Nehemiah 4:23

My brethren. Actual blood brothers are probably meant. That Nehemiah had brothers appears from ch. 1:2, and that one of them, Hanani, had accompanied him to Jerusalem is evident from ch. 7:2.

Put them off for washing. The meaning of the Hebrew expression thus translated is obscure. It reads literally, “each his weapon the water.” The KJV translation is taken from the Vulgate, which is here more of an interpretation than a translation. The LXX omits the statement altogether. The RSV reads, “each kept his weapon in his hand.”

Some have modified the last Hebrew word of the verse so that the statement would read, “each his weapon was in his right hand.” Others have tried to explain the Hebrew words as they stand by interpreting the passage to mean, “each man’s weapon was his water,” that is, the weapons were a substitute for water, or that a man’s only bath was his weapon. According to this interpretation, the passage is idiomatic, perhaps an expression used by soldiers to describe the rigors of a campaign. According to other proposed readings, the workmen did not remove their clothing, “either by night or by day,” or “everywhere went his weapon to the water.”

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