Nehemiah 12:1

The priests and the Levites. The list presented in vs. 1-9 is clarified by comparison with two parallel lists, that of the priestly families whose seals were set to the covenant (ch. 10:2-8), and that of the heads of the priestly courses under the high priest Joiakim (ch. 12:12-21). The number of names differs slightly from list to list, as do also the names and the order in which they appear. That they are family names is most evident from the third list.

From a comparison of the two lists in ch. 12 (columns 2, 3, 4) it is apparent that the names of the head of the house of Miniamin, and of both the house and head of the house of Hattush, are missing from the second list. In other respects the two lists agree both in the number and in the order in which they appear. However, a comparison of the two lists of ch. 12 with that of ch. 10 shows greater differences. Of the 22 names given in ch. 12:1-7 (21 names in vs. 12-21), 15 (14 in vs. 12-21) marked with an asterisk (*) occur also in ch. 10. But Pashur, Malchijah, Obadiah, Daniel, Baruch, and Meshullam of ch. 10 are missing in ch. 12. Some commentators have sought to explain this difference by supposing that a portion of the priests refused their signatures because they did not concur in the strict measures of Ezra and Nehemiah. This suggestion would be conceivable if only 15 heads of priestly families had signed the covenant instead of 21. Since, however, 6 other names appear instead of the 6 missing names, this cannot be the reason. The reason for the differences is probably the time lapse between the two lists. The list of ch. 12:1-7 is from the time of Zerubbabel, that of ch. 12:12-21 from the time of the high priest Joiakim, who probably held office during the latter part of the reign of Darius I, while that of ch. 10 dates from the reign of Artaxerxes I.