Neh 11-13 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Neh 11:1-36: 11:1-36 The narrative returns to the issue of repopulating the secure city of Jerusalem (see 7:1-5 ). The list of names roughly parallels the list in 1 Chr 9:2-17 . Summary for Neh 11:1-2: 11:1-2 Sacred lots were probably the Urim and Thummim (10:34 ; Josh 7:14 , 16-18 ; 14:2 ).

Summary for Neh 11:1-36: 11:1-36 ^a The narrative returns to the issue of repopulating the secure city of Jerusalem (see 7:1-5 ^b). The list of names roughly parallels the list in 1 Chr 9:2-17 ^c.
Summary for Neh 11:1-2: 11:1-2 ^d Sacred lots were probably the Urim and Thummim (10:34 ^e; Josh 7:14 ^f, 16-18 ^g; 14:2 ^h).
11:4 ⁱ Perez was one of Judah’s sons (Gen 38:29 ^j).
11:16 ^k The work outside the Temple probably included collecting tithes from people and caring for the tithes in storehouses (10:37-39 ^l; see also 1 Chr 26:29 ^m).
11:17 ⁿ a descendant of Asaph: David had chosen Asaph and his sons to provide music for the Temple worship (1 Chr 25:1-8 ^o). Asaph’s descendants took up this role again when the new Temple was built.
11:21 ^p The hill of Ophel was high ground just south of the Temple (3:26 ^q). It provided an ideal location to house those who worked in the Temple.
11:24 ^r The royal adviser informed the king of events in Jerusalem and notified Jewish officials of the king’s public administration of Persian policies.
11:30 ^s all the way from Beersheba ... to the valley of Hinnom: Earlier descriptions of places where people settled concentrated on areas north of Jerusalem (ch 3 ^t; 11:31-36 ^u); this list (11:25-30 ^v) reflects progressive expansion of places where Jewish people lived as they occupied many of their preexilic towns, both north and south of Jerusalem.

‏ Nehemiah 12

Summary for Neh 12:1-26: 12:1-26 ^w These lists of priests and Levites include a list of those who originally returned from exile with Zerubabbel (12:1-9 ^x), a chronological list of high priests (12:10-11 ^y), and the priests and Levites who served at the time of Joiakim, the high priest at the time of Nehemiah and Ezra (12:12-26 ^z).
Summary for Neh 12:1-9: 12:1-9 ^aa priests and Levites who returned with Zerubabbel ... and Jeshua: See Ezra 1:1-5 ^ab. Only those who could prove their priestly lineage could serve at the Temple, so it was important to maintain an accurate genealogical record of these families.
12:7 ^ac leaders of the priests: Cp. Ezra 2:36-39 ^ad.

• Jeshua was the high priest in Jerusalem when the people returned from captivity shortly after 538 BC (Ezra 2:2 ^ae; 3:2 ^af, 8 ^ag; 4:3 ^ah). He was still serving in 520 BC when Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the people to finish building the Temple (Ezra 5:1 ^ai; Hag 1:1 ^aj; Zech 3:1 ^ak).
Summary for Neh 12:8-9: 12:8-9 ^al Their associates ... stood opposite: To provide antiphonal singing (12:24 ^am; Ezra 3:1-11 ^an).
Summary for Neh 12:10-11: 12:10-11 ^ao Joiakim probably served in the early years of Ezra’s service.

• Eliashib and Joiada served during Nehemiah’s time (3:1 ^ap; 13:4 ^aq, 28 ^ar).

• Johanan: An Aramaic papyrus document from a Jewish colony that settled in Elephantine, Egypt (about 410 BC) and Josephus (Antiquities 11.5.4, AD 93) both mention Johanan serving after Nehemiah’s time.
Summary for Neh 12:12-21: 12:12-21 ^as This list was probably compiled when Joiakim was high priest (12:12 ^at) to verify the legitimacy of the priests and Levites who were in office. Except for the omission of Hattush (see 12:2 ^au), this list contains the same names as 12:1-7 ^av.
Summary for Neh 12:27-43: 12:27-43 ^aw The dedication of the new wall probably happened shortly after its completion (6:15-19 ^ax). This account probably came from Nehemiah’s personal memoirs.
Summary for Neh 12:27-29: 12:27-29 ^ay Since few Levites had returned to live in Jerusalem (see Ezra 2:40-42 ^az; 8:15-19 ^ba), all those throughout the land were recruited to create two impressive choirs and orchestras.

• Netophathites were from near Bethlehem (1 Chr 2:54 ^bb).

• Beth-gilgal was near Jericho.

• Geba and Azmaveth were in the territory of Benjamin.
12:30 ^bc The dedication ceremony required that the priests and Levites be purified and ready to enter the Temple area (see Exod 19:10 ^bd; Num 8:5-7 ^be).
Summary for Neh 12:31-37: 12:31-37 ^bf This impressive march proceeded southward along the top of the wall to the Dung Gate at the southern end of the city (3:13-14 ^bg). Then the procession continued north on the wall along the east side of the city, past the ruins of the house of David and up to the Water Gate (3:26 ^bh; 8:1 ^bi) near the Temple.
12:35 ^bj Long, slender, metal trumpets were played for festive, joyous occasions (1 Chr 13:8 ^bk; 15:23 ^bl; 16:6 ^bm, 42 ^bn; Ezra 3:10 ^bo) by the descendants of Asaph.
Summary for Neh 12:38-39: 12:38-39 ^bp The second choir ... went northward, up the western wall past the Broad Wall (3:8 ^bq), the Old City Gate (3:6 ^br), and the Fish Gate (3:3 ^bs), then across the northern side of the wall until it came to the Sheep Gate (3:1 ^bt) on the northeast corner of the Temple.

