One tenth – a tithe – of the people were assigned (by lots) to live in Jerusalem.

To see more 3D models of Jerusalem based on both the biblical text and archeology, click HERE. (They are really cool.)

We must keep in mind that there really isn’t an “Israel” anymore. They are not a free and independent kingdom. They are a little district within the Persian Empire.

Notice in both maps the town of Ono (Oh no…) where Sanballat wanted Nehemiah to meet with him. Waaaaay out there on the borderlands by Ashdod. A border-town called Ono does NOT have good vibes.

Here’s another map that shows the cities mentioned in this chapter. A few of the people even went to live in Idumea, the territory which was formerly Judah but now occupied by Edomites and a mixed race of Edomites and Jews who had stayed behind (v25-30).

Here’s an image that shows the “city limits” of Jerusalem before and after the exile within the walls of what is called “the Old City” today.

Jerusalem today on Google Maps. I’ve roughly outlined in red the area of Jerusalem inhabited in Nehemiah’s time. It’s about the size of what we might call a neighborhood.

In the image below, note the size of “The Old City” (outlined) compared to the sprawling city of Jerusalem today:

Imagine if Nehemiah could see THIS.

Nehemiah (which was most likely written and compiled by God’s favorite list-maker, Ezra) includes the names of several of the men who were allotted to live in Jerusalem. Among them are the ancestors of Joseph and Mary; who both descended from “the sons of Perez.” Perez was the son of the patriarch Judah; born out of that shady business in Genesis 38 where his daughter-in-law Tamar dressed as a prostitute to obtain children by him.

There were also Levites in Jerusalem who could trace their ancestry back to Asaph and Jeduthun; the men who had led worship at the tabernacle of David and the dedication of the first Temple.

That blows my mind- that these ancient people, through war and exile, managed to preserve and pass down their family records.

I was in conversation with a young woman yesterday who told me about her family history. She had a European ancestor who was forbidden by local church authorities to leave the country. So he escaped in the night, went to Germany for a time, changed his surname and ended up immigrating to colonial America. I shared with her some of the interesting folks I’ve discovered on my own family tree. We both marveled at how that information could be preserved over so much time and all of the upheaval of the intervening years.

Most of us today rely on the internet to track down our ancestors. Without it, we might only know back as far as our grandparents or great-grandparents. In general, modern people have completely lost the concept of passing down and honoring family history. Younger generations have taken to completely cutting off relatives they deem “toxic.” Their children don’t even know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins. It’s creating a whole segment of rootless population.

I’m not suggesting that a person should stay in a genuinely abusive situation. But there is a LOT of space between setting a boundary and stepping away from a genuinely abusive family relationship and being a wuss who labels every challenge “toxic” and runs away from it slamming all the doors and burning all the bridges behind them.

Let me just say, I’m quite confident there were “toxic” people in the Judah/Perez family tree. Perez was literally born out of an extremely toxic family situation. But they recorded their family history – the good, the bad, and the shockingly ugly – and they faithfully passed that history down to each generation. And reviewing that toxic, messed up history was what eventually led the returned-exiles to repent and get serious about obeying the LORD.

My oldest known ancestor was in England in the early 1300s. I find it astonishing that I can trace my linage back that far. That’s only about 700 years. These Judean men in Nehemiah chapter 11 could provably trace their ancestry back well over 1,200 years! Without the internet or newspapers, county courthouses, or bound books or the printing press! Entire empires fell and rose through that time. You couldn’t request a copy of a birth certificate from a state that no longer existed. It seems to me that we may be looking at something of a miracle here.

The Messiah HAD to be able to prove His descent from David and Judah and Abraham and Adam. Almighty God is preserving these documents by His power.

The 2nd time Jerusalem was destroyed and Israel exiled in 70AD, the records didn’t survive.

Of all of human history, the window of time for the Messiah to appear and fulfill the hundreds of prophecies concerning Him is getting smaller and smaller.

Through all of the conquering of the Greeks and Seleucids and then the Romans that will occur between the testaments, the LORD will keep these ancestors of His Messiah.