Nehemiah 10

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Nehemiah 10
  chapter 9
chapter 11  
Book of Ezra Chapter 10-5 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media).jpg
Discussing the issue of intermarriage. Illustration of Book of Ezra/Nehemiah. Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett
Book Book of Nehemiah
Category Ketuvim
Christian Bible part Old Testament
Order in the Christian part16

Nehemiah 10 is the tenth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, [1] or the 20th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. [2] Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Books of Chronicles, [3] but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE known as The Chronicler is the final author of these books. [4] The chapter contains the list of signatories to the people's pledge and the later part deals with intermarriage with the non-Jews among the "people of the land" (parallel to Ezra 10) punctuated with the pledge to separate from "foreigners". [5]

Contents

Text

The original text of this chapter is in Hebrew language. In English Bible texts this chapter is divided into 39 verses, but 40 verses in Hebrew Bible, due to a different verse numbering as follows: [6]

English textsHebrew texts
9:3810:1
10:1–3910:2–40

This article generally follows the common numbering in Christian English Bible versions, with notes to the numbering in Hebrew Bible versions.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes Codex Leningradensis (1008). [7] [a]

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century). [9]

The leaders set their seal to the pledge (10:1–27)

After the first seal from Nehemiah the governor (verse 1a), the record is carefully ordered with three lists of signatories: the priests (10:1b–8), the Levites (10:9–13) and the chiefs of the people (10:14–27). [10] Ezra the priest, who has played a leading part in the narrative on chapters 8 and 9, is not mentioned in this chapter.

Verse 1

Now those who placed their seal on the document were:
Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and
Zedekiah, [11]

Verse 3

Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, [13]

Verse 5

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, [16]
The beginning of the se[cond] month is [on the si]xth [day] of the course of Jedaiah. On the second of the month is the Sabbath of the course of Harim.... [17]

Verse 7

Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, [18]

Verse 8

Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests. [20]

Stipulations of the pledge (10:28–39)

The pledge contains the general affirmation involving the whole community (verses 28–29; cf. Ezra 910) and particular obligations 'which they lay upon themselves' (verses 30–39), in relation to intermarriage (verse 30), to the Sabbath and sabbatical year (verse 31), and to the provision for the upkeep of the Temple and clergy (verses 3239 ). [22] The wording can be traced to the Book of Deuteronomy, such as "to walk in God's law" (cf. Deuteronomy 8:6 ) and "to observe and do all the commandments" (cf. Deuteronomy 28:15 ). [23]

Verse 29

These joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes. [24]

The "curse" is the penalty which they invoked if they were faithless to the covenant, the "oath" is the solemn obligation of a duty which they vowed to perform: the oath recalls the wording of Deuteronomy 29:12 , enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today. [25]

Verse 32

Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; [26]

See also

Notes

  1. Since the anti-Jewish riots in Aleppo in 1947, the whole book of Ezra-Nehemiah has been missing from the text of the Aleppo Codex. [8]

Related Research Articles

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Nehemiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 11th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter describes Nehemiah's position in the Persian court and his piety.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra 3</span> A chapter in the Book of Ezra

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra 4</span> A chapter in the Book of Ezra

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra 5</span> A chapter in the Book of Ezra

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 3</span> Chapter from Nehemiah in the Old Testament

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Nehemiah 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 15th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter records the reform of Nehemiah in the case of economic oppression among the Jews, and shows how he led by example.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 7</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 8</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 18th chapter of the book of Ezra–Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter and the next focus mainly on Ezra, with this chapter recording Ezra's reading and instructing God's law to the people, then together they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with great joy. Nehemiah the governor is mentioned briefly in verse 9 but Smith-Christopher argues that "the presence of Ezra and the virtual absence of Nehemiah support the argument that chapter 8 is among the displaced chapters from the Ezra material", and suggests that "the original place for [this chapter] would logically have been between Ezra 8 and 9".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 9</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 19th chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter and the previous one focus mainly on Ezra; with this chapter recording Ezra's prayer of repentance for the sake of the people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 11</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 21st chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. The chapter describes the repopulation of Jerusalem. Judahites (4-6), Benjamites (7-9), priests (10-14), Levites (15-18), gatekeepers (19) and "the rest of Israel" (20-21). Roles in relation to leadership, maintenance and prayer in the Temple are allocated. The people cast lots and 1 of 10 are to volunteer to live in the city whilst the remainder repopulate the surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 12</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 22nd chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter recounts the lineage of the priests and Levites and describes the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem, whose construction has been a primary concern since the beginning of the book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah 13</span> A chapter in the Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, or the 23rd chapter of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible, which treats the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah as one book. Jewish tradition states that Ezra is the author of Ezra-Nehemiah as well as the Book of Chronicles, but modern scholars generally accept that a compiler from the 5th century BCE is the final author of these books. This chapter addresses a series of problems handled by Nehemiah himself, which had arisen during his temporary absence from the land, with some similar issues to those related in Ezra 9–10 and Nehemiah 10.

References

  1. Halley 1965, p. 236.
  2. Grabbe 2003, p. 313.
  3. Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 15a, apud Fensham 1982, p. 2
  4. Fensham 1982, pp. 2–4.
  5. Grabbe 2003, p. 325.
  6. Note [a] on Nehemiah 9:38 in NET Bible
  7. Würthwein 1995, pp. 36–37.
  8. P. W. Skehan (2003), "BIBLE (TEXTS)", New Catholic Encyclopedia , vol. 2 (2nd ed.), Gale, pp. 355–362
  9. Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
  10. Throntveit 1992, p. 107.
  11. Nehemiah 10:1 NKJV
  12. Note [a] on Nehemiah 10:1 in NKJV
  13. Nehemiah 10:3 NKJV
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. 1 Chronicles 24. Accessed 28 April 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 Urbach, Ephraim E., Mishmarot u-maʻamadot, Tarbiz (A Quarterly for Jewish Studies) 42, Jerusalem 1973, pp. 304–327 (Hebrew); Rainer Degen, An Inscription of the Twenty-Four Priestly Courses from the Yemen, pub. in: Tarbiẕ - A Quarterly for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem 1973, pp. 302303
  16. Nehemiah 10:5 KJV
  17. Wise, Abegg & Cook 1996, p. 317.
  18. Nehemiah 10:7 KJV
  19. Note [a] on Nehemiah 12:5 in NKJV
  20. Nehemiah 10:8 KJV
  21. Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905). Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers. 1 Chronicles 24. London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905-1906] Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019.
  22. McConville 1985, pp. 130–132.
  23. Throntveit 1992, p. 108.
  24. Nehemiah 10:29
  25. Ryle, H. E., Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Nehemiah 10, accessed 14 September 2020
  26. Nehemiah 10:32 KJV
  27. Note [a] on Nehemiah 10:32 in NET Bible
  28. Note [b] on Nehemiah 10:32 in NET Bible
  29. Note [a] on Nehemiah 10:32 in ESV
  30. Note [c] on Nehemiah 10:32 in NET Bible

Sources

Further reading