Nehemiah 12:1-26

Details Concerning The Priests And Levites Who Returned With Zerubbabel, And Those Who Subsequently Developed (Nehemiah 12:1).

The importance of the genuinely appointed Priests and Levites to the new Israel and to the new Jerusalem as the holy city is now emphasised by providing details concerning their connection with the return, and their subsequent development. It is being emphasised that God had made provision for the continuation of orthodox worship in ‘the holy city', including the maintenance of the High Priesthood. The passage may be divided up into:

· The chiefs of the priests who went up with Zerubbabel, whose genealogies had been verified (Nehemiah 12:1; compare Nehemiah 7:64).

· The Levites who went up with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:8).

· The maintenance of the High Priestly line (Nehemiah 12:10).

· Subsequent chiefs of priests in the time of the high priest Joiakim (Nehemiah 12:12), thus down to the time of Nehemiah.

· Brief note regarding when the records of priests and Levites were made (Nehemiah 12:22).

The chiefs of the Levites in the days of Joiakim the high priest, who was contemporary with Nehemiah and Ezra (Nehemiah 12:24).