Neh 13:1-21 - Commentary

Commentary

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Text -- Nehemiah 13:1-21 (NET)

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Context

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God, 13:2 for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.) 13:3 When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry. 13:4 But prior to this time, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been appointed over the storerooms of the temple of our God. 13:5 He made for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been keeping the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gate keepers, and the offering for the priests. 13:6 During all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After some time I had requested leave of the king, 13:7 and I returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the temple of God. 13:8 I was very upset, and I threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the storeroom. 13:9 Then I gave instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I brought back the equipment of the temple of God, along with the grain offering and the incense. 13:10 I also discovered that the grain offerings for the Levites had not been provided, and that as a result the Levites and the singers who performed this work had all gone off to their fields. 13:11 So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions. 13:12 Then all of Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms. 13:13 I gave instructions that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant, for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues. 13:14 Please remember me for this, O my God, and do not wipe out the kindness that I have done for the temple of my God and for its services! 13:15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day that they sold these provisions. 13:16 The people from Tyre who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah– and in Jerusalem, of all places! 13:17 So I registered a complaint with the nobles of Judah, saying to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 13:18 Isn’t this the way your ancestors acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!” 13:19 When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day. 13:20 The traders and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. 13:21 But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath.

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Cross Reference (TSK)

ITL

Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:

· Ammonite the tribe/nation of people descended from Ben-Ammi, Lot's son,Territory of the tribe/nation of Ammon

· Artaxerxes a man who usurped the Persian throne 552-551BC (ZD74),a Persian king who must have reigned before 516BC (ZD74),King of Persia about 460-440BC (ZD74)

· Babylon a country of Babylon in lower Mesopotamia

· Balaam the son of Beor,son of Beor of Pethor on the Euphrates River

· Eliashib chief of a division of priests serving in David's sanctuary,son of Eli-O-Enai, (Hananiah Zerubbabel David),high priest in the days of Nehemiah,a Levite singer who agreed to put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Zattu clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Bani clan who put away his heathen wife,a chief priest; son of Joiakim

· Hanan son of Shashak of Benjamin,son of Azel of Benjamin,son of Maacah; one of David's military elite,a Levite; head of a group of temple servants in Ezra's time,a Levite who helped Ezra explain the reading of the law,son of Henadad, a Levite who signed the pledge to obey the law,an Israelite chief who signed the covenant to keep God's law,a man of God who had a room in the temple; son of Igdaliah

· Israel a citizen of Israel.,a member of the nation of Israel

· Jerusalem the capital city of Israel,a town; the capital of Israel near the southern border of Benjamin

· Judah the son of Jacob and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,a tribe, the land/country,a son of Joseph; the father of Simeon; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Jacob/Israel and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,the tribe of Judah,citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah,citizens of the Persian Province of Judah; the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile,"house of Judah", a phrase which highlights the political leadership of the tribe of Judah,"king of Judah", a phrase which relates to the southern kingdom of Judah,"kings of Judah", a phrase relating to the southern kingdom of Judah,"princes of Judah", a phrase relating to the kingdom of Judah,the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah, and also the extended territory of the southern kingdom of Judah,the Province of Judah under Persian rule,"hill country of Judah", the relatively cool and green central highlands of the territory of Judah,"the cities of Judah",the language of the Jews; Hebrew,head of a family of Levites who returned from Exile,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a man who was second in command of Jerusalem; son of Hassenuah of Benjamin,a Levite in charge of the songs of thanksgiving in Nehemiah's time,a leader who helped dedicate Nehemiah's wall,a Levite musician who helped Zechariah of Asaph dedicate Nehemiah's wall

· Levites relating to Levi and the priesthood given to him,a tribal name describing people and ceremonies as sacred

· Mattaniah son and secondary successor of King Josiah,son of Mica/Micaiah; a Levite of Asaph,son of Heman the Levite and worship leader under Heman & David,an Asaph Levite supervisor of temple restoration of Hezekiah's,a layman of the Elam Clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Zattu Clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Pahath-Moab Clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Bani Clan who put away his heathen wife,ancestor of Hanan, assistant treasurer under Nehemiah

· Moabite a female descendant of Moab

· Moses a son of Amram; the Levite who led Israel out of Egypt and gave them The Law of Moses,a Levite who led Israel out of Egypt and gave them the law

· Pedaiah a man of Rumah; father of Zebidah, the mother of King Jehoiakim,son of King Jehoiachin,a man of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Saul and David's time,a man who helped rebuild the wall of Jerusalem; son of Parosh,a man who stood with Ezra when he read the law to the assembly,son of Kolaiah of Benjamin; a returned exile

· Shelemiah a Levite who had charge of the east gate in David's time,a layman of the Binnui Clan who put away his heathen wife,father of Hananiah who repaired part of the wall of Jerusalem,a priestly treasurer over the storehouses under Nehemiah,son of Cushi in Jehoiakim's time; grandfather of Jehudi,son of Abdeel; an officer of King Jehoiakim of Judah,father of Jehucal, messenger of King Zedekiah to Jeremiah,son of Hananiah; father of Irijah, Zedekiah's sentry

· Tobiah head of a clan of returnees lacking proof of being Israelites,the Ammonite servant who helped Sanballat oppose Nehemiah

· Tyre a resident of the town of Tyre

· Zaccur father of Shammua, the Reubenite who spied in Canaan,son of Hammuel of the tribe of Simeon,a Levite of the clan of Merari,son of Asaph (Shimei Gershom Levi),a leader among the Bigvai Clan who returned from exile,son of Imri; one who helped rebuild the wall of Jerusalem,son of Henadad, a Levite who contracted to obey the law,son of Mattaniah; father of Hanan, assistant treasurer

· Zadok a son of Azor; the father of Akim; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Ahitub II; high priest Zadok I in David's time,father of Jerusha, who was the mother of King Jotham,the chief priest Zadok II; son of Meraioth II,a man who was one of David's military elite from Aaron's clan,son of Baana; one of those who helped rebuild the wall,son of Immer; one of those who helped rebuild the wall,an Israelite chief who signed the covenant to keep God's law,a Levite who served as Nehemiah's scribe

Table of Contents

Verse Notes / Footnotes NET Notes

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Neh 13:1 Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

NET Notes: Neh 13:2 Heb “bread.” The Hebrew term is generic here, however, referring to more than bread alone.

NET Notes: Neh 13:4 The translation reads the plural rather than the singular of the MT.

NET Notes: Neh 13:5 Heb “giving.”

NET Notes: Neh 13:6 Heb “to the end of days.”

NET Notes: Neh 13:9 On the usage of this Hebrew word see HALOT 478-79 s.v. כְּלִי.

NET Notes: Neh 13:11 Heb “and I stood them on their standing.”

NET Notes: Neh 13:13 Heb “brothers.”

NET Notes: Neh 13:16 The words “of all places” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to indicate the emphasis on Jerusalem.

NET Notes: Neh 13:18 Heb “your fathers.”

NET Notes: Neh 13:19 Heb “caused to stand.”

NET Notes: Neh 13:21 This statement contains a great deal of restrained humor. The author clearly takes pleasure in the effectiveness of the measures that he had enacted.

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