Nehemiah 10:26

Ahijah R.V. Ahiah.

We have here 44 names: or, if Bunni (Nehemiah 10:15) be the accidental repetition of Bani, and if -Ater, Hezekiah" stand for -Ater, of Hezekiah" (Ezra 2:16; Ezra 7:21), no more than 42. This figure is considerably in excess of the number of names under the same head in Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7.

(a) 14 names at least (i.e. Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Azgad, Bebai, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hariph (Jorah Ezra 2), Hashum, Bezai, Anathoth) are found, as they occur here, in the lists of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7.

Adonijah (Nehemiah 10:16) is doubtless the same as Adonikam (Ezra 2:13; Nehemiah 7:18), Magpiash (Nehemiah 10:20), as Magbish (Ezra 2:30).

(b) The names of certain houses mentioned in the lists of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7. e.g. Shephatiah, Arah, Zaccai do not appear here; these houses had either died out, or left the city, or refused to sign.

(c) The addition of names may be explained by the gradual accession of families since the age of Zerubbabel. But the variety of documents employed by the compiler is quite sufficient to account for considerable discrepancy in the names, since the work of compilation must have taken place long after the lists were drawn up.