THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH
Lesson 6: Chapters 11-13
Obedience to the Covenant
Holy Lord,
We, Your obedient children, recognize that when You call
us to Your divine service that You will give us all we need to succeed. Your
servant Nehemiah was a layman sent to physically and spiritually rebuild Your
holy city of Jerusalem. He was not timid in seeking to complete his mission
because he knew that You were with him to protect and guide him in the
decisions he made. He did not fear his many enemies but only feared to offend You.
Because of his steadfast obedience, You rewarded him with a successful mission,
and his only request was for You to recall not his struggles but to remember to
his credit his part in the spiritual restoration of Your holy city. Lord, help
each of us to follow Nehemiah’s example of faithful obedience so that we may,
at the end of our earthly lives, be able to make the same request to You to
remember how we contributed to the spiritual strength of Your Kingdom of the
Universal Church. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, Amen.
+ + +
Now when the
walls were finished, Nehemiah and the multitude offered sacrifices to God for
the building of them; and they continued feasting for eight days. However, when
the nations which dwelt in Syria heard that the building of the wall was finished,
they had indignation at it; but when Nehemiah saw that the city was thin of
people, he exhorted the priests and the Levites, that they would leave the
country, and remove themselves to the city, and there continue, and he built
them houses at his own expenses; and he commanded that part of the people who
were employed in cultivating the land, to bring the tithes of their fruits to
Jerusalem that the priests and Levites having whereof they might live
perpetually might not leave the divine worship who willing harkened to the constitutions
of Nehemiah by which means the city Jerusalem came to be fuller of people than it
was before.
Josephus, Antiquities
of the Jews, 11.5.8 [180-82]
The outline of chapters 11-13:
Resettlement of the Citizens of Judah (11:1-36)
Nehemiah 11:1-3 ~ Nehemiah’s Method of Repopulating Jerusalem
1 Now
the leaders of the people took up residence in Jerusalem; so the rest of the
people drew lots: one man in ten was to come and live in Jerusalem, the holy
city, while the other nine were to stay in the towns outside. 2 The people praised all those who
volunteered to live in Jerusalem. 3 In
the towns of Judah each man lived on his own property, but these are the
provincial leaders, the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, the temple slaves
and the descendants of Solomon’s slaves, who made their homes in Jerusalem:
Nehemiah’s memoirs resume only to be interrupted again at 11:3 by several lists. Nehemiah Chapter 11 has two different literary additions. Verses 1-2, 20, 25a, and 36 are included by the Chronicler using the Memoires of Nehemiah, but a later editor has inserted the lists of verses 4-19 and 25b-35 that he must have discovered among the documents in the Jerusalem achieves. He introduced them by the heading in verse 4 and added the notes of verses 21-24.
Despite its status as Yahweh’s “holy city” where His “name dwells” among His people, Jerusalem had not attracted re-settlement by the returned exiles because of the attacks and threats of destruction against the city by its Gentile neighbors (Neh 7:1-4). However, now that its protective walls and gates are in place, it is time to repopulate the city. Flavius Josephus wrote, “Nehemiah seeing that the city had a small population, urged the priests and Levites to leave the countryside and move to the city and remain there, for he had prepared houses for them at his own expense” (Antiquities of the Jews, 11.5.8).
Nehemiah accomplishes the re-settlement by a lot system. A “tithe” of a tenth of the returned exiles will live in Jerusalem (verse 1).1 Some citizens were selected by lot to live in the “holy city” (verse 1) while others volunteered (verse 2). The term “holy city” for Jerusalem appears for the first time in Isaiah 48:2 and is repeated in Isaiah 52:1 and Daniel 9:24. It is a title repeated in the post-exile period (see Neh 11:1, 18; Tob 13:9) and in the New Testament, especially in the Book of Revelation (Mt 4:5; 27:53; Rev 11:2; 21:2, 10; 22:19). Just as the Law prescribed that a tithe of the livestock and produce be offered to the Lord (Lev 27:30-33; cf Dt 14:22-29), a tithe of the population of the citizens of Judah is offered to Yahweh to populate His holy city that is the dedicated dwelling place for His Name (Dt 12:11-12; 1 Kng 11:36; 2 Kng 21:7; 2 Chron 6:6).
2 The
people praised all those who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
The Septuagint uses the word “blessed.”
The families who volunteered to live in Jerusalem were honored for being “willing
sacrifices” like those voluntary sacrifices offered to Yahweh on His altar of
sacrifice in the Temple.
