sense of taking hold of a weakened line and making it firm. The English word names the finished work; the root also lets you see the strengthening within it.
ALSO GROWS
ḥāzaq: Be strong, grow firm, prevail.
חָזַק
The idea of becoming firm is already inside the act translated “repaired.”
ḥizqû: Be strong; take courage (plural imperative).
חִזְקוּ
Psalm 31:24 opens with this form of the same root, carrying the language of firmness from a wall to the heart.
THE PATTERN
Repair strengthens a whole through a specific act of taking hold, whether the work is in a wall, a heart, or a community.
So we built the wall, and all the wall was tied together to half of it, for the people had heart to work.Hold fast, and let your heart be firm, all who wait for the LORD.Therefore, comfort one another and build one another up, just as you are already doing.THE THREAD
Hold fast, and let your heart be firm, all who wait for the LORD.The “Be of good courage” phrase uses חִזְקוּ (ḥizqû, “be strong; take courage”), from חזק (ḥāzaq, “be strong, strengthen”), the same root as Nehemiah’s “repaired.” The same seed reaches from a wall to the heart, revealing repair as a kind of strengthening.
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