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NEHEMIAH 12

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph, etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

A. The purpose of the lists in this chapter (and for that matter the whole book) is difficult to grasp.

1. Neh. 12:1-11 refers to those who initially returned with Zerubbabel and Joshua.

2. Neh. 12:12-26 refers to a later group:

a. priests in Joiakim's (cf. Neh. 12:10) day

b. Levites in Eleashib's (cf. Neh. 12:10) day

3. Neh. 12:26 implies that the list in Neh. 12:22-26 were contemporaries with Ezra and Nehemiah.

4. Neh. 10:2-8 refers to Nehemiah's day (cf. Derek Kidner, Tyndale Commentary Series, p. 122).

B. In comparing all of these other lists in Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, it seems that often priests identify themselves by a prominent ancestor instead of their personal name. The twenty-four divisions of King David (cf. 1 Chr. 23-24) become a guiding paradigm.

An additional problem is that the priestly families used the same names over and over again.

C. The problem of trying to put a date or historical setting to these names is clearly seen in that Mattaniah and Bakbakiah were Levitical leaders of antiphonal choirs in Zerubbabel's day (cf. Neh. 12:8-9) and Nehemiah's day (cf. Neh. 11:17).

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:1-7
 ¹Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
 ²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
 ³Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
 ⁴Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
 ⁵Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
 ⁶Shemaiah and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
 ⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua.

12:1 "Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel" The main return of exiled Israelites under Cyrus' decree occurred in 538 B.C. Documenting one's ancestry was very important for the returning exiles to verify their tribal lineage. This list is similar to, but has some differences in comparison with Ezra 2:36-39 and Neh. 7:39-47. The exact reasons for the differences are uncertain.

▣ "Ezra" This is not Ezra, the priest/scribe (cf. Ezra 7; 10; Neh. 8; 12:13,26,33,26).

12:4 "Ginnethoi" The priest's name appears as Ginnethon in Neh. 10:6; 12:16 (and the Vulgate).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:8-11
 ⁸The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. ⁹Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in their service divisions. ¹⁰Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib became the father of Joiada, ¹¹and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.

12:8-9 This list expands the list in Ezra 2:40-42 of Levites who returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua.

12:8 "Mattaniah who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving" This was a common name among Levitical musicians. It is also mentioned in 1 Chr. 9:15; 2 Chr. 20:14; Neh. 11:17,22; 12:8,25,35.

12:9 "Unni" The MT has (Kethiu‒written) Unno, but has a note that it should be read (Qere) as Unni.

▣ "stood opposite them in their service divisions" This may refer to liturgical or antiphonal singing aspects of worship (cf. 2 Chr. 7:6).

Because of Neh. 12:24 and the term "opposite" (BDB 617), which means "in front of," it may simply refer to the Levites being divided into twenty-four groupings to share the load of ministry (cf. 1 Chr. 23:6).

12:10-11 This is a 1ist of the High Priest's family, which may run into the Greek Period. Josephus (Antiq. 11.7.8) says Judda was high priest in 322 B.C.

12:10 "Jeshua. . .Joiakim. . .Eliashib" Jeshua was the descendant of the last high priest when Jerusalem fell in 586 B.C. (cf. Ezra 3:2). Eliashib was the chief priest when Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem in 445 B.C. (cf. Neh. 3:1).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:12-21
 ¹²Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of fathers' households were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
 ¹³of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
 ¹⁴of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
 ¹⁵of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
 ¹⁶of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
 ¹⁷of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
 ¹⁸of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
 ¹⁹of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
 ²⁰of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
 ²¹of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

12:14 "Malluchi" In Neh. 12:2 the name is spelled Malluch.

▣ "Shebaniah" Many assume he is the same as Shecaniah of Neh. 12:3.

12:15 "Meraioth" Many assume he is the same as Meremoth of Neh. 12:3.

▣ "Helkai" Many assume he is the Hilkiah of Neh. 12:7.

12:16 "Zechariah" This is the post-exilic prophet (519 B.C., cf. Zech. 1:1) linked with Haggai, Zerubbabel, and Joshua.

12:20 "Sallai" Many assume he is the same as Sallu of Neh. 12:7.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:22-26
 ²²As for the Levites, the heads of fathers' households were registered in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan and Jaddua; so were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers' households, were registered in the Book of the Chronicles up to the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers opposite them, to praise and give thanks, as prescribed by David the man of God, division corresponding to division. ²⁵Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates. ²⁶These served in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

12:22 "Darius" This either refers to the reign of Darius II (423-404 B.C., i.e., Josephus is inaccurate so Derek Kidner, Tyndale Commentary, pp. 143-146) or to the reign of Darius III (336-331 B.C., if Josephus' identifications are correct). Apparently, Jewish scribes had added to the genealogies unto their day.

Special Topic: Kings of Persia

12:23 "the book of the Chronicles" This does not refer to the biblical book of I and 2 Chronicles, but to the temple records which Ezra and Nehemiah draw from freely.

12:24 "the son of Kadmiel" The KJV has "Binnui." The UBS Text Project, p. 542, gives "son of" a "C" rating (considerable doubt), but suggests in its note that "son of" is probably the remains of the original reading, which was the name "Binnui."

▣ "as prescribed by David" See 1 Chronicles 23:6.