Nehemiah 11:4-19 ~ The Jewish Population Resettled in Jerusalem
4 Of
the sons of Judah and the sons of Benjamin who made their homes in Jerusalem
there were: Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son
of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mehalalel, of the descendants of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah son of Baruch, son of Col-Hozeh,
son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, descendant of
Shelah. 6 The total number
of the descendants of Perez living in Jerusalem was four hundred and
sixty-eight outstanding people. 7 These
are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah,
son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, 8 and his brothers Gabbai and Sallai;
nine hundred and twenty-eight. 9 Joel
son of Zichri was their chief, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command
of the city. 10 Of
the priests there were Jedaiah son of Joiakim, son of 11 Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of
Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief of the
Temple of God, 12 and their
kinsmen who performed the Temple liturgy: eight hundred and twenty-two; Adaiah
son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur,
son of Malchijah, 13 and his
kinsfolk, heads of families: two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai son of
Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, 14 and his kinsfolk, outstanding people: one
hundred and twenty-eight. Their chief was Zabdiel son of
Haggadol. 15 Of
the Levites there were Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of
Hashabiah, son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai
and Jozabad, the levitical leaders responsible for work outside the Temple of God;
17 Mattaniah son of Mica, son
of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who led the praises and intoned the thanksgiving
associated with the prayer, Bakbukiah being his junior colleague; and Obadiah
son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. 18 The total number of Levites in the
holy city was two hundred and eighty-four. 19
The gatekeepers: Akkub, Talmon and their kinsmen, who kept watch
at the gates: one hundred and seventy-two.
Jerusalem was on the border between the territories of Benjamin and Judah but belonged to the tribal lands of Benjamin (Josh 27-28), and this may be the reason for the large number of Benjaminites who settled in the city. The list of names and occupations in 11:4-24 of those chosen to live in Jerusalem:
*none of the Benjaminite ancestor names are in the list of the clans of Benjamin in 1 Chronicles 7:6-11 or 8:33-40, but apparently these men were accepted as descendants of the tribe of Benjamin.
Among the returned exiles, only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin survived as the united covenant people from the original twelve tribes of Israel. All the other tribes have been scattered into the Gentile world with only a few Israelites from the other tribes returning to the religion of the Galilee where Jesus will establish the headquarters of His ministry (Mt 4:12-16; Mk 1:14-15; Lk 4:14).
Question: Who was the father of the tribe of Judah? See
Gen 29:35; 35:23; 46:12. Why was Judah called the “royal tribe”? See
Gen 49:9-11;
1 Sam 16:1-13;
2 Sam 7:8, 16;
Mt 1:1; and Rev 5:5.
Answer: The father of the tribe of Judah was Judah, the fourth son of Jacob-Israel
by his wife, Leah. The tribe of Judah was Israel’s royal tribe: the tribe of the
Davidic Kings and the promised hope of a Messianic redeemer which was realized
in Jesus of Nazareth, the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.”
Question: Who was the father of the tribe of Benjamin? See Gen 35:18 and
49:27-28.
Answer: Benjamin was Jacob-Israel’s twelfth son, the second born from his
wife Rachel and the father of the tribe of Benjamin.
Judah has five sons (1 Chron 2:3-8), but only three sons produced heirs to become the three main clans in the tribe of Judah: the Perezites, the Zerahites, and the Sheliamites. Benjamin had three sons whose descendants were the clans of Benjamin (1 Chron 7:6-11).
Question: Why was it that only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin constituted
the Southern Kingdom of Judah? See 1 Kng 11:43; 12:1-2, 20-24; 2 Chron 11:1-4.
Answer: After King Solomon of the United Kingdom of Israel died, the ten
northern tribes revolted against his son and elected their own king; only the
tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to the Davidic Kings and formed the
Southern Kingdom of Judah.
The list of names of Jerusalemite family leaders and clans of the clergy are from Nehemiah’s time, but another version appears in 1 Chronicles Chapter 9. The first group in 4b are descendants of Perez, one of the twin sons of Judah by Tamar (Gen 38:27-30; 1 Chr 2:4; 4:1), listed in Matthew genealogy of Joseph in Matthew 1:3 and Mary’s genealogy in Luke 3:34. In verse 5, Maaseiah is a descendant of Shelah, the third son of Judah by his first wife and the only surviving son other than Perez and Zerah (Gen 38:5; 46:12; 1 Chron 1:18; 2:3; 4:21). Shelah was the father of the Judahite clan of the Shelamites (Num 26:20). Members of all three clans of Perez, Zerah, and Shelah of Judah returned from the exile (for families of Zerah see 11:24).
From the tribe of Benjamin were the clans of Sallu and his brothers Gabbai and Sallai for a total of 928 Benjaminites (verses 7-8). 9 Joel son of Zichri was their chief, and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in command of the city. Joes was a Benjaminite who was the leader among the citizens who lived in Jerusalem and Judah son of Hassenuah is the second in command. A Benjaminite was probably recognized as the leading citizen because Jerusalem was in the ancestral tribal lands of Benjamin (Josh 18:28; 19:10).
10 Of the priests there were Jedaiah son of Joiakim, son of 11 Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the chief of the Temple of God, 12 and their kinsmen who performed the Temple liturgy: eight hundred and twenty-two; The priest Jedaiah was from the priestly line of Ahitub, a descendant of Aaron, the first high priest, through his third son, Eleazar, and the ancestral head of one or more of the family clans of priests (1 Chron 24:1-7) who received the appointment as the “chief of the Temple” or Superintendent and served permanently at the Temple under the authority of the reigning High Priest. 822 members of this priest clan served in the Temple liturgy of worship.
and Amashai son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, 14 and his kinsfolk, outstanding people: one hundred and twenty-eight. Their chief was Zabdiel son of Haggadol.
These priests were descendants of Aaron through his fourth son, Ithamar; however, they had trouble proving their priestly descent (Ezra 2:59; Neh 7:61); two of the sons of Immer had also married foreign women but agreed to send them away (Ezra 10:20). Zabdiel was appointed an overseer of priests.
15 Of
the Levites there were Shemaiah son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of
Hashabiah, son of Bunni; 16 Shabbethai
and Jozabad, the levitical leaders responsible for work outside the Temple of
God; 17 Mattaniah son of
Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who led the praises and intoned the
thanksgiving associated with the prayer, Bakbukiah being his junior colleague; and
Obadiah son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. 18 The total number of Levites in the
holy city was two hundred and eighty-four.
Among the Levitical lesser
ministers, verses 15-16 names three men responsible for any work not associated
with the outer and inner courts but work outside the Temple, whose leader was
Shemaiah son of Hasshub. In verse 17, Mattaniah led the praise and
thanksgiving prayers along with three colleagues. The total number of
Levitical lesser ministers in “the holy city” was 284.
Nehemiah 11:21-24 ~ Supplementary Notes
[see verse 20 below*]
21 The temple slaves lived
on Ophel; Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple slaves. 22 The official in charge of the Levites
in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of
Mica, of the sons of Asaph, who led the singing in the liturgy of the Temple of
God; 23 for the singers were
under royal orders, with regulations laying down what was required of them day
by day. 24 Petahiah
son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah son of Judah, was the king’s minister
for all matters connected with the people.
The editors of the NJB relocated verse 20 to the verses
of Chapter 11 that deal with the Jewish population outside Jerusalem.
21 The temple
slaves lived on Ophel; Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple slaves.
The Temple slaves/servants were the descendants of
Gentiles David liberated from the fierce Amalekites (1 Sam 30:20). The
liberated Gentiles developed a relationship with David and his heirs, with the best
of their fighting men serving as his bodyguard (2 Sam 8:18; 1 Kng 1:38; 1 Chron 18:17). Since they, and other Gentiles who converted and entered David’s service,
could not own land in Israel, David gave them and their descendants an occupation
that could support their families as servants in his palace and the Temple.
The Ophel is the southeastern ridge of Jerusalem and the site of the original City of David. Nehemiah repaired the walls of Ophel (Neh 3:26-27). Ziha and Gishpa were the family leaders of the Temple servants. Their families returned from the exile with Sheshbazzar and the first group of returnees (Ezra 2:43; Neh 7:46).
22 The
official in charge of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani, son of
Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, who led the
singing in the liturgy of the Temple of God; 23 for the singers were under royal orders, with
regulations laying down what was required of them day by day.
Uzzi was the official in charge of the Levitical choir
and a descendant of Asaph, a Levite from the time of King David. Like David, Asaph
wrote many of the Psalms (cf., Psalm 50, 73-83). David was not only a warrior-king
but also a poet and musician. Before David, there was no music to accompany
the liturgy of worship. David appointed Asaph to oversee the order of music in
worship, the “royal orders” in verse 23 (1 Chron 6:39), and he (or his son) sang
at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chron 9:15).
24 Petahiah
son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah son of Judah, was the king’s minister
for all matters connected with the people.
The sons of Zerah were the descendants of Judah from
Tamar’s son Zerah, the twin of Perez. This verse suggests Nehemiah has
returned to Persia and Petahiah was a Persian governor who served after Nehemiah.
Nehemiah 11:20, 25-35 ~ The Jewish Population Outside Jerusalem
20 The rest of
Israel, including the priests and Levites, made their homes throughout the
towns of Judah, each man on his own inheritance, 25 and in the villages near their lands. Some of the sons of Judah
made their homes in Kiriath-Arba and its dependencies, Dibon and its
dependencies, Jekabzeel and its dependencies, 26 Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-Pelet, 27 Hazar-Shual, Beersheba and its dependencies, 28 Ziklag, Meconah and its dependencies, 29 En-Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam and their villages, Lachish and its lands, and Azekah and its dependencies; thus, they settled from Beersheba as far as the Valley of Hinnom. 31 And some Benjaminites made their homes in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its dependencies, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35 Lod, Ono and the Valley of Craftsmen.
36 Some Levitical groups lived in Judah, some in Benjamin.
The NJB relocates verse 20 to this section of verses naming the towns and villages in Judah. In the list, “dependencies” refers to smaller villages under the control of the more populous communities.
The towns resettled in Judah:
thus, they settled from Beersheba as far as the Valley of Hinnom.
The people settled from Beersheba in the Negev (Negeb),
the southern part of Judah, northward to the Valley of Hinnom southwest of Jerusalem.
31 And some
Benjaminites made their homes in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its dependencies,
32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35Lod, Ono and the Valley of Craftsmen.
36Some Levitical groups lived in Judah, some in Benjamin.
Some of the Benjaminites settled in these towns in the tribal lands of Benjamin:
36 Some Levitical
groups lived in Judah, some in Benjamin.
The Levites and chief priests lived in both tribal lands
of Judah and Benjamin.
The Register of the Priests and Levites and the Dedication of the Wall (12:1-47)
Nehemiah 12:1-10 ~ Priests and Levites Who Returned
Under Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the Genealogical List of High Priests
1 These are the
priests and the Levites who came back with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and
Jeshua: 2 Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 3 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shecaniah, Rehum,
Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7
Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah; these were the heads of the priests and
their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua. 8 The
Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah; this last,
with his brothers, was in charge of the songs of praise, 9 while Bakbukiah and Unno, their colleagues,
formed the alternate choir to theirs. 10 Jeshua
fathered Joiakim, Joiakim fathered Eliashib, Eliashib fathered Joiada, 11 Joiada fathered Johanan, and Johanan
fathered Jaddua.
The Ezra in verse 2 is the head of a priestly family who returned from the exile in the first group with Zerubbabel and Jeshua and then became the first high priest after the exile.
9 while Bakbukiah and Unno, their colleagues,
formed the alternate choir to theirs.
The singing was antiphonal with two sections of the choir
standing opposite each other.
In 12:10-11, the inspired writer lists the high priests from 520 BC during the reign of Darius I to about 405 BC during the reign of Persian King Darius II.
*Jeshua in Hebrew is the same name as the Aramaic form of Joshua (see Hag 2:2, 4), and Joiakim is the shortened form of Jehoiakim. Josephus recorded that both Ezra and Joiakim died before Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 12:12-26 ~ Priests and Levites in the Time of
the High Priest Joiakim and Ezra
12In
the days of Joiakim the heads of the priestly families were: family of Seraiah,
Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Malluch, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meremoth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Minjamin, …; of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 and of Jojarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 In the time of Eliashib, Joiada,
Johanan and Jaddua, the heads of the families of priests were registered in the
Book of Chronicles, up to the reign of Darius the Persian.
23 The
Levites who were heads of families were registered in the Book of Chronicles up
to the time of Johanan, grandson of Eliashib.
24 The heads
of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, while their
brothers who formed an alternate choir for the hymns of praise and thanksgiving,
as David, man of God, had prescribed, section corresponding to section,
25 were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah and Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were
the gatekeepers guarding the stores at the gates.
26 These lived in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in
the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the
priest-scribe.*
The list of chief priests and Levites in 12:12-26 is during the time of Ezra’s mission to Judah when Joiakim was the high priest. Verse 13 names a priest called Ezra who was the head of a priestly family during the first return (Neh 12:1); he is not Ezra the priestly scribe who arrived to initiate religious reforms thirteen years before Nehemiah’s mission. *Nehemiah the governor and of…in verse 26 is a scribal addition. The verse should read 26 These lived in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Ezra the priest-scribe. According to Jewish priest/historian Flavius Josephus, Joiakim died after Ezra and before Nehemiah made his mission to Jerusalem; therefore, the link between Nehemiah and Ezra the priest-scribe and spiritual reformer from the Book of Ezra is in error (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 11.5.6 [158]). Jioakim’s son Eliashib was the High Priest during Nehemiah’s governorship (see Neh 3:1, 20; 12:22, 23; 13:4, 7, 28).
Nehemiah 12:27-43 ~ The Dedication of the Wall of
Jerusalem
27 At
the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sent for, wherever they
lived, to come to Jerusalem and joyfully perform the dedication with hymns of
thanksgiving and songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, lyres and harps. 28 Accordingly, the Levitical singers assembled
from the district round Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, 29 from Beth-Gilgal and from their
farms at Geba and Azmaveth—for the singers had built themselves villages all round
Jerusalem. 30 When the priests and
Levites had purified themselves, they then purified the people, the gates and
the wall. 31 I then made the
leaders of Judah come on to the top of the wall and appointed two large choirs.
One made its way along the top of the wall, to the right, towards the Dung
Gate; 32 bringing up the rear were
Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah, 33
and also Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34
Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah and Jeremiah, 35 of the priests, with trumpets; then Zechariah son of Jonathan,
son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph,
36 with his kinsmen, Shemaiah,
Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Juda, Hanani, with the musical
instruments of David, man of God. The scribe Ezra walked at their head.* 37 At the Fountain Gate they went straight on up
the steps of the City of David, along the top of the rampart by the stairway of
the wall, above the Palace of David as far as the Water Gate, on the east. 38 The other choir made its way to the left; I
and half the leaders of the people followed them along the top of the wall from
the Tower of the Furnaces to the Broad Wall, 39 from the Ephraim Gate, the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and
the Tower of the Hundred as far as the Sheep Gate, and they came to a halt at
the Prison Gate. 40 The two choirs
then took their places in the Temple of God. But I had half the magistrates
with me 41 as well as the priests,
Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah with the
trumpets, 42 and Maaseiah,
Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. The singers sang
loudly under the direction of Jezrahiah. 43 There were great sacrifices offered that day and
the people rejoiced, God having given them good cause for rejoicing; the women
and children rejoiced too, and the joy of Jerusalem could be heard from far
away.
* The scribe Ezra walked at their head is a
scribal addition. According to Josephus’ historical account of Ezra and
Nehemiah, Ezra had died by the time Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, and the High
Priest Joiakim died shortly afterward to be replaced by his son Eliashib as
high priest (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 11.5.6 [158]).
36b should probably read “Eliashib” (the High Priest) and not Ezra, “walked at
their head.” Ezra in verse 32 is another priest with the same name.
After the national assembly of repentance and covenant renewal, it was time to dedicate the rebuilt wall of the city of Jerusalem. Verse 27 describes the musical instruments used in the ceremony. Musical instruments like cymbals were part of court life and religious ceremonies (1 Chron 16:42; 25:1; 2 Chron 5:12; 29:25) as were harps (1 Sam 10:5; Ps 105:3) and lyres (1 Chron 15:16; Dan 3:5).
Verses 31-43 describe Nehemiah’s first-person account of the ceremony. The people observed two groups that started at the same place and processed along the walkway at the top of the wall in opposite directions. Each procession had a delegation of lay leaders or priests, and a Levitical choir and musicians with the vocalists in front and the instruments in the rear. Nehemiah was the leader of one group with the city’s administrative officials, and the High Priest, Eliashib (not Ezra), must have led the second group. Notice that Ezra the scribe is not named in the procession in 12:33-35.
with the musical instruments of David, man of God.
As mentioned earlier, before King David’s liturgical
reforms, instrumental and vocal music were not part of the liturgy of worship.
David was not only a warrior and the King of a united Israel but also a poet
(2 Sam 1:19-27; 3:33-34) who loved liturgy
(2 Sam 6:5, 15-16) wrote many of the psalms
(Pss 3-41 and 51-72) and a gifted musician
(1 Sam 16:16-23; Amos 6:5). He
introduced music into the liturgy of worship with cantors, Levitical choirs
under the direction of Asaph and his sons as choir directors, and introduced instrumental
music (1 Chron 25:1-31).
43 There were
great sacrifices offered that day and the people rejoiced, God having given
them good cause for rejoicing; the women and children rejoiced too, and the joy
of Jerusalem could be heard from far away.
The ceremony concluded at the Temple where the two groups
came together at the end of their processions. At the Temple, the people
offered multiple sacrifices on Yahweh’s sacrificial altar (Neh 12:43) with the
rejoicing of the men, women, and children of Jerusalem with such enthusiasm
that their shouts of joy “could be heard from far away.”
Nehemiah 12:44-47 ~ The Management of
the Contributions for the Temple and its Clergy
44 For
the rooms intended for the treasures, contributions, first-fruits, and tithes, supervisors
were then appointed whose business it was to collect in them those portions
from the town lands awarded by the Law to the priests and Levites. For Judah
rejoiced in the officiating priests and Levites, 45 since they, with the singers and
gatekeepers, performed the liturgy of their God and the rites of purification
as ordained by David and his son Solomon. 46
For from ancient times, from the days of David and Asaph, they
had been the leaders in rendering hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 In the days of Zerubbabel and
Nehemiah, all Israel supplied regular daily portions for the singers and
gatekeepers, and gave the dedicated contributions to the Levites; and the
Levites gave the dedicated contributions to the Aaronites.
Nehemiah appointed supervisors to collect the tithes of produce and animals awarded by the Law to support the clergy and provide for the communal sacrifices like the twice-daily sacrifice of two unblemished Tamid lambs (see Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:3-8 and the e-book, “Jesus and the Mystery of the Tamid Sacrifice” at Books at Agape Bible Study).
45 since
they, with the singers and gatekeepers, performed the liturgy of their God and
the rites of purification as ordained by David and his son Solomon. 46 For from ancient times, from the days
of David and Asaph, they had been the leaders in rendering hymns of praise and
thanksgiving to God.
David established the reformed liturgy of worship for the
House of Yahweh built by his son Solomon. And it was David who appointed Asaph
and his family as the leaders of the Levitical choirs that led the people in
hymns of praise and thanksgiving during the twice-daily worship services, for the
Sabbath services, and during the annual feasts.
Verse 47 testifies that from the time of the first returnees to the time of Nehemiah the people regularly provided what was needed to support the singers, gatekeepers and the clergy. This claim will make what Nehemiah discovers after an absence from Jerusalem for a few years all the more shocking.
Spiritual Restoration of the Covenant People (13:1-31)
Nehemiah 13:1-3 ~ The Law Concerning Ammonites and Moabites
1 At
that time they were reading to the people from the Book of Moses, when they
found this written in it, “No Ammonite or Moabite is to be admitted to the
assembly of God, and this is for all time, 2
since they did not come to meet the Israelites with bread and
water, and even hired Balaam to oppose them by cursing them; but our God turned
the curse into a blessing.” 3 Having
heard the Law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.
While reading a portion of the Law during the dedication ceremony, it was discovered the prohibition against admitting Ammonites or Moabites to God’s assembly of His covenant people. Deuteronomy 23:4-6 stated: No Ammonite or Moabite may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh; not even his descendants to the tenth generation may be admitted to the assembly of Yahweh, and this is for all time; since they did not come to meet you with food and drink when you were on your way out of Egypt, and even hired Balaam son of Beor to oppose you by cursing you, from Pethor in Aram Naharaim. But Yahweh your God refused to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse on you into a blessing, because Yahweh your God loved you. Never, as long as you live, must you seek their welfare or their prosperity. The passage recalls the historical event before the conquest of Canaan when the Moabites refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their land and hired a prophet to curse the covenant people and then tempted Israel’s men to participate in a pagan ritual in an attempt to thwart God’s divine plan (Num 22-25). Having heard the prohibition in the Law, the people again took the pledge to exclude all foreigners from liturgical worship and national assemblies as they had during Ezra’s governorship.
However, this prohibition had its exceptions. Ruth was a Moabitess who married Boaz of Judah, and her great-grandson was King David who became the anointed of Yahweh and the ancestor of Jesus Christ (Ruth 4:18-22; Mt 1:1-6; Lk 3:31-33).
43 Having heard the Law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.
This drastic measure went beyond the requirements of the Law which allowed foreigners to live in the land and even to
attend festivals so long as they obeyed the Law (Ex 12:48-49; 23:9; Num 9:14).
Perhaps they felt excluding all foreigners was necessary to end the temptation to make marriage alliances with pagans.
Nehemiah 13:4-9 ~ The Treachery of Eliashib and Nehemiah’s Second Mission
4 Earlier,
Eliashib the priest, who was in charge of the rooms of the Temple of our God,
and who was close to Tobiah, 5 had
provided him with a large room where they previously used to store the meal
offerings, incense, utensils, tithes of corn, wine and oil, that is, the part
of the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
6 While all this was going on I was
away from Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of
Babylon I had gone to see the king. But after some time, I asked the king for
permission to leave, 7 and returned
to Jerusalem, where I learned about the crime which Eliashib had committed for
Tobiah’s benefit, by providing him with a room in the courts of the Temple of
God. 8 I was extremely displeased
and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room and into the street. 9 I then gave orders for the room to be
purified, and had the utensils of the Temple of God, the meal offerings and the
incense, all replaced.
Question: Who were Eliashib and Tobiah and what was
their relationship to Nehemiah?
See Neh 2:10, 19; 3:1 and 6:12-14, 17-19;
Dt 23:3-4.
Answer: Eliashib was the anointed high priest during
Nehemiah’s tenure as governor, and Tobiah was an Ammonite and the governor of the
Persian Province of Ammon. He was Nehemiah’s enemy who opposed the plans to
rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, and with Sanballat, governor of Samaria, he plotted to
destroy Nehemiah’s mission and possibly harm him. He had close relations with some
of the nobles of Judah including a marriage alliance, and he used his influence
with Eliashib to install himself in a residence within the Temple, an act in violation
of the Law of the covenant.
Nehemiah returned to Susa and the court of King Artaxerxes
in 433 BC after twelve years in Judah (in the thirty-second year of the reign
of Artaxerxes I). Sometime later, he returned to Judah for a second term as the
Persian governor.
Question: When Nehemiah returned to Judah, what
did he learn about a severe violation of the sanctity of the Temple that had
taken place in his absence? See 13:4-5.
Answer: While he was away, Eliashib used his influence
as the high priest to provide Tobiah, an Ammonite pagan prohibited from entering
the Temple, with living quarters within the Temple precincts.
8 I was extremely
displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room and into the street.
9 I then gave orders for the room
to be purified, and had the utensils of the Temple of God, the meal offerings and
the incense, all replaced.
Upon learning about this defilement of the Temple,
Nehemiah expelled Tobiah and his property from the Temple. He also gave orders
for the purification of the room he occupied and for it to be returned to its
previous purpose as the storeroom for the meal offerings and sacred incense. Since
Tobiah had a pagan name and connections with influential families in Jerusalem,
it is likely that he was the produce of a mixed marriage between a Jew and an
Ammonite
Nehemiah 13:10-14 ~ Failures to Support the Clergy
10 I also learned
that the Levites had not been receiving their allocations, as a result of which
the Levites and singers who performed the liturgy had all withdrawn to their
farms. 11 I then reprimanded the officials.
“Why is the Temple of God deserted?” I asked. And I collected them together again
and brought them back to their posts; 12 and
all Judah then delivered the tithe of corn, wine and oil to the storehouses. 13 As supervisors of the storehouses, I appointed
Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pedaiah one of the Levites and, as
their assistant, Hanan son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, since they were
considered reliable people; their duty was to make the distributions to their kinsmen.
14 Remember me for this, my God, and
do not blot out the good deeds which I have done for the Temple of my God and
its observances!
Question: Upon his return to Judah, what second
violation did Nehemiah learn had occurred in his absence?
Answer: The Levitical lesser ministers who served
the Temple and Levitical members of the choir were no longer receiving allocations
to support themselves and their families and left the city to go to their farms
so they could earn a living. The Temple had no music or Levites to support the
daily worship services.
