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nehemiah 12:27-43

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Nehemiah 12:27-43

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”

— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

27. And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, [with] cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. 28. And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi; 29. Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem. 30. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. 31. Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great [companies of them that gave] thanks, [whereof one] went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate: 32. And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, 33. And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, 34. Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35. And [certain] of the priests’ sons with trumpets; [namely], Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph: 36. And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them. 37. And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward. 38. And the other [company of them that gave] thanks went over against [them], and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall; 39. And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate. 40. So stood the two [companies of them that gave] thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me: 41. And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, [and] Hananiah, with trumpets; 42. And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah [their] overseer. 43. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.

Nehemiah 12:27-43 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Nehemiah 12:27

Theological / Devotional

The dedication. The events recorded in vs. 27-43 must have occurred soon after the completion of the wall, and not many years later as some have suggested. Accordingly, this document, like others in Nehemiah, is not given in chronological order.

This is the first description in the Bible of the dedication of a city wall. Whether another ceremony such as this had ever taken place in Israel is not known. Houses were dedicated (Deut. 20:5), as was also the Temple (1 Kings 8; Ezra 6:16). The same may also have been true of a city wall and public buildings. When the high priest and his associate priests had finished building their section of the wall, they immediately “sanctified it” (Neh. 3:1), probably with a ceremony, and in so doing may have inspired Nehemiah to plan an appropriate ceremony of consecration for the entire wall upon its completion. Such an act placed the whole circuit of the wall under divine protection, in recognition of the fact that walls are useless unless God Himself defends them (see Zech. 2:5).

Psalteries. Heb. nebalim, a kind of harp. It was probably portable and had its sounding box at the top, like harps depicted on Assyrian reliefs (see p. 32). This agrees with an explanation of the word nebel given by Jerome. Egyptian harps were much larger and had their sounding box at the bottom of the instrument (see p. 33).

Harps. Heb. kinnoroth. A kinnor was a lyre rather than a harp.

By SdaBc

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