• The Guard Gate might be the Inspection Gate (3:31 ^bu).
12:43 ^bv This community celebration included everyone. God was the true source of their great joy because his power had enabled them to accomplish the huge task of rebuilding the walls. Psalm 147 ^bw might have been written for this occasion.
Summary for Neh 12:44-47: 12:44-47 ^bx On that day, the day of the dedication of the wall (12:44 ^by; 13:1 ^bz), men were appointed to take care of the tithes and gifts given for the physical needs of the priests and Levites. Their duties were to collect the gifts of the people for the priests and Levites (10:32-39 ^ca; see also Exod 30:11-16 ^cb; 38:25-26 ^cc), to perform the service of their God (probably sacrifices; see Lev 1–5 ^cd), and to oversee the service of purification of those people who were unclean. They also purified pans, knives, and clothing used in Temple worship as described in Lev 11–15 ^ce (see also 1 Chr 23:28 ^cf).
12:46 ^cg David had given instructions for ordering the music at the Temple (1 Chr 23–26 ^ch), and he had put Asaph, along with Heman and Jeduthun, in charge of the music (1 Chr 25:2-5 ^ci).
12:47 ^cj From the time of the first returnees to Jerusalem in the days of Zerubbabel in 538 BC (Ezra 3:1 ^ck) until the time of Nehemiah around 445 BC, Israelites brought food for those working at the Temple. Most of the Levites lived in cities around the country; they collected the tithe and brought a tenth of what they received to the Temple in Jerusalem to support its ministry (see Neh 10:38-39 ^cl).

‏ Nehemiah 13

Summary for Neh 13:1-3: 13:1-3 ^cm On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44 ^cn), the text from Deut 23:3-6 ^co 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 ^cp) that these teachings were no longer being observed.
Summary for Neh 13:4-14: 13:4-14 ^cq Eliashib the priest (see 12:10 ^cr, 22 ^cs; 13:28 ^ct) had stopped following the practice of excluding the Ammonites and Moabites (13:1 ^cu), and the people quit giving their tithes to the Levites (13:10-12 ^cv). Now, Nehemiah corrected these problems.
Summary for Neh 13:4-5: 13:4-5 ^cw Eliashib’s family intermarried with the families of Sanballat (13:28 ^cx) and Tobiah. Both of these men were enemies of the Jewish community (2:10 ^cy, 19 ^cz; 4:1 ^da). Tobiah’s use of the storeroom meant there was less room to store tithes and gifts for the Temple workers (cp. 10:39 ^db; 13:10-12 ^dc; 2 Chr 31:11 ^dd) and less space for supplies needed to conduct regular worship at the Temple (Lev 2 ^de).
13:6 ^df 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 ^dg).
Summary for Neh 13:8-9: 13:8-9 ^dh 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 ^di), the priests themselves (Lev 8–9 ^dj), the Temple building and altars (Lev 16:15-33 ^dk), and all the holy things (1 Chr 23:28 ^dl) were purified (cp. 2 Chr 29:5 ^dm, 15-19 ^dn).
Summary for Neh 13:10-12: 13:10-12 ^do With Tobiah using the storeroom, there had been no place to store tithes to feed the Levites and Temple singers (Num 18:21-24 ^dp; see Neh 12:44 ^dq, 47 ^dr). They had to farm outside of Jerusalem (12:28-29 ^ds) to support themselves and could not serve in the Temple.
13:13 ^dt These men had an excellent reputation: Cp. Acts 6:1-6 ^du.
13:14 ^dv 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 ^dw, 29 ^dx, 31 ^dy.
Summary for Neh 13:15-31: 13:15-31 ^dz Nehemiah instituted two additional reforms to restore proper Sabbath observance (13:15-22 ^ea) and proper marriage practices (13:23-31 ^eb). 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 ^ec Normal work was to cease on the Sabbath in order to keep it holy (Exod 20:8-11 ^ed; 31:14-17 ^ee; 35:2-3 ^ef; Jer 17:19-27 ^eg).
13:19 ^eh The Sabbath began at sunset on Friday evening and lasted until sunset on Saturday evening.
13:22 ^ei 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 ^ej The earlier marriage reforms (9:2 ^ek; 10:28 ^el; Ezra 9:1–10:44 ^em) 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 ^en 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 ^eo King Solomon had led the nation into sin by his foreign wives (1 Kgs 11 ^ep). If intermarriage with pagans was allowed to continue, the same apostasy would overtake the community. Nehemiah would not let that happen.
13:28 ^eq 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 ^er). Nehemiah banished the offender, stripping him of status and removing his rights in the Jewish community.
13:29 ^es 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 ^et 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.