▣ "the man of God" This is a title used of Moses (cf. Deut. 33:1; Jos. 14:6). It was used of the prophets. In Hebrew theology one must be a prophet to write Scripture. Moses is called a prophet in Deuteronomy 18. David was considered to be the author of numerous Psalms; therefore, he too must be a prophet, a man of God (ish Elohim).

12:25 "the storehouses of the gates" There were storehouses in the temple in several locations.

1. small rooms off of the central building
2. small rooms at the gates

12:26 "in the days of Nehemiah. . .Ezra" Those who assume that Ezra 7:7 is inaccurate and place Ezra after Nehemiah usually change or delete this verse and Neh. 12:36 and 38. This debate grows out of three theories concerning Ezra 7:7, "seventh year of King Artaxerxes."

1. The traditional view has been to date this in 457 B.C. in the reign of Artaxerxes I.
2. A second theory has been to suppose a scribal error, which should have been "twenty-seventh year of King Artaxerxes."
3. The third theory supposes it to refer to Artaxerxes II which would be 398 B.C.

I like the first!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:27-30
 ²⁷Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. ²⁸So the sons of the singers were assembled from the district around Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹from Beth-gilgal and from their fields in Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰The priests and the Levites purified themselves; they also purified the people, the gates and the wall.

12:27-43 This section deals with the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem, which relates back to chapter 7. The FIRST PERSON SINGULAR PRONOUN "I" appears again (cf. Neh. 12:31), as it last did in Neh. 7:5.

12:27 "cymbals, harps and lyres" These were also used in Solomon's dedication of the temple (cf. 2 Chr. 5:13). These returnees tried to mimic Solomon's rituals, procedures, and actions.

12:28 "Netophathites" This was a city near Bethlehem (cf. Ezra 2:22; Neh. 2:26).

12:29 "Beth-gilgal" Beth means "house" or "place." Gilgal means "wheel" or "circle." There are two possibilities:

1. the first camp site of Joshua in the Promised Land (cf. Jos. 4,5,10), near Jericho
2. a place twelve miles north of Shechem (cf. 2 Kgs. 2:1; 4:38) associated with Elijah and Elisha

▣ "Geba" This means "height" or "hill." It was a Levitical city of Benjamin (cf. Joshua 21:17; 1 Sam. 13:3; 2 Sam. 5:25; 1 Chr. 6:60; 8:6; 2 Chr. 16:6; Neh. 11:31; 12:29; Isa. 10:29; Zech. 14:10).

12:30 "purified" This VERB (BDB 372, KB 369, used twice, the first Hithpael IMPERFECT and the second Piel IMPERFECT) means "cleanse" or "purify." The Piel form denotes cleansing:

1. the altar of incense, Lev. 16:19
2. the temple, 2 Chr. 29:15,16,18; Neh. 13:6
3. Judah and Jerusalem, 2 Chr. 34:3,5,8
4. of Jerusalem, Neh. 12:30
5. the priesthood, Neh. 13:30
6. the altar Ezek. 43:26

Often the cleansing was by blood or water.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:31-37
 ³¹Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, the first proceeding to the right on top of the wall toward the Refuse Gate. ³²Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah followed them, ³³with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, ³⁵ some of the sons of the priests with trumpets; and Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph, ³⁶and his kinsmen, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. ³⁷At the Fountain Gate they went directly up the steps of the city of David by the stairway of the wall above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.

12:31-43 This is the official dedication of the walls. How soon it followed their construction is uncertain. It was a religious occasion much like Joshua's covenant renewal at Shechem. It is unusual to dedicate a wall in the OT, but in reality it offered protection for the holy city and its holy temple.

12:31 "two great choirs" These two processionals started on the top of the western wall about in the middle (south of the temple). This was exactly where Nehemiah had started his nighttime reconnoitering (cf. Neh. 2:13-16). Ezra led one group (Neh. 12:36) south, counter clockwise, while Nehemiah followed with the other one north, clockwise (cf. Neh. 12:38). They met on the eastern wall level with the temple (the Gate of the Guard, Neh. 12:39).

For specific locations see notes at Nehemiah 3.

12:35 "trimpets" See Special Topic: Horns Used by Israel.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:38-43
 ³⁸The second choir proceeded to the left, while I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of Furnaces, to the Broad Wall, ³⁹and above the Gate of Ephraim, by the Old Gate, by the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped at the Gate of the Guard. ⁴⁰Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me; ⁴¹and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah, with the trumpets; ⁴²and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam and Ezer. And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, ⁴³and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: NEHEMIAH 12:44-47
 ⁴⁴On that day men were also appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions required by the law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served. ⁴⁵For they performed the worship of their God and the service of purification, together with the singers and the gatekeepers in accordance with the command of David and of his son Solomon. ⁴⁶For in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, there were leaders of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required, and set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron.

12:44-47 This seems to be a parenthesis giving further information and not part of Nehemiah's first person account.

12:44 "tithes" See Special Topic: Tithing in the Mosaic Legislation

12:45 "in accordance with the command of David and of his son Solomon" See 1 Chronicles 23-26 and 2 Chr. 8:14.

12:47 The order of tithes is seen in Num. 18:21-32 (cf. Neh.10:38).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.

1. How are the lists here and 1 Chr. 9 related?

2. Why are the lists of the cities in Neh. 11:25-36 and 3:lff different?

3. How are the lists of Nehemiah 12 and 7 related?

4. Were Ezra and Nehemiah contemporaries?

5. How were the priests supported?

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