Nehemiah 11:35 Meaning and Explanation
“Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Two of these towns turn up again in surprising places. Nehemiah was invited to a dangerous meeting in the plain of Ono and declined. Centuries later Peter came to Lod under its Greek name and a paralyzed man got up. A closing line in a settlement list opens onto a long stretch of biblical history.
The Benjamite list ends on the coastal plain with Lod and Ono, followed by a district called the valley of craftsmen. The last phrase names an area known for skilled trades and the workers who lived there.
The Context of Nehemiah 11:35
Verse 35 completes the roll of Benjamite settlements that began at verse 31 with Geba. The list has moved steadily westward from the hill country around Michmash and Bethel out toward the plain, and Lod and Ono lie farthest from Jerusalem of any town named here. Nehemiah 6 calls that district the plain of Ono. Verse 36 then closes the chapter with a brief note that divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin. Chapter 12 opens a fresh record of the priests and Levites who came up with Zerubbabel.
What Does Nehemiah 11:35 Mean?
The wording shifts at the end of the line. Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, Lod, and Ono all arrive as plain names, and then the verse adds a descriptive title: the valley of craftsmen. The Hebrew behind craftsmen covers workers in wood, stone, and metal, the artisans any settled community depends on. Naming a whole valley after them suggests a concentration of such trades in that stretch of country. The King James translators render the phrase as a description, and the effect is a list that ends by telling us what the people there did with their hands.
First Chronicles 8:12 credits the building of Ono and Lod to sons of Elpaal, a Benjamite family, so these towns had been Benjamin's for a long stretch before the exile. Their reappearance in this chapter shows old family territory reoccupied. The craftsmen note fits the moment as well. Nehemiah's Jerusalem had just been rebuilt by goldsmiths, apothecaries, and merchants working alongside priests, as chapter 3 records in detail. A province recovering from ruin needed people who could cut stone, hang doors, and forge tools. A valley full of such workers was a resource the whole community relied on.
Lod appears in the New Testament as Lydda. Acts 9 reports Peter coming down to the saints who dwelt there, finding Aeneas who had kept his bed eight years, and telling him that Jesus Christ makes him whole. The text says all who dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him and turned to the Lord. A town named in Nehemiah as a Benjamite address became a place where the risen Christ was made known through his apostle. The valley of craftsmen also invites a quieter thought, since the carpenter's trade is the one the Gospels attach to Jesus and to Joseph.
Nehemiah 11:35 in the Original Language
charashim (חָרָשִׁים), 'craftsmen' -- the plural of a Hebrew word for a skilled worker in wood, stone, or metal. Scripture uses it for engravers, carpenters, and smiths, and here it supplies the name of a whole valley.
Bible Verses Related to Nehemiah 11:35
“The sons of Elpaal; Eber, and Misham, and Shamed, who built Ono, and Lod, with the towns thereof:”
- 1 Chronicles 8:12
“That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.”
- Nehemiah 6:2
“And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.”
- Acts 9:32
“And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.”
- 1 Chronicles 4:14
Where Nehemiah 11:35 Echoes in Scripture
Acts 9:35 says that all who dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw the healed man and turned to the Lord. Lydda is the Greek form of the Lod named here. Nehemiah puts Benjamite families in that town after the exile, and roughly five centuries later the same town hears the gospel from Peter and responds in numbers. Scripture rarely announces such links out loud. They surface when we track a place name across the Testaments.
How to Apply Nehemiah 11:35 Today
Work done with the hands has a place in this list. A valley remembered for its craftsmen sits in the same sentence as towns remembered for kings and prophets. Scripture keeps giving honest labor its due, from the artisans of the tabernacle to a carpenter's son in Nazareth. We can bring the same seriousness to whatever we make or repair, treating skill as something to develop and offer. Communities need people who can fix what breaks. Learning a trade well, or supporting those who have, is a genuine contribution to the health of a place.
Reflection & Prayer
What can I do with my hands that would serve someone this week? Lord, you have honored builders and menders throughout your word. Bless the work I know how to do, however plain it seems, and let it be useful to the people near me. Give me patience to learn what I lack and gladness in doing ordinary things well. Amen.