Nehemiah 13
Summary for Neh 13:1-3: 13:1-3 a On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44 b), the text from Deut 23:3-6 c was read. It said that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God. Nehemiah later discovered (Neh 13:4-14 d) that these teachings were no longer being observed.Summary for Neh 13:4-14: 13:4-14 e Eliashib the priest (see 12:10 f, 22 g; 13:28 h) had stopped following the practice of excluding the Ammonites and Moabites (13:1 i), and the people quit giving their tithes to the Levites (13:10-12 j). Now, Nehemiah corrected these problems.
Summary for Neh 13:4-5: 13:4-5 k Eliashib’s family intermarried with the families of Sanballat (13:28 l) and Tobiah. Both of these men were enemies of the Jewish community (2:10 m, 19 n; 4:1 o). Tobiah’s use of the storeroom meant there was less room to store tithes and gifts for the Temple workers (cp. 10:39 p; 13:10-12 q; 2 Chr 31:11 r) and less space for supplies needed to conduct regular worship at the Temple (Lev 2 s).
13:6 t Nehemiah had returned to Persia after twelve years of service in Jerusalem (445–433 BC). The text does not say how long he stayed there, but it was probably no longer than a year or two. When he arrived back in Jerusalem, he found Tobiah living in the Temple storeroom (13:1-5 u).
Summary for Neh 13:8-9: 13:8-9 v I became very upset. ... I demanded: When people rejected God’s instructions, Nehemiah refused to be silent.
• Everything associated with the Temple had to be purified and consecrated to God. The clothes that the priests and Levites wore (Exod 29 w), the priests themselves (Lev 8–9 x), the Temple building and altars (Lev 16:15-33 y), and all the holy things (1 Chr 23:28 z) were purified (cp. 2 Chr 29:5 aa, 15-19 ab).
Summary for Neh 13:10-12: 13:10-12 ac With Tobiah using the storeroom, there had been no place to store tithes to feed the Levites and Temple singers (Num 18:21-24 ad; see Neh 12:44 ae, 47 af). They had to farm outside of Jerusalem (12:28-29 ag) to support themselves and could not serve in the Temple.
13:13 ah These men had an excellent reputation: Cp. Acts 6:1-6 ai.
13:14 aj Because he stood up for God, Nehemiah asked God to remember his deeds and not abandon him in his time of need. Perhaps he experienced opposition from those he had corrected. See similar refrains in 13:22 ak, 29 al, 31 am.
Summary for Neh 13:15-31: 13:15-31 an Nehemiah instituted two additional reforms to restore proper Sabbath observance (13:15-22 ao) and proper marriage practices (13:23-31 ap). These two sections have similar structures: Nehemiah discovered a problem, corrected the problem, and asked God for his blessing.
Summary for Neh 13:15-16: 13:15-16 aq Normal work was to cease on the Sabbath in order to keep it holy (Exod 20:8-11 ar; 31:14-17 as; 35:2-3 at; Jer 17:19-27 au).
13:19 av The Sabbath began at sunset on Friday evening and lasted until sunset on Saturday evening.
13:22 aw Have compassion on me: Nehemiah’s prayer implies that he felt the pressure of this unpopular decision. He knew that God’s unfailing love, not his own popularity, would sustain him.
Summary for Neh 13:23-24: 13:23-24 ax The earlier marriage reforms (9:2 ay; 10:28 az; Ezra 9:1–10:44 ba) had not lasted. The children’s inability to speak Hebrew (the language of Judah) was disastrous because they could not read or understand the Scriptures.
13:25 bb When Nehemiah called down curses on them, it was because the parents avoided Hebrew and did not teach their children the language of the Hebrew Bible. A curse called on God to remove his blessing on people.
• I beat some of them and pulled out their hair: Apparently, some of the men did not accept Nehemiah’s rebuke at first, so he made them swear in the name of God not to intermarry with pagans.
Summary for Neh 13:26-27: 13:26-27 bc King Solomon had led the nation into sin by his foreign wives (1 Kgs 11 bd). If intermarriage with pagans was allowed to continue, the same apostasy would overtake the community. Nehemiah would not let that happen.
13:28 be Even the family of the high priest, who were supposed to be Israel’s spiritual leaders, had participated in the sin of intermarriage with unbelieving foreigners (cp. Lev 21:14 bf). Nehemiah banished the offender, stripping him of status and removing his rights in the Jewish community.
13:29 bg Remember them, O my God: Many would probably resent Nehemiah’s aggressive attack on intermarriage in the family of the high priest. So he prayed for God’s judgment to fall on these spiritual leaders who defiled the priesthood.
Summary for Neh 13:30-31: 13:30-31 bh These final verses summarize Nehemiah’s reform. The emphasis on making certain and making sure shows that Nehemiah checked to see that the people did what they agreed to. He held people accountable for their commitments and did not allow for half-hearted reform.
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