Now these are the priests and the Levites1 who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Yusha2: Seraiah, Armiya3, Uzair4, 2Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah. 7Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Yusha.
8Moreover the Levites: Yusha, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving, he and his brothers. 9Also Bakbukiah and Unno, their brothers, were over against them according to their offices. 10Yusha became the father of Joiakim, and Joiakim became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib became the father of Joiada, 11and Joiada became the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan became the father of Jaddua.
12In the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ households: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Armiya, Hananiah; 13of Uzair, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Yusuf5; 15of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16of Iddo, Zakariyya6; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19and of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of fathers’ households; also the priests, in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23The sons of Levi, heads of fathers’ households, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24The chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Yusha son of Kadmiel, with their brothers near them, to praise and give thanks, according to the commandment of Dawud7 the man of God, section next to section. 25Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the watch at the store-houses of the gates. 26These were in the days of Joiakim son of Yusha, son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah8 the governor, and of Uzair the priest and scribe.
27At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with giving thanks, and with singing, with cymbals, lyres, and harps. 28The sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain around Jerusalem, and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29also from Beth Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had built themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30The priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.
31Then I brought the princes of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two great companies who gave thanks and went in procession; of which one went on the right hand on the wall toward the dung gate. 32After them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, 33and Azariah, Uzair, and Meshullam, 34Judah, and Binyamin9, and Shemaiah, and Armiya, 35and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zakariyya son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36and his brothers, Shemaiah, and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of Dawud the man of God; and Uzair the scribe was before them. 37By the spring gate, and straight before them, they went up by the stairs of the city of Dawud, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of Dawud, even to the water gate eastward.
38The other company of those who gave thanks went to meet them, and I after them, with the half of the people, on the wall, above the tower of the furnaces, even to the wide wall, 39and above the gate of Ephraim, and by the old gate, and by the fish gate, and the tower of Hananel, and the tower of Hammeah, even to the sheep gate: and they stood still in the gate of the guard. 40So the two companies of those who gave thanks in the House of God stood, and I and the half of the rulers with me; 41and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zakariyya, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42and Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. 43They offered great sacrifices that day, and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the women also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.
44On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them according to the fields of the cities, the portions appointed by the Taurat10 for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites who waited. 45They kept the charge of their God, and the charge of the purification, and so did the singers and the porters, according to the commandment of Dawud, and of Sulayman11 his son. 46For in the days of Dawud and Asaph of old there was a chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47All Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, as every day required: and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Harun12.
- 12:1 Levites, the descendants of Levi, one of the 12 sons of Prophet Yaqub (Jacob), from whose family line came all the priests who served in the Holy House of God, the Temple at Jerusalem. ↩︎
- 12:1 Yusha, this Arabic name and the name Jeshua are both derived from the Hebrew name Yehoshua, which means “YAHWEH saves.” Yehoshua also gives rise to the Arabic names ‘Isa and Yesu, as well as the Greek name Iesous, which is rendered Jesus in English. ↩︎
- 12:1 Armiya, or Jeremiah, from the Hebrew name Yirmeyah, which means “YAHWEH will exalt.” ↩︎
- 12:1 Uzair, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Ezra, meaning “helper” or “strength”. ↩︎
- 12:14 Yusuf, or Joseph, derived from the Hebrew name Yosef. ↩︎
- 12:16 Zakariyya, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Zechariah, which means “YAHWEH remembers.” ↩︎
- 12:24 Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎
- 12:26 Nehemiah, a Hebrew name which means “YAHWEH comforts”. ↩︎
- 12:34 Binyamin, or Benjamin, derived from the Hebrew name Benyamin, meaning “Son of the right hand.” ↩︎
- 12:44 Taurat, this Arabic term is derived from the Hebrew word Torah, which means “instruction” or “teaching.” Depending on context, Taurat can refer to,
1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.
4. Taurat can also refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book of the Hebrew Bible. ↩︎ - 12:45 Sulayman, this Arabic name and the name Solomon are both derived from the Hebrew name Shlomo which means “peace.” ↩︎
- 12:47 Harun, this Arabic name and the English name Aaron, are both derived from the Hebrew name Aharon, possibly meaning “exalted” or “high mountain.” ↩︎