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Texts -- Nehemiah 12:1-43 (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 . 12:31 I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall , and I appointed two large choirs to give thanks . One was to proceed on the top of the wall southward toward the Dung Gate . 12:32 Going after them were Hoshaiah , half the leaders of Judah , 12:33 Azariah , Ezra , Meshullam , 12:34 Judah , Benjamin , Shemaiah , Jeremiah , 12:35 some of the priests with trumpets , Zechariah son of Jonathan , the son of Shemaiah , the son of Mattaniah , the son of Micaiah , the son of Zaccur , the son of Asaph , 12:36 and his colleagues – Shemaiah , Azarel , Milalai , Gilalai , Maai , Nethanel , Judah , and Hanani – with musical instruments of David the man of God . (Ezra the scribe led them.) 12:37 They went over the Fountain Gate and continued directly up the steps of the City of David on the ascent to the wall . They passed the house of David and continued on to the Water Gate toward the east . 12:38 The second choir was proceeding in the opposite direction. I followed them, along with half the people , on top of the wall , past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall , 12:39 over the Ephraim Gate , the Jeshanah Gate , the Fish Gate , the Tower of Hananel , and the Tower of the Hundred , to the Sheep Gate . They stopped at the Gate of the Guard . 12:40 Then the two choirs that gave thanks took their stations in the temple of God . I did also, along with half the officials with me, 12:41 and the priests – Eliakim , Maaseiah , Miniamin , Micaiah , Elioenai , Zechariah , and Hananiah , with their trumpets 12:42 and also Maaseiah , Shemaiah , Eleazar , Uzzi , Jehohanan , Malkijah , Elam , and Ezer . The choirs sang loudly under the direction of Jezrahiah . 12:43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced , for God had given them great joy . The women and children also rejoiced . The rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard from far away .

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)

  • God ordered that priests should announce His movement of the people by blowing two silver trumpets because the Israelites would not watch the cloud continuously. The blasts from the trumpets would reach the farthest tents in ...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The writer evidently chose, under divine inspiration, to open his book with genealogies to help his readers appreciate their heritage and to tie themselves to Adam, Abraham, and David in particular. Adam was important as the ...
  • Due to the ancient tradition that the same writer composed both parts of the book (chapters 1-6 and 7-10), many scholars believe Ezra produced all of it.5A passage in the Talmud credits Ezra with the authorship of Ezra-Nehemi...
  • The Assyrian government encouraged its residents to move to Israel and to settle there after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C. This was official government policy during the reigns of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon ...
  • 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...
  • "The first seven chapters of Nehemiah as well as 12:31-13:31 are written in the first person. This, as well as all or part of Neh 11 and the rest of Neh 12, constitutes what is called the Nehemiah Memoirs. As such it offers a...
  • Eliashib (v. 1) was evidently the grandson of Jeshua (12:10; Ezra 3:2). Construction was an act of consecration because this was a project that God had ordained.Archaeologists are currently studying the exact location of the ...
  • 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...
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  • When the exiles returned to the Promised Land, living in Jerusalem was not an attractive prospect because the city lay in ruins. However with the rebuilding of the temple and the walls the capital became a more desirable plac...
  • The priests and Levites were the most important people who returned from exile because they reestablished worship in the land. Verses 1-7 give the names of 22 leaders among them who had returned in 537 B.C. with Zerubbabel an...
  • One large choir mounted the city wall and walked around it counterclockwise, evidently beginning at the Valley Gate (vv. 31-37). Another choir mounted it, probably at the same place, and proceeded in a clockwise direction (vv...
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  • 31:38-39 In the future, Jerusalem would undergo rebuilding for the Lord. It would be built larger than it had been before its destruction by the Babylonians. The tower of Hananel was at the northeast corner of the city (Neh. ...
  • What Jeremiah had predicted for so long finally became a reality for Judah. There are four chapters in the Bible that record the fall of Jerusalem reflecting the importance of this event (39; 52; 2 Kings 25; 2 Chron. 36).39:1...
  • 5:29 Belshazzar kept his promise (v. 16) though Daniel's honors only lasted a few hours at most, typical of the honors of this world. The king's response is surprising. We might have expected him to execute Daniel for confron...
  • 1:7 In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Hab. 2:20)."This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of oppositi...
  • 1:1 Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel and Joshua through the prophet Haggai, though it went to all the Israelites too (vv. 2, 4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led...
  • The title of this book comes from its traditional writer, as is true of all the prophetical books of the Old Testament. The name "Zechariah"(lit. Yahweh remembers) was a common one among the Israelites identifying as many as ...
  • Zechariah's inspired preaching began in the eighth month of 520 B.C. (1:1). His eight night visions followed three months later in 520 B.C. (1:7), when he was a young man (2:4). He delivered the messages in chapters 7-8 in 51...
  • Zechariah began ministering among the Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon (i.e., the restoration community) two months after Haggai began preaching (1:1; 7:1; cf. Neh. 12:10-16; Hag. 1:1). In a sense, Zechariah's ...
  • That this pericope introduces the whole book seems clear since verse 7 introduces the eight night visions that follow it (1:7-6:8). Its content is also foundational to all that follows."It strikes the keynote of the entire bo...
  • "Haggai and Zechariah . . . are noteworthy for the chronological precision with which they related their lives and ministries to their historical milieu. This is not the case at all with Malachi. In fact, one of the major pro...
  • This third sign in John's Gospel signaled Jesus' identity and created controversy that followed. Particularly it testified to Jesus' authority over time.2095:1 Some time later Jesus returned to Jerusalem to celebrate one of t...
  • Paul continued the emphasis he began in the previous section (vv. 3-10) by appealing to Timothy to pursue spiritual rather than physical goals in his life. He seems to have intended his instructions for all the faithful Ephes...
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