Nehemiah 13:23-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 13:23

In those days . i.e. "About this same time." Compare Nehemiah 13:15 . Saw I Jews . Rather, "looked I after the Jews." There is a reference to the first three verses of the present chapter, which had introduced the subject of the mixed marriages. Nehemiah wishes to put on record the part which he had taken in the matter, and begins by observing that it had not escaped him—he had had his eye on the transgressors, and had noted their misconduct, and the evils whereto it led. Wives of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 13:23-29

Forbidden marriages. This chapter might have been written to bring into pointed contrast the promises of the people ( Nehemiah 10:1-39 .) and their subsequent practice. In nearly every particular the covenant so solemnly made was broken. We have recorded in this paragraph— I. A GREAT EVIL . 1. Marriages with foreign women. It is probable that the Jews referred to here lived near the territories occupied by the peoples from whom they took wives. Marriage with such was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 13:23-31

Unholy alliance (a lesson for the young). Beside the forsaking of the house of the Lord consequent on the neglect to pay tithes, and the disregard of the sabbath, Nehemiah had to lament another grave evil which had grown up during his absence in Persia. In these verses we have— I. A CASE OF ALARMING DEFECTION . "In those days" of his return some of the Jews had married "wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab" (verse 23). Ezra had encountered the same evil, and vehemently and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 13:24

Their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod . Some understand the writer to mean that half of the children in a family spoke the tongue of the father, and half that of the mother. But many of the best Hebraists prefer the sense expressed by our translators, viz; that all the children spoke a jargon half Ashdodite and half Aramaic. The Philistine language is said to have resembled the Egyptian (Hieronym; 'Comment. in Esaiam,' 19:18). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 13:25

I contended with them, and cursed them . Or, "reviled them," as Gesenius and Professor Lee explain. And smote certain of them . i.e. "had some of them beaten." Some understand by this that the offenders underwent the bastinado by sentence of a court ( Deuteronomy 25:2 ); others think Nehemiah had them struck informally by his attendants. This latter explanation 'is supported by the following clause, since "plucking out the hair" was never a legal punishment. Made them swear by God .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Nehemiah 13:26

Did not Solomon … sin by these things? The example adduced was more apt than any other to move Jews. Israelites might have felt more deeply the case of Ahab ( 1 Kings 21:25 ). Solomon's sin in "going after strange wives," and its punishment, are set forth very fully in 1 Kings 11:1-40 . Among many nations there was no king like him . The reference is not so much to particular texts ( e.g. 1 Kings 3:13 ; 2 Chronicles 1:12 ) as to the general description of Solomon, his glory,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Nehemiah 13:24

The speech of Ashdod - The Philistine language, which was akin to that of Egypt.According to the language of each people - The children spoke a mixed dialect - half-Philistine, half-Hebrew. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Nehemiah 13:23

Nehemiah 13:23. Also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod A city of the Philistines; of Ammon and of Moab They had married strangers, though not long before they had most solemnly promised not to do so, Nehemiah 10:30. So hard a thing it is perfectly to root out tares, which will be continually springing up again. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Nehemiah 13:24

Nehemiah 13:24. And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, &c. What the natural language of the Jews at this time was, whether Hebrew or Chaldee, is matter of some inquiry among the learned. Those who suppose it was Hebrew, produce the books of Nehemiah, Ezra, and Esther, besides the prophecies of Daniel, which, for the most part, were written in Hebrew, and which they suppose the authors of them would not have composed in that language, if at that time it had not been the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Nehemiah 13:25

Nehemiah 13:25. And I contended with them, &c. These words, it must be acknowledged as proceeding from Nehemiah’s own mouth, sound somewhat harshly in our translation; but the meaning of them seems to be only as follows: I contended with them That is, I expostulated the matter with them; I cursed them That is, excommunicated them, and cast them out of the society of God’s people; in the doing of which, I denounced God’s judgments against them; I smote certain of them That is, I... read more

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