Nehemiah 13:29
in Nehemiah 13Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.
KJV
Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites.
⋯
This verse in Nehemiah 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseRemember them, O my God,.... The priests, and punish them: because they have defiled the priesthood; by marrying strange wives, and rendering themselves unfit to officiate in it: and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites; made with Levi, Aaron, and Phinehas, see Num 24:11, of the corruption of which, complaint is made, Mal 2:4.
This site's exposition
a son-in-law to Sanballat
on Nehemiah 13:28-29
The corruption reaches the high priest's family: "one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat." Nehemiah "drove him away." Clarke identifies him with Manasseh, whom Josephus says became priest of a rival temple Sanballat built on Mount Gerizim.
This site's exposition
defiled the priesthood and the covenant
Henry gives two readings of the prayer: a plea that God bring these priests to repentance, or a request that God count sin against them. Clarke takes it as a declaration of judgment. The covenant of the priesthood recalls God's covenant with Levi in Malachi 2:4-8.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"Lord, convince and convert them; put them in mind of what they should be and do, that they may come to themselves." Or, "Remember them to reckon with them for their sin; remember it against them." If we take it so, this prayer is a prophecy that God would remember it against them.
It was the honour of Israel, and the greatest preservation of their holiness, that they were a peculiar people, and were so to keep themselves, and not to mingle with the nations, nor suffer any of them to incorporate with them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Because they have defiled the priesthood - God, therefore, will remember their iniquities against them, and punish them for their transgressions. These words of Nehemiah are to be understood declaratively.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זָכְרָ֥ה | zakherah | remember ! | H2142 → | 230 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | to them | ||
| אֱלֹהָ֑י | ʾelohai | O God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַ֚ל | ʾal | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גָּאֳלֵ֣י | goolei | [the] defilement<s> of | H1352 → | |
| הַכְּהֻנָּ֔ה | hakehunah | the priesthood | H3550 → | 14 times |
| וּבְרִ֥ית | uverit | and [the] covenant of | H1285 → | 284 times |
| הַכְּהֻנָּ֖ה | hakehunah | the priesthood | H3550 → | 14 times |
| וְהַלְוִיִּֽם׃ | vehalviyim | and the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
זָכְרָ֥הremember !
zakherahH2142 →230 times
לָהֶ֖םto them
lahem
אֱלֹהָ֑יO God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
עַ֚לon
ʾalH5921 →5755 times
גָּאֳלֵ֣י[the] defilement<s> of
gooleiH1352 →
הַכְּהֻנָּ֔הthe priesthood
hakehunahH3550 →14 times
וּבְרִ֥יתand [the] covenant of
uveritH1285 →284 times
הַכְּהֻנָּ֖הthe priesthood
hakehunahH3550 →14 times
וְהַלְוִיִּֽם׃and the Levites
vehalviyimH3881 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 6:14O my God, remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they have done, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who tried to intimidate me.
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:14–15
Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
- Jeremiah 28:10
Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it.
- Psalms 63:1
O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Psalms 140:5–11
The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah
- 1 Kings 22:22–24
And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
- 2 Timothy 4:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.