The Book of Nehemiah
Nehemiah 12
Chapter XII · Vol. II, pp. 921–922
1 The priests and the Levites which came up with Zerubbabel. 10 The succession of high-priests. 22 Certain chief Levites in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra. 27 The solemnity of the dedication of the wall. 44 The offices of the priests and Levites appointed in the temple.
1 Now these are the apriests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: bSeraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
3 Shechaniah,d Rehum,e Meremoth,f
d Or, Shebaniah, ver.14.
e Or, Harim, ver.15.
f Or, Meraioth, ver.15.
6 Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu,k Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests, and of their brethren, in the days of Jeshua.
k Or, Sallai, ver.20.
8 Moreover, the Levites: lJeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, which was over mthe thanksgiving, he and his brethren.
l ch.10.9-13; 8.7; 9.4.
m That is, psalms of thanksgiving, ch.11.22.
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them in the watches.
11 And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua.1
1 The dates of the accession of the several high-priests, after the time of Nehemiah, cannot be precisely ascertained. But as Jaddua did not accede till the time of Alexander of Macedon, about 100 years after Nehemiah's commission, this verse has been ascribed to a later writer than Nehemiah. There is, however, no necessity for this conjecture. Nehemiah might well have been cup-bearer to Artaxerxes at 25, and at the age of 125 or upwards have written, or caused to be written, this, as well as the foregoing genealogy. This is that Jaddua who is said by Josephus (Antiq. l. xi. c. 8) to have come out to meet Alexander on his march from the siege of Tyre to the destruction of the Persian empire, whom Alexander declared he had seen in a dream, to whom he did obeisance as a priest of God; whom he accompanied into the temple of Jehovah to offer sacrifices; who showed him the prophecies of Daniel, by which he was encouraged to proceed upon his warlike enterprise; and who obtained from the triumphant conqueror many favours for the Jews which he denied to the Samaritans.—C.
12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: pof Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
p ver.1-7.
13 Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
16 Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
20 Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel.
22 The Levites, in the days of sEliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers; also the priests, to the reign of tDarius the Persian.2
A.M. 3560. B.C. 444.
s ver.10,11.
t The last of that monarchy, Da.8.21,22.
2 Darius Codomannus was the monarch overthrown by Alexander; but as the regular course of the book seems to terminate with Darius Nothus, he, in the opinion of Hales, is Darius the Persian.—C.
23 The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the uChronicles,3 even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
u 1 Ch.9.14,&c.
3 Some think this refers to 1 Ch. 9. 14, &c. But Clarke remarks that this is not the book of Chronicles which we have now, no such list being found in it.—I.
24 And the chief of the Levites: xHashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, yaccording to the commandment of David zthe man of God, award over against ward.
25 Mattaniah,b and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters, keeping the ward at the thresholds4 of the gates.
b ver.8,9. 1 Ch.9.14,17.
4 Or treasuries, or assemblies.
26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 And at the cdedication of the wall5 of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both dwith thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
5 All acts of religion may become either so formal or so superstitious, or so sensualized that they cease to be relished by the spiritually-minded. The abuse of anything is, however, no valid reason against its use, and accordingly the completed wall was considered by Nehemiah a proper subject of solemn dedication to God.—C.
d 1 Ch.25.1,6; 15.28; 16.42.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the eplain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of fNetophathi;6
e ch.6.2.
f 1 Ch.2.54.
6 Netophah was a town or village, and probably also a small district, situated near Bethlehem. The latter part of this verse might be rendered thus:—'From the circuit round Jerusalem (see next verse), and from the villages of Netophah.'—P.
29 Also from the ghouse of Gilgal,7 and out of the fields of hGeba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them ivillages round about Jerusalem.
30 And the priests and the Levites kpurified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.8
k Ex.19.10,15. Ge.35.2. 2 Ch.29.5,34. Ezr.6.20,21. Nu.10.7,9.
8 Purified themselves by washing their clothes and abstinence, and 'the people,' by inculcating their own example. They purified the gate and wall by removal of rubbish, and probably by sprinkling the water of purification, Nu. 8. 6,7.21; 19.9.—C.
31 Then I brought up lthe princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed mtwo great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the ndung-gate:9
m ver.31-38,40-42.
n ch.2.13; 3.13,14.
