The Tekoites were people from the town of Tekoa, which was located 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Jerusalem in the Judean wilderness.

Their nobles: The term used here for nobles is a different term from that used in Neh 2.16. It means those who were great or powerful and Good News Translation therefore translates “leading men.” Contemporary English Version says “town leaders.”

Did not bring their necks into the work: Figurative language is used to describe the refusal of the nobles to help with the project: “did not submit themselves to the service” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The figure is that of an ox refusing to be yoked to pull a heavy load. Some versions understand work here to mean not merely hard work but manual or menial labor (so Good News Translation). This suggests that the nobles were too arrogant or proud to do lowly tasks. New Jerusalem Bible interprets it as “would not demean themselves to help.” However, it is possible that the Tekoites lived in a region that could be easily attacked by Geshem and they did not want to leave it undefended to go to Jerusalem. Translators should follow the more common interpretation as reflected by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

The Hebrew word rendered as Lord by Revised Standard Version is plural in form and is understood to refer to God by Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version. It could also refer to the people who were assigning the work, or even to Nehemiah himself (so Revised English Bible has “governor”). Like Good News Translation, a number of versions translate it as “supervisors” (New International Version), and others say “masters” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “lords” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Bible en français courant renders the phrase, of their Lord, as “under the orders of those responsible for the work.” It is recommended that it be translated to refer to those supervising the work.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .