Nehemiah Chapter 5
5:1-5. The events of this chapter may have taken place during the 52 days of wall building (6:15). Three reasons for
the troublesome conditions were given: (1) the landless were without food (v. 2); (2) the landowners were forced to
mortgage their land because of a famine (v. 3); and (3) borrowing was necessary to pay a property tax imposed by
the Persians (v. 4). For laws on loans, pledges, and Hebrew debt slaves (who had to be released after six years, or
on the Year of Jubilee), see the Exodus 21:2-11; Leviticus 25:10-17, 39-55; Deuteronomy 15:7-18; 24:10-13.
5:7. Lending money to the poor at interest was forbidden (Ex. 22:25).
5:8. Nehemiah and others had redeemed their Jewish brethren who had been sold to heathen masters. Now these
moneylenders had sold their brethren to the heathen in defiance of the law (Lev. 25:42).
5:10, 11. Nehemiah includes himself (v. 10) in extending loans, but not in relation to the slavery of deep
indebtedness. He urges the people to return the property held in pledge, and to forgive the interest payments, so
those in debt could begin to pay off the principal. The hundredth part might refer to interest of a hundredth a month,
or 12 percent per annum.
5:13. When Nehemiah shook his lap, it was taken as a gesture symbolizing the complete rejection of any who might
violate this agreement.
5:14, 15. Because of the prevailing poverty (v. 18), neither Nehemiah nor his household demanded their rightful
salaries from the people for the 12 years of his governorship,a s former Persian governors had done.
5:16. Nehemiah did his share of the work on the wall, and gained no mortgages of land through lending money and
grain (v. 10).
5:17, 18. All of this was at his own expense. He would not do these things "because of the fear of God" (v. 15) and
because the bondage was heavy upon this people (v. 18). Nehemiah set forth a picture of the labor of love, as he
set an example of unselfishness for all people.
Nehemiah Chapter 6
6:2-4. See the notes at Nehemiah 2:10, 19. Since the wall’s progress had lessened the danger of attack, Nehemiah’s
enemies tried to lure him into one of the villages in the plain of Ono. This valley was about 27 miles northwest of
Jerusalem. This bordered the districts of Samaria and Ashdod, both hostile territories (cf. 4:2,7).
6:5-9. Sanballat sent an open letter against Nehemiah, which was made public. He accused Nehemiah of claiming
kingship (v.6) and of hiring prophets to support his claims (v.7). Gashmu is a variant of Gehem (v. 1; see the note on
2:19), which is closer to the original Arabic name Jasuma.
6:10-14. Shemaiah claimed to have a special revelation about a plot against Nehemiah’s life and suggested they
meet in the temple , since it would provide the only place of refuge. This suggestion unmasked his evil intentions.
Nehemiah that God could not have led him to break the Mosaic injunction against laymen entering the temple (Num.
1:51; 18:7). For Nehemiah to have done such a thing would have damaged his testimony.
6:16-19. Nehemiah relates Tobiah’s alliance with Jewish nobles through his marriage to a daughter of Shechaniah
the son of Arah (Ezra 2:5), and the marriage of his son Johanan to the daughter of Meshullam (3:4, 30). Such links
and loyalties were exploited by intrigues, leaks of information, and threatening letters.
Nehemiah Chapter 7
7:1, 2. The doors were those in the gates (6:1). Nehemiah appointed Levitical singers and porters, whose works was
usually that of caring for the temple and the gates of its courts, to help stand guard at the city gates ("while they
stand by, let them shut doors, and bar them," v. 3). He then put Hanani (1:2) and Hananiah, the governor of the
palace (on the north side of the temple), in charge of the city. These verses are an almost exact transcription of Ezra
2. This record was probably stored in the temple archives and provided the basis of Nehemiah's re population
measures in chapter 11. Tirshatha (v. 65; cf. v. 70; 8:9;10:1; Ezra 2:63) is a Persian title of honor and probably
should be translated "governor."
Chapter 8
8:2. The time was the Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:24) and was about September 27, 444 B.C. This was the most
sacred of the new moons, and commenced the final month of religious festivals (Lev. 23: 23-25; Num. 29:1-6). The
concept of understanding was important as Proverbs 1:2 indicates (cf. Ex. 12:26, 27; Deut. 4:6; 6:6-9; 31:12, 13).
Mindless superstition was the mark of paganism ("They have not known nor understood," Is. 44:18-20), and had
been the downfall of apostate Israel (Hos. 4:6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"). Notice the stress
on understanding in verses 2,3,7,8,12.
8:7, 8. In verse 7 the men gave the sense of the law (caused the people to understand) and then in verse 8
translated or read.... distinctly from the Hebrew into Aramaic, the only language some of the people may have
understood (cf. 13:24; Ezra 4:18). This would be the first mention of what developed as the Targums, or oral
paraphrases of the Law, which were later written down.
8:13-18. The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) had thanksgiving as its essential character (cf. Lev. 23:33-43; Deut. 16:
13-15). It was known in Solomon's time (1 Kin. 8:2) and by Hosea in the northern kingdom (Hos. 12:9), and had been
observed in the preceding century by Zerubbabel and his company (cf. Ezra 3:4). Yet its detailed provisions were
unknown even among the religious leaders. Evidently this was the first time that all the congregation of them that
were come of the prescribed features of the Feast of Tabernacles (Deut. 31:9-13).
Chapter 9
9:3. One fourth part of the day was three daylight hours, when God's Word was read publicly, following which the
people joined in a great confession of sin led by the Levites (vv. 5-37).
9:5-38. This prayer gives a survey of the history of Israel, with emphasis on certain events in the life of the chosen
people. The approach resembles that of Psalms 78, 105, 106, 135, and 136. The composition of this hymn is: (1) the
praising of God as Creator (v. 6); (2) the covenant with Abraham (vv. 7, 8); (3) the great and wonderful acts of God
in Egypt (vv. 9-11); (4) the care of God in the desert (v. 12); (5) Mount Sinai and the desert wandering (vv. 13-21);
(6) the conquering of the Holy Land (vv. 22-25); (7) the unfaithfulness of Israel and God's patience in the Promised
Land (vv. 26-31); (8) the confession of sin (vv. 32-37); and then (9) a commitment to keep God's laws (v. 38).
Chapter 10
10:1-8. Nehemiah the governor and 21 priests are listed first (cf. 12:1-7), the reverse order.
10:9-13. As for Levites, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, and 14 of their brethren are mentioned. Individual Levites signed in
the names of their families, for two of these names appear in 7:43. All but four of the Levites are mentioned in 8:7; 9:
4, 5; and 12:8.
10:14-27. The chief of the people, actually "chiefs," are listed predominately in terms of families they represented; in
fact the first 21 names (Parosh to Magpiash, vv.14-20a) closely follow the list in Ezra 2:3-30. Some of the remaining
23 names, in verses 20-26, have also appeared as fathers' names, that is, family names, in the list of wall builders in
chapter 3.
10:28-39. This section contains the general oath of obedience and fills out the declaration made in 9:38 by the
whole company and sealed on their behalf by their leaders. Three points in the oath were stressed: (1) no
intermarriage with heathen (cf. Deut. 7:3); (2) no commerce on the Sabbath or other holy days (cf. Amos 8:5); (3)
faithful observance of the seventh year, the Year of Jubilee (cf. Ex. 23:10, 11; Deut. 15:1, 2). The rest of the section
deals with the support of the temple. The third part of a shekel (v. 32) was a reduction from the requirement of one-
half a shekel originally given in Exodus 30:13 (cf. Matt. 17:24). Perhaps the poverty of the people called for a lower
tax rate. The wood offering (v. 34) was for the continual altar fire (Lev. 6:12; cf. Neh. 13:31). The tithe of the tithes
(v. 38) was a tenth of the tenths, referred to in Numbers 18:26. It showed that the Levites, as recipients of the tithes
of all Israel, had to tithe what they received and pass on this tenth share to the priests. The Levites outnumbered the
priests in Moses' day, but now it was not so. Thus the disproportionate number bore heavily on the priests. This
system of mutual support soon disintegrated and had to be restored by Nehemiah again in 13:10-14. The phrase we
will not forsake ["abandon," "forget"] the house of our God sums up not only the paragraph but much of the concern
of the postexilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Chapter 11
11:3-24. This list corresponds well with 1 Chronicles 9:2-17 and probably relates to those already living in Jerusalem,
including laymen (vv. 3-9), priests (vv. 10-14), Levites (vv. 15-18), gatekeepers (v. 19), temple servants (v. 21), and
certain other individuals (vv. 22-24). The duties of the porters (gatekeepers) are explained more fully in 1 Chronicles
9:17-27, where it appears that the security of the temple area was their hereditary charge.
