Neh 13:23 | MHM | STEP | The Dismissal of Strange Wives This passage shows Nehemiah’s strong desire to keep God’s people pure and faithful. He did not use his power for himself, but worked hard to help the people obey God. Nehemiah wanted Israel to be a special people for God, different from the nations around them. v. 23-24 : Nehemiah found that many Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab (Nehemiah 13:23 ). This problem had happened before in Ezra’s time, and even though some had repented then, others did not learn from it (Ezra 9–10 ). The children from these marriages could not speak the Jewish language well, but spoke the language of their mothers. This showed that foreign influence was strong in their homes. God had warned against marrying people who worshipped other gods (Malachi 2:11 ), because it would lead Israel away from him.

‏ Nehemiah 13:23

The Dismissal of Strange Wives

This passage shows Nehemiah’s strong desire to keep God’s people pure and faithful. He did not use his power for himself, but worked hard to help the people obey God. Nehemiah wanted Israel to be a special people for God, different from the nations around them.

v. 23-24: Nehemiah found that many Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab (Nehemiah 13:23 ^a). This problem had happened before in Ezra’s time, and even though some had repented then, others did not learn from it (Ezra 9–10 ^b). The children from these marriages could not speak the Jewish language well, but spoke the language of their mothers. This showed that foreign influence was strong in their homes. God had warned against marrying people who worshipped other gods (Malachi 2:11 ^c), because it would lead Israel away from him.