Nehemiah 12:22

12:22 As for the Levites, ¹  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.

Nehemiah 12:1

The Priests and the Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem

12:1 These are the priests and Levites who returned ²  with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

Nehemiah 9:33-34

9:33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully. ³  It is we who have been in the wrong! 9:34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them.

Nehemiah 1:1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1:1 ⁴ These are the words of Nehemiah ⁵  son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ⁶  I was in Susa ⁷  the citadel.

Nehemiah 1:6

1:6 may your ear be attentive and your eyes be open to hear the prayer of your servant that I am praying to you today throughout both day and night on behalf of your servants the Israelites. I am confessing the sins of the Israelites that we have committed ⁸  against you – both I myself and my family ⁹  have sinned.

¹ tn Some scholars delete these words, regarding them as a later scribal addition to the text.

² tn Heb “who went up.”

³ tn Heb “you have done truth.”

⁴ sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.

⁵ sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nÿkhemyah) means “the LORD comforts.”

⁶ tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).

⁷ tn Heb “Shushan.”

⁸ tn Heb “have sinned.” For stylistic reasons – to avoid redundancy in English – this was translated as “committed.”

⁹ tn Heb “the house of my father.”