Neh 13:23-27 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Neh 13:23-24: 13:23-24 The earlier marriage reforms (9:2 ; 10:28 ; Ezra 9:1–10:44 ) 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.

a13:23-24►

dEzra 9:1–10:44►

f13:26-27►

g1 Kgs 11►

‏ Nehemiah 13:23-27

Summary for Neh 13:23-24: 13:23-24 ^a The earlier marriage reforms (9:2 ^b; 10:28 ^c; Ezra 9:1–10:44 ^d) 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 ^e 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 ^f King Solomon had led the nation into sin by his foreign wives (1 Kgs 11 ^g). If intermarriage with pagans was allowed to continue, the same apostasy would overtake the community. Nehemiah would not let that happen.