Nehemiah 13:1
in Nehemiah 13At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God for ever,
KJV
On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;
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This verse in Nehemiah 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Eliashib the priest . . . was allied unto Tobiah--This person was the high priest (Ne 13:28; also Ne 3:1), who, by virtue of his dignified office, had the superintendence and control of the apartments attached to the temple.
This site's exposition
no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God
on Nehemiah 13:1-3
The public reading turns up the law "that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God," the ban of Deuteronomy 23. The people "excluded from Israel all of foreign descent," a reading Keil dates after Nehemiah's return.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
On that day, it was read from the book of Moses, etc. It is evident that the Moabites and Ammonites, because they were born of incest, hold the figure of the heretics, whose founders, while they corrupt the doctrine of the fathers, from which they …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That day - Not presently after the dedication of the wall and city, but upon a certain day, when Nehemiah was returned from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which he had been absent for some considerable time, in which some errors and abuses had crept in.
), on the day of the dedication of the wall, as it should seem, for with their prayers and praises they joined the reading of the word; and though it was long after that the other grievances, here mentioned, were redressed by Nehemiah's power, yet this of the mixed multitude might be redressed then by the people's own act, for so it seems to be,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
On that day,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
On that day - I am quite of Calmet’s mind that the transaction detailed in this chapter did not immediately succeed the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem.
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
On that day - Or, “at that time,” as in Neh 12:44. The entire Pentateuch is probably meant by “the Book of Moses”.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֗וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נִקְרָ֛א | nikra' | it was read aloud | H7121 → | 733 times |
| בְּסֵ֥פֶר | besefer | in [the] scroll of | H5612 → | 186 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| בְּאָזְנֵ֣י | beazenei | in [the] ears of | H241 → | 187 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְנִמְצָא֙ | venimtza' | and it was found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| כָּת֣וּב | katuv | written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| בּ֔וֹ | bo | in it | ||
| אֲ֠שֶׁר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָב֨וֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַמֹּנִ֧י | ʾamoni | an Ammonite | H5984 → | 21 times |
| וּמֹאָבִ֛י | umoavi | and a Moabite | H4125 → | |
| בִּקְהַ֥ל | bikhal | in [the] assembly of | H6951 → | 123 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָֽם׃ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֗וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
נִקְרָ֛אit was read aloud
nikra'H7121 →733 times
בְּסֵ֥פֶרin [the] scroll of
beseferH5612 →186 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
בְּאָזְנֵ֣יin [the] ears of
beazeneiH241 →187 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וְנִמְצָא֙and it was found
venimtza'H4672 →455 times
כָּת֣וּבwritten
katuvH3789 →224 times
בּ֔וֹin it
bo
אֲ֠שֶׁרthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָב֨וֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
עַמֹּנִ֧יan Ammonite
ʾamoniH5984 →21 times
וּמֹאָבִ֛יand a Moabite
umoaviH4125 →
בִּקְהַ֥לin [the] assembly of
bikhalH6951 →123 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָֽם׃perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 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
Nehemiah 13:23In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
it leads to
- Ezra 9:1–2
After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like…
- Nehemiah 10:30
We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.
- Ezra 10:10
Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful by marrying foreign women, adding to the guilt of Israel.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Ezra 9:1–2
Through
2 Kings 23:2And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets—all the people small and great—and in their hearing…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 22:8
Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
- Deuteronomy 31:10–13
Then Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of remission of debt, during the Feast of Tabernacles,
- Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…
- 2 Kings 22:8
Through
Nehemiah 9:3While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 8:7–8
The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law as they stood in their places.
- Nehemiah 8:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Nehemiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.