Nehemiah 10

Now those who sealed were: the governor Nehemiah1 son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, 2Seraiah, Azariah, Armiya2, 3Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests. 9The Levites3: namely, Yusha4 son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 10and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. 14The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai, 20Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27Malluch, Harim, Baanah. 

28The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Taurat5 of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge, and understanding. 29They joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s Taurat, which was given by Musa6 the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of YAHWEH7 our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes; 30and that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; 31and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. 

32Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the House of our God; 33for the show bread, and for the continual meal-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the House of our God. 34We cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the House of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of YAHWEH our God, as it is written in the Taurat; 35and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first fruits of all fruit of all kinds of trees, year by year, to the House of YAHWEH; 36also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the Taurat, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the House of our God, to the priests who minister in the House of our God; 37and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all kinds of trees, the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the House of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the farming villages. 38The priest, the son of Harun8 shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the House of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure-house. 39For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the House of our God.

Next Page

  1. 10:1 Nehemiah, a Hebrew name which means “YAHWEH comforts”. ↩︎
  2. 10:2 Armiya, or Jeremiah, from the Hebrew name Yirmeyah, which means “YAHWEH will exalt.” ↩︎
  3. 10:9 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. ↩︎
  4. 10:9 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. ↩︎
  5. 10:28 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. ↩︎
  6. 10:29 Musa, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Moses meaning “to pull out” or “draw out” (of water); referring to the biblical story where he was rescued from the Nile River by Firaun’s daughter. ↩︎
  7. 10:29 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎
  8. 10:38 Harun, this Arabic name and the English name Aaron, are both derived from the Hebrew name Aharon, possibly meaning “exalted” or “high mountain.” ↩︎