Nehemiah 10:1
INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 10
In this chapter we have the names of the persons that signed and sealed the covenant mentioned in the last chapter, Ne 10:1, and the things they agreed unto and promised to perform; in general to observe the law of God, in particular not to marry with the people of the land, to keep the sabbaths weekly and yearly, to pay annually the third part of the shekel for the service of the temple, to bring into it the wood offerings, first fruits, firstborn, and tithes, Ne 10:28.
Ver. 1. Now those that sealed were,.... That sealed the covenant, made Ne 9:38.
Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah; the governor of the Jews:
and Zidkijah; who seems also to have been a prince, since, without, it could not be said it was sealed by their princes, Ne 9:38 though some think both these were priests, and then the princes must be supposed to be among the chief of the people, Ne 10:14, from hence to the end of the twenty seventh their names follow; the names of the priests, Ne 10:2, who were in all twenty one; no mention is made either of Eliashib the high priest, nor of Ezra the priest and scribe; some think the former had not behaved well in his office, and that the latter was either sick, or returned to Babylon, or however hindered by some providence or another, since we hear of him both a little before and after, Ne 8:2 then the names of the Levites, Ne 10:9, in all seventeen, most of which we have met with in this book before; next follow the names of the chief of the people, Ne 10:14, their number in all forty four; and their names may be observed in the list of those that came out of Babylon with Zerubbabel; the whole number of those that sealed, princes, priests, Levites, and chief of the people, were eighty four.