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Nehemiah 12:47

in Nehemiah 12

So 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

9 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah · Written before 735.

And 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 …

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

They gave the singers and porters their daily portion, over and above what was due to them as Levites; for we may suppose that when David and Solomon appointed them their work (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

And so did the Levites by the tithe of the tithes. Thus they all conscientiously paid their dues, and did not profane those things which God had sanctified, nor take them into their own common use. When what is contributed for the support of religion, is given with an eye to God, it is sanctified, and will cause the blessing to rest upon the house, and all that is therein.
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,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

6 , The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Let the memory of the just be blessed, be perpetuated. It is a debt we still owe to faithful ministers to remember our guides, who have spoken to us the word of God, Heb. xiii.
3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

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.”

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

all Israel . . . sanctified holy things unto the Levites,--&c. The people, selecting the tithes and first-fruits, devoted them to the use of the Levites, to whom they belonged by appointment of the law.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

All Israel - gave the portions of the singers - The singers and the porters were supported by the people at large; and each of these had their portions served out to them daily. And they sanctified - unto the Levites - The things which were provided for sacred uses were delivered by the people to the Levites, and the Levites presented them to the priests. The children of Aaron - This may refer principally to the tithes which the people brought to the Levites; the tithe or tenth of which the Levites gave to the priests. The presenting these tithes is termed sanctifying them; that is, dedicating them to those sacred or ecclesiastical uses for which they were designed: this is a very general meaning of the word sanctify in Scripture.

The words behind it

19 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.

  • 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 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

    Nehemiah 12:1

    Now 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…

  • Through

    Nehemiah 11:23

    For 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.

Where this verse is studied

About Nehemiah

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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.