The list presented in vs. 1-9 is clarified by comparison with two parallel lists, that of the priestly families whose seals were set to the covenant (ch. 10:2-8), and that of the heads of the priestly courses under the high priest Joiakim (ch. 12:12-21). The number of names differs slightly from list to list, as do also the names and the order in which they appear. That they are family names is most evident from the third list.

 From a comparison of the two lists in ch. 12 (columns 2, 3, 4) it is apparent that the names of the head of the house of Miniamin, and of both the house and head of the house of Hattush, are missing from the second list. In other respects the two lists agree both in the number and in the order in which they appear. However, a comparison of the two lists of ch. 12 with that of ch. 10 shows greater differences. Of the 22 names given in ch. 12:1-7 (21 names in vs. 12-21), 15 (14 in vs. 12-21) marked with an asterisk (*) occur also in ch. 10. But Pashur, Malchijah, Obadiah, Daniel, Baruch, and Meshullam of ch. 10 are missing in ch. 12. Some commentators have sought to explain this difference by supposing that a portion of the priests refused their signatures because they did not concur in the strict measures of Ezra and Nehemiah. This suggestion would be conceivable if only 15 heads of priestly families had signed the covenant instead of 21. Since, however, 6 other names appear instead of the 6 missing names, this cannot be the reason. The reason for the differences is probably the time lapse between the two lists. The list of ch. 12:1-7 is from the time of Zerubbabel, that of ch. 12:12-21 from the time of the high priest Joiakim, who probably held office during the latter part of the reign of Darius I, while that of ch. 10 dates from the reign of Artaxerxes I.

 

 

Neh. 10:2~8	Neh. 12:1~7	Neh. 12:12~21
Time of Nehemiah (c. 444 B.C.)	Time of Zerubbabel (c. 536 B.C.)	Time of Joiakim (c. 490 B.C.)
Priests Signing the Covenant	Heads of Priestly Houses	Priestly Houses	Heads of Priestly Houses
1. Seraiah	1. Seraiah *	1. Seraiah *	1. Meraiah
2. Azariah	2. Jeremiah *	2. Jeremiah *	2. Hananiah
3. Jeremiah	3. Ezra *	3. Ezra *	3. Meshullam
4. Pashur	4. Amariah *	4. Amariah *	4. Jehohanan
5. Amariah	5. Malluch *	5. Melicu *	5. Jonathan
6. Malchijah	6. Hattush *
7. Hattush	7. Shechaniah *	6. Shebaniah *	6. Joseph
8. Shebaniah	8. Rehum *	7. Harim *	7. Adna
9. Malluch	9. Meremoth *	8. Meraioth *	8. Helkai
10. Harim	10. Iddo	9. Iddo	9. Zechariah
11. Meremoth	11. Ginnetho *	10. Ginnethon *	10. Meshullam
12. Obadiah	12. Abijah *	11. Abijah *	11. Zichri
13. Daniel	13. Miamin *	12. Miniamin *
14. Ginnethon	14. Maadiah *	13. Moadiah *	12. Piltai
15. Baruch	15. Bilgah *	14. Bilgah *	13. Shammua
16. Meshullam	16. Shemaiah *	15. Shemaiah *	14. Jehonathan
17. Abijah	17. Joiarib	16. Joiarib	15. Mattenai
18. Mijamin	18. Jedaiah	17. Jedaiah	16. Uzzi
19. Maaziah	19. Sallu	18. Sallai	17. Kallai
20. Bilgai	20. Amok	19. Amok	18. Eber
21. Shemaiah	21. Hilkiah	20. Hilkiah	19. Hashabiah
	22. Jedaiah	21. Jedaiah	20. Nethaneel

 That there were 21 or 22 priestly heads in three different periods of postexilic Jewry seems to indicate that the priests were divided among 21 or 22 orders, or classes, as those of David’s time were in 24 (1 Chron. 24). Why the original number of courses was not immediately restored after the Exile is unknown. By the time of Christ the full number of 24 priestly courses was officiating, according to Josephus (Antiquities vii. 14, 7), who claims rather inaccurately that David’s division into orders continued until his day.

