Nehemiah10

Nehemiah 10 details the solemn covenant made by the Israelites to uphold God's law. Following a list of those who sealed the agreement, the people collectively vowed to walk in the Mosaic law, abstaining from intermarriage and Sabbath commerce. They also established ordinances for the financial support and maintenance of the temple service, including a temple tax, wood offerings, firstfruits, and tithes.

Signatories of the Covenant

1
On the sealed document were the names of: Nechemyah the Tirshata the son of Hakhalyah, Tzedekyah, ​
2
S'rayah,'Azaryah, Yirmeyah,
3
Pash'chur, Amaryah, Malkiyah,
4
Hatush, Sh'vanyah, Malukh,
5
Harim, M'remot, 'Ovadyah,
6
Dani'el, Ginton, Barukh,
7
Meshulam, Aviyah, Miyamin,
8
Ma'azyah, Bilgai and Sh'ma'yah. These were the cohanim. ​
9
The L'vi'im were: Yeshua the son of Azanyah, Binui a descendant of Henadad, Kadmi'el,
10
and their kinsmen Sh'vanyah, Hodiyah, K'lita, P'layah, Hanan,
11
Mikha, Rechov, Hashavyah,
12
Zakur, Sherevyah, Sh'vanyah,
13
Hodiyah, Bani and B'ninu.
14
The leaders of the people: Par'osh, Pachat-Mo'av, 'Eilam, Zatu, Bani,
15
Buni, 'Azgad, B'vai,
16
Adoniyah, Bigvai, 'Adin,
17
Ater, Hizkiyah, 'Azur,
18
Hodiyah, Hashum, Betzai,
19
Harif, 'Anatot, Neivai,
20
Magpi'ash, Meshulam, Hezir,
21
Mesheizav'el, Tzadok, Yadua,
22
P'latyah, Hanan, 'Anayah,
23
Hoshea, Hananyah, Hashuv,
24
HaLochesh, Pilcha, Shovek,
25
Rechum, Hashavnah, Ma'aseiyah,
26
Achiyah, Hanan, 'Anan,
27
Malukh, Harim and Ba'anah.

The Community Joins the Oath

28
The rest of the people, the cohanim, the L'vi'im, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Torah of God, along with their wives, sons and daughters, everyone capable of knowing and understanding, ​
29
joined their kinsmen and their leaders in swearing an oath, accompanied by a curse [in case of noncompliance], as follows: "We will live by God's Torah, given by Moshe the servant of God, and will perform and obey all the mitzvot, rulings and laws of ADONAI our Lord. ​

Vows Regarding Social and Economic Life

30
"We will not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land or take their daughters as wives for our sons. ​
31
"If the peoples of the lands bring merchandise or food to sell on Shabbat, we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day. "We will forego [planting and harvesting our fields] during the seventh year and collecting debts then. ​

Vows Regarding Temple Support and Offerings

32
"We will impose on ourselves a yearly tax of one-third of a shekel [one-seventh of an ounce of silver] for the service of the house of our ​
33
for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering, for [the offerings] on Shabbat, on Rosh-Hodesh, at the designated times and at other holy times, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Isra'el, and for all the work connected with the house of our God.
34
"We, the cohanim, the L'vi'im and the people, will cast lots in connection with the wood offering, so that it will be brought to the house of our God according to our fathers' clans, at specified times, year by year, and then be burned on the altar of ADONAI our God, as prescribed in the Torah. ​
35
"Every year we will bring the firstfruits of our land and the firstfruits of all fruit from every kind of tree to the house of ADONAI.
36
"We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and of our livestock, as prescribed in the Torah, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to the house of our God, to the cohanim ministering in the house of our God.
37
"We will bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every kind of tree, wine and olive oil to the cohanim in the storerooms of the house of our God, along with the tenths from our land for the L'vi'im; since they, the L'vi'im, take the tenths in all the cities where we farm. ​
38
The cohen the descendant of Aharon is to be with the L'vi'im when the L'vi'im take tenths. The L'vi'im will bring the tenth of the tenth to the house of our God, to the storerooms for supplies. ​
39
For the people of Isra'el and the descendants of Levi are to bring the contribution of grain, wine and olive oil to the rooms where the equipment for the sanctuary, the ministering cohanim, the gatekeepers and the singers are. We will not abandon the house of our God." ​

Study Notes for Nehemiah 10

Verse 1

Nehemiah, the governor (Tirshatha), heads the list, emphasizing the official nature and civil authority behind this renewed covenant. The sealing process formally ratifies the public commitment made by the community in the preceding chapter (Nehemiah 9).

Verse 8

This verse concludes the list of the twenty-one priestly families who sealed the document, representing the formal consensus of the religious leadership.

Verse 28

This section highlights that the commitment was not limited to the leadership (vv. 1–27), but included the entire population—Levites, Temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from foreign groups to adhere to the Law.

Verse 29

Entering into a 'curse and into an oath' meant invoking divine judgment upon themselves if they failed to keep the Mosaic Law. This solemn action stresses the gravity and binding nature of their public commitment to complete obedience.

Verse 30

This vow addresses the crucial issue of mixed marriages, identified in Ezra and Nehemiah as the primary threat to Israel's ethnic and religious purity after the return from Babylonian exile.

Verse 31

The commitment to strict Sabbath observance (no buying/selling) and the Sabbatical Year (debt cancellation and resting the land) demonstrates a renewed adherence to the core economic justice demands of the Torah (Exod 23:10-11; Deut 15:1-2).

Verse 32

This ordinance established a fixed annual temple tax (a third of a shekel), slightly less than the half-shekel mandated in the wilderness (Exod 30:13). This tax ensured necessary funds for the continuous function and maintenance of the sacrificial system.

Verse 34

The 'wood offering' was essential for keeping the altar fire burning continually for the burnt offerings. Casting lots ensured that this necessary but burdensome task of supplying fuel was shared equitably among the families.

Verse 37

This verse clarifies the essential mechanism of financial support: firstfruits (dough, wine, oil) supported the priests in the Temple chambers, while the tithes were distributed to the Levites in the surrounding agricultural towns.

Verse 38

This mandates the 'tithe of the tithe,' requiring the Levites to give 10% of the tithes they received back to the priests (the sons of Aaron). This ensured the integrity of the Temple treasury and supported the high-ranking religious officials.

Verse 39

The chapter concludes with a powerful theological declaration: the fulfillment of these financial and ceremonial obligations is directly tied to national faithfulness. To support the Temple is to commit, 'we will not forsake the house of our God.'

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