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Nehemiah 12:1

in Nehemiah 12

Now these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

KJV

Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,

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This verse in Nehemiah 12

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
The priests - The number of the names here given, which is 22, is probably to be connected with that of the Davidic “courses,” which was 24 1Ch 24:7-18. Eight names are identical with those of the heads in David’s time. On comparing the present list with that of the families who sealed to Nehemiah’s covenant Neh 10:2-8, we shall find that the first sixteen recur in that document nearly in the same order; but that the last six are absent from it.

This site's exposition

went up with Zerubbabel

on Nehemiah 12:1-9

The register opens with the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, the return generation named by father's house the same way Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 name the laity. Twenty-two priestly names stand against the twenty-four courses David ordered in 1 Chronicles 24, a gap the commentators trace to two courses that had died out in Babylon and never returned. Mattaniah is named over the thanksgiving and Bakbukiah and Unni keep the watches opposite their brethren, the singing and guarding already running in the alternating courses David set.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

proposed

These are the priests and Levites, etc. Here the chief priests are described together with their brothers, that is the lesser priests, and the Levites, those who went up from the captivity of Babylon with Zerubbabel and Joshua the son of Jozadak. After explaining these, …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), but, it is supposed, not Jeremiah the prophet nor Ezra the scribe; the fame of the one was long before and that of the other some time after, though both of them were priests. Of one of the Levites it is said (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Ezra - Either this was another Ezra, or if it were the same mentioned Ezra vii, 1, he lived to a great age; which may well be supposed, considering his great sobriety, and his great piety to which God promised long life, and withal the special providence of God continuing him so long in such a season, wherein the church of God did greatly need his help and counsel.
Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

But these were divided by Zerubbabel, or Jeshua, into the original number of twenty-four. Twenty-two only are enumerated here, and no more than twenty in Ne 12:12-21. The discrepancy is due to the extremely probable circumstance that two of the twenty-four courses had become extinct in Babylon; for none belonging to them are reported as having returned (Ne 12:2-5).
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Now these are the priests - Not the whole, but the chief of them, as we are informed, Neh 12:7, Neh 12:22, Neh 12:23, and Neh 12:24. The Septuagint omit Neh 12:3, except the word Shechaniah; as also Neh 12:4, Neh 12:5,Neh 12:6, Neh 12:9,Neh 12:37, Neh 12:38, Neh 12:39, Neh 12:40, and Neh 12:41. The Arabic omits the first twenty-six verses, and Neh 12:29. Mention is made of Ezra in this verse; and he is generally allowed to be that Ezra whose book the reader has already passed over, and who came to Jerusalem in the time of Cyrus, with Zerubbabel. If this were the same, he must have been at this time upward of a hundred years of age: and this case is not improbable, as an especial providence might preserve such a very useful man beyond the ordinary age of men. See what has been said on the case of Nehemiah, Neh 1:1 (note).

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙and these

    veelehH428 →746 times

  • הַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים[are] the priests

    hakohanimH3548 →750 times

  • וְהַלְוִיִּ֔םand the Levites

    vehalviyimH3881 →291 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עָל֛וּthey came up

    ʾaluH5927 →890 times

  • עִם־with

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • זְרֻבָּבֶ֥לZerubbabel

    zerubavelH2216 →21 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵ֖לShealtiel

    shealtielH7597 →

  • וְיֵשׁ֑וּעַand Jeshua

    veyeshua'H3442 →29 times

  • שְׂרָיָ֥הSeraiah

    serayahH8304 →20 times

  • יִרְמְיָ֖הJeremiah

    yirmeyahH3414 →147 times

  • עֶזְרָֽא׃Ezra

    ʾezra'H5830 →22 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Nehemiah 12:12–21In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families: of the family of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;4 worksEzra 2:1–2Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar its king. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town,4 worksNehemiah 10:2–8Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,4 worksHaggai 1:1In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, stating2 worksHaggai 1:12Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. So the people feared the LORD.2 worksEzra 4:2they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of the families, saying, “Let us build with you because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time of King Esar-haddon of Assyria, who brought us here.”2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Haggai 1:14So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and began the work on the house of the LORD of Hosts, their God,2 worksZechariah 3:1–9Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.2 worksNehemiah 12:10Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim was the father of Eliashib, Eliashib was the father of Joiada,2 worksEzra 5:2Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.2 worksZechariah 4:6–10So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.2 works1 Chronicles 3:17–19The descendants of Jeconiah the captive:2 worksMatthew 1:12–13After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,2 worksEzra 3:8In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD.2 worksZechariah 6:11Take silver and gold, make an ornate crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.2 worksNehemiah 7:7accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:2 worksHaggai 2:21–23“Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am about to shake the heavens and the earth:2 worksHaggai 2:2“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and also to the remnant of the people. Ask them,2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Haggai 1:12

    Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 50:10

      Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him…

    • Haggai 1:14

      So the LORD stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, as well as the spirit of all the remnant…

    • Ezra 5:2

      Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

    • Psalms 112:1

      Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments.

    • Ecclesiastes 12:13

      When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

  • Through

    Haggai 1:1

    In the second year of the reign of Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the LORD came through Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of…

    it leads to

    • Ezra 2:2

      accompanied by Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah. This is the count of the men of Israel:

    • Ezra 3:2

      Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it,…

    • Ezra 3:8

      In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including…

About Nehemiah

Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah Views the Ruins of Jerusalem's Walls, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Nehemiah: the study guide →Read Nehemiah 12 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

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 and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

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