 The difference between the names in the lists of chs. 10 and 12 can be explained on the basis that the names of those who sealed the covenant (ch. 10) are not names either of orders or of houses, but of heads of houses living in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Of these, some compare with the names of the orders and houses, while the remainder are different. That some names are the same does not, however, prove that the individuals belonged to the house whose name they bore. Similarities between names in the two lists is accidental. According to ch. 12:13, 16, there were two men named Meshullam, one the head of the house of Ezra, the other of the house of Ginnethon. That only 21 houses are mentioned in the lists of chs. 10 and 12:12-21 is perhaps due to a copyist’s error. The suggestion made by some commentators that one priestly house became extinct, or was otherwise disqualified between the time of Cyrus and Darius I, seems highly improbable.

 Of those here mentioned, all but Mattaniah signed the covenant of ch. 10 (see ch. 10:9-13). Sherebiah and Jeshua (the son of Kadmiel) are again named as heads of Levitical divisions in ch. 12:24. The name Judah does not appear in any other list of Levites in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and may possibly stand in place of Hodijah (ch. 10:10). Mattaniah is probably the same as the Mattaniah of ch. 11:17, who directed the first choral group.

 The other song leader mentioned in ch. 11:17. The name Unni appears nowhere else in records of this time.

 The two choirs (see ch. 11:17) seem to have been arranged so as to stand facing each other as they sang.

Preferably, “service[s]” (RSV).

 See on >Ezra 2:2. Verses 10, 11 present the genealogy of the high priests from the time of Zerubbabel to the time of the compilation of the book of Nehemiah. The genealogy is probably inserted here as a connecting link between the lists of Levites, to explain the statements concerning the dates of their composition, dates indicated by the names of the respective high priests. The list of vs. 1-9 is from the time of Jeshua, that of vs. 12-21, from that of Joiakim.

 Mentioned only here and in vs. 12, 26. Since he was high priest between Jeshua, who was still living under Darius I (Ezra 5:2), and Eliashib, the high priest in Nehemiah’s time (Neh. 3:1; 13:4; etc.), Joiakim seems to have officiated as high priest during the latter part of the reign of Darius I and under Xerxes, perhaps down to the early years of Artaxerxes I.

 The officiating high priest in Nehemiah’s time (see on ch. 3:1).

High priest between Nehemiah’s term of office as governor and the year 410 B.C., when Johanan is attested as high priest (see pp. 80, 372).

 Either an alternate name for Johanan (see vs. 22, 23) or the result of a copyist’s error. Johanan is confirmed by the Elephantine papyri as high priest in 410 B.C. (see pp. 80, 372), probably also in 407, when the papyri containing his name were written.

Josephus, who speaks of him as Jannaeus (John), says that he murdered his own brother, Jesus (Jeshua, or Joshua), in the Temple, when Jeshua attempted to wrest the high priesthood from him through the influence of the Persians. This in turn gave Bagoas, the general of Artaxerxes II (Mnemon), an opportunity to take severe measures against the Jews (Antiquities xi. 7. 1). This information may be correct, for the Elephantine papyri give the name of the Persian governor in Johanan’s time as Bigvai, the Persian equivalent of the Greek Bagoas or Bagoses.

 See p. 372. Unless this list omits a generation or two (see on v. 1), the Jaddua of Alexander’s days mentioned by Josephus (Antiquities xi. 8. 4, 5) was probably another individual, possibly a son or grandson of this Jaddua.

 For vs. 12-21, see on v. 1.

 For the high priests here mentioned, see on vs. 10, 11.

 The “reign of Darius” seems to be the terminal point of the author’s various lists of ecclesiastical officers. The Darius of this verse is either Darius II (424/23-405/04 B.C.) or Darius III, the last Persian monarch (336-331 B.C.), who was defeated by Alexander the Great. Most commentators identify “Darius the Persian” with Darius III, on the basis that the Jaddua of Josephus (Antiquities xi 8. 4, 5) is the Jaddua of Neh. 12:11 and 22. But it is far from certain that Josephus’ Jaddua is to be identified with the Jaddua of Neh. 12:11 (see p. 372). It is far more probable that “Darius the Persian” is Darius II. That this term is no evidence for a late authorship of the book of Nehemiah, as has sometimes been asserted, is apparent from the use of the same term by Herodotus (ii. 110, 158).

The document in which the list of Levites was originally included. This book was a day-by-day record of events of national importance, and was a continuation of the earlier annals of the kingdom.

 The names Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, and Kadmiel occur frequently as those of the heads of Levitical orders, the first two in Ezra 8:18, 19 and Neh. 10:11, 12, the last two in Ezra 2:40 and Neh. 10:9; 12:8.

