Nehemiah 10:30
in Nehemiah 10We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land, and we will not take their daughters for our sons.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons;
KJV
And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons,.... Intermarry with them as they had done, and were prone to do, and even did after this, Neh 13:23.
This site's exposition
not give our daughters
The first ordinance names the oldest wound in the book: "We will not give our daughters in marriage to the people of the land". It is the failure Ezra 9 had confessed and the one Nehemiah finds repeated at 13:23-28 within his lifetime. The covenant names its besetting sin first.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Many of them had been guilty of this, Ezra ix. In our covenants with God we should engage particularly against those sins that we have been most frequently overtaken in and damaged by.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
Not give our daughters - Make no affinity with the people of the land.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and all who separated themselves These are the proselytes who separated themselves from the practice of the nations to cling and attach themselves to the Law of the Holy One, blessed be He, and to keep His 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲשֶׁ֛ר | vaasher | and that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִתֵּ֥ן | niten | we will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בְּנֹתֵ֖ינוּ | benoteinu | daughters our | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לְעַמֵּ֣י | leamei | to [the] peoples of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם | benoteihem | daughters their | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִקַּ֖ח | nikach | we will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לְבָנֵֽינוּ׃ | levaneinu | for sons our | H1121 → | 4930 times |
וַאֲשֶׁ֛רand that
vaasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִתֵּ֥ןwe will give
nitenH5414 →2011 times
בְּנֹתֵ֖ינוּdaughters our
benoteinuH1323 →588 times
לְעַמֵּ֣יto [the] peoples of
leameiH5971 →1873 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּנֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔םdaughters their
benoteihemH1323 →588 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִקַּ֖חwe will take
nikachH3947 →966 times
לְבָנֵֽינוּ׃for sons our
levaneinuH1121 →4930 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
Deuteronomy 7:3Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:2
These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to…
- Joshua 23:12–13
For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them,
- Exodus 34:15–16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- Nehemiah 13:23–27
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- Judges 3:6–7
And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
- 1 Kings 11:2
Through
Exodus 34:16And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:3–4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
- 1 Kings 11:2–4
These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to…
- Ezra 9:2
Indeed, the Israelites have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed has been mixed with the people of the land. And the leaders and…
- Deuteronomy 7:3–4
Where this verse is studied
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.