Nehemiah 10:1
in Nehemiah 10Now these were the ones who sealed the document: Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah, and also Zedekiah,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now those that sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,
KJV
Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
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This verse in Nehemiah 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBut the signatories were Nehemiah the Tirshatha, etc. Another translation has, Nehemiah, who is the Tirshatha; for Nehemiah had two names. Hence it is uniquely added, the son of Hacaliah; which is more clearly indicated above, where it is said: But Nehemiah said, he is …
This site's exposition
Nehemiah the governor
on Nehemiah 10:1-8
Nehemiah's own name leads the seals, "Nehemiah the governor, son of Hacaliah." Twenty-one priestly names follow him to verse 8, the priesthood sealing first as it does again at the wall's dedication. Ezra's name is absent from the seals, though the narrative meets him again at the dedication in 12:36.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It may seem strange that Ezra doth not appear among them. But that might be because he was prevented, by some sickness, or other extraordinary impediment. It is true, we meet with Ezra after this, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, chap. xii, 36, and therefore he was then freed from this impediment, whatsoever it was.
2 ) which was but the first day of the same month, and therefore we cannot think he was absent; but he, having before done his part as a scribe, now left it to others to do theirs. Next to the priests, seventeen Levites subscribed this covenant, among whom we find all or most of those who were the mouth of the congregation in prayer, ch. ix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Now those that sealed were,.... That sealed the covenant, made Neh 9:
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The “Zidkijah” of this passage is probably the same as “Zadok” Neh 13:13. “Zadok” is expressly called “the scribe,” and it was probably as the scribe who drew up the document that “Zidkijah” signed it immediately after Nehemiah.
Now those that sealed - Four classes here seal. Nehemiah first, as their governor. And after him, secondly, The priests, Neh 10:2-8. Thirdly, The Levites, Neh 10:9-13. Fourthly, The chiefs of the people, Neh 10:14-27. It is strange that, among all these, we hear nothing of Ezra, nor of the high priest Eliashib. Nor are any of the prophets mentioned, though there must have been some of them at Jerusalem at this time. The whole of this chapter, the two first verses excepted, is wanting in the Arabic; the word Pashur of the third verse is retained; and the rest of the chapter is summed up in these words, and the rest of their assembly.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Yet, despite all this Despite all the evil that has come upon us, we are making a trust with the Holy One, blessed be He, to believe and to trust in Him.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And signed thereon He now proceeds to enumerate the signatories on the testimonial document of the acceptance of the commandments.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַ֖ל | veal | and [were] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַחֲתוּמִ֑ים | hachatumim | the sealed [documents] | H2856 → | |
| נְחֶמְיָ֧ה | nechemyah | Nehemiah | H5166 → | 8 times |
| הַתִּרְשָׁ֛תָא | hatirshata' | the governor | H8660 → | 5 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֲכַלְיָ֖ה | chakhalyah | Hacaliah | H2446 → | |
| וְצִדְקִיָּֽה׃ | vetzidkiyah | and Zedekiah | H6667 → |
וְעַ֖לand [were] on
vealH5921 →5755 times
הַחֲתוּמִ֑יםthe sealed [documents]
hachatumimH2856 →
נְחֶמְיָ֧הNehemiah
nechemyahH5166 →8 times
הַתִּרְשָׁ֛תָאthe governor
hatirshata'H8660 →5 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
חֲכַלְיָ֖הHacaliah
chakhalyahH2446 →
וְצִדְקִיָּֽה׃and Zedekiah
vetzidkiyahH6667 →
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 1:1These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,
it leads to
- Zechariah 7:1
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
- Esther 1:2
In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
- Daniel 8:2
And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
- Zechariah 7:1
Through
Nehemiah 8:9Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:12
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
- Nehemiah 7:65
The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
- Nehemiah 7:70
Some of the heads of the families contributed to the project. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 bowls, and 530 priestly garments.
- Deuteronomy 12:12
Through
Nehemiah 9:38In view of all this, we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing and sealing it with the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 34:31
So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul,…
- Ezra 10:3
So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the…
- 2 Chronicles 34:31
Where this verse is studied
About Nehemiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- 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…
- PersonExileZedekiahJudah's last king, who broke his oath to Babylon against Jeremiah's word; his sons slain before his eyes at Riblah, and the city a…
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; 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.