Nehemiah 12:47
in Nehemiah 12So in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all 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 Aaron.
KJV
And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 12
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd they sanctified the Levites, etc. The people sanctified the Levites by giving them tithes, as if to the holy ones of God; and the Levites themselves sanctified the priests by offering them a tenth part, as if giving from their own tithes to those …
This site's exposition
appointed over the chambers for the treasures
on Nehemiah 12:44-47
Joy becomes provision: men are appointed over storerooms for the offerings, firstfruits and tithes because Judah rejoiced for the priests and Levites who served, gladness producing giving rather than the reverse. Singers and porters keep their ward according to the commandment of David and of Solomon his son, reaching back past even the return to the temple's first builders. The closing verse compares the days of Zerubbabel to the days of Nehemiah and describes tithes moving in a sanctified chain, the people to the Levites and the Levites to the priests, so that the chapter that opened with a register of names closes with an economy that keeps them all at their work.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Both are said to be sanctified; when what is contributed, either voluntarily or by law, for the support of religion and the maintenance of the ministry, is given with an eye to God and his honour, it is sanctified, and shall be accepted of him accordingly, and it will cause the blessing to rest on the house and all that is in it, Ezek. xliv.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The intention is to compare the religious activity and strictness of Nehemiah’s time with that which had prevailed under Zerubbabel, as described by Ezra Ezr 6:16, Ezr 6:22. It is implied that the intermediate period had been a time of laxity. They sanctified holy things ... - i. e, “the people paid their tithes regularly to the Levites, and the Levites paid the tithe of the tithes to the priests.”
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֩ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בִּימֵ֨י | bimei | in [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| זְרֻבָּבֶ֜ל | zerubavel | Zerubbabel | H2216 → | 21 times |
| וּבִימֵ֣י | uvimei | and in [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| נְחֶמְיָ֗ה | nechemyah | Nehemiah | H5166 → | 8 times |
| נֹֽתְנִ֛ים | notenim | [were] giving | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מְנָי֛וֹת | menayot | [the] portions of | H4521 → | 8 times |
| הַמְשֹׁרְרִ֥ים | hamshorerim | the singers | H7891 → | 86 times |
| וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִ֖ים | vehashoarim | and the gatekeepers | H7778 → | 37 times |
| דְּבַר־ | devar- | [the] matter of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| י֣וֹם | yom | a day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| בְּיוֹמ֑וֹ | beyomo | in day its | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וּמַקְדִּשִׁים֙ | umakdishim | and [were] setting apart | H6942 → | 171 times |
| לַלְוִיִּ֔ם | lalviyim | for the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| וְהַלְוִיִּ֔ם | vehalviyim | and the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| מַקְדִּשִׁ֖ים | makdishim | [were] setting apart | H6942 → | 171 times |
| לִבְנֵ֥י | livnei | for [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַהֲרֹֽן׃ פ | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → |
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֩Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בִּימֵ֨יin [the] days of
bimeiH3117 →2304 times
זְרֻבָּבֶ֜לZerubbabel
zerubavelH2216 →21 times
וּבִימֵ֣יand in [the] days of
uvimeiH3117 →2304 times
נְחֶמְיָ֗הNehemiah
nechemyahH5166 →8 times
נֹֽתְנִ֛ים[were] giving
notenimH5414 →2011 times
מְנָי֛וֹת[the] portions of
menayotH4521 →8 times
הַמְשֹׁרְרִ֥יםthe singers
hamshorerimH7891 →86 times
וְהַשֹּׁעֲרִ֖יםand the gatekeepers
vehashoarimH7778 →37 times
דְּבַר־[the] matter of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
י֣וֹםa day
yomH3117 →2304 times
בְּיוֹמ֑וֹin day its
beyomoH3117 →2304 times
וּמַקְדִּשִׁים֙and [were] setting apart
umakdishimH6942 →171 times
לַלְוִיִּ֔םfor the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
וְהַלְוִיִּ֔םand the Levites
vehalviyimH3881 →291 times
מַקְדִּשִׁ֖ים[were] setting apart
makdishimH6942 →171 times
לִבְנֵ֥יfor [the] descendants of
livneiH1121 →4930 times
אַהֲרֹֽן׃ פAaron
ʾaharonH175 →
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
Nehemiah 12:1Now these are the priests and Levites who went up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and with Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 12:12–21
In the days of Joiakim, these were the heads of the priestly families: of the family of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
- Ezra 2:1–2
Now 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…
- Nehemiah 10:2–8
Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
- 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…
- 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…
- Nehemiah 12:12–21
Through
Nehemiah 11:23For there was a command from the king concerning the singers, an ordinance regulating their daily activities.
it leads to
- Ezra 6:8–9
I hereby decree what you must do for these elders of the Jews who are rebuilding this house of God: The cost is to be paid in full to these men from the royal…
- Ezra 7:20–24
And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury.
- 1 Chronicles 9:33
Those who were musicians, the heads of Levite families, stayed in the temple chambers and were exempt from other duties because they were on duty day and night.
- Ezra 6:8–9
About Nehemiah

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus eraAaronBrother of Moses and Israel's first high priest; his rod budded, his garments were for glory and beauty, and his line carried the…
- PersonReturn from exileNehemiahCupbearer to Artaxerxes who wept over Jerusalem's ruins, rebuilt the wall in fifty-two days with a sword in one hand and a trowel…
- PersonReturn from exileZerubbabelGovernor of Judah and grandson of Jeconiah who led the first return and laid the second temple's foundation; Haggai's signet-ring…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
