OET interlinear NEH 1:2

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-names

חֲנָ֜נִי

Ḩānāni

This is the name of a man.

חֲנָ֜נִי אֶחָ֧ד

Ḩānāni one(ms)

The term brother is often used in this book, but here it most likely means that Hanani was Nehemiah’s biological brother.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ה֥וּא וַ⁠אֲנָשִׁ֖ים

he/it and,men

This was a delegation that had come from one Jewish community to visit another Jewish community in another part of the world. So it’s possible that it included women as well as men. Alternate translation: “along with some other people”

Note 3 topic: translate-names

מִֽ⁠יהוּדָ֑ה

from,Judah

Judah was formerly the southern kingdom of the Israelites. It was now a Persian province. Alternate translation: “the province of Judah”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

הַ⁠יְּהוּדִ֧ים הַ⁠פְּלֵיטָ֛ה אֲשֶֽׁר־נִשְׁאֲר֥וּ מִן־הַ⁠שֶּׁ֖בִי

the,Jews the,escaped that survived from/more_than the,captivity

These two phrases mean the same thing. Nehemiah uses them together for clarity to describe one particular group of people, and perhaps also to express his particular concern for them. You do not need to repeat both phrases in your translation if that would be confusing for your readers. Alternate translation: “the Jews who had escaped the exile”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

הַ⁠יְּהוּדִ֧ים הַ⁠פְּלֵיטָ֛ה אֲשֶֽׁר־נִשְׁאֲר֥וּ מִן־הַ⁠שֶּׁ֖בִי

the,Jews the,escaped that survived from/more_than the,captivity

These two phrases refer to the same group of people. This could mean: (1) the few Jews who were taken as exiles to Babylon but who later were able to return and live in Jerusalem or (2) the few Jews who had escaped from those who were trying to take them into exile in Babylon and so remained in Jerusalem. It is probably best to translate this in a way that can include both groups. Alternate translation: “the Jews who had escaped the exile and who remained in Jerusalem”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

הַ⁠שֶּׁ֖בִי

the,captivity

Captivity is an abstract noun that refers to the Jews being taken away from their homeland. Judah had been conquered by the Babylonians about 150 years before this. At that time, the Babylonians took many people away from Judah and relocated them to different parts of their empire. About 50 years later, the Persian Empire conquered Babylon and so the Babylonian empire became the Persian empire. The Jews who had been captured by Babylon now lived in Persia, although some had since returned to Judah. You can translate the idea of captivity with a phrase such as “the time when the Jews were taken away” or “the time when soldiers forced many Jews to go to Babylon”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם

and,about Yərūshālayim/(Jerusalem)

Jerusalem had been the capital city of the kingdom of Judah. Nehemiah was asking specifically about the physical condition of the buildings and walls in the city, in addition to asking about the welfare of the Jewish community in Judah. Alternate translation: “about the condition of Jerusalem”