Nehemiah had localized his question as referring to Jerusalem (be it the city, be it its inhabitants). With the inclusion of the word there
Nehemiah’s respondents indicate that their answer refers not to survivors they have met, say, while en route to Susa, but concerns the people back home—in the province
of Judah. That’s where, according to the prophets, the remnant would again flourish (Isaiah 37:31–32).
3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”