Nehemiah 10:32
in Nehemiah 10We also place ourselves under the obligation to contribute a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of our God:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also 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;
KJV
Also 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;
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This verse in Nehemiah 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseCharge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel - According to the law, every one above twenty years of age was to give half a shekel to the sanctuary, which was called a ransom for their souls. See Exo 30:11-16. But why is one third of a shekel now promised instead of the half shekel, which the law required?
This site's exposition
a third of a shekel
on Nehemiah 10:32-33
The third ordinance funds the temple: "a third of a shekel yearly," less than the half shekel of Exodus 30:11-16. Verse 33 lists what the money buys, "the showbread," and "the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel" (10:33). The whole calendar of worship is underwritten in coin.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And we shall set upon us the precepts, etc. All these things contained in this chapter pertain to the care of the house of the Lord and its ministers and ministries. And the best order of religious conversation, to be spiritually imitated now for us …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When Israel was first brought into covenant with God it was done by sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood, Exod. xxiv. But here it was done by the more natural and common way of sealing and subscribing the written articles of the covenant, which bound them to no more than was already their duty.
Also we made ordinance, for us,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God--The law required every individual above twenty years of age to pay half a shekel to the sanctuary. But in consequence of the general poverty of the people, occasioned by war and captivity, this tribute was reduced to a third part of a shekel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
A minute and particular enumeration of the first-fruits was made, that all might be made fully aware of their obligations, and that none might excuse themselves on pretext of ignorance from withholding taxes which the poverty of many, and the irreligion of others, had made them exceedingly prone to evade.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The third part of a sheckel - This appears to have been the first occasion on which an annual payment toward the maintenance of the temple service and fabric was established. The half-shekel of the Law Exo 30:13 was paid only at the time of a census (which rarely took place), and was thus not a recurring tax. In later times, the annual payment was raised from the third of a shekel to half a shekel Mat 17:24.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֶעֱמַ֤דְנוּ | veheemadnu | and we establish | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾaleinu | on ourselves | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִצְוֹ֔ת | mitzvot | commandments | H4687 → | 181 times |
| לָתֵ֥ת | latet | to put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| עָלֵ֛ינוּ | ʾaleinu | on ourselves | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׁלִשִׁ֥ית | shelishit | [the] third of | H7992 → | |
| הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל | hashekel | the shekel | H8255 → | |
| בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה | bashanah | in the year | H8141 → | 877 times |
| לַעֲבֹדַ֖ת | laavodat | for [the] service of | H5656 → | 145 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְהֶעֱמַ֤דְנוּand we establish
veheemadnuH5975 →521 times
עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙on ourselves
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
מִצְוֹ֔תcommandments
mitzvotH4687 →181 times
לָתֵ֥תto put
latetH5414 →2011 times
עָלֵ֛ינוּon ourselves
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
שְׁלִשִׁ֥ית[the] third of
shelishitH7992 →
הַשֶּׁ֖קֶלthe shekel
hashekelH8255 →
בַּשָּׁנָ֑הin the year
bashanahH8141 →877 times
לַעֲבֹדַ֖תfor [the] service of
laavodatH5656 →145 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃God our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 3:9Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 26:2–15
you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go…
- 1 Corinthians 16:2
On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.
- Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
- Exodus 23:19
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Philippians 4:17–18
Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.
- Deuteronomy 26:2–15
Through
Genesis 28:22And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
it leads to
- Genesis 35:7
There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother.
- Genesis 14:20
and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
- Genesis 35:7
Through
2 Corinthians 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
it leads to
- Mark 12:42–44
Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
- Mark 12:42–44
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.