11:25-36. The resettlement depicted in these verses goes beyond the confines of the new, small provinces to
include places that had belonged to Judah in the old days. The verses list towns in the former territories of Judah
(vv. 25-30) and Benjamin (vv. 31-36), where other Jews lived.
Chapter 12
12:1-9. These are names of 22 priests and eight Levites who returned with Zerubbabel. Fifteen of these priests are
listed among those who sealed the covenant in Nehemiah's day, so it seems that they sealed the covenant in the
name of their families (10:3-9). The priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 2:2, 36-40)
are listed.
12:10-11. This bridges the gap between the first generation after the Exile (v. 1-9) and the contemporaries of
Nehemiah. It carries forward the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 6:3-15, which ran from Aaron to the Babylonian exile.
12:12-21. These were sons of priests listed in verses 1-7, who lived in the days of Jeshua's successor, Joiakim,
Zechariah was the famous prophet (v. 16: Ezra 5:1).
12:22-26. Eliashib was a contemporary of Nehemiah and the grandson of Jeshua, the high priest in Zerubbabel's
day. Johanan was the same as Jonathan of verse 11. According to Josephus, Jaddua was high priest when
Alexander the Great invaded Persia (333 B.C.). If so, then the Darius of this verse (v. 22) was Darius III (335-331 B.
C.). But more likely there were two high priests with the same name or Nehemiah knew Jaddua as a young man. The
Elephantine papyri refer to Johanan as high priest in 408 B.C. Nehemiah may have lived until about 400 B.C. and
seen young Jaddua become high priest sometime between 408 and 400. By this reckoning Jaddua would have been
in his nineties by 333 B.C.
12:27-47. This section relates to the dedication of the wall and the organization of temple services. Verse 27
resumes the narration of details from 11:2. Verses 31-37 present the two great companies that Nehemiah gathered
at the southwest corner of the city wall (at the valley gate). Ezra led the first company eastward and then northward.
The other group proceeded north, then east to the temple area, meeting the first group in the temple courts (v. 40),
where they offered sacrifices and praised God (vv. 41-43). The mention of David and Solomon distinguishes the
guilds of singers and gatekeepers, founded when Jerusalem became the settled place of worship, from the priests
and other Levites who served at the altar (v. 45a). Asaph appears in 1 Chronicles 15, 16, and 25 and in the titles of
Psalms 50 and 73-83.
Chapter 13
13:1-3. Verses 1 and 2 faithfully summarize Deuteronomy 23:3-5. Descendants of mixed marriages these two nations
were excluded from the congregation of Israel until the tenth generation. Tobiah was an Ammonite (2:19), and he
was already forging strong alliances with prominent Jewish families through marriage (6:18; cf. 133:4-9). The mixed
multitude (cf. Ex. 12:38) were descendants of mixed marriages. Those from marriages with Egyptian and Edomites
were permitted full membership in Israel after the third generation (Deut. 23:7, 8). The group may have included
heathen who attached themselves to the Jews by marriage, commerce, or religious observances.
13:4-9. These events probably occurred while Nehemiah had returned to Susa to report to Artaxerxes his success in
building the walls. Tobiah was Nehemiah's old enemy and had always had admirers and sworn supporters in the
highest circles of Judah (6:17-19). Eliashib had returned over a great chamber (or room) to Tobiah in the court of
the temple. Nehemiah's action was like that of Jesus in John 2:14-17. He threw out Tobiah's belongings and
ceremonially cleansed the room.
13:10-14. Nehemiah discovered that, in spite of the oath the people had taken, the Levites and most likely the
priests, too) had not been receiving their tithes and, as a result, had to work in the fields. He immediately contended
[a strong legal term] with the rulers and set them in their place. Then he appointed four reliable treasurers over the
storehouse (v. 13; cf. Mal 3:10), which was a large room in the temple.
13:15-22. Another violation of the covenant, seen in 10:30, 31, was the action of some Jews who were preparing and
transporting goods on the Sabbath (v. 15); Phoenician traders also were being allowed to sell on the Sabbath (v. 16).
13:23-28. The sin of mixed marriages had erupted again (Ezra 9:1-4; 10:44), and the children of these marriages
could not speak Hebrew (v. 24: in the speech of Ashdod). Even one of the younger sons of Joiada married a
daughter of Sanballat. So Nehemiah chased him away because the priestly line was not to be contaminated by
intermarriage (Lev. 21:6-8, 14, 15).