9 The religious ceremony at the dedication of the wall appears to have been arranged as follows:—The priests, Levites, and chiefs of the people were divided into two companies, each of which was ranged so as to form a procession. One company went in one direction along the wall, the other in the opposite direction, and they thus proceeded until they met, each having gone round half the wall. They set out from the gate beside the palace on the west of the city, and they met at the temple on the east.—P.
32 And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah,
33 And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam,
34 Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah;
35 And certain of the priests' sons owith trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph;
36 And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the pmusical instruments of David the man of God, and qEzra the scribe before them.
37 And at the rfountain-gate, which was over against them, they went up by the sstairs1 of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the twater-gate eastward.
r ch.2.14; 3.15.
s ch.3.15. 2 Sa.5.7.
1 Jerusalem was built upon hills, some parts of which were very precipitous, and consequently to some places the ascent was only by stairs. Some striking examples of this construction occur in the great commercial city of Bristol and the beautiful retreat of Torquay.—C.
t ch.3.26; 8.1,3,16.
38 And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the utower of the furnaces, even unto the xbroad wall;2
u ch.3.11.
x ch.3.8.
2 Such walls are generally constructed with a strong front of masonry, surmounted by a parapet for purposes of defence; then within is generally a lower wall, and the space between these two being filled up, a road is made with stones and earth, so as to form both a place for soldiers and a passage for footmen, and often for carriages. C.——What part this was is not known. It has been conjectured that it may have been a place designed for assembling the troops or guard of the temple.—I.
39 And from above the ygate of Ephraim, and above the zold gate, and above the afish-gate, and the btower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep-gate; and they stood still in the cprison-gate.
40 So stood the dtwo companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me:
d ver.31,32.
41 And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer: and the singers sang 3loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.
3 Heb. made their voice to be heard. [They seem not to have begun their song of praise till they came to the house of God.—I.]
43 Also that day they eoffered great sacrifices, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
e 1 Ch.29.21. 2 Ch.20.27; 7.7. Ex.15.1-22. Ezr.3.13. Mat.21.9,15. Col.3.16. Ep.5.19. Ja.5.13.
44 And at that time were some appointed over the fchambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them, out of the fields of the cities the portions gof the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced4 for the priests and for the Levites that waited.5
f ch.10.37; 13.5,12. 2 Ch.31.11,12. 1 Ch.26.21,22,26.
g That is, appointed by the law, ch. 10. 32-39.
4 Heb. for the joy of Judah. [They rejoiced in this great concourse of Jehovah's appointed servants, and, in token of their gratitude, they took the necessary means for securing the provision for the priests and Levites, appointing officers to collect their revenue, &c.—I.]
5 Heb. that stood.
45 And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God,6 and the ward of the purification, haccording to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.
6 Ward signifies a limited district. The ward of God seems to signify those who, being ceremonially clean, were to be admitted to ordinances. The ward of purification seems to describe those who, being ceremonially unclean, were to be rigorously excluded. The two departments being emblematic of a faithful and godly discipline in the church of Christ.—C.
46 For in the days of David iand Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.
i 1 Ch.25.1,&c. 2 Ch.29.30.
47 And all Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, kgave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified7 holy things unto the Levites; land the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.8
k ch.10.35. 2 Ch.31.5,6. Ga.6.6. 1 Co.9.14.
7 That is, set apart.
l Nu.18.20-28. ch.10.38,39.
8 The Levites received the tenths, and of these they gave a tenth to the priests, according to the ordinance of God (Nu. 18. 26), and so both portions are said to be sanctified, that is, separated from the rest, and dedicated to the service of God.—C.
Notes
Reflections.—Happy are those ministers, those saints, who are recorded in the Lamb's book of life! Notwithstanding the ravages of death, God seeks to keep up in his church a succession of servants and people, and show them distinguished honours. It is highly proper, even in a most solemn manner, to devolve the protection of our cities and all that we have upon our God, as reconciled through the sacrifice of Christ. And it is comely when all, even wives and children, share in the joys of the gospel, and are taught to sing God's high praise. How necessary, through the selfishness or unconcern of most professors, are fixed methods of collecting a proper maintenance for the ministers of the Lord! But it is highly becoming for them faithfully to attend to their work, and leave the supply of their needs to the care of their God.