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
Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, ​
2
Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3
Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
4
Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
5
Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6
Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7
Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8
Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests. ​
9
The Levites: namely, Yeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;
10
and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
11
Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
12
Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
13
Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
14
The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
15
Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
16
Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
17
Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
18
Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
19
Hariph, Anathoth, Nobai,
20
Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
21
Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
22
Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
23
Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
24
Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
25
Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
26
and Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
27
Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

The Community Joins the Oath

28
The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge, and understanding— ​
29
they joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s Torah, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes; ​

Vows Regarding Social and Economic Life

30
and that we would not give our daughters to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; ​
31
and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. ​

Vows Regarding Temple Support and Offerings

32
Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; ​
33
for the show bread, and for the continual meal offering, and for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
34
We cast lots, the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Torah; ​
35
and to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first fruits of all fruit of all kinds of trees, year by year, to the LORD’s house;
36
also the firstborn of our sons, and of our livestock, as it is written in the Torah, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God;
37
and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, and our wave offerings, and the fruit of all kinds of trees, the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. ​
38
The priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms, into the treasure house. ​
39
For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the wave offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the rooms, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers. We will not forsake 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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