 Heb. ben. This should perhaps read Binnuy, the Binnui of v. 8 (see Ezra 8:33; Neh. 3:24; 10:9). Ezra 2:40 and 10:9 (cf. Neh. 12:8) seem to make it impossible that Jeshua could have been “the son of” Kadmiel.

 Compare 1 Chron. 15:16; 23:5; 25:3.

 This title is not often applied to David, but occurs again in Neh. 12:36, and also in 2 Chron. 8:14. Chronicles was probably written by the same author as Ezra and Nehemiah (see Introduction to Chronicles).

 This phrase is used of the gatekeepers in 1 Chron. 26:16. Here it is used to describe the position of the companies of singers in divine worship, probably meaning that the groups were arranged opposite each other and sang responsively.

 Mattaniah and Bakbukiah are mentioned in ch. 11:17 as leaders of two choirs. With them was Abda (a variant spelling for Obadiah). The apparent difficulty of their being listed here among the “porters” disappears when the three names are considered as clearly belonging to v. 24 (see on v. 24).

 Chiefs of the doorkeepers. The last two names occur as such both in Ezra 2:42 and Neh. 11:19, and even in 1 Chron. 9:17. Accordingly, these were the ancient names of houses of Levitical doorkeepers.

More accurately, “treasuries,” as in the KJV margin, or “storehouses” (RSV). The “porters” were the Temple police, and therefore guarded the storerooms and treasury of the Temple. These may have been in close proximity to the gates, as some commentators think.

 With v. 26 the two lists in vs. 12-21 and 24, 25 are concluded.

 The events recorded in vs. 27-43 must have occurred soon after the completion of the wall, and not many years later as some have suggested.

Accordingly, this document, like others in Nehemiah, is not given in chronological order.

 This is the first description in the Bible of the dedication of a city wall. Whether another ceremony such as this had ever taken place in Israel is not known. Houses were dedicated (Deut. 20:5), as was also the Temple (1 Kings 8; Ezra 6:16). The same may also have been true of a city wall and public buildings. When the high priest and his associate priests had finished building their section of the wall, they immediately “sanctified it” (Neh. 3:1), probably with a ceremony, and in so doing may have inspired Nehemiah to plan an appropriate ceremony of consecration for the entire wall upon its completion. Such an act placed the whole circuit of the wall under divine protection, in recognition of the fact that walls are useless unless God Himself defends them (see Zech. 2:5).

Heb. nebalim, a kind of harp. It was probably portable and had its sounding box at the top, like harps depicted on Assyrian reliefs (see p. 32). This agrees with an explanation of the word nebel given by Jerome. Egyptian harps were much larger and had their sounding box at the bottom of the instrument (see p. 33).

Heb. kinnoroth. A kinnor was a lyre rather than a harp.

Netophah has been identified with the site Khirbet Bedd Falûh, about 31/2 mi. (5.6 km.) southeast of Bethlehem.

 Heb. Bethhaggilgal, a town generally identified with the Gilgal of Joshua 15:7, about halfway between Jericho and Jordan (see on Joshua 15:7).

 See on Ezra 2:26, 24. All the towns mentioned in Neh. 12:28 and 29 were situated close to Jerusalem, and the singers, who built them, would accordingly be conveniently located for attending the Temple services.

 See Ezra 6:20 on the purification of priests and Levites. Inanimate things could also become legally defiled (Lev. 14:34-53; Deut. 23:14). In case either the wall or the gates should thus become ceremonially unclean, they were required to undergo legal purification prior to the ceremony of dedication.

 Nehemiah ordered all the leaders of the nation, both secular and ecclesiastical, to mount the wall. There he divided them into two companies, each composed of both clergy and laity, and placed one of them under the direction of Ezra (v. 36) and took command of the other himself (v. 38). The assembling point seems to have been the Valley Gate—between the Dung Gate and the Tower of the Furnaces— because Ezra’s company marched toward the Dung Gate, the first mentioned landmark, while Nehemiah’s group first passed the Tower of the Furnaces (vs. 31 and 38). On the possible location of the Valley Gate see on ch. 2:13. Ezra’s company moved toward the southeastern corner of Jerusalem, and after passing the Dung and Fountain gates, moved along on top of the eastern wall, passing the Water Gate. Nehemiah’s company proceeded northward, and in succession passed the Tower of the Furnaces, the Broad Wall, the Gate of Ephraim, the Old Gate, the Fish Gate, the towers Hananeel and Meah, and the Sheep and Prison gates. Between the Prison Gate and the Water Gate the two companies apparently met, and from there entered the Temple. Concerning the topography of the wall and the gates, see on chs. 2:13-15; 3:1-32, also the Additional Note on ch. 3.

