OET interlinear NEH 3:1

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וַ⁠יָּ֡קָם אֶלְיָשִׁיב֩ הַ⁠כֹּהֵ֨ן הַ⁠גָּד֜וֹל

and=he/it_rose_up ʼElyāshiyⱱ the=priest/officer the,high

This chapter records the names of the people who repaired the wall of Jerusalem, and it describes what parts of the wall they worked on. If it would be helpful in your language, you could say this explicitly at the start of the chapter. (In this book Nehemiah records everything he did to help the people of Judah, and he prays that God will remember him and bless him for what he did. We see in this chapter that he also wants God to remember and bless everyone else who helped.) Alternate translation: “These are the names of the people who helped to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. Now Eliashib the high priest rose up”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וַ⁠יָּ֡קָם

and=he/it_rose_up

As in 2:18, rise up here means to begin something. Alternate translation: “began to”

Note 3 topic: translate-names

אֶלְיָשִׁיב֩

ʼElyāshiyⱱ

This is the name of a man. It occurs about a dozen times in the book of Nehemiah. It will be helpful to your readers if you translate it consistently each time.

Note 4 topic: translate-unknown

הַ⁠כֹּהֵ֨ן הַ⁠גָּד֜וֹל

the=priest/officer the,high

This means that Eliashib was the leader of the priests who conducted worship in the temple and performed many other religious and community functions. Alternate translation: “the priest who was in charge in the temple”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠אֶחָ֣י⁠ו הַ⁠כֹּהֲנִ֗ים

and,fellow_of,his the,priests

Here, brother could mean Eliashib’s biological brothers, but more likely it refers to the rest of the priests. Alternate translation: “with his fellow priests”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וַ⁠יִּבְנוּ֙

and,rebuilt

It is clear from the context that they were not building something brand new. Rather, they were rebuilding the walls that had been knocked down. This expression occurs several times in this chapter. It would be helpful to your readers to translate it consistently. Alternate translation: “rebuilt.”

Note 7 topic: translate-names

אֶת־שַׁ֣עַר הַ⁠צֹּ֔אן

DOM gate_of the,sheep

This is the name of one of the gates of Jerusalem. Alternate translation: “the Sheep Gate”

Note 8 topic: translate-symaction

הֵ֣מָּה קִדְּשׁ֔וּ⁠הוּ

they(emph) consecrated,it

Consecrate means to set something apart for a special purpose. The Sheep Gate was the gate closest to the temple. By dedicating it to God, the priests were symbolically dedicating the entire wall to God. The rebuilt wall would define and protect the city of Jerusalem as the place from which God had chosen to start making himself famous throughout the world, as described in 1:9.

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

הֵ֣מָּה קִדְּשׁ֔וּ⁠הוּ

they(emph) consecrated,it

If it would be helpful to your readers, you could say explicitly that by dedicating the Sheep Gate to God, the priests were symbolically dedicating the entire wall to God. Alternate translation: “They dedicated this gate to God as a symbolic way of dedicating the entire wall.”

וַֽ⁠יַּעֲמִ֖ידוּ דַּלְתֹתָ֑י⁠ו

and,set_up doors_of,its

Its refers to the Sheep Gate. Erected means “set up” or “set in place.” This expression occurs several times in this chapter. It would be helpful to your readers to translate it consistently. Alternate translation: “set the doors in place.”

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠עַד־מִגְדַּ֤ל הַ⁠מֵּאָה֙ קִדְּשׁ֔וּ⁠הוּ עַ֖ד מִגְדַּ֥ל חֲנַנְאֵֽל

and=unto tower_of the,Hundred consecrated,it until tower_of Ḩₐnan\sup_ʼēl

In this record of people who helped rebuild the wall, Nehemiah is writing more of a list than a narrative, so he often leaves out one or more words that a sentence normally would have in order to be complete. This sentence seems to mean, “They rebuilt the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred, and beyond that to the Tower of Hananel. Then they dedicated that part of the wall to God as well.” You could say something like that if it would be helpful to your readers.

Note 11 topic: translate-names

מִגְדַּ֤ל הַ⁠מֵּאָה֙ & מִגְדַּ֥ל חֲנַנְאֵֽל

tower_of the,Hundred & tower_of Ḩₐnan\sup_ʼēl

These are the names of two of the towers on the Jerusalem wall. Alternate translation: “the Tower of the Hundred … the Tower of Hananel”

Note 12 topic: translate-unknown

מִגְדַּ֤ל הַ⁠מֵּאָה֙

tower_of the,Hundred

It is not clear why this tower had this name. The tower could have been 100 cubits high (about 150 feet or about 45 meters), or 100 soldiers may have been stationed there. Since the reason is unknown, it might be best just to call this the “Tower of the Hundred.” However, if it would be confusing to your readers not to explain the meaning of the number, you suggest one of these possibilities. Alternate translation: “The Tower of the Hundred Soldiers” or “The Hundred-Cubit Tower.”