Nehemiah 4:23

Biblia Hebrica Stuttgartensia (1967/77)

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

So neither I: Nehemiah 5:16, Nehemiah 7:2, Judges 9:48, 1 Corinthians 15:10

saving that: etc. or, every one went with his weapon for water, Judges 5:11, The original of this obscure clause is ish shilcho hammayim, which is rendered by Montanus, vir missile suum aquas, "a man his dart to the waters," of which it is difficult to make sense. It is wholly omitted by the LXX; and one of De Rossi's manuscripts reads, meshallachah al hammayim, "in order to send them to the water."

Reciprocal: Nehemiah 4:16 - my servants Joel 2:8 - sword

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So neither I, nor my brethren,.... The nobles and rulers:

nor my servants; his domestic servants that waited upon him:

nor the men of the guard which followed me; his bodyguard, which attended him as a commissioner of the king of Persia for state and grandeur:

none of us put off our clothes; at night when they laid themselves down to sleep, but laid in, them, that they might be ready upon an alarm made:

saving that everyone put them off for washing; not for common washing, because dirty, but for washing on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which required washing both of bodies and garments, see Leviticus 15:5, c. and the Vulgate Latin version expresses it by baptism, as the apostle calls such ceremonial ablutions in Hebrews 6:2. It is in the margin of our Bibles, "everyone went with his weapon for water" when he went to Siloam, or any other place, for water, he took a weapon with him to defend himself upon occasion; which is no bad sense of the words. Noldius g renders the words, "everyone with his weapon (and) water"; both were at his bolster, ready, if wanted, see

1 Samuel 26:11.

g Ebr. Concord. Partic. p. 322.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Saving ... - The text here is probably unsound. It yields no satisfactory sense. See the margin.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Nehemiah 4:23. None of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing. — The Hebrew for all this is only אין אנחנו פשטים בגדינו איש שלחו המים ein anachnu poshetim begadeynu ish shilcho hammayim; which Montanus translates, Non nos exuentes vestes nostras, vir missile suum aquas; "We, not putting off our garments, a man his dart to the waters." Of this latter clause what sense can be made? Let us hear what the ancient versions say.

The Vulgate, Unusquisque tantum nudabatur ad baptismum, "Every one stripped himself for the bath."

The Septuagint omit the latter part of this clause, And there was none of us who put off his garments.

The Syriac, "None of us put off his clothes for a month each in his turn.

The Arabic, "Nor did we put off our clothes, but with our arms, at the end of a month."

There is a remarkable reading in one of De Rossi's MSS. אין אנחנו פשטים בגדינו משלחהעל המים, We did not lay aside our garments, but in order to send them to the washing. This is most likely the sense of the place.

It is curious to see how our old versions translate the place.

Coverdale: We put never of our clothes, so much as to wash ourselves. - 1535.

Becke: We put never of our clothes, so muche as to washe ourselves. - 1549.

Cardmarden: We put never of oure clothes no more than the other dyd theyr harnesse, save onely bycause of the water. - 1566.

This shows how all interpreters have been puzzled with this vexatious clause.

THE reading from De Rossi's MS., given above, is the most likely to be the true one, because it gives a good sense, which cannot be found in the Hebrew text as it now stands. The general meaning is sufficiently evident; they worked nearly day and night, only had their hours by turns for repose; this did not permit them time sufficient to undress themselves in order to take regular sleep, therefore they only put off their clothes when they were obliged to get them washed.