Eliashib was an unfaithful steward and was allowing the chief priests to confiscate the allotments they were required to share with the Levitical ministers that Nehemiah had established previously (Neh 12:44-47). Nehemiah solved the problem by appointing men he could trust as supervisors and brought the Levitical ministers and choirs back to the Temple.
14 Remember me for
this, my God, and do not blot out the good deeds which I have done for the
Temple of my God and its observances!
Nehemiah asks God to remember his good deeds on behalf of
the Temple and its rituals of worship. It is the first of three such requests.
Nehemiah 13:15-22 ~ Nehemiah Discovers Failures to Observe
the Sabbath Rest
15 At the same time
I saw people in Judah treading the winepress, bringing in sacks of grain and
loading donkeys on the Sabbath; they were also bringing wine, grapes, figs and
every kind of merchandise into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I forbade them
to sell the food. 16 Tyrians living
there were bringing in fish and every kind of merchandise which they were
selling to the Judaeans on the Sabbath in Jerusalem itself. 17 So I also reprimanded the leading men of
Judah, saying to them, “What a wicked way to behave, profaning the Sabbath day!
18 Was this not exactly what your ancestors
did, with the result that our God brought all this misery down on us and on
this city? And now you are adding to the wrath hanging over Israel by profaning
the Sabbath yourselves!” 19 So when
the gates of Jerusalem were getting dark at the approach of the Sabbath, I gave
orders for the doors to be shut and directed that they were not to be opened
again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my attendants at the
gates to make sure that no merchandise was brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 So the traders and dealers in goods of all
kinds spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice, 21 until I reprimanded them. I said to them, “Why
are you spending the night in front of the wall? Do it again, and I shall use
force on you.” After this, they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 I then ordered the Levites to purify
themselves and act as guards at the gates, so that the Sabbath day might be
kept holy. Remember this also to my credit, have pity on
me in the greatness of your faithful love [hesed].
When Nehemiah returned to Judah to resume a second term as the royal governor, he discovered the reoccurrence of violations against the covenant commands and prohibitions. Nehemiah dealt with three serious violations:
17 So I also reprimanded
the leading men of Judah, saying to them, “What a wicked way to behave,
profaning the Sabbath day! 18 Was
this not exactly what your ancestors did, with the result that our God brought
all this misery down on us and on this city? And now you are adding to the
wrath hanging over Israel by profaning the Sabbath yourselves!”
In his reprimand, Nehemiah recalls for the people the words
the Lord command the prophet Jeremiah to address to the people of Jerusalem who
were profaning the Sabbath in Jeremiah 17:19-27. The Lord promised them His
protection as long as they faithfully kept the Sabbath commands.2
However, He also promised: “But if you do not listen to me to keep the
Sabbath day holy, and to refrain from entering the gates of Jerusalem with
burdens on the Sabbath day, then I shall set fire to its gates; it will devour
the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.” Nehemiah pointed out
that in continuing to profane the Sabbath, God’s judgment fell upon the nation
with the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem by fire and the exile of the
people, and he asks if that want that same judgment of God’s wrath to come upon
them again.
Question: In verses 19-20, how did Nehemiah deal with the problem?
Answer: Nehemiah’s remedy was to close the gates at
sundown on what would be our Friday and the beginning of the holy Sabbath. The
gates would remain closed and guarded to prevent any attempts to enter the city
until sundown on Saturday that was the end of the Sabbath of the Lord. He also
threatened the merchants who camped outside the city gates on the Sabbath to
cease their attempts to trade in the city on the Sabbath.
The blowing of a trumpet announced the beginning and end of the Sabbath.3
22b Remember this
also to my credit, have pity on me in the greatness of your faithful love
[hesed].
Again, Nehemiah asks the Lord to remember and have pity
on him in the greatness of God’s hesed/covenant love for his good deeds in preserving
the covenant and protecting the covenant people from sinning.
Nehemiah 13:23-31 ~ The Renewed Sin of Pagan Marriages
and Regulations for the Priests and Levites
23 At that time too, I saw Jews who had married wives from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab;
24 as
regards their children, half of them spoke the language of Ashdod or the language
of one of the other peoples, but could no longer speak the language of Judah.
25 I reprimanded them, I cursed them, I struck several of them and tore out
their hair and adjured them by God, “You are not to give your daughters in
marriage to their sons or let their daughters marry your sons, or marry them yourselves!
26 Was it not because of women like these that
Solomon king of Israel sinned? Although among many nations there was no king
like him and he was loved by his God, and God made him king of all Israel, even
then foreign women led him into sinning!
27 Were you
obedient when you committed this very grave crime: breaking faith with our God
by marrying foreign wives?”
28 One of the sons of
Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the
Horonite; I drove him from my presence.
29 Remember them,
my God, for having defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priests and
Levites!
30 And so I purged them of everything foreign; I
drew up regulations for the priests and Levites, defining each man’s duty,
31 as well as for the deliveries of wood at the proper times, and for the
first-fruits. Remember this, my God, to my credit!
23 At that time too, I saw
Jews who had married wives from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab; 24 as
regards their children, half of them spoke the language of Ashdod or the language
of one of the other peoples, but could no longer speak the language of Judah.
