Nehemiah 13:12-13

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 ¹  that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of ²  the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant, ³  for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues. ⁴ 

Nehemiah 13:1

Further Reforms by Nehemiah

13:1 On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing ⁵  of the people. They found ⁶  written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,

Nehemiah 9:26

9:26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law. ⁷  They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies.

Nehemiah 9:2

9:2 Those truly of Israelite descent ⁸  separated from all the foreigners, ⁹  standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors. ¹⁰ 

Nehemiah 1:11

1:11 Please, ¹¹  O Lord, listen attentively ¹²  to the prayer of your servant and to the prayer of your servants who take pleasure in showing respect ¹³  to your name. Grant your servant success today and show compassion to me ¹⁴  in the presence of this man.”

Now ¹⁵  I was cupbearer for the king.

Nehemiah 1:1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1:1 ¹⁶ These are the words of Nehemiah ¹⁷  son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ¹⁸  I was in Susa ¹⁹  the citadel.

[13:13]  ¹ tc Probably one should read with the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate וָאֲצַוֶּה (va’atsavveh, “and I commanded”) rather than the rare denominative verb וָאוֹצְרָה (va’otsÿrah, “and I appointed over the storeroom”) of the MT.

[13:13]  ² tn Heb “be over”

[13:13]  ³ tn Heb “on their hand.”

[13:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “brothers.”

[13:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “ears.”

[13:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “it was found.” The Hebrew verb is passive.

[9:26]  ⁷ tn Heb “they cast your law behind their backs.”

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “the seed of Israel.”

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “sons of a foreigner.”

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 9, 16, 23, 32, 34, 36).

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn The interjection אָנָּא (’anna’) is an emphatic term of entreaty: “please!” (BDB 58 s.v.; HALOT 69-70 s.v.). This term is normally reserved for pleas for mercy from God in life-and-death situations (2 Kgs 20:3 = Isa 38:3; Pss 116:4; 118:25; Jonah 1:14; 4:2) and for forgiveness of heinous sins that would result or have resulted in severe judgment from God (Exod 32:31; Dan 9:4; Neh 1:5, 11).

[1:11]  ¹² tn Heb “let your ear be attentive.”

[1:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “fear.”

[1:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “grant compassion.” The words “to me” are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style in English.

[1:11]  ¹⁵ tn The vav (ו) on וַאֲנִי (va’ani, “Now, I”) introduces a disjunctive parenthetical clause that provides background information to the reader.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ 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.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nÿkhemyah) means “the LORD comforts.”

[1:1]  ¹⁸ tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).

[1:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Shushan.”