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Texts -- Nehemiah 12:1-30 (NET)

Context
The Priests and the Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem
12:1 These are the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua : Seraiah , Jeremiah , Ezra , 12:2 Amariah , Malluch , Hattush , 12:3 Shecaniah , Rehum , Meremoth , 12:4 Iddo , Ginnethon , Abijah , 12:5 Mijamin , Moadiah , Bilgah , 12:6 Shemaiah , Joiarib , Jedaiah , 12:7 Sallu , Amok , Hilkiah , and Jedaiah . These were the leaders of the priests and their colleagues in the days of Jeshua . 12:8 And the Levites : Jeshua , Binnui , Kadmiel , Sherebiah , Judah , and Mattaniah , who together with his colleagues was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving . 12:9 Bakbukiah and Unni , their colleagues , stood opposite them in the services . 12:10 Jeshua was the father of Joiakim , Joiakim was the father of Eliashib , Eliashib was the father of Joiada , 12:11 Joiada was the father of Jonathan , and Jonathan was the father of Jaddua . 12:12 In the days of Joiakim , these were the priests who were leaders of the families : of Seraiah , Meraiah ; of Jeremiah , Hananiah ; 12:13 of Ezra , Meshullam ; of Amariah , Jehohanan ; 12:14 of Malluch , Jonathan ; of Shecaniah , Joseph ; 12:15 of Harim , Adna ; of Meremoth , Helkai ; 12:16 of Iddo , Zechariah ; of Ginnethon , Meshullam ; 12:17 of Abijah , Zicri ; of Miniamin and of Moadiah , Piltai ; 12:18 of Bilgah , Shammua ; of Shemaiah , Jehonathan ; 12:19 of Joiarib , Mattenai ; of Jedaiah , Uzzi ; 12:20 of Sallu , Kallai ; of Amok , Eber ; 12:21 of Hilkiah , Hashabiah ; of Jedaiah , Nethanel . 12:22 As for the Levites , in the days of Eliashib , Joiada , Johanan and Jaddua the heads of families were recorded , as were the priests during the reign of Darius the Persian . 12:23 The descendants of Levi were recorded in the Book of the Chronicles as heads of families up to the days of Johanan son of Eliashib . 12:24 And the leaders of the Levites were Hashabiah , Sherebiah , Jeshua son of Kadmiel , and their colleagues , who stood opposite them to offer praise and thanks , one contingent corresponding to the other, as specified by David the man of God . 12:25 Mattaniah , Bakbukiah , Obadiah , Meshullam , Talmon , and Akkub were gatekeepers who were guarding the storerooms at the gates . 12:26 These all served in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua , the son of Jozadak , and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priestly scribe .
The Wall of Jerusalem is Dedicated
12:27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem , they sought out the Levites from all the places they lived to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication joyfully with songs of thanksgiving and songs accompanied by cymbals , harps , and lyres . 12:28 The singers were also assembled from the district around Jerusalem and from the settlements of the Netophathites 12:29 and from Beth Gilgal and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth , for the singers had built settlements for themselves around Jerusalem . 12:30 When the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people , the gates , and the wall .

Pericope

NET
  • Neh 12:1-26 -- The Priests and the Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem
  • Neh 12:27-47 -- The Wall of Jerusalem is Dedicated

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

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  • The use of the first person identifies the author as Nehemiah, the governor of the Persian province of Judah (1:1-2:20; 13:4-31). His name means "Yahweh has comforted."The mention of Darius the Persian in 12:22 probably refer...
  • The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
  • I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
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  • One writer viewed chapters 8-13 (really 7:73-13:37) as the third part of the tripartite structure of Ezra-Nehemiah. Ezra 1:1-4 deals with "potentiality,"the decree to the community to build God's house. Ezra 1:5--Nehemiah 7:7...
  • The names in verses 2-8 are those of the heads of 21 priestly families (cf. 12:12-21). Verses 9-13 record the names of 17 Levites. Then the writer gave the names of 44 heads of other leading families (vv. 14-27)....
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