NOTES for Неем 11:1-36
We find it strange that lots had to be cast to determine who would live in the capital, not because the number of those wishing to settle there had to be limited, but quite the opposite: because the once prosperous city could not be repopulated. Yet that was precisely the case, and not only because life in the barely rebuilt Jerusalem had only just begun to return to normal. Nor was it likely only because, of all the cities of Judah, Jerusalem was the principal target of possible enemy invasions. Even in ruins, Jerusalem remained the guardian of the holy place, the city of the house of God; yet drawing near to the holy place is not easy, for beside it the awareness of one’s own impurity is very often heightened. And that is so uncomfortable...
But the city must be reborn precisely because it is destined to be the guardian of the temple. A tenth of the people move to Jerusalem, and this number recalls the tithe offered for the temple. This is hardly a coincidence, just as it is no coincidence that among those who moved we see people from every class of the population. The whole people is called to serve God and therefore sets apart representatives from its midst for service in Jerusalem.