Nehemiah 10:1-27

TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT

C. The people make vows of faithfulness.
1. A list is given of the signatures on the document.

TEXT, Nehemiah 10:1-27

1

Now on the sealed document were the names of: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,

2

Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

3

Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

4

Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

5

Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

6

Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

7

Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

8

Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. These were the priests.

9

And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;

10

also their brothers Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

11

Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,

12

Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

13

Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.

14

The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

15

Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

16

Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

17

Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

18

Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,

19

Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

20

Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

21

Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,

22

Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

23

Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

24

Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

25

Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

26

Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,

27

Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

COMMENT

Nehemiah 10:1 begins the document. Two methods of sealing official papers are known from this period: (1) the imprint of the thumbnail,[74] or (2) the impression of the person's private seal on a ball of moist clay, which is then attached by a string to the document.[75] The signatures in the case before us were voluntary. The first and most prominent name on the list was that of Nehemiah. His title, governor, used here and in Nehemiah 8:9, is in the official Persian form; one translation of it is His Severity. The title used in Nehemiah 5:14 and Nehemiah 12:26 differs from this, being Hebrew in form. Nehemiah apparently used the Persian title only for more official or solemn occasions.

[74] Cambridge Bible, op. cit., p. 267.

[75] Ellicott, op. cit., p. 500.

Zedekiah may be another spelling of Zadok (shortened by dropping the name of Jehovah at the end: cf. Nehemiah and Nahum), who may have been Nehemiah's secretary (scribe, Nehemiah 13:13). Thus we would have the heads of state making the document official.

Nehemiah 10:2-8 are the names of the priests who signed, being next in status to Nehemiah, Persia's representative. If Ezra is in the list at all, the most likely place is under Seraiah: that is, the names appear to be names of families instead of individuals; several are repeated in this way in Nehemiah 12:12-15, and Ezra was a descendant of Seraiah (Ezra 7:1).

By giving only their family names they may be saying that the priest's office and ancestry is more important than his individual identity: compare this with the present usage of the title Archbishop of Canterbury.

Levites are named in Nehemiah 10:9-13; six of the seventeen names we remember from those who manned the speaker's platform in Nehemiah 9:4-5; three others may have been there if we allow for variations in spelling. These also may have been names of families, though this is not certain. Part of the problem is that more than one generation used the same names.

Nehemiah 10:14-27, the remainder of the list, contain the names of the leaders of the people; we have gotten used to this classification of priests, Levites, and leaders of the people by now. Sixteen of these names are also in Ezra 2; it is supposed, then, that some are names of ancient families and others of individuals of newer families.

WORD STUDIES

DOCUMENT: see AMEN, in the Word Studies for chapter 8. SABBATH (Nehemiah 10:31): the basic idea is to cease, interrupt, stop; thus the manna ceased (the verb form of this word): Joshua 5:12. If work stops, there is rest (Exodus 23:12).

The word applied to the seventh day (Exodus 20:11); to the seventh years, when no crops were to be sown (Leviticus 25:2); to the first and last day of the festivals that lasted for a week, regardless of the day of the week (Leviticus 23:39); to the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:32) or Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24); or in the plural as a synonym for weeks (Leviticus 23:15) or for seven-year periods (Leviticus 25:8).