 Perhaps the Hoshea of ch. 10:23 who sealed the covenant.

 The other half were with Nehemiah (v. 40).

 Probably representatives of but two priestly families. The “and” preceding Azariah should be translated “even,” or “namely,” and the entire verse rendered, “Namely Azariah, who is Ezra, and Meshullam” (see ch. 10:2, 7).

 This Ezra should be distinguished from Ezra, the leader of the company, mentioned in ch. 12:36.

Certain lay people belonging to these tribes seem to be meant.

 Representatives of two more priestly families (see chs. 10:2, 8; 12:1, 6).

 Each procession was accompanied by a body of priests who blew the trumpets (v. 41), the leader of Ezra’s company being Zechariah, a descendant of Asaph. With him were eight trumpeters, listed in v. 36.

 See Neh. 12:27; cf. 2 Chron. 29:26; 1 Chron. 15:16; 23:5; Ezra 3:10.

 Ezra was the leader of the entire company. He had returned from Babylon 13 years before Nehemiah (Ezra 7; Neh. 2:1), and is also found as the spiritual leader of the people during the ceremonies of the 7th month (Neh. 8:1-15).

 See on ch. 2:14.

 Insertion of these words, which are not in the Hebrew, makes it appear that the Fountain Gate was “over against them.” According to the Hebrew, the “stairs” were “over against them.” When the procession reached the Fountain Gate, it ascended to the City of David by way of the steps here mentioned, ascended the wall once more, and followed its course to the Water Gate (see on ch. 3:26), which overlooked the Kidron Valley. Somewhere above the Water Gate Ezra’s group met that of Nehemiah. Together they entered the Temple courts.

 This group was led by Nehemiah. Starting from the Valley Gate (see on v. 31), this company first went north past the Tower of the Furnaces (see on ch. 3:11), and the Broad Wall (see on ch. 3:8).

 This gate, which must have been located between the Broad Wall and the Old Gate, is not mentioned in the description of the building of the wall in ch. 3. Either it had not been in need of repair or the part of the list mentioning it has been lost from the text. From the Gate of Ephraim the procession continued along the top of the wall and “above,” or over, the gates—the Old Gate (see ch. 3:6), the Fish Gate (ch. 3:3), the towers Hananeel and Meah, and the Sheep Gate (ch. 3:1).

What has been said of the Gate of Ephraim is true also of this gate.

 It must have been located in the northern section of the eastern wall, south of the Sheep Gate. Passing this gate, Nehemiah’s group must have entered the Temple area, as v. 40 indicates, perhaps by the Gate Miphkad (see on ch. 3:31).

 Compare v. 32.

 The seven priestly trumpeters correspond to the eight in Ezra’s group (see on v. 36).

The role of Maaseiah and the seven men here mentioned is not clear.

 Since the time of David it had become customary to offer numerous sacrifices at the dedication of important buildings (see 1 Kings 8:5; Ezra 6:17; cf. 2 Sam. 6:17; 24:25). Thus, Nehemiah followed an established custom.

 Jewish women are not frequently mentioned in the Bible as taking part in public festivities. The only other occasion in which women are recorded as having taken part in a general celebration was at the Red Sea, under the leadership of Miriam (Ex. 15:20).

 See Ezra 3:13; cf. 1 Kings 1:40; 2 Kings 11:13.

 In view of the fact that the nation had promised to be faithful in rendering their tithes and offerings (ch. 10:32-37), provision was now made for administering the expected Temple revenues. Since the tithes and offerings were paid in produce—grain, wine, oil, etc. (see ch. 13:5)—spacious storage rooms were needed, with men to be in charge of them.

There was a spirit of harmony between laity and clergy, and everyone contributed willingly.

 The Hebrew text reads, “And they [the Levites] performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon” (RSV). On this command of David and Solomon compare 2 Chron. 8:14.

 Verse 46 explains the phrase “according to the commandment of David” of v. 45. The musical service, says Nehemiah, together with the arrangement of personnel and the songs used, originated in the days of David and his chief song leader, Asaph.

 Israel fulfilled their obligations toward the Temple service in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah by paying their tithes and other dues, as required by law (see on Neh. 10:32-37 and Num. 18:29).