After Nehemiah returned for his second term as
governor of Judah, illicit marriages to foreigners had again become a problem.
The language of Judah was Hebrew, but after the return from exile, the younger generations
could only speak Aramaic, and in the case of foreign marriages, their pagan
wives were teaching their children their pagan customs and languages. Even the
grandson of High Priest Eliashib was married to a Samaritan woman, and to make
the offense worse, the woman was the daughter of Nehemiah’s enemy Sanballat!4
Question: How was Nehemiah’s reaction in verse
25 different from Ezra’s response to the same offenses in Ezra 9:3-4.
Answer: Unlike Ezra who was so distraught
that he tore out his own hair (Ezra 9:3), Nehemiah struck the offenders and
tore out their hair!
In verses 25b-27, Nehemiah admonished the offenders, reminding them that God condemned King Solomon’s marriages to foreign women (1 Kng 11:1-13). Scripture records that because of the influence of his pagan wives, Solomon became a follower of false gods and goddesses: He did what was displeasing to Yahweh, and was not a wholehearted follower of Yahweh as his father David had been (1 Kng 11:6). As a divine judgment for his unfaithfulness, Yahweh therefore said to Solomon, “Since you have behaved like this and have not kept my covenant or the laws which I laid down for you, I shall tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I shall not do this during your lifetime, but shall tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I shall not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I shall leave your son one tribe.” God’s judgment resulted in the division of the United Kingdom of Israel into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah with Judah the only remaining land of the Jews in Nehemiah’s time. Nehemiah’s point in all three covenant failures is that if the citizens of Judah and their leaders don’t renounce these sins against Yahweh, they will experience His Divine Judgment again! However, Nehemiah was more compassionate than Ezra. While he urged the people to cease from making marriages with pagans, he did not force them to send away their foreign wives and children or threaten to take their lands and possessions like Ezra (see Ezra 10:7-8, 44).
28 One of the sons of
Jehoiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the
Horonite; I drove him from my presence.
A chief priest was a man consecrated to Yahweh and
therefore expected to uphold the Law. Eliashib’s grandson violated the Law,
and Nehemiah probably expelled him from Jerusalem. Flavius Josephus recorded a
similar episode involving a marriage between a daughter of a descendant of
Sanballat and the brother of a Jewish high priest (Antiquities of the Jews,
11.7.2).
Old sins cast long shadows.
Nehemiah asks God three times in verses 14, 22, and 30 to remember the religious reforms he instituted in Jerusalem and to bring judgment against anyone who defiled the priesthood or married outside the covenant. In his prayer, he asked God to give him credit:
Nehemiah acted out of zeal for Yahweh and not for his own advancement or glory, and he asks for these good works to be credited to his accomplishments in service to the Lord God. However, he also asks God to remember those who defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priests and Levites in verse 29.
Question: What is the covenant Nehemiah refers to
in verse 29? See the chart on Yahweh’s Eight Covenants.
Answer: The covenant Nehemiah refers to is the Aaronic
covenant that Yahweh made with the priests who serve Him.
Question: What accomplishment does Nehemiah
leave out of verses 14, 22, and 30 and why?
Answer: He does not mention the rebuilding
of the walls of Jerusalem. The accomplishments he desires to be remembered are
those that led to the spiritual restoration of Jerusalem and her people in
covenant with Yahweh.
The priestly historian, Flavius Josephus, offers a fitting conclusion to the story of Nehemiah’s mission: “So when Nehemiah had done many other excellent things, and things worthy of commendation in a glorious manner, he came to a great age, and then he died. He was a man of good and righteous disposition and very ambitious to make his own nation happy, and he hath lifted the walls of Jerusalem as an eternal monument for himself” (Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 11.5.8 [183].
Questions for discussion or reflection:
To whom did Nehemiah owe his allegiance, to a human king
or to Yahweh the King of kings? Can you make the same claim? Is your first
allegiance to the secular world and those who inhabit it, or is your primary loyalty
to God and to living in obedience to His commands? How do you show that kind
of obedience and loyalty? How did Jesus define those who love Him in John 14:15,
and what did St. John write in 1 John 2:3-5?
Endnotes:
1. The redistribution of populations was also practiced
in Greek and Hellenistic cities. It was a policy known in Greek as synokismos
and involved the forcible movement of populations from rural settlements to urban
centers.
2. The Sabbath commands and prohibitions: Ex 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:12-7; 34:21; 35:1-3; Lev 19:3; 23:3; Num 15:32-36; Dt 5:12-15.
3. Archaeological excavations in Jerusalem uncovered a stone from the southwestern corner of the Temple parapet that had fallen to the ground during the Roman destruction in AD 70 that had the inscription “for the place of the blowing [of the trumpet].”
4. A coin and a seal impression (bulla) from the mid-fourth century BC were discovered inscribed with the name Sanballat, Governor of Samaria in a cave in the wilderness of Judah. Josephus mentions that a descendant of Sanballat, bearing the same name, was governor of Samaria in 332 BC.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2019 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Catechism references for this lesson:
13:15-22 (CCC 2168-2173)