Nehemiah 12

The original text of this chapter is in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 47 verses.

This part records the several lists of priests and Levites to document the genuineness of the Jewish community and its religious authority, in order to give legitimacy in this postexilic community.[9] The list starts with those said to have returned with Zerubbabel in the first wave at the time of the Persian king, Cyrus (verses 1–9), but this list is quite different from the one in Ezra 2.[9] After listing the high priests from the last one at the time of exile, Jozadak, the father of Jeshua, until Jaddua (verses 10–11), it records those returning at the time of Ezra (verses 12–21), with a careful note on its sources (verses 22–23).

These verses describe the joyous dedication of the completed work orchestrated by Nehemiah, within the frame of a symmetrically ordered structure as follows:[14]

A Preparations for joyous dedication (verses 27–30)

B Two companies appointed (verse 31a)

C One goes to the right upon the wall (verses 31b, 37)

C’ One goes to the left upon the wall (verses 38–39)

B’ Two companies meet and stand at the house of God (verse 40)

A’ Performance of joyous dedication (verse 43)[14]

The exuberant tone of this passage is indicated by the framework of "joy" which brackets this section (verse 27, five times in verse 43), as the final exposition after previous use in some turning points in the narrative:[15]

• Ezra 3:12–13: the laying of the foundations
• Ezra 6:16: the dedication of the temple
• Nehemiah 8:12: the people’s initial response to Ezra’s reading of the law[15]

Two lists of participants are recorded in verses 32–36 and 41–42,[14] and also display a remarkable symmetry:[15]

• First Company, processing to the right (verses 32–36):

A Hoshaiah and half of the princes of Judah (verse 32)

B Seven priests with trumpets (verses 33–35a)

C Zechariah and eight Levitical instrumentalists (verses 35b–36a)

X Ezra, the scribe (verse 36b)

• Second Company, processing to the left (verses 38–42)

A Nehemiah and half of people/officials (verses 38–40)

B Seven priests with trumpets (verse 41)

C Jezrahaiah and eight Levitical singers (verse 42)[15]

The last part of this chapter focuses on the priests and Levites who help people worship God in the Temple, as their needs were taken care by the same people.[21] David was mentioned twice, indicating that the people were emulating the traditions established since the time ‘God directed David to establish the Temple’.[21] Verse 47 also confirms that the pattern of bringing food for Temple workers was already observed from the time of Zerubbabel when the Temple was rebuilt, and consistently practiced until the time of Nehemiah.[22] This explains the anger of Nehemiah a few years later when he heard the people stopped providing the needs of the Temple workers (Nehemiah 13:10–13).[22]

• Jerusalem
• High Priest of Israel

• Related Bible parts: Ezra 2, Nehemiah 7

• Fensham, F. Charles (1982). The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. New international commentary on the Old Testament (illustrated ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0802825278. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
• Grabbe, Lester L. (2003). "Nehemiah". In Dunn, James D. G.; Rogerson, John William (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (illustrated ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 320–328. ISBN 978-0802837110. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
• Halley, Henry H. (1965). Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary (24th (revised) ed.). Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-25720-4.
• Larson, Knute; Dahlen, Kathy; Anders, Max E. (2005). Anders, Max E. (ed.). Holman Old Testament Commentary - Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Holman Old Testament commentary. Volume 9 (illustrated ed.). B&H Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0805494693. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
• Levering, Matthew (2007). Ezra & Nehemiah. Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible. Brazos Press. ISBN 978-1587431616. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
• McConville, J. G. (1985). Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. The daily study Bible : Old Testament. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664245832. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
• Smith, Gary (2018). Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. Volume 5. Tyndale House. ISBN 978-1414399126.
• Smith-Christopher, Daniel L. (2007). "15. Ezra-Nehemiah". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 308–324. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
• Throntveit, Mark A. (1992). Ezra-Nehemiah. John Knox Press.
• Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.

• Blenkinsopp, Joseph, "Ezra-Nehemiah: A Commentary" (Eerdmans, 1988)
• Blenkinsopp, Joseph, "Judaism, the first phase" (Eerdmans, 2009)
• Coggins, R.J., "The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah" (Cambridge University Press, 1976)
• Ecker, Ronald L., "Ezra and Nehemiah", Ecker's Biblical Web Pages, 2007.
• Grabbe, L.L., "Ezra-Nehemiah" (Routledge, 1998)
• Grabbe, L.L., "A history of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period, Volume 1" (T&T Clark, 2004)

• Jewish translations:
  • Nechemiah - Nehemiah - Chapter 12 (Judaica Press) translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
  • Book of Nehemiah Chapter 12. Bible Gateway