Neh 12:44-13:5 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Neh 12:44-47: 12:44-47 On that day , the day of the dedication of the wall (12:44 ; 13:1 ), 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 ; see also Exod 30:11-16 ; 38:25-26 ), to perform the service of their God (probably sacrifices; see Lev 1–5 ), 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

Summary for Neh 12:44-47: 12:44-47 ^a On that day, the day of the dedication of the wall (12:44 ^b; 13:1 ^c), 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 ^d; see also Exod 30:11-16 ^e; 38:25-26 ^f), to perform the service of their God (probably sacrifices; see Lev 1–5 ^g), 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 ^h (see also 1 Chr 23:28 ⁱ).
12:46 ^j David had given instructions for ordering the music at the Temple (1 Chr 23–26 ^k), and he had put Asaph, along with Heman and Jeduthun, in charge of the music (1 Chr 25:2-5 ^l).
12:47 ^m From the time of the first returnees to Jerusalem in the days of Zerubbabel in 538 BC (Ezra 3:1 ⁿ) 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 ^o).

‏ Nehemiah 13:1-5

Summary for Neh 13:1-3: 13:1-3 ^p On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44 ^q), the text from Deut 23:3-6 ^r 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 ^s) that these teachings were no longer being observed.
Summary for Neh 13:4-14: 13:4-14 ^t Eliashib the priest (see 12:10 ^u, 22 ^v; 13:28 ^w) had stopped following the practice of excluding the Ammonites and Moabites (13:1 ^x), and the people quit giving their tithes to the Levites (13:10-12 ^y). Now, Nehemiah corrected these problems.
Summary for Neh 13:4-5: 13:4-5 ^z Eliashib’s family intermarried with the families of Sanballat (13:28 ^aa) and Tobiah. Both of these men were enemies of the Jewish community (2:10 ^ab, 19 ^ac; 4:1 ^ad). Tobiah’s use of the storeroom meant there was less room to store tithes and gifts for the Temple workers (cp. 10:39 ^ae; 13:10-12 ^af; 2 Chr 31:11 ^ag) and less space for supplies needed to conduct regular worship at the Temple (Lev 2 ^ah).