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NETHINIM

(Heb. nĕṯînîm)

A class of temple servants (lit., “given ones”; cf. Ezra 8:20). Apart from 1 Chr. 9:2 (= Neh. 11:3), they are mentioned only in Ezra and Nehemiah. Modern translations translate “temple servants” or “temple slaves.”

The Nethinim are listed with four other groups in what is possibly a descending order of status: priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants (Ezra 2:70; 7:7; Neh. 10:28) — all exempt from taxes (Ezra 7:24).

The foreign names in the lists (cf. Ezra 2:43-58) plus the possibility that some of them may be descendants of prisoners of war have led to the conclusion that the Nethinim were probably of foreign origin. Some scholars have compared them to the Gibeonites of Josh. 9:27. In 1 Esdr. 5:29 and Josephus Ant. 11:128 they are called “temple slaves” (Gk. hierodoúloi).

The Nethinim are listed among the 392 exiles who accompanied Zerubbabel to Jerusalem after the Exile. In Ezra 2:43-58 they are grouped with the “sons of Solomon’s servants,” perhaps a technical term for a class of temple workers. They had special quarters in the Ophel district of Jerusalem near the temple (Neh. 3:26, 31; 11:21). This may have been where they lived when they were on duty, since Ezra 2:70; Neh. 7:73 refer to cities in which they lived; it is possible, however, that the reference here is to the period before the rebuilding of the temple.

Larry L. Walker

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

NETHINIM

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)